Plan for Progress  

Are you thinking of going 50s but unsure of how exactly to portray it?  You might try to start with the most obvious choices: with the 50s you get the famed poodle skirt, the bobby socks, the greased-back hair, the leather jackets, the pin-up girls, and the Elvis Presley suits.  The 50s is all about glamour, and you can start off by looking for the most popular and most glamorous personalities of that decade.  In there you shall find such stars to emulate as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Chuck Berry, and even the characters from that 1978 movie depicting teens in the 50s, Grease.

Grease is in fact one of the most common choices for sourcing 50s-type costumes for Halloween.  In there you can really find a wealth of ideas and just about something for everyone, especially as the stars changed costumes several times.  If going the Grease route does not satisfy you, however, you can still choose other iconic Hollywood references for your 50s look.  Think of the famous Rebel Without a Cause, for example.  James Dean is a great reference for a 50s-type costume for Halloween, and also does not demand too much in the way of garment preparation.  The other already-mentioned stars also provide a good deal of inspiration here, from Marilyn Monroe with her upskirt to Audrey Hepburn with her sweet, classic French-inspired look.

Other popular choices for the 50s costumes would be the satin jacket paired with cropped or black trousers.  For men, the equivalent choice is usually something most of them feel comfortable in already: the bowling costume.  Another regular choice would be the famous soda shop girl costume or perhaps the classic Nurse Bettie getup.   If you want something a little more on the wild side you can always opt for the hot rod costumes, for either men or women.  The 50s has something for everyone, so you can be assured that you shall not run out of options too quickly.

My girlfriend and I are going to wear Sonny and Cher Halloween costumes this year, but I strongly considered going with a costume based on a movie character. The link between Hollywood and the costume industry is becoming stronger every year, so you can find outfits for even the most obscure characters. If you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas, why not give one of these a try?

Costumes from Hollywood Motion Pictures

• Captain Jack Sparrow – You don’t have to look like Johnny Depp to pull off this costume dedicated to everyone’s favorite bumbling, stumbling pirate. The three-cornered hat is pretty cool, and make sure you purchase a cutlass to complete the outfit.
• Princess Leia – The most traditional costume is the white outfit she wore in Star Wars. If you’ve got a great body, though, you might consider the slave girl get-up she sported in the opening scenes of Return of the Jedi.
• Optimus Prime – The leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime has an alternate form as a semi-truck and wages a non-stop battle against the evil plots of the Decepticons.
• Harry Potter – If you have the right look (and glasses), you’ll be the hit of the party as The Boy Who Lived. Get a couple of pals to go as Hermione and Ron.
• Darth Vader – When it comes to movie villains, nobody is more popular than this lightsaber -wielding master of the Force. Too bad these costumes can’t duplicate his distinctive breathing sounds.
• Wicked Witch – Dorothy’s nemesis from The Wizard of Oz gets to wear a pointy witch hat, but make sure to apply plenty of green make-up for maximum effect.
• Cruella De Vil – The dog-hating villain from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians can be a pretty sexy costume on the right woman. The black-and-white wig will also allow you to stand out from the crowd.
• Woody – Your kids will get a kick out of this costume devoted to the lovable cowboy (voiced by Tom Hanks) from Toy Story and its sequels.
• Babydoll – Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch disappointed at the box office, but you can still be a big hit as a waif with big swords and even bigger guns. If you’ve got a number of hot gal pals, you can attend as the whole gang of female butt kickers from the movie.

My girlfriend is obsessed with Cher, so I suppose we could always drop the Sonny and Cher gimmick and dress up like characters from her many movies. Maybe a Moonstruck angle would be appropriate, with my gal dressed as Cher’s saucy Italian and me made to look like Nicolas Cage’s one-handed Ronny Cammareri.

Toga was a garment that was worn in ancient Rome and till the recent times, was a clothing of intrigue. Contrary to the the popular belief, not everbody in ancient Rome wore it. It was basically a piece of clothing that was approximately 20 feet in length and was worn around the body, over a tunic. It is a two-piece clothing where the toga is made of wood, whereas the tunic is made of linen.

Initially the toga was worn by every citizen of the country, but later on it was restricted to only the men.

There is a bit of history behind this intriguing garment which continues to puzzle people till this date. If one casts his mind back, they will know ancient Roman had both freedmen and slaves. The toga was worn by the free Roman men only. The best part about Toga was (and still is) it requires almost no stitching. To hold it in place, at times a broach or some other kind of a clasp would be used to keep it in place. At times, lead weights were sown to keep it from flying since no other garment was worn beneath it. When a statesman was campaining for elections, he would use white chalk to make himself conspicuous. There were different togas for different occasions. For instance for a military man, the toga was a “toga picta” which had bright colors and embroidered. When a person was in mourning, he or she wore a “toga sordida” or a “toga pulla” which had darker hues.

