My Rockabilly Summer

Sunday, 5 June 2016

Pyjama Sunday and a look back at Victory Rolls

So, I've had about 3 hours sleep thanks, in large part to the almost 8 month old, and am actually feeling sick because I'm so tired. I've allowed myself two cups of coffee this morning (don't tell the Mummy Police) and today is officially 'Pyjama Sunday' - I am declaring it. No styling or fun outfits for me sadly... which is a shame as I have so many ideas and outfits still to try. And I want to keep experimenting with my hair. Ah well - as Scarlet O'Hara would say "Tomorrow is another day."

What's funny is that I'd just recently saved this meme below with the intention of it being a kind of new motto... Hmmm maybe start that tomorrow as well.

Instead, I've been doing a little bit of homework (when the eyes allow to me to focus) by having a shufty through a book I've had on my shelf forever 'Vintage Hairstyling' by Lauren Rennells. It's fantastically well put together and answers many a question I have about how to put vintage hair together - so much to work on. I now have hair nets, snoods and pomade on my shopping list - I'm sounding more and more Granny like by the day.

In the meantime, I've already experimented and practised some Victory Rolls... I'd Youtubed some tutorial videos an age ago and had produced some good and some not so good attempts before abandoning the project altogether. My recent attempt actually turned out well and I put them together from memory on the technique - I think sometimes there not being any pressure to get it right means you're more relaxed and so the project actually goes well. I had fun styling them up with different outfits... A shit tonne of photos below - don't say I didn't warn you.

Letterman Sweater

First up was my bargain Basketball/bomber 'Letterman' style jacket from La Redoute for a preppy Rockabilly feel. The flower was bought a lifetime ago for a wedding so can't even tell you where that came from.

Forties Starlet

I tied the loose curls back with transparent plastic snag free ties into bunches which actually produced, in my opinion, a pretty sophisticated forties look (especially from the front). I wore some super duper bargain bin sparkly ear cuffs I found in the supermarket Sainsbury's by chance. They cost a whole £6 (£3 per set - one cuff and one stud in a set). The dress is one of my old faithful's that I bought years ago in River Island - it's a real forties style tea dress and has some lovely flattering draping round the tummy area and is a stretchy fabric that hangs really nicely. I come back to it time and again.

Super quick quirky pin up

I couldn't get the bandana to stay on (still need to perfect that way of tying it) so I only got this one photo snapped but I really like it! It's sort of a cute and quirky pin up style - like I'm working in a munitions factory - and you can't tell the bandana slid off seconds after this was taken. I had on my La Redoute denim dungarees and a New Look black ribbed 'Bardot' style top - I think the dungarees look better with lighter tops and/or patterns which is another reason why I only took one photo.

Feeling darling in Dungarees

So I swapped out the black top for this perfectly vintage style cardigan from Lindy Bop which I think looks so much better (and obviously 'removed' the bandana). I was trying to get a shot of the top of my head to really show the Victory Rolls (not the neatest rolls in the world but I'm still proud of them) but that angle does nothing for my forehead... It looks bloody enormous!! I'm not small of forehead that's for sure but in this it's like the towering inferno of spams. Hahaha. Must remember that for future photos.

Day at the Seaside Vibes

This was a real quick one before I had to return to reality... The polka dot top is (surprise, surprise) from Lindy Bop and I quickly threw on my Mango straw visor that I bought from ASOS before taking the shot.

I love this visor! I didn't even know I wanted one until I was browsing the website and then I bought two of them. The second one was on sale and is from a brand called Liquorice and is a darker wicker with a navy bow trim. They're a real nod to a vintage style and can be rolled up for ease of transportation and storage. So much more versatile than a normal floppy hat. I'm very fair and burn in the sun after about 10 minutes so these will keep the sun off my face, stop my parting getting burnt and will look fabulous, especially with sundresses and espadrilles. Happy days.

