I figure it must be near-impossible for anyone reading my blog not to know by now that I am, yes, a Harry Potter nerd. I mean, if my 4-part vintage style Hogwarts houses series of a couple months back didn’t give it away then I’m just not sure what else would. But in case you need any more hints or Hungarian Horntail-sized clues that I am all about that Potter life, this post should do it; folks, I made myself a Weasley sweater.
Lady V London produce a variety of dress styles that have become staples of their brand, re-releasing them in new prints and colours each season. For lovers of a particular dress shape, that means ladies can stock their wardrobe with a piece they know works well for them in lots of different patterns and colours suitable for every occasion. One of Lady V London’s most popular and enduring dress cuts is their Hepburn dress, a classic ‘audrey’ style sleeveless dress with a modest round neckline and a long, full swing skirt. I’m somewhat amazed it’s taken me this long to try out a Hepburn, but I’m not surprised to find it’s as timeless and lovely as I would have predicted.
They say that everyone has a base colour they build their wardrobe around, either black, navy or brown. For me by neutral base has always been black, with a leaning towards navy in summer. Brown, though, has never really interested me, whether in pale near-grey tones or rich chocolate. Until recently. Suddenly, in my ever-expanding love for autumn styling, I’ve begun to wonder whether brown tones suit me, and whether it’s a colour I should be adding in to my wardrobe. So when I saw this Charlotte dress by Lindybop, I knew I had found the contender that could make me try.
It’s been a quiet month again since, much like August, my foot pain has limited how far I can travel and when I can be social. Still, I’m excited it feels truly like autumn now, even if the leaves haven’t begun to change yet. Soon there’ll be pretty colours, snuggly evenings on the sofa and the chance to break out my most fabulous and warm winter coats. Bring it!
Me-made Weasley sweater (how to blog post next week,) Blue Jade dress by Collectif dyed Dylon Olive Green and worn as a skirt, Chestnut Jewel shoes by Hotter, self coloured and cut clip in bangs from eBay, Irresistible Me Rosewood 99J full lace human hair wig.
It’s been an odd couple months with my plantar fasciitis and piriformis syndrome impeding my ability to shoot outfits as regularly as I usually would, so I thought I’d share with you some of the new things I’ve been trialing or enjoying lately that have become some of my new favourites. From makeup and skincare to footwear and audiobooks, it’s a mixed bag of fun!
It’s September and the weather seems to have settled for long enough that I think we can finally call it; it’s Autumn! And while for many that means getting overexcited about Halloween, something I could not care less about, for me it means joyously waiting for the leaves to start changing colours (my absolutely favourite part of the season,) beginning to layer up, and the chance to dig out all my tartans from the back of my wardrobe. Tartans and plaids are my favourite part of autumn and winter dressing, hands down, so I was thrilled to see Hell Bunny offering us more new tartan lovelies this season. Oh Hell Bunny, I can always count on you to make me happy. Today, it’s with Irvine.
Hair set with medium Curlettes
If there was one part of adopting the vintage style that I would say was the most difficult for me, it was the hair. Weirdly, that is also the part of the whole look that I tackled first, without even really intending to adopt the entire look altogether. I just wanted to have nice curls again, achieved in a heat-free way, after extreme heat styling had damaged my natural curls beyond repair.
I began with pincurls. Over time they became my favourite method of setting my hair even after I branched out into trying different types of rollers, whether bendy, Velcro, or foam, but in the beginning learning the technique and achieving a good brush out was a laborious, long-winded and often frustrating experience. I don’t regret it, because eventually I learned the pincurling technique well, but if a Pinup Godmother had come to me then, back at the beginning, and said ‘here, you can achieve a lovely vintage set with these handmade crocheted rollers which are, by the way, also comfortable to sleep in,’ I probably would have cried. Baby Pinup Amy didn’t know about Curlettes, but Present Day Pinup Amy does, and she’s a fan.
Top to bottom: Composer, Founder, Ground-Breaker, Dancer, Artist, Inspirer
Maybelline’s Superstay Matte Ink liquid lipsticks are, hands down, my favourite lipstick. They are as close to infallible as I’ve ever found a lip colour to be, able to survive even eating a burger with only minimal wear-off on the inner lip, and their slightly tacky but transfer-proof feel keeps them comfortable all day.
Their original launch included 10 colours, followed by their Un-nude collection which included 10 more in, as the name suggests, both expected and unexpected neutral tones. Their latest expansion, the City Edition, adds 10 more shades to the range, but I struggled to find any swatches of the shades online when the colours launched. Impatient as I am, I did as much sleuthing as I could online before winging it with an order for the shades I thought most likely to suit me from Superdrug.com, where they were included in their famous 3 for 2 offer.
I’ve got 6 of the 10 new shades swatched and detailed for you below; Composer, Founder, Ground-Breaker, Dancer, Artist and Inspirer. Let’s go!
Once upon a time the only hairstyle I rocked as a pinup was my brushed out pincurl sets. It worked for me well enough and it was something I was so comfortable with that I didn’t want to dedicate any time or effort into experimenting with different hairstyles and accessories. That changed in 2016 when I experienced a brief brush with Alopecia (here’s the full post about my experience.)
It’s been a strange month. Starting off hot then dipping into cooler and wet weather that made it feel a lot like Autumn had arrived early, it’s been hard to decide a lot of the time what to wear. It’s also been a busy month, with 4 family birthdays being celebrated, and my schedule on the whole complicated by the fact that I’ve been nursing a foot injury for more than 4 weeks. I finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis, resulting in me being signed off work for 2 weeks to heal because my job was constantly irritating my foot into a worsening state that couldn’t heal. As such, there’s been several times this month I’ve had to abandon plans to shoot outfits for review on the blog because my foot has been too painful to stand or walk, which is why it’s been a quiet month on here. I’ve also had to abandon the footwear displayed in these photos several times during social events for a pair of memory foam slip-on trainers when the pain has become too much.
Foiled Outlaw jacket by Collectif, Panthera 50s dress by Hell Bunny (discount code AMYMAY20!%), self coloured and cut real hair clip-in bangs from eBay, Full lace front real hair Rosewood 99J wig by Irresistible Me, Velvet ballet pumps from New Look
Miss Amy May 