Author Archives: missamymay

Travelling in Style

Posted on by
3

I don’t get away on vacation a lot, but this year I’ve taken a couple of long weekends with friends and family, which is always lovely. Less lovely is the juggle of figuring out how to adapt one’s pinup style to the practical requirements of packing and travelling. It’s tricky sometimes, but being comfortable and stylish on the move is a balance that can be struck as long as you bear in mind a few key components. A big one is the weather.

Travelling in summer means you want to wear something cool as well as comfortable: halter dresses, strapless dresses or 2 or 3 piece sets work well, as long as you remember to take into account your own body and it’s needs: I hate the feeling of a tight waistband if I’m going to be sitting for a few hours travelling, so there are certain pieces in my wardrobe that I just can’t wear for long journeys, like my Pinup Girl Clothing Jenny dresses. On my weekend away this summer I opted to wear my super comfortable red Tiki Temptation dress by Glamour Bunny for the drive to the beach with my family. It has overwiring on the cups to give a great shape to the neckline but the rest of the dress is soft and has give, so it doesn’t dig in while sitting.

trav1

Day 1: Glamour Bunny Tiki Temptation Dress

Continue reading →

Lady in Red – Tatyanna.co.uk on Sale

Posted on by
7

Every woman needs a red dress. This is a truth universally acknowledged–or, at least, it should be. Personally I believe every woman may only need one, but it’s best to have three: one cocktail dress, one casual day dress, and another that’s somewhere in between, simple enough to be dressed up for evening or down for day. I own a sarong wiggle dress in red for evening, a red sailor style dress for day, but somehow I’ve never quite found my in-between. Ah, until now.

I recently discovered that Tatyanna.co.uk is beginning a sale today, Friday 14th November, which is awesome because this is a site that stocks a lot of my favourite high quality reproduction brands, and of course who doesn’t love a sale? One of the items that is in said sale is a dress I have now fallen in love with: the red Milan dress by Heart of Haute.

This dress is sleeveless deep V-neck swing dress, fitted at the waist and coming with it’s own matching fabric covered belt. As I’m a UK 14 Tatyanna.co.uk sent me the size L, and it fits perfectly. I really feel it accentuates my waist well, something not all dresses do and thus require some additional attention of an extra good belt to cinch me in, but the Milan fits me well enough I can leave the belt off if I wish. Another surprising thing is that I, of the petticoat addiction, actually like the way this dress hangs on me even without a petticoat–shocking, truly, as I never leave off my pettiskirt. This is especially good to know for summers that are too hot for extra layers, and for when I want to make this casual enough that a petticoat would nix that intention. It still looks fabulous with a petticoat, of course, and that’s how I photographed it for you, to show it at it’s full glory as per my usual style.

milan6 Continue reading →

Petticoat Heaven – Malco Modes + GIVEAWAY

Posted on by
59

I’ve wanted to try the Malco Modes petticoats for a long time, since seeing pictures of what appeared to be the fluffiest looking petticoats I’ve ever seen. Finally I’ve got my hot little hands on a Jennifer petticoat, thanks to the lovely team over at Malco Modes, and my goodness, this petticoat is my new favourite thing.

 malco2
malco5 Continue reading →

JOAN-sing For Atypical Girl Clothing

Posted on by
2

atypicalgirl

I was recently very excited to attend the launch party for Atypical-girl.com, a brand new clothing website stocking a selection of carefully curated original vintage and reproduction clothing, aimed at retro loving dolls and girls with a fashion edge. Atypical Girl is different to your typical pinup clothing site because the focus is on finding your own style, whether that be with a truly authentic eye to a classic era or with a modern take on vintage looks you love. So I was very curious to attend to the launch party and see just what Atypical Girl would be about–and of course, it was no surprise that it was a great event held in a funky private member’s club, featuring a variety of excellent retro music, vintage canapes and even some kick-ass Go Go dancers. I was thrilled to meet Atypical Girl’s founder Simone Hadfield, @missturnstiles to you Instagrammers, who, yes, is as gorgeous, chic and lovely in person as you’d expect. I love me some Girl Bosses, and Simone is definitely one of them. Pictures of the event can be found on the Atypical Girl’s Facebook page, which you should go like. Bonus points to the first reader to count up the number of times I’m caught pulling a stupid face while actively engaging in conversation (It is, I’m ashamed to say, many times.)

