Vintage Hairstyles: Simple Steps for Retro Hair with a Modern Twist

by Emma Sundh, Sarah Wing, Martina Ankarfyr (Photographer)

From the finger waves of the romantic 1910s to the beehive of the rebellious 1960s, retro hair has made a comeback. Vintage Hairstyles presents all the tools, techniques, and step-by-step instructions needed to achieve eye-catching looks for every occasion. Trendsetters, hairstylists, and fashionistas will love creating elegant updos for special events or playful curls for everyday excursions. Featuring a history of beauty trends by the decades, a list of must-have hair products, and projects for making chic hair accessories, Vintage Hairstyles showcases classic beauty with a fresh twist.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Reference, Adult, Art, History, How To

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2014

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ended up going with a two-star review for this book for several reasons:

1. There is a lot of filler. Only about 46% of the book could really be defined as dealing with the actual hairstyles, and the hairstyles in question are mostly basic -there's never any discussion of how to deal with hair that isn't straight, or ethnic hair, or thick hair, etc. This is an unacceptable ratio of filler to content.
2. Additionally, hair accessories were conspicuously absent. I've never seen a french twist made without a french twist comb, and her replacement hairstyle uses about a million bobby pins to much less effect.
3. The filler is extensively taken up with a "history of fashion as women's liberation". Although loosening cultural mores have something to do with changing women's fashion, that's a reductive view of an immense and interesting subject. I felt it took away from the actual good parts of the book.

However, the photos are very nice, which is not always a given with vintage-inspired hairstyle books, so that was appreciated. But this wasn't really worth the .99 I paid for it, let alone whatever the usual full price was. If the book had spent more time on the actual hairstyles, plus variations for non-straight, non-Caucasian hair, it would have been a better book, but in its current form I can't recommend it.

[Black Tea Lady ☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantan los libros sobre moda y peinados vintage. Las mujeres de ahora ya no se peinan, todas se ven iguales con el cabello largo y lacio, siempre como retratos sin importar la ocasión. A mi me gusta experimentar con colores, hot rollers, postizos, corte bob, etc. Este libro es la perfecta guía para añadirle estilo y glamour a tu look. Por el momento, experimento un poco con el look rockabilly y mad men. Me falla terrible el French Twist pero ahora con esta guía, más la práctica y espero lograrlo algún día...

[Liselotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

definitely one of the best vintage guides I've read so far. Not only does it give clear instructions for hairdos, but it also explains the fashion and makeup history of eras and explains a lot more than just hair. if you are starting out with the whole vintage life, this is definitely the book to start with!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this looks like a simple 'how-to' book, in actuality it is so much more. The author begins with a well-written history lesson of how and why certain makeup, hair, and clothing styles came into play during the different decades. Following that are detailed pictures and instructions of how to achieve the hair styles mentioned. The author then wraps up the book with information regarding the history of hair color, hat trends through the decades and how to achieve these looks, and a detailed history of makeup trends which is broken down into sections including eyes, lips, eyebrows, blush, nails, and eyeglasses. Overall I felt like it was a well-rounded piece about the previous styles within the United States of America. The knowledge gained can easily be applied to one's everyday life or the occasional costume party.

[H.L. Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book and especially appreciated how many photos there were illustrating how to do the various techniques. Truly an art form, it will take an army of assistants for me to accomplish any of them, unfortunately. No wonder the scrunchie was invented. I applaud the author and loved the history that accompanied each chapter. A few drinks and I might even be brave enough to try a few of these beauties. Rootbeers that is. :)

[Brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tutorials and hairstyles all look good and pretty easy to manage, but my favorite parts were the historical descriptions. At the beginning of the book, each decade (1910-1960) was discussed, which I found fascinating! At the end of the book, make-up styles were discussed in more details, such as eyebrows, blush, etc. It makes me want to read more about the history of make-up and fashion.

I'd recommend this book and I can't wait to try some of the hair tutorials!

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, however I did feel like there sometimes were Pictures missing. Like, all the steps were descibed, and then you didn't get to see the end result. There are def more books out there that covers more actual hairstyles, but this was cute and gave some good basics.

Recommend?

Yes.

(Read in Swedish)

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource, and my pin-up charm school instructor Alfie Jean said it was fairly historically accurate as well. Nothing beats having someone actually show you how to do the styles--next best thing is a YouTube video--but this book has quite a few cute ideas to get you started.

[Tammy Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Beautycare

Good information about hair makeup and nail care from 1910 -1960. Lot's of ideas on a variety of hairstyles and how to accomplish the look.

