Keen on Norma Jean [Retrospecd]

Posted on March 21, 2016 by missamymay

I’ve been aware of Retrospec’d for some time. It’s a vintage-inspired Australian brand founded and run by two sisters, with all their pieces made in Australia, largely from fabrics designed in-house. They pride themselves on making their garments to the highest standard, and lover that I am of high-quality vintage style pieces, I don’t know why I never really sought them out before now. I think I must have confused them with other Australian brands that aren’t available to order internationally and thus wrote them off as unattainable to me. Recently, a few different pinups I follow all mentioned them at a similar time and it spurred me to seek them out, curious to at least see what their full range looks like on the whole. Spoiler alert: it’s gorgeous.

retrospecdwishlist

Retrospec’d do ship internationally, for a really reasonable flat rate price, no less, so as soon as I realised that I began to peruse their online shop in earnest. I think there are some pieces that are only available in their Newtown NSW brick and mortar store, judging by items I’ve seen on their Facebook that I can’t find on their website. Still, there were at least half a dozen items that leapt immediately onto my most fervent wishlist. Since I would be ordering from Australia to England and dealing with customs charges, I decided to be sensible and pick my favourite item from the sale section as my first taste of the brand. I loved the cut of the Norma Jean dresses, so I opted for the Sunday Rose print. Continue reading →

Oh My Honey, Let’s Travel The World

Posted on March 17, 2016 by missamymay

There are certain prints that I sometimes daydream about my favourite repro companies using to make a dress or a skirt. Cherry blossom trees, chevrons, bluebells, a world map. If I would only learn to sew, I know, then I wouldn’t have to frustratedly wait for someone else to design what I yearn for. And I mean to, I do. But sewing, designing, pattern making, they’re all hard work, they’re skills you have to learn and hone and improve upon to make something great. I tend to think about that and then bump ‘Learn to sew’ down my To Do list because I’m too busy and impatient to learn to be great. And that’s my own fault. If I’m going to be disheartened and lazy, fine, I don’t get a bluebells skirt. I don’t get a chevron dress with contrasting directional panels. But thanks to Oh My Honey, I can have a map print skirt.

Oh My Honey is a made-to-order vintage inspired clothing company based out of the British seaside city of Brighton. I’ve featured them here on the blog before when I reviewed their gorgeous Candy Cane dress the Christmas before last, a dress so fabulous it was one of their festive best sellers two years in a row. Owned and run by designer Louise O’Mahony, their wedding dresses are so pretty that they almost make me want to find a boy worth locking down–almost. It’s a good thing, then, that they also offer vintage inspired swing dress and skirts.

They offer said vintage inspired dresses in a variety of colours, prints and patterns, all as fun and bold as the next. When I saw the map print added to their proffered fabrics I immediately added it to my wishlist, waiting out the touchy Christmas penny-pinching period and some trouble with my car before I was able to order it as a skirt. Man, it was worth the wait.

Oh My Honey Map Print Circle Skirt Continue reading →

Sarong, So Right [Vivien of Holloway]

Posted on March 14, 2016 by missamymay

I have a thing for sarong style dresses. They’re such a classic, flattering piece of vintage inspired clothing that it’s a travesty they’re not still commonplace in all women’s summer wardrobes–well, they’re not for modern, ‘normal’ ladies, that is. We pinups know about and appreciate the goodness of a sarong set, though, and few do that better than Vivien of Holloway.

Their sarong dresses are truly built to enhance and display your curves. Designed with a waterfall sash flowing from the waistband down the skirt, a thick halterneck to flatter the upper arm and chest, and a boned bodice made to cinch and lift, this is the kind of dress that does all the hard work for you. It puts an immediate sashay in your walk, a swerve, a wiggle, and the matching bolero adds class and sass abound. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.

Vivien of Holloway Black Golden Leaves Sarong Set Continue reading →

February Outfits Round Up

Posted on March 1, 2016 by missamymay

For the shortest month, February really didn’t feel all that short. I definitely felt like I had lost inspiration for getting dressed in a lot of cases because I’m just fed up of all the rain we’ve been having here in England, constantly messing up my hair and making my yearning for tropical prints look out of place. I’m looking forward to March with high hopes that it might finally bring us some sunshine, because if not the next monthly wrap up might just include a lot of me looking annoyed in sweat pants and hoodies staring out of rain-splattered window panes. You’ve been (only half jokingly) warned!

Navy Isabel dress by eShakti, red sateen slide belt by Pinup Girl Clothing, hand bedazzled flats (tutorial)

Continue reading →

Dolly & Dotty + Giveaway!

Posted on February 15, 2016 by missamymay

Dolly & Dotty are a fairly new vintage style clothing company, based out of Brighton in the UK and offering a selection of budget-friendly retro style pieces in UK sizes 6-24. I first found them a few months back when I came across the two dresses below and fell in love.

L: Anna dress, R: Polly dress

At the time both dresses were out of stock, so I inwardly whimpered a bit, tried to find them in stock anywhere else, failed, inwardly whimpered some more, then gave up. It wasn’t until Dolly & Dotty and I were in contact recently that I remembered the dresses that had escaped me, and I was thrilled to find that the Poppy dress, at least, was back in stock in Continue reading →

London Edge [SS16 Most Anticipated]

Posted on February 12, 2016 by missamymay

Last year was my first year at London Edge, an alternative and vintage style clothing trade show in London held twice a year to preview upcoming Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter lines from clothing brands. The show exists primarily for stockists to scout out the upcoming season’s offerings so they can choose what they want to stock in their in-store and online boutiques, but London Edge invites bloggers too so that they can bring the news of the show to their readers.

