A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to go to a salon I'd often passed, but never entered, The Painted Lady in Shoreditch. The owner and head stylist, Belinda Hay, has just published her first book, the gorgeously produced Style Me Vintage, and with mini treatments and booze on offer, I could not say no! The event itself was lovely - I had my nails done beautifully by the talented technician, and I had my hair styled by Belinda and a colleague, while eating biscotti and finger sandwiches, and drinking white wine. Pure bliss for a Thursday night! I was also joined by Darhling, and later by Lisa from Snoodlebug, but a mixup, phone battery death and subsequent mad dash through the streets of Shoreditch to track Lisa down, meant my hair was utterly ruined and thus there are no surviving photos of me from the night. ;)
Darhling looked divine, as does Belinda in her lavender 40s dress, as you can see! But what of the book itself?
Promising 'Easy step-by-step techniques for creative classic hairstyles', I was intrigued, and was delighted to be given one to take home. It's beautifully designed with a textured cover, and each section contains vintage inspiration photos, before, after and during photos, and of course, written guides to everything, from what you need, to how to do it. The backgrounds are all taken from vintage fabrics, too, so it's extra delightful to read.
The styles in included are Finger Waves & Pin Curls, Forties Waves (the Peek-a-boo), Victory Rolls, The Poodle, Fringe Roll, Fifties Set, Quiffs, Beehives, Bouffants and Barbarella. Plus a guide to tying headscarves and creating padding. Many of the styles I already do, but there are some in there I'm going to try for sure! I think it would be a great book for a vintage hair novice. It's available from The Painted Lady, and all good bookshops, including Amazon. Thank you to all from the salon for having me!
Not long after (...I think, I've rather lost track of time!) I headed back up to London on what must have been the first day of winter (for it was brass monkeys) to spend the morning on the Hendrick's Horseless Carriage of Curiosities. Now it's no secret that Hendrick's is by far my favourite gin, but despite its appearance in London last year, I had not, up to that point, ever set foot on the carriage. I saw it, when it was stationed at Goodwood last year, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit properly as it was stationed in a disused garage forecourt for London Cocktail Week; and see some of my favourite ladies and chaps as well. The idea behind the Carriage used to be that any visitors who brought along a particularly peculiar and ususual item, could swap it for free gin. Now it's full to bursting with said Curiosities, and so this year, they changed the requirement to a story instead. The stories were posted onto a wall, and rather splendid they were too. Here are some snaps of the many weird and wonderful things within, and indeed surrounding, the Carriage.
It was ostensibly a blogger's brunch, though as I understand it, many ladies were still there at 4pm, quaffing Red Snappers (a gin-based Bloody Mary) and Hendrick's Bucks (which contained fresh lemon and ginger). What I failed to capture were any photos of my glamorous fellow bloggers, but it was lovely to see Fiona from Notorious Kitsch (follow the link to my favourite product on her site!), Retro Chick, What Katie Did, Lena from Style High Club, Penny Dreadful and many more, all of whom took lovely photos of the gals. Click on their blogs to see them!
It was sad to bid farewell to the infamous Louis, who is leaving his post as Hendrick's brand ambassador for something far more rock n roll, involving a famous nautical tattooist...
Here's one last shot of me with the equally infamous Mr Wax, Hendrick's helper and purveyor of the finest moustache waxes, who will be appearing on this very blog next week (hopefully) in my very first official Chap's Interest article. It will focus on growing and maintaining a smashing moustache, and will include a list of scathing and witty put-downs to use should anyone give you a hard time for sporting said lip-weasel. I have many male readers and have thought about doing a regular Chap Interest section for ages. So it will be coming soon, and not before time, since next month is, of course, Movember. And on a purely selfish note, now I am once more looking for the perfect gentleman companion, any dashing single chap with a well-groomed handlebar moustache is more then welcome to apply. ;)
Before I go, a proper Halloween and beyond edition of Vintage Socialite's Diary Dates will follow next week, but if you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, might I recommend the Candlelight Club this Saturday? There are only a handful of tickets left for this intimate, 20s speakeasy-themed soiree, which features the divine Miss Vicky Butterfly and DJ for my own Halloween party, MC Fruity. The tickets cost £13 and include supper and a free cocktail. See you there?
Tinkerty tonk,
Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com
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