POSTED: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 5:00 PM
Filed Under: Critical Mass
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| Alanna Ralph |
Alanna Ralph surrounds herself with scantily-clad and perfectly made-up women on a daily basis. They wear lacy corsets, slinky dresses, or sometimes nothing but a strategically-placed cardboard heart. Their goal is to recall the cheeky and playfully sexy era of the pin-up girl, and Ralph is in charge of making sure the hair is perfectly coiffed and every touch of rouge or lipstick is just-so. She has the ability to transform any woman into a vintage vixen. Can anyone blame her for loving her job?
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Ralph owns Salon Blush, a full-service salon that specializes in "pin-up" styles (think Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, and Bettie Page). Ladies can learn to emulate these beauties at Blush's "Pin-up Hair and Makeup" workshop on where they will learn what Ralph calls "the basics of vintage styling," such as wet and dry finger waves, pin curls, and victory rolls. Ralph promises that the techniques aren't difficult, but take practice. Students must bring their own curling irons, combs, blow dryers and hairspray. As for the makeup, class members will observe and learn from a live demonstration. "There are a lot of details, and we are going to learn the traditional way," she says. "It's an art."
The workshop is Ralph's way of bringing her personal passion to the masses, an idea which stems from the very opening of her salon. "When I decided to do a salon, it made sense to have something with a retro vibe, because that's my life," she says. Currently, her house and closet are stocked with vintage furniture and clothes, and she says she grew up listening to Billie Holiday and watching movies like
Gentleman Prefer Blondes and
How to Marry a Millionaire. She sees vintage and retro trends recurring in today's fashion, which is perhaps why her styling is so popular. "Everything we wear today is inspired from looks from yesteryear, and clothing from the '20s through the '50s is timeless and classic," she says.
Ralph's passion is something people want a piece of. Salon Blush hawked its pin-up workshop on Groupon, and ended up selling 550 photo shoots. If a client wants an edgier experience, vintage isn't the only option — she also loves doing off-kilter themed sessions, such as her "ZombieLicious" shoot. "I'm so freaking artistic that I just take an idea and make it into what I want to see," she says.
As for the logistics of any shoot, especially a pinup, Ralph says the ideal client knows just how good she looks. "Confidence is ideal," she says. "A woman's entire demeanor changes with hair and makeup. When we take ‘after' photos, they just look in the camera so differently." Maybe that's because Ralph has played a part in making them feel differently about themselves; she's unlocked the pinup within. "They don't look like this every day," she says. "But every woman wants to feel and look sexy."
Sat., Feb. 26th, 4-7 p.m., $125. Salon Blush, 2407 E. York St., (215) 634-1606, blushpinups.com, salonblush.com.
