How To: Go 1940s on a budget

As you know, I love absolutely all kinds of vintage, but I do not like to spend a lot of time getting ready in the morning or the night before, which is why I spend much of my time wearing the practical, straight-haired vintage of later eras. Lately though I have been feeling a certain nostalgia for older styles (probably brought on by my watching of the BBC series The Hour) and so today I decided to indulge myself - yet due to my budget I don't actually own any 40s vintage, but it is still possible to achieve the look.

Here is an example of how you can ( "make-do and mend" ) using your thrifting skills, to transform yourself into a 40s goddess for a day...

For the outfit you will need:

1) A short-sleeved button down blouse. It doesn't really matter too much what colour or pattern. You can often find a lot of white or creme coloured 'granny' blouses in op-shops - which is what mine is. And remember, the women of the 40s made their clothing out of all sorts of old scraps and materials like curtains and hessian sacks!

2) A high waisted, below the knee length, A-line skirt. Mine is a 1970s A-line skirt which I found in an op-shop - (70s skirts are still fairly easy and cheap to come by) or any kind of A-line skirt, even a rap around will do.

3) A neat fitting, thrifted cardigan.

 For the accessories you will need:

Jewellery: A thrifted necklace such as fake pearls or beads - or an old brooch to jazz up the outfit.

Shoes: Espadrilles or another kind of low wedge heel will do well. If you don't have these try using some basic lace-up sneakers worn with ankle socks instead.

Here is my version of the look

Finally

For the make-up & hair:

Make-up: (This is the fun part!) - sit yourself in front of a mirror and paint some black eye liner above your lashes with small cat-eye flicks at the ends. Then add some blush and a dash of red lipstick. If you have a compact mirror, gaze at yourself in the compact mirror while you apply for effect!

 

Hair: I'll be honest - I'm the worst hairdresser in the world. I have very straight, fine hair which never seems to do what I want it to do when it comes to curls. This, paired with the fact that I don't seem to possess any form of patience makes things difficult.

If you can do victory rolls by all means go for it because you're a star and they look amazing. If you're lacking the many hours sitting in front of a mirror that is needed in order to become a proper retro pin-up girl, there is an easy & quick style to start with:

Part your hair in the middle and pull the top front section of hair including the hair that sits above your ear, towards the front (one side at a time). Twist it in towards your parting leaving a looser section of hair up the top (like you would if you were making a pouff) so that it sits up high as you fold the long twist of hair backwards and behind. Pin this twist behind the pouff of hair sitting up  with two bobby pins & spray lightly. You can also curl the ends of your hair with a curling iron if you so wish.

*If you are confused by my lack of pictures, this style is sort of like the beginning of a victory roll, without the roll, so watching an online tutorial for these might help!!*

And voila!