Here at Amelia’s Magazine we were left so in awe by the spectacular vintage emsembles we witnessed at last weeks Affordable Vintage Fair when contributer Robyn got in touch with this interview with 40’s pin up Fleur De Guerre, we just couldn’t resist the chance to get our mits on all the trade secrets to her immaculate get up!
As a fully fledged vintage enthusiast, Fleur de Guerre was more then keen to act as hair stylist to the masses at this years Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair in Bethnal Green, London. A part time pin up model who dresses daily in full 1940’s regalia, Fleur states “it’s the hair done in rolls and curls, red lipstick and the eyeliner that makes my look”. Something that has come in handy for the 27 year old from Surrey who has straightened, curled and victoria rolled her way through a hoard of customers at The Queens of Vintage stall at the fair this afternoon.
Fanning her face as she walks down the street towards a park opposite the FymFyg Bar where The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair is hosted, Fleur exclaims “I stayed at my boyfriends house last night. He had forgotten to set his alarm clock forward from last weekend and I woke up an hour late. I rushed all the way here and haven’t stopped since. Im so hot and bothered, it was crazy in there.” Lowering herself onto the grass, Fleur crosses her legs and moves her face away from the sun commenting “I’ve such pale skin, I wish I had of brought my sunglasses, it’s such a lovely day. I think this is the first time I have sat in a park this year.”
Dressed in chocolate brown, high waisted sailor trousers with a pale green and white striped shirt, Fleur looks every bit the preened and perfectly turned out model. Her style is sophisticated and modest, complimenting her good posture and manner. Speaking about the fair Fleur comments “these fairs, there brilliant but they don’t usually have the kind of thing I like” she says in reference to the abundance of 70s and 80s vintage garments at the fair. Instead she says that “very late 30s, early 40s cotton sun dresses and suits are my thing, I probably won’t buy anything today”.
Fleur de Guerre, real name Fleur McGuerre is not a fan of her own name “it rhymes in a sort of embarrassing fashion.” Instead she adopted the alias Fleur de Guerre “when I introduced myself to somebody and they misheard me and thought, oh “Fleur of War”, thats a really cool name. So when I started doing pin up modeling I had a ready made name which fitted in well with my 1940s look. Fleur de Guerre is your war time undercover name, it works.”
Although she has now been modeling for a year and a half, Fleur hasn’t always been so stylish. Picking at the grass in front of her she declares “I’d be lying if I said my mother didn’t think the way I dressed when I was in my late teens wasn’t completely awful.” Remembering really baggy jeans, dreadlocks and heavy metal Fleur states “I had two nose piercing, I was just really unfeminine basically.” Even in her younger years Fleur clearly adored all things unusual “I can distinctly remember the things I really loved. I had this really wacky pair of trainers in the late 80s with these sparkly pink laces, I also had this ra-ra skirt that I absolutely loved.” It was during her middle teens that Fleur’s style took on a much more individual approach, when she was 14 she “started getting into the whole alternative thing. I started to customize my jeans, I would cut up the side to put extra fabric in them.” Fleur’s mum still did not approve “she just wished that I’d wear a pair of jeans that fitted me properly. She was fine, to a certain extent she would encourage my individuality, help me out with my hair do’s when I was younger. She really approves of the way I dress now.”
After studying a degree in English Language and Literature at Kingston University, Fleur now works at The Readers Digest as a full time marketing copywriter. The job pays well enough for Fleur to enjoy suitably niche hobbies such as swing dancing to taking drives with her boyfriend in his collection of vintage cars. However it is modeling that fills the majority of Fleur’s spare time, although she insists with animated excitement “it wasn’t something that I ever thought I would do.” Fleur was introduced to the world of modeling through a friend who took her to a shoot for The Boudoir, a company that offers girls the opportunity to be dolled up in full vintage style hair and make up before taking part in a themed photo shoot. The shoot included 11 other girls who acted as examples of what customers could buy into before the company was fully launched, enabling Fleur to sample the world of fashion modeling for free. Not only did the experience give Fleur her first images on which to build a portfolio, it was also a great confidence boost. Recalling the shoot she exclaims “I did it and it was brilliant. I had a really great time, really enjoyed it, really like the photos.”
Other favourite photo shoots of Fleur’s include a shoot with Tony Rizzetti for lingerie brand What Katie Did in which she learned the traditional pin up poses. Jumping into each pose as she retells the experience Fleur explains “he’s funny because he goes “put your leg in front, you know like that, do an “ooh” for me” and he’ll do it too and put you totally at ease. It’s really helped me get more work”.
However as much as she enjoys her hobby, Fleur doesn’t see it turning into a full time career stating “if I could, I would” however not all her modeling experiences have been positive. So far this year the model hasn’t done much work, she explains looking pensive “by the end of last year I’d kind of killed my social life by going out modeling every weekend. I would be too tired to go out after a shoot in the evening. I didn’t have any more outfits, new outfits, because I don’t like wearing the same thing more than twice, once if I can get away with it.”
Mixing her clothing is something that Fleur is quite accustomed to, she explains that while she prefers not to she “will occasionally be found in Primark. I get an attack of guilt when I come out and am like ‘Oh no! Child Labour!.” The Make Do and Mend ethics of the 1940s is something that Fleur would like follow “I wish I would learn to sew so I can perpetrate the whole Make Do and Mend thing myself, but in theory I support it.”
But for now she is concentrating on the present day, her schedule is waiting to be filled up with photo shoots and events. In the mean time she would like to concentrate on her blog “it is going really well, my readership is going up a lot. I wouldn’t say that I’m aiming for a career as a blogger but I’d like to see if it could get a bit more noticed.” She continues “I would like to try and grow and write some more informative articles about vintage”. However Fleur accepts the limitations of her chosen style “it’s very restricting but I’ve found my niche really, my calling.”
Categories ,Bethnal Green, ,Fleur De Guerre, ,Swap, ,Vintage
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