Pretty Pia [Voodoo Vixen]

Posted on December 21, 2015 by missamymay

I have a thing for winter appropriate prints, checks, tweeds and weighted fabrics. They never go out of style, which means when you buy a piece in that kind of fabric you know you can wear it year after year regardless of the passing current trends. This holds even more true when the pieces are vintage inspired, so I was pleased to see that Voodoo Vixen made several pieces in their AW15 line that fit this outline.

The Pia pencil skirt is the one that most caught my eye from the VV workwear appropriate new pieces. It’s a lightweight highwaisted grey pencil skirt sporting a tweed inspired print with kick pleats in the back. From the same AW line I picked up the Sophie top, a black three quarter sleeved top with plenty of stretch for comfort and a great button detail staired neckline.

Voodoo Vixen Pia Skirt & Sophie Top Continue reading →

Little Filly in Tiger-Lilly [Voodoo Vixen]

Posted on December 3, 2015 by missamymay

I love me some autumn and winter appropriate fabrics. Anything tweed, check, plaid, it all makes me really like this time of year when the dreary British weather can make it so much easier to dislike it. Finding swing dresses, rather than wiggles, in those fabrics can be harder, which is why I was excited when I came across the Tiger-Lilly dress by Voodoo Vixen.

Featuring a flared swing skirt, half sleeves, matching fabric belt, pockets, and a wide collar and button combination detail, this dress is a great piece for cooler weather.

Voodoo Vixen Tiger-Lilly dress Continue reading →

Fur Trimmed & Fabulous [Collectif Andrea]

Posted on December 1, 2015 by missamymay

Earlier this AW season Collectif released their Juliette dress, a gorgeous black pencil dress with faux fur trim on the neckline, cuffs and hemline. I swooned and coveted. It was so classic and chic. Warm too, I suspected. And of course it sold out quickly. So I was thrilled to see they were bringing out a matching skirt too. Sporting the same luxiourius faux fur hemline trim, the Andrea skirt has all the glamour of the Juliette dress with the additional versatility of a skirt.

And guess what? I love it.

Collectif Andrea Skirt Continue reading →

Pretty in Plaid [Hell Bunny Aberdeen]

Posted on November 27, 2015 by missamymay

I love black watch tartan. I’ve wanted a dress or full circle skirt in that colour of tartan for ages, but each time I find one it’s always out of stock. So imagine my delight when I found the Hell Bunny Aberdeen dress in just that print.

Hell Bunny AW15 Aberdeen Tartan Dublin dress Continue reading →

Sweet Suzanne [Voodoo Vixen]

Posted on November 23, 2015 by missamymay

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November is the month of poppies because poppies symbolize the fallen of the First World War on Remembrance day, November 11th. In Britain especially it’s a somber, respectful time, with red poppies flashing at you from the lapels of workmates, family, friends and strangers almost everywhere you go not just during the week of November 11th, but for much of the month.

For me, poppies hold a second association. On November 23rd 2003, my dad passed away following a 2 year battle against cancer. It was a difficult time and I barely remember anything much of the week and a half following his death. I remember coming home from the hospice and changing into the pair of clean spare pyjamas we had taken for him, not sure how long he would be in hospice–2 days–and I remember sitting at our lounge table a week later, trying to decide what to write on the little card presented to me that would be pinned to the flowers that would be lain on his casket.

We had poppies.

I remember the poppies. Continue reading →

Pretty in Plaid [Stop Staring! Dorathy dress]

Posted on November 20, 2015 by missamymay

I don’t have a huge amount of experience with Stop Staring! I’ve only tried some of their wiggle dresses before while modelling for Deadly Is The Female and In Retrospect. I’ve always wanted to try some of their swing dresses but none had taken my fancy enough to order internationally until I saw this grey plaid Dorathy dress on Miss Victory Violet recently.

I put it into my cart on the SS website just ‘in case’ it ever went on sale then promptly forgot about it. Within a few weeks Stop Staring! held a $85 dresses sale, and what would you know, not only was the Dorathy dress included but I also happened to be in the states, meaning I could get free domestic delivery rather than shelling out the fees to receive it in the UK. Time for me to give Stop Staring! a whirl!

