New hair toy = updo success!

No photos for this as I haven't snapped the back of my head yet, but I got a new Thing for my hair yesterday. I've moaned on and on about my straight hair, and last year had a bit of a revelation when my friend, SF writer Ankaret Wells, who is my guru for all things hair, felt mine and said it felt like Asian hair, despite the colour. Perhaps I did inherit something from my mystery ancestresses after all. Anyway, this changed my whole approach to my hair, and I decided to look at vintage pictures of Asian ladies and see how they did theirs. My final inspiration was seeing the chic cabin crew for Singapore Air, whose general uniform and look has been in places since the 1960s. I've been veering towards a late 50s/early 60s look for daywear. It's smart for the office, yet also quite chic, you can still get clothes in good condition at relatively affordable prices, and the reduced emphasis on the waist means they're more likely to fit, and suit, my apple body type.



So, updos. I've been trying. Yesterday I popped into Boots to pick up some more hairpins (completely forgot to get some more hairspray, oops!) and saw a gadget called 'Goody Simple Styles Modern Updo' - basically a chignon. It was just a giant pin, really, and part of me thought, "A fiver's quite a lot for a piece of bent metal", but if it worked it would be a small price to pay not to have to faff around. My mum's told me she used to spend an hour each morning putting her beehive up in the 1960s. There's no way I'm getting up at 5:30! So I bought the pin, and what do you know, it works. It's not a substitute for a proper updo, but it's definitely a good thing if you're in a hurry.

My hair is currently to my shoulders, and I think a few inches more would make a better style. If you use the pin as instructed, the front of the head is fairly sleek, but I plan to experiment with backcombing to see if I can get a bit more period-appropriate volume in the top and front. All in all, I'm jolly pleased with this.