I’m kind of a big kid. I may be 29-years-old but it’s still a legitimate life goal of mine to make a large fort out of cardboard. Things have been crazy busy lately and with The Pinup Picnic In The Park coming up in a couple weeks that busyness isn’t soon set to relent. So, rather than the usual blog shoot involving pretty scenery and me trying my very best to look put together and glamorous, this weekend I indulged my inner child by throwing on my new Voodoo Vixen Katnis dress, packing the picnic hamper I got for my birthday, and heading to the park with my sister Sarah and 4 of my niblings (definition: plural, gender-neutral term for nieces and nephews.)

I had visions of us getting tons of adorable family shots on all the park pieces and a shining, cohesive snapshot of cuteness on a picnic blanket together. Anyone who has children, or even their own niblings, will know that I should have lowered my expectations. Because when you’re toting a crew of four children what will actually happen is your 9-year-old niece will not-very-subtly hint that you should take model shots of her on every piece of park apparatus; your 11-year-old nephew will lounge around in the giant swing because he’s so tired from the dog waking him up at 5.30am; your almost 4-year-old nephew will want to take pictures of you with your expensive DSLR camera and will think squeezing the camera with deep intensity is the way to get it to work; your not yet 2-year-old niece will be so intent upon repeatedly going down the slide that she won’t want to pose for any selfies with you; and the perfect family picnic shot you dreamt of will actually turn out like this…

Amy, we don’t have time for pictures, there is food to be served

So, a typical Saturday, really. I should have known better. Let the madness begin!

Dress: Katnis by Voodoo Vixen
Belt: Sateen Covered Slide Belt by Pinup Girl Clothing
Wedges: Black Espadrilles by F&F at Tesco
Hair: Restyled by relentless wind

I didn’t get this dress when I first saw it several months back. While I’m all for green, I’m not really a kitsch girl and those cats are, while adorable, not my usual style. However, when I modelled for Voodoo Vixen’s Sping/Summer lookbook last week in London they put me in the wiggle version of this dress, the Jade Kat, and I really liked it.

I quickly grew a deep appreciation for the wide black scallop trim features on the dress, and the deep pockets on this swing version, Katnis. As soon as my sister saw me in it pre-picnic she proclaimed she needed it too, and my youngest niblings greatly appreciated the fact that I had black cats on my dress which bore more than a striking resemblance to our family black cat, Lily. Who, by the way, also quite liked the dress, even if she looks judgmental and unmoved in the below pictures–that’s just her style, trust me.

The dress closes with a back zipper and half sleeves. Made from cotton, even with those sleeves it’s breathable and not too warm for this time of year, though it’ll make a great sleeved option once it starts to get cooler. Despite the wind and the fact that I forgot to wear stockings I wasn’t cold in this number. It’s described on the VV website as a skater style dress but it fits a petticoat easily.

Voodoo Vixen size their dresses as L for 31 inch waists and XL for 33, so I sized into the XL just to be sure. The wiggle version of this dress, Jade Cat, fit me snugly and perfectly in the XL, but there’s some extra room in this Katnis that I don’t need. If you’re a 32 inch waist I suggest you size down to an L because panic-sizing up will leave you swamped. The bust in this dress has ample extra room for ladies more gifted than myself (36B, 39 inches bust) but it’s not a dress that looks awkward or obviously empty in the bust if you’re not busting out. (See what I did there? No, you’re right, that was an easy one, let’s move on.)

The pockets have plenty of room for your phone, a lippie and more, so they’re practical as well as fun. I love the black scallop trim featured on the neckline, cuffs and the pockets; it’s probably my favourite feature of the dress. Overall this is a really comfortable dress and it was fun to wear something a little bit different to my usual fare, so maybe I should do that more often.

This dress costs £66.99 from Voodoo Vixen, who ship internationally, and is available in sizes S-XL. As mentioned, this print also comes in a wiggle dress, the Jade Kat, and a swing skirt, Amelia. If green isn’t your thing but cats are you should check out VV for their other cat print line which features black cats on a pale pink fabric, the Kitty, Carmen and Choupette dresses.