Tomorrow is my birthday! I'll be 27 and happily sharing a September birthday with these beautiful bombshells.


Embed from Getty Images                                                    Dita Von Teese
 
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Brigitte Bardot

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Sophia Loren

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Madeline Kahn

 I'm really excited to get to spend some time with Pj and the kids tomorrow morning and I may treat myself to some new makeup. We have gorgeous weather so I might go walk around Main Street and have lunch before work. Oh...and must call mom to wish her "Happy Labor Day"

Does anyone else share a September birthday?

Last night, during dinner, I watched Burlesque with my sister in law and we started talking about Gypsy Rose Lee. Then, this morning, "Gypsy" was on tv! Although I wouldn't call her a fashion icon of her day, burlesque has certainly played its part in fashion. With today's glitz and fur accessories, fashion corsets and fascinators in every trendy mall store, fans of showgirl style can all take a hint from Gypsy and other original stars of burlesque.
Embed from Getty Images           "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing slowly...very slowly"- Gypsy Rose Lee


Gypsy was born " Rose Louise Hovick" on January 9, 1911

The 1943 Barbara Stanwyck film Lady of Burlesque was based on Gypsy's mystery novel, The G-String Murders
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Gypsy performed from the 1930's to 1950's and was known for her use of comedy in her act.

Gypsy had a very stressful and sad childhood, being dragged all over the country by her mother to perform in vaudeville shows.

Embed from Getty Images Gypsy passed away in 1970


      "I wasn't naked. I was completely covered by a blue spotlight." -Gypsy Rose Lee




"I have everything I had 20 years ago, only it's a little lower." -Gypsy Rose Lee

Embed from Getty Images Read more on Gypsy in her book, Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper

 Get The Look
Add a little burlesque sparkle to your wardrobe with fishnet stockings, well made corsets and perfect pin-up girl heels.




MESH CORSET |   SPARKLE FISHNETS  |  SHOES  |  VINTAGE STYLE LINGERIE

I dropped into my favorite thrift store at random one day and found this navy 40's rayon dress in perfect shape, in my size. What luck! I was unsure about the over-sized lace collar at first. Pj said I look like Veruca Salt in it but after wearing it for date night last week, it has grown on me. I'll be 27 at the end of the month but I don't think you're ever too old for childish details. After all, I do play dress up every day.



 I carried my new 1950's patent handbag, which I found at the same store as this dress. The stripe lining is this bag's best feature, I think.


 

These brooches are some of my most cherished. I have two of the spoons. One from Great Grandma Alma and the other from her mother, My Great Great Grandma, Florence. She passed away before I got to meet her but I was told that she visited Great Grandma when they lived in Hawaii in the 40's and 50's and they bought matching souvenir spoon brooches there. The handle says "Honolulu". The hand mirror is also Great Grandma's from her years in Hawaii.

Well hello again! Long time no see, huh? I mentioned earlier this week on my facebook page that my computer kicked the bucket on me. I really thought that we would have to buy a new one but Pj has it working again and I'm finally back to blogging.

In the past month, I haven't worn many of my lovely vintage dresses. Due to my job, I've been wearing a lot of skirts or pants and blouse ensembles lately. For labor day, we took the kids to the zoo and I finally got back to the old me- which felt wonderful! The St Louis Zoo has a beautiful brand new sea lion habitat with a viewing tunnel. It's much larger than the old sea lion habitat and the cutie little lions look much happier!






For our outing I wore one of my favorite dresses, a purchase from my sponsor, Mary Van Note. I fell in love with all of the cute details of this dress- the print, rhinestone buttons, scalloped collar and matching belt. My best friend, Amanda found the same dress in shades of brown so we wear them when we go out together and look quite silly. I wore this dress on the blog once before, during a vintage car show. Here are a few other beauties from Mary Van Note:




My little sister, Chelsea came along to the zoo with us since she was off work too. Oh, guess what, blog readers? She's got a bun in the oven! It's her first and she's due in the spring, right around Rhys's 2nd birthday. It's been really fun having baby talk and sharing advice on pregnancy and babies. She's going to be a wonderful momma.

So many of my readers have asked about hair rats. What they are, how to use them, where to buy them, etc. The free version involved pulling hair from your hair brush and rolling it up into the desired shape. If, like myself, you are completely grossed out by hair, here's another option:



For years, my go-to for hair rats have been these mesh chignon forms. They used to be made of foam many years ago but since they've started carrying mesh versions, I've found that they are much more versatile. They're less than $5 on Amazon and they come in blonde, brown and dark brown.



                           Cut the donut and bend it to form a tube.





                             Slide your fingers between one layer of mesh and give that layer a snip.
 

   Unroll it and you'll have a few feet of this wonderful mesh. You can cut it into different lengths and widths,   roll it up to make several perfect hair rats. I get 5 or so rats from a single chignon form. If I need a very large rat, I stack the layers and roll them up together.



I know that some of you gals asked about rats for other hair colors. The gorgeous and brilliant Vivian from Quaintrelle Life posted a hair rat tutorial using wool roving. Roving comes in every color of the rainbow and can be shaped into different sizes just like these mesh rats. Thank you, Viv!

You can also check out my past tutorial on making hair rats using fishnet stockings

5 Hair Styles Using Rats:

Allie's Lake Hair from The Notebook
Betty Grable's Rolls
Quick and Easy Vintage Hair
Victory Rolls with Faux Bangs
Basic Victory Rolls (can do with or without rats)

Today I have another beautiful hair tutorial from The Notebook. This style is inspired by the romantic boat ride scene. My version is a little different in the back because my hair is layered in the back and not as long and thick as Rachel's. I use two hair rats in this tutorial. I'll have another tutorial on Tuesday for how to make several muti-sized hair rats for less than $5.




You will need:
hair spray
a hair elastic
bobby pins
a hair brush
a curling iron or hot rollers
2 hair rats

Begin with hair parted to one side. Use the center of your brow as a guide for the part. Roll the first 2 inches of your hair (on the side with most hair). I rolled my hair into 3 sections. One rolled down, the next rolled down, the next rolled down. This forms a wave.


When the rollers are cool, remove them and clip them to the top of your head, out of the way

On the side with the most hair,  section the hair from behind your ear, forward and hit it with a little hair spray.


If your hair doesn't like to cooperate with rolling, you can roll it with a thin hair rat.  When you get to your scalp, pin securely in place.




Roll the other side as if you were rolling a victory roll. (See my victory roll tutorial). This side doesn't have to be as full and well shaped as a normal victory roll. In fact, if it turns out kind of flat, that's okay!

Next, sculpt the front of your hair into a wave. I used these long metal clips to hold it in place as I shaped the wave. Tuck the long ends of your hair into that side roll and pin in place. Give it all a good coat of hairspray.


Next, divide the back of your hair into 2 sections- a top and bottom.  Pull the top back section of your hair into a low ponytail.

                                   Pull the hair elastic down the pontyail so you can create a hole.
                                                   Loop the hair through like a topsy-tail.
                                                        Roll the ponytail around a hair rat
                      Pin the hair rat into a U shape, this will be the foundation of the back of the hair
                                          Finally, take the remaining section of hair and split it into 3.
         Tuck each section into the hole and secure with a bobby pin. Make sure that the rat is covered with hair. Spray with hairspray and you're finished!

We interrupt The Notebook posts to bring you new shop listings for the week. I just got back from a big buying spree this weekend and listed all of these lovely things and more today. See it all at Va-Voom Vintage Shop