PIN UP REAL LIFE
Lucille Taylor, 35, from Long Eaton, was inspired by the glambots of the ‘40s and ‘50s!
Brushing out a lock of hair, I rolled it up into a tight pin curl.
Repeating the process until my whole head resembled a bobble brush, this wasn’t the final look.
Alover of vintage fashion and hair, I had a pin-up look to match.
And while my hair set, I picked out my outfit.
With pink my favourite colour, of course I went for a pastel hue, pulling on a vintage ‘40s tea dress.
Adding soft glam makeup and unrolling my hair, I looked like I’d stepped right off a vintage postcard. But that was the whole idea. I’d fallen in love with vintage styling as a teenager.
However I’d always been slightly alternative.
My mum Claire, 60, had always dressed me differently to the other children at school.
I used to be jealous of my friends wearing the latest tracksuits while I was sporting dungarees.
‘It’s good to be different,’ Mum would always tell me.
That really rang true when Iwas 15 and studying for my art GCSE.
Looking at ‘50s advertisements and glamorous pin-ups as part of my coursework, I fell head over heels in love with the style. I’d never seen anything so glamorous.
Studying Hollywood icons like Rita Hayworth, she had gorgeous hair and I loved how the silhouettes of her dresses flattered her body.
I’d never really felt comfortable in my clothes and seeing the shapes and styles for ‘40s and ‘50s clothing, I found myself drawn to it.
And researching more and more, I picked up a pastel pink and blue ‘50s dress in a second hand store.
I found the style really flattering on my body and more comfortable than any of my modern clothes.
‘It looks great,’ Mum encouraged when Ishowed her for the first time.
And it was her encouragement to be different that gave me the confidence to try new styles.
And from then on, my passion for vintage grew and grew, with me picking up and ‘40s and ‘50s pieces from charity shops and eBay.
And with vintage pieces hard to source, Mum would spend hours sewing me outfits to wear.
There wasn’t much of a vintage scene growing up –Iwas the crazy one who wore old people’s clothes in my friend group.
Everyone called me ‘Vintage Lucy’, which I quite liked.
I fell in love with strong silhouettes –clothes with shoulder pads and ski-themed.
I liked to describe my style as a little bit Norwegian.
And I always plumped for a pastel colour palette.
And now I had the kit, the hair had to match.
Spending hours trawling YouTube, I practised perfecting different vintage hairstyles.
After leaving school, I’d been training as a hairdresser.