Stop Staring! Dorathy grey plaid swing dress Continue reading →

Doll Me Up, Darling!

Posted on November 9, 2015 by missamymay

If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll have seen past mentions of Doll Me Up . They’re my number one choice for getting LA Splash lip products delivered inexpensively to the UK, and my black evening dress gets a lot of wear, particularly as it’s easily thrown on when I make last minute plans. It’s comfortable and simple, yet people always compliment me on it. I’ve recently bought it in red and know that this dress, too, will become a wardrobe staple that receives constant wear.

Doll Me Up have really expanded their stock lines this year, offering a wide selection of cardigans, both cropped and not, one of the prettiest selections of hair scarves I’ve ever come across, and tons of separates to mix and match. More often than not I’m a dress wearing girl, but DMU have plenty to offer there too. Recently I got my little British paws on the Sunrise to Sunset dress, one I’ve been wanting for an age, and took to the Texan woods to photograph it for you with help of my dear friend Sarah.

Doll Me Up Darling Tootsie Cardigan sunrise to sunset Dress Continue reading →

Building a Pinup Wardrobe from Bargains

Posted on September 24, 2015 by missamymay

Building a pinup wardrobe from scratch can be an expensive thing, not merely because replacing all your clothes with a specific style means buying a whole wardrobe of clothes is a lot of pieces to be purchasing, but also because good quality reproduction clothing costs. It’s a niche market, automatically making costs higher, but also because most repro clothing companies like to invest in good quality materials, a thorough fitting process during the design process, and ethical labour costs often based in-country rather than sent out of country to continents where labour laws cost the workers and not the companies.

There are pinup brands for every budget, but there are also ways to build your wardrobe with items you love without having to bust out coin you don’t have. Here, I’ll be laying out every trick I’ve learned over the past 3 years to get the best deal you can in your retro shopping.

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Sign up: Every company that sells their owns goods online will have a ‘sign up for our newsletter’ option on their website. Do it! Not only do a lot of companies offer you a free gift or a discount code just for signing up to their newsletter, but the newsletter itself will give you a heads up on any sales or discount codes they’re offering, delivered straight to your inbox, sometimes with codes or sales held only for newsletter recipients. Continue reading →

Sweet, Fair Isabella [Lady V London]

Posted on June 3, 2015 by missamymay

The Isabella dress by Lady V London isn’t a new design for the company, but as it’s rapidly approaching summer they’ve added a lovely selection of new prints to their SS line of the style. When an email announcing as such hit my inbox last week the pink rose on cream floral colourway immediately caught my eye. A few days later, thanks to the generosity of Lady V, I had it in my happy little hands (and on my body) ready to show you why I fell for it.

isabella rose cream lady v london

I love this colourway. I know that will surprise some of you as I am nothing if not outspoken about my almost-all-encompassing hatred of the colour pink, but one of the few ways I can not only stand the shade, but indeed like it, is when included in floral prints, especially when balanced out with touches of green or blue. This print, therefore, is perfect. The cream background keeps this print from being ‘too girly’ for a girl like me whose sentiments typically run somewhere between the bold and the classic, and the latter is certainly a perfect word for this print. Continue reading →

The Sweetheart Pinup Top by The Oblong Box Shop

Posted on August 25, 2014 by missamymay

I’d seen The Oblong Box Shop Sweetheart Pinup Tops online a few weeks ago when reviewed by the gorgeous duo Junebugs and Georgia Peaches, otherwise known on Instagram as modernjunecleaver and ameliajetson. At the time I loved the idea but didn’t want to pay for the international shipping for one top, which is all I had left of my monthly budget.

Not long ago I thought of the tops again and went back to the site to check them out. At $20 a top with the current USD to GBP exchange rate that puts each top at £12-thereabouts, which is a downright bargain. Considering I was tempted by about 5 colours and that the international shipping was now being offered at $17 flat rate USPS, I decided to place my order.

Available in 9 colours, I narrowed down my lust list to the canary yellow, cobalt blue and white, resisting the urge to pick red, black or navy, as would be my usual default wardrobe staples. I was trying a new product from a new brand, so why not try some new colourways. The USPS shipping said it could take up to 21 days and was untrackable, so I placed my order and prepared to wait out the full term.

Continue reading →