Hello there!
My name is Sharna-Mae and I'm nineteen years old. I live in lovely little Lincoln in Lincolnshire with my family and boyfriend. I have been brought up with the rockabilly scene because of my Dad being in the band 'The Hicksville Bombers' and now I am pursuing a singing career in a new young band with my boyfriend James, little brother Scott and friend Danny.
This time last year when I was at sixth form my fashion was all over the place. I was experimenting with everything I could find from charity shops and vintage fairs. I loved wearing men's baggy check shirts and Dr martens with my quiffs and headscarves and it wasn't until I finished sixth form I focused on my singing more and wanted to get rid of my little fear of dressing 1950s all the time. I started wearing capri pants from Matalan with leopard print and cherry tops and my little quiffs and I can still remember my Dad buying me a pair of capri pants from Collectif and they were high waisted and I thought I was so cool and I got to the point I think I wore them nearly everyday! For ages I just stayed in capri pants because I never wore jeans (I felt I wouldn't feel comfortable in them) and after a while I finally bought my first pair of Freddie's and I fell in love!!!! And from then I started to experiment with my fashion and I have never looked back from the 50's fashion.
I'm a singer so I use to watch and study old videos from the 50's all the time. I use to be wowed by Wanda Jackson's fringe dresses on stage. She was so glamorous and sexy and I'm still hoping to have a dress like that one day!
Rose Maddox is another beautiful star who's wardrobe I wish I owned. I just stare at her western suits that she wore on stage and I weep little tears wishing I had one! Haha! I'm only joking but I do wish to have one like hers one day.
My everyday fashion includes a bit of everything because I like it all for example the rockabilly, Mexican, western and rock n roll etc. I have worn outfits from the socks & shoes with jeans to tea dresses to cow boy boots to Hawaiian dresses and more! There is still so much out there for me to experiment with. I get inspired everyday with fashion whether it is from Instagram posts, Facebook, original photos or videos or magazines and I love getting inspiration from how everyone is different and how everyone wears their clothes differently even if I feel I look silly sometimes, haha! My favourite style I'm wearing at the moment is the Western look because it's so comfy and it sounds silly but my heart melts when I see western wear I think it's beaautifulll!!
When it comes to shopping - I am a bargain hunter. I love shopping on Etsy and hunting for all the vintage bargains. I enjoy looking in the high street stores and finding 1950s style clothing especially in the summer with all the flower accessories, wicker bags and cute dresses. Sainsburys has the cutest dresses in the summer! I got a lemon patterned one last year and most people at vintage fairs I go to think it's an original,hehe! But I always tell them it's only Sainsburys and I love the look on their faces!
My favourite time to shop is the weekenders and festivals I go to because when you see all the vintage and repro clothes all in one room, it's a little like heaven! I love chatting away to the stall owners too, sometimes I end up talking for hours and they probably want rid of me but I really like getting to know them.
When I buy a vintage item that I'm willing to spend a bit more on or something I had been searching for ages for, I really treasure it! I bought two patio dresses not long ago from Etsy and I had been searching for one for a while but like I said I'm a bargain hunter so I try to spend as less as possible and I found two for £15-£20 and they fit perfectly! What I like about patio dresses that if you buy them as a two piece (a top and a skirt), you can wear it both together or the skirt with a different top and the top with jeans - that's what I personally do and it's then three outfits in one!! Whoop whoop, haha!
Another item I have in my wardrobe is my late 1940s hand painted Mexican skirt and ohhh it's so pretty that I don't dare wear it!! I treated myself to it for Christmas last year (please tell me I'm not the only one who buys themselves presents for Christmas, haha?!) and I love it so much. It's actually in a dress bag in my wardrobe because I worry about it getting ruined but the detail is beautiful and it's so colourful. It works so well with my lucite bag and I would love to wear it with a pair of lucite heels but unfortunately I have wide feet and I can't get them to fit (its embarrassing trying them on at a stall and I can only fit my big toe in!) :( but never mind! I probably wouldn't be able to walk in them anyway!
My most favourite vintage item in my wardrobe must have to be (this is really hard) ...
You won't be able to tell when reading this but I just had to take a long pause from typing to look in my wardrobe and try and narrow it down to one item, haha! It's so hard! I'm torn between my Mexican Tourist Jackets and my two western shirts from Memphis so I'll choose both... I'll be quick, I promise!! I love my Mexican Tourist jackets because every jacket is different! If I could afford to have one in every colour I would, actually I want to set that as a goal in life. I love wearing them with my Freddie's jeans, dungarees or capri pants. I have two so far but my red one I bought from the Rockabilly Rave (£30 bargain!!) is my favourite. It has the two Mexican dancers on the back and I just love it!!
My two Western shirts from Memphis (I went last year) were made by a lovely lady Ellie Monsters. I fell in love with these shirts because one was made using a dish cloth- so cool! And I feel lucky that they are unique and nobody else has one like them. I wear them casual & dressy and they never fail to get a compliment each time I wear one, hehe.
I will admit when I buy something new and I fall in love with it which means I get a bit obsessed with wearing it! My most worn item of clothing is probably my Geronimo and Freddie's jeans and Morellos Jackets- I do love my repro! I wear the jackets almost everyday! I love them and the company is run by such lovely people. My Freddie's (lovely people again) - I am getting a right little collection going on considering last year I never wore jeans (thank you Freddie's for making me love jeans!). They are just so comfortable and so are my geronimos. I wear them with anything and they can even work with just a simple little vintage look.
