A Beginners Guide To Vintage...The Fifties

New Year...New You?

Hi again, for this post I've been given some inspiration from a reader. Bez left me this comment after one of my posts over Christmas:

Hi! Totally love your blog, thinking of adopting a few elements of 50s style in the New Year and have a couple of questions for you! Firstly, where do you find your clothes, and where would be a good place to start (as I don't want to jump right in, currently wear nothing but jeans and tees haha)? Also, any tips on doing makeup? I love yours! Thanks! Bez

So I thought I would put together my very own beginners guide, for those who have been dying to delve into the big scary world of vintage but don't have a clue where to start.

First of all: pick your era. Bez, you have chosen the 1950s which I think is very sensible, and even if you are interested in lots of different aspects of mid-century fashion I would advise the 1950s are definately the most accessible as there are aspects of it which are the least high maintenance of the previous few decades.

The reason for this is simply summed up for me by one garment: The Jean. This is the decade where casual denim trousers became acceptable day wear for women as well as men and changed the way we dressed forever. I believe that they are the most important item of clothing of the last century.



So, of course you can search high and low in vintage shops for a perfect pair of authentic Fifties jeans, or you can do exactly what I, and many other 50s loving gals do, and go to Freddies of Pinewood online store and buy yourself a pair of reproduction 40s or 50s style jeans, pedal pushers or dungarees, tailored to your leg length and at an extremely reasonabe price. I guarantee that these will become a staple in your wardrobe until you begin to experiment with more styles and collect vintage pieces.

I definately think that this is where you should begin, and anyone that only wears vintage or reproduction clothing will tell you that transforming yourself does not happen over night. As your love of the era grows, so will your knowledge and your collection of clothing. You will begin to find your own style within the era which will make shopping for vintage easier as you will know what you are looking for.


I started looking for pieces on ebay, not spending too much at first. Definately measure your bust, waist and hips if you are buying on line. Vintage clothing is sized precisely and not just in 8, 10, 12 etc.



When it comes to hair it depends how you want it to look. This again comes down to finding your own personal style. By the sound of things you don't want anything too high maintainance so I won't start you with a hot set, however if its the fifties you like why not go a little rockabilly and get yourself some Bettie bangs (thats fringe to some of us). My own fringe has evolved into a sort of half 40s faux bangs look and half Bettie Page short bangs. But thats just the way I style it.


When I first got my Bettie bangs cut I realised that just letting my fringe lay flat naturally didn't suit me because I have a small forehead and because naturally my hair is very straight, however, now I use a thin straightener to curl it under in layers (spraying lots of Ellnet hairspray in between) until its big and round and will not move, even in a gale. If you do get a fringe you can then just twist and clip up the sides or wear it in a cute ponytail. If your not brave enough to cut the fringe short experiment with the faux bang look, take a look at Fleur De Guerre's tutorial, or search YouTube as there are many girls 'in the know' out there.

When it comes to make up, the first thing you need to do is reach for the red lipstick. It may take you a while to find your perfect red. If you are fair haired you're lucky enough to be able to go for bright orangey reds, if you are dark up top you can get away with berry shades and plummy reds. My current fave is Revlon's Revlon Red which is a really good true red, no hint of orange or blue in it. Also Mac's Ruby Woo is a favourite with many a vintage loving gal.
I don't know what your skin is like, i'm lucky enough to be very pale, so on a daily basis I don't wear any foundation, just concealer round the eyes and then finish off with a matte ivory powder and some rouge. Getting your eyebrows in shape is also very important, they can really change the way your face looks. Study some pictures of women from the 50s and figure out what shape would suit you and also be easy to do with your existing eyebrow shape without plucking them to death. Arm yourself with a good pencil or if you are worried about the pencil looking too sharp and defined I highly recommend Benefit's Brow Zings which have a sort of wax and then a powder and a little tutorial on how to apply.
I feel I have written ALOT and haven't really touched on all that much. I think there are a few helpful things here for you if you don't want to completely dive in to the vintage lifestyle, once you've got the basics down to a T i'm sure you will enjoy figuring the rest out for yourself.

If there is anything else you would like to know, please feel free to ask!

And Happy New Year to one and all, I look forward to lots of blogging fun in 2010!