This year I was super excited to go to the SS16 February show, sure that some of my favourite brands would have some truly awesome stuff coming up soon. I was not wrong. Several brands, including Collectif and Voodoo Vixen, released their SS lookbooks online a few weeks before London Edge, so I had seen a lot of what they had to offer before I attended, but there were still tons of companies whose spring and summer offerings were still under-wrap beforehand. Plus, there’s something about getting to see items in person, even if you can’t try them on, which is so much better than trying to get a full sense of them online. Bearing all that in mind, I went up to London this past weekend armed with a feverish sense of clothing curiosity and my camera, with one of my pinup besties, Giselle, at my side to trade off comments, gasps and admiring groans with as we combed through the rails. Continue reading →

Scratching That Seven Year Itch [Glamour Bunny Marilyn]

Posted on February 8, 2016 by missamymay

This is one of those dresses. You know the kind, a dress that makes you gasp or gape or murmur ‘wow’ the first time you see it. It’s a dress that immediately goes on your lust list, and yet for some reason you dont find it in your cart or in your hands for an age, and you’re not sure if you ever will. Maybe you can’t afford it, or you’re on temporary no buy, or it’s not the kind of dress you usually wear even though you love it, or you’re just not sure if you’ll suit it’s cut. You want it really badly but you’re half convinced it’s not meant to be.

The Marilyn dress by Glamour Bunny was one of those dresses for me. It was love at first sight, but the fact that it was a wiggle (I’m a swing girl,) all white (possible spills? Maybe unflattering on my shape?), embroidered (a bit fancy?) and £85 (probably too much for a dress I wouldn’t wear often) held me back.

Thank God for the festive season sales. Glamour Bunny very rarely does sales. During that period last year they offered 40% off for a day, and for Black Friday this past November certain dresses were discounted, but not all. I hoped they would offer something good for their Post-Christmas sale and I was delighted to see they offered 50% off. Marilyn, darling, it’s time you and I make it official.

Glamour Bunny Marilyn Dress Seven Year Itch Continue reading →

January Outfits Round Up

Posted on February 1, 2016 by missamymay

It’s been a busy month, catching up with friends after the Christmas break and enjoying a weekend with one of my London friends, Giselle, coming down to stay. And, of course, there was Jenny January, the style challenge event I host in January on social media revolving around the Pinup Girl Clothing Jenny skirts and dresses. If you wanted to read about that event in particular you can find my blog post about it here, but if not you’ll find all my outfits represented below.

Nina Skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing, Black Sabrina Top by PUG from Deadly Is The Female, Magnetic Crystal Starburst brooch from eBay, self-bedazzled shoes (tutorial)

Continue reading →

Fur Trimmed & Fabulous: Part II [Collectif Deana]

Posted on January 25, 2016 by missamymay

A couple months back I reviewed the Andrea skirt from Collectif, a faux fur trimmed pencil skirt that was designed to be a part of a skirt suit set alongside the Deana jacket. I loved the Andrea skirt and badly wanted the Deana to wear with her, but I didn’t have the money to spend the £110 to complete the suit. Knowing Collectif run a 50% off sale after Christmas each year, I hoped ardently that the Deana would be in stock at the time so I could make her mine. My hopes were dashed when she went out of stock long before the sale was even rumoured to start, so I bought a couple of other items in the sale instead and inwardly moped about the perfect suit set that was never to be, because I am way too emotionally invested in my closet.

But then, it happened! At 7.05am of the last morning on the sale, when there were just under 2.5hours left of the sale, I received an email saying the Deana had been restocked. I ordered that baby so fast my Paypal could barely keep up! Days later, when the new up to 75% off sale begun, the Deana was included in that as well at the same half off price of £55. So just in case there are any of you ladies out there who have shared my yearning for this jacket but have some qualms with parting with your money, I decided it was time for a review to help you decide whether or not to buy.

Continue reading →

Sweet Swingin’ [PUG Erin]

Posted on January 21, 2016 by missamymay

The Erin dress by PUG has been a wiggle dress staple offered by the company for a long time now. Available in many colours, it’s made of stretch bengaline and features a wrap-over bust detail. Recently redesigned, it’s now available in extra colours as well as two more cuts, one a wiggle with sleeves and the other a three-quarter sleeved swing dress.

I hardly wear wiggles, so while I loved the wiggle version with the capped sleeves I knew it would be an unnecessary addition to my wardrobe. The swing, though, tempted me. Yet I had pause. I love a full swing skirt, requiring a full circle skirt or then some, and very rarely do skirts with less than a full circle feel right on me. This skirt looked like it wouldn’t hold the petticoat I require and that it might cling to my fabulous love handles, so I overlooked it for several weeks.

Once it was released and customers began buying it up, I started seeing pictures of ladies looking fabulous in it splashed across my social media. Eventually I decided to give it a try.

Pinup Girl Clothing Couture Erin Dress Black Continue reading →