The Corporate pinup ~ How I dress pinup in a corporate environment!

The corporate pinup!So I’m a corporate pinup. I’ve found a way to take my style and make it work in a corporate environment and thought I’d share a few tips and tricks I’ve personally found to make my style work appropriate. This is what works for me and the company I work for, you may have to tweak it slightly to work for your own.

Clothes & Accessories

Top styles!

The biggest tips I can say here are to keep the cleavage for at home and stay away from halter straps! I don’t wear any of my halter dresses or tops at work because they just aren't work appropriate. Any tops I have that are good work wear but might be a bit on the ‘busty’ side I wear a singlet top underneath so my chest is covered. I aim to wear tops that have at a minimum capped sleeves but if they don’t (some of my dresses have straps) I just make sure I wear a little bolero or cardigan so I’m covered! As the office is air con'd and quite cool, I tend to wear long sleeve tops primarily to work except on Fridays when I wear t-shirts. For some examples of my tops, see below!

Kmart top, Erstwilder Brooch, Hellbunny Skirt, Pinup Couture Heels

Pin Up Girl Clothing Doris Top and Skirt (in atomic print), Daisy Jean Flowers, Erstwilder Brooch, Pinup Couture shoes

Skirts and Trousers!!

I wear a lot of my swing skirts to work. Their length is work appropriate and I have SO many of them! When I wear a swing skirt to work, I wear it with a crinoline instead of a petticoat. This still gives me the 50’s shape without being too ‘fun & flirty’ for work. I bought my crinolines years ago on ebay (you can get them in a range of colours) and for moving back into a more corporate role they have been a lifesaver. Wiggle skirts keep to the high waisted designs with lengths to around the knees with skirt splits not too high up! Here I'm wearing a Pin Up Girl clothing skirt to give you an idea of what I mean. I am also loving my PUG pants for work as well for days I don't feel like wearing a dress. Teaming these with classic pinup style tops is still a great work option! See below for some of my outfits!

Dangerfield top, Hellbunny Belt, PUG Venice Jenny Skirt, Kmart Pumps

Collectif Alice Top, PUG black cigarette pants, Erstwilder Brooch, Pinup Couture Cutie Heels

Repro nylon scarf, Dangerfield top, Hell bunny belt, PUG harlequin jenny skirt, Pinup Couture pink cutie heels

Lady Rowe Hair flowers, Erstwilder Brooch, Target top, PUG black Cigarette Pants, Kmart pumps

PUG Doris Top and PUG red wiggle skirt, Erstwilder Brooch and Pinup Couture red cutie heels

Red Doris Top, Creep Heart Brooch, PUG Black Cigarette Pants, Pinup Couture Red Cutie Heels

PUG white top, Erstwilder Brooch, PUG high waisted trousers and Rubi Shoes sandals. 

Also, a note to mention on both: be mindful of the patterns you wear! Make sure your patterns aren’t inappropriate for work. Cherries for example might be fine while cartoon pinups in bikinis or zombies, not so much!

Dresses!

While I do budget shop a lot of my tops, shoes and cardigans, my dresses are all brand dresses! I wear a mix of my swing dresses that are sleeved and my wiggle dresses to work. Pin Up Girl Clothing, Tatyana Boutique and Stop Staring are my current workwear favorites. Again, keep bust to a minimum and patterns classy. And have fun! One of my favorite things atm is to match tops under my Havana nights dress for example to give it a different look! If you have a dress with thinner straps, wear a bolero or cardigan with it to make it more work appropriate.

PUG Havana nights dress, collectif Western top, Erstwilder brooch, hellbunny belt, Pinup Couture Heels

Erstwilder Brooch, Stop Staring Dress, Pinup Couture Pink Cutie Heels

PUG jenny dress in lavender, Cardigan by Dangerfield, Creep Heart Brooch, Rubi Shoes Flats.

Tatyana Boutique Dress, Pinup Couture Red Cutie Heels

Lady Rowe Flower, Hell Bunny Constance Dress & belt, Pinup Couture pink cutie heels

Special mention to suits!

Some pinup brands (Tatyana boutique and Pinup Couture) now sell Vintage inspired suits as well as you can actually find and buy real vintage suits! These suits are always amazing to work in (really! They are built for office wear!) and I am fortunate enough to have found one suit for less than the cost of one part on ebay! Seriously pinups in offices, get on this!

Tatyana Boutique Checkered Swing Suit & Pinup Couture pink cutie heels!

Shoes!

I wear both flats and heels to work. Try and stay away from super high platform pumps: keep those for shoots and going out. Sensible heels and nice flats are the go here! 

