Links to Love

It's been way too long since I've done one of these posts. Let's jump on in.

Kim Kardashian Doesn't Realize She's the Butt of a Racist Joke

I don't know enough about Kim Kardashian to have formed much of an opinion about her as a person. She comes across as tone deaf and oblivious, and she's pretty tacky. Maybe it's my tendency to root for the underdog, but despite (or perhaps because of) all the negative press she gets, I don't really dislike her. However, I found this article about the racial implications of her photo shoot really eye opening.
When I was talking about this with my boyfriend, his response was something along the lines of "there are so many bigger, worse things in the world. Why are we even talking about this?" I think the reason why people get so involved in the whole issue is that these photos didn't happen in a vacuum. Black women are devalued in our society, and the way that they are portrayed sexually plays a huge part in that. These photos are not the same things as black women being targeted by a serial killer who knew their disappearances wouldn't be investigated as thoroughly because of their skin color, but it's a symptom of the same problem. No, Kim Kardashian is not black, but she does have the kind of figure that is typically associated with black women, making the parallels obvious.

A Vintage Nerd - Dell Purse Book 1964: 75 Hairstyles

Photo taken from A Vintage Nerd
And onto a subject that's a little less fraught. I love this post from Daphne at A Vintage Nerd about the cute little purse book she came across. My hair is getting long enough that I can set it with sponge rollers, so I'm thinking about giving some of these a try this weekend.

Who is the lumbersexual and is anything about him real?

I was deeply amused by this article. Although I think the actual term is pretty silly, I definitely know guys like this. The Lumberjack look is slowly edging out of Old-Timey Mustache and Pomp look in my neighborhood, but I'm pretty sure none of the guys that used to wax their mustaches to points have picked up any backwoods survival skills in the past six months. Of course, I also know flannel and beard dudes who really could build a log cabin from scratch if they wanted to, so maybe it's just a look.

The Disabled Children Locked Up in Cages
I talked a little bit about the stigma against mental disorders in the post that I put up for Veteran's Day, and this just shows how much worse it can get for people who are considered "abnormal." This is just heartbreaking - it's like baby prison for kids with autism or other disorders that make them difficult to care for.

The Psychology of "It's So Cute I Could Eat It" Phenomenon

Speaking of things that trigger my cute aggression, head over to She Loves Dresses to wish Jenny a happy birthday. She created an awesome project prompting her readers to send her selfies with a note about something they love about themselves. She also makes me want to squeeze her until she squeaks. Weird.
Into it. Apparently it helps us even out emotionally. The more aggressive you get, the bigger decline you have in positive emotions, bringing you back to a normal base state.

The Wrap Dress

Diane von Furstenberg didn't invent the wrap dress, but she was the one who brought them to the masses and made them into the wardrobe staple that they are today. According to DVF herself,

"...the V-neck wrap design fit a woman’s body like no other dress: snug around the chest and arms, tied flatteringly slim around the waist, full enough over the legs for a woman to take an unrestricted stride, yet tight enough to show off her bottom."

Hot stuff.


What do you remember learning from Sesame Street?

I may be the only kid in America that doesn't have fond memories of growing up with Sesame Street. I'm sure I must have watched it at some point, but I honestly don't remember it at all. There was a lot of Warner Brothers in my life that shaped my formative years, though - Animaniacs, Histeria, and anything and everything Bugs Bunny. I'd say irony and hammerspace were worthwhile subjects to discover at a young age...

My new normcore hair and my totally awesome weekend

I go to a professional for major color changes - going from black to blonde, for instance - but most of the time I do my hair myself. Usually it works out pretty well. I've been coloring my hair for many years now, so I generally understand what my hair's going to do and how to deal with it.
My hair was in desperate need of a touchup, and I was interested in going a little bit darker for the fall. I was shooting for a medium to dark golden blonde, and the dye that I picked up looked like it should have been exactly that. When I got it on my head, it looked darker than I expected, but that's not that uncommon; when I was dying my hair a very silvery blonde a few years back, for example, the dye was a deep violet color.
So I was a little surprised when I washed everything out, and my hair had turned out to be this color.

