Book Nerd

Well, I feel mighty slack having not posted anything this week… but even though it was a long weekend I didn’t really do anything worth noting. I literally went to the pub, slept, watched a movie, went to the pub, slept then watched movies again. Of the movies I did watch, a few I might do a post about shortly like “An Education” and “Revolutionary Road” but for now I going to let you all know what I have been reading over the past couple of months.

Around 4 or 5 months ago I was at the Fishermen’s Warf market rummaging through mountains of books when I came across a Marilyn Monroe biography called “Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe” by Fred Lawrence Guiles. The copy I picked up was rather tatty but bonus that it had that old book smell, I love that smell. I really enjoyed the book and found it fascinating and heartbreaking to learn about her life. I think I could have read a book about anyone from that era and just been fascinated by there every day life but Marilyn’s was an interesting and intense one at that giving it a much greater appeal.

After reading this I craved more information but not wanting to re-read her whole life story book after book I decided on another 50’s famester. James Dean. This drool worthy fella would be worth reading about so I set out to the book shops to find me a biography. Considering Monroe and Dean are still such popular cultural icons I was shocked to find that there were no biographies in stock for either of them at the several book shops I visited. Rather disheartened I decided to google and find out which the best James Dean biography would be and then look for it specifically. This leads me to an older post “100 eBay Purchases” where I bought “The James Dean Story” by Robert Martinetti.
Again, the book was fascinating and I also bought the James Franco as James Dean bio pic “James Dean” which conveniently arrived the night before I started reading and was a good teaser. I buy these books to entertain me on the train, but with both of these I enjoyed them so much I was tucked up in bed early each night reading more… I wanted to keep reading (I honestly had to pace myself or I would have finished it in one sitting) but didn’t want the books to end. Especially considering the way they both conclude. I highly recommend “The James Dean Story” for any James Dean fan as I found it very in depth. And hey, after all from what I googled I am in the opinion that it is the best James Dean biography out there…

Image from BornBad.fr

Having devoured both of these books in such a short amount of time I had bought another one to read straight after. It was Dita Von Teese’s "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese". It is a beautiful hard cover book that could easily be a coffee table book with some of the wonderful photographs inside and half way through it flips from burlesque to fetish. But… being a large hard cover book I didn’t want to cart it on the train with me so I could only read it at home. This was last Monday. I had finished the Burlesque side of the book by the Wednesday and finished the last chapter of the Fetish side on Sunday. As interesting as this book was I didn’t have anything to read on the train or another book lined up for when I finished… I had found a biography on Bettie Page on eBay but they did not accept bank deposit so it was out of the question. I then promptly remembered the Harlequin Vintage Collection I had gotten for Christmas and began reading “Kiss Your Elbow” by Alan Handley.

Image from Harlequinblog.com

It was a good cheesy little novel with mystery and intrigue but didn’t capture my attention the way the previous two books had. I read it strictly on the train and didn’t really have to urge to tear away to bed early and read further. This kept me entertained for long enough, until my mother (bless her) informs me she had found a shop in Melbourne who stocked the Bettie Page biography I had found on eBay and that it was on its way. I had wanted this book since my “100 eBay Purchases” post! It arrived the same week she ordered it (last week) and I couldn’t wait to start it.

The “Kiss Your Elbow” book was bookmarked and put back on the shelf and “The Real Bettie Page” by Richard Foster was in my hot little hands. However as the book arrived on Friday and I was busy all weekend I had to wait until Sunday until I could finally get a start on it. So far it has more then lived up to my expectations and I only currently on chapter eight.

Image from StoweVintage.com

If you are even slightly interested in James Dean, Marilyn Monroe or Bettie page I highly recommend all of these books… you will have trouble putting them down. Or even if you are simply looking for something to read! For now I am still on my Bettie Page book and it is great, but I have my eye on a Clara Bow biography for when I finish. What is your favourite biography? And what are you reading? I’d love some recommendations…

100 eBay Purchases!

Today is quite a milestone in my life… I have made it to 100 feedback on eBay!

And when I say 100 I mean 100 people have left feedback for me after I have bought something from them. Although I had hopes to sell things online I have yet to actually do so… so every single digit of my feedback score is something I have bought.

Now, I can’t quite take credit for all of it as my mum and I shared an account until her eBay addictiveness took over and she created her own, but I most certainly made quite an effort toward it. Unfortunately eBay doesn’t keep track of you purchases after they are 90 days old so I can not see what the first thing I purchased was… but I vaguely remember it being a dress with pumpkins printed on it (which was worn so often that I literally wore a hole in it!).

Since I do not have a credit card eBay is about the only place I can shop online since I can pay via bank deposit. This can be quite a problem as I often find things on other sites that I would kill to have but alas can not buy. However, the lack of credit card has probably worked in my favor in the long run though I suppose… otherwise I foresee a wardrobe full of pretty dresses BUT an amazing amount of debt.

There have been so many wonderful things I have bought off eBay… some of which I probably wouldn’t even remember until I saw them. I love eBay for making things that are too find so easy to get. From my saddle shoes to TV series that were not released in Australia… it is a goldmine of hard to find stuff.

Although I can not purchase things with PayPal and therefore can not buy anything from overseas I still do OK just buying things from Australia… there are some wonderful vintage sellers and sewers who make petticoats and rock n roll skirts. I must say though, from when I first made my foray in the world of eBay compared to now there is a lot less quality vintage. I’m not sure if this is simply because it has all been snatched up and there isn’t as much out there or because people have simply stopped listing it… but either way it is rather disappointing.

