Blue goodness.

Hiiii! I'm so excited to be writing an outfit post again because it literally has been THAT long. A few months ago I was changed locations at work and now I work somewhere much further away and it's much windier place too so I struggle to keep up my pin up appearance as much. I often find myself with separate days off in the week thanks to shift work so I don't get as dressed up as often as I used to which is really sad.

I've been somewhat better recently but I have found myself no longer buying dresses and clothes and trying to make do with what I have in my wardrobe already. It's definitely been a couple of months AT LEAST since I last bought any new clothes which is incredible but it can feel a bit rubbish when you feel like you have nothing left to wear. On the other hand though, my bank balance is definitely thankful to me for this.

So now we are into October and the weather and temperature has dropped dramatically,this is going to be the last time I can truly get away with a summery type outfit. In all honesty, I really haven't prepared for the autumn and winter months AT ALL. I still have to go out and buy a coat and general winter clothes because the entirety of my wardrobe is pure summer. I'm really trying not to break my clothes ban but I do need to have a swift update.

I've really been looking at Collectif and Miss Candyfloss's A/W collections and they look so beautiful but I've recently just booked two holidays for next year (Jamaica and the US!!) so I'm in absolutely no position to buy new clothes at the moment. This does give me a chance to recycle and find some new use for clothes I haven't worn in a long time though, so there's that! 

I really am struggling to find my feet again in the vintage and blogging world but hopefully I'll be able to come through. 

Hair Flower - Loaned from a friend
Cardigan - Primark

Dress - old Lindy Bop

Belt - eBay

Shoes -B.A.I.T footwear

Pinup Girl Clothing - Neverland skirt

Half of this outfit came back with me from America. In my first post of the year, I wrote about visiting the Pinup Girl boutique in Burbank, California which was amaaaazing. This was like reaching the motherland for me and it was an entirely spiritual experience. To be fair, I was walking around in a daze, touching things in ultimate wonder and happiness. No kidding, you probably know how much I adore Pinup Girl Clothing so to visit their boutique on the other side of the world to where I live is pretty incredible and something I will be trying to do again soon.

For me, the Jenny skirt is the perfect length but I do hear of people frequently having them taken up a few inches. Personally, I love that this skirt stops at my calves; I don't feel drowned or swamped in the length but instead I find them comfortable to wear in the colder weather as the majority of my legs are covered. I think it's worth pointing out that these skirts are quite thick in a sense as well which is another factor in them being good for wearing in winter and early cold-ish spring. My experience of these skirts are nothing but excellent (as with all PUG clothing). Aside from my fluctuating weight which is kind of tricky with the waistband that doesn't have much stretch, the fabric is always thick and of excellent quality. There's a feel to holding PUG clothes that you don't get with many other repro brands and that's most likely down to their ethical manufacturing. These skirts have always felt really special to me and I felt no different when I managed to pick up this 'Neverland' print whilst visiting the store.

I managed to find these pair of B.A.I.T shoes in the sale also in the PUG boutique which were only $32! I absolutely ADORE these sandal type heels as they are perfectly cute and both practical. They're so easy to wear and very comfortable due to the low heel. 

This is the outfit that has pulled me out of bad moods recently; it's so bright and colourful and it's definitely given me some looks from people when I've gone out but I'm mostly feeling too cute and sassy to care!

Top is from Lindy Bop, brooch by Luxulite and hair flower nicked from my Mum ;)

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OOTD: Collectif Pineapple Dress

I picked up this pineapple dress in the Collectif sale a few weeks ago and I'm a little smitten with it to be honest. Mostly, because it's a really easy dress to thrown on on a lazy because it doesn't need much to go with it. My only particular issue with though is that I feel that it doesn't give my body a good shape so I look kind of frumpy. But as I said, as I wear this dress for my lazier vintage style dressing days, it's not a big deal; in fact I would normal add a waist belt to something like this to give myself a shape.

I recently took it on holiday to Turkey with me and it was excellent for quickly pulling on during hot days and evenings where it can seem a bit of a struggle to make an effort with your appearance. The pineapple print is so fun and kitsch, it instantly shouts fun. As you know, I love kitsch prints and especially pineapples which is why this dress was so great on holiday.