[The Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely well put-together piece of work for people with talent or who have some sort of professional background. As a professional stylist, I found the idea of retro styles that have a modern twist to them genius. But I´m also well aware that anyone who doesn´t know how to comb the first wave will become immediately frustrated because they don´t have the know-how. In this case- showing is better than telling. This book gives its readers a step-by-step view on how to recreate beautiful styles with modern tools and techniques. Wonderful! But The down-side to this is: there are techniques that many hobby stylists don´t know how to handle. Some of these techniques take years of practice. All in all, a decent 118 page guide.

[Noelle Stover · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book helped me a lot when I was looking for ideas on Halloween costumes. All the tools in this book have made me realize how so many women want to take the time to make themselves feel more beautiful, elegant, and a bit more confident in their lives then they already do. I'm going to try more of the hairstyles on myself to see which ones I like the best, but overall it's a really cute and fun book if you ever want to mix up your usual hair routine(s).

[Rhay · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good

Pretty good, some of the written instructions are a bit confusing and it would be better to see some curler patterns in here, just hard to figure out what they mean by inside or outside when talking about how to hold and turn and curl the hair, could also recommend a few products

[Robin Bunbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was für ein schön gestaltetes Buch, könnte gerne ein wenig ausführlicher sein.
Die Autorin kennt sich ab den 1920ern echt gut aus und mit den Fotos ist es echt gut erklärt. Freue mich es mal auszuprobieren :3

Einziger Kritikpunkt: Weisse Perrücken im 18. Jahrhundert waren für Frauen kein Thema. Eigene Haare und Haarteile wurden gepudert.

[Savannah Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m getting back into vintage fashion and wanted some tips on 20s styles to wear for the 20s theme we’re having for New Years.

Lots of good ideas and lots of basic ideas, which may be good or bad depending on your starting skill set.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave simple, easy to follow instructions on how to do vintage hair with modern products. I'd like to read it again and try some of the styles as I go, that will be the "real" test.

The book was well written and didn't leave me lost by assuming a knowledge base I don't have.

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical notes, excellent step-by-step pictures for each sryle, as well as makeup tips to accent the hairstyles. A very good addition to any hairstyle collection, especially for vintage costuming.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mainly read to learn about styles of different eras.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the two books on vintage hairstyles I read, this one was less detailed (I’m hair-challenged, okay) and adapted techniques to modern tools and such. It does say that in the title.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always curious how women before I was born did their hair. Helpful book.

[Laurie House · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the stories behind the styles!

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a ton of options for shorter-than-shoulder-length hair.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know that all of the ideas in this book can be pieced together through online tutorials, videos, and blogs; but the layout and photos in this book are just so appealing I may have to buy my own copy! I really like the clear directions, the variety of hairstyles, even the variety of projects (how to make your own pillbox hat, makeup, history of dress style in the 20th century, etc). The only reason this book did not get 5 stars is because of the lack of photos of the completed hairstyle. Often the completed style is shown in only one photograph, from the front, and half the time the model is also wearing a head scarf or hat or something to give you ideas of how to further dress it up. Which is great. But I also wanted a picture of the finished 'do from the back so I have a better idea of what I'm getting into.

Overall, it was a lovely book and I hope to own my own copy soon.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a good tutorial for the most famous hairstyles from the 1920s to 1960s. It also gets into accessories, makeup, eyebrows, and nail trends, while discussing fashion history through the decades. Lots of pictures to help guide you, although most of the styles are still too time consuming for me. Either way, it gave some basic tips about curling hair, product use, etc. that I should have already known but didn't.

[Dian Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book, easy to follow instructions. The chapter headers with the history of how each decade had its fashion influenced by the times around it was pretty interesting. I picked it up doing research on a female character I'm writing who lives in the 40's and was looking for inspiration to have a visual in mind for her. I found it on page 15!

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yawn. I was promised awesome hair and easy instructions. Instead I got a history book with not enough pictures. Context is great, but it isn't always necessarily to bog us down with it to the point of exhaustion.

[Holly Booms Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent how-to for vintage hairstyles and makeup from the 1920's to the 1960s. All the styles were accompanied by wonderful photo layouts showing steps and tips. There were good sections on makeup to match the eras, and hints on how to keep your hairdo lasting longer.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The history parts were interesting, but I wanted MUCH more detail in the steps and pictures of the completed styles. Maybe someone who is more adept at hair wouldn't need more pictures, but I definitely did.

[Celia Juliano]

Cute book. Not rating as I didn't try any of the hairstyles.

[Imperfectly Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to follow instructions for beautiful vintage hairstyles. I also loved that there was so much information provided on a decade by decade basis showing just how style changed throughout the years.

[Slmstanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear instructions & nice photos.