What shape are they - typical hairpin shape - a wiggly U?

A lot depends on the type of hair you have, and how much of it. If it's thick and heavy, you're all set. Simply pull your hair up into a twisted bun or loose French twist, give the pins a little pinch to compress, and slide them in wherever it seems like a good anchor point.

If your hair is thin and bone-straight like mine (curse grumble), you have more problems and may have to go in the direction of thick pomades, gels, teasing, sprays, and the like to get hairpins to stay in.

One thing you don't realize about hairstyles of the past, even up to the 60s, is how nastily people treated their hair. Until basically the 50s, caucasian women didn't wash their hair every day - a once a week wash-n-set at the beauty parlor was considered fine, or a Saturday wash at home. Odd thing, but dirty hair is a lot easier to style, especially into wavy/curly looks and thick, fluffy updos. It can be hard to replicate some of those looks while adhering to modern standards of shininess and hygeine.

For info on vintage hairstyles, this site is highly bookmark-worthy and useful.

Can't help you with the hair advice, but those are beautiful!

Dur, I forgot to look at them. Those are pretty. Yeah, I'd try a looseish French Twist and put these pins in, alternating sides and about an inch from one another all the way up

that is a good idea Miko. I will practice that on my (not particularly clean) hair!

update: I removed the hairband I usually use to hold my bun back and inserted 2 pins. Securely holding bun, much less stress on scalp, pretty horn pins sticking out of bun.

£1 at charity shop! I also got a gorgeous black sleeveless sweater dress with a cowl neck (orig. from Benetton) for £1.

If it helps, my mother was into girly things and liked doing my hair for big events, and I still have no clue how to put my hair up in anything other than a bun or ponytail.

I really need to learn to put my hair up. All I can manage are pony tails and piling it all under a big clip. It's long enough to do anything with, I just don't have the hang of it.

(also wish Flickr wasn't blocked at the office, I love vintage hair and accessory do-dads.)

Again, if it helps, my mum doesn't have any interest in girly things and I've inherited her lack of skill. I regret that sometimes.

My mum is plenty interested in girly things but never bothered to teach me, and now she complains because all I can do is tie my hair in a ponytail. I really haven't been able to do much else with it, it's too slippery and right now there's far too much of it.

If you have trouble, try putting your hair up with them while it's ever-so-slightly damp. As it dries, it will "set" itself around the pins. (Don't pull too hard or too tight --- wet hair is particularly susceptible to damage.)

My mom had 5 little girls, so we were lucky if our hair ever even got brushed.

Unless she was in a "permin'" mood. Then...well..oh Ogilvie Home Perms, what damage you have wrought.

I was another one who had to teach myself girly things. I still want someone to teach me how to blowdry my hair properly. And I've only seen my mother with makeup on twice in my life.

(Then again, I only wear makeup a few times a year. But I can put it on properly, damnit!)

Those are very pretty pins, Grace!

I'm another girl who doesn't know how to do things with her long hair. During the day it's just in a pony tail to keep it out of the way. Once in a while I'll use an Alice band instead or pull back the sides into a little pony tail.

Not long ago I finally figured out how to towel dry it without getting it all tangled. I wrap it up into a towel turban for a few minutes and then pat dry before brushing it.

I want to be more girly but just don't know how and had no one to teach me when I was growing up. Being fairly uncoordinated doesn't help either.

My hair is halfway down my back, by now.

I do a quick and dirty version of the french twist when I want to take a bath without getting it wet.

Otherwise, it's in a pony tail, or wife braids it when it's wet.

I have been wanting to get it cut, but wife cites it as an aphrodisiac for her and I am not willing to put that to the test. :-)

OK now back to girltalk.

My mom was/is pretty glamorous, liked to fix her hair, didn't hang out in the house with no makeup wearing sweats... and I got most of none of that. But I've become retrospectively vain, now that I'm getting older and don't look as good as I used to, so it's kind of funny for me to be trying to do advanced makeup, or fancy blow-drying at this late stage of the game. I laugh at myself.

My mom didn't teach me much girly stuff either. (She did teach me other excellent things, though).

Everything I learned about clothing, hair, and makeup came from my gay boyfriends in high school drama.

Everything I learned about makeup came from doing theatre makeup in high school and studying it further later on.

As for hair, when I was little I wanted hair to my bum like my aunt so I could do all sorts of things with it. When, until a few years ago, I had lots of fine wavy hair to my elbows, I did sweet FA with it 'cause I couldn't use a blowdryer or styling product to save my life. Now it's about shoulder-length I rub it with a towel and go, or if I'm feeling frisky I might put a tiny amount of the one product I know how to use in and scrunch it. I'd still love to know how to put it up (we'll have had 4 family weddings between last June and this Jan), but no dice. I think if I had magical hair pins like those, I might be inspired to learn, too.