YesterdayGirl. x

All Over For Another Year

So, another Christmas has come and gone, and this time left me with an awful cold and rasping cough. However, lets not dwell on that. I hope those of you who celebrate it have had a wonderful festive season, I myself, apart from the above, have had a wonderful time, and have just arrived back to my cold little flat after spending nearly a week at my dad's house with my sister. I haven't stopped eating (or drinking) and feel thoroughly rested.

I have been such a lucky gal in the present department, receiving many wonderful gifts, some are here, including Dita's Stripteese flipbooks which are just divine, Besame's Enchanting Lipstick in Merlot, a Gil Elvgren Pin Up calendar, book of Marilyn Monroe paper dolls, 2 cds of Fifties music, a faux fur hand muff, and a book of photographs entitled The Fifities in Pictures. I also received a beautiful Cath Kidston Eiderdown in the blue sprig pattern. (Do you think my family and friends might have the idea that I like the Fifties?!)


I also received one of the nicest presents I have probably ever been given. My boyfriend bought me this wonderful vintage record player dating from around 1950. He also bought me a collection of fabulous 78rpm records to play, including Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Bill Haley, to name a few. So now my new obsession will be record collecting!


This year was a little different for my family as we had Christmas lunch in a pub, (neutral territory for family politics etc.) but despite my reservations it was a nice afternoon in a lovely Christmassy atmosphere. Here I am with silly hat slipping off...


As you can see on Christmas day I wore a cute little vintage jumper, not sure when it dates from, which has a darling lace collar. I wore it with my brown wool tweed skirt and natural retro seamed stockings from What Katie Did with my burgundy Norvic suede 50s courts, all featured previously. It wasn't particuarly posh, but a nice warm and wintery outfit, just right for Christmas lunch in a pub.

I hope you see the New Year in with superb fun and happiness, I am unfortunately working New Years Day so will be spending a quiet New Years Eve in with the fella and a couple of pals.

Be Seeing Ya! x

It's A Wonderful Life

I've had a lovely couple of days off with the fella, trying to make the most of the festive season and get in the Christmas mood. Yesterday we went to the Geffrye Museum, which is actually just 5 minutes away from where I live although I've never got round to visiting before. The Geffrye Museum are actually 19th Century Almshouses which were used as housing for elderly and poor widows. The houses now form exhibition displays of the interior of the houses of the English Middle class. Currently they have the Christmas Past exhibition which shows how people decorated and celebrated Christmas through the last few hundred years. My favourite room was the 1930s room, the art deco prints look so incredibly ahead of their time, however the 1930s Christmas tree left much to be desired, essentially just a rather austere twig with a few leaves on it.

Here I am posing in the Museum's lovely Reading Room overlooking their beautiful garden in my vintage 1940s dress from Radio Days, and my new vintage 1950s modal bag.
If that wasn't festive enough, I've just come back from the British Film Institute to watch a special seasonal screening of the 1947 classic It's A Wonderful Life.


No matter how many times you've seen this film on the TV there is nothing like watching it on the big screen. Jimmy Stewart looks even more divine when he is super-sized, and the darling Donna Reed who plays Mary looks fabulous in every scene.


I am definately feeling more Christmassy now especially as it's been snowing for the last couple of days!

Bye Bye for now xxx,

Hand Muffs and TWO awards!

Hello again...i'm back. Sorry for the quiet spell, been rather busy/tired over the last week or so, so have been regretfully neglecting my blog. BUT...I'm back with a bang and a double whammy of this wonderful award from two lovely ladies, the gorgeous Stefanie Valentine at Its All Make Believe, Isn't It? and Miss Melanie at Pink Champagne For Dancing. Thanks gals! And a special thanks to Kori at Blonde Episodes for creating all these fab awards for us to have fun with.

Now, seeing as all the shopping I have been doing at the moment has obviously been buying presents for other people, I have nothing new to show, however I always like to have something on my list, and my next vintage desire comes in the form of a hand muff. I love love love these darling little things and don't understand why people don't use them anymore. It's such a practical idea to have something to slip your hands in and out of easily, as I find gloves can be impractical when trying to pay for something quickly etc. Here is a little selection of some swell hand muffs I found:

A Very Vintage Christmas

Hi There!

Now i'm a very traditional girl and don't like to start celebrating Christmas too early, but it's hard to not get swept away with it all when you can't walk in a shop or turn on a radio without hearing Christmas songs from the 1st of November. But it is about time to start planning for Christmas, so I've put together a little compilation of Christmassy bits and bobs to create your own very vintage Christmas.

