My vintage birthday party......at the Bathhouse!

I'm back and one year older!! It's been a busy and fun week.....filled with birthday celebrations, dinner and lunches with family and friends! So much so...that I think the following few posts will still be about birthdays, parties and vintage looks!! So let's get started first with my 'Vintage Opulence and the Golden Birdcage' birthday party on Saturday 14th May 2011 at the Bathhouse (a club in London)........so what vintage look did I attempt?

I attempted the 1940s Pin Up Girl look!! Drawing inspiration from some photos I found online and Iris' Youtube videos on Pin Up hairstyles, I finally put together a combination hairdo of a victory roll on the side, pin curl on the top and loose curls pinned to the front. I must say I take my hat off to anyone who can do a perfect victory roll, as having tried it for the first time, it really does take a lot of practice and patience to get right!! It took almost an hour and a half to complete my hairdo...and lots of repeated rolling and unrolling! To match the hair and the velvet-like turquoise dress from Asos, I wore a red High Impact Lipstick and Blue Grey Quickliner for Eyes from Clinique.......finished off with the little cupid purse I altered (see previous post), purple shoes and long black gloves.

All my guests were such good sports and many of them made a real effort! So many were dressed so nicely according to the vintage theme of the party, that I was utterly impressed and felt I had to share their lovely looks with you in my blog! So here goes.....and in no particular order! My friend Bee had a lovely 1940s feel to her look with a chic knee-length chiffon green dress, cute red heels, red lipstick, full eyes and soft wavey curls to the front of her hair:

My friends Naveen and Christine even went to a special hairdressers to get their hair styled in a vintage way! They looked ever so lovely too! Naveen (picture below) had a 1930s actress Hedy Lamarr feel with glamorous bouncy curls, pink flower, red lipstick and pearls:

Whilst Christine (right corner- photo below) had a sexy 1950s classic pin up Marilyn Monroe feel to her look, with soft bouncy big curls that framed her face perfectly, red lipstick and a funky beaded necklace:

I think most of us....meaning my friends and I, were doing vintage with a modern twist.....and some could even have been inspired by the interesting venue! Claudine (centre- photo below) was dressed in a Victorian inspired corset, elaborate red necklace and black shorts, whilst Adela (right- photo below) was in a black sequined dress with a bit of a 1930s feel, red lipstick and hair put up in a ponytail:

I was quite taken with the Bathhouse....as not only was it built in 1894 as a Victorian Turkish Bathhouse, all the handcrafted tiles, spiral staircase and faience columns have been preserved with care to this day! It felt almost like discovering a hidden gem.......as now it has successfully mixed old and new by becoming a trendy and beautiful underground club that hosts a variety of events from Burlesque nights and dinners to club nights. Upon arrival it looked like a dainty little cafe with a touch of exotic tile work, but almost hidden as it was tucked behind masses of giant glass buildings. Once past the narrow doorway and down the dark Victorian spiral staircase, you get enveloped by a Alice in Wonderland moment.....as the room opens up to beautifully colourful tiles, gloriously tiled columns, ornate gold mirrors, red velvet ceilings, and luscious black and white wall paper! Even the restroom became an interesting photo focus with the retro black and white wall paper of scantly clad dames! (Want to check it out? => http://www.thebathhousevenue.com/About-the-Bathhouse/History.aspx) The music was not bad either.....a good mixture of classics that got us jumping around on the dance floor! So you can guess how much fun we had dancing and twirling around the Bathhouse into the early hours.......we danced so much that one of the girls had to get a foot rub and then we all sat down for a chilled chat! All my girls looked great and it really added to my evening!

Even my mountain man added a vintage touch to what he was wearing on the night! So a big thank you to all of you who joined us! The celebrations and vintage looks did continue throughout the week with other beloved family and friends....which I will cover in my next post, but all in all, I had a fabulous time dancing with my darling friends on that lovely Saturday night!!

Until the next time,
May xx