A fabulous 40s style headscarf from Lacey Rose Creations, my dream bomber jacket, and one last snowy backdrop

Outfit details

1940s style floral print head wrap: c/o Lacey Rose Creations
Earrings: can't remember and can't really see here :)
Burgundy button front shirt: Thrifted (originally from Banana Republic)
Oxblood/burgundy lace trimmed camisole: Fairweather
C. 1950s/1960s gold tone rose brooch: Unknown, had for many years (probably thrifted; similar styles available in my Etsy shop)
1940s style brown faux leather bomber jacket: Thrifted from Value Village (originally from Suzy Shier)
Vintage style oxblood/burgundy faux leather cross body bag: eBay
Gold tone metal bangle bracelet: Payless
1940s vintage reproduction dark green swing trousers: Heyday
1930s/1940s style brown lace up oxfords: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Party Line

Photography by Tony Cangiano  

♥ ♥ ♥

...Before we officially put (well, in so much as such a bold statement can ever be uttered on Canadian soil) winter to rest.

Actually, we've been snow-free for quite a while now due to the milder-than-usual February and March that we've been treated to. In place of the usual lashings of snow and ice that often fill these months here, it's mostly been rain, rain and more rain, with occasional - and wholly welcomed - pockets of sunshine.

Naturally then, as you may have guessed, these photos were taken (on my parents deck) back when the world was still a Christmas card worthy winter wonderland of icicles, tranquil falling snow, and enough white stuff on the ground to make a million friends for Frosty.

Those of you who follow me on YouTube (where, you know, I post videos in rapid flurries of activity at least once a year :P), may recall when, last summer, I thrifted the 1940s style bomber jacket from Value Village (as I mentioned it in this video). Hailing from the Canadian clothing chain Suzy Shier originally, this thrift store score was a dream come true on the fashion front for me.

More often than not, bomber style jackets look atrocious on me. Like, we're talking scary bad. So much so, that I've almost relegated them to the realm of vintage garments that I (just about) never wear.

Luckily however, I didn't throw in the towel entirely and the moment that I slipped this dark brown faux leather 1940s style bomber jacket on in the aisle right there at Value Village, I knew it was love at first sight (and my sweet mom, who was with me, thought so as well, which was great to hear). Needless to say, I bought it instantly and have been living in this jacket as part of many of my casual ensembles ever since.

Wonderfully warm and fabulously old school looking, this is the kind of easy-going jacket everyone's wardrobe would be bettered by. Another thing that makes your closet even more enjoyable is when you've got the perfect 1940s, or 1940s style, accessories to pair with said bomber jacket.

For me, one of those is unequivocally this flat out awesome 1940s style floral print head wrap that my dear friend Cherry, from She Knits in Pearls, recently sent to me as a very thoughtful review present (thank you so much, darling gal!).

Last year Cherry and her mom, both talented sewers, launched the beautifully named Lacey Rose Creations on Etsy (as well as a companion Instagram account of the same name - and you can also see more of Cherry's creative happening and daily life on her personal Instagram as well), where they sell a lovely selection of handmade items, including head wraps in the same style as this gorgeous rose print number, as well as fabric headbands, kitchen linens, and other fun delights.

At first glance, you might think that this wrap was a regular style scarf tied up 1940s war worker style, but in fact, it is a brilliantly designed head wrap that strikes one as being somewhat akin to a roomy shower cap in the way its designed (I say that in a totally positive light).

It's also a bit like a snood and pre-made turban in the sense that one simply places the wrap on their head and adjusts it to fit however they want. The elastic edges keep it in place and pre-tied bow makes it look as though you are indeed sporting a traditional headscarf, only you're not.

No, this easier and quicker, and every bit (if not more so) as comfortable. It's a brilliant design and way to quickly get a 40s style look up top without a lot of time or effort (always handy for the busy lives so many of us lead). I really hope that Cherry and her mom keep producing more of these comfy cotton head wraps, because I'm beyond addicted to my first one and would love to add more to my wardrobe as time goes on.

