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

Empowerment & Re-Embracing My Inner Pinup Girl [Ruby’s Musings Guest Post]

Today I’m thrilled to bring you a lovely guest post from Ruby of Ruby’s Musings, a fabulous retro housewife (her words!) who blogs about all aspects of her vintage-style life. This post tells the wonderful story of a pinup finding herself again by re-embracing the style that had fallen by the wayside for her during life’s trials and her mistaken belief that she might be ‘too old’ for the style she has always loved.

Finding Empowerment by Re-embracing My Inner Pin Up Girl by Ruby of Ruby’s Musings

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I find myself laying on my bed, in a vintage night gown, posing while my daughter takes my photo, and I forget that I recently had breast surgery that was for the removal of breast implants, that are still healing, and much smaller than I have been in 20 plus years. I ignore my lumpy bumpy skin texture, my stretch marks even the fact that the skin my neck is not as firm as it once was. I am embracing my inner pin up, after a 10 year break, at the age of 49.  Before long, I am touching up my cat eye make up, re-applying my red lip stick and putting on my petticoat under my recently purchased vintage dress so that I can pose for some more photos to use for my blog and facebook page, even Instagram …. not feeling at all silly as I do pose after pose with cheeky facial expressions and jetting my hip out in an exaggerated manner to get just the right shot.  I have come a very long way. 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

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