“Putting on the Ritz” is not only a great musical film from 1930, but it’s one of those phrases that I like to throw in to the occasional conversation.

The expression comes from a slang reference to the swanky 5-star Ritz Hotel in London, which is known for it’s elegant style, posh clientele and friendly staff.

So therefore ‘Putting on the Ritz’ literally means to put on elegance – and dress up in style.

And just in case you were hoping for a dose of the movie, here’s a short clip for you of the incredible lightfooted Fred Astaire tapping up a storm.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe there are a few fundamental skills in life that everyone should have a basic grasp on.

Not necessarily to the level of expertise, but certainly to have the basics covered.

Here’s my current top 10 list of life skills I believe you should be able to do:

1. Change a car tire

2. Complete 5 chinups in a row

3. Cook a couple of good basic meals

4. Socially dance with someone

5. Help deliver a baby

6. Compliment someone of the same gender

7. Eat a meal in a restaurant by yourself without feeling awkward

8. Shoot a gun (especially important in case of the zombie apocalypse)

9. Drive a car

10. Tell someone that you love them with your whole heart

And while we’re talking about it – I’m currently at an 8 out of 10 and hoping to knock another one off this year. (I’ll let you guess what they are)

Here’s a little something to help inspire you on item #2. And possibly item #8 too,

http://youtu.be/XE-rT9sXPgI

I recently had the good fortune to purchase a beautiful pair of black cat eye sunglasses.

It was a bit of an ‘aha moment’ for me when I saw the Dior delicately stamped in the silver side arm.

They were so beautifully made and had exactly the 1940s vintage look that I had been searching for: was it really a surprise they were Dior?

Dior liberated the fashion world in the 1940s with his ‘New Look’ that took the world by storm.

It heralded the end of the second world war (and it’s strict fabric rations) with sumptous billowing skirts, waspy waists and soft shoulders.

He was the most famous designer of his day and his client list ran from A list Hollywood stars to royalty. Yet Dior was a painfully shy man who could barely bring himself to bow to his audience at the end of each of his couture shows.

He was also known to be absolutely fastidious, to the point that he refused to receive any man who was not wearing a tie. (Imagine how that would be today)

Today’s blog covers some of the more common maori (Te Reo) words that are used in everyday language in New Zealand.

As a fledgeling speaker of Te Reo this is a great starting point for introducing some basics into your vocabulary.

For example, I like to yell out ‘Morena!’ when I walk into my workplace every morning.

Some help with pronunciation is at the bottom but of particular note is that all of the vowels are soft, such as in a e i o u (as opposed to A E I O U)

Greetings
Haere mai – Welcome!, Come!
Kia ora – Hi! (general informal greeting)
Tena koe – formal greeting to one person
Tena korua – formal greeting to two people
Tena koutou – formal greeting to many people
Tena tatou katoa – formal greeting to everybody present
Morena – good morning

Other words
Pakeha – people living in New Zealand of European origin
Tane – man
Wahine – woman
Tamariki – children
Haka – chant, dance
Waiata – song
Koha – gift
Marae – area for formal meetings
Hui – meeting
Ahora – compassion, love
Tapu – sacred, taboo, not to be touched
Whanau – family
Whutuporo – rugby
Kai – food
Te reo – the Maori language

Pronounciation
As a rough guide to Maori pronounciation, say vowels as in the following English words:
a as in far
e as in desk (short and sharp)
i as in fee, me, see
o as in awe (not ‘oh!’)
u as in sue, boot

Some consonants have different pronounciations in Maori:
r should not be rolled, it is pronounced quite close to the sound of ‘l’ in English
t is pronounced more like ‘d’ than ‘t’
wh is pronounced ‘f’
ng is pronounced like the ‘ng’ in the word ‘singer’ (not like the ‘ng’ in finger)

Even Spongebob Squarepants has been translated into Te Reo, and the video below gives you a great sense of how soft and beautiful Te Reo can sound when spoken fluently.

The 1945 MGM movie ‘Anchors Weigh’ is a thinly-disguised vehicle to show off the talents of this star studded cast.

The plot of this movie musical is so loose that in the end it’s a better ride to just sit back and enjoy Gene Kelly’s smooth performance as the charismatic Joe.

Sinatra plays the naive guy to Kelly’s slicked down sailor and where he really shines is in the splashy songs – of which there’s plenty.

Kathryn Grayson is the other standout performer for both her acting skill and formidable vocal talent – not to mention pulling off a rather bizarre wardrobe.

