Dorothy Parker, as usual, for the win.

[truepenny]

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong,
And I am Marie of Roumania.

--Dorothy Parker, "Comment"

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Yes, it's true, one of the things I use LiveJournal for is a sort of hypertexted, searchable commonplace book. I am tired of getting this little ditty half-stuck in my head, so that I can neither remember it nor stop trying to.

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In other news, I want to figure out how to do my hair like Djuna Barnes. Which may be the shallowest reaction to a literary figure I have ever had.

Comments

GIC

[oursin.livejournal.com]

And this is my Marie of Roumania icon!

Re: GIC

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Looks like an ordinary French-style chignon to me.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

1. That's one of the more annoying and persistent 20th century earworms I've run into, myself.

2. I believe this is a French roll AKA French twist. You'll need some sturdy hairpins.
Pull hair into pony tail at back of head right around the occipital bulge. Do not snug the rubber band too tightly. Hold the tail so the end points up, and twist, but not as tightly as you'd twist for a Psyche knot or other use of hairstick-fu. Fold tail in half, and in half again, and roll it under the hair between the rubber hand and your skull, pinning the rolled-over hair in place, with the pins inserted horizontally.
Practiced veterans, like my late grandmother (maysherestinpeace) or my housemate (who learned her hair-fu courtesy of the US Army's rules about long hair on women in the service) can do this without the rubber band. I won't say they're evil, butI do admit to French twist envy, since mine always takes a couple of tries to look right.

I'm sure there's a diagram for this somewhere on the internets. I'm told having some curl, or at least body, in your hair helps. Since I am the owner and operator of The Limpest Hair in Tennessee, I wouldn't know about that.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

You know, I have never been able to figure out how hairpins work.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Amusingly enough I'm wearing my hair more or less that way this very minute (I confess, though, it looks better on Djuna barnes.) No hairpins needed - I have v. fine hair, but it does have some curl. Grab it as you would for a ponytail and keep twisting until it sort of turns under itself. Tuck in ends.Right now it's held purely with something shaped more or less like this (http://lameiwigs.en.alibaba.com/product/50101419/200326064/Hair_Ornaments/hair_claw.html). (I used a couple tiny clips to hold stray bits that clip didn't catch - bobby pins work too.) I can also hold it with a hair comb (http://www.adorable-hair-accessory.com/crystalcomb9.html) (I think the kind with zigzaggy teeth hold better) or hair fork (http://www.argusdesigns.com/products/fork/f_exwood.html). I have a fork with three 'tines' nad it holds extremely well. The key to holding hair with combs or forks is to push them in first in the *opposite* direction of how you want them to go, then reverse course and push all the way in.

Incidentally I think this style would look way better on you than it does on me.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

OMG Djuna Barnes is white!

Who knew??? I mean, they had Josephine Baker in Paris around that time, and I just sort of...pictured...um, okay, so the minute I thought very hard about it, it all fell apart. But I am perpetually startled by the sheer number of white people in history. In specific rather than in general.

[lexiphanic.livejournal.com]

These people make the best tools for hair, ever: http://www.bronzejewelers.com/ The combs work great for twists like that, even with really fine hair (as I believe yours is, yes?) I can totally see that syle working on you. In fact, I think my first reaction to your statement was, "doesn't she wear her hair like that already?"

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

It never looks that good from the side.

[liminalia.livejournal.com]

That's a basic French roll or French twist chignon. It's easier than it looks.
You simply brush the hair straight back and roll it to one side, securing with combs and/or hairpins. Tips can be found here:
http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/tipstechniques_spjs.htm
http://styles101.homestead.com/howto3.html

Flash Girls!

[jennywren129.livejournal.com]

Have you ever heard the Flash Girls' version of this song?
That gets stuck in my head.
http://qwertyranch.blogspot.com/2005/09/flash-girls.html

Re: Flash Girls!

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

I do in fact own that album. :)