A survey of vintage bangs

Bangs have always for the bold and fashion forward. They make a definite statement that takes some serious commitment. They can take forever to grow out, you know! Bangs can also very strongly show a particular period. So here's a survey of bang styles over the years.


Bangs in the 1920's were a bold way to set yourself firmly in the flapper style. Several film stars adopted a severe bob with blunt straight bangs but wispier bangs were not unheard of either.

Bangs in the 1930's moved away from the blunt style and tended towards the wispy look. They were also often curly.

While the U-shaped Bettie Paige bangs first became popular in the 1940s, curly bangs were also popular. These bangs were fuller than looks from the 1930s. Most often, however, the bang area was a rather long fringe that was styled into the rest of the hair to give a peak-a-boo wave. The Middy haircut had this type of bang.

Bettie Paige bangs continued to be popular in the 1950s. Rolled bangs were an option for those who didn't want bangs every day. Softer bangs a la Audrey Hepburn also began to appear.

Gettin' Organized Giveaway!

Do you ever plan on doing something and just never quite get around to it? Today was a day for catching up on all of those things! There was quite a lot of cleaning that went on, mostly the kind of stuff that doesn't need done every week so I tend to forget.

I have a tiny bathroom and it gets quite cluttered with all of my stuff. So today, I put my handy man pants on and put some nails in the walls for my snoods, scarves and Belle Blossoms.

I've been pondering how to store my Belle Blossoms for a while now. I tied a ribbon between two nails and clipped all of my flowers on to it. Now they are up and out of the way.

I've also had a giveaway planned for a while so here goes! Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite fashion icons! So, I'm sharing a little Audrey with you today! To win these two great Hepburn films on DVD, leave a comment telling who your favorite film star fashion icon is and why. Want more entries? Share on your blog and leave a link to your post in a comment. The giveaway will be open until 12 pm Eastern Standard Time on April 15th.

I love Audrey because she can pull off so many looks! Long hair, short hair, bangs, dramatic transformations all work for her. She also has such personality in her films. Audrey pulls off simple and fabulous whether she is the lovesick daughter of a chauffeur or the princess of a small European country. Plus she's a brunette! (I'll admit, I'm a bit biased. ;) )

Why you need to make a muslin!

So I've been working on this outfit to wear for graduation (t minus one month and counting!). I decided to do a muslin for the top since I know I have narrow shoulders and since the sleeves aren't separate pieces, I thought there might be some issues fitting it on the fly. Boy, am I glad I did!


I didn't take a picture of me in Muslin #1 during any point in the process because the fit was terrible! It was too tight in the sleeve and at the bust and huge on my chest above the girls. This top was definitely designed for someone in a bullet bra! My girls are not that high and perky! Plus the shoulder issue caused extra poof the shoulder area.

When I took Muslin #1 apart to use as a pattern for Muslin #2, I noticed that the changes caused the fabric not to be flat in the chest area. Hmmm.... I wasn't sure how that would translate when I cut out the pieces, which would be flat. So on one side, I added a horizontal dart to help get that shape and to see how it would turn out.

The side without the dart had some weird poofiness where the top and sleeve joined. While I hate to have to add a dart to the pattern, that side fit much better. I also lowered the vertical darts on that side. That gave me some more wiggle room. Plus, the envelope illustration shows the darts lower with respect to the girls. (Not that that necessarily means anything.)

I'm going to finish the neckline and sleeve cuffs in Muslin #3. I may lower the neckline but I think it will work. The sleeve lengths also ended up weird so I'll make them match up again. And vacuum! Goodness, my floor is dirty!

I wish I was back in the Army...

Today's ensemble is military inspired all the way! I have had the song "I wish I was back in the Army" from White Christmas stuck in my head for the past few days. This is the result. I love this olive army green dress. It's just military enough without being over the top. I just need a really great military hat to pull it all together.

Salute!

Outfit:
Dress: New York and Company
Shoes: DSW

I love the curves this dress gives me.

Today's hairstyle is victory rolls with a page boy look in the back from Lisa Freemont Street's tutorial.

Victory rolls have always given me trouble but having leftover curls from yesterday's pin curl set helped. Though with my issues with symmetry, I think I'd be better off with side part victory rolls.

And speaking of youtube, look out for a new tutorial from yours truly later today.

Happy Hair!

I did a pincurl set last night and it turned out great! Yay for good hair days! It was chilly so my outfit was not too cute. So I didn't take any pictures of it. Lovely spring weather please come back!

Curly, curly, curly!

I wore one of my favorite Belle Blossoms! I love the color on me!

Bettie Bang Round up

I cut my Bettie Bangs back in Thursday evening. I missed them a lot and they look so much cuter with my longer hair. I pulled together a youtube video highlighting some great youtube tutorials on Bettie Bangs. There are cutting tutorials, faux Bettie bang tutorials and a great tutorial on styling Bettie Bangs when you don't want to see them.

Enjoy!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a penny in your shoe

There's nothing wedding about this post, but the cliched rhyme just seemed like a good way to organize my post.

Something Old

I got to do a bit of thrifting yesterday! Woot! I did find some vintage and even some pieces that I could take home.

My catch!

I picked up two vintage scarves (top right and left), a wide neck striped shirt (bottom left) and a darling floral purse (bottom right). I don't have a date for any of these items, but I'm thinking 60s on the scarves due to the washing instructions on the tags. The shirt didn't have any washing instructions and it's also obviously made to be worn with high waisted pants or skirts due to the length. I'm think it is a bit old. The purse has no tags what so ever. I just thought it was cute. I also picked up some old sheet sets to scavenge the fabrics.

Something New

I also went out to a Jo-Anne's Superstore where they were having a fabulous sale plus I had a 25% off coupon! To my surprise, Butterick patterns were on sale for $1.99 too so I picked up a whole bunch of their repro patterns.

Most of the patterns were 50s dresses.

I love all of the full skirts. The only bummer is they take about 5 yds.

And I picked up one 60s pattern. I love the neckline!

Something Borrowed

The low point of the day was having my debit card lost/stolen. Not sure exactly what happened to it. I used it to pay for dinner and I'm pretty sure I didn't get it back from the cashier, but it was no where in the restaurant. :( So, I had to cancel it. Thankfully, there were no extra charges on it!

Something Blue

Summer sewing is going to be all about nautical-red, white, blue! There will be no problems dressing for Independence Day this year!

I picked up this lovely floral for one of the full 50s dresses. Not sure which one yet.

I also picked up this blue plaid for this pattern. I'm going to copy the dress on the cover. Is that cheating?

I also grabbed this peacock feather fabric to make this lovely evening ensemble. It doesn't exactly fit into my spring or summer sewing palettes but it was too fabulous to pass up.

And a penny in your shoe

I take surveys online to earn Amazon.com gift cards and I recently racked up enough points to get these 3 fashion books for $0.32!

These books are full of gorgeous, drool worthy fashions. There were also some surprises such as hoodies, plus sizes, and pointy shoes! I really want to get the rest of the series.

How has your weekend been?