Rockabilly Dog Bandana

 

I have been so busy with the salon, I haven't had much down time. To relax my mind a little, I decided to attempt to make Ellington his first bandana. It's a simple job, but not quite as simple as just tying a bandana around him!

I wanted the tie to be velcro or popper based, so that if it did get caught ever, it would just pop open, rather than a fixed knot. I also needed a button hole on the top so that the clasp for his lead can stick through. I don't have my sewing machine so it was a hand stitch job!

1. I double checked how long it had to be so that it would fit around his neck. I wanted it pretty loose, so that it wouldn't bother him.

2. I sewed in the hem, and then sewed on the two sections of the popper. At this point I double checked it fit!

3. I then needed to create the button hole. I felt where it would need to be, and made a small nick. I cut the slit, and then started the fliddly job of handstitching around the hole. I needed it to be well sewn, otherwise the fabric will just fray with use. 

4. I double checked it all fit.....woohoo!

It is very hard to get a picture, as he can get pretty needy, and comes way too close to me all of the time! So I took a few so you could get the idea!

Rockabilly Hairdressers in London

So, after a week of being up and running, I thought I would blog about how it feels now I own a rockabilly hairdressers in London town!

Getting the salon ready felt a little overwhelming at times, but now that I can reflect back on it, I can appreciate that I got it done in a pretty good time! It took about 5 weeks, with the Rockette family pulling together and giving it some elbow grease.

From mood boards, to paint shopping, to digging through furniture shops and vintage hide aways, the salon began to take shape. What I do find pretty cool is that when I hold the two mood boards up, I have pretty much stuck to them! They are an actual reflection on what has been created. Mood boards can sometimes sound a little wishy washy, but they really helped keep my design focus, there is so much awesome stuff out there, but not everything is suitable for the look I wanted.

Rockalily Cuts has now been open for a week, and its been so much fun! Lucie Luella and I have had the pleasure of hanging out with so many fabulous people! This week has definitely been the week for film industry clients, I wonder if our weeks will have different trends?!

Mojitos and teacakes have been our favourite things, along with Donald Draper style haircuts.

Ellington the shop dog has settled in perfectly, he loves the attention, but also enjoys creeping into his bed and having a rest. The noise doesn't bother him at all!

As ever, there is still a lot I want to do with it, but it is always a work in progress, and I'm not yet quite able to stand back and enjoy what has been achieved so far!

We have had all sorts of customers, from rockabilly greasers, vintage gents, rock 'n' roll ladies and just lovely women who fancy a touch a glamour in their day!

Thank you if you have popped in already, and if you're considering visiting, do feel free to say hello! I'm always happy to have an excuse for a coffee!

Rockabilly Dress and Shoes for Wedding

I had a twitter plea to find a gorgeous rockabilly dress (size 14) for under £80, with some shoes in size 7 for £50. She wants to buy a petticoat as well, which tells me she wants a swing style dress. So here are some of my suggestions!

This green gingham dress from Dolly Dagger is £79. I love that green is a slightly more unusual colour. You could make it quite 1950s with white accessories, or you could be a bit more brave and wear a clashing colour like purple.

If you were feeling a bit more brave, I own a dress in this tropical print and I love it. This dress is from Collectif and costs £60.

If you want a more simple option, you could try this swing dress from Lady K, which costs £45. You could take a slightly nautical theme and have red accesories, or white for a more vintage look.

If you did want to embrace a nautical look, you could try this dress from Sirens and Starlets, which is a bargain £24.99

This one is slightly over budget at £99, but would celebrate the theme of the day! It is Vivien of Holloway.

A more classic rockabilly look would be this Sirens and Starlets dress for £29.99. Red or blue accessories would really pop.

If you wanted a more vintage look, like 1940s style dress is from 20th century foxy and costs £85.

As for shoes, I'm a fan of comfort, and tend to always look to Clarks, so here are my current favourites that come in on budget!

These are £54.99

These nude heels are £49.99

These red patent shoes are £39.99 and look pretty comfortable!

I own these ones, and they currently have 30% off, making them £34.99

 These red ones are also in the sale, making them £34.99

If you wanted a more comfortable and safe option I'd go with a small wedge like these. These cost £34.99 in the sale.

 Do you have any great wedding guest fashion tips?

Rockalily Style: Viva Las Vegas Weekender baby!

A pretty terrible picture here, apologies. I am wearing the dress Mother Rockette made for me a while back. It is also about 6:30am in this pic!

I actually really like the back of this dress, it has a really nice scoop. It is from a Vintage Vogue pattern.

You can see my sunburn! I'm staying indoors today!

Elvis Presley - In Colour (and good times)

There are many videos of Elvis Presley from his later years that I simply find challenging to watch. It isn't just that he bloated and looked a little sad, it is the videos were he is clearly drugged up and not coping. The slurring, mumbling and nonsenseical ramblings are tragic to watch/hear.

So, I choose to focus on when he was incredible. As was (and still is) often the case, immense fame can lead to sad and lonely deaths.

Here is Elvis being awesome. He certainly had some swagger!