Currently, Brisbane is in the middle
of this intense heatwave I like to call ‘summer’. As I sit in
front of my little fan, I thought I’d write a bit about my love for vintage
culture. Over the last (roughly) four years I've been completely transfixed
with every aspect of the 30’s, 40's, and 50's- it's a love that's been fed by my
favourite film noir and Technicolor movies from the time, jazz music, early
rock, and the crooners my grandparents loved, old magazines, and other bloggers
and friends with a similarly full on interest. Perhaps it's the romantic in me that wants to remember an era of chivalry i was not alive in, where well-groomed men and women danced through cigarette smoke under a foglight and wore gloves even in 30 degree heat because, hi, glamour. Or perhaps it's a hobby, like aerial gymnastics or horticulture. Here are, in my opinion, some of the best things to come out of these decades in terms of music and acting and cultural practices (and just generally a huge drop of photo inspiration).
Billie Holiday
If you
were to ask me how I felt about Billie (yes, we’re on first name terms) I
probably wouldn’t be able to talk about it using words. I’d be able to do you
an interpretive dance, or a quick excited shuffle, the kind dogs do before they wee. The point is: I am fiercely, fiercely in love with her. She’s
pretty much an institution but if you’re unfamiliar with her music I’d say it’s
something akin to… well, imagine you’re sitting on an old splintery porch in a
deeply comfortable chair with an Old Fashioned or a neat scotch and you’re
clicking your black-slicked shoes on the wood and a train (it has to be an old
train otherwise the vision doesn’t fit) goes passed chugging along at an adagio
and a wind blows up from nowhere carrying a salty smell, like the ocean, that’s
also sickly sweet, like a honeysuckle bush. It would sound something like that.
My
favourite tracks are "PS: I Love You", "The Very Thought of
You", “Fine and Mellow”, "I'm Yours", “Easy Living”, and
“I’ll Be Seeing You”, to list the very least.
Lauren Bacall
My favourite actress. Someone, i can't remember who, once described Lauren 'Betty' Bacall as the woman with a cat’s
face. I think there's definitely a feline quality to her look, but i like her most for her rich deep voice and directness. I haven't seen every movie she's ever been in but this summer i plan to work my way from To Have and Have Not (1994) through to How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) over a few gin and tonics. Such an electric lady.
Lena Horne
A bluesy, seductive, swing-baby
famous for her voice, her moves, and her left-wing political views, and later,
'It's not easy being green', a consolation duet for Kermit the Frog on Sesame
Street and my first introduction to the singer. I’ve always liked Lena Horne.
When I was younger I was loved her for her wide smile (which was the whitest,
teethiest thing) and cheeky song performances. These days I go through fazes of
watching old Youtube interviews that feature her in her senior years,
where her kindness, humility, and humble nature is obvious. She was also really
funny. That’s important. Notable songs are "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Stormy Weather".
Maya Angelou
Amazingly, I’ve only recently become
familiar with Angelou’s poems. Ever since I read my first one they’ve been
popping up everywhere- like that first star that introduces the cluster-
including in a beautiful birthday book of poems my sister Rachael gave me this
month. Like Bacall, she
only passed away in 2014 after a long life. Favourite poems of hers include Still I Rise (‘You may write me down in
history, with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod me in the very dirt, but
still, like dust, I’ll rise’.), and Phenomenal
Woman (‘It's
the fire in my eyes,
and the flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist, and the joy in my feet. I'm a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman. That's me.’).
Margaret
Corbett
Maggie in her late teens/early twenties. The dress she wore was pale blue lace.
My mother’s mother. She’d be the
last to think it of herself, but she’s a pretty incredible woman. Raising my
mother, aunty, and uncle in the 60’s by herself, she is a former Avon-lady, hospital
worker, and lover of red, black, and striped clothing combinations. This lady
is one of my best friends. I am deeply, deeply lucky to have her around, and at
the age of 79 (80 in January!) I am conscious of spending as much time as i possibly can hanging out in her little Toowoomba flat talking about astrology and books.
Audrey
Maddison
My father’s mother. She was the
ultimate mother, Nana, and female role model. She was a pretty nifty painter of landscapes and fitness instructor for many years, and in her 50’s had better legs than I do now. Let’s
not talk about that. Sadly, I can’t talk about my Nana without mentioning that
she suffered, for many years, from Alzheimers. She passed away in November,
2012. I will always be sad that I never got to know her in my adult life. Thankfully
though, I have many memories of her from my childhood. I remember her voice,
and her energy, her love for many different shades of eyeshadow, the colour
pink, and my Pa, Owen. They had a love like no one else’s I’ve ever witnessed.
Paul Newman
Obviously: the blue eyes. But looks
aside he was a pretty special guy. Newman co-founded a non-profit that creates
sustainable water drinking solutions for those in need of it. He was married to
his wife for 50 years faithfully, famously quoting, ‘why go out for hamburgers
when I’ve got steak at home?’ Such a lad.
Owen
Maddison
Audrey and Owen Maddison in 1957. Aren't they beautiful?
My father’s father. One of the best
people I’ve ever met. In the 60's he ran a successful electronics and home wares store in Melbourne which sold some of the first televisions. He was pretty unique in that he recognised, early on, that his wife had a finesse for business, and elected her to help him run the store successfully until they moved on some years later. He was fastidiously neat; loved Sinatra, oil painting, golf, and good red wine. He also told some of the funniest jokes i've ever heard; which is important. He gave me my blue eyes, and a tall stature, the latter of which i've always appreciated. He died in May, 2010.
Other important things brought to us by these eras:
Pin curls
Hedy Lamarr (another incredible woman- look her up!) Source
Here's a photo of me sporting the only pin curls i've ever been able to get right, which may never be achievable again^^
Bullet bras
No, Madonna didn't invent bullet bras. I'm not casting Madge down.. I think she may have taken the pointy-ness to a new level.. but the 'bullet bra' was an established creation for years before Blond Ambition. It came about in the 1930's and sore to popularity in the 40's and onwards. Only a bullet bra can give the proper 1930's and 40's silhouette, and i find it quite refreshing anyway to have a bra that's a closer shape to... well, real breasts. They tend to be pointy because of.. nature. But sometimes it's hard to find the right shape, and many modern vintage wearers may not want life to be this pointy, which is fine because we've been wearing rounded bras for years and everything's been okay! I'm still finding one i like because they are expensive.. a good brand is What Katy Did.
Louie Armstrong Source
Some of you might know that i played the alto sax in primary school and high school. It's a bit dusty now, and is hanging out with the cockies under my bed, but my love for jazz is still immense. I'm still learning a lot about old school jazz artists and am certainly not an authority on anything (i'm trying to explore modern artists as well so please comment below if you have any recommendations).
Wedges
Other vintage bloggers I like
to scroll through:
Emma is a dream and her blog is basically an afternoon of blissful eye-candy.
Emileigh's blog is filled with thoughtfully written posts and is brimming with sewing knowledge and fashion inspiration.
Tasha is pretty much the cutest thing i've ever seen and is the reason curling my hair with rollers doesn't take 4 hours each time. Her blog is a delight.
This was one of the first blogs i came across and is a wealth of information on vintage lifestyles. Definitely an enjoyable read.
Are you a fan of a certain period in time?
If so, what do you find the most captivating?
Warmest,
Ali x
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