Renee Perle - fashion icon

I feel like I start every post with "I can't believe I've not posted in so long" and "I will definitely post more often from now on" and I never do.  I really am a terrible flake.  

The truth is that I've been falling out of love with my vintage wardrobe for a while. I've been struggling to find a style I feel "myself" in.  I adore 1930s fashion but I don't think it is particularly flattering for someone of my size and a lot of it is more girlish than the woman I am now, at this grand old age of 36.  

I'm also decidedly lazy, try as I might I just can't do the girdle and stockings thing every day.  I like to sleep until 8am and have to leave the house at 8:30, so elaborate clothing, hair and make up rituals just don't work on week days, no matter how well intentioned I might be. However, I do still love vintage looks and I can't dress without at least a little theatricality thrown in.  I need something over the top yet casual.  Dramatic yet easy to pull on and go.  What to do, what to do?

I've been trying out different things.  Bringing a little goth back into my look, trying our different looks with trousers, even adding the odd splash of 50s back in; but as usual I've been flitting from passion to passion like a butterfly on buddleia. And with about the same concentration span.  

Actually, that might be rude to the butterfly, for all I know each and every butterfly might have an intellect far outweighing mine, they live, the mate, they die, it seems like they have life pretty well worked out.  Short, sunny, beautiful.  So it is probably somewhat ironic that my new fashion muse was known for a short, sunny and beautiful two Summers in the early 30s.  

When you look at Lartigue's photos of Renee Perle it is somewhat hard to date them.  Yes, the hair is distinctly fingerwaved and definitely 1930s, but the clothing could be modern, the make up, with the smoky eye could be too.  Renee had an avant garde fashion sense for her day - few were the women who would walk down the street in trousers and a t-shirt in 1930. Ah, the confidence great beauty bestows!

Renee met Lartigue in March 1930 and she made quite the immediate impression, as we know from his diary entry:

"Along the sidewalk of the Rue de la Pompe, I see two women standing in the shadow of a street lamp. Are they waiting for someone or... something? One of the women is tall and slender, the other is tiny. An umbrella next to a pot of flowers. Later, in the Bois, the umbrella is in my car between the flowers and me. I look at her profile. A long neck; a very straight, very small nose. A shiny, stray hair lock caresses her mouth. She has gloves on... I wish I could see her hands. Hands are so important!"

He arranged to meet her the next day:

“Half past five at the Embassy. I wait for my “parasol” from last night. I need a whiskey. I’m very shy deep down, and ready to be furious if she doesn’t show up. It’s my curiosity that would be most disappointed…Five thirty-five. There she is! Can it really be her? Ravishing, tall, slim, with a small mouth and full lips, and dark porcelain eyes. She casts aside her fur coat in a gust of warm perfume. We’re going to dance. Mexican? Cuban? 

Her very small head sits on a very long neck. She is tall; her mouth is at the level of my chin. When we dance my mouth is not far from her mouth. Her hair brushes against both.Romanian. My name is Renée P… I was a model at Doeuillet…” Delicious. She takes off her gloves. Long, little girl’s hands. Something in my mind starts dancing at the thought that one day perhaps she would agree to paint the nails of those hands…”

The recently divorced Lartigue quickly made Renee his live in lover and muse, until they separated in 1932.  Their two years together were spent in the South of France, mainly at Biarritz and Juan-les Pins, and Lartigue spent much of his time photographing the object of his desire in pictures which are, frankly, redolent with lust.

“Tall, slim, a long neck, a shining lock of hair caressing her mouth. I see the reflection of Renee’s beauty in women’s eyes and men’s glances…Beside her, other women look like farm girls.” 

"She is always making scenes," he wrote. "Is it jealousy, or is it madness? Maybe it is the need to be assaulted, to be made unhappy and to cry - all for the sake of a reconciliation? I am far too down-to-earth, too much of a spectator and too bad an actor to fall into the trap of playing the kind of game Renee wishes me to play."