Given the era and the genre, you should expect a certain cheese factor but let’s face it, if anyone can make a sailor’s outfit look good – it’s these two.

Below is a short video from the film that gives you a good sense of the two main characters of the film:

http://youtu.be/lF8fqiobTjg

Lindy Hop is an 8 count dance that originated from the partnered Charleston in Harlem in the 1920s.

It’s known for its high energy and flashy air steps and is usually performed to jazz and big band music from the 1930s – 1950s.

According to Shorty George, although they just used to call it ‘The Hop’, it’s name evolved into Lindy Hop after Charles Lindbergh’s ‘hop’ across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 .

This clip below shows you how lindy hop started to evolve from the Charleston swing out – where the couple breaks out into an open position during the basic.

Although lindy hop lost its popularity and almost died out, a revival began in New York in the 1980s when lindy hop greats Al Minns and Frankie Manning began to teach a new generation of dancers at the Cameron Dance Centre.

Today the lindy hop is alive and well and there are thriving communities all over the world including the biggest international lindy hop gathering that occurs annually at the Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden.

To give you a taste of the modern lindy hop, here’s a short clip for you of the Lindy Hop Harlem Hot Shots performing some incredible air steps at the Herrang Dance Camp in 2011.

If you’re looking for some 1940s inspiration, then look no further than the 1949 MGM movie ‘On the Town’.

This Bernstein musical features Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as a couple of sailors on shore leave in Manhattan for one day only.

It’s full of all the usual singing and dancing schnazz that we would expect from these two, but what really stands out is the fantastic ladies hairdos.

This movie is an absolute gem for women’s vintage hairdos.

Having been shot in 1949, this was simply the style of the day and shoes, coats, hairdos, dresses – resulting in every lady having an authentic 40s look.

My mind boggles at how they made it through these dance routines without even a single hair out of place.

They must have lacquered their whole head in place!

I was unable to embed to the video, so if you click the link below it will take you to a video for you that isn’t necessarily the best song in the musical, but it’s fun and it particularly shows off Anne Miller’s outfit and hair.

On the Town video with Anne Miller

Directions:

Here’s a photo of the result for you:

Today’s blog is a before and after on yesterday’s perm experience.

I took a series of photos for you so that you could get some idea of what’s involved with perming your hair, and the end result.

To some of my work colleagues disappointment I did not return to the office today looking like Marcia Brady.

I have somewhat of a wave, that with some attention will turn into a decent curl. Not quite as tight or well-formed as a pin curl, but also a tenth of the time that it would take.

Without further ado, here we go with some photos.

This is the day before the perm – my hair was up in a 50s style high ponytail, but it gives you a good sense of the length and the texture of it. Not dead straight, but not a curl in sight.

When I first arrived at the salon (The Fringe Hair Company: www.fringehair.com) my hair was washed and cut. Chelsi took an inch off the bottom and cut a little bit of light layering into the back.

Following this she undertook the painstaking process of rolling it onto the pink rollers which would form the shape. This took 2 hours and was the most laborious part of the process.

Following the rollers, the curled hair was soaked in a stinky chemical that breaks down the hair strand. If you’re ever going to damage your hair, I would say that this is where it would happen. The chemical stays on for 20 minutes to thoroughly saturate the hair strand. Given that my hair hadn’t been chemically treated or abused since teenage years, I wasn’t particularly worried about any hair damage.

Once the chemical had ‘cured’, the curled hair was rinsed while still in rollers. That was followed by a second (non-stinky) chemical solution that stayed on for 5 minutes while I got to enjoy one of those fifties space-age head heaters!

And then the final step in the perm was to remove the rollers and blowdry the hair with a little curling product and some scrunching.

Here is my post-salon hair: Voila!

A great start and in a couple of days when I can wash it, I look forward to turning it into some serious curls and victory rolls.

Chances are when you hear the word perm, you feel dread in the pit of your stomach as you are reminded of Nicole Kidman’s outrageous puff from the 80s.

(And let’s face it Aussies – no matter how glamorous Nicole may be these days, she’ll really always be this frizzy drawling teenager.)

But despite the hair atrocities of the 80s, a perm can actually be the foundation of a truly great vintage hair do.

And so after pin curling my hair for the last couple of years, I have finally decided that I’m ready to take the plunge and get my first ever perm.

I’m planning for something a lot like Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca.

Though I may decide to keep it a little longer – and I definitely want to be able to still have victory rolls on the front.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted on how it goes and post a before and after picture for you to compare the difference.