Brown Hair, Puyallup, and More!

Well, the deed is done! I'm back to my (kinda sorta) natural hair color. It required an enormous amount of work to get it to this shade, so I can hardly think of it as really natural. But I'm sure it's someone's natural hair color. My big photo shoot for Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book is mere days away, and I have a closet full of 25 dresses ready to go. I'm happy with the color, and think it will make a nice neutral "accessory" for the frocks. I'll admit that I'm kind of fried from prepping for this shoot and I'm looking forward to the downtime from when it's over. I'm already planning what I'll sew for fun and relaxation! (Gracious, this sewing stuff is addictive.)

In the meantime, I'm headed to Puyallup for the Sewing & Stitchery Expo! Perhaps I will see some of you there? I'll be in the McCall's/Butterick/Vogue booth on Saturday (I'll be there all day signing books and such) and we're going to announce the Gertie's Grand Giveaway winner! There were so many amazing entries, and Butterick has created this super cool look book of all of them. It's so amazing seeing all these fantastically creative versions of my patterns!

Thank you so much to all who entered! I can't wait to reveal the big winner!

Fifty Shades of Brunette

Goodness gracious, are you so sick of hearing about that Fifty Shades movie everywhere? I will fully admit to reading all three of books (all the while complaining about how terrible they are, yet unable to stop myself). But I think I must draw the line at seeing the movie. (Though seriously, go see it for me and report back please!)

Anyway, I'm much more interested in talking about shades of hair color at the moment. You see, I've almost certainly decided to go back to brunette later this week. In case you haven't been following my hair saga, I dyed it pink over two years ago, then went purple. Then came blue. And then purple again! I haven't seen my natural hair color in quite some time. And I've loved it. And I don't think I'm completely done with the crazy colors.

The thing is, there's the photo shoot for Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book in just a few weeks. I'm modeling 25 dress of various colors, textures, and prints. Add colored backdrops to the mix, and I felt like my purple hair color might clash in some of those photos. How about a nice neutral brunette instead?

The great thing is that I get to choose the brunette I'd like since my base hair is bleached at this point. And who can remember their natural hair color after so long anyway? So I've been collecting images on my pinterest board and having lots of fun doing it. I wouldn't mind something a little warmer and a bit red, like Lana del Rey's hair above. Or maybe even an outright auburn!

There's the classic deep chocolate Bettie.

Or Zooey.

Or maybe something a little paler.

[source]

Or, perhaps the wisest and safest bet: get the salon to try to match my actual natural hair color!

At first I thought it seemed a little strange to dye my hair just for the purposes of the photo shoot. But now I'm really into the idea. Hey, natural hair color seems like a novel idea again!

Easy Retro Hairstyle for Short Hair

Hi all! If you follow me on Instagram (username: Gertie18) then you have seen lots of pictures of my hair. When my hair looks nice, I'm struck with an irresistible urge to document it. I'm a little embarrassed by this habit, because I know it's slightly narcissistic. But does that stop me? Nope!

Anyway, I've been playing around with hairstyles a lot lately and have stumbled upon an easy one that I really like. When I wear my hair this way, people always tell me I look like a pin-up girl or a Hollywood starlet from the 40s. I'll take it!

I've had some requests on Instagram for a tutorial on this style, so I took process pictures as I was doing my hair today. I had to use mobile technology (read: selfies!) to make this happen, as it is really difficult to do your hair and take pictures at the same time.

So here we go! First, I should tell you that my hair is thick and slightly wavy. It holds curl well. My cut is a side-parted, chin-length bob with textured layers at the end. My bangs are a couple inches long and I wear them swept to the side. Your results will vary with your hair cut and type.

1. Start the night before. These pics were taken taken when my hair was just washed. I applied some cheap hair gel throughout and blow-dried. (This looks works even better with unwashed hair, however!) Section off your bangs and roll them around your fingers into a loose pin curl. Pin in place to one side. Make sure the curl is not smushed flat, and is allowed to stand up slightly.

2. The next morning, use a 1" curling iron to curl small-ish sections of your hair. (Keep the pin curl in place for the time being.) Hold the iron horizontally and roll the pieces under, not flipped up. They don't have to be super curly, just smooth and curled-under.

3. Make two side victory rolls. Grab the section of hair above your ear and wrap it around something tubular, in a direction away from your face and up.

I'm using this cool pin curl tool (not with the comb ends, I'm just using the smooth middle part to wrap my hair around).

