If you love the Lifestyle channel then I bet you have seen Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It’s one of lifestyles most popular shows, and I can see why. The British documentary gives us a peak into a life so far removed from what most of us experience that it’s fascinating. Apart from giving us into an insight into this travelling community and their history of religious and cultural traditions, it’s the wedding dresses, the make-up, the nails, and the hair that add up to being as Over-The-Top as possible. Big, bold, brash, colourful. It’s a fantasy of princess-like proportions. Every little girls’ (and maybe a few drag star’s) dream. The nails are long and fake. The fashion is tizzy, sparkly, frou-frou princess. It’s fabulous in a Barbie doll kind of way.
But can we take inspiration from this? I’m not going to suggest that we should all get out there and be as big and brash as possible, because let’s face it, who has the time (or the budget for all that product!) but could we be inspired to take a little glam and a little sparkle into our day? A big Gypsy yes!
So can you take a little Gypsy style and work it into the silly season? Of course! The trick is to take a style that many of us would think is ridiculous and translate it to cool. And this is a great time of year to try it out.
Here are my top 5 tips to add some Gypsy magic to the Christmas season!
- Just take one piece of inspiration: The reason the Gypsy look is so over the top is because there is a lot, ok a massive amount of things going on, that all compete for attention. Coco Chanel famously said “Before leaving the house, a lady should stop, look in the mirror, and remove one piece of jewellery.” The Gypsy mantra would be the opposite, plus some. You can pare back the Gypsy style and just take one part of the look. Say you want to rock the Gypsy big hair. Big hair can be fabulous and a cool, cool fashion statement. But tone down everything else. Keep your make-up simple and your fashion a little more subdued. Let the fake tan fade, shorten the nails and paint them a natural pink hue. A make-under.
Source: la-la-la-bonne-vie.tumblr.com via Lauren on pinterest
2. Inject some colour: Your classic Gypsy is just not seen in black. Hot pink? Yes. White satin? Yes. Some fluro with sequins? Yes.
Our big cities are flooded with corporate black clothes. Bor-ring. Christmas is the time to grab some new fashion brights. Some fluro or metallic shoes, bright blue coloured jeans, a fuchsia tank top or a tangerine cardy. Maybe some bright yellow tights with that black work skirt, or a brightly coloured scarf with a classic white shirt?
3. Get some sparkle. OK, you might look (and feel) a little silly boarding public transport for your daily commute in a tiara, but a smoothed out ponytail, using a little Original Queenie to tidy any strays, and adding a crystal encrusted hair clip for the after work chrissy cocktails, is sophisticated.
Source: ustrendy.com via Alex on Pinterest
A weekend dinner in your black tuxedo style jacket with a crystal brooch would be stunning. A crystal or diamond set watch can be worn day in, day out for a little Gypsy bling.
4. Extend it: Gypsy hair is about big and long, but long hair needs regular love and care and just not that practical for all of us every day. If you don’t have long tresses why not try a hair piece or have extensions put in? For a special occasion a well matched hair piece can give your hair added thickness and bounce or if you would love to have longer hair for longer, extensions could be for you. Salon applied hair extensions, if well looked after, can look and feel great. They give you flexibility to have long hair instantly. In a couple of hours (instead of a couple of years) you can have hair halfway down your back.
At Stevie English hair we can help you get long tresses for all your parties. We use show pony hair extensions which are the best in the business.
5. Get polished: The Gypsy style is about being “polished” and put-together all the time. If you lead a busy life it’s hard to find the time for all the “Gypsy” maintenance. I know when my clients leave my salon they feel fantastic. Nothing better than having your hair professionally done and many clients book in advance to look forward to their regular hair maintenance. But how good would it feel to have other parts of you also look fabulous? You might not like the acrylic long talons of the Gypsies but you can keep your hands and feet looking neat with a fortnightly mani-pedi. What about nourishing the body and soul with a massage once a month? How about an hour’s walk on Sunday afternoon to clear your mind and oxygenate your body, to prepare you for the week ahead? What about spending Saturday afternoon in your favourite department store trying some new make-up looks?
I think Gypsy style is the perfect place to grab some glam inspiration for Christmas. Big Fat Gypsy Wedding reminds us that hair and fashion shouldn’t be serious and that we all need some colour, sparkle and fun in our lives!