Style Icon: Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson is certainly not an adventurous dresser but she knows what works for her. And she sticks to it. And that makes her a style icon. Furthermore anyone with curves like that is an icon to me as she's someone who proves it does look good if it's all hoisted up :-)

Nigella obviously loves basic little cardigans. Well so do I. A red one like that is one of my staple items in my wardrobe. And I want more! 

Pairing block colours with black seems to be her schtick - whereas it could be quite naff on someone else it really works for her. With those boobs and that bum bold patterns quickly look frumpy and she would look big instead of deliciously curvy. I know what I am talking about, I have a very similar body shape.



Always the same kind of dress but different colours. She really knows what suits her best. And it is a clever tailoring for her body shape - not too tight but cinched in and hoisted up at the right places, she's showing off her slender bone structure around her neckline but cleverly covering her arms.



Naturally I like her best in vintage inspired outfits.
Just perfect for her!

What a beauty. She oozes old Hollywood glamour!

I have quite a girl crush on this woman, always had. I cannot stop looking at her I find her that beautiful. I even find her endless waffling quite endearing. And yes she does play her tricks but looking like that she would be perceived as a sex kitten anyway. Why not play with this image?

I also really like what she does. I love her books, her recipes are just brilliant, her kitchen ware range is just beautiful and did I mention that she is just SO watchable? :-)

http://www.nigella.com/

Mr. Bossy has a Doppelganger

In the Mad Men world Don Draper is of course the uber-uber-sexy alpha male. And yes I do find him very attractive. But more than having the hots for Don Draper I have an especially soft spot for Harry Crane. He actually warms my heart. Why is easily explained. The resemblance to Mr. Bossy is SO uncanny it makes me chuckle every time I see Harry Crane.

And the oddest thing - Mr. Bossy has never seen Mad Men, when I showed him the pictures he does not see it himself. Mr. Bossy has been sporting this hair style for years, always had similar glasses and used to have a tendency towards retro fashion though abandoned this a bit in the last few years. Both also have a very similar eye colour and the same cute dimples when they smile!

For those of you who know neither - on the left is Harry Crane, a character played by the actor Rich Sommer in the series Mad Men. And on the right is my very own Mr. Bossy.

Mr. Bossy not quite sober anymore but Harry Crane still looking fresh

A fan and Rich Sommer as Harry Crane at a party and Miss and Mr. Bossy also at a party. Not the same :-)

Seriously. I find this so hilarious.
If Mr. Bossy ever gets famous (most likely as a politician, can't see him rise to fame for anything else) and needs an actor to portray him - well Rich Sommar is the man.

Style Icon: Rita Hayworth

As I want to steer this blog in a style direction I also want to feature my very own style icons. The obvious to start with would be of course Bettie Paige, Grace Kelly or Marilyn Monroe or more current Gwen Stefani or Dita von Teese. Whereas I do want to post about these great ladies in the future I prefer to start with my current icon for vintage hair.

Rita Hayworth is in my opinion the most beautiful lady of the 40s. I adore her. A shy personality who went through a really peculiar make-over to achieve the looks that made her famous. I do think she was beautiful all Latina and natural but I also have to admit that the make-over did work. I find her simply perfect.

On the right a very young Rita still known as Margarita Cansino. On the left she looks already more like "herself" but I think it's still before she was finished with her infamous hairline make-over.

Much later on she also rocked blonde - and look at these victory rolls!

My favourite look - propably everyones - is Rita as a redhead. It made her really famous and she looks - flawless.

What a truly stunning beauty

Rita in her most famous role as Gilda. And the dress that was apparently only held up by "two things."

If you would like to know more about Rita here's a wonderful site with many more beautiful pictures, facts and figures:

http://www.ritahayworth.com/

And I leave you with her most memorable quote:

"Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me."

Yes I like baking

Mr. Bossy is a right Nerd. Not only does he look like a geek (which I love I may add) he really is one. He get's all glossy eyed around computers and anything related. I suppose that's not unusual at all. But he also gets a kick out of cleaning products. Yes I mean cleaning products. And cleaning utensils. Each to their own I guess because I do have my very own geeky spleen.

And that's baking.

Yes I love baking. It's relaxing, it's so much fun and please let's not forget the yummy treats to eat after you have whipped up some cakey delicousness!

But I suppose the geeky bit is that I myself get a kick out of kitchen utensils - especially if they are baking related. It just happens to be all so pretty!

Baking accessories and polka dots seem to be a match made in heaven - and obviously I am loving it!

I like to bake all kinds of things, anything that feeds my sweet tooth is good enough for the Bossy household.

But my heart belongs to cupcakes!

