Biba - a foray into the 60s to meet an icon

Golly, I’ve been slack again lately.  My life is pretty hectic and I rarely get the time to just sit and write a blog post.  I used to try and squeeze them in during my lunch hour but now that I use that time to pick heavy things up and put them down again repeatedly I just cannot seem to find a blogging space anywhere. So – as a result – this entry is rather late.  A fortnight late in fact.  Sorry Sophia.

Whats more, Blogger is being WEIRD. So please excuse the formatting oddities below.  The highlighting means nothing. the font changes mean nothing. I'll try and fix it later.

Anyway – a fortnight ago I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to meet Barbara Hulanicki, the brains behind Biba.   Barbara has just had a book published – “Seamless from Biba – A Life In Design” which showcases her career as a designer of clothing, interiors, shoes and , well, pretty much everything.

For those who don’t know (is there anyone who doesn’t know?) Biba was the beating heart of London style in the 60s and 70s.  After starting off as a mail order company, selling one dress via the Daily Mirror newspaper back in 1964, they company opened their first store later that year and another in 1965.  Selling an estimated three million garments by the time the company closed.

The teenagers of the UK were hungry for something new and Biba aimed their clothes directly at them – affordable (many would even say cheap), wild in design and sized for the waif like figures of the young the clothes were an instant hit.  The shops eventually became department stores – selling everything from baked beans and dog food to wallpaper and cutlery.

I have to say meeting Barbara was a real experience – I was expecting her to be somewhat terrifying – surely a woman with that much entrepreneurial spirit and talent would be.  I was in for a surprise though – she really is a warm, funny, self effacing lady.  Delicate and birdlike and full of surprise and joy at her success and the enduring appeal of her work.

Simply everything was covered -  reminiscences about her time at the shop, her favourite model, the launch of the make-up range, celebrity gossip and her design influences.

Barbara cites her influences to be the Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the movies of the 30s – namely those of Garbo and Dietrich.  Her favourite actress however and ideal customer was Audrey Hepburn – who mixes the glamour of old Hollywood with the gamine figure of the 60s.

Audrey in Sabrina - the film Barbara cites as awakening her interest in fashion by sending her on a quest for  some shoes worn in the film.  Not being able to find them Barbara hacked some shoes up to make her own.  

These influences led the designer to use a lot of original vintage fabric too, rich 30s velvets and rayons, even prompting Barbara to bring people out of retirement to weave the fabrics she wanted rather than falling prey to the polyesters and crimplenes of the day. I suppose now we'd call it affordable luxe or something equally daft.

Of her celebrity customers and visitors the most memorable were Suzi Quattro – who filmed a music video there and who she was afraid would damage the shop as she jumped around Marc Bolan who famously wore one of her sequinned jackets and the New York Dolls who while being utterly charming and elegant, proceeded to shoplift several outfits and later wore them in one of their videos.

The New York Dolls - I believe the spotty blouse you can see was pinched from Biba.

Mr Bolan himself looking ever so impish and adorable in a Biba jacket from 1973

Biba also had its own cosmetics range which was incredibly bold in colour - a stark contrast to the last 60s obsession with coral coral and more coral.  Barbara told us that they had terrible trouble getting anyone to make the colours up for them at first and but once they got into the shops they flew off the shelves.

Green Biba lipstick in Vanity Fair, 1971

Amazing Biba make up guides for copying various old Hollywood looks.

Barbara's favourite models were Ingrid Boulting and Maddie Smith, who I believe were, like many of her models, taken from the ranks of her shop floor staff.

Visit this blog for a lovely article of Ingrid Boulting's take on the Biba look

I'm not going to bombard you with pictures of Biba dresses, you are all more than capable to your own google-fu and I've been wittering on long enough.  Suffice to say I had a marvellous time and have really enjoyed looking through the book which has certainly given me a few fashion ideas.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the wonderful lady herself:

Brighton Up!

Hello lovelies.

I went to Brighton at the weekend, whoop!

