Like every style discerning woman, a man needs a good hair-do too “…to give him all the confidence he needs” – at least according to these crazy 1950s / 60s archival films documenting some of the most popping hair crazes of the moment!
“No longer is it fashionable to have short backened sides; today a gentleman must concentrate on curls”, and perms, and matching partner twists!
God, there’s something so fantastic about watching these incredible dos be created and crafted so artfully by their technicians, and then enjoyed so outrightly by the men getting these out-of-this-world creations.
It means a lot to take pride your appearance, and most definitely at this time would have been perhaps quite strange to take it to this level – but these days we all know that books can most definitely be judged by their covers, so you might as well look your very best! And boy, did these boys know that . . .most particularly love the teen influences taking place here (ie. “The Twist” the dance, and matching partner hairstyle).
There is a huge resurgence of the male coiffure taking place these days, so don’t be surprised if you start seeing more complicated styles popping up in the {future} or near {present}. Even if we are wrong, it would sure be damn cool if they did!
It’s all about that transformative power of style, and if you can harness that ability, you got it made in the shade.
So, we hope you enjoy this cool blasts from the {past} and/or possibly {future}!
Writers of ‘HAIR’ Gerome Ragni (L), Galt Macdermot (C), and James Rado (R)
If you know us, you know that our tagline in life and business both is “Escape the Everyday” . . . and as of late, we have been living out this philosophy not only in our day to day conjuring our many style spirits who help us guide our way through our destiny, but journeying into the past performing in Hamilton Theatre Inc.‘s production of “HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”!
Aaron is “Woof” and Paul is an exciting, fun member of the Tribe, and having the chance to bring this iconic piece of art to life has been a rejuvenating, invigorating, and educating experience.
Before production began, we had been doing tons of research on the original show, its history, and the time period it portrays (a tribe of hippies in 1968 New York City) in preparation for designing costumes for the production, which then inspired the decision to be an even more involved cog in the wheel.
For three months our cast and crew have worked tirelessly to ignite the fire that initially made ‘HAIR’ such a phenomenon almost fifty years ago. Here’s some photos from TIME magazine before the original show hit the Broadway stage:
Ironically, the anti-establishment ‘HAIR’ became one of the biggest mainstream successes of Broadway history, and also brought this alternative culture to the masses in a huge way.
Before there was even a barometer of “hippie” style, ‘HAIR’ put its stamp on the vibe with designs by iconic costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge (best known for her Academy Award winning designs for 1974’s ‘The Great Gatsby’).
We use the word “timeless” a lot in this forum, but the word could not be more appropriately paired with this show.
Today, our world is as chaotic and confused as ever; and ‘HAIR’ fights against this conflict with love, happiness, and perhaps, utopian ideals that might never truly win the fight, but at least, keep the fight going.
Tickets are selling fast, so if you are local, do visit the website and order them ASAP. If you can’t see us in person, we encourage you to feel the vibe anyway, and enjoy this wicked quality video of the 1968 West Coast cast of ‘Hair’ performing some of the show’s iconic jams on the “Smother Brothers” show.
Lovely ladies, it seems we’ve been thinking of you a lot lately. It’s not by accident, for we have been meditating on many thoughts as of late about our many loves and desires when it comes to female fashions. In true E.O.F. Style we stepped back to the past for a little taste of times past to infiltrate our vintage vision for the future. When it comes to sweaters, it’s not hard to see how having a great one is top of the pops for most style driven Sams and Sallys. If it’s not one, it better be a hundred. There aren’t many sweater that go out of style, either. They are simply one of those timeless treasures that titillate… Indeed, there was a time when we imagined only the good girl donning a prim and proper sweater, but don’t be fooled. Many a femme fatale and vixen have adorned their bodies with an armor of angora to dumb found the senses. We looked back the distant and recent past to pull some of the best images we could find that helped seduce and inspire. Listen close, and you might hear the sweet, sweet, song of the Sweater Girls….
“I’ve got a twenty pound ball hanging on a chain around my neck.
I’ve got to get away, run before I’ll be called away.
I’ve got to break these chains, before I go insane.
I’ve got to get up and go, go any place I don’t know.
I’m gonna break away from all the chains that bind
And everyday I’ll wear what I want
And do what suits me fine…
I’m gonna break away…
Break away from the Everyday…”
-“Breakaway” sung by Toni Basil, Prod. by Ed Cobb.
They don’t have out contests like this anymore…can’t even imagine the liabilities and lawsuits that could potentially haunt the contest’s organizers in the long-run.
