They see me rollin' - The merits of different rollers

Since getting more into the vintage scene I have honed and developed my hair skills, although I am sure I have lots more styles to learn. I have bought and rejected many different curling methods and tools and thought I would share my experiences with you to hopefully save you some time.

When at Twinwood with the gorgeous Tanya www.secretplussizegoddess.com she asked me about the rollers I was using and I raved about them so much she went and bought some to give them a go and she's had some great wet set game with them! - see pillow rollers below.

It's worth remembering that each persons hair is unique and what works for some won't necessarily work in the same way for others. In the same vein some of the tools I have rejected below might be great so maybe try out a friends before outlaying any cash yourself.

With all of the styles of rollers below I use Superdrug setting lotion (aside from the heat set, when I use heat protection spray)

Sponge rollers - I started my vintage hair journey with these sponge rollers with a plastic casing. Whilst they do the job they are honestly the most uncomfortable thing I have ever tried to sleep in. I still have these rollers in my collection but I can't remember the last time I ever used them.

They are fine for the daytime if you can potter about the house and you can get them in various sizes so they can be good for longer hair. But they will make you want to murder anyone you come into contact with the next day if you sleep in them.

Bendy rollers - these foam sticks were the next thing I tried in my search for comfort. They are better than the sponge rollers in my opinion because you can roll smaller sections and roll them tighter. However again they are just as uncomfortable as the above, although I do prefer the curl they give. So still potential for crimes to be committed and defended with an insanity plea.

Pillow rollers - I had looked everywhere for these and they were not easy to find but then I asked in my local Claire's accessories and managed to get 2 packs, it's worth asking as I had looked before but the wonderful angel serving me hunted out the back for them.

I got this brand and in black which I was really happy about because I can cover them in a headscarf and they are not so noticeable.

 I find these easy to roll and can get smaller sections rolled much closer to my scalp with these. These give me my best wet sets without a doubt.

These have been a godsend to me in terms of comfort and are much better to sleep on, you'll still notice them but they are not so headache inducing. I would recommend starting to learn vintage hair with these and skipping the two methods above to be honest.

Pin curls - If you are familiar with vintage hair then you'll know all about pin curls, I can say without doubt that these pin curl clips are the most comfortable thing to sleep in out of all of the above. If I am not washing my hair then I will heat set the pincurls with my curling iron and then pin them flat them sleep in them. If wet setting I wrap the sections of hair around my fingers and roll the pincurls flat before pinning. I have never used bobby pins for this as I am told they dent.

The wastes of money...

Curling wand - I bought one of these thinking it would make my styles more speedy but it just doesn't do it for me. I don't achieve what I want out of it and I have long thick hair so to use this just gives me arm ache. I've seen others use them with a degree of success but it's not for me.

Wave creator - I had visions of trying to create a lovely set of waves, maybe 1920's style, what I ended up with was a kind of weird kinky mess which I didn't like, it also made my hair really static. It was like the 80's were back and they hated me!

Hot rollers - I have two sets of hot rollers and they just do not do it for me in terms of creating a good curl, when I have used these the curls just drop out in the most depressing fashion. I get much better results with higher heat settings such as my trusty curling iron.

Travel curling tong/brush - this, as I have found with most travel products, doesn't get hot enough to do the job so I always end up taking my full sized tools away with me, it folds and the brush detaches to make it a curling iron but that's like having a chocolate fireguard in terms of useful features if it doesn't do the job.

I hope this saves some people time and money, my final thoughts on vintage hair is that if you want to have hair like your grandma did you'll see much better results setting it like she did and avoiding modern tools.

Until next time
Love
Lucy

Film Review - The Painted Veil - Disease, Deceit and Dresses...

Aside from clothes I also like to pick up films and books in charity shops or at carboot sales.

I rarely go to the cinema and I don't have a TV or a Netflix account so my viewing is really limited to what I pick up, and that suits me just fine!

I tend to only watch things with a vintage angle these days and will always look for DVD copies of classic films, era appropriate box sets or modern films set in more vintage times.

