Debutante Clothing :: The Deblog :: A vintage clothing and fashion blog for unconventional style where vintage, street and runway meet.

Flipping through a collector's magazine, I came across a book that I wish had been around in my 20s when I painted the town in vintage - head to toe.

Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Modern Techniques by Lauren Rennells is filling a void left by Daniela Turudich's now out of print series of vintage hairstyle books. Lauren is a hair and make-up artist who works in the photography and film industry. She freelances providing unique designs for advertisements, films and television. Her passion for vintage hairstyles led her to write her incredibly useful book.

From cover to cover, the book is full of beautiful photography of vintage hair styling tools such as pink dryers and jars of Lustre-Creme. But this book is not a fluffy, pretty art book full of hair related pictures. The book is more instructional without being boring.

The beginning of the book walks you step by step through the necessary tools you will need and basic curl techniques in order to create a true vintage hairstyle. Then, Rennells leads you into the techniques for combing out the curls. Finally, you get into the actual styling.

I'm a very visual person. I have to see someone do something in order to determine if I am doing it correctly. The step by step directions with accompanying images are the next best thing to having Lauren right next to you. The steps are clear and concise.

Of course looking at all of the gorgeous models in their gorgeous hair dos made me pine for long hair again. But Lauren does not let us shorties down. She includes many hairstyles that are specifically for shorter hair, such as the Page Boy and Tiki Lounge, and many of the other styles are made to give long hair a fake short look. Her book is so good, she can even show you how to get fake bangs.

In order to get a better education on how to recreate vintage hairstyles, you'd have to enroll in beauty school. Lauren Rennells has really brought hair from the past into the reach of the modern girl.

Stay tuned for a very exciting contest involving hair, reading, learning and winning. Enough hints for you?