You’re Allowed To Unpin

Posted on April 14, 2017 by missamymay

The pinup style is a very effort intensive one. Whether you wetset, heat set or prefer an elaborate set of victory rolls, the hair takes time to craft each evening or morning. The liner flicks and sharp brows and perfect pout all require regular practise and daily precision. The stockings and garter belts and corsets can all take a while to cinch into and layer up under the petticoats and swing dress or the slips and tight wiggles. All of these things are something you get faster at over time, and get used to, becoming an automatic part of your routine that you’re used to allowing time for. And part of being a pinup is that you love doing all these things, it excites you to get your glam on; if we hated doing it, then we wouldn’t do it. We enjoy it.

That being said, we don’t always enjoy it. There’s not a pinup I know who doesn’t have mornings when she wishes her liner wouldn’t take a full 10 minutes when it’s misbehaving, or that she could just wash her hair without having to plan which day it most makes sense to do so to make the most socially out of her fresh set. Sometimes there are days, weeks or even months when despite your love for the style, some of the things we do, or even all of them, just seem like too much effort.

That is okay. Continue reading →

#MissAmyMayInTheUSA: Style On Vacation

Posted on November 30, 2015 by missamymay

We all do it. We picture having a glamorous and stylish vacation during which we sport a new polished, put together outfit every day so we look groomed and pretty in all our holiday snaps. We think we will have ample time and energy to spare for putting in a wetset in the evening, or for creating an elaborate up-do on the morning after we’ve found 40 minutes to paint on a perfect pinup face. We think we will be able to handle the heat without changing our style or schedule at all.

We dream, basically. It’s a fantasy. Props to the people who manage that, because normally I’m not one of them. I have had the same fantasies about every vacation I’ve gone on since I’ve become a pinup, and while I normally manage to make at least some effort it’s never been the full force I’ve hoped for. And typically the chance to take outfit pictures has fallen by the wayside too.

So while I’ve done a full October run down of the month’s outfits as usual from last month including the October portion of my trip to America, I wanted to do a post that focuses particularly and honestly on what I wore while I was away, how I adapted my style to being away from my full wardrobe and vast collection of beauty supplies, and how my energy levels and motivations held up against the fantasy expectations of looking perfect and primped every day of a 15 day vacation spent in two different locations. Continue reading →

Anchors Away – Two Ways With Papow & Flo [Guest Bloggers]

Posted on October 19, 2015 by missamymay

Today’s guest post is brought to you by British blogging duo Papow & Flo. You can find them both on said mentioned fabulous blog, where they cover everything about their vintage style, including how to make it work for different body types and skin tones, and on their Papow & Flo Facebook page. Today they’re showing you how easy it is to take one dress and style it multiple ways to be either casual or dressier for any occasion. Over to you, girls!

Hello readers! We are Cacao Papow and Florence Flounce (Papow and Flo) – this week’s guest bloggers for Miss Amy May. If you’d like to find out more about us, you can follow our blog or find us on Facebook.

Being birds of a feather, we have quite similar tastes. This can end up with both of us owning the same outfit…tricky – if both of us fancy whipping out a similar look. With popular vintage reproduction brands, this problem can crop up quite often (especially at big events). To help remedy this issue, we took the same dress and styled it in different ways. Hopefully, this can give inspiration for individualising a certain piece of clothing or more options for what to do with pieces in your wardrobe. Continue reading →

Summer Turns to Fall [Guest Blogger FlippaBird]

Posted on October 7, 2015 by missamymay

Today’s post is written for you by new-to-pinup Flippa, stylish mum, general lovely lady, and blogger. In her own words, Flippa can be found posting general ridiculousness on Instagram as @FlippaBird or on her blog about everything and nothing in particular at http://www.FlippaBird.blogspot.com. Today she’s talking you through ways to turn your summer pieces into fall and winter appropriate outfits that retain both warmth and style.