"Certain insects die after having made love, but they make love anyway. Every second of the present counts. I will think about the future later... But there is one haunting thought: with whom can I expect to talk about love after Renee has gone?"

No-one really knows what happened to Renee herself after their break up.  She must have married as there is mention of a stepchild, but no other information exists regarding her later life.  All we have is this butterfly moment, captured under the glass of Lartigue's lense.

For me, her style is perfection - dramatic make up, comfortable clothing, big chunky jewellery.   I'm shamelessly stealing her style, or at least being influenced by it, mixed in with a few other icons I plan to post about over the next few months.

Key to the look are wide leg trousers / palazzo pants.  These are slightly different to the 40s wide leg trousers I am used to, being much wide, less baggy in the crotch and a little lower on the waist.  I have the perfect pair in Navy by Nudeedudee on Etsy.

Paired with these you need your nautical stripes.  Nudeedudee again make some great striped tees, of which I have three, and they wash and wear really well, but you can pick up striped tops anywhere over the Summer.

Add a beret or a veil, a slick of red lipstick and all your bangles and you are done.  French casual chic.  Vintage without fuss. What could be better?

Now just to practise those damn fingerwaves!

In praise of the little black hat.

I've been thinking about the pretty hats in "The Divorce of Lady X" all morning.  I love hats.  Of all my vintage loves, hats would be my biggest passion.  The more ostentatious the better.

In my humble opinion, most vintage outfits can appear pretty nondescript.  A floral dress, at least to the untrained eye, is a floral dress.  It's the accessorising - the hair do, shoes, make up, gloves and, oh oh oh, the HATS which take a vintage outfit from frumpy to fabulous.  Yes.  I just wrote that.  It's because I'm enthused.

Hats can, however, be one of the scarier items of vintage to wear.  It's unusual to see anyone wearing a hat apart from in the depths of Winter, and it is certainly strange to see someone wearing one indoors, over lunch, with a smart suit.  For the shy and the new to vintage it must seem quite intimidating to go out dressed so obviously.

I certainly found it tough at first, and started off with a very modest 50s black felt number which went with everything.

There really is no better way to start your hat wearing career than a simple black titfer.  It will go with your vintage suits, winter dresses and most probably your winter coat too.

Something small in style can be especially versatile.

These ladies all agree:

Bette Davis in a small 30s skull cap style hat

Madge Bellamy in a pillbox style design - probably late 30s also

Merle Oberon in a bow design - I have one very similar

Rita Hayworth in a tilt hat

This dipped over the eye design flatters Barbara Stanwyck

I thought, therefore, I'd take a wander through Etsy and see what their vintage pages have to offer.  I hope you enjoy my selection.

(Links in the "thises" because I started doing it and could not be bothered to backtrack.  There, that is a little window into the cogs of my brain.)


This 40s creation has all the elements I love.  It is simple but with an asymmetric tilt, to be pulled down over the eye flirtatiously.  Perfect with a suit of any colour.

This little satin hat with a teardrop back would look wonderful with a dress or a more evening suit.  Stunning.

This simple felt turban adds a Wartime chic to the look.

This is very cheap and a great basic for someone new to hats as it can be worn as is or easily trimmed by pinning on flowers, pompoms or attaching a scarf of needed.

For a slightly later look this saucer is simplicity itself

And finally, if you prefer repro, BMillinery has some darling models in her Etsy shop, including this heavenly number for the slightly braver.  I almost dribbled onto my keyboard when I saw it.

So, here are my top suggestions for the hat shy.   I have hundreds more I'd like to post but I think you probably get the picture by now.

I'll be back on the hat topic soon with a few posts showcasing my own collection.

The obligatory vintage inspired Winter coat roundup

Well, Summer is definitely over here in the UK, it has been all torrential rain lately and it will soon be time to dig out those Winter woollens.

My good old stalwart Winter coat, a princess cut number I hunted down in T K Maxx about 5 years ago, seems to be finally looking a bit tired.  I do have a couple of magnificent 30s and 40s coats but they are both too warm and too precious for everyday wear, and so the hunt began for a new everyday coat.  I saw a lot of great options online and thought I’d share them with you.