If you haven't checked out Cherry's shop yet, I highly encourage you to do so. The items that she and her mom are producing are all terrific looking and very reasonably priced, too, may I add.

I had a bunch of cooking for family events and running around to do on the day that these photos were taken, so to compliment the casual bomber jacket and lovely head wrap, I added a pair of 1940s reproduction swing trousers from Heyday, a classic burgundy hued button front shirt, a vintage rose brooch, a gold tone bangle bracelet, an oxblood/burgundy faux leather cross body bag, and my super beloved brown 30s/40s style oxfords to the mix for a fun look that was ideal for checking a million and one things off my to-do list.

This head wrap is warm, but not swelteringly so in the slightest and I'm certain that I'll continue to wear it until the (snow covered) cows come home all year round. If I could wave a magic wand and have a hundred of them in a rainbow of colours and patterns, I happily would - especially given how wonderfully well constructed they are.

So, my dears, this will most likely (again, Canada and all) be the last snow filled post for a few months. We had a great run and enjoyed some really diverse outfits together here this time around.

As we officially embrace springtime, I'm equally excited to share a bounty of fun warm weather looks with you all once more - and who knows, perhaps this head wrap will appear here again when the mercury is as far north as it was south on the day these very snaps were taken.

Vintage Link Love for February 2015

It's fascinating, isn't it, how the shortest month can sometimes feel like the longest due to the lingering winter weather? (A point that I touched on recently in this post.) February was an interesting month. Objectively, I wouldn't say it felt that long this time around (January seemed much more so to me), but as with its predecessor that kicked off the year, it was a heavily mixed bag with no shortage of stress and curveballs (although, yes, I readily acknowledge, that's often just life in general!).

One of the better points for me was when I hit the point of having 400+ items listed in my Etsy shop at once for the first time ever (if you haven't stopped by in a while, why not do so today and checkout the plethora of great new offerings there!). As you may recall from last month's edition of Vintage Link Love, I'd set the goal of doing so by the end of March, so I was delighted to beat that date by more than a full month. My next big shop related goal is to reach 500+ listings by my shop's first birthday in early May.

In the midst of icy rain showers, Valentine's Day, an auction on the 15th in Vernon (which I came home empty handed from - but still had a blast at), listing up a storm, thrifting, and beginning my spring cleaning, I found time to enjoy some online reading and amongst the stories that have really jumped out at me lately, I hope you'll have a blast delving into this month's list of twelve exciting, informative, inspiring, or just plain fun selection of vintage related posts.

♥ Make a 1940s flower brooch: As part of Brittany's awesome 1940s fashion calendar for 2015, she recently shared this fantastic old school inspired flower pin how-to that will have you reaching for your felt stash and a needle faster than you can say "vintage accessory!" (and be sure to check out Bonita's beautiful version that she made and shared on her blog, too).


♥  Tips for taking photos in cold weather: Though winter might (finally!) be nearing an end, this is subject all outfit bloggers who live in climates that get chilly at any point in the year can definitely relate to and are bound to enjoy and appreciate the tips in this lovely post from A Beautiful Mess on how to still land great shots even when the mercury is shivering.


♥ Aristocrats of Fashion - circa 1940 Educational Film: Ready to have your vintage fashion loving knees turn to jelly at the speed of light? Watch the delightful c. 1940 colour video below and prepare to be dazzled from start to finish!







♥ Easy art deco nails with Scotch tape: Whether you consider yourself to be a master of nail are or are the newest of newcomers to the field, chances are you'll be able to not only pull off, but seriously nail, this awesome art deco inspired look that Bianca from The Closet Historian recently shared. It's chic, fun, and very Gatsby themed party worthy!


♥  Vintage Hairstyle Trick to Hide Bangs: Whether you call them fringe or bangs, they’re no denying that most women who opt to cover part (or all) of their forehead with an attractive length of hair end up having something of a love-hate relationship with said bangs at least every once in a while. If you’re not feeling your fringe at the moment and/or are in the process of growing yours out or simply want to learn how to do a classic rolled bang, than this excellent step-by-step, photo rich post from Tasha is sure to help banish those bangs blues in a heartbeat!