Stockings/shapewear!

Don’t be afraid to wear your vintage undergarments to work! I do! No one is going to know and there’s nothing wrong with wearing your suspenders, back seamed stockings (though if your workplace is a bit stricter maybe go for a plain nude stocking or a nude back seam?) and what not as long as it suits the clothes you are wearing!! I cannot stress this enough! The number of spanx I see that are so far under skirts in the city is a bit mind blowing.

Hair and pieces!

Keep them modest and more on the smaller side. Keep the BIG statement pieces for at home. I often wear my scarves on casual Friday. It really depends on your workplace to how vintage you can style it. While I wear a wetset or pony and bangs most days, I wouldn’t wear my MASSIVE bumper bangs to work as they just aren’t work appropriate. A wet set is a safe bet for most corporate places, most women wear their hair out now days anyway from what I’ve seen in my local city!

Accessories!

Most accessories are pretty ok, as long as they don’t feature language or elements that one would consider offensive. For example, I comfortably wear all my brooches to work except the one I have which is oddly enough, a pinup in a bikini. Just be mindful of language and content.

Make up

I’m pretty free to do my make up as I like as long as its ‘tasteful’. Most classic pinup makeup is. If your work is a bit stricter maybe only line half your lid with a flick or a brown eyeliner and go for softer or nude lipsticks as oppose to the usual punchy red!

My aim every morning is to look presentable, tasteful but also true to myself. I’m very proud of my pinup self and I hope this helps!

I'll be posting an updated pinup shopping guide in the next few days!

Another post coming soon!

Review ~ Setting Spray from Miss Ruby Rabbit!

Review time! I have honestly SO many reviews to catch up on now I have the time to get back into them, so though I’d start with the spray I mentioned earlier!

As many of you know, my hair is renowned for being…uncooperative! My hair is any stylist’s worse nightmare when it comes to creating curls as I unfortunately have extremely strong, thick and stubbornly straight hair! I've tried a lot of products on the market aimed at curling, with little to no success. Heat sets on my hair are lucky to last 30 minutes (seriously!) and the longest a wet set had ever held on my hair for me so far was 4-6 hours. I’ve never had curls left over to repin at the end of the day. I’ve never had curls not drop after the first 30-60 minutes….its honestly a constant struggle that I think he internet overlooks as I tend to only post my successful days lol! My hair is HARD work when it comes to styling and often has a mind of its own!

So…when the amazing Miss Ruby Rabbit contacted me about her new hair range, I was secretly hoping this would be my holy grail of hair products and I was right! I was SO excited when my gorgeous goodies arrived in the mail. I received the setting spray and the 

pomade, my first ever pomade which also made me SUPER excited! 

The first time I set it, I used it as I would my normal spray. I used a spray bottle to dampen my hair (too wet and due to the thickness it won’t dry) and put a misting of the setting spray over my hair. It honestly SMELLS amazing as well, which is so lovely. I woke up to that smell and it really lifted my mood. I then brushed it through before doing a simple foam roller set on my hair. I let it set for 6-7 hours overnight before I took it out. The results were INCREDIBLE!

I got the best curls straight out of the rollers I have EVER had. They were tight, well-formed and held their curl even with a very light brush out! These curls lasted me ALL day! I mean all day! I had enough curl left over to re-pin my original wet set, something that for me has never happened before. This to me alone testaments to how amazing it is! I use the pomade to help minimize my friziness of my hair and it did an amazing job!

This is a product I’d definitely recommend buying as for me personally it’s the ONLY product I’ve ever found that has made my hair try curl and I've tried quite a few.  For thick stubborn hair, this still will change your life! I've used it regularly since it arrived and I honestly LOVE it! Whether I'm setting right a tight set or something more wavy! Its become my go to!

The only con I can mention is that it is a heavy spray, so if you get too enthusiastic with your spraying (which I have done once) your hair will be too heavy to maintain the curl. 

But as a whole, I’d recommend this product to anyone wanting a setting spray for their hair!

For details head here to get some of your own! 

Til tomorrow

Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 2015 ~ The Retro Equality Project ~ Pinups for Equality!

Hello all!

The Saturday just passed, here in Aussieland was the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras! Its an annual event that is a chance for the gay community here in Australia to spread their wings, encourage same love acceptance and to wear not a lot of clothing! 

