Maybeline ad – 1925

I adore this ad from 1925 for Maybeline mascara. Thank you to the Vintage-Spirit blog for sharing it.

My Pinterest Art Deco, 1920s and 30s boards

Just a reminder for all my readers that are fans of Art Deco design and the fashion 1920s and 30s, I have several boards full of my favourite visual collections over at Pinterest that I add to on a daily basis. You are welcome to follow me there also. Enjoy 🙂

Art Deco design and Beauty
1920s style
1930s style
Art Deco Patterns
Vintage Beachwear
Vintage Hair – 1930s
Vintage Hair – 1920s
Art Deco Home
Vintage Shoe Love
Vintage graphic design & advertising

1930s beauty tutorials

A couple of lovely videos from British Pathe.

Vintage Beauty Icons 1: Carole Lombard

I just adore this woman!! She lived and breathed style. From the 1920s right through to her death in 1942 she was stunningly beautiful. If I could magically achieve any look from the 1930s – hers would be it!

   

    

    

   

    

     

    

   

     

    

   

     

Etsy picks of the week: Art Deco Homewares 2

Post number 2 re Art Deco homewares currently for sale on Etsy. There are so many wonderful finds to be had that I wish I had a tonne of money to purchase them all! Sadly , I would need a bigger house ;P Which one is your favourite? Mine is the chrome clock.

* All items linked back to their original Etsy source. 

      

   

      

      

     

     

RIP Patty Andrews, 1918 – 2013

Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of swing-era vocal group the Andrews Sisters (and the center sister in the photo below), died today of natural causes. She was 94. A beautiful lady with a golden voice.

‘Bounce Me Brother With a Solid Four’ will always be my fav of their songs. Thought I’d post the clip here. Not the mention that we get to see Jewel McGowan and Dean Collins dance. 🙂

* Taken from my post at Swingfashionista

    

My Pinterest boards

For all my readers that are fans of Art Deco design and the fashion 1920s and 30s, I have several boards full of my visual collects over at Pinterest that I add to on a daily basis. You are welcome to follow me there 🙂

Art Deco design and Beauty
1920s style
1930s style
Art Deco Patterns
Vintage Hair – 1930s
Vintage Hair – 1920s
Vintage graphic design & advertising

Michelle’s Etsy picks of the week…1920s & 30s vintage compacts

Vintage compacts…don’t you just love them!! Each one distinctly different from the other – the style revealing a little something about the previous owner. Historically the compact had a slightly shady past. They were originally only used by ‘less desirable’ women such as ladies of the night and actresses. As time moved on, the wearing of make-up became more acceptable and compacts finally came out of the shadows to become a mainstream fashion accessory and were finally used in public without disgrace.

I have a tidy little collection of my own vintage compacts and am always on the lookout for more Art Deco lovelies. They really did come in all shapes and sizes and were made from a variety of materials. My favourite is my ‘Volupte’ case which has a puff, lipstick and place for cigarettes/coins, all carried in a little grosgrain purse (similar example below). Here are some fabulous compacts that are available on Etsy. Check out the amazing ‘Josephine Baker’ wrist bracelet compact!

To see an another cool collection of compacts for sale, check out Sheryl’s Art Deco Emporium.

NB: I wrote this piece for Swingfashionista a while back, but thought I’ add some new compacts to it for VVV.

* All items are linked back to their original Etsy source.

    

    

    

    

    

   

    

    

    

    

    

Snowfire Face Powder ad – 1936

I’ll take one of each hat please!

Source

1930s hairstyles

My interest in vintage hair began when I was a child, as I have always loved the 20s, 30s and 40s, but I actually began styling my own hair in vintage styles back 1999 when I started swing dancing. I have also run vintage hair workshops many times in the last 12 years. The 1930s softly waved and curled feminine hairstyles are my favourite and I drool over old pics from the time.

I have a short middy cut myself so I can wear a 30s look when I want to. Sadly, ladies today don’t have the benefit of being able to go to the salon on a weekly basis to have their hair ‘wet set and styled’ as they did back in the day. The ‘beauty salon’ certainly was a different place back then. I once read in an old hairdressing magazine that around 50% of a salons’ business (from the 20s to the late 50s) came from ‘setting’ hair alone. Today it’s all about cut and colour.

    

Most of the waved and curled 30s styles required sculpting and constant upkeep. So wearing a hair net to bed with pin curls, wavers clips or rollers to maintain it was just part of every day life for ladies of the day, unless of course, you were lucky enough to have hair that waved or curled naturally and easily. Husbands and boyfriends back then certainly were used to seeing their ladies in curlers regularly. Was just part of life.

Women that could afford to go to the salon on a regular basis usually went for a ‘wet set and style’, which would last up to a week if you protected it while you slept. For those of you new to vintage hair speak, a wet set involved having your hair pin curled or finger waved in the style you wanted while the hair was wet, then sitting under a hood dryer for an hour or so at the salon, until the hair was completely dry. Then the hair would be brushed out and combed into the style required by the hairdresser. Certainly a lengthy process, but worth it for a week of hair that retained its style. This was a common practice right up until the 1960s in salons. Many ladies of the day (like my Nana and Grandmother) who weren’t flush with money, learned to style and set their own hair at home in the 30s, 40s and 50s for the most part and went to salon once a month.

    

Tips for 30s waves:

What many people don’t realise is that finger waves were actually designed to enhance, tame and smooth the waved, curly tresses of those lucky enough to have them. The waves and curls were stretched and moulded into the looks in the pics shown. But for those like myself who have dead straight hair (ugg) – I was given some invaluable tips a few years back from a lovely ex-hairstylist named ‘Lily‘ who is now in her 90s. This is how told me she used to set waves and curls for her straight-haired clients in the 30s:

– wet set hair with setting lotion under a hood dryer (or overnight) to give yourself a good curly base to work with
– THEN brush out the tight curls, smoothing the hair and relaxing it a bit
– use a styling comb to sculpt the curls on top and sides of your head  into soft waves and ridges and clip them into place with wavers (so much easier when the hair is already curled). It’s all about the sculpting.
– sculpt the smaller curls so they are softer around the back of your head/ears etc using the comb and your fingers. Spray on some hairspray to set.

So – curling first, drying, THEN waving for us straight haired lot! 🙂 For years I wondered why trying to achieve soft finger waves was so much harder with straight hair … simple, because they were designed to beautify curly hair! So, salons of the day had to come up with techniques to help out the straight-haired gals like to me achieve these amazing styles too. Information has just been lost over the years as the older generation pass away. Anyhoo, here are some great style to inspire you. My fav 30s ladies are Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy and Ginger Rogers.

    
    
   
  
    

Cosmetic ads from the 1920s and 30s

I am a graphic designer by profession and my love of 20s and 30s design has always influenced my own work. I  have admired and collected design examples from this time period since my college days studying design and art history and am always adding to my digital collection. Broders, Schmidt, Rodchenko, Schlutz-Neudamm, Loupot, Kiesler, Falcucci, Carboni, Bouchard, Cassandre, Kuhn and Ansieau – just to name a few – are some of my favourite designers of the day. Sometimes I forget about all the things I have stored away in files and am excited when I come across them again and just want to share. So, please enjoy these vintage lovelies from the 20s and 30s.