How Retro.com

Over the Knee Boots

Boots for shiny red legs. Source

Over the knee boots or thigh highs have been worn by fisherman in the form of rubber waders for generations but as a women's fashion statement, they only began to be worn in the latter half of the 20th century and then only by a confident few.

Those who are interested in fashion, history, and how the two intersect can find info on classes via Online Colleges.

Not for the Fainthearted

Although they expose less bare leg than standard knee boots, thigh boots carry a certain risque connotation, perhaps because they're an extreme version of a boot and thus not totally mainstream. That's not to say you have to work in an S&M den to wear them.

Over the years, they've been featured in various designer collections but they're really an item that has too be worn with supreme chutzpah to carry off the look, otherwise it's easy to feel and probably look, faintly ridiculous. However, when they work, they can be strikingly effective.

Clifton Webb

On screen, actor Clifton Webb was as crisp and clear as a freshly pressed sheet of paper - his well modulated voice, impeccable appearance and sharp wit gave him an edge in Hollywood and although he was not considered romantic lead material, throughout the 1940s and 50s he was rarely out of work.

Clifton Webb. Source

Webb was a fine character actor, much in demand and appeared in a number of classic films alongside some of the screens most beautiful actresses, including Laura (1944) and The Razor's Edge (1946) with Gene Tierney, Sitting Pretty (1948) with Maureen O'Hara and Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) with Myrna Loy.

Born in Indianapolis in 1889, the versatile Webb began his professional life as a ballroom dancer, while still in his teens. With the encouragement of his mother Maybelle, Webb's creative and artistic talents manifested early, beckoning him away from school and academia, toward a theatrical life.

Suzie Million's guide to retro crafts

A Hoarder's Delight
Ever wanted to make a bottle cap man? Or maybe a teacup lady flowerpot or a plastic flower pixie? Well if so, Retro Crafts might be the book for you. The author has compiled over forty kitsch retro craft projects to keep you busy on a rainy day.

People who love crafts and being creative may want to look into design classes from accredited online colleges.

We used to be a much less throwaway society - things tended to be kept and were often creatively recycled for another use.The fabulously named Suzie Millions (is that for real I wonder?) is an artist, author and craft enthusiasist, who has delved into history and come up with some weird and wonderful projects.

Even if craft isn't your forte, it's fun just reading about what can be created with ordinary objects. Plus the book includes an inside peek at the authors intriguingly cluttered house, as well as a host of fascinating images from vintage pamphlets and markets.

Kimba the White Lion

Osamu Tezuka

Creator of Kimba, legendary animator, Osamu Tezuka

Anime, the Japanese style of animation that has garnered a huge cult following worldwide, really took off in the 1960s with the work of a man called Osamu Tezuka. It was Tezuka who introduced the characteristic wide, expressive eyes which are such a feature of Japanese animation.

Although in Japan the term anime covers all animation, in the West it has come to represent a particular style of Japanese drawings, an early example of which is Tezuka's 1960s animation series, Jungle Emporer, known in English speaking countries as Kimba the White Lion.

Sindy and Tammy Dolls

Barbie's Competition
Mattel's early success with fashion doll Barbie did not go unnoticed across the Atlantic and in 1963 a rival doll was produced by British manufacturer Pedigree Dolls & Toys. "Sindy" was less voluptuous and more wholesome looking than the well stacked Barbie - she had a round, plump face. a 60s bubble cut, an understated figure and an innocent, childlike expression.

Collette Mansel's History of Cindy. Amazon

Although Mattel had already offered Pedigree the licence for Barbie, the company had declined due to Barbie's poor performance in market research. It seemed British children found Barbie's very adult appearance hard to identify with.

However, Sindy was not wholly dreamt up by Pedigree; rather she was modelled on a 12 " sweet-faced US doll called Tammy, made by Ideal toys. Tammy was more insouciant teenager than fashion-obsessed babe and her clothes less grown up, though she was marketed as "the doll you love to dress", a tag line that would also be applied to Sindy.

Alas, Tammy's existence and period of popularity was brief. In the US, the Barbie machine was a powerful competitor and the Tammy doll folded in 1966. In recent times however, her collectability has risen markedly, particularly in Japan, where she has a cult following.

Dark beauty, Margaret Lockwood

Queen of the British melodrama, vintage actress Margaret Lockwood was born in exotic Karachi in what was then British India - the daughter of an English Administrator father and an Irish mother. However, the young Margaret spent only the first three and a half years of her life in India, having moved to London's Upper Norwood with her mother and brother in 1919.

Her luscious dark hair and dramatic, smoldering looks made her the perfect romantic foil for the type of steamy potboilers and period romances that were popular in the 1940s.

After training at RADA and some stage work, Lockwood's first significant foray into screen acting was in 1935, playing a supporting role in Basil Dean's, Lorna Doone, alongside John Loder and Victoria Hopper. However it was her appearance with Micheal Redgrave in the title role of Alfred Hitchcock's The lady Vanishes, four years later, that propelled her to British stardom. The film was a big success, not just for Lockwood, as it also provided Hitchcock with the necessary impetus to make the move to Hollywood.

Originality was the key to Split Enz's success

The musically inventive and visually theatrical band Split Enz emerged in Australia in the latter half of the 1970s and while we were were more than happy to claim them, the band was in fact born in New Zealand. Enz was formed at Auckland University in 1971 and the original line-up included Phil Judd, Tim Finn, Noel Crombie, Robert Gillies and Mike Chunn.

When Judd left the band (he later rejoined) the gap was filled by Tim's younger brother Neil and in 1974, noted keyboard player Eddie Raynor joined the group. In the following year, after garnering a significant following in NZ, they made the shift to Australia, changing their name from Split Ends to Split Enz, as a fond nod to their home country.