1920s:

fashion-era.com

The "boyfriend" coat is really in this year and I think this is a style that can easily be dressed for a 20s look.  

This Navy wool coat (£210) from Topshop would look splended with a cloche hat or even belted with a scarf.  If you really wanted to go all out a couple of decorative buttons added here or there could amp up it's innate 20s style.  The length is just perfect for the era.

Another boyfriend design, this time feminised by lovely pink mohair fabric.  This model comes from New Look at £64.99 and would look lovely with a vintage style scarf such as this "Greetz from Tiz" number, which is great for a number of eras with its deco design.

I am loving this menswear inspired design from Oasis at £110, the contrast collar and buttons are wonderful and while this is a little short in length for a truly 20s coat it would work well for a mannish style.

My final 20's-esque suggestion is this Phase Eight ombre knit number, again at £110.  It's the length and the shawl collar that does it.  I'd buy this a size bigger to ensure a room fit and team with a repro cloche hat.  

1930s:

For me at least, the classic 30s coat style is really one of long lengths and big fur collars.  These are always easy to pick up as they are a classic design, but - not being particularly fashionable - they don't tend to come cheap.  John Lewis is the place to go for this sort of style.

  

This fur collared number from Jaques Vert (£249) comes in a few colours, my favourite being this rich dark blue.  

Again at £249, this number from Precis Petite has a vaguley Russian Military air.

If you happen to have won the lottery you could spend £1,200 - yes - £1,200 on this AMAZING Jaeger cashmere number.  

1940s:

40s coats were clearly affected by the war, as was most fashion of time, being shorter, neater and more military in design.  The classic 40s coat being the trench, favoured by spies everywhere....

You can find a Trench almost anywhere, I particularly like this one from Joules Maycroft for £129 however, due to the darker tone of the fabric and the wide buckled rather than tie belt.

For a bit of 40's whimsy, this Red Riding Hood number evokes the 40s Skater Style of Hollywood Christmas movies and comes from Collectif at £175

Finally, this J by Jasper Conran coat in wine red crepe - yes - crepe, and with covered buttons is a perfect classic which can work with any 40s look.  currently on sale at only £119.  Thanks to Lori for alerting me to this baby.

In the end, I have plumped for a vintage number.  Purely because, unusually for a coat, it was cheaper than anything I could find on the High Street.  It is currently winging it's merry way across the Atlantic to me.  If it fits, which it arrives, I'll have to take some photos and share.  If it doesn't, I'll be buying that navy Jaques Vert number above.

Leading Lady Hair: Joan Crawford in "The Women"

“I think that the most important thing a woman can have- next to talent, of course- is her hairdresser.” ― Joan Crawford

Everyone loves “The Women” – in fact I could have sworn I'd reviewed it just a couple of years ago but I can't find the damned thing.  Aaaanyway...the one thing I didn’t love then was Joan Crawford’s hair.  I didn’t understand how her character was supposed to be sexy when she was such an ice queen with this curly top just overpowering the screen.  However, on rewatching the film this weekend I have completely changed my opinion.  Yes, her hair is a crazy ball of quite unruly frizz but it represents the wildness of her character – the leopard within...

So, inspired by my new love of Joan’s tresses and my own newly dark hair (courtesy of the lovely Lucie at Rockalily), I decided to attempt this for myself.  The ideal hair length for this is shoulder length and above, a layered middy cut would work amazingly but I got away with this on my one length bob too.

As usual I went for a wet set – the items needed for this are:

·         - Rat tail comb (preferably with a metal tail – the plastic ones aren’t sharp enough in general)

·         - Small rollers and lots of them – I used foam rollers but anything small will do

·         - Setting lotion – I used motions foamy set as it is easy to apply

·         - A brushing out brush – I prefer a Denman

·        -  Bobby pins to match your hair

·       -  Hairspray – I prefer Tresemme freeze hold

First I combed my hair out all over and set in a low side part, I tend to part level with the peak of my eyebrow arch but you can pretty much part yours wherever you like.

