Jojo's Retro and Vintage: women

Showing posts with label women. Show all posts

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Making of a Jojo Girl

As I mentioned (or ranted rather) before, I was in search of a second model for my shop. My advertising was very successful and I received a slew of interested young ladies. I narrowed down the choices and came up with a handful that I will be photo testing over the next month. I've decided to bring on several new girls with different looks and sizes - kind of an retro army of "Jojo Girls." Funny, that makes them sound like they will break out in choreographed Janet Jackson style moves in the studio! That way I can stylize hair and makeup more specifically to a period and shoot a dozen outfits in that era on one girl in one shot.

My first test was with the lovely Miss Kitteh. I attempted to document her transformation in the studio so you could see some before and after photos. I will give a brief tutorial for achieving her look. She has graciously agreed to this with the promise of universal fame and fortune. Well, perhaps just the promise of a monthly phone call to come back and model again. :-) We have decided to transform her into a look thats a cross between Bridget Bardot and Twiggy, so she can model some 60s fashions for me in her test shoot. I wanted to look to be a wearable nod to the 60s yet not completely over the top. We will primarily be using MAC products.

So here is Kitteh (pronounced Kitty)in the studio premakeup. I've prepped her face with MAC's "Fix +", "Strobe Cream" to brighten and moisturize, and then "Prep + Prime Skin Base to keep the makeup on. "

Using a flat foundation brush, I applied MAC "Studio Fix Fluid" foundation in NW20. Then with an eyeshadow brush, I've filled in her whole eyelid with a "Paint Pot" in Soft Ochre to give a nice base for the shadows we will be using. I've put some undereye concealer in the darkest part (crease)of the undereye and a little around the nostrils to blend.

So then we apply an all over wash of "Mylar" eyeshadow with a 213 fluff brush. Then I place "Aquadisiac" on the lid only starting at the outer corner and blending up and in.

Using a 219 pencil brush, I carefully line the crease with "Carbon," a black eyeshadow to give the eye some depth. The line is clean but not as heavily stylized as Twiggy's, because we want this look a little more wearable and not as theatrical. I pull the line out past the eyelid a bit and then backtrack to meet the corner of the eye.

I then do a light dusting of "Shroom" under the arch of the brow with a 224 tapered blending brush. I deposit a little in the inside corner of eye as well. I smudge directly into the lashline "Graphblack" black eyeliner.

Next comes a light sweep of black mascara on the upper and lower lids. I curl the upper lashes with an eyelash curler. Then we apply false lashes- I used Model 21 Fashion Lashes in "3m 28." I cut them into halves to make them easier to apply.

Using a small angle brush, I apply liquid eyeliner in "Blacktrack," starting high at the outer corner of the eye coming in towards the pupil. I go back and fill in from the upper line down to the lash line. Again curl the lashes to blend the natural into the false, and load up on very black mascara on the upper lashes.

Then I lined the waterline of her lower lid with a white pencil to make her big eyes look even larger. using a stiff angled brush, I filled in her browns with "Cork" eyeshadow. I applied "Prep + Prime Lip", lined with a nude pencil and then filled in the lip with "Viva Glam V." I put "Melba" blush on the apples of her cheeks. A quick dusting of "Blot Powder" and a spritz of "Fix +" sets the makeup and keeps it from looking to powdery.

Next stop, Hair. We did some backcombing and spraying and pulled her hair up into a Bardot-esque pony tail. Her hair was fine, so I think next time I will use rollers and some hair powder to get even more volume. Yes, thats my mom in the background. She is my resident hair teaser- since she lived through the 60s, she can tease hair like nobody's business!

So, here is a quick chart of the look I designed for Kitteh before she came.

And here is our lovely Miss Kitteh in her test shoot:

A close up of the makeup look.......

Congratulations, you've just become the next Jojo Girl!

Stay tuned for more models!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

My Real Life in Vintage

Me, in vintage accessories and custom bolero/dress at my October 2008 wedding.

When I started my Etsy vintage clothing shop in May of last year, I did it on a whim as an exploratory career option. I was a newly laid off mother of a newborn, having limited career options with my education in theatrical costume design. I was staying home with baby and giving some hard thought about what to do next. Here I was at 40, a tattooed, vintage-wearing, old -80s-punk that was a jack of all trades and master of none. I felt like I’d done all I could without a Masters (in Minnesota anyway) and continued to wrestle with the dilemma of needing to eat vs. self-fulfillment. My love of historical clothing design and all things of bygone eras had been reduced to a hobby.

It wasn’t until I found Etsy and purchased a bunch of vintage baby planters for my newborns retro –themed baptism party that I thought, “Hey, if they can do this, why can’t I?” I delved into my new adventure with the fervor of a woman with her hair on fire. I was on a mission to find the lost treasures of yesteryears closets! Thus began my great adventure into a world that encompasses everything from researching, buying/selling, internet social networking, makeup artistry and photography. It is the best of all possible worlds, both exciting and exhausting with a baby on hip.

One thing I wasn’t anticipating when I set out on this adventure was the wonderful people I would come to meet along the way. Every time I shipped something out, I held my breath. Would they like my treasure as much as I did? Wonderful feedback began appearing from the customers. They loved their dress! They were so excited! Stories of parties and plans for wearing their vintage were shared. I was amazed that I had somehow brought some excitement to someone else’s life by selling them a dress. It was great to see that something I had found in an estate attic or buried unappreciated at a second hand store could make someone else as giddy as it made me!

Recently I received some feedback, photos and stories with one such happy customer- April from Los Angeles, CA. April is a very smart and chic woman who knows what she likes! She purchased a light blue cotton 50s pinup fit n flare gored dress with rhinestone accents on the bust. Her unexpected feedback and appreciation picture just about knocked me outta my chair:

“So, I had been eyeing this dress ever since it was listed. I practically lusted after it. It kind of seemed too good to be true. An AWESOMELY constructed, pristine, GORGEOUS dress for 79 dollars? I just had to believe there was something wrong with it. But I wanted it. Now that I have it? I think I want to marry this dress and have little dress babies that look just like it. For reals ya'll. This dress is that cool. I highly endorse this seller and I will be buying from again! Such an eye for quality.”

She just sent me some more fantastic pictures of her in the dress at a New Year’s Eve celebration, which you can see on her new blog, The Vintage Fairygodmother. April’s enthusiasm for vintage and the shop has revived my spirit after a tiring holiday. The very best part of my work is the fantastic feeling you get when you connect with someone over the shared passion of vintage. You feel like a little girl giggling in the back of the school bus with your best friend again. My customers have become my best cheerleaders and I am so honored to be part of their real vintage life!

If you have purchased an item from my store and would like to be featured on my blog, please contact me through the store: www.jojosretroandvintage.etsy.com