In recent times, the togas have mainly gotten popular because of the increase in the frequency of certain costumes party such as the toga costume party. If one is planning to attend a party or make a toga just for fun, listed below are some points which will help one know how to make a toga. What does one need to make an impression at a toga party?

Materials required:

3 Safety Pins

Scissors

Accessories

Fabric which measres atleast 4 feet of fabric

Knowing how to make a toga does not require much time or effort. For those who feel extremely extravagrant, they are more than welcome to make a toga of 20 feet. To exercise caution, it is recommended to keep one’s toga length upto 4-6 feet.

Next, since the length of the fabric is 5 feet, one may fold the fabric in two parts, i.e., fold it in half. Use a pin and fix one end to one’s waist, and to wrap the fabric around it (waist) once. Then, the remaining part of the toga should be thrown around the shoulder, and pinned to the waist again.

To know how to make a toga, not only provides millions of fun options to people looking for a bit of fun, but also gives people an alternative from wearing the usual clothes for their wardrobe, day in and day out. It also helps one pass time constructively. Learn to make a toga today!

Knitting is an expression of art, in which the yarn or the piece of thread comprises of pulling loops through each other. This can be done through hand or machine and there are various styles and methods through which one can experiment. There are different types of needles and threads that can change the entire get-up of the material that is being stitched. Without exception to rule, the purl stitch and the knit stitch, are present in every piece of stitched clothing. There are different types of knitting stitches, which will be discussed in the following lines.

Cast on- There are many ways to cast on, and each of them give a slightly varied finish. There are two versions of cast on- one with one needle, thumb cast on and for a slightly neater finish, the two needle cast on.

Cast Off- While knitting stitches, it is important to make a neat finish to give a good edge for sewing together.

Knit Stitch- It is one of the most essentials of knitting. To knit hats or scarves one needs to master knit stitches. These can be knit by using garter stitch. This form of knitting is the one in which every single row is knitted.

Purl Stitch- It is quite opposite to knit stitch. The yarn is held to the front of the knitting and the right needle is inserted from the back to the front into the first stitch on the left needle. The index finger can be used to wind the yarn around and down the right needle in a counter clockwise.

Garter Stitch- It involves every row in flat knitting. It is a very effective form of stitching for beginners. It is often used at the beginning and he end of a row to create flat, non-curling edges.

Ribbing stitch- This form of stitches is usually found at the hems and cuffs of sweaters. It is an elastic form of knitting stitches and is narrower than some other stitches such as stockinette.

Stockinette- It is one of the commonly used knitting patterns. One row is knit, followed by purl in the next, and a repetition of the pattern. They usually curl at the edges when not combined with other stitches such as non-curling, stitch patterns. There are two sides to it, stockinette stitch and the purl side is the reverse stockinette stitch.

There are other kinds of stiches too. For instance to decrease the stitches, or bring the knitting to a halt, the “knit 2 togetherstitch” (k2tog) is used. Since fabric cannot be cut into patterned shapes, knitters can use this method to shape their knitted piece. Another method is the slip stitch technique that is used to decrease by moving a stitch from the left needle to the right without working it. The yarn-over is for introducing holes or open work designs such as shawls which are usually porous.

For more information on: Crochet Stitches.

Hair is an important part of a person’s physical appearance. At times, the quantity and quality of hair can make or break an impression. The saying does read as “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” but this may not be applicable in certain professions where one may have to rely on their physical appearances to get by. If not anything else, one can change his or hair style just to break the monotony. One such style that has gained prominence is to curl hair. For people with straight hair, this may add a bit of bounce and volume to hair. Fortunately, there are alternatives to spending huge amount of money in parlours, one can modify their hair style from the comfort of their home.

There are only a few things one may need when one is planning to curl hair. The products required are a blow dryer which is either ceramic or ionic and a comb. For best results, one can use Paul Mitchell Express Ion Dry v.1. When it comes to combs, there are number of professional combs used by hair dressers, which have no seams. This helps in the breakage of hair. For best results, the CERAM-ION Wide Tooth Rat Tail Ionic Comb is a sound recommendation. Then, one may need couple of clips to hold chunks of hair securely. Next a styling product and a thermal protectant which help provide protection from high temperatures of the flat/curling iron. Last, one requires a flat iron preferably with ceramic plates to smooth and fix strands of hair, with rounded plates. Now, that one has gathered the materials for modifying hair, the process may now be started.

