1950's baking

a little rock n' roll makes the kitchen more fun

Happy Sunday to all you lovely Vintage Dames out there - and happy Father's Day to all the Vintage Dudes!

Since we know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, we know there'll be plenty of food-related gifts given today. Perhaps a packet of his favourite sweets (or candy for our American friends), a voucher for his favourite restaurant... or if we're feeling particularly brave: cooking a tasty meal from scratch!

With this in mind, we started looking for rock n' roll inspired kitchen goodies and came across this fantastic place called Cupcake Provocateur. They make absolutely stunning, ultra-feminine retro-inspired aprons by hand, in New York. They also bake and sell what look like utterly scrumptious cupcakes and even have a kit for you to make your own. 

Better yet, you don't have to live in New York to get a taste - they ship all over the world! Since it's rock n' roll week here on the blog, we thought you might enjoy an example of their suitably rock n' roll wonders!

now this is what we call Glamourbaking! 

Poodle Bobby-Soxer Apron in red and black

if the cakes we bake come out as sweet as this, we'll be happy!

Poodle Bobby-Soxer Apron in red and black

don't forget to protect those mitts! 

co-ordinating Bobby-Soxer Poodle Potholders

if the little ones insist on helping? well, there's an apron for them too!

pink cupcake // chocolate polka dot

and when the hard work is done? sit back and enjoy one (or two) of these 

delicious-looking Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes!

We hope you all have a fantastic Father's Day!

rock n' roll girls - the iconic poodle skirt

All you Vintage Dames out there know what a poodle skirt is - we've all seen them (usually made from some sort of polyester monstrosity) in costume shops. But where did they come from? Did they just pop out of thin air? Oh, but of course they didn't!

rather fabulous, rather luxury, poodle skirt

During WWII, fashion was somewhat stunted due to economic change. It was seen as ghastly and frivolous to fritter away hard-earned money on adventurous fashion choices. It was a serious and somber time, when women's husbands were fighting for their country and wives were left supporting the household, with many even joining the workforce for the first time. Many costume jewelry designers and bag manufacturers also ceased or slowed down production, or changed their product styles, since the use of metal was restricted during the war. 

a cigarette, a drink and a bright red 50's inspired dress? how wonderfully frivolous!

Once the war was over, society and fashion moved towards celebration! Youth style was coming into it's own and with Dior's creation of the New Look, the female silhouette underwent a drastic and exciting change. Previously, young girls wore 'junior' styles - mini versions of the conservative outfits their mothers wore. Music was changing too and that lively stuff known as rock n' roll created a craze among teenagers and twenty-somethings of the day.

now that's what we call rock n' roll, pussycat!

The 50s were a decade of glamour and luxury. Designers were starting to make trips to Paris and French style was coveted; especially with the popularity of Dior. To promote her movie 'April in Paris', Doris Day was pictured on the front cover of Collier's magazine, with 6 vividly colored French Poodles. Poodle mania had begun! 

Doris Day and her technicolor poodles - Collier's Magazine, August 9 1952

During the war, using excess fabric was frowned upon. This changed during the luxurious 50's and so, skirts were made from huge circular cuts of fabric; usually thick fabric such as felt.  The shape was actually first designed by Juli Lynne Charlot (read a great interview with her here). 

Because of the simple shape, it was also easy to make at home, during a time when sewing patterns were extremely popular and made it easy for everyone to follow fashion. This became the base shape for the now-iconic poodle skirt. 

sweet inspiration to sew your own

Though the poodle was the most popular embellishment, other shapes, such as flowers and cars, were often sewn onto the hem of the skirt. Powder pink was the most popular color - in fact, pink became a craze of its own during the 50's, with homewares, kitchen utensils and even full bathroom suites created in the color. 

rock n' roll couldn't be more feminine than this! 

Finally, we can't forget the party feet! Dancing was a huge part of the 50's rock n' roll movement. This meant flat shoes. Feminine shapes were contrasted with the extremely popular Saddle Shoe - similar in style to bowling shoes. They were a sign of youth rebellion - masculine footwear worn with a feminine outfit - after a period of such conservative fashion. 

delicate, aren't they? perhaps not. but they are superb!

So that's it - the iconic style of the girls of 50's rock n' roll covered. Only two more days of these week's theme left... keep your eyes peeled and let us know if there's anything you'd love to see us write about!

50s greaser boys

the lovely lure of the 50's greaser boy

Greasers were the quintessential 'bad boys' of the 1950’s. Sporting a typically rock n' roll, carefree attitude, along with leather or denim jackets, white T-shirts, cigarette packs rolled up in their sleeves, and a slicked back pompadour, they ruled the day - and stole hearts of swooning girls - from the wrong side of the tracks.

everyone's favorite Rebel Without a Cause

This style came to life in roles defined by Marlon Brando, a motorcycle gang leader, in The Wild One (1953) and James Dean, a new kid in town with a perchance for trouble, in Rebel Without a Cause (1955).  Both of these deliciously styled iconic greasers got the girls and still maintained their bad boy cool.

and of course, our favorite Wild One

Over time, Hollywood and the fashion scene revisited this classic 50's look over and over in films like American Graffiti (1973), where good-hearted bad boy John is portrayed by Paul Le Mat; Grease (1978), in which Danny Zuko played by John Travolta ran a pack of rebel car racing T-Birds that stole our hearts; and of course the 80’s cult classic The Outsiders (1983) that portrayed one of the sexiest casts ever to grace the silver screen and swagger with perfect greaser style and charm.

 
          Em is rather proud to admit that Danny Zuko was her actual childhood style icon





And of course, it would be wrong to finish this post without mentioning the 90's take on 50's greaser boy style. Johnny Depp was the perfect man for the role in Cry Baby (1990): a film about an impossibly gorgeous, and of course, rebellious boy with a tough exterior... and that soft gooey center that all girls love to imagine all boys who wear leather jackets secretly have. The music, the wardrobe and the general atmosphere of this film have 50's rock n' roll pegged!

3, 2, 1.... swoon!

Greaser boys of the fabulous 50's: part rock n roll, part bad boy; but one hundred percent sex appeal!  Nobody can deny that the greaser look is a timeless classic that to this day makes the pulse rate and temperature rise of the female population from any age and generation!

rock n roll decor

This week's theme is all things 50's rock n' roll! Here is a selection of fabulous 50's treasures that we love for around the home:

this 50's record collection is quite simply amazing! a must for any rock n roll fan!

we love this vintage microphone - a perfect gift for Father's Day

this is a really interesting idea - jukebox print on vintage dictionary paper

utterly gorgeous 50's twin speaker radio

Kat's personal favorite, to play, or to display - Elvis Treat Me Nice vinyl

we love how colorful this jukebox box is!

rock n roll playlist

this week's theme

rock n roll 50's

Happy Monday vintage girls and boys! Our blog has been up and running for a couple of weeks now; it is still somewhat of a baby and we are feeling uber-excited about all the things we can share with you.

One thing that we're looking forward to starting is a theme of the week. This could be anything from 20's flapper style, to 40's wartime, to 70's disco, to 80's power dressing. Throughout the week, you will see a large portion of our posts containing various images, articles, features and quotes around our chosen theme.

So onto this week - 50's rock and roll! We're talking Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard (even Cliff Richard was surprisingly credible back then)... jive dancing... jukeboxes... diners... polka dot circle skirts... greasers.... 

To get you into the spirit, we've compiled a little playlist of classic 50's rock and roll singles. We hope you enjoy!