It's no longer in the sale due to being reduced to such a cheap price. I think I bought it for around £13 which is such a good bargain. It's worth noting that Collectif are outstanding when it comes to their sales. They have a dress in the same print but a different style but it's only in a size 8. If that's your thing and your size, snap it up as it's only £9!

Outfit: The Dorothy Of SE London

A quick outfit throne together as well as being little miss frizz. Admittedly, I'm wearing these two items of clothing for the shame of them being in my wardrobe for the best part of a year and a half, only getting one wear in that time.

There's something about pastel blue and gingham that just makes me so happy. Perhaps I feel a bit like Dorothy; both sweet and elegant and I definitely feel like that in this outfit. The only thing I'm missing is a little dog and a basket full of baked goods. I'm just imagining it now!

Both parts of this outfit are slightly too big for me, especially the skirt which just looks awkward and in definite need of an iron which I sacrificed due to both lack of time and eagerness to wear blue gingham again which if you've seen previous posts, you'd know I love.

Top: Select Skirt: Hell Bunny Shoes: Primark

I decided to get a little dressy as with working so much recently, I really felt I wasn't dressing as "50s" as I'd usually like and to be honest, I have gotten very lazy recently. Lazy being an understatement; my life right now consists of work, sleep, eat and repeat. Only ever so often will I go out of my way to make an effort with my hair and make up for work but when you're getting up at 2:40am to go to work, you gotta pick - sleep or make up? Sleep always.

Anyway! So I'm contemplating going back to blonde but this time REALLY blonde, not the dirty blonde I pretended to like. I'm a little tired of being a redhead (who knows, I can always revisit this again at another time) and now I'm eager to be a 'blonde bombshell' - I think I'd kill it. What do you think?

I know I posted this dress just a few days ago but here I am rocking it again, holiday style. Not being completely happy with how I was styled in the last post of this dress, I'm showing you all again how I'm dressing it to go on a night out in Turkey. 

Make up wise, I've gone for quite a bit of a more autumnal vibe (I guess I'm still stuck in UK weather mode) by opting for MAC - Diva instead of my cult product Russian Red. I actually really love Diva as it creates such a sultry look with it's very berry, dark red like colour. It's not one I opt for often but I certainly will do so more over the next few months. 

I'm standing on the balcony that only got us in trouble a few nights ago; we both had a few drinks and after the bar closed we took to our rooms to sit on this small balcony pictured here to have a heated discussion, a common occurrence with me when I'm drunk. Next thing we know, we hear: "bang! bang! bang!" on our door and baring in mind it's only just midnight, we were wondering what the hell is up? Needless to say, our 'talk' was apparently too loud for the hotel management and they very politely (sarcasm) told us we needed to be quiet and to not talk about such "inappropriate" topics. What topic it was? I don't remember that bit but I do remember being shouted at and laughing a lot. Well we are on holiday aren't we? I'm not about being treated like a naughty child when I consider myself a well-behaved (mostly) adult.

All the drama aside, we headed out on this evening to a drag queen show up on the strip. The comedy was fantastic but we weren't such a fan of the cheesy music, the oldies loved it though so that's all that matters! Turkey is a little bit strange; my experience of it has not particularly been great as we've been harassed and sexualised by the men to such an extreme degree it honestly made us so uncomfortable.

This dress fulfils all kinds of sexiness for myself though and paired with these towering, gorgeous heels from Dorothy Perkins I could feel my confidence radiating out from me. I was not about to let glaring, pervy eyes, stop me from wanting to look myself.

I wish I could say I made an effort with my hair but when the weather is this hot, who can? For a couple of days I honestly tried straightening it but my hair being the mess that it is, frizzed back up again. Now I'm back in London, it's time to get my curl back on!

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OOTD: Lydia Bengaline dress

First things first: I could definitely have downsized in this dress. With tight fitting clothes, I usually go for a size 16 because I'm a little scared of tightness. I really need to stop upsizing so much and embrace tightness because this dress would have looked so much better on me otherwise. Well, it's a bloody good job my mum ordered one too in a 14 isn't it?!