I like it, but I'm not quite sure what I think of it. On the one hand, it's pretty close to my natural color (just lacking in the red tone that my hair has) (at least, I think so, anyway. It's been a really long time since I've seen my natural color), so it should be much lower maintenance than the more drastic colors that I usually go for, like a light blonde or black. I do think it's kind of pretty, and it definitely has more dimension than the single process blonde that I had before. And, ok, my hair looks way softer and healthier.
I don't think I have ever had hair that's just brown before, though. Not that there's anything wrong with having brown hair, but given what I'm used to, I guess it just seems slightly... boring? No, I shouldn't say that. It's not like I look at other brunettes out think that their hair is boring, I promise. It's flattering and pretty, but it's not as dramatic as the colors that I usually gravitate towards, and that's going to take some getting used to.

I don't think I've ever posted a full photo of this Trashy Diva set, but it's one of my favorite things.
But enough about my hair. I actually had a pretty eventful weekend, at least for me. On Saturday I met up with some friends for Chicago's Slutwalk, which is an annual event to combat rape, harassment, and violence against women. The event came about after a police officer in Canada told a group of college women that if they don't want to get raped, they "shouldn't dress like sluts." The idea that a woman is "asking for it" or is responsible for being raped because she is dressed a certain way is absolutely sickening. Rape and street harassment aren't about sex, they're about power, the power that men feel like they have over women's bodies and actions. Slutwalk sends a powerful message that even a provocatively dressed woman still has rights, and that clothing cannot give consent. You can check Facebook for your local event if you would like to get involved.
When I was riding my bike to meet up with my boyfriend afterwards, the sky opened up and absolutely drenched me. I have a feeling it's going to be a very wet fall, which is kind of depressing. Rainy springs are great, but rainy autumns are just kind of miserable. Wet leaves don't crunch under your feet very well.
On Sunday, I got to see Robyn and Röyksopp at Millennium Park. Although I'm not all that familiar with either act, I like what I've heard from both of them, and they put on an amazing show. The friend that I was going to go with couldn't come because she sprained her ankle, but she gave her ticket to my boyfriend, so I got to go with him instead. They put on an amazing show, and I had a great time. I've got some videos up on my Facebook page if you want to check them out.
So what did you guys get up to this weekend?

All American Girl

Mondays, amirite?

Honestly, though, I'm feeling ok today. I'm not sure why I was in such a funk last week, but this week I'm prepared to be happy. Or, at the very least, I'm prepared to pretend that I'm happy, which usually leads to actual good feelings.
This weekend was really relaxing, even if I didn't get around to some of the things that I wanted to do. I've got food in the house, I worked out something interesting and vintage-y to do with my hair (more on that later), and I got to see Guardians of the Galaxy (um, again). Although I didn't make it to the library, which was also on my to do list, it kind of feels like a public service to run up fines on a bunch of books. Support your public library, y'all.
I think I've mentioned before that I don't wear pants very often, and I post photos of myself in pants even less frequently. I actually really like wearing my boyfriend's jeans, though. They're all worn and soft and comfy, and once in a while it just feels good to relax in a pair of Levi's.

The only real problem with wearing a pair of jeans that have already been broken in by a dude is that there tends to be extra dick room that, as a non-dick-having person, I don't really need.

Although it's not my typical style, there's something refreshingly classic and simple about a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Being me, I still wanted to dress it up a little bit with some red shoes and a floral headscarf.

My hair wasn't being super cooperative on Sunday, so the scarf and pin curls were as much necessity as decoration. I think this might end up being a go-to style for me - it's one of the few overtly vintage styles that I can still work with my hair this short. Of course, pin curls are used to style hair, and when I took them out at the end of the day, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the result was.

Please pardon the end of the day, post lipstick face. But the swoop is pretty sweet, right?
I did a wet roller set with standing pin curls in the front last night, and while I'm not entirely satisfied with the results, I think it has promise as an early 60s style. We'll see how it does with a little more work.
Well, I intend to have a lovely week, and I hope the rest of you have a great one as well.

