Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

How to avoid looking like emo / rockabilly / scene ???

C-dot

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,908
Location
Toronto, Canada
~Psycho Sue~ said:
OH I know! She can pick a cute little hollywood starlet and study her!! That would be so fantastic! YAy!

Studying vintage stars is not a bad thing to do when adopting a vintage look. I personally took many cues from Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, studying everything about them - Their hair, makeup, outfits, postures, smiles.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to adopt a Rockabilly, Vintage Starlet, or even Matronly look. It may not be everyone's bag, but thats okay too.
 

~Psycho Sue~

One of the Regulars
Messages
171
Location
Washington DC
C-dot said:
Studying vintage stars is not a bad thing to do when adopting a vintage look. I personally took many cues from Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, studying everything about them - Their hair, makeup, outfits, postures, smiles.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to adopt a Rockabilly, Vintage Starlet, or even Matronly look. It may not be everyone's bag, but thats okay too.

Oh yes! I have adopted all of them especially Marilyn Monroe!!! I ADORE her look!
 

Amy Jeanne

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,858
Location
Colorado
C-dot said:
Studying vintage stars is not a bad thing to do when adopting a vintage look. I personally took many cues from Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, studying everything about them - Their hair, makeup, outfits, postures, smiles.

.

Mine was Jean Harlow. Now I love the "ordinary" gals like INKY, Lolita Haze, Miss Amanda Lee, Fluer de Guerre, Lisa Freemont Street, Lauren, Michelle (sixsexsix), Psycho Sue (her style rocks!) and so many other gals on here and the WWW that I would be here all day if I tried to name them.
 

C-dot

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,908
Location
Toronto, Canada
Amy Jeanne said:
Mine was Jean Harlow. Now I love the "ordinary" gals like INKY, Lolita Haze, Miss Amanda Lee, Fluer de Guerre, Lisa Freemont Street, Lauren, Michelle (sixsexsix), Psycho Sue (her style rocks!) and so many other gals on here and the WWW that I would be here all day if I tried to name them.

Right - It's individuality that makes a look memorable. :)
 

~Psycho Sue~

One of the Regulars
Messages
171
Location
Washington DC
Amy Jeanne said:
Mine was Jean Harlow. Now I love the "ordinary" gals like INKY, Lolita Haze, Miss Amanda Lee, Fluer de Guerre, Lisa Freemont Street, Lauren, Michelle (sixsexsix), Psycho Sue (her style rocks!) and so many other gals on here and the WWW that I would be here all day if I tried to name them.

Awe Amy Jeanne, if you were icing I would lick you right off the spoon! I think YOU have awesome and unique style!
 

Miss Neecerie

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,616
Location
The land of Sinatra, Hoboken
please send your hate messages in PM please ;)

No look is wrong or bad or anything like that...and there is nothing wrong with whichever ones we all pick....

BUT


Extolling the virtues of 'Look A' in a thread titled "but I don't wish to look like 'Look A'.....

is unhelpful, pointless and disrespectful of the original posters question, wishes and so forth.

There is/are multiple threads on 'which decade you prefer for dress' 'what look do you love' etc. And -that- is the place to extol the look you personally like.

"How do I ...' threads are about what original person wishes to achieve and -helping- them to do that.
 

*martini*time*

A-List Customer
Messages
312
Location
Edmonton, Canada
Miss Neecerie said:
No look is wrong or bad or anything like that...and there is nothing wrong with whichever ones we all pick....

BUT


Extolling the virtues of 'Look A' in a thread titled "but I don't wish to look like 'Look A'.....

is unhelpful, pointless and disrespectful of the original posters question, wishes and so forth.

There is/are multiple threads on 'which decade you prefer for dress' 'what look do you love' etc. And -that- is the place to extol the look you personally like.

"How do I ...' threads are about what original person wishes to achieve and -helping- them to do that.


:eusa_clap
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,757
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Couldn't have said it better myself.

And, back to the original topic, I'll completely agree with what C-Dot said -- individuality is the key. Nothing is more unfortunate than a group of nonconformists who look exactly alike.
 

Alexi

One of the Regulars
Messages
200
Location
Boston
sorry to intrude girls, but from the front page this looks like "how to avoid looking like emo..." and my mind immediately went to how to avoid looking like emo phillips.


also I feel old, whenever some one says emo my mind immediately jumps to Rites of Spring, Embrace and Jawbreaker. When exactly did emo loose the hardcore?
 

*martini*time*

A-List Customer
Messages
312
Location
Edmonton, Canada
Alexi said:
sorry to intrude girls, but from the front page this looks like "how to avoid looking like emo..." and my mind immediately went to how to avoid looking like emo phillips.


also I feel old, whenever some one says emo my mind immediately jumps to Rites of Spring, Embrace and Jawbreaker. When exactly did emo loose the hardcore?

When My Chemical Romance started sounding like they were crying when they sang. And punk rockers started having babies.
 

C-dot

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,908
Location
Toronto, Canada
*martini*time* said:
When My Chemical Romance started sounding like they were crying when they sang. And punk rockers started having babies.