I'm also wearing my What Katie Did - Morticia corset underneath, along with a girdle and stockings. I must admit I felt so sexy this evening. If I look uncomfortable it's because I'm a little peeved off that I had to try and take outfit photos in my tiny little room and was a little frustrated with having no room. Ah life. Why didn't my mum consider I'd need to take blog photos before moving me into this room?! how inconsiderate! (that was a poor joke).

Things I love about this dress is the vivid red; it's such a Joan from Mad Men level sexy dress. It's made of stretchy bengaline material which makes it incredibly flattering which is also enhanced with the gorgeous sweetheart neckline. However, the downside to the dress is that it was clearly designed with a bigger bust in mind as the top was so bloody roomy. I couldn't wear a bra because the dress kept exposing it so I went braless and *just* about got away with it.

So I wore this out for drinks with my BFF and I have to admit I was being checked out and I loved it. It gave me a bit of confidence that I haven't really had before. Like I felt like walking into the bar and snapping my fingers - I didnt don't worry, I'm not that much of a dick.  However I did try a bit of a Joan pose when I got a margarita in my hands. It wasn't great!

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Taking A Trip To My First Vintage Fair Featuring Harley

I'm writing this a few weeks late now as I've had a lot of nonsense go down in my personal life but here we go! Ahhhh what a great weekend this was. I decided to pop on my yellow Pinup Girl Clothing 'Harley' dress as it had been a good while since I last wore it. This dress is an absolute dream; the neckline is gorgeous and the dress flows out into a full gathered skirt so beautifully. I could have given it a good iron like any decent pin up would but I didn't have the time and honestly, I'm just rubbish at ironing.

Despite the weather being a bit iffy recently, I threw caution to the wind and headed out the door on the Sunday morning without a coat. Along with my parents who have become avid vintage fans like myself, we drove down to the Cutty Sark Gardens in Greenwich where a vintage fair was on. 

On one of the vintage furniture stalls, I found this stunning flamingo cabinet. I know it's a little tacky but I fell in love with it so much. However, at around £250, it really wasn't going anywhere with me. 

Unfortunately, I did feel that the fair was lacking in an amount of stalls but there was a nice mix between vintage clothing, home ware, accessories, luggage and even some reproduction clothing. so you weren't too hard up for choice.

On the Cutty Sark Gardens itself, there were free taster dancing lessons on throughout the day. I even got pulled into one myself by a lovely guy and it was so much fun being thrown around (sort of as I tried to keep my modesty from showing as my skirt blew up) and it really made me want to try dancing some more.

We moved on from the Gardens and made our way to Greenwich market where there were more vintage and art stalls to enjoy. We had a little wander around all the stalls, took in the smell of the lovely food stalls and contemplated spending far too much money on brooches. Thankfully I resisted!

Overall, it was a lovely morning spent in Greenwich. I only wish there were more stalls and the weather was better so there may have been a bigger turn out. I only look forward to going to more vintage fairs in the future.

Oh Gwyneth....

I'm the absolute tool who has been spreading these images around my social media before I even bothered to write the post. The problem is, when I try a dress on and I *feel fantastic* I go to take blog photos, then I love the photos so much I just have to Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr them all before I've even had the chance of writing a blog post. I can imagine I am very annoying to anyone who follows me on any of those formats; particularly Instagram to which I am a self-confessed addict.

So I first wore this to the Pinup Picnic In The Park event back in June but I have not worn it since. It was a second-hand buy from a lady on Facebook and I feel I really lucked out with this one. Now, I'm an owner of other Voodoo Vixen dresses, but I was glad to get this one second-hand as I didn't know how their wiggle dresses would fit me. I mean, I was rather happy when I came across this on Facebook because I couldn't afford it at full price, not knowing what the fit would be like (and yeah, VV dresses are really reasonable) so I thought I'd rather take this opportunity to try the dress at a slightly cheaper price but pre-owned. 