This week I picked up "The Painted Veil" set in China in the 1920's, featuring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton. Full information available at:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446755/

The film is based on a novel by W Someret Maugham which I now would like to track down and read.

The central characters are Walter (Norton) and Kitty (Watts) and the movie begins with the pair looking deeply unhappy in a very soggy field in China. The reason for their unhappiness soon unfolds as the story cuts back to how they met and why they married in the first place.

I think it's fair to say that there is no use marrying for the reasons Kitty did!

Kitty and Edward move to China where his work as a bacteriologist keeps him somewhat busy, enough for pretty Kitty to have her head turned by the cad known as Charlie.

Charlie, being everything that Walter isn't, (passionate, exciting, a big fat liar) Kitty is drawn to him but their affair is soon discovered.

Walter reacts in the most frustrating, passive aggressive way and decides that he is volunteering in an area where a cholera outbreak is killing the local people, and that Kitty is coming too or he is divorcing and disgracing her.

Charlie of course proves useless in rescuing Kitty and reminds women everywhere of the age old truth that married men really don't just up and leave their wives.

This movie is the story of both Kitty's personal journey into becoming a "grown up" and of how a marriage gone wrong can work towards a happy ending.... but will it make it? You'll have to watch it to find out! 

Kitty's Wardrobe 

Of course being set in the twenties and Kitty being a sexy and spirited young woman she has some killer outfits...

In the opening scenes Walter is smitten with Kitty and in this gorgeous beaded flapper dress it is easy to see why! 

Below: I just love the embroidered detail on Kitty's dress in this scene, and those to die for drop earrings! 

 As Kitty and Walter's relationship falls into what is seemingly a desperate state Kitty's wardrobe becomes a little more plain and almost downtrodden. One night Kitty decides enough is enough and pulls on this beautiful purple dress with intricate detailing to remind Walter of the girl he met in London. Funnily enough it does the trick 

Later in the film whilst Kitty is learning her life lesson of not being such a terrible cheater of a wife her wardrobe, whilst still stylish, becomes ever more maternal in style. Walter starts seeing another side to his wife. I love embroidery and lace detailing and this dress is just so classic. 

By the end of the movie Kitty's priorities have changed and her transformation is complete, I am a sucker for a floral print and I adore this outfit and it's beautiful bright colours. 

Until Next Time 

Love 

Lucy

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(All images copyright of Warner Independent Pictures) 

The Carboot Sale Series - Battersea car Boot Sale, Battersea Park

I am continuing my mission in finding the best carboot sales for vintage bargains in London.

Last month I traveled all the way to Kilburn on a Sunday only to realise that I'd read the website wrong and the Kilburn sale is on Saturdays!

Undeterred I decided to go to Battersea Car Boot which I'd heard was good for vintage buyers.

Battersea Car Boot Sale

I arrived in time for the early bird entry at 12.00, which is £3.00. From watching various Youtube videos I knew a queue would form after half one when the entrance fee is 50p so it seemed worth it to spend the extra.

Similarly to the Stoke Newington sale the stall holders pitch fees are also staggered so those sellers willing to pay top notch pitch fees will be there early and others wanting to pay less arrive afterward.

Again this gave me the opportunity to do a couple of laps and scope out the hardcore vintage dealers (the early sellers) from vintage enthusiasts or people just selling off their own old goods.

Some examples of the types of items for sale:

I didn't get the chance to take many photos unfortunately, I was a little distracted in digging around all the boxes of treasure!


In terms of facilities this carboot is also based in a school and has a burger van although it wasn't quite as quaint as the one at Princess May Carboot it was reasonably priced if you want a cheeseburger.

Smoking was seemingly permitted as many people were walking around with cigarettes, this surprised me as it is a school. They have the hand stamp system so you could come and go if you wanted.

My Haul

I am on an extreme budget at present but I did manage to find a couple of bargains. I'm trying not to look at clothes at the moment because I'm losing weight from walking to work everyday.

