Remember how I said a few posts back that I’m really picky about prints, that I generally stay clear of animals and fruit but that there’s exceptions to every rule? Well helllloooo Springtime 2017 Amy, who is, apparently, breaking her print rules ALL OVER THE PLACE.
This time around, it’s fruits that have got me feeling adventurous, namely lemons. Oh did I say adventurous? Clearly I meant zesty. Ba dum cha!
Continue reading
I do love a good floral, whether it’s delicate or oversized, pastel or bright, abstract or ultra real. People talk about what a cliché it is to wear florals for spring (Devil Wears Prada, anyone?) but I think it’s one of those things that’s a cliché because it really does work. There’s truth there. Florals look good on everyone and they make getting dressed in spring and summer feel as breezy and beautiful as the weather outside.
Saying all that, I love it when a floral is available which flouts the usual offerings in floral prints. It’s fun to find something that’s out of the norm, whether that’s because the design is a bit geometric and oversized or because it’s a flower you’ve never seen before, or because, like this Amber dress from Voodoo Vixen, it chooses to showcase an oft-overlooked colour on which to frame it’s floral print.
This bright yet unoffensive mid-blue isn’t used in clothing as often as I would expect it to be give how much people seem to lose their minds when I wear this kind of shade. Perhaps people just like how it contrasts with my pale skin and dark red hair, but they seem to show equal love for the colour itself, not merely how it wears on me, so I feel like it must be an underestimated colour in general. Regarding this dress in particular, I love that this blue combined with the white, yellow and pink flowers create a floral dress that is summery, airy and fun all without being overpowering. If you wanted to load up on brights you could easily accessorise with reds, yellows or even lime to make this dress POP, but alone it’s a floral that isn’t softly spoken nor shouty, a solid middle-ground kind of print that’s interesting and beautiful.
You may or may not know that I am very selective about my novelty prints. If they’re too cartoony, whimsical or bright, I tend to stay away. Same with featuring animals and fruit, typically. But, you know, there are exceptions to every rule, and the new Toucan print Estella dress from Lady Voluptuous’s SS17 line is one of them.
Considering it features both fruit and animals by way of pineapples and birds, you’d think it would be a no go for me, but colour plays a big part in what appeals to me about a print and it was the colour scheme of this birdie pattern that really reeled me in. The muted mid blues of the flora contrasted against the mustardy yellow of the pineapples and the rich navy blue of the toucans are magic for me, combining some of my favourite shades in one summery print that somehow isn’t garish, overpowering, or even brow-beatingly tropical despite the toucans and fruit. It’s kind of like a tropical print done by way of England, where our summers are typically breezy, less than sweltering, and sometimes a bit damp. This print is Summer Lite, if you will, Tropical Paradise at Twilight, Birds Sheltering From A Monsoon. It’s subtle as well as fun, and I like it a lot.
In case you haven’t heard of Louella DeVille, I’m here to do you a favour by telling you: y’all, you need to know about Louella DeVille. It might spark your sense of recognition if I tell you that this clothing line is designed by and sold through what was once Your One Stop Pinup Shop, an Australian pinup boutique that has in the past included brick-and-mortar stores, pinup pamper photography session packages and, a while back, the original beginnings of this clothing line, before owner Bek’s lovely daughter began to walk and Bek put the line on hold.
Over the following years as her little girl grew, Bek grew her business with those Australian stores, as well as photographing hundreds of ladies in their pinup finest in her studio. Last year Bek moved the store entirely online, becoming Louella DeVille Boutique, and recently, finally, the time came for her to bring her ideas of her own vintage inspired clothing line back out to play. Continue reading
We may be gearing up to move into spring, but this autumn/winter season I developed a serious thing for burgundy and I don’t see that affection going away any time soon. It’s not even that I didn’t like the colour before only to suddenly see the merit in it, but my liking of it increased so suddenly you might be forgiven for thinking that the case. Possibly my normal obsession with red simply spread wider at the edges, encompassing the moodier, darker iterations of the shade, but no matter how it came to be, where it brought me was to the here and now, with my claret Lana dress.