♥ 10 Reasons Your Grandparents Were Already Cooler Than You: To those of us who life a vintage filled life, this list might seem a tad obvious, while also including many things that we ourselves continue to do in the 21st century, but I still found it to be a fun, though admittedly somewhat over simplistic (for example, with #1, there has been processed food since at least the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, though I do certainly agree that eating locally sourced offerings used to be far more common and constitute a larger percentage of one's daily diet than it does for many in the 21st century), look at some of the things that really did make our foremothers and fathers so awesome.






♥ Darling, Can You Spare a Dime? How Victorians Fell in Love With Pocket Change: I've long adored, and even one a piece of Victorian etched coin jewelry (with one of my nicknames/variations of my name, Essie, on it), so when I saw a whole (wonderful!) post on the subject of 17th to early 20th century examples of love tokens appear on Collector's Weekly recently, my eyes lit up like shiny silver dollars.


♥ Top tips to working at home: One of these days, I suspect I'll pen a post on this topic myself, too, but in the meantime, be sure to check out Olivia's handy, helpful, practical advice for those who also call their abode their office.


♥ A Wonderfully Nostalgic Compilation of 1980s Teen Movies Seamlessly Set to the Song ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’: For all those, like me, who will always leave a massive part of their heart in the excellent eighties, this memorable montage is for you.






♥ 10 ways to get a bigger profit when selling your vintage: From Trish Hunter's recently launched, and truly excellent website, The Vintage Post, comes this splendid list of ten tips that will help you up your profits when selling vintage, be it the occasional item on eBay or Facebook or full time on Etsy or anywhere else. Definitely one for all vintage buyers and sellers to bookmark.


♥ Class Style Icon: Audrey Hepburn: Bethany, aka The Glamorous Housewife, serves up some currently available, timelessly lovely wardrobe options that will help you capture and convey Audrey Hepburn's elegantly youthful style in this fun fashion filled post.


♥ Vintage Dance Cards: Liz's terrific photo filled look at this one commonplace, but now nearly forgotten (outside of the vintage realm at least) item is sure to put you in the mood to cut a rug, dance card firmly in hand, natch! :)

{All images throughout the list of links above come by way of the post that they are displayed directly beneath the write up of here. Please follow the links provided to learn more about these images.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Tomorrow we'll bound into March with the energy of an adorable baby bunny and I couldn't be happier about that point. March is a great transitional month. It ushers in spring and also houses the anniversary of when Tony and I met for the first time (2015 will mark eleven years since that truly life changing date occurred back in 2004). In addition, we start thinking about the next crop of holidays, such as Easter, Mother's Day, Victoria Day (here in Canada), and Father's Day that will greet us in the coming months, as well as the simple pleasures and immense joys of the season alike.

As winter slowly melts away, I've got vintage fashion on the brain (okay, I know, I've always vintage on the brain, but still! :D) and will be blogging about everything from an ode to one of my favourite colours ever (and how to wear it in a vintage context) to some awesome 50s warm weather looks that have been setting my heart a flutter this year to my final set of outfit photos from our trip to Vancouver Island last autumn, all in the coming month.

With every ounce my heart, I wish you each a magnificent, sun kissed and very beautiful March and hope that the third month of the year is as sweet to you as the first strawberries of spring!

HRF is giving away a custom snood from Arthelia's Attic

Like many who follow a large number of blogs, I often encounter - and frequently enter - posts for giveaways, but it's not everyday that I spot one that seems so serendipitously well timed.

You see, as of late, I've had snoods on the brain big time! I've been finding that one of the best ways to help my wig look less wig-ish (which to be fair, this one honestly doesn't to begin with, but this is handy advice in general, so I really wanted to share it) is to use hair accessories.