I'd say my style is always changing. It's always vintage but I'm constantly discovering new styles in the 1950s era to wear. I went through a phase a while ago of loving the socks and shoes look with turned up jeans. I was googling old pictures of the outfits and tried to re create my own. I love mixing my outfits up as well for example with the western, rockabilly, pinup and Mexican. I also love the 1940s fashion I wear cute tea dresses (I mainly find them in charity shops) with my victory rolls hair style which is a perfect look for the summer! When it comes to styling my hair I always have a little trouble (long hair problems!) because of the length. It doesn't hold a curl well which is annoying because I absolutely love curly hair and to make matters worse - I have really straight hair! I pin curl all my hair then brush it out so my curls blend together and just hope for the best. Most the time I do have little paddys about it and my boyfriend tends to leave the room, haha!
I absolutely love the 1950s era. I love the fashion, the cars, the movies but mainly the music for me. I also love the 1940s as I have a lot of interest of the war. When I was at sixth form I did a few drama pieces and I enjoyed studying all about it and playing a land girl from the play Lillies of the Land.
Even though I love those two eras, I love the 1960s, 1990s and the 1980s Madonna look and the music hehe, too! I'm always on the dance floor at birthdays parties singing along.
Before I completely dressed 1940s/50s, I experimented a lot with fashion. I wore basketball jerseys, baggy check shirts, flatforms, creepers, leggings, topshop clothes, horrible short dresses (my under age house party days) and so much more! I use to have a big side fringe or the half up half down 80s hair with a scrunchie. I had a lot of fun with it but I feel I have completely found myself now and don't think I will ever go back. I love all fashion but the 1950s is me and I like walking up the high street dressing different to everyone else.
I don't think I will ever feel I have enough clothes! I don't think you will ever hear a woman say 'I have enough clothes now I never need to buy anymore.' I always have a massive wish list and there is too much on there to say but right now off the top of my head I'd love to own a telephone cord bag, western suit, fringe dress, high waisted black jeans, Chimayo jacket and a lurex jumpsuit. There is soooo much more... The list is endless!!
I have a massive passion for makeup as well as fashion. I could sit and play with makeup for hours and not get bored! I am a little bit of a Mac snob and I love their lipsticks (I actually have about 15 in a lipstick holder on display) and their foundations. Unfortunately I have oily skin so I use Mac Studio fix because it's matte and I don't like to look greasy on stage. My main makeup look is classic pinup so the liquid eyeliner and red lips but I also love my purple lipsticks, nudes and oranges. I use Younique's Fiber lash mascara which is fantastic for a false lash effect (I'm a Younique makeup presenter hehe) or I buy a pair of false lashes and cut them in half and wear them just on the ends of my eyes (that's my secret trick).
If I had to wear a certain item for the rest of my life I honestly have no idea what I'd choose. My favourite items change all the time depending on what vintage style I'm really into at the time but right now I would have to say I am obsessed with the Atomic Swag t-shirts. I find them so cool and you can literally wear them with anything. The t-shirt prints are also very old style but they have been reproduced so people can purchase and wear them now. I have about five now and I wear them with my Freddie's and Geronimo jeans, dungarees, skirts, shorts and I love topping the outfit off with a headscarf around my neck.
I love a lot of the pinup hairstyles. I have to admit I'm not very good at hair because I'm not patient with it. Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand so I can just zap my hair to a style I want it. I watch YouTube tutorials a lot to get ideas on what to do. I use to always have my hair in a bun with a chiffon headscarf (I have a load of them and they are life savers on a bad or lazy hair day). I love my quiffs/rolls and I never go anywhere without my hair done. Sometimes people don't recognise me without a quiff haha! I actually just got my fringe cut shorter to make more of an natural hairstyle so I don't have to mess with it too much for it to style how I want it. I do wish my hair would style in the lovely 1950s curly hairstyles but unfortunately my hair just won't hold. People have suggested to me to get it cut short but I just couldn't do that! I love having long hair even if it is a bugger to curl! Haha!
The advice I would give to other women who are wanting to get into the fashion is don't worry about spending a load of money on getting a new wardrobe which is all vintage straight away. You can go to a charity shop and find vintage clothing or vintage style clothing at a very cheap price and it's for a good cause too!
Also look for inspiration!! Whether it's googling old photos, YouTube, old videos /movies and social networking sites like Instagram. It will help you get into the fashion scene and help to discover all the styles. You will find a style your like and are comfortable with by experimenting through different themes/eras. You may prefer the 1940s style or the Teddy girl or the western. You never know until you try!
I really hope you have enjoyed reading this! I have actually never done something like this before and I'm really shocked and flattered I was asked but I'd like to say thank you to Amber for asking me. It's actually entertained me writing this because I've reminisced my past fashion and it has made me have a real think of what's in my wardrobe, haha. It would be brilliant to see you guys about so if you would like to follow me on Instagram '@sharnamae' then we can keep in touch! I also have a music page on Facebook which is 'Sharna-Mae' which you can like if you are interested in keeping updated with my gigs (I try my best to keep it updated!) annnd I don't think I have anything else to say?! And I don't know how to end this post haha? (Can you tell I'm new to this?)
Aanyway, I'm blabbing! Thank you so much again and please follow me on Instagram :D
Thank youuu!
Sharna-Mae
x
No comments:
Post a Comment