[ nail polish ad from 1945. ]

I was flipping through one of my 1940s magazines when I noticed an ad for “Chen Yu” nail polish. Now I don’t know about you, but when I think about the 1930s through 50s, red is the color I associate with nail polish. I tend to shy away from many of my more outre colors that I have stashed away in my box of polishes when wearing my distinctly 40s outfits because I always thought it seemed a bit out of character for the outfit. So I was utterly delighted that not only did the ad show colors that we don’t normally associate with the 40s, but color samples too! How about bright yellow (“Ming Yellow”), cotton candy pink (“Sea Shell”) and even black (“Black Lustre”)?! Talk about a world of possibilities for some fun… (You could also get matching lipstick for some of the shades too!)

This little fashion revelation came on the heels of going through some old snapshots I had saved over the years of average people going about their daily lives. Just looking at the images, expressions, clothing, and poses made me just all the more aware that even though there was more of a pressure to conform in previous eras, there were (and will always be) the distinctive personalities. While most women may have veered more towards the conventional shades of red for their nail polish, I like to think that some woman out there was a bit theatrical and liked to sport colors on her nails that weren’t the norm. We tend to so often just group people together when looking back at history, and expect they had more of the “conform mentality” than we do in the 21st century. But it’s amazing when you start to peel back the layers and go beyond the history books, how many variations there were (just like today–on a smaller scale though!).

[ two 1940s nail polish ads. sources here and here. ]

After I saw this article, I went and dug up my dark blue nail polish (MAC’s “Blue India”); with a bit more determination to do something a little “vintage unconventional” myself. (On the topic of unusual nail colors from previous eras, you might enjoy this post by The Vintage Baroness.) However, I think black shall be the one color I don’t try. I went through my black nail polish phase a few years ago, and it really is a ghastly color on my nails! lol.

Are you more adventuresome when it comes to nail polish colors? Or do you not bother with it at all?

I just want to clarify something about yesterday’s post… I got a couple comments and several emails from readers thinking I had been hinting that I was pregnant. Well, I guess that is my fault for not saying that it’s a craft/sewing project I’m working on, not a baby! Sailor Husband and I are not planning on starting a family any time soon, but I appreciate everyone’s excitement anyway!

Anyway, I wanted to give you an update on how my pincurls were going after my previous post. I took many of the suggestions for doing a damp, not wet, set and it’s worked! (Thank you everyone for your tips!) I actually leave my hair nearly dry; the first time I did the set I wasn’t sure I even got it damp enough! I find though that if I go section by section and pat each down with a handful of water, comb it through, and a couple spritzes of Lottabody (50/50 ratio), it works pretty darn well! It takes a bit of planning (I just wash my hair and let it dry during the day and then set it), but it’s dry by the morning. The curl even holds up fairly well overnight.

This set pictured is from Wednesday. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more frizzy than usual (the Lottabody actually helps combat my natural frizzy tendencies), but it was raining all day. I just rolled the bang section in a backwards roll to the right, and the sides are secured with combs. I’ve been inspired lately by these photos in my flickr favorites. I love old photos of people in sporting their everyday looks!

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments on my new ‘do post! Thank you also for the amazingly helpful tips and tricks on dealing with super thick hair and wet curl sets. I think I’ve decided I’m going to try the dry hair method, spritz it with setting lotion, and then sleep on that. Maybe it’ll work a bit better? I’ll be sure to let you all know! (I’ll also take some photos in the future of my hair without a set too; since there were questions about what the cut looks like sans set!)

There were a few questions asked in the comments that I thought would be helpful to post, rather than answer in email replies, so everyone can benefit. Firstly the topic of setting lotion. Yes, I do use setting lotion; the “Lottabody” brand, which Sally Beauty Supply sells. I have diluted it in prior sets, and it doesn’t do anything to help my hair withstand the humidity down here, so I use it at about a 50/50 (half Lottabody, half water), rather than the 1/2 or 1/3 dilution recommended on the bottle.

Now, about the blouse that everyone was asking about! I made this last year from a 30s pattern and a small piece of vintage fabric I picked up at a flea market. I wrote a post with a little more information on the blouse here. I have actually been toying with the idea (for a year now… yikes!) of either offering sewn versions of the blouse the blouse or copies of the pattern, or both, but haven’t worked up to it yet! lol. It’s one of my favorites, but I don’t wear it a ton since the fabric is so old.

The little barrette I’m wearing in the photos was a find at Forever 21 a month or so ago–I’ve noticed lately they have some cute hair accessories…

Hope you all are having a lovely day!

[ the new, sportier 40s look! ]

I mentioned in passing last week that I had my hair cut, and several of commenters sweetly requested to see photos! So here they are… I got about 6 1/2″ chopped off the overall length (it was to the middle of my back!) and had it shaped into the classic Middy cut (a bit shorter than last year’s cut). I had an eye towards doing styles like Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney sported in the 40s.

These photos show the results of my first pincurl set with the shorter length. I’m fairly happy with how it turned out (considering my hair had been too long to pincurl for well over a month!). Though I am having one problem with pincurls: my hair is super thick (I’m not kidding; every stylist I’ve ever gone to is always amazed at how much hair I have!), and so the back pincurls never seem to dry fully, despite being in the set for 12 hours. I think I need to start setting the back with sponge rollers instead, rather than just pincurls, and do pincurls on the sides and front. Maybe that will help? Does anyone else have really thick hair and have any wise words? I’m tired of my wet-set curls not turning out right in the back!

As a side note: I’ve started adding some vintage goodies to my Etsy shop. There’s loads more to come (vintage clothes and accessories besides the patterns), but I thought you all might like to take a peek!

[ l to r: 1942 ( via ), ella raines, 1947 (personal collection). ]

Straight, blunt-cut bangs seem to be most often worn with the smooth, minimalist styles of the decade. Think of the elegant chignons of the mid 40s, or the winsome pageboy style (first image) that was so popular throughout the entire decade.

[ l to r: unknown, paulette goddard, rosemary lane. ]

If you’d like some volume, try pincurling your short bangs! The key is to do probably 2-3 rows of pincurls to create enough depth (note the bangs aren’t “shallow”, they go back from the hairline a bit), and use a good setting lotion (such as the ever popular “Lottabody” brand) to keep the curls from falling. If you were feeling really glamorous, you could even tease the curls out into a poufy bang a la Betty Grable!

[ l to r: anna neagle, virginia vale. ]

This style is a nice mix between the severely blunt and curly bangs. Gently curling the hair under into a soft wave creates a nice line that allows for the rest of the hair to take center stage. This would be a great way to handle short bangs if you want to do side rolls.

The key really is just making the bangs look like a part of the entire ‘do, otherwise they will look decidedly modern with your vintage look. I hope this helps a tiny bit for gals who have short bangs, but still want to do 1940s styles with their hair!