Casual Cosplay: Harley Quinn meets Vivien of Holloway

Some time ago I entered a costume competition run on the Vivien of Holloway facebook page. I didn't win it, but I had a lot of fun putting together this little casual cosplay.

The challenge was to create a costume using a Vivien of Holloway dress so I decided to use my Peggy Lee dress. The red colour and the white collar really reminded me of Harley Quinn so I decided to throw together a vintage inspired Harley look.

I made this look by tacking the diamonds on to the dress. I tacked them on very badly because it was just for a one off but I would applique then neatly if I was going to do this again.

I also wore two pairs of tights, in this instance I didn't cut the tights, but I would have cut them and re sewn them if I wanted to wear this costume again.

It was also a great opportunity to break out the Worbla mask again and the blonde wig.

I also decided to have a little fun with some prop signs...

Have you ever thrown a costume together in a rush? Did it work?

Why vintage repro rocks: A red Vivien of Holloway Peggy Lee dress

You've probably seen me talk about Vivien of Holloway before on her as it is one of my favourite brands and I think they do some amazing vintage reproduction dresses (and jeans, and skirts) and a few have appeared on here in previous posts.

Many moons ago while I was still a poor student I really wanted the Peggy Lee dress, but sadly it came and went from the shop before I ever had the funds to buy it. So when a brand new red Peggy Lee dress popped up on ebay I was powerless to resist (the seller had also listed it as a buy it now for a stupidly low price).

I decided to wear the Peggy Lee to London to visit my parents. They were staying in Stratford next to the Olympic park so I could not resist taking a few pictures against the stadium backdrop (even if it is being converted to a football ground).

I think the dress is a beautiful fit. It goes in and out in all the right places which is one of the real advantages of a Vivien of Holloway dress. If you've not tried one on before then you have to look carefully at the measurements as they are not conventional, they have more room in the bust and hips, perfect for curvy girls.

The dress also has nice big patch pockets, which I'm obviously impressed with if this picture is anything to go by:

My husband and I being completely stylistically mismatched, as always :)

I tried something a little different with my hair. Something a little more fancy. I took inspiration from Vintageous on youtube and attempted this side roll do (on a side note Natalie's tutorials are excellent, really clear and easy to follow I highly recommend them).

It was actually pretty easy to do just following the video step by step, the only part I had difficulty with was getting my fringe in there, its still not long enough to back comp properly so I couldn't really get the volume needed, but I think I just about got away with it.

A super extra added bonus of this hair do was that when I took it out I ended up with a lovely asymmetrical wave. I think if I'd taken some time to brush it out neatly I could have created a lovely pin-up inspired down-do.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Shoes: M&S