‘I could pick any bogan off the street and whip them into a lady’: Meet the Australian woman teaching poise, posture and pin curls in her vintage etiquette classes
- Chrissy Keepence is headmistress of The Lindy Charm School for Girls
- She takes her styling and etiquette workshops all around Australia
- Inspired by the pin-up girls and rockabilly movement of the 1940s and 50s
- Say the most beautiful woman is nothing without poise, posture and charm
An Australian woman has made it her mission to turn the ordinary women of the nation into poised and charming ladies that would give the dazzling dames of the 1940s a run for their money.
Headmistress of The Lindy Charm School For Girls Chrissy Keepence originally drew her inspiration from the iconic style of pin-up models and the rockabilly movement of the 1950s.
Bright red lips, pin curls and vintage dresses are Ms Keepence’s uniform, and now she holds workshops around the country sharing her wisdom and teaching young women ‘poise, charm and posture.’
‘I could pick any bogan off the street and whip them into a lady,’ Ms Keepence told Daily Mail Australia. ‘It’s all about making sure you know how to ‘sit, smile, and feel confident,’ she said.
As a swing dancer she learned tricks of the trade from those who lived through the period, picking up tips from women at the nursing homes she once performed in.
‘The women there who lived through the 40s, they were the ones who taught me those things,’ Ms Keepence explained.
From using bicarbonate soda as a dry shampoo to applying beetroot juice to brighten lips and cheeks, the headmistress has all the age old techniques down pat.
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Ms Keepence insisted she can turn an bogan into a lady through one of her vintage styling workshops
But Ms Keepence insists it isn’t all about appearances, it’s about the whole package.
‘With that package comes your poise, your charm, your posture… You can be the most beautiful girl but if you’ve got a bad posture or bad attitude then you just don’t have it,’ Ms Keepence said.
The headmistress is certain that the women of decades past had their beauty routines perfected well before the introduction of modern products, and said they were experts at making do with what they had.
‘I love the ingenious of our foremothers that through rationed times, and some of them were rationed their entire lives… They were really clever about it. They were stylish and glamorous through adversity.’
THE HEADMISTRESS’S TOP TIPS
- Bicarbonate Soda: Instead of using dry shampoo, head to the kitchen and use bicarbonate soda on your hair to get a few extra days out of your wash.
- Beetroot Juice: For a splash of colour on lips and cheeks, dab some beetroot juice on your skin instead of using makeup.
- A stocking and a hairbrush: To clean your hair as you brush it, cut the foot off an old stocking and put it over your brush. This will take all the dirt out of your tresses and when you remove it and brush your hair normally this will make it shine.
‘I love the way they were able to create shapes and looks with so little,’ Ms Keepence said.
Through her workshops, which she takes all over Australia, the Lindy Charm School Headmistress there is a focus on the fun side but how a woman presents herself does weigh in heavily.
‘I give them some easy little exercises to create a better posture, and I just remind them of what charm is, what poise is, and how it changes the way people see you.
‘Whether you like it or not as soon as you step out your front door people are going to judge you,’ Ms Keepence said.
As for her wardrobe, the headmistress refuses to wear clothes ‘straight off the rack’, and more than 90 percent of her clothing is vintage.
‘Why do we have to settle for the ill-fitting mass produced clothes of today?’ Ms Keepence asked.
In the workshops there is a focus on fun but also on posture, poise and most importantly how a woman presents herself
From ‘organic’ beginnings as ‘girlie home days with lots of bubbles and froth and laughter’, Ms Keepance has now visited nearly every capital city in the country.
This weekend she will be taking her program to the Greazefest Festival in Melbourne, and the weekend after will hold vintage styling workshops in Darwin. In September the headmistress will be in Sydney.
Now based on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Ms Keepence was originally a ‘territorian’, from the Northern Territory of Australia, and said she would like to visit Darwin every year or two to help turn around the ladies in her hometown.
Though her workshops focus heavily on the beauty aspect, Ms Keepence insisted the reason she started sharing her knowledge was for the ‘camaraderie’.
‘These are fantastic girlie bonding days’, she said.
‘We all have this inner beauty and confidence but sometimes it’s been squashed by society… I help ladies find that.’
Read more: https://dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2718584/Meet-Australian-woman-teaching-poise-posture-pin-curls-vintage-etiquette-classes.html#ixzz3EIr5gzz4
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