Body Positivity At The Beach [UV Swimsuit]

Unique Vintage Brigitte Cut Out Swimsuit Body Positive

This post is long overdue. We took the pictures for it on a beach day with my niblings way back in May, but I’ve been putting off writing about it because we took so many pictures that day that I was dreading having to sort through them all just to find a select few for the post. 

Let me state that again.

We took so many pictures of me in a bathing suit, in public, that choosing my favourites seemed like too big a job to commit to in my busy schedule.

I didn’t fully realise that fact until lately, but the truth of that is kind of insane. Continue reading

Wasp Waist [Orchard Corset Mesh Waspie CS-201]

I’m not a corset wearer in general and certainly not a waist-trainer or tight-lacer. For this reason I can’t claim this review will have all the particular informative depth of a person who has extensive experience in that area, but I can review this corset as a hourglass woman who carries her weight on her stomach, has recently gained enough weight that she feels shapewear in wiggles is a necessity for a better, smoother silhouette, and has tried a lot of different kinds of shapewear of varying degrees of comfort and control strength in an attempt to find the best option.

I probably own 15 corsets, some of them purely fashion corsets with shoddy, cheap plastic boning for costume and play, and some middle-ground quality corsets with full steel bones and decent cinching power. I’d been curious about this Orchard Corset CS-201 Mesh Waspie for quite a long time because I wanted to get a waspie corset that I hoped would give me a more pronounced waist in wiggle dresses without having to go the route of wearing a full corset or a longline underbust that would dig into me when I sat in it. Plus the fact that this corset is mesh made me sure it would be more comfortable in warmer weathers and stuffy rooms than layering a ‘proper’ corset underneath my clothing. Continue reading

My Pinup Life: The Opportunities, Body Positivity & Friends

I’ve wanted the Dita Von Teese Her Sexellency longline bra for months and months now. For a long time I was sad that I could not find it anywhere in the UK. I had visions of wearing it much as Dita herself does as a beautiful, slightly raunchy and sexy top paired with a high-waisted pencil skirt. Regularly I looked online for it, only to come across stockists in Australia or America that wouldn’t ship internationally. Finally, unexpectedly, one of my friends on Instagram, lovely Brit-living-in-Australia @Nadiafaye found it on a mall trip, and was not only happy to pick it up for me and ship it over, but even managed to find it at 40% off. An international bargain answering my shopping prayers? What more could a girl ask for?

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My bra arrived in less than a week from the other side of the world and I immediately donned it with my Pinup Girl Clothing Flamenco Mermaid skirt. I added a cropped cardigan to tone down the sauce factor a little bit and because, let’s face it, mid-March in England is not a warm month. Wearing that outfit I felt sassy and sexy and confident, but above all else, grateful. Continue reading

Renee, Darling & Daring

Last summer Pinup Girl Clothing previewed the Renee dress, a halter neck dress with faux tied bust, Jenny-esque gathered skirt, and, most notable of all, a midriff cut out. Coming in 5 prints–Tipsy Elephant, Mint Pinup Girl, Navy and white Anchor print, and plain red and plain black–I immediately fell in love. Looking at the dress on Doris Mayday it, of course, looked utterly perfect. But I don’t have Doris’s body, and I have probably bared my midriff maybe thrice in my life? And that is just a guestimate as to what seems likely, not based on any actual memories of having done so. My stomach and its general surrounding area is my low-confidence area. So, while I haunted the Coming Soon section last summer waiting for the Renee (and the other dresses I was lusting after) to drop, I battled with myself as to whether I would have the ovaries to buy Renee when she came out.

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All 5 Renee dresses, pictures courtesey of Pinupgirlclothing.com

Continue reading

Falling In Love With Yourself This Year [#LovingMeIn2015]

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I find it vaguely alarming that we’re already in 2015, but it’s exciting too because there’s a lot of events and plans I have for this year that I’m excited for. 2014 was good to me: I really found a polish and confidence in my pinup style that made me feel I’m continuing to grow and blossom as a woman; I began this blog and through it met a lot of lovely individuals through both followers and companies alike; but perhaps more importantly of all, I gained a bunch of unwanted weight and learned to love myself anyway.

It was no great surprise that I gained weight this year. My weight has always been something I’ve struggled to be consistent with because I straight up love food and hate exercising. It’s that simple. I’m kind of greedy, really. And this year I stopped exercising and I ate everything I wanted to eat. It’s not the healthiest thing to do because it’s important that everyone lead an active and balanced lifestyle. But I gave myself permission to focus on my life and my passions and enjoying myself, food included, to not beat myself up if I gained weight and to learn to love my body regardless of whether it swelled or shrank. I saw myself gaining weight, more than I wanted, but I still didn’t feel like I wanted to lose that weight, I didn’t feel I had to in order to feel comfortable or pretty or attractive, so I didn’t. I kept eating and I kept relaxing, and I didn’t stress about the lbs piling on. I began to love my body for the mere face that it exists and works and serves me beautifully even when my stomach is almost permanently sporting a food baby. I told myself that I am fabulous at any size, in any shape. And it’s true. I really believe I am. And I believe that kind of self-love and self-confidence is something every woman, every person, deserves to feel. Continue reading