Sculpture Pin Curl Tool

You don't need a special tool, just something round (about 1/2"  to 3/4" wide) that you can wrap your hair around.

4. Remove the tool and grab onto the roll. Pin a bobby pin up the center of the roll so that it's hidden.

Make a second victory roll on the other side of your head.

5. Remove the bobby pin from your bangs. Brush your bangs and arrange the curl into a loop. Hairspray well.

6. Curl the lower sections of your hair if you missed any parts.

7. Spray your entire head with hairspray and you're done!

You can vary the curl in front by changing the direction of the curl. In the picture below, I curled my bangs more toward the back of my head than to the side.

Palm Springs, Purple Hair

Hello, lovely readers! I'm in Palm Springs soaking up some much needed Vitamin D. I'm guest teaching at Heather Ross's weekend sewing workshop starting tonight. Today, however, is all about relaxing!

Oh, and I changed my hair a wee bit.

Purple! This is the result of Manic Panic's Rockabilly Blue blended with my existing pink. It kind of has three tones: purple, pink-violet, and blue. It's a nice change.

I'm wearing a new swimsuit by the famed Esther Williams. I've been researching and examining swimsuits a lot lately . . . can you guess why? More details and hints to come this summer.

I've also got a sew-along in the works for one of my new Butterick patterns. I was thinking about starting with the stretch slip, since fabric choice and knit construction requires a bit of extra knowledge and planning. More to come next week.

Look at this sky!

Blue Velvet and Dotted Tulle Party Dress

The first dress of 2014! The folks at Michael Levine Fabrics in LA sent me this amazing silk/rayon velvet to play with. I've wanted a navy velvet dress for ages, so I saw this as my opportunity! My first instinct was to make a sheath-style dress. But then I came across this circle skirt in my closet . . . It coordinated perfectly with the blue velvet!

I made it back in 2011 for an article on circle skirts for Quick Stuff to Sew. (You can download the article for free here.) It had a waist size of a tiny 25", and I finally got up the nerve to cut off part of the top of the skirt to make the waist circumference bigger to fit me. Then I used the top of my recent draped sheath design to make a sweetheart-neckline bodice. I'm really happy that the skirt is getting some use again. It's a lovely tulle with flocked velvet dots, with an iridescent taffeta underlay. That's too much fabulous fabric to go to waste!

After our recent discussion on vintage pattern illustrations vs. reality, I've been interested in revisiting a super-retro silhouette, aided by the proper foundation garments. So I specifically fit this dress to be worn with a corset cincher (from Dark Garden), pointy bra (this Vasarette one has a lot of oomph), and crinoline (I like Malco Modes).

It really fascinates me how extreme the difference is when wearing era-appropriate undergarments. It shows that the fantasy New Look silhouette is partially obtainable, if you're willing to go there. It's nice to have the option to fit a dress either way. (For instance, I would never wear a performance dress with a corset because I need to be able to breathe freely to sing/play an instrument.) You just need to know in advance so that you can fit the dress with the undergarments on. (Downside: it's a huge pain to get in and out of a corset every time you want to do a fitting!)

That said, I feel slightly ridiculous wearing a skirt that huge, so I took some pictures without the crinoline too.

That feels way more wearable to me. Oh, I also made a little sash/cummerbund thingy which really only seems to work well on a cinched waist, in my opinion.

I'm trying some new stuff with my hair. My bangs are long enough again to do a psuedo-victory roll.

I have more to say on the construction of the dress (plus tips for sewing velvet!) which I will get to in another post. It's kind of nice to break these things up, don't you think?

Thanks to Michael Levine Fabrics for the velvet. And Happy New Year to you all!

Pink-iversary!

When I first dyed my hair pink, I wasn't sure about keeping it for even a day. And now it's been a whole year!

Then:

And now:

Obviously, I've made some changes. There's the new length. And I've been messing around with the color, settling on a lighter pink. (It's a 50/50 mix of Special Effects Atomic Pink and Cupcake Pink, if you're wondering.)

For the record, here are some things that will definitely happen to you if you have pink hair:

1. A guy on the street will ask if "the carpet matches the drapes." It's just inevitable.

2. A guy on the street will ask if you're a Suicide Girl. Also inevitable.

3. Little girls will treat you like a celebrity.

4. Women will be really concerned about your split ends and general hair health. (Short answer: yes, I have to bleach the roots to touch up, but not the whole head. The actual pink dye is vegan and plant-based, no peroxide. So the overall process isn't that much more damaging than using a regular hair dye.)