Nearly every day that I've worn my wig so far, I've partnered it with a hair accessory and/or hat of some kind. Barrettes and hair flowers have been the most common to date, but right around the new year, I started to get a mad hankering to sport my snoods. I have a few, but they're all made from inexpensive rayon and must not be colour fast, because I've had the dye on two of them run when they got wet (one wrecking a beloved white blouse when this occurred on a rainy summer day last year), so I very rarely wear them (and honestly, may repurpose them as craft supplies one day after I've got some better snoods).

I adore the classic look of snoods however, which, for us vintage gals, channels instant thoughts of the 1940s first and foremost and really want to get into wearing them, especially after seeing how incredible fellow vintage fashionistas like Laurence look in their stylish examples of this timeless hair accessory.

Now that I'm sporting a wig fulltime, interestingly enough, it works out even better for me to wear snoods because I have more hair to fill them with (before, even when my hair was fully curled, it often didn't look very voluminous inside of a snood).

After an evening spent hunting for snoods on eBay, etsy and elsewhere, and finding a a few potentially good sources, I asked on Facebook for some recommendations for snoods and Laurence replied with a recommendation for etsy seller Arthelia's Attic.




{Arthelia's Attic offers high quality handmade snoods (made using a pattern from 1942) in an array of beautiful colours. Amongst which the lovely navy blue pictured above is definitely one of my favourites.}



I'd learned of this seller some time ago and just rediscovered them that day myself, so it seemed to be a really good sign that they were the first snood seller recommended to me. I'm budgeting and watching my spending exceedingly carefully at the moment, so tempted as I've been, I haven't bought a snood from Arthelia's Attic or anyone else so far (but, boy, am I itching to do so!).

You can imagine my delight then when, earlier this week, I saw that the the blog Haute Rockabilly Fashion was offering readers a chance to win a custom Arthelia's Attic Snood. I just about jumped out my seat with excitement when I discovered that and couldn't enter fast enough. I know that many of you are big time snood enthusiasts, too, so if you'd like to enter, all you have to do is post about the giveaway on your blog on, or before, January 14th; follow HRF, and leave a comment on the giveaway post letting her know that you entered.

I'm smitten with the snoods from Arthelia's Attic and am keeping my fingers, toes and curls crossed that I maybe, just maybe, the snood gods will smile on me and I'll end up being the winner of one of Arthelia's gorgeous offerings (I can just imagine how cute they'd look with my wig!).

A beautiful example of 1940s headband inspiration

✯ Day 333 of Vintage 365 ✯

Headbands are a marvelous accessory, if you ask me. No doubt due in part to my 1980s and 90s childhood (when they were frequently all the rage - especially in the pre-scrunchie days), I've had a long standing love of headbands. Between grades four and seven in particular, I sported them more days than not to school and amassed a collection of a dozen or more, all of which saw heavy rotation.

By the time high school rolled around and I was actively experimenting with a range of hairstyles (including my first solid attempts at vintage hairdos), headbands took a bit of a back seat, but I certainly still reached for them sometimes.

Hop ahead to my twenties; gone are most of the particular updos and hairstyles I wore as a teen (oh the horrors of some of them!) and instead, nearly every day, I opt for vintage 40s and 50s looks instead. The one main exception to that statement is that I will sometimes wear a ponytail, but even then I try to give it a fun late 50s inspired vibe.

Interestingly, I've found that it's by no means impossible to combine mid-century styles with that beloved childhood hair accessory of mine, headbands.

Now granted, the 30s, 40s, and 50s did not see an abundance of headbands (be they soft fabric or sturdier plastic/metal band styles), however I have encountered some images of gals from those decades looking positively lovely in headbands, such as the elegant blonde who appeared on the July 1945 cover of Cornet magazine pictured below.

{Vintage Cornet magazine cover featuring a sophisticated looking woman, complete with a pretty blue headband, via What Makes the Pie Shops Tick on Flickr.}

 

Here a relatively simple, completely classic curled hairstyle partners with an understated royal blue fabric headband to which a glistening bejewelled pin of a bird (an eagle, if you ask me) has been attached for a delightful dose of unexpected bling.