As you can see, I've been dressing up and posing it up like a storm. By the way, my lipstick - isn't it gorgeous? I was searching for the perfect red/blue lipstick forever and came across this one purely by chance. It's Chanel #99 'Pirate' and I purchased the matching Chanel lipliner at the same time - which comes with a lip brush at one end. I usually go for more of a matte finish like the pin up fave Mac's Ruby Woo but I find they can in general (depending on the brand) be pretty drying as the day wears on... Both the lipstick and lip liner feel luxe to use and stay on my lips really well. I didn't do any touch ups during this whole shoot. It's expensive but it feels expensive to use and I'm so happy with it that I know I'll get a lot of use out of them.

So, here ends the epic post on my first foray into Victory Rolls. Hopefully all spelt correctly and making sense - I've had the added challenge of writing this with my toddler diving on me and demanding Rice Cakes and a Disney film for some of it.

Thanks for reading!

Baby T Rex and a birthday

Evening!

This is just a quick post as I'm knackered. Arthur, the baby, was incredibly disruptive last night (not really sure why, but let's say teething as it's always teething) and I've had very little sleep. On top of that we've had to deal with a very moany, tantrum prone toddler all of today. So I'm eating mint chocolate (Moser Roth from Aldi - it's delish) and doing a quick post about what I wore today and then I'm going to collapse into bed.

The Maidstone Museum had a Dinosaur Day on today so we thought we'd take the Dino mad 2 year old down as it was promised that a 'baby T-Rex' was going to be strolling around the town (i.e one of those scarily realistic Dinosaur suits). Well, the lovely afternoon with a delighted little boy turned into a shit show of pretty epic proportions. Henry fell asleep in the pushchair on the walk into town - which never happens - and woke up like the World was ending just as my Husband and I sat on a bench to eat our lunch. He then proceeded to wail and throw himself on the grass and generally be as difficult as he possibly could for NO APPARENT REASON. The T-Rex then came along to do the rounds of the park we were in, as it was adjoining said Museum, and I ran the length of the park with Henry so that he could see it. He was not impressed and was quite firm that "he not touch me." So that went well. James (the other half) then took Henry into the museum and no sooner than had I settled myself on the grass with the baby than my screeching toddler was being returned in a prostrate position next to me. On top of that my new white plimsolls were rubbing the buggery out of my heels so I had to apply some Compeed forthwith in public - very glam.

Anyway, the outfit.

Make-up

I wore most of my usual make-up including winged liner but held off the falsies, bronzer and bright red lip. I did wear a red tinted lip balm from Carmex so not completely bare lipped. I missed my lashes though - my natural ones are just rubbish even after being curled and coated in mascara. I might just have to include them in my normal make-up routine after all...

Hair

I showered and washed my hair this morning so it was lovely and soft and so I held off using any product (except heat protector spray before blow drying & running my straighteners over it) and simply tied it in a half up do and added my white bandana. The only other accessories were some cute heart earrings I bought in Accessorize a while ago - very kitsch - and another pair of studs with a Converse type star logo on them that I purchased from a Reading Festival a very looooong time ago.

Clothes

I decided to try out the new dungarees I got from La Redoute today which I rolled up and paired with an old white t'shirt. Not convinced the tee was the best choice but I didn't have long to dress and was the best thing I could find at the time... My new white (ouchy) plimsolls and my new black and white baseball style jacket (all La Redoute) finished the outfit off. It was really comfy but I felt like I'd made some effort rather than my usual hash. Embarrassingly I forgot to take the labels off the dungarees which were rather large and hanging down the back. Hahaha. Fortunately, the jacket kept them covered for the most part. Today was an overcast, grey sort of day but it was humid so the jacket came off on the walk home and my Husband was giggling behind me for a short while before I realised what was so funny. *sigh.* What a pleb I am sometimes!

The Dungarees in their 'glory'

I haven't got a photo of the complete outfit but hopefully the above shows you well enough. (well, not a photo I liked - my husband tried to take one of me on the street but I was too self conscious and the photo ended up being hideous so I won't be including it!).

And lastly...

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY SISTER!

Forever stylish

Like a Woman Possessed

One example - more to follow later!

OH MY GOD.