We procured this 1958 issue of “Suspense Magazine”, and couldn’t ignore the idea of this contest invite. In fact, it got us really thinking if we could truly spend a night in a haunted house…
Cobwebs, passageways, and broken shutters immediately come to mind. You never know what could be lurking in the shadows. After all, it is haunted, and what horrible past could really be contained within its cold cavernous walls? The whispers beneath the floor boards might be telling you something…
I guess we’ve just been in the mood for a little scare. So if you too are urging for a little hit of mystery and wonder…check out our latest {PHOTOBLAST} – it’s been a while!
“Rosemary’s Baby” remains one of the single most affecting, and stylish films to ever grace the silver screen. Based on the bestselling novel by Ira Levin (“The Stepford Wives”), the film serves up the frightening tale of an innocent young couple pulled deep into a darkness once imaginable in the heart of New York City.
Many argue the darkness still purveys more than ever in urban sprawls all over the world. No longer should you fear the woods at night, as much as the threat of our own neighbours, and the things we can’t see, that has begun to send shivers up your spine. As Gary Indiana of the Village Voice describes:
“The movie appeared at a moment of optimum spiritual chaos in American life. Rosemary’s Baby remains an iconic memory trace of a time when anything seemed possible, including the birth of the Anti-Christ”.
The fear still prevails more than ever in these times, and many would argue that SATAN can be found everywhere we look these days; television, film, books, and of course, FASHION.
But, paranoid speculation aside, perhaps one of the greatest aspects of Roman Polanski’s 1968 classic, is the devilishly divine design by Richard Sylbert. Setting the film in the both epic and ominous Dakota Building in New York City, Sylbet acts on the trends and compulsions of the time that really give definition to Rosemary’s characterization.
Prim and proper Rosemary- the picture of perfection, really. From her committed DIY efforts around the apartment, to her of-the-moment Vidal Sassoon haircut (“Don’t you like it?”), Rosemary is a portrait of a woman, perhaps society, committed to doing what’s “Right”. In the end, her constant commitment to being the “good girl” has led her down the darkest path of all.
Artwork by Aaron Duarte for The Eye of Faith
Being obsessive fans of the film’s decor, it was such a treat to stumble upon “Rosemary’s Baby: Devilish Decor” on Nowness.com! The site always features dynamic and interesting stories in the realm of art, design, film, and fashion, but the celebration of Mia Farrow’s 67th birthday with a hillarious How-To for Satanist’ provided by blogging duo Unahppy Hipsters is just what Doctor Sapperstein ordered!
Gotta give it to Richard Sylbet for being so on-point with the yellow for 1968, considering the film would have started production at least a year before! Thanks Unhappy Hipsters and Nowness for this dangerous delight!
Artwork by Aaron Duarte for The Eye of Faith.
“All the while Rosemary is remaking the apartment to suit her needs, the building (and its inhabitants) are remaking her to suit theirs, which makes her choices of bright white walls and sunny yellow fabrics seem at first hopeful, then increasingly creepy.”
These beautiful snapshots were taken by photographer Don James between the years 1936 and 1942 on the shores of San Onofre, California. Whether black and white, or the gorgeously desaturated Kodachrome prints, each photograph is a beautiful lost memory of fun had, and good times past.
Check out the waves, and all them cool cats.
Don’t you think these pictures could have been taken yesterday?
I love turning to old vintage snapshots like these for a good luck at how people dressed, and how little has changed!
Especially now that the vintage surf look is in vogue, these photographs can provide some sunny summer inspiration for your days to come.
The Way We Dressed is the Way We Dress.
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Who says you can’t repeat the past? Enjoy these gorgeous pics and have a blast today. Promise?
Until next time,
{theEye}
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Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait on Folding Bed (1963)
The latest exhibit from the AGO gives us Moore with a side of Bacon, and we want seconds!
“Francis Bacon & Henry Moore: Terror and Beauty” which runs at the AGO from April 5 to July 20 is a compelling retrospective overview of the two artists’ parallel lives and works, and how they were affected by the evolving world around them. Impacted by war, society, and religion, their works went on the become some of the cornerstones of modern art, and the images we see in our mind when we think of it.
+FRANCIS BACON+
Francis Bacon, Second Version of Triptych 1944 (1988)
Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait VI (1953)
We have always been huge fans of Francis Bacon’s work so it was such a treat to get to see some of his most iconic and monumental pieces in plain sight. His use of colour and his treatment of form are to this day as raw and exciting as they were over fifty years ago when they first made their premiere to the world at large. His vivid triptych, with its monolithic expanse, as well as his haunting portrait and studies of the Pope are alive with wonder, and indeed, beauty and terror.