Bangles
I am obsessed with bangles at the moment, maybe it's because you can find them so cheaply! These bangles were only a couple of pounds and I love them. These are all modern, aside from the elephant one which I think is bone, but will go so well with a vintage outfit. £5.00 for all.

Left to right: Latte swirl plastic bangle, beige plastic with gold glitter,white carved elephant bangle, lime plastic swirl irregular bangle, black carved bangle.

Brooches
One of the vintage sellers had, on my second walk around, pulled out a large tray of vintage brooches, earring and necklaces and I spotted these two embroidered brooches. My lovely friend and fellow blogger Catherine, Vintage Frills, collects these and had recently gifted me some earrings so I decided to pick them up for us. She choose the pink one and I'll keep the purple one for myself. Embroidered brooches £1.00 each

Stratton Compact
Lots of people covert the Stratton compact and collect them. Personally I can't say I was too bothered about having one or not. However I spotted this one alongside the brooches above and when the seller said it was £1.00 I decided I would snap it up, despite it's condition.

It's not in great shape but the size of it is lovely as you can see your eyes and lips together without having to move the mirror around. As there is nothing in the bottom of it I have a plan to add a photo of myself and my nan taken at a vintage event which will make me smile whenever I use it and make it personal to me.

Dress
I wasn't going to buy any clothes but one of the sellers had a £5.00 rail and I spotted this blue silky dress. This dress has sadly been taken up at some point to shorten it (I wish people wouldn't do that) but the measurements were good for me so I decided to go for it.

The dress has a side zip and a button up back but despite this, what I failed to take into account is that the waist is so small that it is impossible for me to get past my boobs! I think if I corset then I may be able to get it on whilst I am still losing weight. For now it is going to be used as decor in my bedroom!

One place I haven't yet looked for London treasure hunting is a local paper, I must remember to buy one next week and see if there are any house clearance sales or jumbles going on, to continue my vintage mission. But for now....over and out.

Until next time
Lucy
x

Hidden Charity Shop Gems - London

As many people now know I moved to North London a few months ago and I have been dedicating some time to familiarising myself with the most important of local landmarks - charity shops.

In the past few weeks I have found a couple of shops that will go on my "To revisit" list.

Fara Charity Shop - Angel

I have found some of the best charity shops by just happening upon them so when I saw this shop in Angel close to the tube I decided to quickly check it out - nothing ventured nothing gained!

This shop turned out have a huge vintage section! It is a bit of a charity shop mecca, it is not over priced and it is very well organised which is always welcome for the charity shopper. It had a modern section too but the vintage was all arranged at one end making it very easy.

The shop it'self is rammed with lots of interesting clothes, accessories and homewares etc. I'll be paying a visit again soon!

I did get one thing with my megre budget which was an 80's dress for £5.95. I'm saving it for another blog post but I'll show it off soon!

North London Hospice - Wood Green

I had to go to Wood Green to seek out this shop, my housemate had recommended it but couldn't remember the name. There are quite a few charity shops in Wood Green which are worth a look but as soon as I saw the shop I knew it was the one!

The shop is one of the rummaging kinds, everything was organised and well labelled but there was just so much of it, I had a good dig around the baskets which were organised into hats, belts, slips and even braces!

It also had a massive amount of retro style and vintage sunglasses mixed with the modern and the window displays (whilst hard to photograph) had some lovely vintage items in them, with signs welcoming you to ask the staff to get an item for you.

This gorgeous dress was one thing I spied in the shop but there was lots of treasure to be found! One to visit for sure.

At some point I'll have to round all of this info together and write a top 10 (maybe 20) charity shops in North London, by the time I am finished I might be able to write a memoir about it, The Girl With The Second Hand Everything....

Until next time
Lucy
xx

Twinwood - a first timers perspective.

Phew! Things got a bit manic there for a while but I am now back to blogging my vintage escapades with the usual gusto.

The highlight of my summer was attending Twinwood for the first time and this blog post will be all about Twinwood from the first timers perspective and what I will do differently next year.

