I’m a pretty equal opportunity colour-wearer. It’s only really pink that I consciously avoid wearing as a block colour, but despite that there are several colours that don’t make it into my wardrobe often, with coral and brown among them. Seeing me in this dress, therefore, has probably come as a bit of a surprise, for you and I both.
Some dresses serves as an epitome of a certain time, or feeling, or season. This little number from The Pretty Dress Company? Well this dress is mostly certainly spring.
Look, I know it sounds a bit like a broken record to once again say that I’m in love with a new release from the Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female line…but I am, once again, in love with one of their new releases. And to be honest I don’t even think anyone would have a right to roll their eyes, should they wish to, because JUST LOOK AT THIS BADASS BEAUTY. SERIOUSLY, LOOK AT IT! There is no way you can tell me that you don’t think this dress is amazing because it so very, very clearly is. So now that we’ve got that out of the way, shall we enjoy some swooning over it together, yes? Yes, good. Let’s hold hands digitally while we do so.
It’s so nice to be getting consistent sunshine these days, which means I can finally share with you this tropical treat of a dress from Hell Bunny, the Kalani 50s dress. It’s been hanging on the back of my closet door for weeks now, taunting me as rain fell repeatedly, every weekend, daring me to even wistfully consider whether it was possible to shoot it yet. But no more! The sun is here, and so is the chance to shift into spring wardrobe mode! What better way than with a floral print as lush as this one?
What’s this, sunshine? When I tell you we haven’t had sun at the weekend in weeks it’s no joke–lately it’s been all rain almost all the time, so my hair has been nothing but frizz, the blog has been near silent because I’ve been unable to shoot, and my garden now has what can only be described as swamp-patches. But behold, with a bit of sun not only do I feel lighter and brighter, but I get to share one of my favourite things with you; new Miss Candyfloss. Roll on spring and brand new pretties!
I love it when a brand has one or more staple dress styles that they release each season in new colours and prints. It’s great when you find a dress that ticks all your boxes, anyway, but knowing that you’re able to grab that dress in other colourways allows you to expand your wardrobe for different occasions safe in the knowledge that you’re going to feel really comfortable in them all. Dolly & Dotty constantly release their staple dress shapes in tons of new prints and I love how varied their winter selection is in this Amanda dress.
While I love all checks, plaids and tartans pretty indiscriminately, it’s generally true that within the vintage-inspired world they’re often employed in clothing styles that, by our standards, veer more towards the casual. I do have pieces that can be worn more formally and they are all made by Miss Candyfloss, so it’s no wonder that they’re my go-to favourite brand for autumn and winter styles. What I love about this Norina-Lou dress is that they’ve taken their skill at producing elegant checks and mixed it with the utilisation of another classic winter print which, in my opinion, repro brands don’t use enough–houndstooth.
Behold, a dress that is both check and dogstooth, and both casual and possible to dress up. A winter unicorn!
The idea of the Little Black Dress is, I feel, often imaged in the shape of something slinky, well-fitted, possibly even involving glitter. For me, a LBD that will be reached for time and again is definitely a swing dress, something classic and timeless, even somewhat subdued by some people’s standards but easy to style into a knockout look for times I want to shine. The Lacey dress by Collectif more than fits the bill.
Collectif’s Nova dress was, it is safe to say, one of the biggest hits of their spring/summer line last year. It featured thin pastel rainbow stripes and sold out quickly. At the time I remember eyeing the cut and style of the dress shape with great interest, but as I’m not much of a pastel girl it wasn’t for me. I was very pleased, therefore, to receive their SS19 catalogue and to find that a red and white striped version was coming this season. Well, it’s here, it’s cut is all I had hoped for, and it’s ready to rock your boat (pun intended.)
I can’t be the only one who sometimes pictures a certain kind of dress I really want, but can’t find it anywhere. For a couple years now that has been my struggle for a sleeved black swing dress with a white collar. It sounds like something that you’d think multiple brands might produce, so simple but chic is the idea, and so well fitted to the concept of something we could picture Audrey Hepburn wearing. But no, instead, I have been destined to wait, to wait and to hope.
This season, finally, Collectif have answered my wardrobe prayers, and produced that perfect dress. She’s here–the Winona.