It was a lovely sunny day and I decided I had to get out of London for a bit and so the chap and I put on our best holiday outfits and hopped on the train.

Here I am in grey old Hackney:

Here I am in glorious Brighton.  We didn't do inside the Pavilion because I'm skint and spent all my money on a ticket.

You can see the look of the day was "as many accessories as possible" - there is no such as too much.

We did all the cliche things - eating chips on the beach, laughing at hen parties, eating ice cream in The Lanes, avoiding stag parties, avoiding other brawling drunks and well, drinking a bit ourselves.  Well not too much drinking, but we did find a pub that sells my very favourite beer - Otter Ale.  Yum.  Made from real otters you know.  *nods sagely*

I also finally got to visit the technicolour mothball superstore that is Snooper's Paradise.  Oh, if only I'd had some cash to spare - there we dresses galore at half the price or less of most London shops.  His Nibs even picked up a wonderful Liberty waistcoat in pure silk that I've barely been able to get him to remove since.

We even had a smooch in the photobooth.  ;-)

The day was rounded off with drinks with chums on the pier and then we whizzed back to London to attend a marvellous party of a NSFW nature.  so I;'ll keep that to myself.  Oh, weekend of dreams!

I'm thinking this may be my year for adventures of many kinds.  There will definitely be more visiting of British seaside towns.

What's your favourite British resort?

Ermagerd...it's been forever and the power of good hair.

I can't believe I let this this drift for so long again.  I have this horrible habit of making this blog feel like work, and then I procrastinate because it feels like work and I don't want to work when I'm not AT WORK.  Sigh.  It's the same with the cleaning.

ANYWAY...

I'm back, sort of.  I have lots of ideas and lots of things to reprise from earlier this year but I ain't going to list them out because then I feel all pressured and shit and won't do it.  Instead, lets have a look at where I've been spending my time over the last few months.

I'm not even sure where to start.

I suppose the biggest thing is that I've been trying to find a new hair colour.  The blonde was getting a bit muddy looking after so many different toners and I was, quite frankly, getting bored of it.  I tried pale ginger, ginger ginger and have now settled on a lovely pillar box red.  This magic was worked by those angels at Rockalily and I must say I love it.  The pic below is after my first  "redding" and is displayed to fine effect in Lucie's signature poodle updo.  I have to say, though I've been going there for years, I've never had my hair finished at the salon before.  It really is well worth it, them gals can wrangle hair like no others.

The hair has had a beneficial effect on me, I have to say.  I feel a lot more confident these days - kinda like a cartoon superhero, and while work weren't too keen at first they seem immune to its brightness these days.  Falling back in love with ones hair also makes you more likely to actually do something with it rather than bung it up in a ponytail.

Another thing that has boosted my confidence greatly over the past months is that I splashed out of a course of sessions with a personal trainer.  It has long been my aim to lose some of the pounds that the four years since my 30th birthday have seen fit to pack around my waistline and no amount of healthy eating, unhealthy low calorie eating, running or Jillian Frigging Michael's videos were helping.  I looked into things and it seemed to me that weightlifting was the answer.  Not pink Barbie weights, proper weightlifting, you know, with big ass barbells and stuff.  Well, I've finally started.  At my gym I'm the only girl in the weights room and with red hair and leopard print leggings I'm hardly inconspicuous.  It took a lot of guts and it is a lot of hard work but I've finally lost an inch round my waist not to mention a few inches worth of walking tall self confidence.

I think you can see my self confidence in the below photo.  My self confidence and my nipple, but hey, I've never been a prude.  This was a recent jaunt to White Mischief, a steampunk event, but as they had a space theme I decided to go as a Star Trek girl.  I've been getting really into Star Trek lately.  I'm currently working my way through the original series.

I've gotten really into the more fancy dress side of my wardrobe lately, again thanks to the hair I think.  I just feel braver and more like playing with looks.  I still love trad vintage but hey, clothes are meant to be fun, I dress vintage because I like the dressing up side and one can play with that in other ways too.  Meet my new boots and new skirt.  I love them dearly.  Not that I've worn the boots out yet, walking in heels isn't my strong point.

