Splendid Splendette

Posted on October 10, 2016 by missamymay

Splendette Fakelite Handmade Carved bangles AW16

If you pay much attention to my accessories, whether in my blog posts or my daily outfit posts on Instagram, then you’re bound to have noticed a sudden change that occurred early on this summer: I became addicted to Splendette.

In a way, I don’t know how it happened. Well, no, that’s a lie. I do. They produce hand made, beautifully carved, quality pieces that are reasonably priced and can be paired with a plethora of outfits. That was always their selling point. But it was the green that did it. This summer, Splendette released a vibrant new range of solid coloured fakelite bangles in bright new shades, including Chartreuse and Leaf Green. And I was immediately a goner. Because GREEN, you guys. Continue reading →

Polly Wants Some Trouble [Miss Fortune]

Posted on October 3, 2016 by missamymay

I’m gonna get this out of my way right at the start: I am not normally a leopard print fan. I once heard someone say that (paraphrased) it is a print that is abundantly used in the fashion industry by the very cheap and the very expensive, and I think that perfectly encapsulates how I feel about the print on the whole. When done well, it’s sexy and chic and luxurious. Done badly, it looks…well, cheap. And while there’s nothing wrong with building a wardrobe in a thrifty manner, I think we all tend to hope our £3 bargain we were excited to snag doesn’t actually scream ‘THIS COST £3!’ We just want to be able to say that in an enthusiastic half-bragging fashion when someone cooes over how gorgeous it is. There’s a difference.

So with leopard print, I feel it’s a fine line. For that reason, I’ve stayed clear of it in the past, overlooking it in favour of prints or patterns that are less difficult to ‘get right.’ In recent months, however, I’ve found myself drawn to the print. Perhaps being in the pinup community means I’ve simply been exposed to a lot of brands who have got it right by leaning on their vintage inspirations to nail the sexy, stylish essence of the print. No matter the reason, lately I’ve been searching around for a leopard print top I can pair with a black pencil skirt and a sassy attitude to feel as slinky as the jungle cat it mimics. Thanks to Miss Fortune, I’ve found that top: the Leopard Polly Blouse.

Miss Fortune UK Leopard Print Polly Blouse Continue reading →

September Outfits Round Up

Posted on September 30, 2016 by missamymay

September messed with us all here in England. It kept being (quote unquote) hot again. Which is fine–given we generally have crap summers you’d think we would be excited to have some surprisingly warm stretches in the first month of autumn. Sort of, but not really. Because I’m so ready to dig out my autumn wardrobe, as well as wear the new additions to it I’ve been buying the last few weeks, and so far there has rarely been the chance. My tartan, tweeds and plaids have gone unloved, my checks and flannels have been sadly unattended to. My summer clothes are pretty, but damnit I just want to wear the fall stuff.

So let’s be more sensible, October, shall we? You don’t have to rain or even get dreary (in fact, it would be kind of convenient for my blogging needs if you didn’t,) but a bit of a chill would be seasonally wonderful, if you would do me the honour. Okay? Okay. Just think about it, is all I’m asking. In the mean time, here’s the frustrated and temperature-confused collection of outfits I put together in September.

Lady Hay dress by Hell Bunny, thrifted belt, old season Everything5pounds.com heels

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Suavecita Grooming Spray [Deadly is the Female]

Posted on September 19, 2016 by missamymay

There’s a lot about vintage hairstyling that is difficult and takes time to master. There’s almost no style at all that I feel confident even saying I’ve mastered, and that largely comes down to how frizzy and hard to manage my hair is. I have a lot of it but it’s very fine, prone to flyaways and frizziness no matter the weather–although humidity, is, of course, my worst enemy, because it makes a bad situation so much worse.

Often I’ll brush out my pincurl set, add in all my sectioning clips and hairspray everything into place, feeling content I did my best with my limited skills and even more limited patience…And then I’ll move to somewhere with different lighting, or go to take a picture against a lightly coloured wall, and realise there’s a ton of frizz in my set that I hadn’t noticed while styling it against the dark background that’s reflected in my getting-ready mirror. At that point, with all the hairspray in place, I just have to let the style stand as it is, because trying to alter it would likely end up in an even bigger state. Continue reading →

A Touch of Jasmine [Collectif]

Posted on September 16, 2016 by missamymay

Let me introduce you all to my new favourite skirt, the Jasmine skirt by Collectif.

