A lot of you know I am a Pinup Girl Clothing addict, and when my UK readers/IG followers ask me where they can find our much beloved PUG in the UK I direct them to one site–Deadly Is The Female.

Deadly Is The Female is a brick and mortar store based in Frome, Somerset, here in the UK. But for those of us who aren’t lucky enough to have visited the real life store their online shop stocks plenty of amazing things to keep your typical pinup happy. In addition to stocking PUG they also carry Stop Staring, Trashy Diva and Tatyana, bringing you swing dresses and wiggles, separates and swimwear, makeup and sunglasses and stoles and handbags and…well, all the best of pretty much everything. They even stock some B.A.I.T footwear, something I’ve personally found hard to track down in the UK so that I don’t have to pay hefty international postage fees and additionally hefty import taxes. New stock flows in all the time, and I love keeping up to date with DisF on their Instagram and Facebook feeds, where they post all sorts of cute retro pictures and meme-like lols as well as shots of their gorgeous stock.

It was on their social media platforms that they recently hosted a competition inviting their customers to show off some of their Deadly purchases with the chance to win a free frock of their choice and a Darlin Design pinup. And guess who was the lucky doll who won? That’s right! This pinup right here.

I was shocked to win but super excited. Claudia, Deadly’s owner, was incredibly sweet and gracious in conversing with me about my prizes, and we were both so buoyed to see what an outpouring of good will and compliments I received upon being announced the winner, compared to the usual online awkwardness of the comments being flooded with such sighs as ‘Oh I really wish it had been me’ and the even less thrilled ‘$%$£! I really wanted this.’ No, the Deadly followers were all class, and it was a joy.

With Christmas coming up and being the PUG lover I am, it took me all of 15 seconds to decide which dress I wanted as my prize–the Pinup Girl Clothing Dark Red Taffeta Birdie dress with three quarter sleeves. You’ll have seen from my last blog post that I already own this dress in the mustard and purple floral colourway and adore it. The moment I saw PUG release shots of this dark red festive feeling number it was securely placed upon my lust list, where I was fairly certain it would have to stay until some great and bargainous sale might perchance spring up in future. Instead, Claudia had the dress in my hands within a couple of days of winning and it is lovely.

Dress: PUG Red Taffeta Birdie dress from Deadly is the Female
Brooch: 1920s Vintage brooch
Heels: Everything5pounds
Bracelet: eBay

I really do adore the rich red of this dress for this time of year, but the tone will also carry over into evening wear the rest of the year round. It’s a touch shorter on than my other Birdie and the fit feels a little different, a touch looser in the waist, but I attribute this to the taffeta and doubt I would have been able to size down. Like other Birdie dresses this came with a matching thick belt to cinch you in at the waist and it’s gathered skirt gives you a full and flowing silhouette, my favourite. I already have a custom made dress ready to be worn Christmas day, but now I have a super gorgeous dress to wear to my other festive events rather than recycling my other year-round evening pieces.

Thank you, Claudia, for picking me as your winner. I’m still so touched by the win, and I am beyond excited to see my Darlin Design pinup in the New Year.