Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Half-moon manicure - History and how-to

Half-moon manicure was popular in one form or another from 1920's to 1940's. In 1920's and until late 30's the tip of the nail was also left bare (or colored with lighter color). 

Cosmopolitan Magazine, December 1936. (Picture from here)
In the late 30's it became fashionable to leave only the "half-moon" bare. The trend continued into 1940's and is the look people now normally associate with half-moon manicure. According to some sources the bare sliver on the tip of the nail made also a comback in the 40's. (This page offers a cute summary of makeup styles from 20's to 40's if you're interested...)

I used think that in the olden days the nail polish came only in shades of red and pink was the wildest thing. However the nail polish colors were diverse even back in the days. Colors like silver, gold, green, blue, violet, black and mustard yellow might not have been the most common choice, but they were an option. 

Ladies Home Journal, June 1945. (Picture from here).
Mavala nail polish is my favourite because of the durability and breathability. My favourite shades include:
Smoky Blue
Touch of Provence
Cyclades Blue
Bronze Green
Anchorage
Smoky Blue
Madrid (red)
Paris (red)

The non-reds are my special favourites for a half-moon manicure. Just now I have my eyes on their Blue Curacao, Jazz Club, Music Hall and Acid Yellow.

I love half-moon manicure. It's very durable (Usually my nailpolish starts to peel off from the lower part of the nail that is now left bare and thus: no peeling!) and easy and adds that certain something to your vintage look. This time I used Bronze Green. (If my hand looks strange in the picture it's just because I scanned it... with a copy machine. No cameras around, you see. ;)
 
Fun with copy machine.
Some people like to use guides when they apply the nail polish, but I think they're bit messy if you're in a hurry and don't have time to wait for the polish to dry completely. I've tried using guides, but free-hand method works best for me.

First (after applying and drying the base coat) I decide the height of the half-moon and then go for the first stroke of brush from the highest point towards the tip of the nail. After that I make the second and third stroke with a tilted brush so that a half-moonish shape is left bare. It doesn't need to be perfect right away because I'll add another coat later and perfect the shape.

The method.
If I get nail polish on the half-moon area, or if the shape doesn't appear good enough I scrape the excess off with a toothpick while the polish is still soft (but not that wet). Finally I top everything with Mavala Minute-Quick-Finish that not only adds a top coat, but also dries the polish very fast to a point where it doesn't smudge everything and does not get scuffed that easily.

My nails are quite light in color, so I usually don't color the haf-moons. Sometimes I've used beige or white nail polish though. For a more festive look I've used layer or two of gold or silver nail polish under the main color. This gives the half-moons nice finish. 

Summary in finnish: Puolikuumanikyyri oli suuressa huudossa 1920-luvulta 1940-luvulle ja on nyt vaihteeksi taas melko muodikas... ja antaa toki mehevän lisän vintage-tyyliin. Itse tykkään ko. manikyyristä sen kestävyyden vuoksi. Jostain syystä koko kynnen lakkaukset alkavat yleensä kuoriutua muutaman päivän kuluttua, mutta puolikuumanikyyri pysyy minulla siistinä vähintään viikon. Useimmissa ohjeissa käytetään tarroja ohjaamaan lakan levitystä, mutta itse pidän eniten "vapaan käden taktiikasta". Lakan levitys aloitetaan puolikuun korkeimmasta kohdasta kohti kynnen kärkeä. Ensimmäistä siveltimenvetoa seuraavat kaksi tehdään pitämällä sivellintä vinossa siten että kynnen alaosaan muotoutuu puolikuuta muistuttava kaari. Ensimmäisellä kerroksella ei tarvitse pyrkiä täydellisyyteen, sillä muotoa pystyy muokkaamaan vielä toisella kerroksella. Puolikuun siistimiseen tarvittaessa käytän yleensä hammastikkua kunhan lakka on ehtinyt vähän kuivahtaa. Puolikuumanikyyriin käytän punaista lakkaa vain harvoin. Vaikka punainen saattoi olla yleisin väri, on muitakin, villejä värejä ollut tuotannossa jo vähintäänkin 30-luvulta.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

And all hat jazz!

I love hats. They play well with me. But even if I might have vintage sized (that is small enough to find plenty of vintage shoes) feet, my head is huge... compared to most of the (ladies) vintage hats. So imagine my suprise when I stumbled into a pile of hats in my size on my charity shop round. One even had this really cute hat pin on it!


I'm guessing the first black one could be 40's or 50's, the second 50's or 60's and the brown 70's or 80's. (Not that the age actually matters more than the style.) All are a bit battered, but that's an easy thing to fix. Just hold the hat (or the part you want to fix) over hot steam for a while and gently mold it back to shape. Repeat the procedure if necessary.


People should wear more hats. Really. A hat can make an outfit set off from a crowd and the right hat can make you feel instantly more "dressed" and refined.

Summary in finnish: Hatut ovat ihania! Isoon (58) päähän vain löytää kirppareilta todella harvoin yhtään mitään, ainakaan naisille tarkoitettua. Hiljattain kuitenkin kävi tuuri ja Nokian Fidasta löytyi useampi oikean kokoinen... joista yhtä jopa koristi ihanainen hattuneula! Ikäveikkaukset liikkuvat 40-luvulta 80-luvulle, mutta tärkeintä tietysti ei ole ikä van näkö. Kaikki hatut ovat hiukan kärsineet aikojen saatossa, mutta se on liiankin helppo asia korjata. Pieni hetki vesihöyryssä ja sen jälkeen käsin hellästi muokataan hatut takaisin kuosiinsa. Ihmisten todella pitäisi käyttää enemmän hattuja, myös minun... 

New life for old dancing shoes

I bought these used dancing shoes about a year ago and did not quite like the plain white color.
 
At first I thought I could paint them with silk colors or draw some pattern in them but I was worried the outcome would not be neat. Then I came up with an idea of attaching some ribbons or fabric on them. I found this light weight brown lace from the local craft shop and decided to try to glue it on.


Here are some tips if you like to do the same for your shoes:

I removed the t-strap to make the shoes look more like tango shoes (1.)

Cut a piece from the lace, and try it on the shoe in different angles (2.)

Pin the lace on the shoe and cut off excess (3.)

Glue the trimmed end first (it would have been easier to use lace ribbon instead of this one I used, since this was too wide for the shoe and it had to be cut), be careful with the glue, it gets everywhere.
Trim the sides so that there’s only about 2 mm extra lace, use pins to tuck the ends between sole and the shoe, use the glue generously here (4.)

Be careful not to leave any bumps on the inside of the shoe if you fold the lace and glue it there (that’s how I did it)

Here's the outcome:


Some thoughts: I think the shoe would look nice if there’d be some color on the heel part too. I’m still looking for rhinestones or such to complete the new look.

 
I’ve danced argentine tango wearing these and even got stepped on a few times and the lace stayed put. Bad for my toes, but good to know the glue holds well.

Summary in finnish: Käytin Gutermannin kangasliimaa tuunatakseni vanhat lattarikengät tangokuntoon. Ennen liimaamista kangasta kannattaa sovitella eri kulmissa kengän päälle. Helpointa on käyttää kapeampaa pitsinauhaa, jolloin ei joudu taittamaan pitsiä kengän sisäpuolelle. Kengän reunoissa käytin runsaammin liimaa ja painelin neulaa apuna käyttäen pitsin pohjan ja kengän pääliosan väliin. Pitsi ja liima löytyivät Tampereen Kauppahallin nappikaupasta.