Putting On The Blitz

For my birthday in March my sister bought tickets to the Blitz party, I was so excited, it's something I have been meaning to go to for ages and I finally had tickets!

The best part of something like the Blitz party is the pre-drinking getting ready time. My sister and her friend sat in the kitchen waiting for me to do their hair whilst I faffed about with my fake eyelashes. As with my colleague last week it was so much fun doing vintage hair on someone who doesn't usually wear it and my sisters friend was impressed with what I did for her, alas by the end of the night she had managed to dance her hair out!

I decided not to worry about wearing true vintage as this kind of event is the sort where drinks might get spilled. I settled on my army green collectif dress which was a charity shop bargain, a red cardigan to match the red snood in my hair and seamed stockings. I wore some vintage earrings which reminded me of a V for Victory sign so I wore those in a nod to the era.

Loads of people wore all kinds of reproduction so if you haven't been before fear not, you don't need to go all out buying something expensive and it is certainly not a "purist" event.

Everything was themed as you would expect, the drinks menu consisted of a few cocktails for around £8 each and you could also buy beer for £4. They didn't serve wine though which would have been nice as I am not a huge beer fan and don't drink cocktails very much. I settled with beer and it wasn't bad tasting. The cocktails were served in tin cans or mugs, all adding to the novelty!

The atmosphere was smokey and dimly lit with searchlights scanning the venue, props appeared as if from nowhere and there seemed to be something to look at in every corner. In an outside area was an old army truck which you could climb into for pictures. It got very busy very quickly but we managed to grab a quiet moment for a snap later in the evening.

We headed down to a small seating area where there was a second bar (different cocktails on offer here) and grabbed a seat to enjoy our initial drink. They also had cupcakes and sausage rolls on offer much to our American friends delight.

There was a hair and makeup station where people could get dolled up for the night and they seemed to be quite busy so if you are thinking of utilising this you should look into it on their website.

The musical acts were fantastic and we really enjoyed all singing along to the songs we knew, a particular highlight was the entire crowd joining in with "When The Saints Go Matching In" Everyone was in good spirits and the dancefloor was rammed full of people. We did have some laughs at the couples acting as though they might actually be parted from eachother, some of them could have done with a room!

There were also dancers who would put on a skit at various points in the evening whilst the crowd cheered them on, I am not the greatest dancer in the world so I do enjoy watching those who can really do it properly!

By 12.30 one of the bars had run out of beer and I had run out of steam, my sister and I headed off home before the 2am wind down. I would love to go to this again and stay a bit longer. It's a fantastic evening for the ticket price and I would say that vintage and non vintage lovers alike can really enjoy this event.

Next Week: In-Corporate Vintage Into Your Work Wardrobe - Part One - The Accessories 

With Love
RB
XX

Why Hair Matters

I am known amongst many of my friends as the person who loves doing hair and makeup. I do my own of course but over the years I've had lots of practice on others, especially having two little sisters. Some of their friends would even pop round before a night out for a quick hairstyle!

When I got into the vintage scene it took some practice of the older techniques to get the kind of hair I wanted but eventually I had it down. I also invested in a middy cut which lots of people are wary about having done because of the layering involved.

I have a very long middy and my pin curl sets have much improved. I'd recommend going to a vintage hairdresser for this. Don't bother trying to explain to anyone at a generic salon what you want, I've seen too many disasters to risk it. I use Vertity at the Vanity Box in Essex, although I am long overdue for a cut!

Vintage hair does require practice and patience and those in the scene will be familiar with the aching arms of your first pin curl set! Recently a colleague asked me if I would give her a vintage style so she could try out the look for herself, and being a good Office Manager I said I would!

It was partly because I was dying to practice my skills on hair that is not as straight as mine, practicing on people with different hair types helps me to perfect and adjust my technique to suit.

So we hid ourselves in a meeting room after work and got started.

Before

I made a side parting and pin curled her hair in approximately 1 inch sections, rolling them under and securing with proper pin curl clips (not bobby pins - they leave dents) All in all it took about an hour as her hair is quiet long. Once all the clips were in I sprayed lightly with some hairspray and left them to cool before taking them out and completing the brush out.

After

Her reaction was priceless. She said the set made her feel womanly and sophisticated, she felt very Marilyn! It was interesting to hear that something as simple as vintage hair had made such a change to her mood.

It did get me thinking about how much I love to wear vintage and how happy it makes me to pull on a dress with some history too it rather than primark's latest offering. I think how feminine it is has a lot to do with it, at least for me, because I have a very femme personality. I was recently asked if I always wear skirts and dresses and had to admit that I don't even own any dress trousers!

Getting up and putting on a slick of red lipstick can make or break my day, and there is nothing fickle about that! Vintage is so much a part of my life now that when I am less vintage I just don't feel like myself. I feel sloppy!

Vintage really does put a spring in our steps and seeing someone who is not on the scene enjoy it so much was a real thrill. We made sure to go out for a drink afterward as it felt like a waste otherwise! Another colleague has put her name down for a hair night so I might have to start a little side line in the office.

Next week: Putting on The Blitz - Blitz Party review! 

Love
RB
xx