Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!

It's typical to hear people exclaim, "We don't celebrate Hallowe'en here in Australia." Nevertheless, this spooky season I feel that something wicked this way comes.

Last year I tried my hand at pumpkin carving (and successfully too, for a newbie!).

My Jack Skellington impersonation.

This year I am injecting a little bit of creepy into my closet in honour of Hallowe'en. I've always been interested in the macabre and all things grim. It's nice to finally have some threads that channel this fascination of mine. The best part is that the spooktacular details of these garments are somewhat subtle, helping to avoid that, "Hey, I'm wearing a costume!" feeling. 

Here comes trouble: Although no longer available in this terrifically terrifying colour way (I mean, who doesn't love Frankenstein meets Leopard?!), the Deadly Dames Troublemaker dress comes in a ghostly white and blood-red gingham. The skully brooch just adds an extra morbid dimension and the glossy black belt helps to cinch in the waist. Retailing for $102 USD, the Troublemaker dress is available here. I recommend following the size chart closely as there is minimal stretch. I'm wearing my standard medium.

Man-eater: The Kinky Box skirt by Deadly Dames is a killer in every sense of the word.  Every gal needs to experience a 'Little Shop of Horrors' moment, and one can do so in this scary skirt. The colour is more of a vibrant, royal purple with a slight sheen to the fabric. I'm wearing a medium here, but given that the waist band sits so high, it's a little loose. The Kinky Box skirt comes in a range of spooky and sexy prints. Available here for $84. I've paired this skirt with the super sweet Bonsai Kitten pussy bow top. I'm wearing a size 10 to fit my 28 inch waist and 37 inch bust. This top is made from super comfortable jersey in a range of solid colours and prints, short and long sleeves. It now also comes in bolero form. Available here from $55 AUD. 

Along came a spider: The Heidi dress in a wicked web print. You grab this frightfully fabulous frock here (part of Pinup Girl Clothing's Goth Capsule Collection) for $98 USD, but beware: it's a limited edition print. The fit of this dress is a little tighter than my other Heidi dresses - I can't step into it like my others. I have to pull it over my head and even then, it's a contortion act to get it over my bust! Worth it, though. The details are divine and the cut is very flattering for many body shapes. 

Haunted house: My great-great Grandmother's run-down, abandoned house provided a perfect and eerie backdrop for my Spider Heidi photographs, plus it was nice to delve into a little family history.

Stay spooooky and Happy Hallowe'en! 

x

My Prints Charming

Yes, I have been swept off my feet by vintage inspired prints. Is there anything sweeter than a swing dress that hearkens back to a bygone era? Hardly. Novelty, atomic, floral... all these prints are reminiscent of simpler, more easy-going (and dare I say, happier?) times.

I  purchased a few dresses recently that reminded me of my grandma's fabulous fabric collections! The fabric of these dresses really have a retro feel to them, particularly the circus print Zooey by pinupgirlclothing.com. As usual, the fit and quality are superb!

The Ginger halter dress in turquoise atomic print is available from pinupgirlclothing.com. This dress came with a thin, black, poplin-covered belt, but I think that it detracted from the overall look of the dress. Sometimes, belts can shorten the look of your torso by giving your body the appearance of two "halves" - I find the belt that came with my Ginger had this effect on me.  This dress also comes in a myriad of stunning prints and colours.

The Zooey pink circus print dress is available from pinupgirlclothing.com. This is fast becoming my favourite summer dress. The stretch cotton sateen feels luxurious and the bust is lined for a little bit of modesty ;) The vintage-inspired print on this darling dress is rather quaint, with animals in outfits, a man on stilts and pretty pin ups. This dress also comes in a red 'tablecloth' print and grey birdcage print.

This dress is the Netti in Tiki print. The Netti dress comes in so many fabulous prints, but this one is my favourite by far!  I feel like hosting a luau party, BYO ukulele! I can picture a vintage Hawaiian shirt in this eye-catching print. Again, available from pinupgirlclothing.com. Be sure to jump onto the website and check out their wide range of precious prints!

Naturally, many reproduction brands have produced their own beautiful vintage inspired prints. Here are a few from a range of different brands that I would love to share with you.

Left to right: Bettie Page Paradise dress available from  https://www.bettiepageclothing.com. Trashy Diva Sweetie dress available from  http://www.trashydiva.com. I have the Sweetie dress and the rayon fabric is simply perfect for a hot summer's day!

Left to right: Hell Bunny May Day dress available from MANY places, including eBay,  http://www.attitudeoz.com.au,  https://www.retroglam.com to name a few... On the right is a Hawaiian halter sun dress available from  http://www.bluevelvetvintage.com.

