Seeing Stripes

I'm pretty sure this is an 70s/80s does 40s dress because it's got elastic and surged seams. Have I mentioned that I absolutely love peplum dresses? I think it's due to the added curves it gives you. There's something about this little skirt that just makes me smile.  I found this at the Long Beach Flea Market..possibly the LBC's best kept secret!

  belt/Goodwill, shoes/Ross, glasses/Forever 21, snood/Meow, Sun kissed skin/Mother Nature!

Happy Friday!

~The Retro Natural

Nautical Fashion: Part Two

I left my thumb drive at the office so I couldn't upload my curlformers video. So in the mean time..these are some photos from the birthday party near the Queen Mary at Parker's Lighthouse. There are a few better detailed photos too. I found this dress at the flea market for $10. The purse is from a Goodwill and the shoes are from a local marketplace commonly known as a  "swap meet" for $16. The dress did have a few tiny holes that I patched up fairly well and it wasn't lined so maybe that's why the price was lower than other dresses. I didn't mind though, I like a challenge! Click to view the photos larger. :)

~The Retro Natural

An Ode to Spring

 Sometimes it's just fun to strike a pose!

I like Spring. I like Spring colors.  Sea foam green, peachy orange, sky blue.  They remind me of the movie, Bambi and make me say, "awwwww".  While I was slumming it a bit yesterday, I did wear some cheery Spring colors. My bottom half isn't all that interesting. I just wore jeans and comfy shoes. This eh.."top" is a vintage lingerie piece from Pandora by Chic - yeah, how cheeky! I know some out there probably hate the lingerie as daywear trend that became perhaps a bit too popular a while ago but I'm mildly fond of it...especially when it's warm out.

My hair's pinned in the back as usual and in the front, I've got this reverse roll which is a victory roll that's ...well, reversed! I'll show you how to do one in a more detailed fashion in an upcoming post but before we get to that, I also set my hair last night on Curlformers, a newer invention (I think that's the best term to use) for creating curls without heat.  I haven't worn my hair "out" yet so to speak, I've just used them to get my hair smooth. It takes longer to put the things in but the results are nice! So that's next. See ya then lovies!

~The Retro Natural

My Vintage Earrings Dilemma - Solved!

My earrings look very innocent but they're not. I was a bit more bohemian and hippie-like before with my style (actually, I still look like a hippie every now and again!) and also with my choice of ear adornments (read: slightly stretched lobes) but lately I've wanted the best of both worlds - the ability to wear larger gauge earrings whenever I like but also the ability to wear a simple pair of rhinestone studs. My ears are only at an 8 gauge size, but it took me a while to find size 8 amongst the other sizes that were more easily available. Didn't think it could possibly be done until I stumbled on these little heaven sent earrings!

 photo credit: bodycandy.com

I've always told myself, I'm a master Googler (sounds a bit dirty eh?) but it's true, after months of trying to come up with different ways of saying "larger gauge stud earrings" I finally found the perfect pair that allows me to keep my lobes at an 8 gauge size but still wear a nice and simple stud. This is a nice way to They're sold individually so make sure you order two! It's sort of like, professional in the front, party in the back - kind of like mullets? The next pair I get will probably be from Naughty Girl Boutique, these are adorable! :)

  Photo Credit: thenaughtygirlboutique.com

I like vintage earrings but I don't really own any because they don't really "fit". I can use older style backings (thanks @LukaLomi) with the large plastic circle on the back (but my lobes may shrink a little over time) or I'm thinking I can purchase larger gauge studs and attach vintage earrings. That should solve my little problem from here on out. I do feel like I may be "messing up" some of the vintage earrings I may come to own in the future but it's better than having none to wear at all!  If you've struggled with choosing larger gauge plugs over vintage earrings, I hope this helps you out! :)

~The Retro Natural

All Aboard the Queen Mary - Nautical Fashion

I didn't actually board the Queen Mary but I was nearby (can you see it behind me?) attending a birthday party for my beloved's grandmother. She celebrated her 75 years of being on this planet, a milestone if you ask me! For the party, I went with the side swept 30s inspired style and wore a nautical navy and white pleated dress. I'm not sure of the era of this dress. It has some serged seams which were introduced around the late 60s, it has a hand stitched hemline and it has an elastic waist band  so...perhaps late 60s, or perhaps not. take a guess!  You can't always be 100% sure, but I say, if it fits the bill, who cares? The sweater is Free People but I found it at a Goodwill and didn't pay Free People's price :P

I'll photograph my accessories in detail but I chose D'orsay style satin heels with a bow and rhinestones, a large rhinestone clustered ring (costume jewelry all the way!), rhinestone studs and a simple silver necklace. The belt actually didn't come with the dress, I had it already and while the blues aren't identical, it goes along pretty well.

I saw the kiddie cars and I couldn't resist.

 

After the party, I visited retro row (finally!) in Long Beach which is a block of vintage shops..so much fun to be had, so little time! I did pick up a few things though. Photos forthcoming! woo hoo!

The Retro Natural: My New, Fun Retro Styled Blog!

Yep, 'tis true! I thought I'd get around to this next year once I was done with my 12 month photo project but I keep getting hints here 'n there -  perhaps from the divine - that I need to get a move on this idea for my blog that I've been toying around with and pondering about for a little while now. There's no time like the present so without further ado, I'll be kicking off this (pseudo) new blog, The Retro Natural: Vintage Inspired Hair for the Natural Hair Wearer.

What will this blog showcase, you ask? Mainly my two cents on retro fashion and hair styling from as well as retro DIY crafts because as you may know, I'm related to MacGyver and love working with my hands especially when it involves making something (pretty) out of nothing! No but really, I've been fascinated by vintage hair styling options for a while now but unfortunately, African American women weren't really portrayed much in the vintage artwork or home decor items that you can find at antique stores or vintage shops today. There isn't as much information out there regarding the best ways to go about styling highly textured hair with a vintage twist. It's not really surprising as to why but I know that I would like to see more of us get back into that retro glamour a la Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge. They're my idea of what glamour is and I want to showcase it. Also, I've gotten tons of questions about vintage hair styling for women with African American textured hair so I thought it'd be nice to show a bit of that...we natural gals love hair porn! Plus, I've always wanted to get retro inspired photos taken so where better to put them than here! :)

April 1st will mark the official starting point! I hope you enjoy the prettiness that's about to take place ;)