Wow! How did that number get so high?

I am frantic trying to get my holiday stuff done, work my day job, making sure I can fill all the holiday orders for VH, and house hunting. I have been very distracted and just realized that the publicly registered readers of the blog is about to reach 500!

I gotta do something special for that!

I have decided to do a holiday contest. I will put together something special as a prize, which I think will include signed copies of both the first and second edition. The first edition is out of print technically, but I still have a few copies left that I have been hanging onto for special.

If you are already a publicly registered reader, you are automatically entered. If you can't list yourself because you don't have a google account, don't worry. Just send me an email by Christmas to info@vintagehairstyling.com.

I'll announce the winner here after the holiday, so stick around to see if you are it!

Madmen Holiday Card

I just wanted to share this with everyone out there who might be addicted to Madmen like me. This was a holiday picture for an advertising agency I work with here in Denver. They wanted to do a Madmen theme for their holiday card, so my friend Jenece and I were hired on to do their hair and makeup.

I love the way this turned out. The house belongs to one of the art directors. I joked to his wife that they own my dream home, a mid-mod house on the North-West part of Denver. And they did an amazing job of holding on to its original grandeur.

It is kind of hard to tell in the photo, but we slicked down a lot of hair. Colorado is a very earthy state and none of the guys even put product in their hair and a few of them have wild curly hair.

The lady in the blue dress was actually wearing a hot pink dress, which they color corrected later. Kinda wish I could do that in real life to a few of my dresses. Her hair was very Bettie, when we first did it with hot rollers using the same pattern as the 50s Fake Bob in the book, but alas it lost its life through a trip across town and an hour of test shots. I knew I should have used more product.
Miss Red picked a Joan hairstyle she wanted to wear. Who doesn't want to look like Joan? After seeing the photo, I should have parted her hair further to the side above the outer corner of her eyebrow, but we were pressed for time and I was just trying to get it done. We had 2 and 1/2 hours to do everyone. I am still a little shocked we did it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I just love this image

What a great close up of pin curls!

From $%&#() Yeah Marilyn Monroe!

Bangs - Now you see 'em, Now you don't

It is hard to make the commitment to bangs. They are really cute, but when you get tired of them, they seem to take forever to grow out.

So the clip-on bangs that have become so popular are perfect for getting bangs without the commitment.

This is something I would not suggest buying on-line. It could become a nightmare of returns. I suggest going to your local professional wig supply shop. Then you can see the exact texture and color of the hair options. Good hair bangs can cost $40-$100 dollars and you don't want to make the mistake of buying something that looks nothing like your own hair. You definitely want to try it before you buy it. Most wig shops are run by hairstylists that can also cut and style the bangs to fit the look you are going for.

Retro Barbie Makeup Gift Idea

Everything you need in one perfect little canister! Stila cosmetics has partnered with Barbie to create a very cute line of makeup featuring Barbie over the years. I love this 50s Barbie one! It is also suppose to be available at Sephora. Click the image to go.

Behind the Scenes :)

I was going through images on my computer looking for things to blog about and I came across these. I thought I would share with you all so you can get a little glimpse of what it took to do the book.

A lot of people don't realize that I didn't just write it. I took all the photos and produced all of it also. That is the only way it could have been created. The numbers of shoots and the time that went into it would have cost a fortune if I had paid someone else to do it.

All except the cover. My brother, a graphic designer for years, designed the cover and helped with the fonts and design elements. And he acted as my art director for the cover shoots also. I needed an extra opinion because I wanted it to really grab attention. The cover is what sells a book.

He took these pictures while I was working so I can have a little memory of when my living room was a photostudio. Oh, the memories... :)

Feather Deco for your Hair Gift Idea

I know that it is possible to make these yourself, but sometimes it is hard to find interesting feathers to use. At the writing of this posting, Coveryourhair.com had them on sale for $10.39 which, when you consider how long it takes to find the feathers and glue everything together, this is a screaming deal!

Book Signing hairstyle

I really need a new point and shoot camera. So I am sorry for the not so great pictures of this hairstyle. But it is a really simple style. I'll use elements of styles in the book to describe how I did it.

This was my inspiration. I loved the cute curls above the eyebrow.


I set the hair in hot rollers in a basic bricklay pattern. The top above the eyebrows was set in small hot rollers for more curl on the ends. The back is set like the Pageboy in med/large rollers off-base to keep the curl down toward the nape of the neck.

The style itself was simple. Take out all the rollers and brush the sides a little. Pull the sides back with haircombs or barrettes like the Bang Wave style.


It is the front that my camera decided to go funky on me and it is hard to tell on that little screen until it is too late.

The top front section is sort of styled like the Pin-up. Instead of rolling the ends into the pompadour, let them hang out the side and use bobby pins to pin the curls in place to have a form like the inspiration picture.

Holiday Gifts Begin

Halloween is over and November is here. The holidays have exploded in the stores like Thanksgiving is just a speed bump on our way to gift giving holidays.

I'm not complaining. I love this time of year and I love searching on-line for random, unique gift ideas. So let the fun begin!

I have had my eye on this book for a while. It is from a publishing company that specializes in books about collectibles. Schiffer Books provides many of the books you see in the newsstand section when you are at your favorite local antique mall.

Schiffer has a special going on where you can get 20% off with the purchase of 3 books. Click the images to go to their sale page. And search Schiffer's whole site. They have so many fun titles and they are hidden in all kinds of nooks and crannies categories.


Although this and more of its titles are available at places like amazon, I like to encourage everyone to go directly to Schiffer to purchase their titles. Amazon forces us publishers to lower our wholesale prices so much that Amazon ends up making more money on the book than the person who created the book. (I published my own book and go through the exact same thing) Or better yet, maybe ask your local antique mall that carries Schiffer books if they can special order for you. Then you support a local retail store that can use the business.

I know times are tough, but it is our own small efforts that ensure that small business continues to thrive and multi-national corporations don't control more than they already do.

Contest Winners

#1 Amanda C with 8 out of 9
#2 Laura C who left the comment of her answers with 7 out of 9
#3 Jill T with 5 out of 9

So girls. Email me at info@vintagehairstyling.com with your address so I can send you your prize!