Left to right: Katrina dress by Australian brand, Retrospec'd ( http://www.retrospecd.com). They have a brick and mortar store at 486 King St, Newtown, Sydney. The Bernie Dexter Pearl in Cherry Tree Lane dress is just that: a pearl. You can pick up this head-turner from  http://www.berniedexter.com/bernie-dexter-dresses.html.

Left to right: The Beverly Cerise cherry print dress available from  http://heartbreakerfashion.com and the Comic inspired dress available at http://www.limb-clothing.com are cute and quirky novelty prints. Although they each have a different feel to them, they are equally awesome.

Do you love a vintage print as much as I do? I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic and see some of your personal favourites, reproduction or vintage!

Happy Saturday x

Wiggle or Swing?

Different styles of dresses can have different effects. Lately, I have been wondering whether the wiggle or swing style suits me best, which got me to thinking that each style has its benefits and pitfalls. Some dresses suit particular occasions better than others. I only have one vintage wiggle dress, and that is my glorious Alfred Shaheen sarong dress (oh how I love thee). The rest of my vintage frocks are swing style. I have decided to look to my vintage-inspired collection a la pinupgirlclothing to see which style I'd prefer.

Let's look at wiggle dresses first. Do me a favour and disregard the ridiculous poses - I was just having a bit of a laugh with my poor husband who was wrangled into taking these photos.

Here we have the following dresses, left to right: Pinup Couture's Plum Jayne Glamour dress in satin, Dixiefried's Tiki Twist! in Asian-print brocade, and the Niagara dress in dark fuchsia stretch taffeta (a sample that I scored off a lovely PUGette via PUG Swap/Sell Community). The only one of these dresses that is still available is the Tiki Twist! at pinupgirlclothing.  You can still purchase the Niagara dress in a few different colourways though.

Forgetting the fact that I am obviously no model, wiggle dresses can be really flattering (in my case, when teamed with an awesome bra and shapewear). Not everyone is comfortable with a form fitting dress. Unless I'm wearing hardcore shapewear (Spanx in this case), then I'm not really confident with it myself - I am quite a hippy girl with a tendency to get a little bloated after I eat. I find that these are the kind of dresses that can make a gal feel sexy, but not necessarily like she wants to put away a large meal! A great style for a night out, special event or cocktail party, maybe even a black-tie wedding where you don't feel like wearing a full-length gown, leaving the legs free to party! That being said, I do love the hourglass effect that this style has on me. Pinupgirlclothing makes a super-duper range of wiggle dresses, well-cut from high quality fabrics. In fact, there are so many great choices it's hard to pick just one dress sometimes ;)

 Swing dresses... A different look for me, entirely!

Available from pinupgirlclothing. Left to right: Pinup Couture's Evelyn in rose print, The Courtesan Swing in Victorian Print from the Deadly Dames collection and the Pink Psychobilly Skull swing dress, also by Deadly Dames (no longer available).

I find that swing style dresses have a sweetness about them. I love the flowing fabric and the circle skirts which hearken back to the femininity of the 50's. I get a real kick out of wearing these dresses and I especially love it when old women say, "I used to wear something similar back in..." A swing dress, to me, seems less formal than a wiggle dress and it hides a multitude of sins (a great way of disguising my tummy when I overeat!). I feel comfortable enough to wear one shopping. As a teen, you would NEVER have got me into something like this, but as a young child, I loved that twirly effect that you would get from spinning around in a circle skirt. Well, there you go. I must have reverted back to my childish ways - I love twirling in my swing dresses! Perfect for a garden wedding, high tea, impressing your nanna... the list goes on.

So, which one? Choices, choices!

Two stunning women in two different styles. Photography by Laura Byrnes. Dresses (Micheline Pitt in the Vamp Dress - left,  Masuimi Max in the Netti Dress - right) available at  www.pinupgirlclothing.com

I have concluded nothing (must go back to pinupgirlclothing to look again!).

Which do you prefer? I would love to know what YOU think.

Happy Friday x

Sarong? So Right!

Bad pun aside, let's take a look at an iconic dress style of the 40's and 50's: the sarong dress. 30's and 40's starlet, Dorothy Lamour, helped to popularise the sarong dress. Six of her films featured her in a sarong-style dress, earning her the nickname 'Sarong Girl'.

Dorothy Lamour first wears a sarong dress in the film "Jungle Girl"

Many vintage brands cleverly jumped on the bandwagon and began producing their own version of the sarong dress. Some of these designers include: Kamehameha of Hawaii, Surf Riders, Paradise Hawaii and, of course, the legendary Alfred Shaheen.