I'm sure I've been up to lots of other things but my mind has gone blank now.  I hope you are pleased to see me back and if not, well, I respectfully ask you to bugger orf!

Don't mess with the redhead.  ;-)

A new hobby...a new challenge.

I've started sewing.  I'm not very good at it, I must admit, but one needs a challenge every now and then.  I'm currently part way through this pattern.

A very simple skirt and cape pattern, or so I thought.

 I have a couple of bits of the skirt to unpick and resew as it came out larger than expected  (No, I didn't make a muslin.  Yes, I know that is silly) but all in all it is starting to take shape.  Hopefully I will start putting the cape together in the next week or so.

It's a very tiny red and black check.  The fabric came from a car boot sale.
Just enough for the skirt.  Cape will be black with this fabric as accents.

Slightly too big, so am going to unpick and start again.
I hate unpicking so this is a valuable lesson.

A blouse I am making to match from a pattern with no instructions.
Yep, I tend to go all out when I'm trying to learn something.

I thought I'd also share my latest sewing pattern purchase.  Feast your eyes on this baby from 1934.

Yes, it even has the original receipt in the envelope.

It says it is a beginner pattern, and I'm certainly that so lets hope I can manage it!

I'm thinking view C in a nice pale green slubby wool.



In other news: I've been a busy girl lately - racking up potential blog posts and not having the time to post them so hopefully this week I'll get a chance to update you all.

I've changed my hair colour, indulged in some delicious French food and attended a hair styling session.  I've been to the theatre and also owe you some hair setting posts.  Gotta get back on the horse.

Ready, get SET go!

Yep, another bad pun – I do love a bad pun.

I’ve had a lot of questions about setting lotion lately – both online and in real life - so I thought a quick post on what it is and what it does might be useful. Back to basics for a lot of you I’m sure but that never hurt anyone.

So. Let's begin at the beginning...

What is it?

Well, somewhat obviously, setting lotion is product that is applied to hair in order to set styles. i.e. to make them neater and last longer. It comes in many forms – liquids which do or do not need dilution, crèmes such as boots curl crème, foaming products and even gels. Some people even make their own. Some are best applied to wet hair and some to dry – some can be used on both. Finding the right setting lotion for your hair can be a little like finding your Holy Grail foundation, but once you have found it you won’t ever want to change.

Where can I get some?

Proctor and Gamble discontinued setting lotion manufacture recently and so now, if you are restricted to visiting high street chemists you can usually only find those chemists own brand products. I know both Boots and Superdrug have a version. A much wider variety can be found in ethnic hair shops so if you are lucky enough to have access to one, that would be a better option. Finally,. Of course, the internet. Where would we be without it....?

What kind should I buy?

1) Liquids which need dilution: 

The most widely used setting lotion, or at least the most frequently mentioned amongst the vintage sorority, is Lottabody. This comes as a thick liquid which you dilute according to your hair type (instructions on bottle) and can then use to set your hair. This style of lotion is probably the most flexible in that it can be used to set either wet or dry hair. On wet hair you just apply it and then put in your wavers or curlers, whilst on dry hair you can use a comb, your fingers or a small spray bottle to apply it to each individual hair section just prior to curling. You can even use it with a heated set, but make sure you have time for your hair to dry before going out as this stuff will dampen your hair.

Whilst these products do, invariably, increase ones curl there are some drawbacks – lots of liquid style setting lotions are very strong and can make the hair, pre-brush out, quite crunchy. This can make a set both hard to brush out and more likely to frizz as well as being more damaging on the hair. This can also be a problem when setting waves as the teeth of ones wave come leave noticeable marks in a crunchy set. They can also be messy to apply as if you use fingers or a comb little splashes get everywhere and often the mix is too thick to come out of a spray bottle in anything other than a single stream, resulting in the hair not being uniformly covered.

I would say however that these lotions are the ideal starting point for someone trying out the process for the first time.