I have a whole array of baking books but these are just devoted to cupcakes.
All lovely presents for various occassions by Mr. Bossy or his family.

My birthday in October and Christmas just gone had a clear theme. Mr. Bossy and his lovely mother showered me with beautiful baking related gifts. The great thing - they did not know this of each other and neither for my birthday nor for Christmas I had one thing double! All different great things.

By far not all pictured here (I guess you know how for example a baking tray looks but it is muuuuuuuuuuuuch bigger than the old one)

Birthday and Christmas gifts together make a beautifully mismatched tea party set!
My dear mother-in-law gave me the strawberry milk jug and cake stand in October, Mr. Bossy the red tea pot also for my birthday, the sugar pot I got myself with a Birthday voucher from his grandparents and the tea set was a great Christmas gift from Mr. Bossys sister and her fiancee.

Not to forget the cupcake stand which Mr. Bossy also gave me for my birthday. And notice the golden starred cake cases? Also a birthday gift but I thought it's my last injection of Christmas today, they do look christmasy!

Lovely they are, aren't they? Various other presents included a cake decorating set, lots and lots of polka dotted cake cases, more baking tins and trays and and and.....

.... and this cake tin (2 more inside!) and new oven glove :-)

And in spite of all these lovely books I always fall back to my most favourite cupcake/muffin recipe. After all this talking about baking I might aswell share it. 

It is taken from Nigella Lawsons (who I adore by the way) "Nigella Express" book (Birthday present 3 years ago) and the original recipe calls for:

3 very ripe bananas
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
250g flour
100g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g butterscotch (or chocolate) morsels

I have never used butterscotch morsels but once used white chocolate chips instead. That was the only time I ever stuck to the recipe and yes they turned out great but this is my basic cupcake/muffin recipe and so adaptable. I usually use brown sugar or muscovado sugar and if it's for kids I cut down on the sugar (especially with the sweet bananas that much sugar is not neccessary). I also substitute the bananas with whatever is in the house - I have used all kinds of veg or fruit: courgettes, carrots, beetroot, pumpkin, apples, pears - whatever I find. Sometimes I add vanilla or cinnamon or - whatever. I have also used wholewheat flour, white flour or spelt flour (yummy in conjunction with bananas).

If it's too thick I add some milk or soya milk to stay dairy free, if it's too runny I add more flour. Easy peasy, always yummy.

Today I added some vanilla sugar (too much for my liking actually, should have cut down on the sugar instead) and apples instead of the bananas. I also added some all spice (cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger). And yes they are a bit burned, you may have noticed :-).

Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl, mix oil and eggs in a separate jug, stir all together, stir in the fruit/veg. Put in cupcake cases, the big ones bake for about 17-20 minutes at about 220 degree. But you have to adjust accordingly and keep an eye on it - banana seems to bake longer than apples, they burn faster. I also like to make mini mini cakes for the kiddos and they - obviously - need less baking time!

Why I never forgive Drew Barrymore

 Now don't get me wrong. I love Drew Barrymore. She's one of my most favourite celebrities. She's a few years older than me and has been since the 90s one of my most influental style icons. She's one adorable tomboy and still does being glamorous so well. She's been through a lot, she's a clever woman and she's so quirky - that's what I love most about her.

Chris O'Donnell and Drew Barrymore in Mad Love 



When she was in Mad Love I kind of worshipped her. I had a very similar haircut (though dyed black) and let's face it - grunge was cool in the 90s. But I had a mono brow. I didn't exactly resemble Frida Kahlo but nevertheless it wasn't a pretty sight. So what did I do? I copied Drew Barrymore. She was cool, remeber?



Drew in the 90s - famous short do and look at those brows!
I loved them. Past tense I hasten to add. Past tense.



I don't say this very often but I should have listened to my parents. My dad kind of cried over my lost bushy brows because he liked them and my mother in wise knowledge predicted what had happened to her. But I didn't believe her. She warned me that they won't grow back. Of course I didn't believe her - there's a whole business out there. Why would women go on about plucking, threading, tweezing or what the heck else they do with their brows if they never grow back anyway?

Well she was bloody right. Apparently in our family they indeed don't grow back.



Drew in more recent pictures - and with beautiful full brows all grown back.



And that's why I never ever forgive Miss Barrymore. It's all her fault. I'm stuck with her 90s brows and she's got them full, pluckable and shapeable.

I do still love her though. Why? She's a great gal, not only in attitude but also an icon fashion-wise (she has fun with fashion, her quirkiness always shines through and she's also one who can do vintage effortlessly). And I know this legendary moment a good 15 years ago was propably very much drug induced but still just unforgettable. And she's cleaned up her act since then!

