Beauty in Medieval Times

These are the Portrait of a Young Girl by Petrus Christus, and the Portrait of a Young Woman by Rogier van der Weyden. Both paintings date back to 1465-70 circa and depict perfectly what the ideal of beauty was back then.

Women used to pluck or shave their hairline in order for their forehead to appear bigger, which was considered a great sign of beauty. Moreover they got rid of brows and eyelashes. Apparently the hairless madness that endure till nowadays has ancient origins.

This was considered a big trend among women, since it lasted for almost 200 years.

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Questi sono il Ritratto di Fanciulla di Petrus Christus, e Ritratto di Donna di Rogier van der Weyden. Entrambe le opere sono datate 1465-70 circa e riflettono perfettamente l’ideale di bellezza dell’epoca.

The First Blonde Bombshell

Think Marilyn Monroe was the first bombshell?
Think again.
20 years before Norma Jeane Mortenson became the Marilyn everybody knows, there was someone else who was being considered a sexy Hollywood movie superstar.
Though many might not know her name, Jean Harlow was the first to be the pride holder of the title Blonde Bombshell.

Class 1911, she was not doing that great in the film industry until Max Factor – the man himself – decided to turn her hair into a stunning platinum hue (which, believe it or not, looked great on a black and white film) and to create her signature makeup, thus coining the term which was later on associated with almost any glamorous blonde actress.

Save your pillow case!

I have lost count of how many pillow cases I have permanently stained because of my obsession for hair colors (red and purple, mainly).

I used to lay a t-shirt on my pillow case (because I’m not *that* naive) only to find out in the morning that the t-shirt had been slipping during the night and yes, maybe I was in fact*that* naive.

Until I realized that it would have been much safer and definitely smarter to use the t-shirt AS a pillow case and voilà, no more slippin’n’stains.

Frock Me!

Six times a year, +50 exhibitors from UK and France arrive at Chelsea Town Hall with dresses, shoes, coats, brooches and all sorts of jewellery from the 1800s up to the 1980s.
On Sunday, 4th of September, wearing my new Ophelia dress (Lindy Bop), I paid the £4 entrance and there I went, looking forward to find *that* piece that makes me go wow.

The rooms were filled with the typical perfume coming from gorgeous dated clothes, and soft retro music was playing in the background. It was not packed so I had the chance to carefully browse every rail, every display, chatting with the exhibitors and making new friends along the way.

A pat on the back for me: I managed not to spurge (it was really hard to find something of my size, to be fair), but I couldn’t say no to a beautiful 1950’s red hat (first picture down) and a dress of the same era, both incredibly affordable.

To find out more about this fair, check the website!

August Wishlist Item

I  hate repeating myself, but even this month’s WLI is a dress.
And not any dress.
Oscar de la Renta is one of my favourite designers (too bad I can’t afford any of his amazing creations), and this dress is so fabulous I could cry.

With a yellow dupion* silk bodice and black silk organza bubble skirt with black applique flowers and scallops. If you’re lucky enough to be a size 4 and have £350 to spend in a dress, it’s on sale at Circa Vintage. Lucky you!

*  dupion (or dupioni, or doupioni): the silk yarns are made from the cocoon of two silk worms that have nested together. In spinning, the double strand is not separated, creating uneven yarns that give the fabric a crisp texture with irregular slubs.

definition by NY Fashion Center Fabrics

A cloche hat

I have always been a huge fan of hats, but since I decided to embrace the vintage style, I realized that the options are not that vast, if you consider that almost all hats of the era would love extremely elegant nowadays.

Vintage Fashion, A Guide to the History of Style

When I first realized I was obsessing over vintage fashion and I was yearning for learning as much as possible, I relied on this small book/magazine I found at WHSmith.

I thought it was a bit pricey for 150 pages (£7.99), but the pictures and the amount of info it contained, convinced me otherwise. If you are moving your first steps into fashion and want to learn as much as possible, this fun book is the answer.

And I’m not writing “fun” lightly.

July Wishlist Item

Last month’s most desired item is without any doubt this dress by Natlynn.
I stumbled upon it on Pinterest, fell in love instantly, followed its track to Etsy, and OhMyGod I want it so bad!

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L’oggetto più desiderato del mese scorso è senza dubbio questo meraviglioso abito uscito dalla rinomata Natlynn.
L’ho trovato per caso su Pinterest ed è stato subito amore a prima vista. Ho seguito le sue tracce fino al sito Etsy e OhMioDio quanto lo voglio!