How to be Retro Like Amy Winehouse

Singer Amy Winehouse rocketed to the top of the charts in 2006 and 2007 and many believed her iconic style helped the cause. Known for retro touches such as beehive hairdos and throwback accessories, Amy Winehouse is said to have inspired several designers, including Karl Lagerfield. If you have been searching for a new look that is both distinctive and familiar, you may find some satisfaction in these tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Liquid eyeliner
• Rouge
• Matte lipstick
• Hairspray
• Bobby pins
• Hair rat (optional)

Get the Hair

1. Tease the hair on the crown of your head into a globe or pin in a so-called "rat" made of synthetic hair instead. The point is to create a bolus of hair that will act as the foundation for the retro beehive to come.

2. Clip off sections of the hair on each side of your head in diagonal lines leading down and back from the temples.

3. Fold each section over and pin it or spray it into place. Continue wrapping sections over the crown until you have created a freestanding mound that can maintain its shape.

Get the Make Up

4. Clean your face and exfoliate so the heavy make-up to come won't irritate your skin.

5. Apply black liquid eyeliner below and especially over the eye, creating dark lines that frame the eye in a retro "horn rim" look.

6. Extend the eyeliner in "wings" beyond the corner of each eye, like the "Cleopatra" look, creating an upturned curve for extra drama.

7. Apply deep blush on the balls of your cheeks and sweep upward to pick up on the angles of the eyeliner.

8. Finish the look with heavy lipstick that extends above and below the line of your lips. Deep pearlized reds and 50's pinks help create the kind of voluptuous look that have made Amy Winehouse an icon around the world.

Tips & Warnings

• It's a bold look to present yourself like this, so be sure you can pull it off when you head out of the house. Designers say much of being a fashion icon is about being comfortable in your own skin, so make sure you can wear this style with aplomb.
• Consider mixing and matching different parts of the look and adding some flavor of your own. Straight-up knock-offs are rarely given respect in the world of fashion, but a clever adaptation can make you a player.

Resources

• Amy Winehouse official site for photos and more info

[AudreyBrown]

on 3/26/2008 Cool article...I'm more into the rockabilly thing myself which I guess isn't technically "retro". But it's so much fun to try to duplicate "the look" of stars from the past and even retro ones from the present!