Things were made to last in the post-war years, there's no denying that! Luckily for us, this means that many of these stunning garments are still around and in excellent wearable condition. A couple of things to note however. When buying a vintage sarong dress, expect to pay the big bucks. Especially if the dress carries a big name like Alfred Shaheen. For a Shaheen dress, you may expect to pay anywhere (and certainly upwards!) of $250 US dollars. Eep! Another point of interest is that many of these vintage sarong dresses were designed to suit a slender, yet voluptuous figure. I have often perused through vintage dresses thinking that women of the 50's were living, breathing hourglasses. It wasn't until recently that I discovered the secret of foundation underwear! A good waist cincher can take up to 3-4 inches from your waistline! Apparently, the mid-century misses and designers all knew this. Wearing good, strong foundation wear was the norm. Knowing this makes buying vintage less of a shock. On a good day, my waist is something like 27 inches in circumference. Many vintage sarongs average about 24 inches in the waist area. Holy smokes!

My darling Alfred Shaheen flat measures at 12 inches at the waist. That makes it 24 inches in circumference! Rest assured , I'm not getting into this bad boy without the help of a good waist cincher and the handy shirred panels at the back! My dress also features a sweet, detachable sash.

Don't let this daunt you though. Many reproduction and vintage inspired brands have tried their hand at sarong dresses. Not only are these dresses built for more modern women, but they don't necessarily carry the hefty price tag. Additionally, they are made from quality materials and come in fun prints!

Here are some of my favourites :)

Deadly Dames "Malibu" dress designed by the  fabulous Micheline Pitt and retailed for $122. This dress was a favourite of Amy Winehouse and there are talks by the designer to re-release it. Yay! 

Paradise Dress in Katrina print by Heartbreaker Fashion retails between $80-$100 US. Available in Leila print only from http://heartbreakerfashion.com/. Have a look around with this dress though. It's still available in the Katrina print, but you have to hunt for it.

Dixiefried's "Tiki Twist!" retails for $130 US from pinupgirlclothing.com. This dress is in my personal collection and I find it runs a bit big! You can easily size down due to the shirring at the back. Also available in black and gold brocade.

Tara Starlet's sarong dress retails for  £75. Available in different prints and colours from http://www.tarastarlet.com 

The Shaheen Dream by Whirling Turban. Available in lots of different prints and styles from http://www.whirlingturban.com/. This baby carries a higher price tag at $210 US.

Bernie Dexter for Babygirlboutique available for $89 US at http://www.babygirlboutique.com/

Some good places to hunt for vintage sarong dresses:
www.etsy.com
www.poshgirlvintage.com
www.ebay.com

The sarong dress is  perfect for those sultry summer night parties and events. Some sexy springolators, a tiki bamboo bag, cocktail in hand and you're good to go!

Happy Friday x

Pinup Couture for Wardrobe Staples

One of my favourite vintage inspired clothing companies comes in the form of the website: pinupgirlclothing.com. Pinupgirlclothing.com is the brainchild of the self-professed Supreme Overlord Laura Byrnes. Laura Byrnes has taken inspiration from 40's and 50's couture and given it a modern twist.

(images courtesy of pinupgirlclothing.com)

This website is home to some great vintage inspired brands: Pinup Couture, Laura Byrnes Black Label, Deadly Dames, Dixiefried and Golightly to name a few. As Pinupgirlclothing.com exists purely as an online retailer, it is important to know you measurements (bust, waist, hips - occasionally arm circumference and thigh circumference) in inches. When I talk about measuring your hips, I'm not talking about the protruding pelvic bones, ladies. I mean the biggest area around your butt! The lovely Bernie Dexter shows us how it's done (photo courtesy of http://berniedexter.com/size.html).

When shopping for clothing online, be a sensible dolly and measure yourself! Don't rely on your standard dress size. I have found it particularly useful that facebook fans of pinupgirlclothing.com are more than willing to share their experience with clothing purchased from this site. Whilst there, please note that sass-mouthing on the Pinup Girl Clothing (PUG) facebook page is more than unwelcome. Not only will it bring down the entire army of PUG followers on you, but you may even invite a snitty comment from the Overlord herself. Plus, it's bad karma. That aside, enjoy looking at the clothing on this page - the site has a fantastic layout and each garment has its own size chart. Fans have also posted reviews so you can get the low down on each piece. In my experience, clothing from this site is not only a head-turner, but each garment is well made from quality fabrics.

Disclaimer: this site is highly addictive. Best to browse when your credit card is not within arm's reach.

Happy Wednesday x