Happy New Year!

I wish you all a very happy New Year!

I rung in the new year very chilled and relaxed but certainly in style! We spend a lovely calm evening with Mr. Bossys sister and her fiancée. And lot's of food :-)

I styled my hair around this brilliant little Janine Basil fascinator my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. She is by the way the BEST present giver - she always finds the most amazing little trinkets, never fails to surprise and in general I think never ever gave anyone a bad present. Just lovely!

My beautiful red fascinator - the bow is either very dark blue or a blueish black - I can't decide :-)



I went a bit pin curl mad - not a truely authentic vintage hairstyle but certainly inspired by rolls and pin curls. And did I mention that I love my fascinator?




I adore my dress. It is my very first genuine vintage buy and I just love it. It's perfect for me, it fits me exactly, it's in my favourite colours red, navy and white and it has many many different sized polka dots and stripes all over. It's just beautiful. I don't know what era it exactly dates back to. Not sure.
I bought it via Ebay, my red Mary Janes are from Peacocks - bought about 4 years ago.



A few outtakes - in my house it is near impossible to get a picture without my little one trying to get in it. Or in this case under my skirt. :-)



Also worth mentioning - one of many beautiful pins and brooches dating back to the 40s and 50s I bought within an estate sale on Ebay. I just love Ebay, you can find so many vintage treasures from all over the world for so little money!



I hope you all have a lovely and successful 2011!


Edit:
I had a very constructive comment, I love learning about fashion history:
"The material looks like a polyester in the close up picture- what is it made of?Because if it's a polyester mix I don't think it's that old- it was just invented in the 40's and really started to be used in fashion within the 60's-
They did a lot of dresses like that in the 70's, a lot of fashion used in the 70's was based on 30'3-40's- the wedge heels for example."
It is indeed 100% Polyester! That would explain then why I thought that the stripy pattern on top and the fact it buttons up so tightly and highly looks actually very 70s! That's another beautiful thing about vintage - the history behind each garment.

Vintage hair journey

Vintage styled hair is the first thing a passerby notices - I think only the fashion trained eye can pinpoint eras of clothing or even recognise vintage or vintage inspired outfits. But the hair and make-up is so obvious. It's also a great way to achieve a full time vintage look if the wardrobe is very limited. As I am only starting my vintage journey I don't have a lot of outfits to offer - I try to put together what can pass as vintage inspired. With the right hair I do look vintage even if I'm not really.

(click to enlarge pictures)




My 31st birthday back in October - an absolutely atrocious very 1st try on vintage hair. 10 minutes and not enough research is most certainly not giving you the right look. But never mind it was only a start.

 


A few days later and another try - I think it was not that bad considering I have dead straight hair and I did not curl it beforehand.



In preparation for Christmas I did a hell of a lot of research, I made a lovely snood (pattern to be found HERE), I got myself a nice little book (THIS one), I followed the advice of trusted vintage blogs and got a setting lotion (LOTTABODY as recommended by many) and did some pin curls the night before Christmas. Indeed this was very fiddly but I felt sort of glamorous sleeping on pin curls with a silk scarf around my head :-)

And et voilà:



Christmas Day: when I took out the pins I had an incredible full head of tight curls, after I brushed them out it was literally an afro. Incredible. My hair was so unruly it was quite tricky to smooth it down for the victory rolls. But I was still quite pleased with the outcome.




Boxing Day: the next day my hair had the most perfect beautiful soft curls, the victory rolls put themselves into place and looked lovely and smooth. I indeed loved my hair that day.




Day 3: there was still quite a curl to the hair though I did the updo in a rush - and that's how it looks. I should have taken more time. The back rolled up nice and easy and at first I thought - who needs a rat! Well until I saw the picture :-) It is quite droopy - I suppose a rat would make it nice and even. I shall whip one up for myself in the very near future!



Alright. I love vintage hair, I think I have quite established that. But do I want to pin curl my hair from now on every few days? Because let's face it - with my dead straight hair a vintage look is not done in a jiffy. It needs curls.

The easiest way is a Rosie Riveter style. I've been wearing a scarf in my hair since October 1-2x per week. A nice pompadour at the front and straight hair has a vintage make-over. But today I wanted to try this:



Most of my hair is pinned to my head, just washed and straight as it is. I left out a few sections at the front which I curled quite tightly with a curling iron. I then divided it in 2 sections and rolled them into victory rolls - the rest of my head is covered by a small scarf/bandana. I had to pin it down quite strongly as it was so far at the back. But I was really pleased with the outcome!
Still quite time consuming though....


