Pearly Lou Vintage

Although my heart is a vintage one, I cannot deny that I live in a Modern World with Modern costs which means I can’t always get that dress or skirt which makes me feel fantastic. I have to pay my bills sadly which means buying new clothes or nice things for my flat has to be on a budget. I think the phrase is ‘Champagne lifestyle on a Prosecco budget.’ With this hanging over me, I’ve had to become savvy with my purchases.

My first port of call for a vintage bargain is most definitely eBay. I can happily say that a healthy amount of my wardrobe purchases are from eBay, as it offers a convenient and cheap way to shop. Why would anyone pay stupid amounts of money on a brand new outfit, when you can purchase a bargain, that someone has usually only worn once or twice and are keen to sell to make room in their wardrobe for their next over priced purchase. I’ll admit, there are some over priced vintage and vintage inspired clothing, however I have found some absolute gems while shopping for a bargain. One such bargain was a beautiful 1980’s does 1940’s sequin maxi dress that I bought for a Christmas party two years ago. The detail on this dress is breathtaking and the dress is such an elegant garment that to this day I have not seen another. The seller wanted £50 but I thought ‘lets be cheeky and put in a lower offer.’ I started with £30 thinking ‘she won’t accept that’ but I tried anyway and to my amazement it was accepted! £30 for a beautiful gown to which I spent the evening receiving a bounty of compliments.

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Another bargain opportunity comes in the form of vintage fairs. I love a good vintage fair! Not only does it resemble heaven (well in my eyes) but it offers a plethora of vintage enthusiasts who can offer advice if your looking for that special something. It also offers an opportunity for you to collect the business cards of your favorite stalls and continue to shop with them online. I remember going to Lou Lou’s Vintage Fair in Cheltenham and being in bargain central! I purchased a fair (excuse the pun) few things that day but my absolute favorite purchase was a pussy bow dress from the 1960s/1970s. I tried it on at the fair (yes they have changing rooms there, well very communal ones) and it fit perfectly! I thought ‘I won’t be able to afford this’ but looking at the tag it said £20!!! I could not believe my luck. I hastily put my clothes back on and bought the dress. To this day I still wear it knowing I bought it at a bargain price.

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If your on a budget, the best place to make the most of your pennies are charity shops. Yes there is a lot of stigma behind charity shops but the whole ‘someone died in these clothes’ stigma is a lie. Yes they do get a lot clothes from house clearances but all clothes are steam cleaned prior to being put on sale and anything not good enough is recycled. Therefore, you are in fact buying the best of the crop. You will have to go hunting through it all, but personally I think that adds to the thrill of it all. You literally go in not knowing what your going to find. One person I know went in for a jumper and came out with a pair of unworn Irregular Choice shoes for a bargain price of £20. These shoes were worth £80 in the official store!

So like I said at the beginning of this post, vintage and vintage inspired can be expensive but if you explore less traditional avenues of shopping, you can buy more for less! Forget the stigmas and explore the other ways to shop. At the end of the day why buy a dress full price when you can buy something similar (or better) for a much smaller price. If there’s any other ways you’ve found to save the pennies then please let me know in the comments section.

One thing I always look at when I see vintage photos is the fabulous hairstyles. They make the lady sporting the style look just elegant and beautiful. My immediate after thought usually goes along the lines of “I couldn’t do that, I struggle with straighteners on a good day.” It got me thinking though, why was I letting negativity stop me and not even attempting these hairstyles?! So, I grew some ‘lady balls’ and decided to do something about it. I just don’t see the harm in attempting to make myself happy and learn a new skill.

To try and work out what I needed to do I combed through copious amounts of YouTube tutorials but I wasn’t being explained in a way a complete hair novice like myself would understand. I then investigated vintage hair salons in the Swindon area (my current residence at the time) and stumbled across a beacon of hope in the form of Vintage Victory Rollers Vintage Hair Workshop. At a bargain price of £80 I got to understand the assorted products and tools I could use and more crucially I saw a hairstyle that even me the hair novice could do! This is the fabulous Victory Rolls, a popular hairstyle of the 1940’s and even into the early 50’s. I couldn’t believe such a complicated looking hairstyle was achievable and wouldn’t break the bank! The lovely Rachel of Victory Vintage Rollers changed my whole attitude to styling that day. She gave me confidence.

There are many techniques to achieve fabulous rolls but my preferred is what I call the ‘can of hair spray and back comb method.’ Its simple yet effective and a bonus is if you wrap your hair in a scarf before bed, it will not only hold but will require very little maintenance in the morning. I will warn you though, washing this out will involve you needing a comb when you condition your hair. Please follow these steps to achieve these fabulous rolls. Note: Credit to Rachel at Vintage Victory Rollers for teaching this method to me and many other women out there.

What you will need:

Hair bands or sectioning clips
Hair grips
Comb
Back Combing Brush (optional but the results are better I think)
Hair Spray
Hair Flower (to decorate)
Nylon Scarf (optional)

Step 1

First of all, you will need section your hair off into three sections. Grab a hair grip or the tip of your comb and separate the hair from the back of the ear on the left side. With the front section you have just created, use a hair band or sectioning clip and gather the section together. Repeat this on the right side. Once done, grab the remainder of your hair and tie up at the back and out the way.

Step 2

Next, you will need the hairspray and back combing brush (or your comb). Choose either the left or right side and remove the clip or hair band. Take a small section of hair and brush it smooth. On the side closest to your head, grab your brush or comb and start back combing. Once happy, spray that section and move over to the side of your head. Keep doing this until you start to resemble a crazy professor.

Step 3

Right, now you should be looking completely crazy and bird ‘nesty’. With this mop, gently brush the outside to gather the ‘nest’ together. Once the hair is gathered, create a small loop with your fingers (don’t worry if your struggling this can take some practice) and slowly start rolling the loop inwards. Once you’re happy with the shape, pin the hair in place with a couple of pins to get the initial structure. Once secure, gently move your hair around until you are happy with you roll and securing with pins and hairspray. Don’t worry again if you have to re roll, it’s perfectly normal.

Step 4

Now with the other section of your hair, repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have 2 lovely rolls. From here you can do whatever you want with the remainder of your hair. I personally like to gather my hair up and adorn my head with a nylon scarf and hair flower. You can though straighten or even curl the back of your hair, the choices are endless! Just remember, once your happy with your hair, use that spray just to make sure everything looks lovely and smooth but more importantly, will stay in place.

I hope this guide has helped but if you do have any questions or queries, then please do not hesitate to contact me on my contact page. I hope you do enjoy your lovely new do and remember everyone, why be normal when you can be fabulous!

Vintage on a Budget; It Can Be Done!

Victory Rolls: A Personal Love Affair