I attended Twinwood with the gorgeous and wonderful Catherine of Vintage Frills and the brilliant Emma, who is the mind behind the 1940s/1950's Most Marvellous Meet Ups Group that I belong to, as well as other members of our group.  

Camping: I arrived at Twinwood on the Saturday morning and headed to Outfields Farm where we were camping. It was a good campsite with all the facilities you could need, and some we didn't use like a BBQ (but nice to have the option)  It's a decent camping venue for those not wanting to stay on the actual Twinwood site. 

The farm had a bus that drove to the festival, however when we discovered it was no more than a ten minute walk we took advantage of the periods of good weather and had a stroll. The buses were at different intervals on each day so this made it a little difficult to negotiate for anyone unable to walk the distance. On the first day we had missed the bus and some fellow campers drove us to Twinwood, which was very community spirited of them!

No grungy festival vibe at Twinwood! 

First Impressions: Arriving at Twinwood was a little overwhelming. There were so many stalls and the programme was jam packed with all of the acts performing. Once in the festival itself we met with some other members of our 1940's/1950's facebook group for a quick catch up and walked around to get our bearings, the site is perfectly sized, not so huge that you have no idea where you are but not so small that you cannot move freely from place to place.

To do differently: Now I have experienced Twinwood I will definitely try to be less stressed next year, I tend to worry to much about attending these things and get myself into a bit of a flap, packing everything I own in case I don't look right or worrying about silly things. It's a bit of a curse but now I have seen it once I know I'll enjoy next year all the more!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... that is all! 

Food and Facilities: We headed down to the main arena and got some food as we were starving by this time. Obviously you expect to pay a premium at places like Twinwood but I paid £10.00 for a very small burger and chips at one stall, there were other vendors I discovered later with gorgeous noodles and fish and chips in proper dinner sized portions so my initial disappointing and expensive burger was the exception rather than the rule.

The most important thing at these types of events is the toilet facilities! There were plenty of  loo's and I certainly appreciated not having to queue, also there was always paper in them so I was never caught short.

Lastly on the subject of food I can recommend the carvery which was £9.50 and exactly what was needed after a hard weekend. I had my doubts about a carvery at an event but it was lush!

Things to do:

Shopping: What can I say about the shopping at Twinwood? It is insane. Some of my friends had saved loads to go crazy at the stalls but I had resigned myself to not buying anything new since I am (slowly) losing weight and don't need to buy anything at the moment,

Clothes, accessories, furniture and homeware, there is not much a vintage lover cannot find at Twinwood 

A lot of the shopping at Twinwood is high end. If you are a fan of reproduction you can get some really good deals as the shops have promotions and bargain rails of older stock. In terms of vintage you are going to spend money at Twinwood for 1940's and 1950's but it is some of the better quality vintage I have seen and such wide variety. It really depends on the seller but I found the prices were higher priced than the internet as you would expect but about right in comparison to London's vintage shops.

We did visit the fiver vintage stall and I allowed myself one purchase which was a little out of my usual era's but I fell in love with a 70's dress and am looking forward to including it in my Autumn look book blog.

To do differently: As I have recently quit smoking I have made a pact to save as much as possible and will save up to treat myself to some high end vintage next year, also I will be ebaying all my clothing which is now too big, save save save!

We got our vintage decor inspiration from the exhibitions at Twinwood. 

Museums: It may not be everyone's cup of tea but there are several museums at Twinwood including the Glenn Miller Museum and the Aviation Museum. Catherine and I dedicated the last day to seeing all of the exhibitions and getting our geek on. My personal favourite was the section of the aviation museum which was designed to look like 1940's shops as you can see above.

To do differently: Nothing, I would happily go and see them all again as there was so much to see!

Entertainment: There are several different venues within Twinwood and this year I didn't make it to all of them, this goes back to what I said about planning. For example there was a tiki bar which we wanted to visit but when we wanted to go it was raining heavily. The main arena is an obvious place to sit and let the entertainment come to you, The music did range in era's so there is something for everyone.