Prepare the Hair- Before changing or modifying anything, the hair must be prepared for the transformation. The styling product has to be applied to the wet hair from the roots to the ends. Protectants such as Super Skinny Serum is applied to wet hair, and sprays such as ghd’s creation spray is to protect the hair from high temperatures, right before introducing the curling iron.

Dry- Hair has to be dry before applying heat. Most curling irons claim that they can be used on wet hair, but it may cause some damage to the hair. To curl hair successfully, it is recommended to either blow dry the hair or let it dry naturally.

Nourish and style it

Hair needs to be combed gently to remove tangles

The top 3/4 hair can be clipped with jaw clips, and the remaining 1/4 is left in a fringe around the head

Take some amount of hair and spray ghd’s creation spray, holding the hair 90 degrees away from the scalp.

Holding the air in the same position, the iron needs to be clamped over it. The hair can be turned either 180 degrees or 90 degrees depending on his curl taste.

The iron needs to be pulled through the entire section of the hair, slowly. The slower the iron is pulled, the tighter curls are. This process needs to be repeated as many times as needed.

Visit here for more information on: How To Braid Hair.

The toga is a piece of clothing which was worn in ancient Rome, which was around 20 feet in length and was wrapped around the body, typically over a tunic. The toga was made of wool while the tunic was made of linen. Initially the toga was worn by both men and women however, afterward only Roman male citizens were permitted to wear a toga. Women and non-Roman citizens had to wear other garments.

The toga was looked upon as a symbol of peace and rank because soldiers did not wear them. It was mainly men of higher status such as magistrates, who would typically wear them. There were many types of togas worn depending on a person’s status and age. For example the toga pulla which was worn by mourners or in times of danger, the toga trabea reserved for gods, kings and augurs, and the toga virilis worn on formal occasions by men of legal age.

In modern times togas have gotten fashionable again mostly as a result of toga parties. Therefore if you are attending one of these parties or just want to make a toga for fun here are a couple tips on how to make a toga that will be useful if you are aiming for a really real looking toga.

Required Tools

1. Scissors

2. 3 Safety Pins

Required Materials

1. A minimum of 4 feet of fabric

2. Accessories

Instructions

Since a toga is simply a piece of fabric wrapped a few times it is fairly simple to make. If you wish to go all out you can go ahead and obtain the complete 20 feet of fabric to make your tunic. However, you do not require that much to make an real looking toga, 4-6 feet ought to be quite sufficient for most people but it all depends on how much draping you aim to do.

Fabric is typically a average of about 5 feet wide thus fold the fabric in half. Use a pin and fix one end to your waist and proceed to wrap the fabric around your waist a minimum of once. It should hang to about your knees; pin the fabric at your waist at one of your sides subsequent to wrapping no less than once. Toss the excess fabric over one shoulder and pin it at the waist a third time to fix the toga in place.

While togas were worn only by men in ancient times; women in modern times also wear them. The women’s version is wrapped in the same way as the men’s but is typically accessorized with belts or bands around the waste or right under the bust line.

Lastly for both genders, it is important to note that accessories are what will really make a toga look genuine and impressive. These include sandals, heavy usage of jewelry, a sword or anything else you may get your hands on to make your toga more believable. Get a wire coat hanger, shape it into a circle to fit your head and glue plastic or real leaves to it to create an authentic Roman laurel; this will definitely be the icing on the cake.

Tip and Warning

Some individuals use bed sheets to make their togas but if at all doable go out and purchase real fabric and leave the sheets on your bed where they belong. For one thing sheets are much wider than a genuine toga is intended to be therefore a sheet is harder to wrap and keep in place. Additionally buying fabric will provide you contact to a greater assortment of patterns and designs than you would have if using a sheet.

If you are not going to wear a tunic underneath your toga be certain to wear shorts beneath your toga to prevent any possible awkward happenings.

Visit here for additional information on how to make a toga.

There are a lot of matters utilized to make brooches or trinkets, particularly old-fashioned brooches. These ornaments could be categorized according to style and based on the materials these elegant women’s decorations are made of.

During the Victorian times, coral-themed brooches were very usual. For this reason, a lot of related accessories from this said era were created from these stuffs. The human hair adornment pins were considered to be fascinating collectors’ items from the Georgian and Victorian epoch as well.

These head ornaments were literally the hairs of an important relative or a beloved individual. These hair locket brooches were said to be decorated with expensive and precious stones and elaborated designs.

Aside from these brooches, the ivory pins were also made famous in the same epochs. These ornaments nowadays are very valued because the use of ivory is illegal at the present (elephants now are secured).