What To Send
Its very difficult to find really nice cards nowadays that don't have some kind of distinctly unfunny, crude joke on the front but I've found a couple of vintage options.
Buy this amazing set of vintage 1950s Christmas cards on ebay, be warned, they're not cheap!


Or choose from lots of lovely designs of 1950s reproduction cards here, I just love this playful pussy cat and this happy couple with a car load of festive goodies

What To Hang
Decorate your tree with these lovely 1950s christmas baubles. There is a great selection at www.vintagechristmasshop.com


What to Fill
Now you are going to need a stocking for Father Christmas to put all your vintage goodies in. I love this 1950s Nursery Rhyme one found on ebay



But if its another type of stocking you are after, then why not discover your inner festive pin-up with a pair of these from Sparkling Strawberry




What To Read
For an in depth look at Christmas decorations and customs for the collectors among you there are lots of books available to show you how it was done, here is one of them focussing on the Forties and Fifties. Available on Amazon

Or read about a Family Christmas in the 1940s and 1950s with this lovely book which also has instructions on how to make traditional decorations and tasty christmas treats. Also on Amazon


What to Wear
No vintage lover's Christmas would be complete without the perfect outfit. This red lace dress found on ebay is just divine


A dress like this wouldn't look complete without a vintage lovers signature red lips. Why not try one of Lancome's Special Edition L'Absolu Rouge Christmas Colour Collection Lipsticks. I like No.173 Rouge Preciosa

What To Listen To
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the sounds of Mr Rock n' Roll himself


But if its something more traditional you are looking for then I highly recommend Music For a Wartime Christmas featuring the likes of The Andrews Sisters and Judy Garland to name but a few. Wonderful songs 'that cheered a nation'. Buy here

I hope I've given you some vintage inspiration as you prepare for Christmas

Goodbye for now. x

Hot Rods and Hot Dogs (Rhythm Riot Pt 2)

Sorry to take so long to finish this post, but better late than never! Here is a short overview of some of the other great features of this years Rhythm Riot.

Due to a combination of bad weather, bad photography and bad memory, I have ended up with hardly any useable pictures of the cars this year, so some of the ones I've used here have been pilfered from other sources. Now, I cannot claim to be an expert on vintage automobiles (or any automobiles in fact) however it doesn't take a genius to work out that these cars are very pretty indeed

Airstream Tattoo Parlour

There were many amazing musical performances, but I've picked a few highlights to tell you about.

A Friday night highlight was definately Cecil 'Big Jay' McNeely, or 'The King of the Honkers' as he is otherwise affectionately known. If you are not familiar with him you will probably have seen this picture of him before and not even realised who he was. The picture of Big Jay playing on his back was taken in Los Angeles in 1951.

Big Jay in 2009

Lorrie and Larrie Collins, otherwise known as The Collins Kids, found fame in the 1950s performing as a juvenile Rock n Roll duo, with Lorrie becoming well known as being one of the first female Rock n Roll singers. Larrie was playing a double necked guitar aged 10 and was obviously seen as a great young talent. Their most famous songs such as Hop, Skip, Jump and Hoy Hoy were probably intended to be geared more towards children but they managed to cross over into the adult field, having mass market appeal. This year we were lucky to see them reunite at The Rhythm Riot, and I was struck at how they still sung the songs that they've been singing since they were children with an obvious affection for their music and one another, without any sign of tiring of performing together.

Lorrie and Larrie in the 1950s

The Collins Kids in 2009

Now my absolute favourite performance of the weekend (I bought his CD and have listened to it obsessively since) had to be Harmonica Sam, backed by The Domestic Bumblebees with Boppin' Steve on the piano. The Domestic Bumblebees did a cracking set independently on Friday night, as did Boppin' Steve on Saturday, but both teamed up with Harmonica Sam on Sunday creating an energetic and exhilarating atmosphere for the final night. Hailing from Sweden, Harmonica Sam, when not playing his mouth organ superbly, sings in the most incredible voice producing some undoubtedly rockin' rhythm and blues. He also looks pretty suave, so I suggest you check him out on myspace.


So, I shall leave you with one last Rhythm Riot memory. Gosh, all that dancing sure does make you hungry...

(I look really pleased that this photo is being taken don't I?)