I have turned into a little girl playing with her dressing up box. And I'm bloody loving it! Every chance I get - mainly when the baby is napping or happy to amuse himself in the jumperoo/play nest - I have been styling myself up with total abandon. I haven't enjoyed having my photo taken in such a long time but now I'm snap happy & sharing them with the world through my blog & Instagram. It's amazing what a passion channelled into a project can do.

My Lindy bop sale box arrived, followed by my ASOS small splurge, La Redoute parcel & What Katy Did undies... Plus some extremely bargainous earrings found by chance on a trip to, of all places, Sainsbury's. Henry went to nursery and the fun hasn't stopped yet. I'm like a woman possessed. I have to stop myself buying anything else with money I don't have. I'm already eying a Hell Bunny coat for my trip to NY in December. Better hold off until I'm bringing in a wage again, eek.

Instagram version

My quest for everyday Rockabilly/vintage looks has just turned into trying my hand at getting a full blown authentic look down and taking photographs of the results. I had to answer the door this afternoon to a delivery driver in Victory Rolls and a full face of make-up. At least she didn't turn up when I was a) half way through getting the hair & make-up done or b) when I was in full garb (I was still in my civvies so probably looked even weirder upon reflection - Victory rolls and my husband's old t shirt covered in baby sick & fruit puree... nice).

It's the end of day two and I've still not tried everything on yet. I'm having an absolute blast and I can't wait to do some more. It's faintly ridiculous how excited I am about getting dressed up. Who knew a 34 year old Mum of two would be holing herself up in the bathroom and skipping lunch in order to perfect her curls and red lippy. I've honestly got a new lease of life.

My Husband is slightly bemused by the whole affair but not unsupportive. And the only other soul I have told about this blog etc is my Sister. And she's currently in Canada. Although 'My Rockabilly Summer' is public I haven't outed myself to my friends and family - it feels very double agent. I'm not entirely sure why I'm being so hesitant - partly shyness and partly because I don't want to lose this high! If I tell actual real life human flesh people about it they might shit on it, or make it feel stupid. My online life is so much fun and I've had nothing but lovely comments and hearts from like minded people. Why would I want to lose that?! Today, I'd tagged La Leche Directions hair dye into one of my photos on Instagram and they actually featured it on their own page - I am embarrassingly proud of that, haha.

My eldest son was with his Nana & Grandpa today and you should have seen me rushing around to tidy away everything and return my face to 'normal' before they returned him home. I completely miss my dolled up face - I feel quite dejected when I have to take it off. Ahhh... I think I must have been born in the wrong era.

Look how sad I am to be back in my civvies

The other problem I'm having at the moment, is that I'm still not set up to take full length photos so the majority of the pictures I've taken are head and shoulder shots. We live in a pretty tiny terraced house that is full to the brim with 'stuff.' The only place we might be able to clear some room in and possibly keep all my accoutrements together in is the cellar... but I worry the light will be crap. Hmmm. Shall have to keep pondering that one and will let you know if I come up with a solution.

Blue Hair Don't Care

So, I recently decided to take the plunge and dye my hair blue. Which, if you've read any of my other posts, will not be news to you. I thought I'd write a post in case you were curious about it.

Brunette era

Why?

Why the hell not?! I've had all kinds of colours in my hair in the past - some of which I've added pics of throughout this post - but never blue (that I can remember at any rate - My Mum swears I have :/) and I love the Mermaid hair look and was super keen to do something BOLD. So I just did it. I'm always staring at beautiful, stunning hair colour photos on Instagram and Pinterest and, as my old Dad would say "You're a long time dead." Life's too short to hold back, it's only hair after all - it could all fall out tomorrow so make the most of it now and have some bloody fun with it. If I had a pound for every time someone said something along the lines of "I wish I was brave enough to do that with my hair" I'd be a very rich lady. My answer is quite simple - just do it if you actually really want to.

Check out this brilliant Buzzfeed post '28 reasons women shouldn't dye their hair' on the subject - just look at those colours *drool* #Hairgoals.

And absolutely read this Huffington Post article from Jennifer S.White '4 Things I learned when I dyed my hair blue at 36' - spookily dead on with my own experiences and reasoning. And she explains it far more eloquently that I can.

