Friday, December 28, 2012

Photo Friday: Oh BEEHIVE Edition

Good morning!

The impromptu poem running through my head this morning? "Gotta get my hair ready for a wedding we're going to tonight! Gotta get that beehive up just right!" Set that to a Gerry and the Pacemaker's beat and we've probably got a hit on our hands, folks. But seriously, I do need to get my hair in fighting shape for a friend's wedding tonight, and thought the search words "mom beehive" might be appropriate for our Photo Friday look at Other-People's-Family-Photos. Wanna see the good, the good, and the very good? Here we go!


The all-of-a-suddenness of this photo is what really appeals to me. I was talking to Matthew the other day about how 90% of the photos that existed in the pre-digital camera era would not exist were photo viewing and deleting on the spot capabilities within the power of the historical subject. Example, this woman, given the luxury of digital photography, would obviously have said "Lemme see, lemme see," seconds after this snap was snapped, veto'd it on account of her off kilter expression and her beau's general, sweaty weirdness, and this second in time would have been dispatched into oblivion. But thanks to analog, old school photography techniques, she got this picture back probably weeks later and went "Well, what can you do" before filing it among her keepsakes for her future child to scan and put on the internet for us to look at. Isn't that weird? I love her dress and her hair, in spite of it all.


Now, this girl is adorable. I love how she's seated like a Caramel Cream in a chocolate box, right in the middle of a sea of shiny metallic wrapping papered gifts. Eyeliner out-to-there? Check. Hair so high you actually have to touch it to make sure it's not "doing anything weird"? Check. Acid yellow shift dress? Check.

Don't think I didn't check to make sure this picture didn't have some kind of contextual explanation, but it doesn't. One, this woman's hair, probably with the aid of a fall/wiglet/some kind of faux hair, is PERFECT. Two, she's holding two capucin monkeys in knitted baby clothes, the tinier of the two being in actual pants? Three, her print dress is out of control, and I want it. Four, see the sailors in the background? I wonder where this is!


This lady is pretty, but I can't fully support this particular beehive. I appreciate the smooth symmetry of it, the perfect bubble of a crown-- yet cannot get behind the lack of implied volume. What I like so much about these hairstyles is the look of having princess like flowing, flowing Rapunzel locks that you've managed to pin in a comely fashion to the top of your head, and in this case, there's just not enough hair for me! Her pearlescent nails and peter pan collar are, however, commendable.


YES! It is real, ultimate height that we desire! This came from a funny post on this woman's blog about her mom's complete mastery of this hairstyle, coupled with a tragicomic incident that happened to her mom as a result of this hairstyle. Ugh! I want this level of dexterity with my hurr!

Gotta go get started on my day, but do you have any particular tips or quips regarding teasing one's hair into a sky high coiff? Did your mom or grandma ever succumb to the fashionability of this particular hair mode? Tell! Tell! Whether I'm successful or not, be on the lookout for photos of my results next week!

Hope you guys have a GREAT weekend, I'll see you on Monday!

13 comments:

  1. When I read your poem at the beginning, I couldn't help hearing it to the tune of the first verse in "Lady in Red."

    ReplyDelete
  2. so jealous of that woman's beehive...and her knitwear bedecked monkey. I feel like my life is incomplete without a monkey!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One of my favorite categories of random photos of people are "random photos of people inexplicably holding monkeys". Rae (from Say It Ain't So) is like a metal detector for those, she has the best ones!

      Delete
    2. and here i come to comment on that monkey photo!! (really late) oh my gosh i would DIE if I found that one! the little monkey pants!!!!

      Delete
  3. My grams was the master of teasing. I was "blessed" with frizz-prone curls so I did everything in my power to smooth those puppies DOWN. I know she had one of those rectangular picks with the metal tines. That thing scared me, but I guess it worked for her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just hopeless at teasing. My hair's long enough that I can usually just spray and pin it over padding (a hair rat, etc) but the places I could go if I was any good at coaxing it to greater heights! That pick does sound scary-- for professional use only! haha

      Delete
  4. My mom, the aunts, godmothers, age appropriate cousins and my sister and her friends ALL did some sort of beehive for their lifestyle! My sister and her friends even went so far as to buy wigs of various hair colors and the falls that coordinated with them! They were CREEPY but oh so fun for me, the sister "mouse" to play with when sister "cat" was away. My mom and her peers went for a beehive like tease at the top and perfectly symmetrical "faux" curls at the crown of the forehead! Oh, so stylish. I love looking at the few priceless, square, white bordered, color Kodak instamatic 110 film shots we have! They are a hoot to look through until the tear appears in one's eye! Happy New Year to you! I am SURE you were able to achieve great heights with your hair and in turn, received many compliments for you glamour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, WIGLETS ARE THE ANSWER. Or falls, or fake hair of some kind. Ooooh, I want one so bad. I remember my grandmother's friend Mrs. Stack had two wigs on styrofoam heads in her room that she would rotate-- they used to scare me to death! Your mom and friends' faux curls sound AWESOME, I should try and incorporate at least a homemade spit curl or two into my next 'do. Happy New Year, Vivian!

      Delete
  5. The monkey lady has killer hair! I think a wiglet has to be involved to pull that one off, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Man, it's perfect, though, right? Maybe my post-Christmas present to myself will be just a towering piece of perfect faux hair.

      Delete
  6. Boy, am I glad those went out of style! I'm so spoiled with wash 'n go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Convenience is nice, you're right! The complicated construction process on some of these styles is daunting, especially when you're a snooze-button-hitting repeat offender in your early morning routine (like me, haha).

      Delete