After attending such a wonderful event it was obvious I needed something from the Atypical Girl range, and at Simone’s own suggestion I couldn’t help but agree that the Joan dress had to join my wardrobe. This green wiggle dress is a true classic, made of knitted twill it’s comfortable as well as flattering, and I love the waist detail of pleats settled beneath a fabric kind-of-belt that crosses at the front then fastens behind with a single button. The dress is truly timeless, and considering how killer it would look on Christina Hendricks’ character in Mad Men it is no surprise at all why this hot little item is named the Joan. All you redheaded ladies definitely need to pick up this colourway as it will be true magic with your ginger hair, but it’s such a universally complimentary colour that I can’t think of a single hair colour or skin tone that wouldn’t wow in this dress.

joan1 Continue reading →

The Brit & The Belle: Our Pinup Transformations

Posted on by
22

Sarah Forshaw (@Forshawsarah) and Miss Amy May  (@miss_amy_may) are southern belle and southern brit pinups, respectively, who found one another on Instagram part way through their pinup transformations in mid 2013, at which point they tentatively, then all of a sudden, become devoted and divine friends. Bonding over their urge to bring full on glamour to their every day lives, their shared opinions on cake, and their fierce nerd hearts, the two quickly began to look upon one another as fabulous sisters–who simply hadn’t met yet outside the confines of the interwebs. Due to finally meet IRL to share many squishy hugs and swing-skirted spins in fall 2015, they’re opening up their friendship and their closets to you in this shared blog post while they eagerly await their meeting.

amysbefore

sarahsbefore

Continue reading →

A Blouse Named Alika

Posted on by
2

For those of you who read my last blog A Dress Named Alika about the Tatyana Alika dress you’ll know I coveted that dress for nigh on a year before I was able to make it mine. It was the gorgeous lattice detail neckline that made me want that dress so badly, so imagine my delight when I logged into the Tatyana website a little while back to check out their Buy One Get One offer only to find they now offered an Alika blouse with that same gorgeous lattice work and a flattering peplum cut. I literally gasped when I saw it, my heart rate increasing. I began swatting at my phone in a panic to load the purchase page as if worried every other pinup in the world might be making this same discovery simultaneously and could cause this item to go out of stock even as I was attempting to buy it. A bit dramatic, but sometimes I excited about pretty things.

With the item safely purchased, I could not wait for my package to arrive! And when it did I was just as in love with this blouse as I thought I would be.

walika4
 walika7
walika6
walika2
 walika9 Continue reading →

A Dress Named Alika

Posted on by
12

When I was but a newbie pinup–when I was tentatively attempting to craft a retro look out of cheap dancewear circle skirts and still scared of red lipstick–there were 3 dresses I saw in my online wanderings that made me swoon and sigh with want and desire: the Pinup Girl Clothing Monica dress, their Sailor Swing dress, and the Tatyana (then Bettie Page) Alika dress. The Alika dress runs for $150 in the US and in the UK around £120, sadly out of my typical budget, so at the time I yearned and gurned and craved, stored it in the not-so-little part of my brain that houses my dream ‘one day’ wardrobe, and moved on with my life.

Until this summer, when I happened to have an upcoming wedding to attend, and the Alika dress was marked down to $120 in a sale. Our time had come! This would be the perfect opportunity to treat myself to this dress. The Alika, that black elegant goddess of glamour and style, was going to be my lady.

Now that we’re together I am so glad our time finally did come, because we were meant to be. Alika and I went for a little stroll together in the woods to share with you our love.

alika6 Continue reading →

Pincurls Part 2: The Sculpture Pin Curler Tool

Posted on by
5

I showed you pincurling beginners how to start working on your pincurls only a few weeks ago, but I’m very excited to be able to show you another way to achieve perfect pincurls now without the weeks and months of practise. How? By using a pincurling tool, specifically the  Sculpture Pin Curler Tool.

pincurlerset1

pincurlerset2 Continue reading →

The Classic Trench With A Little Extra Swing [Collectif Dietrich]

Posted on by
9

I am a lover of big skirts. Not just big, massive. Gathered circle skirts so roomy I can fit two petticoats underneath. Which is all well and good in summer when I can flounce around as circumference-ly bloated as I please, but come winter it becomes a problem when I need to find a coat that will encompass such voluminous extremes without awkward gaping. There are a few retro repro brands which produce good quality coats, and even ones with a full swing skirt, but I wanted a coat that was classic and weather adaptable without being a super heavy fabric or out of this world glamorous (I know, that’s probably the only time you will witness such a sentiment being expressed by yours truly.) Basically I wanted a classic trench coat but with a big ol’ skirt.

Enter Collectif. This Dietrich swing coat of theirs has been around a while and available in a few colourways. I’ve come close to buying it a few times before but always when it technically was not the right season to be spending £95 on a coat. Collectif are pretty good at having regular sales, though, so at the end of summer I snapped it up for £60. Who doesn’t love a third off? Well you’ll be thrilled to hear that right now it’s on sale for an even smaller sum of £47.50, less than half price. Good luck resisting that!

This coat has all the classic structure and detailing of your timeless trench coat, with a swing skirt that really will keep your skirt entirely covered. I took one of my beautiful friends and her camera out with me on a dreary Saturday to show you just how well this coat will protect your precious pinup duds this winter season, including testing its capabilities of wrangling my infamously double-petticoated dress beneath.

12 Continue reading →