Lilac/pinky peach thing

Who?

I enlisted my friendly local travelling hair dresser Sharni Tickner who runs Miss T's Mobile Hairdressing and Beauty. Let's face it, time at a hair salon is hard to find with two kids (especially one perma-tied to your boobs) so if you can find a good mobile hairdresser to come to your home you're winning. I'd recommend going with someone you know and you're familiar with their work - Sharni is a friend of a friend and has extensive colour work photos on her FB page. She's also done lots of fun and fresh colours so I knew she was the woman for the job.

Believe me, some stylists are a little timid when it comes to colour and I've always found it hard to get what I want in salons where they don't usually deal with customers like me. So, it pays to do your homework - they may well have the catalogue photos with models sporting extreme cuts and shades on their walls... but that doesn't mean they do any of that shit in their parlour.

Strawberry blonde phase

What I looked like before

My hair before was a mix of colour (blonde, brunette and red!) and the cut was an extreme bob (very short at the back and very long at the front). I loved the ombre until I didn't anymore. Frankly, it was a mess and I was so completely over it and desperate for a bit of something more extreme - I needed a bigger colour commitment than just a hint of red underneath. I also wanted to even out the length for more of a lob, although given how extreme and chopped into my hair was it's going to take a while and a few haircuts to really get it more even.

Ombre poser

The process and what we used

We used La Leche Directions semi permanent colours in Turquoise and Blue Lagoon. But first we had to bleach the shit out of my hair to get rid of all that was already on it. That took a few applications, then Sharni applied the two colours and then once rinsed she cut it. The whole hair process took several hours. Seriously, if you do this or something similar you may as well write the day off.

Purple dip dye

Learn from my mistakes.

I would NEVER ever attempt this at home on my own - there's too much risk of it going horribly wrong. I've used box dye in the past and I have to tell you that going darker is fairly easy but once you want to shift that and go lighter you must get a professional to do it. I can't emphasise that enough. I've got the standard horror story of trying to lighten my hair by myself after layers and layers of dark red hair dye and going Chucky doll ginger with glow in the dark blonde roots. AWFUL. Don't do this at home kids. Pleeeeaaaaase!

A couple of other things to bare in mind;

Once you start colouring your hair you've got to be prepared for upkeep - roots are a thing whether you go lighter or darker.
And the make-up you wore with one look may suddenly wash you out or clash with a new extreme colour so you'll have to spend time finding new shades that suit you again. You may even find some clothes & accessories no longer go with the new look.

Blonde chapter

And the results

Below is a copy of Sharni's photos - quite the difference. The colour lasts well (especially as I rarely get the luxury of a regular hair wash these days) but it will and has faded already with every wash as it's just a semi permanent arrangement.

How's it been?

Admittedly it has taken some getting used to and I feel it 'settled' more once I'd washed it a few times. However, I've had loads of fun just staring at my hair in the mirror and playing with it and trying different make-up... that's a step up from not even glancing at my reflection never mind actually brushing my hair! My eldest keeps saying "Mummy's got blue hair" and smiling, bless him. So, I'm happy and already considering what to do next. As always, with going an extreme colour you get the comments from people who's business it most certainly is not but, you know, fuck 'em.

Experimenting with a black bandana

What next?

I'm already wondering what colour to go next - I'm quite tempted by the silver! Might as well go all out Granny-fied - from blue rinse to grey. Also, check out the pin-up model +Rockagirl - she totally rocks the silver. Not sure I could look even half that fabulous but I could have fun pretending.

Scary Snap Chat as an old lady

I also would love lilac as that's a colour I did attempt in the past (with the help of a stylist at Monkey Hair) only for it to be more of a peachy/pink (pic no.2 in the this post). Still actually really liked the outcome of that one anyway. Would be great to have it done and it actually be lilac though. Or I might just go Alpine green...hahaha. We'll just have to wait and see.

I also need to keep experimenting and trying to find quick & easy ways to style & wear my hair that will nod to the style I'm going for but which will not require hours to put together (& which can withstand a day of children climbing and grabbing at me of course). That's a tough challenge for any hair do I'd say but will naturally keep you informed.

