Why I love the Lily of the Valley Kitty dress from Vivien of Holloway

If you follow my instagram you will have certainly seen me in a Vivien of Holloway dress. They are one of my favourite vintage reproduction brands (although I must confess there are plenty of brands I haven't tried yet!) which is why I decided to get their Kitty dress for my graduation last summer.

Good ol' Viv then decided to remake the Kitty dress in a new, and I believe limited addition, range of fabric and I knew I had to have another Kitty. I decided to go with the gorgeous green Lily of the Valley print and I think I managed to snag the last one in my size as they are now out of stock in most of the sizes. Mind you there are plenty of other bloomin' gorgeous print dresses in the same style.
Trust me if I had all the monies I would have one in every colour!!

I ADORE this dress. Here are all the reasons why...

Pockets: It has huge roomy pockets for your gloves, trinkets, money and (in the winter) handkerchiefs. Meaning there is no need for a handbag. I love the freedom of a dress with pockets and when the print blends perfectly with the dress you simple can't go wrong.

Skirt: It has a super full gathered skirt with a length of 30 inches so it is perfect for dancing as the skirt won't swish up and for dressing with that mid-century modesty.

The fit: As with all Vivien of Holloway dresses, the fit is based on vintage patterns so the bust/waist/hip ratios are a better for someone with a 'vintage figure' (someone with more than 10 inches difference between their waist and hips). The 16 is perfect for my 30 inch waist and frankly enormous hips and I found that the bust was ample enough for my bust without gaping at the buttons.

Being a bigger girl (size 12/14/16 ish depending on the brand) I find Vivien of Holloway a magnificent way of getting vintage style clothing as I find to difficult to find genuine 40s/50s vintage in my size (just means I have to try extra hard).

The Print: Come on. It's beautiful. 'nuff said.

So yes I absolutely love this dress...

I also think my hair ended up looking pretty good this day. I bought some nylon scarves from Vintageous on youtube and they are a great vintage style hair addition. I'm so pleased that my hair is finally long enough at the front to roll. I much prefer my hair this way than with the fringe. Would you agree?

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Necklace: Vintage

Shoes: Doc Martens

Vintage Events: Brighton's Blind Pig Returns - Burlesque, Poles, Electro-Swing, Flappers and Frolicks!

After my interview with Carolyn Watt the lovely lady behind Blind Pig I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the latest event, tentatively titled ‘Blind Pig Returns’.

It promised to be an extravagant affair with music, dancing, burlesque, pole dancing and a live band all in the beautiful settings of the Proud Brighton Ballroom. This is just a quick overview of the event and some piccies, but if you want you can read a detailed review of the previous Blind Pig event you can do so here!

The event primarily caters musically for fans of electro-swing and with that in mind I chose to wear a vintage-style dress made by Pearl Lowe for Peacocks. Although it is more of a 50s shape I felt the lace styling would befit a modern speakeasy and well I just love the colour red, so why not! I also wore a pair of black brogues that are made for dancing! I also had a lot of fun with my hair this time too, after curling it I managed to pin it up in a sort of faux flapper look that I felt worked quite well. That is, if you can judge success by the fact it didn’t all fall down by the end of the night!

 This was also the first event that I had the opportunity to really test my new SLR and those performers really gave me a challenge! Here are a few of the acts:

Burlesque duo The Big Bad Wolf and Acacia Blue displayed a cheeky, comedy burlesque act…

Miss Bombshell entranced the audience with a athletic pole routine.

There was also an unusual double pole routine from Miss Steel and Ethan. I personally have never seen and act like this! I have always felt that pole work looks strenuous enough without having to worry about someone else accidentally kicking you in the face.

Then the wonderful Cherry Bella gave a burlesque and fire act to finish the night’s entertainment.

Then the party really got started...

The band This Is Laura played a short set before the DJ started spinning some more ‘clubby’ swing tunes.

This Is Laura       ...and I couldn't help wonder if the resident DJ was a fan of Star Trek TNG?

I also managed to get a few cheeky snaps of some of the best dressed of the night. A fantastic group of ladies who had all made the effort to dress the part and a  gentleman in what was EASILY the finest suit of the evening – I even managed to catch a still of Miss Doherty of the Vintage News team reporting on the night. I may have even fumbled my way through a very embarrassing interview with the news team too...

So that’s it for today! I’d apologise for all the pictures but I know that’s why you’re here :D

Bye for now!

Vintage Outfits: The 1980s Ball

Hi!

I’m back from my break and kicking off 2012 with a bit of a retro dresscapade today.

Way back when (approximately December 2009) I shared a house with two law students who asked my friend Sadie (of The Vanity Case) and I to do a Lindy routine at their Christmas Law Ball.

In exchange for a free meal (and lets just say that most dancers are easily bought with a free dinner…) we agreed to do a small performance before they opened the dance floor to the Lawyers.

I’m not going to lie… the performance was dreadful! We were so nervous we forgot a large portion of the routine and I’m sure the look of horror wasn’t disguised too well.

But that’s not important!

What does matter is that the Ball was 1980s themed! Which meant dressing in a suitably bright way with big hair and bright makeup.

I tried to take a bit of inspiration from the Human League for the make up, and Alex from Ashes to Ashes for the hair.

80s makeup inspiration

Make up wise wasn't about being subtle for me, I rarely stray away from that classic black eyeliner look so I think I went a little bit over board with the blue. The high cheekbone blusher is ESSENTIAL for that 80s look and rounded off with a bright pink lipstick.

Now I'm no D.I. Drake, but clearly we both have impeccable choice of colours

The hair was quite short at this point so I rolled it during the day to add some curl and volume and sprayed it to make it as big as possible- with a big bow to make it a bit more girly.

For the outfit itself I had a shiny electric blue swing dress with cut batwing sleeves and an inbuilt petticoat that I purchased from a vintage seller from eBay for around £5. I added a classic 80s style patent waist belt and some gloves- it was a ball after all!

I couldn't resist a bit of lomography for that 80s feel :D

Sadly, I was wearing my dance shoes in the photo so you can’t get a sense of footware… nevermind. Pixy boots would be the perfect way to finish this look I think.

So that's it for now!

Just one side note, I had my tickets for London Super Comic con confirmed so I'm currently working on a costume for that- as what you ask? I'm not telling... yet... but watch this space!

Until then- Happy Dresscapades!