Pinups with Pixies: A borrowed from the boys rockabilly style

This wacky hairstyle is making me excited about my hair again. I know, I know, I was just bitching about how I missed my hair, I want to grow it out, blah blah blah. And I still want to grow it out, but I'm also going to make the most of this short do while it lasts. It's funny how actually doing something with your hair makes it look way better than just washing, air drying, and then sighing because it's all flat and sad looking.

That's why they call me the king of the bop.

Elvis, Elvis! Let me be. Keep that pelvis far from me.
So this isn't quite the tutorial that I promised you last week (finger waves are coming, though! Promise), largely because I was feeling something with more of a rock and roll vibe this weekend. What I settled on can't quite be called a pompadour; it's more like if John Travolta in Grease or David Bowie got caught in a wind tunnel.


It's the first time that I've used my hot rollers since I got my hair cut, so that's pretty exciting. I also really liked the second day hair that I ended up with - it was a little messy and sexy, like the perfect bedhead that you never actually wake up with.
It's... ok, it's a definite look, and it's not going to be for everyone. Personally, though, I really liked the androgynous, glam rock(abilly) vibe, so maybe someone else will too.

Start with hair that has a little texture to it - if it's freshly washed, add a little bit of mousse or dry shampoo. It's hard to get really short hair to stay in rollers, so anything to gives your hair a little more grip can only help.

Separate out the top section of your hair. This can be as long or as wide as you would like, but make sure you can fit a couple of curlers side by side so that the curls can sweep inward, towards the center.

As with longer hair, give each section a quick spritz with hairspray before you put in the roller.

For obvious reasons, you'll want to use the smallest curlers you have. My set only has four in this size, so I ended up using a couple of larger rollers on the longest part of my hair.

Here's the final set.

When I did this the day before, I had one more double row of curlers in. While it did work, the clips didn't really clamp on as well. With long hair, you don't want to overstuff the rollers, or the heat doesn't penetrate as well. That's less of a consideration with short hair.

Once the rollers have cooled (which took about 15 minutes, in my case), go ahead and take them out. Give your hair another shot of hairspray, and consider leaving your hair like this because you kind of look like a Dr. Seuss character.

Decide that no, you'll stick with the original plan, and gently break up and shape the curls until you like what you have.

At this point, my boyfriend decided that I really need a ducktail, so he showed me how to do that. I used a little bit of his Brylcreem to grease up the back and sides of my hair, and then combed both sides to the center and then divided it.

Kind of a fun touch, right?

This is what my end result looked like when I did it the previous day.

Although it's a little out there to wear to work as is, I could see setting it the night before and then sleeping on it to get that messy bedhead that I mentioned before. 

Previous Hair Tutorials: The Baby Beehive

I miss my hair

I have to be honest - I am not as into the pixie cut this time around.
It's not that it's not cute and sassy and fun, and it's great not having to spend much time doing it in the morning, but I'm just bored. I think I'd gotten used to having a few different options for what I could do with it. Up, down, straight, curly, big and teased or sleek. Now, it's pretty much the same thing every day. Oh, sure, I can curl it a little bit to add texture, and there's that baby beehive that I did the tutorial for, and I'm making progress with finger waves (which I should have a tutorial for next week, by the way), but most of the time it's just wash and go. On the plus side, I don't usually have really bad hair days anymore; on the negative side, I rarely feel like I'm having a particularly good hair day either.
I'm feeling weirdly excited about growing it out, though. Of course there will be awkward stages, but my hairstylist is pretty good at her job, and I trust her to keep me from getting too mullety or wonkus. I feel like people make too much of growing out short hair (myself included sometimes). As long as you keep trimming the back of the neck, it mostly just requires the patience not to chop it all off again just so that you have something resembling a style.

Jean Seberg rocked this teased and curled bob after her own pixie cut, and I'm thinking it would look pretty sweet on me as well.

Even better, Audrey rocked a very similar style with a center part.

And a pearl headband. So pretty!

I'm getting a trim next week, which is such a relief. I'm getting into Florence Henderson territory with shaggy top and extra long neck, and the 70s is one decade that I'm not interested in revisiting.
Anyone else have haircut regrets? I'd love to see photos if you do...