Of course, now that I've had this color for a year, I'm thinking about changing it. I'm tempted by purple or blue, specifically. Some inspiration pics:

I'm hesitant to mess with my current color since I"m happy with it, but these lush blues and purples are almost irresistible. What do you all think? Also: if anyone has experience going from pink to one of these colors, please let me know! Also, how hard is it to go back to pink?

Courtney Love Inspired 60s Shift

My 90s-inspired dress is done! This is Simplicity 1609 (which I've now made five of; two are waiting to be photographed). The material and length of this one was a direct result of my revisit to 90s era grunge, and my girl crush on the Courtney Love of yore.

Going Rogue

Gwen Stefani, late 90s

In my last post, I wrote about the maintenance and care of pink hair, but I realized I really want to talk more about the cultural implications of "alternative" beauty. (Another week, another crackpot feminist theory!)

I've been thinking lately about all the upkeep that is sold to us to be considered conventionally beautiful as a woman. Bikini waxes, gloss treatments, manicures, anti-aging treatments, etc. It's kind of exhausting just thinking about it, right? It's gotten me thinking that maybe the appeal of having an "unnatural" hair color is that you mentally put yourself outside of the rules of regular beauty. Maybe the message pink hair (or tattoos or piercings) sends is that you're not playing by the rules--so you can take your laser hair removal and shove it, okay? It's a liberating mindset.

You know those women's magazine articles that tell you the "top beauty don'ts" and stuff like that? As a younger woman, I remember reading on several occasions that it's an absolute crime to have a chipped manicure. I took it as gospel for a while, I suppose. But the day I realized that chipped nails aren't the end of the world, and can even look kind of cool (if you're into the whole grunge thing), it was kind of like a weight had been lifted.

The problem with this whole theory is that it's prone to backfire really, really quickly. Once you're considered an "alternative girl," you're sexualized in a whole new way. If you've ever had a dude on the street ask if you're a Suicide Girl, you know what I'm talking about. So while going rogue, beauty-wise, can be freeing--it definitely comes with its own set of issues. And it certainly doesn't make you oblivious or immune to regular beauty standards.

And even if you don't have pink hair or piercings, I think anyone reading this can relate in a way. Sewing your own clothes is the ultimate form of going rogue on the fashion and diet industries, I think. Making clothes to fit yourself (rather than making yourself fit clothes), is another way of going rogue. We can also stop being slaves to the trend-driven retail market and wear what we love--there are really no limits when you make it yourself.

Do you agree with all this? Do you see your sewing (or hair or whatever) as a form of rebellion against the status quo? Or is it naive to think that's even possible?

Three Weeks of Pink Hair

Day 20

Wow, time flies! I guess the old saying is true--pinkheads really do have more fun.

I promised I would keep you updated on the maintenance of my new hair color, so I've been (somewhat) dutifully documenting it via Instagram/cell phone shots.

Here's night 1, when I am freaking out. ("What have I done????!")

 Day 1.

 Day 2.

 Day 4.

 Day 5.

 Day 6.

 Day 8.

 Day 10.

 Day 17.

 Day 18, post washing.

 Day 21.

 Day 22.

 Day 22, root view!

The color has been holding up beautifully. I took some advice from an Instagram peep and added  pink dye right into my conditioner. I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, and then apply a healthy dose of conditioner, and use a clip to keep my hair off my back. (I scrub my hands really well at this point too, otherwise they stay pink for days.) I leave the conditioner/dye mix in for at least 5 minutes. I've also been using Moroccan Oil treatment on my hair when it's damp, which has helped significantly to counteract the dryness from bleaching.

My only complaint about the color is how differently it photographs in different kinds of light. Here it is in natural light, taken on my good camera. I must need to mess around with the white balance, because this is not how the color really looks at all.

In terms of social interactions, I've never gotten more compliments on my hair. The attention takes a little getting used to. (Hint: men love it.) My favorite compliment was from a very elderly man, after I held the door for him at a bookstore. He looked up and gasped, "Pretty hair!"

It's time to touch up the roots and overall color, and I've decided to go to a professional for this. My one regret about doing the initial bleaching myself is that I have some patchy brunette spots in the back, that a stylist could have gotten for me. I also worry that I didn't go quite blond enough, which is giving my hair an orange cast in some light. So on Thursday I'll be getting a touch-up on the bleach, plus more pink! The salon uses a color called Pravana Magenta, which is supposed to be very good.

All in all, I'm just really glad I did it. I feel it suits me--maybe I should have been born a pinkhead!