To do differently: I think it was good for a first time to just go and soak everything in but next year I will have a bit more of a plan, I usually listen to the bands I don't know on youtube to see if they tickle my fancy but I didn't have time this year. A bit more planning next year will mean experiencing more of the acts!

Dancing: I cannot dance to save my life but Catherine and I had both wanted to go to a dance class for beginners to get a taste for it. We attended the beginners Lind Hop lesson and although I was nervous, with a friend there it made it really fun and less daunting. I am thinking about going to lessons locally if I can work up the nerve as I would love to be able to dance with the best of them next year.

Catherine and I at our first dance lesson!

To do differently: Nothing! Always try new things and if it is available at Twinwood you'll be surrounded by people you can learn from! Go for it!

I hope this is useful for anyone considering attending a vintage event, especially for the first time!

Until next time
Love
Lucy
x

Twinwood Wardrobe Round up

As a first timer at Twinwood this year I thought it would be a good opportunity to show my Twinwood outfits and why I wore them but also to think about what remained in the suitcase and why. Is it obvious that this post is all about helping me plan for next year?!

Day one

Daytime -
I rolled my hair the night before and ironed all my clothes to be hung in the car, and I am so glad I did because this dress creases like no other!

I bought this dress at the £1.00 sale at East End Vintage Clothing (usually a fill a bag store). I teamed it with my hotter shoes which were an ebay bargain (only a couple of pounds) my brown kelly bag (£7.50) seamed stockings and this hat, gifted to me by my stepmother. I also wore my Sphinx jewellery set which I have inadvertently started collecting but I love the victorian style of it so much.

Evening-

The evening was much colder and a bit rainy. My hair hadn't held up with the damp and wind so I decided not to wear the true vintage dress I had brought with me and wore one of my Vivien of Holloway dresses with a silver bolero and my hunter wellies. In the end I pinned my hair up in a messy updo just to keep it out of the way. 

Tip: It is not necessary to wear true vintage to Twinwood. Lots of people wore reproduction clothing and given that we were camping I felt much safer running around in a repro dress in the poor weather. 

Day two

Daytime -

I was super excited to be attending my first lindy hop lesson which was all included in the price of the Twinwood ticket. I wanted to wear my repro sneaker style shoes (£5, Ebay) and as I didn't know how sweaty I would get I didn't want to wear anything vintage! I wore my pink Vivien of Holloway skirt (which I got in the sale earlier this year and it was a bargain!) and a plain black top. I topped off the outfit with my "Marvellette" badge as it coordinated so well! 

I decided to put my hair up and cover it with a scarf to keep it out of the way whilst dancing and did a big barrel roll in the front to keep it vintage style. This is my go to hairstyle on days when I need my hair out of the way. 

Evening-

After a full day of fun I changed into a more 40's style outfit. I chose a dress that covered my arms since it wasn't exactly warm outside. I covered my hair in a red snood which saved me time as I didn't have to curl it and I added 2 victory rolls in the front. 

Tip: It's a good idea to plan your hairstyles in advance for Twinwood and make sure you have all the scarves and pins you will need, the majority of the event is outdoors and it can be wet and windy. There are plenty of vintage style updo's which will hold up better if you are doing activities. 

This dress was rescued from my sisters charity shop bag and I love the tie neck detail. I teamed it with my new crochet mustard coloured bag which was a charity shop find (£3) as it brings out the colour in the pattern of the dress. For comfort my black Clarks shoe boots (£25 on sale) really did the job and I accessorised with a stack of bamboo and wooden bangles. 

 Day three

Daytime-
All to quickly it was the last day, at the end of the second night I rolled my hair so I just loosely brushed it out and set it with (a lot of) hairspray.

I wore this vintage dress which I picked up in a charity shop in my hometown in Essex (£3) and wore yellow plastic beads to pick out the yellow in the dress. I added a stack of bangles in green, red and purple to coordinate with the rest of the dress pattern. The Corde bag I used was one of my biggest ever bargains at £8 from a local car boot sale (which I posted about here) Since it was still quite wet I wore my hunter wellies.