Brands: Lottabody, Bristows, chemist and supermarket own brands

2) Crèmes and thicker liquids:

In general, I find these are good products for very dry or very thick hair which holds a curl well. The two I have tried and which are “Black n Sassy” and Boots Curl Creme.

The “Black n Sassy” is thickish liquid with a pungent sweet shop / sherbert smell. You apply it to directly to towel dried hair, massage and then comb and set. I actually love the smell of this and it is really conditioning but on my fine hair i only really find it useful for fingerwaves as it leaves my curls droopy. I think it would be great for coarser hair types.

The Boots Curl Creme comes in a pot you can just dip into. I’ve tried this on my hair wet and it had no noticeable effect but it is good for quickly resetting hair on the second or third day and also works very well for setting hair which takes a curl too easily (Yes, that does exist) due to its weight and moisturising properties weighing down hair prone to frizz. Brands: Boots Curl Creme, Black and Sassy 

 

 

3) Mousses and foaming lotions:

My personal all time favourite setting lotion is Motions Foamy set, which comes in both a normal and extra strength version. I find this works beautifully to set my hair without crispiness or drying. This is a liquid in a pump dispenser which, when dispensed forms a foam which can easily be applied either section by section for styles which need a firm hold, or all over the hair for a “bung it up and get to bed” night. The foaming style eliminates mess. Not having to dilute it eliminates wastage. Overall my favourite product. 

Brands: motions foamy set, Soft & Beautiful Botanicals Sculpting Foam, Lottabody Foam Wrap (I must try this one) 

4) Gels

My least favourite option here. I just don’t like gel. It works well for setting fingerwaves but I find most dry hard rather than leaving the hair set but natural looking – which is usually the look you will be after. One exception is fingerwaving shorter afro hair – I’ve heard great things about gel products for this. Just need to find someone to try it out on! 
5) Hair spray 

Hairspray can be an alternative to setting lotion when you are using heat styling methods. A spritz of a brushable hairspray, like Ellnett, on the hair before putting in your hotsticks can really boost their curling power. I’d not advise trying this with a very strong spray however as your curls can be hard to brush out.

6) Home made methods

Yes, if you really fancy it you can make your own setting lotion. Anything from simple sugar or beer and water solutions or a more complicated recipe for making a linseed lotion .




So – there you go. A little summary of my opinions and experience of different setting lotions. I’d love to hear what your favourite lotion is and how you use it.

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

Bananas a la Mod.

I don’t know about you but it feels like the words "Mad Men" have dominated retro fashion parlance for the last thousand  years at least.  The series began in 2007 and since its very first showing it has been influencing fashion, first with late 50s wiggle dresses and now with its modish 60s vibe.

It is practically impossible to scour the 50s sections of eBay without the descriptor “Mad Men” or “Joan from Mad Men” coming up on every other item – hell – I’ve been guilty of it myself when selling a particularly figure hugging purple wool career dress.  Once I stuck those words on the title, bids doubled, and I felt just a little dirty - double win.

Still, I’m starting to feel it is all a bit tired (though to tell the truth, I’ve felt that from the start...)  Perhaps it is just that all these Mad Men inspired looks are so, well, flat looking.  There is more to the look than a little bouffant to your hair, a tight dress and cats eye liner, after all.  I’m tired of seeing too short skirts and crispy artificial fibres on items meant to evoke the era.

Anyway – to the point in had.  Banana Republic once again have issued an official Mad Men Collection – which Janie Bryant – the shows costumier has collaborated on. this time based around the Beatnik / Mod-ish cool of youngblood Megan Draper.  Their 2011 was a riot of errors – low slung trousers for men and above the knee skirts for women, so I can only hope they have made some improvements on the design front this time around.  

the 2011 collection...good lord.

It does look promising I must admit but then, having the delectable Coco Rocha fronting the campaign is never going to hurt – the girl gives good 60s.

I'm tempted to say that this time the skirts are too long, if anything.  The three dresses above look great in the 60s styled shoot but the standard photos below they look less than inspiring.  

What are your thoughts on this latest range - a la Mod or Modern tat?