Beginning to Sew – Making The Popover Dress

Posted on June 4, 2023 by missamymay

I don’t know how to sew. I would have loved to have been offered Textiles as a subject in school, like my younger sister was, but alas, instead my tech selection was Food Technology. During my childhood on the farm our family consisted of 3 adults and 5 children, so my mum was kept plenty busy running such a full household–as a result she taught me the absolute basics of mending when it was necessary, but I never had an interest in learning the skill in earnest. I could never even produce a straight backstitch, so I found the whole thing frustrating and generally avoided it when I could. Fast forward to my 20s, I realised knowing how to sew properly would’ve been a very useful skill to have, sewing machine and all. That notion has haunted me for the entire 10 years I’ve been dressing in vintage style clothing, and finally this year I decided to do something about it. Not by undertaking any sensible measures like signing up for a sewing class, of course. No, I grabbed Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses and decided the Popover dress was as good a place to start as any.

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Lydia, You Minx [Wax Poetic Clothing]

Posted on May 12, 2023 by missamymay

I have wanted one of Wax Poetic’s Lydia gowns for aaaages. At this point, I can’t even remember which colourway came first, I simply know that I completely fell for the sheer leopard print version at some point during the chaotic full throes of the pandemic. By the time I told myself I could justify buying it as a little treat it was sadly sold out in my size. I’ve asked a couple times since then whether the leopard would be restocked and was told it would be, but so far I haven’t heard any rumblings on whether that still holds true. And y’all, I am not a patient person. So much so that despite the fact that I cannot sew, several months back I began to toy with the idea that maybe I could make myself a sheer leopard gown of some (much simpler) description instead of waiting for that which may never be mine.

My journey in sewing has not much progressed since I made that decision in the New
Year—as in, I have sewn myself only an apron so far—so, you know, my impatience does occasionally run up against the unstoppable force of my laziness, leading to outcomes such as this: me, snagging myself a pre-order of the flocked leopard mesh Lydia gown as a gift from me to me for my birthday.

Well, my birthday is here, and so is my darling Lydia!

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Shana For Spring [Collectif]

Posted on May 6, 2023 by missamymay

I’ve been blogging for 9 years now, so I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve wrung as many jokes and intros out of the famous ‘Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking’ line from The Devil Wears Prada. Like florals (according to Miranda Priestly, that is,) there’s only so many ways you can work it in before it gets tired and expected. But despite that, you know, I still really like florals. I think it’s one of the loveliest parts of spring–not just watching the actual flowers begin to bloom out in the world, but going into my clothing storage to bring my florals back out into my closet, packing away my tweeds and wools and tartans for six months in return.

By February, just as I’m getting truly sick of rain and cold and greys skies, the daffodils start to peek out, leading into my absolute favourite stretch; the hawthorn, then the bluebells, then the fruit blossoms. Those weeks of nature waking, petals unfurling, colour returning, revitalises my winter-wearied spirit, and echoing that process by bringing colour and florals back into my wardrobe to greet the brightening world feels refreshing and exciting every time. So, sorry not sorry, but yes, I like florals, I like wearing them in spring when I feel most hopeful and happy about the world around me. And I like this floral in particular, the Shana dress by Collectif, and how it feels wearing it among blossoms.

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Louis Louis! [British Retro]

Posted on May 1, 2023 by missamymay

I’ve wanted a white summer swing dress for years. I’ve got close a few times with a mostly white dress, or a white dress that is fancy but not really summery. In my heart, I wanted a swing style made from broderie anglaise. If it had sleeves of some description, preferably not capped? All the better. Well, finally, I found it! Let’s take a look at Louis Louis among the bluebells.

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Forget-Carly-Not [Horrockses Fashions x Joanie Clothing]

Posted on April 26, 2023 by missamymay

One of the strange things about modern fashion, I’ve found, is that many people view wearing any dress as making a great effort, producing a perceived automatic higher level of dressiness in the beholder, despite the fact that pairing separates together literally takes more effort than donning one dress. A dress by itself is its own outfit, with the option to add more layers and accessories to elevate its stylishness and to adjust for weather and occasion, yet even a casual dress can often be viewed as ‘fancy’ by some. For regular dress wearers, shirtdresses are perfect day-to-day casual pieces, but because they’re collared and generally modest you can wear them in all manner of environments, appearing put together with very little real effort expended. Choose a shirt dress in a classic Horrockses Fashion print from their Joanie Clothing collaboration and voila, your easy outfit is vintage loveliness layered upon vintage loveliness.

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Vada Is Back! [Horrockses Fashions x Joanie Clothing]

Posted on April 23, 2023 by missamymay

As someone who long ago gave up attempting to buy true vintage for a variety of reasons, I was thrilled last year when Joanie Clothing teamed up with Horrockses Fashions to release some of Horrockses most beloved prints on staple Joanie dress styles. I loved the Margaret dress and kept meaning to buy myself the Vada, but by the time I went back for it it was sold out in my size. Missing out has haunted me ever since–so imagine my delight upon discovering that there is now a Joanie and Horrockses round 2, with last year’s releases back again and a couple new styles along for the ride. Finally, Vada and I have our second chance!

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Kiko Milano 10hr Unlimited Stylo review + Swatches – Nars Powermatte Dupe

Posted on March 12, 2023 by missamymay

I recently reviewed the Nars Powermatte lipstick, a product I love but simply cannot bring myself to use for daily-wear because I am stingy and £25 for 1.5g of product makes my heart sad. So, imagine my delight when I heard rumours that Kiko Milano (admittedly, I brand I had never heard of) make a matte lipstick that performs as a Powermatte dupe, and at only £8.99 for the same 1.5g of product. Obviously, I immediately ordered one in red, and was thrilled when it arrived as I found I loved it just as much as the Nars Powermatte. I ordered a few more shades to add to my collection and so here I am, writing you a review and ready to show you 5 swatches from their shade range of 24 colours Continue reading →

Outfits April 2022 to February 2023

Posted on March 5, 2023 by missamymay

It feels kind of redundant to write an intro into these accidentally-only-twice-yearly outfit posts now because I can’t help but feel I need to point out that I’m not a deeply unsocial person (not deeply, anyway,) who never does anything, I’m just a somewhat-unsocial person who has vulnerable loved ones that I can’t risk passing anything along to, thus curtailing my social life. So, in line with not wanting to harp on that once again, I’m also gonna stop Continue reading →

Maximum Solange [Hell Bunny]

Posted on February 25, 2023 by missamymay

A dress made for sunshine and good times, Solange is a maxi dress that’s ready for fun. Offering rainbow-but-not-really, it boasts yellow, sky blue, white, pea green, and deep red stripes for a bright, playful print.

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Hey-a, Adelaida! [Hell Bunny]

Posted on February 20, 2023 by missamymay

Hell Bunny always offers great tropical prints, typically creating one or two new ones every year for their spring/summer range. This year sees the return of the Ukulele print from SS21 but now in pale blue and green tones, and the release of this lush Adelaida print, a darker, earthy take on what I often think of when I think of tropical prints—namely, colour and lots of it. In fact, the Adelaida print doesn’t feature tropical flowers at all, and yet something about the print still tells my brain it’s a tropical print, but like, in a chilled way. Is it just me?? Let’s take a closer look so you can decide.