In line with this premise, possession of these ivory ornaments should be verified by certified and authentic jewelers or jewel appraisers. In this manner, it would ensure that exploitation of elephants nowadays for these pieces of ornaments is non-existent.

In line with jewel appraisers or evaluators, these brooches could be easily imitated and thus, the existence of fake antique pins is definitely a reality.

Having ‘gifted’ breasts or bosoms for girls is considered to be either a blessing or a curse. Depending in which standpoint a female individual is standing, a negative connotation of having a pair of big (and head-turner) breasts could be easily turned around into something positive.

The first thing that an individual female person would do is accept the fact that she has two assets that could be the envy of other female individuals. Of course, for those females who do not have the desired size, again, it is a matter of accepting what she has and how she carries herself is the most important thing.

She has to accept the fact that this pair of bosom is her gift and therefore her asset. Choosing the right or ideal bra is one way of taking care of the breasts. In getting the band size of the breasts, always measure or gauge below the bosoms using a tape measure.

To get the righ bust size, using a tape measure, determine the size around the back and the breast. In order to achieve the right size above the breast, simply measure the upper part of the breasts. After getting the numbers, try to use the bra size calculator (available over the internet) to check the ideal underwear for a certain breasts size.

The M-1965 Field Jacket, is also recognized as the M65, is a favorite field jacket fashioned for the United States army. It was presented into United States militaristic function in 1965 to substitute the M-1951 field jacket, a development of a Second World War innovation which was the M-1943 field jacket.

The M-65 field jacket was widely applied by United States military personals during the Vietnam Warfare in which the jacket turned out to be very functional for armies assisting in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, as well as maintaining a soldier warm from the cool atmospheric condition that followed after monsoonal rainfalls. Primitively prefaced in olive drab, it is now created in a diversity of shapes including Woodland disguise, “chocolate-chip” desert disguise, Tigerstripe, black, navy blue, the Universal Camouflage Pattern, and the Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage as well.

The foremost part of the jacket has two huge hip sacks and two moderate-sized front pouches. The size of the front pouches were specified to keep m14 clips, which is 7.62mm NATO caliber (akin to 30 caliber rifle magazine). The lower trunk bags were specified to hold either more cartridges, or grenades and that is why they are broader; to permit easy-reach to deploy grenades. When United States shifted to 5.56 caliber M16 rifles, the clips were smaller, but chest sacs were ideal for 30-round banana magazines. The hindmost neck part and choker of the jacket holds a slide fastener which houses a protecting cap.

For ladies who like to modify their look at the drop of a dime, getting a haircut is one of the fastest and simplest ways to do this. Naturally if the one doing the cutting is not certain of what he/she is doing, your haircut might turn out to be a disaster but luckily hair is always growing. As such although it will require a few months, it is possible for you to recover from a bad haircut, and if required you can cover it up for the meantime.
In any case, a haircut can really do a lot for you when it is done properly. So here are a few things you ought to know if you intend to cut your own hair or someone else’s hair. These tips will not make you a master barber at once but with practice you’ll get it.

How To Cut Hair

Required Tools
Scissors
Towel
Required Materials
Spray bottle
Fine-tooth comb
Instructions
Begin with clean, damp hair; a number of individuals choose to cut their hair when it is dry. But you are more likely to get an even cut when the hair is wet instead of when it is dry. Wrap the towel around your shoulders to keep your clothes from getting wet and use the fine-tooth comb to comb your hair out. Make sure that all the hairs are stretched out and even or the cut may look choppy and uneven.
Part your hair where you typically wear it parted and take a tiny part of hair and pull it straight down using the index and middle finger of one hand. Run the fine-tooth comb through this area to make sure all the hairs are stretched out and hold the hair firmly between your fingers just above where you are going to cut it. Hold the scissors with your other hand and cut straight across. If any area of your hair dries out before you are finished, use the spray bottle to re-wet your hair before moving on.
If you want layers to give volume to your hair, use the comb and haphazardly lift sections of hair straight up in the air and cut it straight across. This will make each section a varying length and give the desired layered effect.
You can cut your hair in a ‘V’ or ‘U’ shape if you choose; to do this part your hair in 2 down the middle and look down towards the floor. Comb your hair down on either side of your head and cut straight across the bottom of your hair while in this position. The more forward your head is, the deeper the ‘V’ will be, so if you want a ‘U’ shape look straight ahead and pull the hair straight out in front of your face instead of downward when cutting it.

Tips
Be sure to cut straight across with the scissors because cutting the hair at an angle can result in split ends afterwards.
After each snip, stop and comb the section down to evaluate and make sure it is even.

Find more hair tips here on how to cut hair.