This season Jasmine comes in two Abstract Floral prints, blue or burgundy, but I’ve already asked Collectif to please release her in all the plain colours for upcoming seasons to fulfill all my skirty needs and dreams, because I have become wholly and immediately smitten.

Jasmine isn’t a totally new piece for AW, as you might recognise it from their paint pot print line this past SS16. I very nearly got it in the yellow colourway then, but for some reason I kept assuming it would be too short on me, or less voluminous than I prefer. I was totally wrong on both counts and I’m so excited to share my new love with you now. It might have taken us a while to come together, Jasmine and I, but we finally have, and it’s real. Expect an invite to our engagement party any day now.

Jasmine Abstract Floral Print Skirt Blue Collectif Continue reading →

Librarian Fantasies [Miss Candyfloss]

Posted on September 8, 2016 by missamymay

Y’all. Prepare yourselves, because the Miss Candyfloss Librarian collection releasing this Autumn is alarming levels of perfect. I’m talking. IN. SANE. Unreal. Vintage Autumn countryside wonderfulness. I know that sounds dramatic, but every preview I’ve seen has given me the grabby-hands and I’ve begun stalking their website daily to check for new releases. Good thing too, because within an hour of the Chloe-Britt dress’s release it was sold out in multiple sizes. I very nearly missed out, but thank Floss I got lucky.

The Chloe-Britt is a rust and tweedy brown dose of Autumn elegance and I’m in love with it. Both brown and shades of orange are colours that I typically stay away from because I don’t feel they do anything for me, but this dress was so pretty I had to take the leap and just hope against hope that it worked out. Happy, happy sighs, I do believe it did. I’ll let you judge for yourself.

Miss Candyfloss Librarian Collection Chloe-Britt Dress Continue reading →

August Outfits Round Up

Posted on September 2, 2016 by missamymay

Oh August. You were a mixed bag. It was a surprisingly hot month, as far as us Brits are concerned anyway, so there was lots of dressing for comfort and humidity. There was also a bad run of luck on my end specifically, with a broken camera lens and then a severed phone line removing my access to wifi that made taking and uploading outfit photos and blog posts a big challenge. Basically, I am very ready for September and cooler weather. (Bearing in mind, I reserve the right to then complain about how difficult that bad weather might make taking blog photos once it sets in. I know. I’m a complicated woman sometimes. Just go with it.)

Now, let’s say farewell to summer with August’s outfits.

Leslie Dress by Voodoo Vixen, Red Strappy Heels by New Look

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Lovely Nora-Lee [Miss Candyfloss]

Posted on August 22, 2016 by missamymay

Miss Candyfloss won me over when I purchased their Gigi jumpsuit at the end of last year. It’s chic, classic and modest, which happens to be a description that can be applied to their entire line. Their signature design feature is their pleated bust detail, which is flattering and pretty on all bust sizes. Earlier this summer I went on a little mission to check out what other pieces they offer besides the Gigi with that bust detail, looking for something with a full skirt and a summery feel because, shock horror, for once we were actually broadcast a decent summer. I decided upon the Nora-Lee dress.

I’ve been massively into blues lately, of almost all shades, but especially soft shades like periwinkle and cornflower blue, so this dress immediately drew me in. Once you add in the fact that it has punctuations of red, my favourite accessorising colour, I was sold.
Miss Candyfloss Nora Lee dress Continue reading →

Patio Perfection + GIVEAWAY [Lady K Loves]

Posted on August 17, 2016 by missamymay

Patio dresses are popular pieces amongst 50s loving modern pinups. As a plus size gal, whenever I see a patio-dress-clad lovely pop up on my Instagram feed I sigh a little inside, knowing I don’t have the time or the funds to conduct a widespread search for a patio dress that might fit me.

So imagine how excited I got a few months back to be scrolling through my Instagram feed, again (always, basically,) and come across this preview:

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July Outfits Round Up

Posted on August 1, 2016 by missamymay

After a kind of funky June that left me a bit tired and fed up, I’m pleased to report that July was a much better month. We actually had some summer (a big deal for us Brits, rain-sodden and perpetually cloud-shrouded as we are,) there was a lot of great quality time with family and friends, and there were outfits, as always, lots of outfits.

As usual, you can find links in the description to any item that is still available to buy. Anything not linked is from a past season and cannot be found for purchase any longer and/or is not available to buy online from the website from which I purchased it. To help give you some clarification that might make it easier for you to find certain items, please note that an item listed as ‘by’ a brand was designed by that brand, but items listed ‘from’ means that website merely sells the item and is not the designer, meaning you may be able to find it elsewhere with some searching.