Many of my favourite dresses are Miss Candyfloss, and pretty much all of my favourite yellow dresses are Miss Candyfloss, because they’re a brand who do not scrimp on yellow, which I love them for. So today’s post is all about frolicking amongst the buttercups and soaking up the sun (while slathered in SPF 50 and a sunhat, of course) in the happiest of yellows, in the Selena-Sun dress.
Early in my journey of dressing in a vintage aesthetic I began to feel a pressure that to be a real pinup one had to wear true vintage clothing. Not exclusively, but certainly that owning some true vintage made you a ‘proper’ pinup, compared to buying modern made reproductions. The problem I quickly discovered, however, was that that wouldn’t be an easy feat for me; even back then, as a size 14/16 who lived in the English countryside, finding vintage pieces I liked in my size and within my budget largely meant spending a vast amount of time online searching, as I didn’t have easy access to thrift stores and vintage shops. On the rare occasion I found a dress I wanted that would fit me, it was either wildly outside of my budget or I got outbid. It didn’t take long before I accepted that the only vintage pieces I would be able to acquire with ease would be accessories, so I got comfortable in the world of vintage inspired and reproduction clothing, leaving behind any shame that my 100% modern clothing made me any lesser in any way. Continue reading
The items I feature here on my blog tend to fall into two categories–one, this item is something I’m obsessed with because it utilizes a bunch of my favourite design features and my preferred aesthetic; or two, this item is more unusual compared to my typical choices and yet I love it anyway. Today’s piece is more from that second category but not really, because while I’m not often into novelty prints they do occasionally court my fancy, and such a summery print on a classic vintage dress shape, printed on that blue? I don’t know how I was supposed to resist.
It’s not often polka dots catch my eye, despite them being prevalent in the vintage-inspired clothing world. There’s something about black polka dots on white, though, that I really love. Maybe it’s the cute, fun feel that polka dots give off warring with the most minimalist, simple colour pairing possible. I think it’s as chic as polka dots are able to get, but it still retains their whimsy.
I love a houndstooth print. I generally think they are widely underused and under appreciated, so I was pleased to see Hell Bunny release this Blake dress this season, with a bold oversized houndstooth pattern that can’t be ignored.
Another day, another post in which I explain how I fell in love with a dress from Miss Candyfloss’s lookbook. I know it sounds repetitive, but that’s only because it’s true. Pouring through the new Miss C lookbook each season to see what the latest line will have in store for us is genuinely one of my favourite parts of a new season, not just because Miss Candyfloss is my favourite brand but also because I love it when a brand shows you sneak peeks of their upcoming line. It sets expectations, letting you know whether the aesthetic for the range fits with your own tastes, and if so, helps build excitement as you wait for your favourite previewed pieces to debut. This Manuella-Amber was one of my (yes, many,) instant faves, and I think she’s a doll.
It’s official, the leaves are starting to change colours on all the country roads near my house, which means I am in my element. Time to throw on all the plaids, checks and tartans I can find, autumn is truly on its way.
I think one of the things that people regularly struggle with when it comes to clothing is not being certain which colours best suit them. In a way it doesn’t really matter, because if you love something enough to feel good wearing it then that is the only thing that matters. But for the less confident, knowing a cut and a colour brings out their best features makes all the difference. An easy thing to remember, then, is that jewel tones look good on literally every skin colour, as their richness flatters against both pale and dark tones. As such, emerald green is good on everyone, so today’s featured dress is ready to stun for all.
Back in my pre-pinup days I wore short skirts, had a large mane of small natural curls, and hated leopard print. Even for many years after adopting vintage fashion I hated leopard print, actually, which makes it even weirder that my first ever vintage-inspired dress which convinced me I could adopt this style for real was fully red leopard print. It had a sweetheart neckline, black straps, a full circle skirt, and I was madly in love with it. It was a very tight fit at the time and I gained back some weight shortly after I wore it to a friend’s charity event, so I never managed to squeeze into it again, but I kept it for a long time out of love before I finally sold it on so someone else could love it instead.
Over the course of the following few years my opinion on leopard print evolved to a much broader love and now it’s one of my favourite prints (when done right…some of my boundaries remain.) But I still have a special fondness for red leopard print in particular, because it feels so tied to a key turning point in my life. So this Lynette dress, to me, is like wearing a lovely reminiscence…
One of the things I most love in clothing is when designers play with textures. Layering different materials to achieve a multi-textured effect is pretty easy to do with your styling choices, but when a dress already offers something texturally interesting you’re already halfway there. And this Tess dress definitely offers!
Miss Amy May 