Pinups with Pixies: The Baby Beehive

One of the things that I really struggled with when I was trying to decide how short to take my hair was the fear that if I went all the way to a pixie cut, I wouldn't have any options left for how to style my hair. In the month or so since I got my hair cut, I really haven't done much with it, but that's as much because I'm lazy as it is because it's hard to coax my hair into something resembling a style. And I have to be honest, it is a pain in the ass to get it to do what I want, especially since my hair is fine, abundant, and relatively healthy these days, but with a little bit of effort I managed to create this baby beehive.
As I mentioned yesterday, I went to see Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes, and they were absolutely amazing. I love their 1960s girl group sound, and in honor of that era, I decided to attempt this style. It's a bit of an exaggeration to call it a beehive - I just don't have enough hair to create the volume needed for the style - but I thought the little bumped up 'do was cute, and presents a nice option for other short haired girls out there who might want to switch it up a bit.
My hair is about two inches long right now, and I don't think you could do this with hair that's any shorter. I'd recommend doing this on pretty dirty hair (I was on day three here), just to give the strands a bit more grip.
First, section off a bit of the front to serve as your bangs. I went maybe half an inch back from my hairline, but you can do more or less depending on what works for you.

Working back from where you sectioned off your "bangs," vigorously tease your hair to create maximum volume. It is difficult to tease hair this short, but it's easier if you use a fine tooth comb, like the cheap kind you can get at the gas station, or one made specifically for teasing. I managed it with a wide tooth comb, although I didn't get quite as much volume as I would have liked.



Using a one inch curling iron, curl hair horizontally back from your face to your crown. Ideally, you want two rows of curls all going the same way. Spray with hairspray to hold.



Grab the back row and roll it forward, pinning it so that it rests just behind the first row of curls. You want it to be secure, but not flat. It's what's going to anchor the "beehive," so you want a bit of height and texture to give volume to the bump.

Roll the first row of curls back and slightly under, and pin it to the teased and curled hair you have pinned underneath. I recommend using professional quality pins; you'll be able to use fewer of them, so they be less visible and the weight will rob less volume from your style.

Smooth down any hairs that are too short to pin using hairspray. You may end up having to bring some pieces of hair to your bangs, but some you may be able to coax into becoming part of the beehive.
Add your favorite hair accessory, like a scarf, headband, or flower. I added a scarf, partly to keep everything in place, and partly because I really need to touch up my roots and that does the best job of disguising them.


I love having easy, wash-and-go hair, but I really enjoyed the challenge of doing something a little different with my hair. I might have to do more short hair tutorials in the future.

And the winner is....

Last week I posted about a major haircut that I was planning. I cited a few vintage hair icons that I was inspired by - Audrey Hepburn, Jean Seberg, Louise Brooks. Some other fantastic suggestions were offered as well, like Sherilyn Fenn from Twin Peaks. It was actually a really tough decision, because there are so many pros and cons to all of the different styles. A really short pixie cut is striking and dramatic, but doesn't offer a lot of versatility; a bob would give me a bit more to play with, and would be easier to grow out, but it seems like everyone has one these days.

After some consultation with my stylist, Emily from Barbara & Barbara here in Chicago, I decided to just say screw it. It's only hair, after all.

So, my winning style inspiration is....

Jean Seberg circa Breathless.

Although obviously the real winner is me, because I look fucking fabulous.

It's easy to get attached to hair. I've basically been growing mine out from a pixie for the past few years, and it's felt like hard work. It was so exciting to see it get longer and longer, and it was fun to experiment with all of the different styles and shapes that I could do with it. Victory rolls and vampy waves and beehives and bouffants. I'm going to miss having access to those styles for a little while, but the great thing about hair is that it grows back.
It's kind of a pain in the ass to grow out a pixie cut, and there's always this weird, mullet-y stage that makes you want to just chop it all off again, and there are times when you just hate what's going on with your head and need all the of bobby pins and head bands and scarfs and hats, but in a weird way I'm looking forward to all that. I'm going to enjoy the crop for a little while, but I'm excited about the challenges of growing it out gracefully.

