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Showing posts tagged “Beauty”
Mar 28

What’s Your Color? Pick your Palette

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

Spring is here! Time to put away winter clothes and refresh your wardrobe with a new palette. Take a peek in your closet — what hues do you typically choose?

According to Mary Brooks Picken, you should wear a shade that enhances your eyes, hair, and skin. Mary was, of course, a top authority in sewing in the first half of the 20th century, but what many people don’t realize is that a lady’s sewing book also served as a fashion manual. Mary wrote many books on dressmaking and sewing, but chapters that included beauty tips, fashion, and manners were not out of the ordinary. Mary outlined in her book, Dressmaking Made Easy, some rules for determining your own personal set of colors:

    *Hazel eyes take on the color of the dress — be it brown, green, or blue
    *Black eyes need deep, warm colors to reflect their depth and brilliance
    *A woman with true blue eyes should glory in a blue that makes her eyes more blue



In addition to Mary’s words, I’ve also come across a number of useful “color charts” in various vintage sewing books and pamphlets. See if the suggestions below match your own style!

To learn a little more about the art of color, I talked to my friend Vicki Fischer— the Beauty and Lifestyle Editor of ItsAGlamThing.com, and makeup artist for Nancy Zieman— whom I met while filming an Indygo Junction feature on PBS’s Sewing With Nancy. Vicki was impressed by the professional quality of the vintage color wheels, and was reminded of one of her favorite beauty manuals of all time called, Color Me Beautiful.

“When you’d have your colors done, you could get a little folder (a bit bigger than a check book) with color swatches for your “Season” (Summer, Fall , Winter, Spring) to take with you when you went shopping. I thought it was the best!”

She suggested checking out the Color Me Beautiful website, where you can  find out what “Season” you are. But what’s Vicki’s most important piece of advice for choosing a look?

I always tell people to find a look that fits their personality. Trends come and go but a person should stay true to themselves and adapt whatever is “in” to fit individual needs. You’d be surprised how just adding a very current  and “in” color to a nice neutral eye will update a look, still keep a person in their comfort zone, and keep them on edge with the current trend.”
Oct 18

Creative and Forever Young

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

I remember when I was a little girl, I used to think that anyone my mom’s age or older was old. This included my school teacher, the mailman, baseball players, sales clerks, etc.  I now have an 11 year old daughter and I am sure she sees me as old! But just as I have learned and hopefully my daughter will learn, “old” is not defined by one’s age.
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Oct 14

Let’s Makeup

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

Picture this: It’s morning, you’ve showered and dressed, about to start your day when you realize that only one step remains — make-up. How do feel about this womanly ritual? Is it art? Is it a part of your personal style? Or is it, as so many of us sometimes believe, about covering up what’s looking back at us in the mirror?
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Oct 11

Express Yourself!

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

Do you dress to impress? Or do you dress to express? Perhaps both.

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Sep 21

Homecoming for Hats?

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

How often do you notice a person nowadays, walking down the street sporting a decorative hat? How often do you wear a hat? For me, just about the only time I cover up my head is out of necessity to block sun or cold — not so much for fashion! But when I was growing up, hats were more of the norm — especially on Sundays. What happened?? (more…)

Aug 23

Fresh as a Daisy the Summer Through

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

Show of hands… Who here has felt a little less-than-feminine when temperatures soar to sweltering triple digits? I love summer as much as the next person, but we ladies know it’s tough to feel our freshest during bedraggling doses of heat and humidity.

I adore the advice offered in vintage beauty articles, including a magazine column  from 1939 called “Fresh as a Daisy the Summer Through.” It’s no surprise that women have faced this problem for ages, but it’s interesting to learn how yesterday’s women dealt with the hygiene hazards of summertime.

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Mar 09

Timeless Wisdom for a Slimmer You

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Posted by Amy in Miscellaneous

As I collected material for Vintage Notions my favorite “department” to concept each month was” Amy B.’s Vintage Advice, from the quirky to the conventional.”  The March chapter featured the article “Disguising Generous Proportions” from a 1923 Inspiration newsletter. I loved this quote from it: “In the struggle to keep young, women often view the approach of flesh with something like despair. But good, firm flesh rightly distributed, makes a woman look younger after she has passed 35.” I AGREE!! Mary goes on to recommend rules for the “stout” figure (…again, more advice that fits my situation).

Through the ages, women have always wanted to have a slimmer appearance. As I page through my many vintage magazines and books, I consistently stumble upon articles with vintage wisdom regarding our diets and looking slender.

It’s funny how all of the mainstream diets today continue to preach the same things, cite the same data and put forth the same rules as did diets from vintage weight loss programs. The more you read the more you realize that writing down your food,  losing one pound a week, weighing yourself to stay accountable, and more, are timeless pieces of advice. In a 1939 Home Arts Needlecraft, I found an article mentioning moderation in all things, keeping a diary, weighing yourself, and drinking plenty of water were essential. It certainly seems that what goes around comes around.

Another interesting read is Dress and Look Slender by Jane Warren Wells, one of Mary Brooks Picken’s pen names. This book includes “priceless secrets for any woman who wants to look slender.”  In it, Mary points out how lines in a woman’s garment will induce “optical illusions” that will make a woman appear to be “more stout” than she really is.  We’ve all heard the old saying – stay away from horizontal stripes if you want to appear slimmer. Well, Mary covers that and more.  This book is full of timeless wisdom on how to select and/or sew clothing that will give you the most flattering appearance.

As you can see, when it comes to looking our best, vintage advice is still just as relevant today as it was in Mary’s time.  In fact, none of it seems quite so “modern” if you look closely enough, just a rediscovery of vintage wisdom.