Cooler weather is fast approaching and my wardrobe hasn’t had time to catch up, which leaves me in a predicament! Do I buy cold weather pieces or do I try to transition my existing spring/summer pieces?

Like many of you, I simply don’t have the funds to buy a new wardrobe every single season, so I thought I’d share how I transition my pieces from the warmer months to the cooler months.

I’m going to start with the obvious: a cardigan. This is probably the easiest way to turn a fun summer dress into a cozy winter piece. Below is the Jade Water Color Martini dress from Trashy Diva, styled for summer with coordinating B.A.I.T. pumps and a vintage jade bead necklace.

For fall/winter I’ve added a coordinating green scarf, a beige cardigan, and a brown belt and boots. The cardigan and boots not only warm you up, but the brown colors warm up the bright greens in the dress giving it a cool weather feel.

As convenient as the simple cardigan is, I like to go beyond that. So next I’ll show you two ways to style a wardrobe staple for winter: the Jenny dress from Pinup Girl Clothing. Every gal needs at least one Jenny dress in their closet. As you can see below this is how I generally style it for the warmer months – a lightweight bolero, a flower in my hair, and heels.

For my first transition look I’ve added a long sleeve, solid color button-up shirt in black, a pair of black tights, black patent belt, and coordinating hot pink heels…

You probably noticed the cute kitty cameo brooch from Femme De Bloom? Surprise!! It goes purrrfectly with the black kitty tights (also from PUG). This style is cute, casual, and adds a bit do whimsy to your look…. Which is something I adore!

Next up is a bit of a fancier look. I’ve converted the dress into a skirt by tucking the bodice under and safety pinning it at the waist. A burgundy stretch velvet mock turtleneck ($1.00 thrift find), wide patent belt, long gold rope necklace, and black knee high boots adds a bit of holiday glam.

I’d feel absolutely fabulous (and nice & toasty) attending a party in this outfit! Also hooray for hair scarves on those awful, bad hair days…

The most important thing I’ve discovered in styling my outfits, whatever the weather, is that you really can’t go wrong with an outfit as long as YOU love the end result. So experiment with the different pieces in your closet. Mix thrift finds with high end pieces, combine modern with vintage, and just have a good time playing until you find the look that’s perfect (and comfortable) for you! Happy styling!!

Continue reading →

Dear Dolores [Collectif]

Posted on October 5, 2015 by missamymay

The Dolores Doll dress by Collectif has been around for years, as well as the top of the same name and style. Both have been available in a multitude of colours and prints, new colourways available every season as a staple that some pinups collect almost religiously.

I’ve owned two Dolores tops in the past, a polka dot and the feral leopard print, but as someone who opts for dresses 90% of the time over an outfit made up of paired separates, my Dolores’ were constantly overlooked and eventually passed on to people who would get more use out of them. I love peasant style tops, finding the display of the collarbone and shoulders really feminine, sexy and classy all at once. The only thing that gives me pause with peasants, though, is that sometimes I think the ruched sleeves can hit my arm in the wrong way and can highlight my chubby uppers, as we shall now call them. There’s nothing wrong with having a little arm squish going on–for all but maybe 10% of the population, I think, some degree of upper arm softness is a lifelong constant. But I don’t always want to showcase it. For that reason I stayed away from the Dolores dresses, thinking perhaps that ruched cuff sleeve would do me a disservice.

Buuuut. Then Collectif had a super, super killer sale lately to clear out summer stock ready for their AW pieces. Dolores dresses went from £50 a piece down to £12-14 each. I mean. Come on. What was I gonna do? I’m sure my arms can’t be that bad to pass up a bargain like that.

I bought the blue gingham Dolores thinking that the dress looked like it would be super comfortable, easy to wear and a great option for throwing on for optimal cuteness either when I was in a rush or when I needed something for the times comfort takes absolutely top priority, like for travelling or really long days out. I was absolutely right about that as the Dolores is all of those things I expected it might be. After a stressful day at work last week I put it on one evening for a bit of chill time in the garden, picking some of our apples and watching the sun start to set–and trying to avoid our cat popping into every picture, because she trailed me the entire time.