Vintage short hair inspiration

I've gone through a lot of hair colors in the past several years. I'm a natural redhead, but I cycle through blonde, black, and red hair on a pretty regular basis. I enjoy changing up my look, having that drastic change where I practically don't recognize myself in the mirror for a little while.
My hair's been blonde before, usually platinum, and I really like the color. I have blonde eyebrows and eyelashes (ultimate ginger kid here), so blonde hair means that I don't have to worry about it if I don't feel like wearing mascara or coloring in my brows all the time. Usually, though, when it's blonde it's also very short, which means the damage doesn't have time to accumulate too much before it gets cut again. Trying to grow it out while also bleaching it is starting to feel like an exercise in futility. My hair's got that gummy texture and fragility that means, unfortunately, that despite how gentle I've tried to be with it, the damage is pretty much irrevocable.
I've spent so long growing my hair out that if feels like a shame to cut it, but it's damaged enough that even if I stop bleaching and go dark again, I'm still going to need a fairly major cut. I do love the look and versatility of longer hair, but I'm not so attached to it that chopping it off will be unduly painful.

My pixie from back in the day, after about six-ish months of growing out.

And the bob it grew out into.

So, how short should I go?

I adore Jean Seberg's pixie cut. It's so classic and beautifully androgynous. It might be a nice way to add a little edge to my look, since my style is so extravagantly feminine.

Audrey Hepburn's short cut is a little longer and softer, so it might give me a little more to play with in terms to styles and textures.

Liz's short curls are really cute, and an almost defiantly vintage look. My only concern is that it might veer too close to "grandma" for me to really pull off.

I've already got the Louise Brooks' bitchface down; maybe I need her bob too.

Marion Davies isn't the icon that Louise Brooks is, but I love the waves on this 1920s film star (and William Randolph Hearst's lover). Although I love how striking a pixie cut can be, a bob would give me more options (curly vs. straight) and isn't as difficult to grow out.

So, what do you guys think? Short or shorter? Any other short haired vintage vixens you can recommend to me?

Clearing out my lightbox, and some hair frustration

 

I can't find the tutorial for this take on a victory roll right now, but it's very, very easy to do, and doesn't require any teasing or curling, at least not on my processed hair. Just sweep all of your hair (literally all of it, there's no parting involved) to one side over the top of your head. Starting from the front, make a series of rolls that roll inwards, towards the top of your head. Work your way back, keeping the size and placement of the rolls consistent. Basically, you want it to look like you just have one roll down the side of your head. It actually stays remarkably well too.


All of the work moving really did a number on my arms.


Yesterday I had the song Barbie Girl stuck in my head all day. So weird.


I bought a new swimsuit! I've been searching around quite a bit online, but I've mentioned before that I am really freaking cheap, so spending $100+ on a swimsuit was not going to happen. An instagram user that I follow posted a photo of an amazing leopard print swimsuit that she picked up from H&M for $10, and because a pretty girl can sell me anything, I ran out and bought the same one. It's so damn cute, I can't wait to wear it.


I touched up my roots last night, and figured I'd do a roller set to get some curls today.  My last roller set failed spectacularly, and sadly, so did this one. This time I even gave my hair a hit with the blow dryer when I got up, but the ends were still wet. What the hell, hair? Any ideas about what I might be doing wrong? My hair was mostly dry when I rolled it, so I don't know why after eight hours in bed and a good dose of heat, it was, if anything, wetter than when I went to bed.

This time I had a few extra minutes to try and work with it, though, so I blew it dry and curled the straight parts with a very small barrel curling iron. The final product isn't the 40s style waves that I'd been hoping for, but it's still pretty cute.

Here's the final look, after some midday workplace fiddling. 

I'm seriously thinking about just chopping all of my hair off and going back to a pixie cut. I had very short hair for several years, and while I liked it, I grew it out because I wanted to have more options of how to to wear it. Now, though, it's usually pinned up or back in one way or another, and I'm rarely as happy as I would like to be with it. On the other hand, growing out a pixie cut is a bitch and a half, so if I wasn't happy with it, it would be a long, long time before I'd be back to where I am now. Decisions, decisions, decisions.