Thanks again for reading - hope this post has inspired you or pushed you closer to realising your hair dreams :)

False lash flirty fluttering fun

Make-up and lashes

My youngest son decided to have an epic 3 hour nap... so whilst my eldest entertained himself watching Winnie the Pooh I decided to try out my Eylure false lashes out. I'd bought them on a whim a while ago but had yet to actually even open the packet... I went for volume (that's the name of the lash game to me) and a shorter length as I felt I would probably feel more comfortable wearing them outside in *shudder* the daylight.

They were pre-glued so easy to apply (although I should really have used some tweezers to be more precise) and I'd already put on the rest of my make-up before I applied them; including my Barry M liquid eye-liner in Plum to add flicks at the corners of my eyes. I then reapplied some eye liner once the lashes were in place to make sure there were no gaps.

Elsewhere on my face I used:

And... I loved the lashes! Considering they are 'shorter' I felt they were just the right length on me - any longer and I would have felt a touch ridiculous in them. They were light so I didn't feel like I was constantly blinking my eyes from the weight of them and I felt so flirty and fluttery in them. I really thought my rookie attempts at Rockabilly/Pin up style make-up went up a level with these.. I would seriously consider wearing them everyday - I even went to the supermarket wearing them. They look so much better than my own fair eyelashes, even when they are coated in layers of mascara my lashes can only dream of looking this fabulous. I wore them all day and they survived the horrible windy weather with only had one small bit at the end of the strip near the inside of my right eye starting to come away by the evening. They also came off really easily once I wanted them to go. Have been seriously impressed and took a tonne of photos because I was so happy with the finish.

Hair

I've also been pretty happy with the little hair do I threw together - I managed to create a small messy 'beehive-esque' thing (well... there was some volume) at the crown with my stubby ponytail tucked under and pinned at the back. Finished it off with a white bandana. I roped my husband in to take a few pictures of the back of it as I couldn't get the right angle to show it off properly. Not the best pics as was nighttime so only had the overhead light but shows what it looked like in any case. It stayed pretty well all day and didn't take long which is the most I can ask of any hair 'do' these days.

I just used a simple snag free black hair band to tie the ponytail, and some kirby grips to pin it under. I used my fingers to tease the volume at the top and make it more textured and that was it. No product was used at all (although it's important to note my hair has not been washed for a few days so it stays where it's put!).

Outfit

I don't have a photo of the full outfit I put together as I'm not really setup to take full length photos yet (need to invest in a nice mirror and use my camera on a tripod I think - also need to clear a big enough space to do it in!). However, it was comfortable, practical and yet I felt 'put together' which has been the aim of this little adventure.

The top, just seen above, is a maternity/nursing top from ASOS. I love ASOS and they are great for a range of nursing clothes - I don't think they have this particular top anymore so I'm glad I got it when I did. It has a tiered effect so you lift the top tier to access your boobs when needed for discreet feeding. What I like about it is the raglan sheer white sleeve detail which adds a bit of interest to an otherwise plain top.

I have a pair of Dune black and white ballet pumps that I found after a trip to TK Maxx. They are slightly elasticated so they actually stay on my feet (an issue I have with other ballet pumps; they just slide off constantly). I loved them because they made me think of Cyd Charisse for some reason. Being monochrome they go with loads of things, are comfy and very wearable whilst still being smart. Perfect!

Cyd dancing with Fred

I paired the top and shoes with my La Redoute brushed black jeans, as before, and my faux leather jacket. I bought it from BHS a year or so ago - just happened past and saw it from the doorway. They had it paired with a teal floral tea dress and I bought them both on the spot. That really doesn't happen very often! Both are made by Dorothy Perkins so not expensive and I think they're a great shop for dress shopping in general.

Was doing all this whilst trying to be uber quiet as my baby snored in his Amby baby hammock... If you haven't checked these baby hammocks out by the way - do! I love mine - it's so easy for settling him for naps and he looks so comfy and cute in there.

Not the best example of him 'settled' - haha

Thanks for reading.