1950's

I've always had this this interest with the 1950's. I think it might have started way back in elementary school when my parents used to take me to this local restaurant called Jim Dandy's. It was a 1950's style diner that served burgers, fries and Green River. I thought Green River was the coolest soda ever and loved that I was getting to taste a little bit of history. I thought that place was so cool with its retro decorations and 50's music playing. Even the waitresses dressed the part. Around the same time my mom made a poodle skirt for my cousin who was in some sort of musical about the 50's. I eventually got that poodle skirt and wore it whenever I could. I even wore it to a school talent show where I sang Going to the Chapel. I still cringe when I think about that....clearly not my finest moment.

I think my next big interest in the 50's was when I got into the Beats in high school. I started with Howl, moved on to On The Road and from there I was obsessed. I read every piece of fiction and non fiction I could get my hands on. This preoccupied me for the next five years or so. In college I chose two classes based on the fact that the would concentrate on the 50's. The first was an English class called Youth Culture of the 1950's. This is the class that introduced me to the David Halberstam's The Fifties which is a great book for anyone mildly interested in that decade. I also took an art class on the Visual Culture of the 1950's. We studied everything from Elvis to Abstract Expressionism. I even got to study Playboy and Bettie Page in this class which I believe was what piqued my interest in the sexier side of the history. To this day, I still find these images (from Bettie Page getting spanked to a demure housewife in her kitchen) powerfully sexy.

I think all things vintage are interesting. I love fashion and pop culture from the 20's through the 60's and have been trying to incorporate more of that passion into my daily life lately. Before I would just dabble in it every now and then for special occasions. I think that pin-up girl hair and make-up are so sexy and glamorous. I like the idea of fresh faced, curvy girls. It's way better than these waifish models we are forced to stare at every day. Nothing sexy about a girl who weights 10 pounds and has no personality. I've also decided that the Rockabilly scene is defiantly worth checking out. It's basically the culmination of everything that I'm in to from fashion to music. Plus, Rockabilly boys are super hot.

I've never been one to identify with a particular group or movement. Maybe it's because nothing really felt 100% right to me or maybe it's because I know that people are so much more than the labels we like to put on them. However, I think having a style that suits me it important. It's important to feel confident, sexy and fun and this is the way I feel when I get all dolled up. To me it's about integrating the things I'm passionate about into my life a little bit more.

With that said, I'm eagerly awaiting a shipment of pin-up and Rockabilly style clothes and accessories. I've been having fun playing with my new make up (I just love red lips!) and hair styles and have found a lot of cool resources out there. I'll post some of these in an upcoming blog so you can all add a little glamour to your lives.