It's the same with what happened to the old Superman show - People were no longer laughing with him, they were laughing at him.

Except for emo's, it would be crying...
 

cynroux

Familiar Face
Messages
80
Location
On the Shores of the Chesapeake
Goldfish, in building a wardrobe, *ANY* wardrobe, I try to find 2 or 3 basic cuts which serve to both look good and be comfortable. Find a few items (dress, top, bottom (both trousers and skirt)), that appeal to you visually and flatter you physically. Once you have determined what works for you, let the hunt for items that fit into your criteria begin.

Let me give you an example. When I first started shopping for my own vintage look, I found that high waisted, six button Naval style trousers looked fantastic on me. So I looked for photos of women from the 40s (just my preference) wearing this style and studied what they wore with them. Then I went looking for these items. With a little patience, I had a weekend's worth of vintage casual looks. I kept on studying vintage photos and blogs of women I admired, then tried some new looks on for size. Sometimes, it was all win and sometimes I listed the items that didn't work on ebay. :)

Patience is key and hunting for the right look is MORE than half the fun.
Eventually, you'll fall into your own look.

Hope this makes sense and helped a little. Update us with pictures as you go. :)
 

Miss Sis

One Too Many
Messages
1,888
Location
Hampshire, England Via the Antipodes.
I'd suggest looking at LOTS of primary source pictures of whichever era you are going for and seeing what you do and don't like about different looks, then put together one that you like all for yourself that suits you.

There'e no need to be a cliche or look like anyone in particular unless you want to. [huh]
 

Lillemor

One Too Many
Messages
1,137
Location
Denmark
If you're very visual it might help together a mood board either using some software/online program...what do I know:eek: or an old fashioned mood board with glued on cut outs from magazines, printed images from online sources on a card board. Then look for any themes or red thread. You might also do the same for what you don't want to look like so you can see what you associate with the look you don't like. The same could be done with pen and paper if you brainstorm what you like and what you associate with the style you don't like if you're less visual. Some of us just aren't good at keeping track of all our thought flows in our head.
 

pdxvintagette

A-List Customer
Messages
362
Location
Portland, OR
Keeping Warm 40's Style

While I am a big fan of cardigans, there are many that don't look good on me. There are some very flattering styles, but they are much harder to find. So what I often use instead is orphaned ladies suit jackets over my dresses - they are usually wool, or sometimes velvet, and that helps warm up the ensemble a lot.

I also prefer spun rayon or silk slips in the wintertime, they help insulate! If you're not completely stuck on having seemed stockings, too, you can wear tights with your dresses - black and cream being probably the most useful colors.

Lastly, fur. If you're not the anti-fur type, there is just nothing like wrapping a fluffy fox fur collar around your neck - it really heats the outfit up!
(In multiple ways.)

Goldfish said:
Thank you for your honest thoughts!

Of course I will dress how I feel, I always dressed my own way.

It's just that I noticed that my wardrobe basically doesn't match.
I have a lot of awesome pieces with different styles, but nothing goes well together. I have like 737373454 pieces I have basically no use for.
At the moment I am in the process of selling them piece by piece.

So I changed my goal to renewing my wardrobe and invest time and money in quality.
Starting with basic pieces, wearable in cold weather.
I would love to wear 40s dresses, but how do I make them wearable for cold weather?
Cardigans look horrible on me :( so that's no way.
I am awesome at dressing for summer, but not with clothes who keep you warm and look good.
 

goldwyn girl

One Too Many
Messages
1,883
Location
Sydney Australia and Las Vegas NV
Lillemor said:
If you're very visual it might help together a mood board either using some software/online program...what do I know:eek: or an old fashioned mood board with glued on cut outs from magazines, printed images from online sources on a card board. Then look for any themes or red thread. You might also do the same for what you don't want to look like so you can see what you associate with the look you don't like. The same could be done with pen and paper if you brainstorm what you like and what you associate with the style you don't like if you're less visual. Some of us just aren't good at keeping track of all our thought flows in our head.
I was just about to suggest the same thing, an inspiration book, if you see a look you like make notes, do a quick sketch, save a picture. You can't go wrong with old movies, magazines and catalogues. Develop your own style. And remember "Joe Public" only has a small amount of reference point so you will get the occasional "rockabilly / emo " comment. Just smile and move on.
 

MaryDeluxe

Practically Family
Messages
794
Location
Deluxeville!
Since the original post was made almost two years ago, I'm curious to know how Goldfish's wardrobe is today?? What kinds of pieces have you bought for your closet Goldfish?? Are you still having problems finding clothing you like, that's affordable, and has a vintage look? [huh]

:eek:fftopic: Rockabilly is a very interesting culture. In the culture there are a lot of subcultures. It's unfortunate that people only think of rockabilly as girls wearing cherry print halter dresses with bright red streaks in their black hair with "bettie bangs" and victory rolls, wearing "stripper heels". lol That's just a subculture of rockabilly but doesn't represent the whole culture.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,266
Messages
3,077,633
Members
54,221
Latest member
magyara
Top