Collectif navy gingham Dolores dress Continue reading →

September Outfits Round Up

Posted on October 1, 2015 by missamymay

Autumn is here! And I have mostly been ignoring that fact! I keep meaning to bust out the mustard yellows and the plummy purples and the moody reds, but so far I’ve been wearing a lot of white after Labor Day like a bad bitch–Labor Day isn’t a thing here in the UK, so it doesn’t matter, but even if I was I still would not give up my white cardigans for anyone. Y’all can eat your fashion rules.

It’s been an awesome month. With my recent trip back to Frome to model again for Deadly Is The Female and a Very Potter Weekend spent with some of my darling pinup buddies touring the Harry Potter Studio Tour in pinup versions of our favourite Potter characters, there’s been some fun playtime in my wardrobe choices this month.

Click on the pictures for a closer look! 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.

Lemon gingham Priscilla dress from The Pretty Dress Company, New Look cropped white cardigan, PUG Red slide belt, hand bedazzled flats (tutorial here)

Continue reading →

Havana A Good Time [PUG Havana Dress]

Posted on August 13, 2015 by missamymay

The Havana dress by Pinup Girl Clothing is one of those dresses I’ve overlooked for a long time because it is, in no bad way, rather plain and simple. I’ve always assumed the particular neckline would look boxy on me, someone who is bottom heavy, not particularly large of breast nor slim of torso. I figured that without a lower neckline, more delicate straps or a distracting print this dress would probably give me a bit of a trunk torso and highlight my ‘flaws’ rather than flatter them.

The red colourway, the only one that had ever truly tempted me, sold out months ago, and I never wanted the olive, black or purple colourways. This summer a Midnight blue colourway was announced and I found myself reconsidering. Suddenly I came to wonder whether I should try out the cool toned cabana stripes colourway, one of only two printed colourways, because I reasoned that the stripes might be more flattering on me than any of the plain colours, as prints have a camouflaging effect for lumps and bumps. But while I lingered over my decision as to whether even the stripes might make this dress work on me that colourway, too, sold out.

So there it was. It was down to me and the coming soon Midnight Blue. A battle of wills. Who would win? Would I cave? Well obviously. But would Havana be kind to me, flattering and gentle and nice? Or would she throw me and my cake-padded waist into sharp relief and unflattering focus?

Pinup Girl Clothing Havana dress Midnight Blue Continue reading →

The Pinup Wedding Guest

Posted on July 31, 2015 by missamymay

We pinups love to get our glam on, so you’d think an invite to a wedding would be a lovely excuse to bust out our best finery and indulge in our utmost glamour. Depending on the formality of the wedding in question, the temperament of the wedding party and the guests, and the glam level of your aforementioned finery, sometimes, though, being a pinup invited to a wedding can be a difficult situation in terms of clothes.

The 50s style is feminine, classic and elegant, but it’s also equal parts glamorous, sexy and attention-grabbing. A swing dress that displays no cleavage and little leg can still easily make you the centre of attention by pure virtue of the fact that it’s an unusual style for anyone to sport head-to-toe these days, let alone factoring in the attention a petticoated full skirt is likely to garner.

In my daily pinup life I dress however I want and it doesn’t bother me to get stares, but as a woman attending a wedding I like to look both lovely and appropriate in the photos without being perceived as attempting to upstage the bride by out-glamming her or overdressing–never something I would do deliberately, but some people can come to weddings in rather casual dress, automatically making others looked overdressed by comparison. Given that, as it’s someone else’s special day, I prefer to dress as if part of the beautiful set dressing of the day as a whole so I can focus on sharing the joy with everyone rather than dressing intentionally to wow and then worrying if I’ve overdone it.