Vivien of Holloway are renowned for producing their staple dress designs in dozens of different colours and patterns, leading to ladies with collections of Halter Neck Circle Dresses or Sarong sets. I noticed the Lana dress for the first time perhaps the winter before this one, so I’m not sure if that was it’s first release or whether I was just blissfully ignorant before then. What struck me most about this design was the beautiful draping of the neckline. I’m not really a 40s girl when it comes to my own wardrobe, much as I appreciate the styles, but when it came to Lana, I had little choice in the matter. Pass over that drape-age? I think not. I could resist the style when it came mainly in dark florals, but once this claret was released, I was powerless.
I feel like every season I say Collectif has outdone their last season, and yet here we are again, with li’l ol’ me fully in love with Collectif’s SS17. The particular torture of this love affair is that I actually got to view the line last September, so I’ve had 5 months of remembering what beauties lie ahead of us and eagerly awaiting the releases with grabby hands while also not trying to wish time away purely for the sake of clothes. But, you know, I was tempted to. Because if you haven’t seen Collectif’s new offerings rolling in to the New In section on their website, you might want to take a little look at the new arrivals, as well as at their Lookbook to see what other magic they’ve got in store for us. Continue reading
Divine by name, divine by nature, this faux-fur trimmed jacket first caught my eye at London Edge previews back in September and hasn’t left me since. You might think, considering that, that I had planned to buy it, but I actually talked myself out of needing it in an unusual spurt of very adulty budgetary conscientiousness. (Yes, because I’m sure real adults say ‘adulty.’ I also say ‘Growed-ups.’ I’m not kidding anyone, am I?)
Yes, it’s a gorgeous piece that can be worn both as top and jacket, but I have more than one faux fur trimmed coat and rarely wear wiggles, with which I felt it would pair best, so it just made sense to let it pass me by.
…Buuuut then UK favourites Deadly is the Female began to stock it and OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT MUMMA’S GOT HERSELF A SEXY NEW FLUFF JACKET. Whoopsie! #sorrynotsorry
Dancing Days’ Modern Love top has been around at least since this past SS16 season. Since Dancing Days is a wholesale only brand (selling their line exclusively to stockists but not selling themselves through their own website,) I often find it’s easy to miss some of their pieces altogether, or else to struggle to find your most accessible stockist once you know there’s something you want. It’s a little frustrating because they have some amazing pieces to offer, but that extra little bit of work in finding them for sale tends to be worthwhile.
I was browsing the New In section on Unique Vintage a while back when I saw the Modern Love top available in Yolk, aka mustard yellow, a colour I’ve becoming increasingly obsessed with. I happily buy from Unique Vintage and have it delivered here in the UK, but for a single top the international delivery seemed an excessive step, so I set out to find a European stockist. Continue reading
You might not know it because I wear dresses almost exclusively, but I own quite a few skirts too. Whether circle or gathered, when I spot a new vintage-style skirt that makes me swoon I am just as quick to order it as I am a dress. Somehow, though, they seem to get royally shafted in my dress-to-skirt wear ratio. I thought this was because I am a crazy person who makes no sense (and that may be the case on a separate matter entirely) but recently I began to wonder if it’s because I just don’t own enough tops. And not just enough tops, but the right kinds of tops.
Comfortable tops that fit properly and are sleeved for winter. I don’t want something cheap and flimsy that’s going to fall apart after a couple of washes, nor do I want a top like that to cling to all my lumps and bumps. No, I need sturdy tops that can be relied upon and reached for at the last moment, without the need for such mental preparation as ‘Oh, yeah, if I go buy a different bra and a camisole, and maybe don’t bend over while I wear it or eat much, that would look really good to wear on Tuesday night with my blue skirt.’ No thank you.
But the Sophie top, by Voodoo Vixen? Yes, thank you. Thank you very much indeed.
There were two pieces from Collectif’s autumn/winter season last year that were so perfect they made my knees feel a bit wobbly. You know, the way you get when the guy you have a crush on first texts you ‘Morning beautiful!’ Or when you’re looking at a really, really good looking doughnut. Yeah, you know the kind. Sexy, sexy glaze, nice plump looking dough, maybe some sprinkled crumbled cookie pieces…Mmm.
Wait, what was I saying?
Oh right, Collectif absolutely f*%$ing nailing it.
Miss Amy May 