Thankfully, and to my utter delight, the dress arrived in pretty much perfect condition. To me, it looked brand new. Fit wise, it isn't perfect on me but these days, I tend to size up on wiggle dresses; I'm a little self concious of my belly and my weight is constantly fluctuating so I'm scared of wearing my ACTUAL SIZE. Silly, I know. However, I needn't have worried here as it's clear that this dress isn't skin tight and didn't leave me feeling vulnerable. In fact, I would have quite happily have sized down and not feel like all my lumpy bits - which I am constantly trying to love - were on show. I believe the dress is still wearable despite the considerable amount of room on my shoulders (at some points during the picnic, the shoulders kept falling down but I found it rather amusing). 

So the dress does come with it's own belt but personally, I found it wasn't sturdy enough for me so that I could cinch in my waist. In these photos, I'm wearing my What Katie Did - Morticia corset so obviously my waist looks tinier than normal and with ALL this extra room, I turned to my trusty white waist belt from eBay to tie the look together. This isn't a thing with just this particular dress because any dress that I buy that comes with a belt, I usually replace it with another..I'm a bit fussy like that you see. 

I need to talk about how gorgeous the print is though; the nautical theme suits me through and through as you may or may not have seen my anchor tattoo on my forearm. I'm a bit fan of this theme so it's fabulous when I get to incorporate it into my wardrobe. I feel the navy and white colours of this dress make it a really simple yet classy outfit to wear as it doesn't really make a statement as such but can easily be dressed up as it can be dressed down. Also, can we PLEASE notice the POCKETS?! Yes, a dress that has pockets is the Holy Grail.

Made of 97% cotton with 3% elastane, there is a touch of stretch so it is very forgiving on the body, as I mentioned before. The one part of it I do really love is how thick the dress feels; it really doesn't feel flimsy or cheap. Yet I was let down in the buttons department; within a few hours of my second wear, the buttons down the front started withering away and falling off. This isn't the first time this has happened to me with a dress. It happened on my other Voodoo Vixen 'Tilly' dress, a Lindy Bop dress and now this. I'm starting to become wary of buying dresses with sown on buttons because they just fall off so quickly. I mean, it's alright when you have the spare button which comes with most dresses...but when more than one falls off and it's in public and you can't retrieve it, you start looking silly. For me, this aspect ruined (a teeny tiny bit, I will find other buttons to sow on, I refuse to let this get me down) the dress slightly, but not much. 

I'm so impressed with the way this dress makes my body look (even without the corset on underneath) as it gives it a silhouette and perfectly outlines my figure. Moreover, the dress is just rather pleasing to the eye and I'm totally in love with the cut of it. The kick pleat at the back does help, along with the slight stretch in the dress, to walk around and sit down in (like when you're sitting around at picnics!)

Now I know their pencil dresses fit me well enough, I have my eye on the 'Allison' dress, you can see here. This one is going straight to my wishlist and I will be purchasing brand new, because who doesn't love a new parcel in the post anyway?! 

Shoes by B.A.I.T Footwear. 

Until next time my lovelies, thank you for reading <3
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Love At First Cigarette Trousers.

I'm so excited that these trousers arrived and they're so perfect! I'd been lusting after them for months and when they finaaally got released, they sold out in my size so quickly I never even got a chance. I even popped down to the Collectif store in Brighton to see if they had them in stock but alas, they didn't. 

I remembered that Collectif aren't the only store that sells their own brand so I took a visit to the Audrey Star's Boutique website and I was delighted that they had my size in. 

 I have really been trying recently to incorporate more casual ~yet glam~ outfits into my wardrobe. I've found myself with more dresses than anything else but I know I'd love to keep mixing it up and form outfits on my own. Whilst dresses are fantastic for not really having to make many decisions on how your look goes, I do love how I feel when I mix and match separates because, although this sounds weird, I feel accomplished when I've put together a great outfit. 

What I love about these trousers is that they come with great stretch, there is room to breathe in them and so they make for an extremely comfortable wear. It's worth noting that these are my first ever pair of cigarette trousers so I wasn't really sure what to expect. The waist comes up really high which I love because I absolutely hate wearing trousers on my hips but I also love it because I can stick a waist cinching belt over it to break up the outfit and to create more curves.