I haven’t gotten any clothing or shoes on eBay for a while but I still find a way to spend my money hehe. My 100th purchase on eBay for instance was “The James Dean Story” by Ronald Martinetti. It is second hand but still in good reading condition and for $11 including postage I couldn’t resist. I have been looking for a good James Dean biography for a while and haven’t had much luck at all so it was quite a good find if you ask me.

I will do a post of some of my past eBay finds shortly but for now here are a few things I am constantly watching but am yet to splurge and buy…

I just think this is too cute… I certainly wouldn’t mind walking into my garden and seeing Bambi and his Mummy reunited :)

You can find this here.

The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of Pinups.

You can find it here.

Mad Men – Season 3.

You can find it here.

The age old question… Brunette VS Blonde

Ok, so maybe not “age old” but its definitely an issue that girls deal with at one stage or another… and now, it seems to be a question I am asking myself yet again…

I have had blonde hair since I was little, and as I got older it has slowly gotten darker… I had colour put through my hair from about the age of 13-14 but had always had it blonde. I had darker streaks, high lights, dark underneath and at one stage a darker fringe… but it was always mostly blonde.

Being a big Bettie Page fan I had had a my fringe cut short; but always felt that it would’ve looked better with darker hair… I am big into vintage, and 50s is my favourite so I instantly fell in love with her fringe. It somehow captures that 50s flair that I love, without having to have a pixie cut or sleep with rollers in my hair…

It wasn’t until Halloween last year when I wore a dark wig (complete with Bettie bangs) that I decided to finally make a drastic change. Soon after, I went dark all over and it was a big change. People didn’t even recognize me when I bumped into them… (sure, it didn’t help that I got glasses at the same time… but still). I loved having a new look that people didn’t recognize; it was like wearing a cunning disguise.

I have had my hair dark for almost (if not just over) a year now, and I do really like it… but sometimes I still miss my blonde hair. When I look at old photos I wonder if I have made a mistake. I have considered going back blonde several times but then quickly get over it when I think about how much hard work it will be to get it back to how it was, how it could look when its one of those “in between” colours… and that it may ruin my hair. I then quickly return to the image of Bettie Page’s lovely locks and consider myself crazy to have even thought of going back… this was of course, until I watched “Cry-Baby”.

Within the first five minutes of this film I had involuntarily blurted out “I’m going back blonde”. There it was… Wanda Woodward, the drape with the hair. Not only is this movie superb and a new favourite of mine (I adore its openly cheesyness and I am a sucker for a 50s musical) but it instantly made me question my locks… Wanda Woodward is fair skinned and blonde, complete with short fringe tapering at the sides. I am fair skinned, and already have this hair cut. Perhaps it didn’t look so bad with the blonde Bettie bangs… Could I pull this off?

Its like Bettie Page’s fringe without the work, since it sits flat on her head rather then curling it over. When I have my fringe cut it is rather short to begin with and I leave it flat until it grows. With dark hair this works, but would the blonde work if I did want to curl it over?

I have asked the opinion of some of my girl friends, and they all seem to say that blonde hair seems to take more care and cost more. This however, is not the case for me. Even with dark hair I have to have my re-growth done every 4-6 weeks as my hair is naturally lighter and looks as though I have gone pre-maturely grey if I have that peeking through the dark. The other argument is that dark hair feels and looks healthier, so going blonde should mean the opposite… leaving my hair trashed. This has always been the greatest argument against going back, but when I think back to my blonde hair I don’t remember it being trashed. It didn’t feel any less healthy then my dark hair now after continually dying it for this long.

Now, considering I have already written 642 words about this I think it is obvious it isn’t something I am carelessly rushing into. I know that just because you like a hair cut, style or colour does not mean that you should rush to your hair dresser with a picture and demand to look like that. The person with the hair you liked may have a different shape face, different skin tone, different style sense and different hair type. If you rush into having something done without considering these things, you may regret it soon after… but in my case, I know that I can (well, I could) pull off having blonde hair, I know I like my fringe cut this short and I know my skin is quite fair.

All this said, I may go through this lengthy process and then change my mind back… after all; it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. Would it be worth it if I go through this and I don’t like it? I know, I know… its only hair. I can change it back, I can cut it short and it will grow back… heck I could shave my head and wear a wig everyday if I wanted to; but the question is… on those days in between dying it from dark to light when I’m walking around with (lets face it) half finished hair do will it be worth it?

Yes, I realize I sound about as shallow as a waiting pool right now… but your hair is a part of who you are, and how you portray yourself to the world. If you are unhappy with it, you are unhappy with the way you look. If you are unhappy with the way you look, you will not be confident with who you are. If you are not confident in who you are, it will effect every aspect of you life.

This means according to my strict calculations here, not only can bad hair = unhappiness it can also effect your confidence. Having low confidence can also effect you happiness which brings me to the conclusion that bad hair = :( Sad face is not a good thing. I want a happy face. So say all my above calculations are correct this would lead me to believe that good hair = :) happy face is a good thing.

So even after a total of 1063 words, the only conclusion I have come to is that good hair = good. I am still undecided as to which the fairer colour is, or which I would best suit. I guess I will never really know conclusively, I will only know what I think at a particular moment…

Wanda Woodward
Image from Agent Lover.com

Bettie Page

Image from BurningCity.com