The wearing of headbands is by no means a twenty-first century novelty, in fact cultures stretching back as far (if not earlier) than the Greeks and Romans used both strips of fabric and wreaths of greenery as headbands.

During the last century however, headbands (generally speaking) didn't really come into major vogue until the Mod looks of the swinging 60s appeared. However prior to that, styles ranging from plain black bands to feather and flower adorned examples did indeed exist, sometimes paired with a wisp of tulle to create a sort of hat/headband combo.

Over the last few days headbands have (like most fashion accessories) waxed and waned in popularity, yet never completely fallen off the radar (in fact in very recent years, due in no small part to a rival in preppy fashions alla Gossip Girl, they've become a hit once more with fashionistas everywhere), and I suspect they're unlikely to ever completely vanish.

Not, of course, that I'd stop wearing them if they did! These days, inspired by images like this beautiful vintage magazine cover, I enjoy wearing headbands with second or third day pin curls, as well as Veronica Lake inspired waves. Sometimes, I'll swap a headband for the more classic bandanna look, and channel my inner WW2 factory worker with a roll or mini pompadour of hair adorned with a cute polka dot (or solid hued) stretch fabric headband.

To all those who enjoy both headbands and vintage 40s/50s hairstyles, yet may have been hesitant to pair the two, I hope that this post helps put your mind at ease and that it inspires you to try pairing these two together for a stylish, completely old school approved look that radiates beauty and timeless charm.

Found: a rainbow of snoods for just $5 each

✯ Day 219 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

It's summer, you're feeling so hot you wouldn't surprised if eggs could fry on your forehead, and anything that can possibly shave a few degrees off seems like a godsend. Enter the snood.

I know, I know, I see your right eyebrow darting upwards, but hear me out. As gal whose had medium or long hair pretty much all her life, I know firsthand the notable difference in temperature one can feel when their hair is worn up out of their face and not matted to their shoulders.

I love (pin) curled locks cascading down my back as much as the next gal, but sometimes you want a hairstyle that's clearly vintage, yet is able to be put together quickly and that allows your hair to be worn up, and that is precisely where the snood comes in.

Snoods are unique in many ways. They're both practical (women who went off to work in the factories of WW2 commonly sported snoods), yet can be surprisingly elegant, too.

You can wear your hair as fancily or plainly in the front as you like (I like a small victory roll or two nestled against the top edge of the snood; curled bangs are another favourite), and sweep the rest (whether you have a few inches or your hair grazes your belt) up into the snood, where it will be kept neat and tidy, resting against the base of your neck.

If you're a fan of snoods, too, then you'll jump for joy over the bevy of lovely snoods I spotted recently over at vintage reproduction seller Red Dress Shoppe.

These wonderful, very vintage inspired snoods are available in a delightful range of 18 different hues (six of which can be seen in the image below), meaning you can find one to go with just about any garment in your wardrobe.

 

Retailing at the very reasonable rate of $5.00 (US) each, these crochet snoods are also easy on the pocketbook. If you're new to wearing snoods, I suggest you pick up a couple in more neutral hues like black and white or grey, and see how you like the look of them paired with your favourite 1940s and 50 outfits.

If you enjoy sporting a snood, especially during these sweltering days of summer when you want a lovely vintage updo that gets your hair out of your face, then branch out and add more colours to your snood collection.

Snoods are a lot of fun, quick to attach (a few bobby pins or hair clips should do the trick), add instant old school charm to any ensemble, and are an affordable fashion accessory that, in my opinion, will never lose its feminine elegance, classic beauty or practical handiness as way of corralling and chicly styling your hair.

Four fantastic 1940s hairstyles for long haired gals

✯ Day 151 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Throughout much of human history young girls and women alike have worn their hair long. Lengthy locks were tied to deeply rooted notions of beauty, vitality, innocence, chastity, faith, devotion, and health - amongst many others - and were something that countless ladies over the centuries prided themselves on having. However, as time wore on and the 20th century dawned, a cord began to change where women's hairstyles were involved.