With the trousers being lined, they feel and look really sophisticated and luckily for me, I have plenty of tops that they can go with them so I'm sure I'll have endless amount of possibilities mixing and matching.  I do feel I could have sized down in them but I always find Collectif's bottoms tend to be hit and miss for me sizing wise, so I tend to order up to be safe. My only real hope for the trousers was that they'd be a bit tighter around the ankles but I'm not fussy either so oh well! 

To wear out, they're so ridiculously comfortable

With the trousers, I also ordered this delightful bag from Sunjellies. I didn't intentionally buy them to match with each other but when I received the parcel it was only then I realise how well they go together. At £10 as well, you really cannot go wrong...just don't put loose change in it ;)

The bag itself is surprisingly strong for such a low-priced little bag. It's been my go-to for the past few days and I've yet to lose anything from the holes either. In the parcel, the bag arrives flat and then you clip it together at the sides. I had a few comments saying "Ooh do you remember those bags?!" but I honestly don't. If they were around in the 90s, I must have been under a rock! Anyway, they clip together really nicely and it holds well. I'm the kind of person who takes a million things out and about with me and so far, it's so good!

To finish off the outfit, with the trousers I wore a white bardot top from Primark which I've featured in my outfit posts plenty of times, a white waist belt from eBay and my gorgeous shoes from B.A.I.T footwear.

I feel SO cute, I cannot wait to wear this ensemble more often.

Trousers, £42 - Collectif  at Audrey Star's Boutique
Shoes, $72 - B.A.I.T
Bag, £10 - Sunjellies  at Audrey Star's Boutique
Top, around £3.50 - Primark
Belt, eBay

OOTD // Pinup Girl Clothing + Tara Starlet

I threw this outfit together because it was hot, I was going out into London for a meal and I was pretty much just throwing on the first bits of clothes I found in my wardrobe (floor). But seriously? I am so in love with this entire ensemble; I love a good accidental outfit! I've used this Zooey top by Pinup Couture in a few OOTD posts now but I just can't resist because it's a gorgeous cut and colour plus very versatile. Although a little loose for me in the breast area, I love the lined body as it fits perfectly to my shape.

The shorts are by Tara Starlet which I bought last year with the matching crop top. I don't think I've ever worn the crop top actually as I'm a little self concious of my midriff in it but I'm sure as I continue to lose weight (fingers crossed), I may find some more confidence. Although a little tight around the waist and the legs, there is no denying how stunning the floral print on these shorts are. And despite there being no stretch in the shorts whatsoever which made me a teeny tiny bit uncomfortable, they still looked so good so I wasn't complaining. Additionally, the shorts are very lightweight and I found that whenever I've worn them out, the bottom half of me stays very cool and the pockets have such good depth so I was carrying my phone and lipstick around without needing a bag - that's always a winner in my eyes.

I added the belt, bought recently in Primark, to pull me in at the waist. The belt size is small with a lovely zig zag pattern across the front with a gold coloured clasp that slide in together to create an effortless look. I really love the shape the combination of this outfit gives my body, it really makes me LOVE my waist, eek!

 This outfit did wonders for my confidence and self-esteem and I look forward to wearing it more over the summer! Sandals are also by Primark. 

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OOTD // Primark & Pinup Girl Clothing

I haven't done a OOTD post in a long while because I've been so busy! I meant to post this a couple of weeks back but I really have been tied up, so I do apologise for my lack of presence on the blog recently. 

What have I been up to? Well it's been a mixture of trying to balance my full time shift work on the Underground with going down the gym and trying to get fitter and there was a week Jonny came home from tour so I dedicated most of my free time seeing him as he's now away again for another 7 weeks. 

 I really do struggle to balance posting regularly on the blog alongside the shift work that I do; my hours are all over the place so I am challenged about which days I can and cannot shoot blog photos. I'm so much more productive when I have annual leave. My aim over the next few weeks is to find a better balance between working, socialising and blogging. I adore blogging far too much to not ever find time for it. 

Primark has had some incredible pin up inspired bits and pieces in their stores this summer; from sandals and tops, to even home ware!  