I then applied setting lotion all through the bottom half of the hair at the back and to the roots at the top.  Note: you don't want setting lotion on the crown of the hair at the back.

Starting on the smaller aside I took thin sections, about the width of the roller, and rolled four or five skinny sponge rollers in tightly, rolling the hair under.  The key here is to get lots of rollers in – more than you think you need certainly.  This is one style where you actually want frizz.

You then run rollers in the same way down the think side of the hair, just one row, going in no further than one rollers width. Finally, leaving the crown flat, roll the back hair onto the same size rollers, going up no further than the nape of the neck.

I then stuck a hair net on and slept on it.  It was jolly nice to sleep in foam rollers instead of hard perm rods I can tell you!

The next morning, take out all the rollers and brush out the hair. You want to keep the frizz so you don’t want to brush too much, fight the urge!  I started by brushing downward then in an upward direction to fluff it all up.  It kinda looks scary st this stage.

The key to keeping this style looking 30s is the flat crown, here is where your bobby pins come in.  I added a row of bobby pins from ear to ear long the nape of the neck, inserted horizontally, then, to cover them, brushed the curls up and fluffed them over the pins.

Finally, when you have arranged the fluff approximately where you want it (I went for a Joan style slight dip over the forehead)  you want to spray on the hairspray and then, while the spray is still damp, mould the hair into the shape you want by sort of gently pushing it in all over.  This helps make the hair more dense and less flyaway looking. 

Tada!

Mooning over you..

Just a quick update today to let you know about my latest discovery.  Yes, I’m a bit late to this party I admit but....Shellac nail polish is a miracle.

I’m not the most organised individual at the best of times and I am at pains to admit that I hate painting my nails – it’s a bloomin’ palaver that, quite frankly, I could live without. Still, a “polished” vintage look (that which I aspire to and always fall short of) needs a good manicure and so, three weeks ago, I took the plunge and decided to get shellac done.

It had been a long time coming but I was trepidatious, back in my younger days I’d flirted with council estate chic – stripey highlighted hair, sportswear and long acrylic nails with airbrush designs – and I remember well how thick, ugly and unmanageable acrylic nails are.  I don’t like that chubby nail look, on my long skinny fingers it makes me look like I have a fungal infection.  It doesn’t even look good on our Dita, though this is an old pic so I'm sure she has discovered shellac too by now!

So I put out feelers, and, after asking the wise vintage girls of Facebook, shellac seemed to be the best option.

My local salon, the always rammed Ria Beauty in Dalston offered this and so I quickly booked in for a manicure and shellac.

The process is fairly simple.  Your nails are shaped, very lightly buffed(the benefit of shellac is the nail surface is undamaged as opposed to any other treatments where it must be filed to create a keyed surface for the gel or acrylic to bond to) and then a base coat applied, then two coats of colour,then a top coat; each coat dried under a UV lamp between applications.  You come out of this with gloriously shiny,100% dry nails – no chance of smudging and they are considerably stronger yet still thinner than acrylic.  All good in my book.

The only problem I had was explaining to the girl painting my nails that I wanted the half moons left blank, I’m not sure they really understood what was needed and my 45 minute appointment became a two hour one as she painstakingly painted her first half moon manicure.  Still, it turned out beautifully and everyone there ended up taking photos of my hands afterwards so I am hoping to have started a little trend in my Eat end backwater *wink*

I've had the manicure on for three weeks now and not a chip,it is still shiny.  The only issue is that it is starting to grow out, as I have unusually fast growing hair and nails, but I’m not too worried. I’ll just paint some normal varnish over the top!

This is definitely something I plan to keep doing.  I’ll be heading back next weekend for a new do,perhaps a dark red this time – they have a lovely Rouge Noir-esque colour called “Fedora” that I’d like to try.  I’m even considering buying the equipment myself to save costs, though at £20 a month my local salon is hardly expensive.

So, here you go – what do you think?

Immediately after the appointment

One week later

Three weeks later