Bill Brandt, Henry Moore in His Studio (1940)
Henry Moore, Spanish Prisoner (1939)
Henry Moore, Falling Warrior (1956 – 57)
No stranger to the work of Henry Moore, the AGO has always housed an impressive collection of his work since first stepping foot in the museum as a child, and has since remained a pleasure to gaze at. His contorted figures which resonate with an almost ancient wisdom and mystic mystery were given new life juxtaposed amongst Bacon’s equally amorphous figures and mysterious backdrops.
Curator Dan Adler has done an excellent job of showcasing equally the similarities and discrepancies between the two artists, and is sure to bring fresh views on both artists’ life and works.
Not only does the show offer a comprehensive and distinct juxtaposition of the artists, it also lends the viewer a greater vision of the world as a whole, and how history and the events therein contribute to the creation of our culture.
Some of the most stunning, but quiet works include Moore’s beautiful depictions of sleeping figures inspired by the surrealistic memories of the thousands of people who made their ways to the underground during the London Blitz.
These sketches, and photographs of London during the blitz provide further insight into our own world today, and the devastating affects they have had on our society, and the musings these travesties have inspired.
The most interesting thing about the show was that although the artists’ aesthetic similarities are plain to see, it is impossible to ignore the individual voice of the artists and seeing the differences between the two. The mind easily deciphers them, and while so much in their lives run parallel, I never felt like there was a true intersection. Henry Moore was very much in his realm, and Bacon very much in his, and it’s these differences that really sing throughout your time walking amongst the spaces filled with their individual iconographies.
We hold them both very close to our hearts now, and no doubt, our soul will be pumping with the inspiration the AGO has brought forward with this exquisite showing of two of the world’s finest architects of the mind.
We also can’t wait for what they have in store for us next!
Rumor has it: MICHELANGELO!!
In the meantime, lets invoke the spirit and seek our style inspiration from the master of modernity himself-
+FRANCIS BACON+
Here he is rocking out a black PVC trench coat in front of one of his wicked fine masterworks. The classic mens trench coat is given an ample boost of modernity and edge crafted from oil slick black vinyl, giving the look a dark cool that is the epitome of Bacon’s style. He wears it with slim cut trouser and a black turtleneck for a sophisticated and timeless togetherness.
When I first saw “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome” several years ago I immediately fell in love. I had seen some of Anger’s other works in the past, and happened to stumble upon this amidst my online wanderings, and was blown away by the sheer magnitude and forte this film offered, whilst also being, at heart, a relatively simple film.
It’s the emotion the visuals portray that elevate this film to the realm of the sublime. They take you places your mind has only wandered to in the deepest of sleeps, and brought it to the forefront. It is a portrayal of strange Gods, demons, and spirits in a magic netherworld that is bathed in multi-color technicolor hues that extract this midcentury mystic exotic mood that is purely Anger.
There is a divine decadence in their states of dress paired with the exceptionally sublime music paired to the imagery that create this mood, and it’s forever a place that lurks in and out of our consciousness and inspires the day-to-day. It’s also shocking how forward thinking his visuals are, and how much they have influenced our culture over the years, whether we knew it or not. To think that this film dates back to the 50s is a far cry from the poodle skirts and picket fences we are used to thinking back to in reference to this period.
In the spirit of society, we thought it best to share this with our friends, and let the joy and mystery influence your day-to-day, too. From the sights to to the sets to the sounds, there is everything here to help make your life a more interesting and beautiful place.
It always seemed to possess a mysterious energy, and was for so long, a most precious piece of our collection. Excited to have found a home for this exquisite find, we would never have expected to learn what would soon be revealed and unraveled.
Upon undergoing some alterations to properly suit its new owner, some peculiar mysteries emerged. Embedded within the collar stays was a very old social security card for “Charles Beckweth, Born 1929” that was halved and in a fragile state.
Looking into a bit more about the mystery man uncovered an important man in history. . .
Charles Beckwith, or “Chargin’ Charlie’”was a Korea & Vietnam Vet and Colonel with the United States Army and is accredited with creating “DELTA FORCE”.
Footballer and frat boy, this Delta (of the Sigma Chi Fraternity of The University of Georgia) rose the ranks of the United States military system, and was also able to have some fun in-between, by the looks of this incredible shirt.
But why was his social security card cut in half and used as collar stays? Was getting dressed to impress a smart way to go undercover? Dapper “Dean” makes a statement to not make a statement. If you’re found dead, then they have something to properly identify you by when looking in the collar? This is the secret of the Nat Nast shirt.
That “vibrant green bowling shirt” was already unforgettable, but this truly shows how remarkable the history behind vintage pieces can be. It’s a powerful force really, and the mystery of it all is undoubtedly part of the fun.
We might never know the full truth of the Nat Nast shirt and its secret history, but we will enjoy knowing that this shirt truly was something special.
