VV Brown

I've gotten quite a few emails from fellow women of color asking about vintage hairstyles and I never know how to answer them. I have curly hair myself. I straighten it sparingly - once or twice a year at most... and I really don't style my hair in a vintage fashion.

I recently straightened and did pin curls for a loose wave... check it out HERE. (also, this is the first picture of myself I've ever posted!).

I've seen plenty of YouTube tutorials about vintage hair (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & not a tutorial, but I love her look: see HERE and HERE) and they all seem swell, but I never got around to trying any. Victory rolls, faux bangs, pincurls, and marcelling.... I usually leave that stuff to the experts.

Which brings me to VV Brown. (I'm not trying to get you to go out and buy anything! I have to do some further listening, as I've only heard the one song, myself - "Shark in the Water"). This songstress from the UK has a unique look for sure, and she owns it! This isn't the first time we've seen faux bangs in pop music AT ALL (I don't know what it is about Lady Gaga and/or songs with the word PHONE in them that makes Beyonce channel Bettie Page), but VV's look is consistent. She also seems to have a penchant for vintage silhouettes - fitted bodices and a-line skirts.

So, if you have straight hair, the faux bang may be an easy way to try a vintage hairstyle and retain some modernity all at once.

I'll also have to throw Janelle Monae's name out there for vintage hair inspiration.

Read More

Vintage Lindy Hoppers

Who among us wouldn't be proud to say they could Lindy Hop? I surely would!

Beyond being a hoot, it looks to be a hazard! I think myself adventurous, so (mastering?/attempting?) this vigorous dance is definitely on my bucket list.

Lindy Hoppers - Jet Magazine - 1958

About the Lindy Hop (from Wikipedia:)

The Lindy Hop was born in black communities in Harlem, New York in the United States from about 1927 into the early 1930s from four possible sources: the breakaway, the Charleston, the Texas Tommy, and the hop.

The Lindy Hop is based on the popular Charleston and named for Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing in 1927. It evolved in New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.

In its development, the Lindy Hop combined both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of black dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances. This is most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, men and women are connected as though in an embrace.

Revived in the 1980s by American, Swedish, and British dancers, the Lindy Hop is now represented by dancers and loosely affiliated grass roots organizations found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Leon James and Willa Mae Ricker demonstrating the Lindy Hop for a 1943 issue of Life Magazine.

Charles Alston (1907 - 1977)

Lindy Hop at the Savoy, Late 1930’s

Watercolor, 9” x 13

Jeunesse (Youth) by Palmer Hayden

Painted during the Harlem Renaissance

Sources/More information:

http://www.swingcville.com/history-of-lindy-hop/

http://www.jivinglindyhoppers.com/history.htm

Read More

News! Updates!

Hello b.vikki vintage readers,

I've not forsaken you completely! Yes, it's been a long while since I've posted, but I wanted to share some news with you all and POSSIBLY get your help with a new venture:

I'll be freelancing for the next three month over at Zora&Alice (zora-alice.com), a new blog and monthly magazine aiming to start a new conversation about black women.

Read more about Zora&Alice HERE & below:

The Mission:

Zora&Alice magazine’s mission is to be the premier online destination for quality reporting and analysis on issues that affect contemporary, young black women. At any given time, we hope to accomplish three of the four:

• To provide a fresh, intelligent voice for young black women
• To empower and uplift young black women as they develop unique identities
• To support and promote young black women as entrepreneurs, creators and pioneers
• To wear power pumps and rule the world like the stone cold forces we know ourselves to be

About the Name:

Our name is inspired by the collection ” I Love Myself When I’m Laughing…And Then Again When I’m Looking Mean & Impressive,” an anthology of works by Zora Neale Hurston and edited by Alice Walker. Zora Neale Hurston was an iconoclast, underappreciated and condemned for her independence, whose many contributions to American literary canon would have been ignored were it not for the persistence of those she inspired, including Walker.

I've pursued more interests in my 23 years than I care to recount, but the constant through them all has been writing and literature. I'm very excited to be involved with Zora&Alice and hope you all will check it out in April at the time of its launch. Of course, I'll have lots to say about vintage fashion, among other things, so be sure to sign up for the Zora&Alice email list to stay updated on the magazine's progress.

Also, if you are, or know of any great black Etsy retailers, leave your/their info in the comments or email me at becca.oneal@gmail.com!

Last but not least, I've got about 20 vintage dresses on my hands and I'll be doing a giveaway VERY soon, so if you like winning free clothes, stay tuned for more info.

More posts coming soon!

;)

Read More

Vintage Menswear: 1954 & 1960-1962

More menswear!

The following images are featured in reverse chronological order from the years 1960-1962 with a final photo from 1954.

http://menincardigans.tumblr.com/

The above editorial reminds me a bit of the Mad Men season 2 poster - and the train scenes from Revolutionary Road:

I know this post is about vintage mens' fashions, but I love the chunky three-stand pearl necklace and wiggle dress on the female model!

I wouldn't mind seeing more modern men in patterned blazers!

He certainly looks to be in the midst of a jaunty number!

A 1961 model dressed like a 2009 hipster dressed like an 1890s dandy (according to the New York Times Style Section, if you want to take their word for it)... A thing like that! And who doesn't love plus-fours?

Is that a Bolex you're holding?

Like his frames. LOVE her dress!

Glitter isn't an oft used term in menswear descriptions these days, but I heartily welcome its return!

Again, some of my favorite menswear/fashion/lifestyle blogs:

http://vintagegent.com/

http://www.dandyism.net/ (The writing on Dandyism is just as, if not more, substantive than the style tips).

The Brooklyn Circus - video

http://thebkcircus.com/bkc/

http://putthison.com (All of Jesse Thorn's projects are worth a gander, but this is one of my personal favorites. I also highly recommend his non-fashion related podcast The Sound of Young America)

http://streetetiquette.com/

http://nerdboyfriend.tumblr.com/

Read More

Ladies of Harlem

This post is all about links!

First, I want to link to this great post at AfroDandy about Black / African Pin-up art. I'm a big fan of Bettie Page, but have either neglected to seek out or failed to come across many images of Black pin-up models.

The image below, originally featured on The Pin-Up Blog caught my eye and I couldn't resist posting it here:

The photos are great, but be sure to read Zavi's post!


Within that post, was a link to a blog I'd stumbled upon a few months ago while doing research for b.vikki vintage, but had, until the post at AfroDandy, nearly forgotten all about (I almost imperceptibly linked to it in my post on the movie Reet, Petite, and Gone): Ladies of Harlem!

It's a simple, one page site, but the pictures speak volumes!

I'll be posting more consistently in the coming days: more mens fashions from the 50s and early-mid 1960s, part 2 of Vintage Black Voters and Politicians, and the Vintage Black Brides series will move into 1961.... and if you read this blog, you know that I never EVER stick to a schedule, so there will be plenty of mix-ups and unexpected posts along the way.

Read More

Vintage Birthdays 1952 - 1969 (and mine!)

Today is my 23rd birthday! And the three month anniversary of b.vikki vintage!

Thank you all for reading.

Read More