I always enjoyed playing around with my hair. From age 20-25 I had fire engine red (and I mean fire engine red) hair that reached down to my waist - I loved all kinds of elaborate hairstyles. At 26 I chopped my hair off and ever since then I had midlength cuts, Liza cuts and even an Edie Sedgwick cut - I really enjoy having longer hair again - for now I'm actually letting grow out my trusted fringe (bangs)! Let's see how long it takes me until I go back to my Bettie bangs. Haven't had u-shaped ones in years, just plain old straight!

Vintage and me

I always had a strong affection towards vintage. I just never knew.

When I was little I would watch "High Society" over and over again - I just loved Grace Kellys hair and how her beautiful frocks swished when she moved. I've also always been fond of Elvis movies and old German/Austrian films from the 50s (Peter Alexander, Roy Black and the likes ♥).



Grace Kelly (in my favourite dress of the film) and Frank Sinatra in High Society.

Later on as a teenager I adored American diners and Grease - though I think the first has a lot to do with my strong affinity to the colour red and the latter with my little passion for John Travoltas blue eyes :-)

In my late teens and early 20s I admired and emulated mostly the 60s - Bardot was a great idol for me - big hair, smoky eyes and pale lips - to this day I think this is the sexiest and prettiest look ever.

My first flat at 19 was plastered with Vargas and Ramos (though those are 60s pin-ups) prints - I adored them. I also always felt quite partial towards Lucille Ball as I sometimes got told I look like her (my mimics and facial expressions).

Alberto Vargas Pin-Up





In my 20s then I had a revival of my love for swishy skirts, Carrie Bradshaw and Marc Jacobs are partly to blame for this. I think circle skirts are the most beautiful garment ever made for a woman. The epitomy of feminine clothing. Slowly I realised that I just LOVE the 50s, the dresses, the cardis, the make-up. Women were women and the tailoring actually fits and flatters me. They had boobs and bums in those days :-)

In the last few years I aquired quite a few 50s inspired items and I would dress up on special occassions.

And then I turned 31 and gave yours truly a little present - I told myself I don't need occassions to dress up and I also don't need to go vintage full time. I allow me at least one retro day a week, one day I dress up or wear at least partly vintage (or inspired) accessories. And that's how I discovered the 40s for myself. In my 20s when I had flaming red hair I would have made a BRILLIANT psychobilly but now it's the elegance that's luring me towards it. I feel grown up and demure in a very good way when I dress up in a 40s outfit. The hairstyles are so elaborate and so much fun to do. In a 50s outfit I feel more playful but equally beautiful. I recently started collecting actual vintage - I now own 2 genuine vintage dresses and quite a bit of jewllery. That's just the start!

So even though red lips on a daily basis are an impossible thing to achieve for me (not so kissable with a little toddler around) I am really looking forward to a new vintage year ahead!

Round two!

Nearly a year has passed and I have let my blog die down. Why? Well I don't know why exactly.

It became a bit of a chore, posting wasn't as much fun anymore. What started off as a pregnancy diary for my friends and family back home in Austria soon turned into quite a crafting blog with a pinch of baking in it. After a while I just couldn't keep up with other blogs I had the urge to compete with. Silly I know.

So what now? Now I will just go back to the original intention - my little self needs a vehicle for showcasing my vanity. Those of you who know me know I am an exhibitionist at heart and the blog is just the ideal tool for this, isn't it?
Here's my dilemma - do I post in English or German or both again? I tell you what I'll stick to English for now, you all understand and frankly I don't care much about writing everything twice again.

So what will it be about now? Didn't I make myself clear? Moi, it will be about moi! About the things I love, the things I do, the things I make and this time round I will incorporate much more vintage and fashion.

So on that note I'll promise you lot's of pictures and less waffling in the next post!

Valentins-Bäckerei/Valentine's baking

Wie bereits erzählt, hat bei uns die diesjährige Valentins-Bäckerei ein paar Tage verspätet stattgefunden. "Traditionellerweise" färbe ich meine Kuchen sonst immer rot ein, da wir aber ab jetzt einen Kuchen-Mitesser haben, blieb ich der roten Farbe (die ja angeblich die schlimmste von allen sein soll) fern und somit ist auch der rosa Zuckerguss sehr spärlich eingesetzt!

R. hat sich trotzdem gefreut :-)

As I already mentioned I did my yearly baking for Valentine's day a few days later. "Traditionally" I dye my cakes red - but as we now have another cake hungry mouth I steered clear of the red food dye (which is apparently the worst of all) and that also means a scarce use of the pink sugar writing.

Ryan still loved it :-)