Apr 05, 2014 01:26
by Missy

Mouna, your hair is simply fantastic. How long did it take you to master the Up Do, and how did you learn?

Even though I had been wearing vintage clothes for some time, I had never really thought of doing my hair to match. In Melbourne a few years back, a friend and I were watching a band and as I was looking around the bar I saw a fantastic looking girl - she had a rad 60's inspired dress on, but what really grabbed me was hair do. I was inspired to try to do my hair - I didn't have much equipment (I would do rolls by blow-drying my hair wrapped around toilet rolls- with holes poked in them for air flow!!). After much practice and much hairspray, I started getting better. With a bee-hive or Victory-rolls, it's all about a good solid foundation - set or hot roll your hair in the right directions and then it's pretty quick to do anything. I try to give myself 5 or 10 mins each for hair and make-up most mornings, this way I can't be too fussy.

Tell us about this 60s dress with the bright pink flowers.

This dress is a great example of 60's eccentric fashion. Not only is the fabric crazy and beautiful with the checks and flowers but the top of the dress is connected to the lower section not in a straight seam but in half moon waves or petals. I feel like having fun when I wear it! The earrings are plastic made in the 50's. I love over the top jewellery.

How does dressing in Vintage make you feel? What do you love about it?

Wearing vintage makes me feel sexy, feminine and unique. I feel like a walking museum sometimes.

What's you regime for keeping your hair gorgeous?

I usually start my hair week with hot rollers. I spend an hour or so under my vintage "portable lady sunbeam' with a full head of rollers, this way my curls usually last for around four days. The first couple of days I usually wear victory rolls, then on the third or fourth day I start onto a beehive, which I maintain for a few more days. when I feel like my hair is getting a little skanky, I give it a wash - double shampoo and condition, and then a hair mask. Then I give my hair a little break with nothing added (perhaps kick some 80s styles) , and start over.

You call this your ugly 80's mini dress, and it's a favourite?

I often get funny remarks when I'm bold enough to put this dress on. It makes guys say and do the funniest things - not that I wear it for that reason, but it does make me feel sexy. I've had a random guy propse to me whilst i was wearing this outfit at a bar - it's my lucky outfit. The coat is my grandmother's , and I like having a connection with her through it .

We noticed at the shoot you have a collection of sewing machines, many old Singers too, do you sew a lot?

I collect a lot of weird things. But sewing machines, I am particularly fond of. I love singers in particular, because up until the 60s all their machine parts were the same for any model which means that for any of my machines - antique or vintage (and there are a few) - I can use all of the same attachments.  And yes, I sew and make alterations regularly. I also collect vintage patterns. Anything form the 30's through the 60s and though I mostly sew costumes or puppets for theatre, or fix my existing clothing, I have gotten back into making my own 'vintage' clothes- I love using vintage fabrics so that ultimately the finished garment looks authentic (providing i've sewn it well!). 

What started you off on loving and wearing vintage clothing?

I sing mainly 20-40s jazz standards, which I've been doing since I was 16 years I old. I wear mainly 40s clothing when I'm singing performing, and usually wear my hair in Betty Grable-esque relaxed victory rolls. I try wear an "after five" dress something that is definitely for the night if it is a an evening gig, and I try to match the glamour of the venue and event as much as possible. I ABSOLUTELY love marcasite jewellery and vintage gloves for accessorising and accentuating an outfit.

What's your beauty regime and favourite products?

I use natural products, cleanse morning and night, I use a lot of makeup, so cleansing is key, also there's a weekly exfoliation and clay mask. Favourite products are Cedel hair spray (the pink one matches my dresser!), Maybelline Dream Mousse in Sandy Beige, Ikou detoxiftying serum, Paw paw ointment (buckets of it), Sotheys Hydradvance Moisturiser and loads of Bobby pins.

How has your style evolved over time?

I've been an AVID op-shopper since the age of fourteen or so... and by my early 20s I'd become really good at spotting vintage pieces in Vinnies or The Salvos and the like. I enjoy the rush of finding a bargain amidst the country twang piped through upcycled speakers. I have gotten good at identifying vintage by looking at the fabric, the tags, and the cut of the dress. Most of all I love coming across unique pieces that nobody else will have, as I flick through racks of garments.

Mouna, your wardrobe spans quite a few decades, what's your favourite?

I'm not sure I have a favourite era, it's all about how I'm feeling that day. I know people who ONLY dress rockabilly or fourties or fifites, but I have too many interesting sixties pieces that are too cool not to wear. I mostly wear 40's through to sixties, but sometimes I just wanna fluff up my hair and wear an eighties jump suit. I've always maintained that to stay young, one should be young at heart; and at hear, I'm ten.

You mentioned your sister also share your love of vintage?

My sister Nisa has always inspired me. When I was 13, she and her firends would dress me up in whacky outfits and take me to parties with them. Over the the years I have admired her courageous style, she never seemed to care how people perceived her. Nisa would make me a trial item of clothes - a jacket or some pants with bright flower fabric, or a bright red mini-skirt, as a prototype - before she ran off a bunch to sell. I wouldn't say that our styles have ever been exactly the same, but I draw an inspiration from my sister, she is in one outfit as bold and daring as she in another glamourous and feminine. I inspire to create outfits that emulate her flair.

Whose style do you adore?

Ginger Rogers, because I admire her resolve when working with designer Edith Head on various movies to get exactly what she wanted out of an outfit. On the film 'top hat' all the producers thought her idea to have an ostrich feather dress for a dance sequence would look ridiculous, but she knew that every time Fred would lift her the feathers would move back in slow motion creating a surreal effect in the film. She got her way.

Marilyn Monroe too, because she worked really hard to create her image. She wasn't perfect but she was always graceful. Marilyn sure knew how to accentuate her best attributes. And David Bowie, I know he is not a woman, but he is rather effeminate. Who else could pull off a one leg/one arm onesy?

How has your style evolved over time?

I think my style has evolved into what it is today because I try to embody the essence of the era from which the garments / outfit hails, with all of myself. from hair to toe. I guess I like to find a special garment like my grandmas coat, or the 50s dress i found in my mums cupboard and wear it as it was intended to be worn.

Check out Mouna Stone singing at a gig at the Carrington here. 

PHOTOS by Camille Walsh

Our HUGE thank-you to Camille Walsh at  camillewalshphotography.com.au  for these beautiful photos.