Thus, my personal rule with weddings for my own attire is that it’s easier to err on the side of caution and find a way to represent my true pinup self without inviting strangers to cast their own opinion. If you, too, share those same feelings when you get a wedding invite, I wanted to share with you my two top tips for keeping your style on point without unintentionally eliciting sharp tendencies in others. My two style rules for wedding attire is to dress sweetly or dress chicly.

There is absolutely no reason for you to give up your pinup sentimentality when picking your outfit for a wedding or reception, but if you opt for something demure or classically stylish then you’re likely to evoke a more wedding-appropriate vintage vibe than if you go full force for the glam or the kitsch. These days people are gleefully adopting fascinators at a wedding, but when you add a fascinator to a full pinup ensemble it can look burlesque and glamorous and fabulous–three things that the stylishly-challenged can get offended by. So, you don’t have to be scared of wearing a fascinator, but be prepared to have to tone down your look in other areas to soften your style overall. Maybe swap out your red lipstick for a softer shade, or wear a smart swing dress rather than a tight wiggle. Wear lower heels. Leave off the seamed stockings. It often only takes one tweak or two to achieve a quieter but still polished version of your usual look.

I’ve been to two weddings for friends so far this year, and I took a different dressing tact for each. To attend my friend Steph’s wedding in March I decided to go soft and demure in this feminine and wistful mint spotted Unique Vintage Garden State dress.

Unique Vintage Garden State dress in mint, vintage box purse, old Monsoon heels, handmade hair flowers

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#JennyJuly: We Did It Again!

Posted on July 27, 2015 by missamymay

For those of you who may not know, earlier this year I began an Insta-event called Jenny January. Lovers of the Pinup Girl Clothing Jenny skirts and dresses were invited to wear their Jenny pieces during the week of January 12th-18th. I asked ladies to post their Jenny outfits on Instagram and to use the #JennyJanuary hashtag so that other ladies could check out their outfit combinations for style inspiration, to share stories about what their first Jenny was, explain why their favourite Jenny is their favourite, share why a certain Jenny print took a while to win them over, etc, and to generally chat to new ladies on the app they might not have yet come across.

It was a huge success, with hundreds of photos being shared, and at the time I was so thrilled with the event I came incredibly close to announcing that we should do it again in June. I put the idea aside for a few months, decided June was too busy for me anyway, and then when I was asked by a few different girls whether I would consider bringing it back during the summer J months, I cracked. Jenny July was on!

This time around the main week long event was July 13th-19th, and once again it was a wonderful event. Since January Pinup Girl Clothing have released 7 new Jenny skirts thanks to their limited edition Mary Blair line, so July’s event looked different, literally, to the event we had just a few months before, with MB dominating.

Below I’ve included a gallery of all my outfits from the week, with all the outfit and accessories details to come during my usual end of the month wrap up, but below that is the gallery of just a selection of the week’s wonderful entries, including a few of our little animal friends who decided to take part.

Continue reading →

Summer Whites In Eveline

Posted on July 13, 2015 by missamymay

A lot of people are afraid of wearing white. Some people are definitely spillers–my younger sister and my mum are two of such people–but even those who are able to drink coffee and eat spaghetti without a comical mishandling of the consumption often have a white fabric fear. I’m here to tell you guys that it is not that serious. Really.

Sure, wearing white when you know you’re going to be spending a full day with young kids or helping a friend to move house is probably a bad idea, but think about it; how often do you come home from a typical night with friends or a shopping trip and go ‘Damn, I got stuff all over myself. How did I do that?’ Probably next to never. If that’s the case I hereby formally invite you to be part of The Fearless Summertime White Dress Wearers Society. (Okay, we’ll work on the name.)

Because a white dress in summer time is basically as chic as it gets. You might think that’s an exclusive club that you’re not allowed to join, but I’ve forced my way inside it without an invite so if anyone asks just tell them you’re with me.

Unique Vintage Eveline Hell Bunny Dress Continue reading →