We chat vintage with a Forties and Fifties lover

Lena | May 1, 2009 | 1 Comment

QoV: How do you do your make-up and hair and which products do you use?

LP: I’ve got loads, and I mean loads, of vintage setting patterns in books, vintage magazines and on my computer so I set my hair a few times a week using these. When setting I either use pin curls or American perm rods from eBay, and setting lotion. I can’t use heated rollers or tongs on my hair, the curl just drops straight out. Despite all the bleach my hair is in remarkably good condition (tip – Kerasilk conditioner and a silk pillowcase!)

Make-up wise its nearly all MAC, the key items are matte foundation, powder (coty airspun), eyebrow pencil, eyeliner,and red lipstick for a Forties looks. I branch into more pinks and corals for the Fifties. Ooh, and blusher of course, what a revelation it was discovering blusher, I actually look alive!

QoV: Any top tips on how to achieve a Fifties look? What’s absolutely essential?

LP: As I see it there are two real Fifties silhouettes, the tight hourglass look and the full skirted look. I veer more toward the tighter end, not sure what that says about me, so pencil skirts, heels, tight little cardigans with a bullet bra underneath. For the Forties, a still pointy but not quite bullet bra (I like the very unglamorous but perfectly constructed Triumph Doreen), seamed stockings and, if you can bear it, shoulder pads.

QoV: What should we avoid to get the Fifties look wrong?

LP: Poodle skirts, for me they are too cliche. V-neck cardigans. Overly kitsch rockabilly swallow and cherry prints (I’m going to get lynched for saying that). There is also a lot of Seventies and Eighties wear that masquerades as Forties and Fifties, some of it very good, some of it goddamn awful. One bugbear of mine is seeing beautiful Forties and Fifties outfits finished with modern hair and make-up. This can tend to make the whole look more Eighties to me. I hate being elitist but I think the cosmetic side, and the accessories, really should blend in to give the look proper polish.

QoV: Who is your vintage idol?

LP: Marilyn (always), Bette Davis (swoon), and my vintage friends especially those on the PorkPie Saloon (hey chaps and chapesses)!

QoV: Is your home vintage too?

LP: Not yet – if I get this new flat that’ll change. Watch this space *wink*