I picked up these cute white sandals in their Bromley store and I believe they retail at around £8, although I cannot properly remember that so they could be £6 or they could be £10; I know, I'm a very helpful blogger sometimes! Anyway, they are so gorgeous and I really believe they finish off an outfit.

An item I'm sure I've already featured, is the Bardot top which I also picked up in Primark; at £3.50 a top, it's so cheap so I picked up all the colours they had available. It makes such a handy separate for all your skirts and trousers. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a way to make the neckline stay on my shoulders but I can deal with that.

This Jenny skirt by Pinup Girl Clothing is my favourite item of clothing in my wardrobe at the moment; it's so pretty and it pretty much goes with most things I have. I could have done with a petticoat underneath this as the skirt was feeling and looking a little flat; however, I love showing this skirt some love so I always wear it no matter what. 

The belt is by Vivien of Holloway and I would normally wear a wider one, I'm on a bit of a belt shortage at the moment so I used this one instead. I'd rather have a belt than none at all, hehe.

I've lost some weight since I've taken these photos and I can see the difference here just looking at myself. I'm so excited about my progress and I can't wait to post an update showing you all how far I've come along in just a few weeks. 

Hopefully I'll be able to find more time to post now!

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OOTD | Stripes like candy...

Oh god, what a week for the weather? it has been so up and down. On the bright side, at least it's relatively warm now so I can start venturing out without a jacket on. Lately, I've been deciding to go back into my wardrobe to pull out pieces of clothing I haven't worn in a while, and I have to admit, I did forget I owned this adorable Tara Starlet skirt.

 I own the matching crop top to this skirt too but it is a little too big for me so I have decided to team the skirt with this white bardot top from Primark instead, finding them a perfect match. Underneath, I'm wearing my What Katie Did - Morticia corset to give myself some more shape, I felt so defined, it's nice feeling like you have a tiny waist!

 I wore this outfit to my Niece's 4th birthday party. As soon as I got there I received some really lovely compliments; and as it turns out, a lot of people within and around my family's circle still don't realise I dress vintage and rockabilly, so I got a lot of "Oh you've really changed!" comments still. I mean, are they saying that in a good way? I don't know, I'm not sure if I even care, I dress for myself and I'm pretty darn happy!

I'm so pleased I went deep into my wardrobe to pick out some old pieces of clothing I haven't worn in months. I find the combination of this skirt and the top which is a new recent purchase, delightful and one which I will be wearing more often especially over the summer. I also love the fact this outfit is finished off nicely with my B.A.I.T footwear shoes because I'd been looking for something to wear them with.

Top - Primark // Skirt - Tara Starlet // Shoes - B.A.I.T Footwear // Belt - Hell Bunny
 //  Corset  - What Katie Did

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OOTD | Primark, Lindy Bop, Vivien of Holloway & B.A.I.T footwear

 I am in love with this entire outfit. The top is a bardot by Primark and they have these in several different colours and patterns at the moment for just £3.50 each so I think I picked them all up. I needed a staple white top for my wardrobe and this one is perfect. 

You might have noticed I desperately tried to photoshop my nips out of these images but I think I've just drawn more attention to them hahahaha. Note to self: you can't always get away with not wearing a bra! I think it's pretty funny though, you can only laugh at yourself. 

The flower in my hair is from Vivien of Holloway in store as well as the red petticoat I'm wearing underneath; these are my dear mum's that I often steal from her as I can't afford to buy my own at the moment. It's a good job she's got good taste too, hey?! 

The belt is a patent one from Pinup Girl clothing that I wear in almost all of my OOTD posts. I think it cost about $12 and it's great quality so definitely worth an investment. 

My skirt is the 'Peggy full circle skirt' from Lindy Bop and at only £19.99 I think it's one of the best I've ever bought and at such a bargain price. It's so full and pretty and it's utterly graceful and gorgeous. Admittedly, I don't wear this as often as I should as I think it needs to be seen more often! 

Finally, my outfit is completed by my B.A.I.T footwear court shoes. I love these as they complete the elegant look and I find them so smart and EXTREMELY comfortable.