With Gloves On

One accessory that almost always gets pushed to the back of the closet in warmer weather is the glove. Sure, they hide your manicure and any rings you might be wearing, but they add a touch of classic elegance to any aspiring pin-up.

Once upon a mandate, gloves were a mandate of ladies etiquette. Take a look at the ladies in just about any Hitchcock movie (for example, Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief) and you'll probably find that each of them wear gloves at some point in the film--and not because it's cold. According to Barbara Leaming's biography of Marilyn Monroe, when announcing her divorce to Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn fretted over whether to hold her gloves in her hand or to wear them. Nowadays, many brides still wear gloves as part of their ensemble, and I need not mention that gloves are still a part of many burlesque acts.

I find gloves alluring because they cover a part of my body that almost anyone can touch. We come into contact with other people's hands so often that putting a barrier between them makes us sit up to take notice. Gloves communicate untouchability, modesty and innocence, which is part of what makes them so sexy. Even if the gloves in question are sheer or lacey, there's still a thin veil stretched over your hands, and that's enticing for exactly the same reason that sheer and lacey lingerie can be so hard to resist.

They aren't generally practical in the summer--although they can help dry up a sweaty palm and offer mild protection from germs--but that's not a good enough reason to take off the gloves. Like so many other elements of fashion, gloves aren't always about utility (though these are an exception). They're about adding style and beauty to the world.

And, another piece of good news is that gloves need not be a terribly expensive accessory. Those that are pricey are surely wonderful--such as these, which I received as a holiday gift from my sweetheart--but you can almost always find perfectly suitable gloves at your local thrift or vintage store, and I hope you don't require me to tell you about the bottomless well that is ebay. In short, you've got no excuse for going gloveless, so get out there and pretty your paws for your public.

Perfecting the Pucker

Makeup is key when it comes to recreating classic pinup style, and knowing how to get glamour girl lips will take you far. Wearing red lipstick is certainly more maintenance than wearing a barely-there lip color, but the feeling of confidence you get with a perfect pout is well worth a few more peeks in a mirror. (Note: I'll be recommending several products in this post, but I'm not paid in any way to do this. No kickbacks for me.)

Before you get started, you should have smooth lips. I have a terrible habit of biting my lips, especially in cold weather when they get chapped, but I've recently started using Lipscription from Benefit. They give you one tube of lip buff which takes off all the dead skin, and another of lip balm. I use both right before I go to bed a few nights a week, and the result is like a ribbon of satin on your mouth.

Next, you need to pick a color. I'm not very adept at seeing two colors and determining which one has more blue undertones and which has more brown overtones; I just know what I like. I'm quite pale, and when I was looking for my perfect red lipstick I found that the right red can make the difference between looking healthy and looking like a crypt-keeper. If you're like me, pay special attention that your red lips don't wash out the rest of your face. As I've mentioned in a previous post, my favorite lipstick is by Besame Cosmetics, due in part to their color selection. Their shades in Red Velvet and Cherry Red seem to be universally flattering. I tend to wear Red Velvet to work, and Cherry Red for the evening, as the Red Velvet is just a little more muted. Another thing to note in choosing a lip color is the texture. Classic pinup lips tend to have more matte than shine. If you want a bit of shine, smooth just a bit of gloss over your matte color, but in general you'll want to stay away from any all-over lip color with a Vaseline sheen.

Once you've found the right shade, you need a liner. A lip liner will define your lips and help your lipstick stay in place. I choose a relatively neutral red, as I find the neutral to be the most versatile. Another thing you can do to achieve a distinct line is bled your foundation just around the edges of your lips before you line them.

Your final task is to pick the shape you want to draw. In the 20s, a heart-shaped style was fashionable, with the cleft of your upper lip rounded just like...a heart. You can even ignore the corners of your mouth for a mouth that's more bee-sting--see silent film star Clara Bow (top left). She was famous for popularizing this style, and the lip-cleft was once even known as a Clara Bow though now it's more commonly called the Cupid's Bow.

In the 30s, lips were flattened. The slope of the upper lip was drawn gentler than when drawing a heart-shape, with the lines elongated and flared outside the bow. This is sometimes called a rosebud shape...see Joan Crawford (up left) or Bette Davis (up right) as examples of this shape. Moving on to the 40s, the lip shape stayed closer to the natural shape of the lip--in my observation, the edges of the bow were a little sharper. The difference from the 30s to the 40s wasn't quite as drastic as the change from the 20s to 30s. Take a look at Hedy Lamarr (below left) for inspiration. Tip: To achieve a sharp bow line, draw an X at the center of your bow.

I hope this is helpful--if nothing else it should help you skip right to the best part of Valentine's Day!

(One very helpful source for this post was the 20-to-40 Style Makeup Guide.)