By the end of the '10s, some brazen, trend setting gals were ditching their Gibson Girl inspired, Rapunzel-esque manes for much, much shorter cuts, such as the immensely popular bob of the 1920s and 30s (which was sometimes paired with a Marcel or finger wave, or other type of tight curl).

Shorter styles remained commonplace through the 40s, and 50s, though there were noticeable differences between many of the styles of each respective decade.

However, whereas some gals were quick to sheer off much of their hair (or never grow out, in the case of those born after short female hairstyles became more culturally accepted), others opted to hang onto their longer locks.

Whether shoulder grazing or reaching down to their tailbone, long hair was not uncommon by any means amongst vintage women. In fact, many of the most beloved and iconic actresses, models and performers of the golden decades of the last century boasted hair that was anything but pixie cut length (think of the cascading waves of beauties like Rita Hayworth, Ann Sheridan, Veronica Lake, Susan Hayward, Hedy Lamarr, and Bridet Bardot to name but a few screen sirens who boasted longer hairstyles).

Then, as today, not all women opted for shorter cuts - not did all ladies decide to go in for perms (which generally gave the appearance of lopping at least a few inches off of their locks). Popular as they were for much of the early and mid-twentieth century, permanent waves were not something that every gal embraced (for various reasons including having naturally curly hair, being allergic to the chemicals used, economic concerns, or simply the desire to stand out as something of a hairstyle maverick).

 

As such, women who opted to keep their hair longer needed becoming styles that were on trend, practical enough to do themselves (for those days when a trip to the beauty parlour wasn't in the cards), and which ensured they looked immensely well put together.

Pages such as the handy magazine spread above from 1944 entitled Dos for Long Hair, helped teach WW2 era long haired women of all ages some delightfully chic styles that they could  readily apply to their own tresses.

Many of us, myself included, have hair that falls into the medium to longer length category and as such are often on the lookout for authentic vintage hairstyles that we can easily do ourselves today.

This delightful 1940s page (which comes by way of clotho98 on Flickr; click here if you'd like to see a larger version of this set of instructions for of graceful long hair vintage styling options) delivers four distinct looks (the Chinese Page Boy, Crescent Chignon, Side Sweep, and Ears Buns), which can easily be replicated - with some practise and a few hair pins - today by many of those with longer manes.

Each of these looks is distinct, yet so perfectly channels the blend of practicality and feminine beauty that held sway in women's lives during the tumultuous war years.

These hairstyles are ones that will stand the test of time, as perfect and enchanting today as they were sixty-seven years ago when they first appeared on in the pages of Women's Day magazine - inspiring women of both generations of try something new and gorgeous with their longer locks.

Taking a look back (literally) at 1940s hairstyles

✯ Day 65 of Vintage 365 ✯

Perhaps I'm the odd (wo)man out here, but as much as I adore seeing what vintage hairstyles look like from the front (and sides), I've always been intrigued by how they appeared from the back as well. Typically in beauty ads, vintage hairstyle books and magazines, and old school photographs and magazine images, we see hairdos as they appear straight on.

However, in the real world it's not uncommon at all to see the back of someone's head (for example, while walking down the street, sitting in class, taking a bus, or waiting in line) and there's much to be said for styling your vintage hair looks so that they sparkle with old school pizzazz (and authenticity) from any view.

Finding genuine vintage images that show how hairstyles of the mid-twentieth century looked from the back is a fair bit trickier than sourcing those that present styles from the front. As such I'm always on the prowl for "back of the head" photos that show how 1930s, 40s and 50s styles appeared from the back. While I sometimes find photos featuring one woman with the back of her head to the camera, it's quite rare to encounter a shot that shows multiple gals all facing away from the lens.

 

Thus today's terrific vintage find is a real treasure. Featuring numerous 1940s teenage girls' hairstyles as they appeared from the back, this lovely photo is both historically interesting and highly practical (if you're trying to recreate styles from that era yourself, I mean).

My hair is currently of a similar length to that of most of these young women, and I could definitely see myself trying to recreate any one (or more) of these looks, using the back of the style as inspiration for how the front would turn out (instead of the other way around, as is often the case).