Tip: Don't sweat it over footwear. I don't own any vintage shoes as such because I am a size 41/8 and I can never find them but comfort definitely came first for me at Twinwood and I had little interest in ruining any really nice shoes. Shoe boots were perfect and as they are leather a quick baby wipe sorted out any mud. Don't be the person sitting down because your feet hurt, life is too short! 

Things that stayed in the suitcase

1. Corset - firstly it was impossible to put on in a tent, secondly I wanted to be comfortable. 

2. True vintage - I didn't wear my very nice true vintage dress because the weather and the chances of it getting ruined felt too high for me. Also wearing it is dependent on the above! 

3. Shoes - I took half my shoe collection with me and shouldn't have bothered, leave suede and       strappy sandals at home if you know you won't wear them.

4. Cute PJ's - funnily enough my 1950's babydoll didn't get a look in and my onsie was my go to nightwear, it's camping after all, I was having a deluded packing moment! 

That's my outfit round up of Twinwood and I hope people find some of the tips useful if attending a vintage festival. I cannot wait until next year, I've already booked the weekend off work! 

Until next time 

Lucy 

x

The Carbootsale Series - Princess May Carbootsale, Stoke Newington

Having moved to a more permanent North London base (and loving it I might add) there are a couple of things I miss about Essex, Car Boot Sales being one of them!

It turns out however that London has quite a few car boot sales, and with this Time out article as a guide I decided to make it my mission to visit as many as possible to find the best of them for vintage bargains, like a Miss Mothball Marple.

Stoke Newington Car Boot Sale 

This sale is held in Princess May Primary School not far from Beyond Retro. I had read that this particular sale was popular with vintage sellers so it seemed like a good place to start.

The entrance fee is £3.00 from 7am-9am and 50p thereafter. I got there at 8am and lots of the stall holders hadn't set up yet so I wouldn't say it is essential to get there for the opening time.

I wandered around a few times as more stall holders turned up later so by the time I had completed one lap there were lots of new stalls to see.

Some examples of the types of items that were for sale:

Vintage wallpaper, Radios, Stratten compacts and various kitch furniture can be found at this trendy bootsale. 

Lots of sellers had heaps of fabric, scarves and vintage linen as well as the more day to day sellers getting rid of unwanted goods. 

Being based in a school the facilities were good and clean although you should take a loo roll with you as there didn't seems to be any provided. 

There was also a BBQ grill (belonging to someone called Steve presumably) I have to say the price of these items is remarkably cheap in comparison to other sales I have been to and smelled gorgeous, although it was a bit early for me to actually try the burgers! 

There is no smoking on the grounds because it is a school (and it makes it much nicer for everyone) but you can get a stamp on your hand and go outside, in fact you can come and go as you please as long as you get a stamp. 

My Haul 

I am always a little envious of some people's Bakelite collections but short of winning the lottery I make do with modern plastics. These bangles were only a pound for all of them and I can mix them in with my other bangles to still get the look I want. 

This brooch is a little worse for wear with it's broken leaves but I think the beautiful flowers make up for it. It was only 50p and I discovered it at the bottom of a box of mixed jewelry. I also picked up this cute plastic brooch which will work well with a tiki look and was only 25p. 

Corde you say? This bag was hanging on the back of a clothing rail when I spied the distinctive Corde style and grabbed it for a closer look. It's in excellent condition and the seller knocked a couple of pounds off her original asking price and let me have it for £8.00. A very similar one on eBay was selling for £68.00 recently so I was thrilled to find this one. I won't be selling it though, it will go into my personal collection. 

 

This plastic shopper is very 50's and I have been after one for ages but was determined not to give in and buy one from H&M who have recently started producing them.  It's just that I don't like the idea of buying new plastic when I can wait a while and buy second hand. This one might be older and a little worn but I actually prefer it. It only cost me £1.00. 

All in all a good start to my carboot sale mission!

Until next time 

Love 

Lucy 

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