In January of this year I talked about the Retro Equality Project, one I was fortunate enough to be a participant in! The project, as per my original post has the aim of promoting equal marriage rights through the medium of pin up photography! The project started as an idea by incredible Miss Cherry Button as her community project for Pin Up Doll Australia and flourished into something much bigger! Now boasting a photo book and a calendar (get yours at the next Rock n Roll Markets!!) it reached its highest point with the Mardi Gras on Saturday night. It was a blast to be involved not only the project and to work/meet some amazingly passionate women (will talk more about this in a moment!) but also to be apart of a project promoting something I strongly believe in: marriage equality for all!

Before I start, I want take a note to mention two very special people!

This is the brains behind the project, Miss Cherry Button & her fiance. This is the woman who made the Retro Equality Project happen, who made Fair Day and Mardi Gras happen and who is one of the most driven and inspiring young woman I know. Her partner is one of the nicest, none judgmental women I have ever met as well and I truly admire both of these strong women. They embody Retro Equality and what it stands for, which is where I believe Cherry's tenacious drive to make this project a reality comes from.

So when Cherry told me that she wanted to have Retro Equality in Mardi Gras, I put my hand up to help make numbers and it was very exciting that everything was all approved and the day grew closer. To help with number's my mum got an invite (and she came along for the ride too!) and it was so exciting to wake up on Saturday and know that Mardi Gras was today!

After spending the early afternoon getting my petite mother dressed in pinup pride, we headed in to meet the other ladies in the group at the hotel! And it all began!

Walking to the lockout area

We were such a vast collection of ladies! So many different strengths, styles and personalities rolled into one group, all with the one common cause: to show that Pinups Support Equality! We got to the gate for the lockout and our unique style of dress meant we got SWAMPED be photographers! Literally swamped, to the point the police came over and told people they have to move to the other side of the path!

Penelope Quinn, Belle's Be Ringing, Naomi and Steph getting SWAMPED by photographers at the entry gate to the holding area of Mardi Gras

Waiting to go in: Eden L'Amour, Naomi and Penelope Quinn

Once in, we got to hang around and watch all the other participants having fun, getting ready and generally having a chat. We all had SO many photos taken during the wait time, it was honestly a blast!

Lin,  Jewel, Ruby, Cherry, Steph, Belles Be Ringing, My mum, me, Penelope Quinn, Eden L'Amour, Naomi and Kayleigh! All pinups for equality! 

I had the pleasure of meeting Kayleigh and Jewel on the set of the Retro Equality Project shoot (they volunteered their house for part of the shoot!) and they are two incredibly wonderful people! And of course, the same can be said for Cherry and her Lin. Two couples who are Retro Equality!

Our Gorgeous photographer Siobhan Ford and Miss Ruby!

Me with my mum, all dressed in pinup, never thought I'd see the day!

Me and my mum

Some of the boy's walking around

One of the costumes from Mardi Gras. A hibiscus flower!

Waiting for things to start! Belles be ringing, Penelope Quinn, Steph, my mum, Kayleigh, Jewel and Lin!

Ruby with one of the Drag Queens

Naomi with one of the other parade boys!

Then, very quickly it was time to get moving and the excitement really set in for all of us! It was nearly time to strut our stuff and spread our message! You could feel and see the excitement as everyone prepped to begin! Everyone started dancing and there was music everywhere! The atmosphere was intense!

Cherry Button excited to begin!

Role reversal! I picked up my mum!

Pinups for equality all ready to go!

We're all ready to go!

And then finally, it was our turn to start walking!! The entire experience was incredible! SO many people waving, screaming, reaching, wishing each other Happy Mardi Gras! I felt so truly privileged to be part of something so incredible!

High-fives for crowd goers

Pinup's for equality!

Parasol Princess'

More waving!

Jewel and Kayleigh! <3

The incredible Miss Cherry Button

Ruby, Penelope Quinn, Belle's be ringing, Steph, Eden L'Amour and my mum

Pinups for Equality!

Lots of swishing and twirling!

More waving!

Overall the entire experience was incredible and I'm so grateful to Cherry for giving me (and my mum) the opportunity to march in Mardi Gras this year and I know it meant a lot to the people who participated in the march with me as well! Marriage Equality needs to happen. Love does not discriminate, so why should others. Let those in love be in love. Your judgement and your beliefs don't define other people!

I'm going to finish this post with this amazing picture, which I feel embodies everything that is this project and why its important! If you'd like to show your support for the project and/or Cherry Button just click the links! 

Cherry Button will be sharing a stall with me at the next Sydney Rock n Roll Markets for Retro Equality! So if you have any questions or would like to buy any of the products associated with Retro Equality, come and say hello!

All photographs are courtesy of Siobhan Ford Designs who you can find on facebook and Instagram!! 

I'm going to leave that here. Thank you all for reading!

Til tomorrow