There's something so fun and charming, timeless and beautiful about this 1940s hairstyle filled image (which comes via kimintn on Flickr). It's a both a slice-of-life look back at fun, wavy hairdos (and teenage fashions, don't you just adore all of their lovely dresses?!) of the day, as well as a super useful reference for creating 1940s hairstyles of your own that will look fantastic from any angle!

Vintage 365: CV post inspires vintage blogger's beautiful 1940s looped braid hairstyle

✯ Day 20 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

The response to the Vintage 365 daily post here on CV has been tremendously positive so far, and I believe that as the year progresses things will continue to shine. Though the project is less than a month old at this point, I've already had a some people contact me to say that they blogged about one of the Vintage 365 posts that really caught their eye (thank you, sweet dears!).

One such person is the immensely lovely Tasha of By gum by golly! , a delightful vintage and craft centred blog, who wrote to say that the vintage magazine cover image I used for the January 13th Vintage 365 post Slide show celebrates 125 years of Ladies Home Journal magazine, inspired her to recreate the darling 1940s looped braid pigtails the the mother and daughter are sporting on that cover.

Not only did Tasha recreate this charming, seriously adorable hairstyle with immense success (see image above), she detailed the steps she took to do so on her blog, so that she could inspire her readers to try this playful style on their own locks.

For me one of the best elements of being a vintage blogger is the continual inspiration I gather from both yesteryear images and my fellow old school bloggers, and I was touched deeply to know that Tasha drew such stylish inspiration from one of my posts. Though my own hair is far to thin to pull off this immensely cute 1940s hairdo with any degree of success, I adore the how Tasha tied cheerful ruby hued ribbons around the tops of her pigtail braids, and I'm now inspired to dig into my craft stash and start wearing more ribbons in my hair (and should I have ever a daughter one day, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be trying the looped pigtail look on her!).

Thank you very much, Tasha, for sharing how an edition of Vintage 365 inspired you; I absolutely loved seeing your wonderful hairstyle and am sure you'll inspire scores of vintage loving gals to copy this super fun look!

Vintage 365: A brief history of, and where to find, hair rats

✯ Day 12 of Vintage 365 ✯

With a name that might at first inspire thoughts of pesky vermin (or cute little rodent critters, depending on your personal feelings), “hair rats “ actually have absolutely nothing to do with the four legged creatures they share part of their name with. Instead a hair rat (or hair rat piece, as it is sometimes known) is a a very simple volumizing device that’s tucked under a portion of one's hair to help create volume and lift (and/or a specific shape).

In decades and centuries past (and still sometimes today) hair rats were often made from hair that the wearer (or another person) had shed and collected over time (then commonly fashioned into a nest-like shape). Today however, they are frequently made out of synthetic materials (such as foam) and tend to take the form of either a round doughnut (with or without a whole in the middle), that's handy for creating tidy looking chignons and buns, or a cylinder measuring a few inches long which is very useful for a number of different vintage hairstyles (from rolled faux Bettie bangs to generous sized rolls and curls - such as those worn by the two women in the 1940s photo above - that instantly channel WW2 era beauties such as Betty Grable).

I've noticed over the years on various vintage blogs and forums, that many gals are looking for where to buy hair rats from. Despite living in a big city (Toronto), I haven't chanced upon one myself in any of drug, department, and beauty supply shops I've checked either, so I decided to go hunting for hair rats online (pun intended).

I'm happy to share with all of you that I found a site called "A Discount Beauty" that sells both 6", 8", and 10" long hair rats (including styles with snaps on the end, if you want to create a doughnut shaped rat), that are available in black, brown and beige (pick the colour closest to your current hair shade, so that the rat will be less visible if your hair slips and exposes part of it).

At a nicely budget-friendly $6.25 each (regardless of length/colour), you can easily pick up one or two of these handy-dandy tools to keep in your hairstyling arsenal. Hair rats are oodles of fun to play with and such a help when you want to create tight, generously sized vintage style hair rolls (and who amongst us, doesn’t love those?! ).