Paradise magic with Hell Bunny

Every pinup I’ve met has had a specific pinup style that first started their love affair, whether it be vintage, nautical, animal print….there are literally so many but it was just a style that caught your eye and made you fall in love. For me, it was the tiki look. Its therefore no surprise my first PUG dress was from their tropical range. It is however a style I sadly don’t wear as much anymore, mainly due to most tiki styles having thin straps or being strapless, things I can’t wear 95% of the time anymore due to my job. But when I saw the new Hell Bunny 50s Paradise dress, I knew I needed it in my wardrobe!

Flowers ~ Melody Bundle from Daisy Jean Floral Designs
Bamboo Hoops - Ebay
Necklace & Bracelet ~ Lilac beads from Debstar Designs
Brooch ~ Large Dew Drop brooch in Orange from Dottie DeLite Jewellery
Dress ~ 50s Paradise dress by Hell Bunny bought from Natasha Marie Clothing
Belt ~ Kmart
Shoes ~ Kiki Sandals in green from Royal Vintage Shoes (Read Review here)

As much as I loved this dress, it isn’t one I jumped on straight away. For those who aren’t Australian based, the exchange rate has hardly been our friend in the last 12-18 months, after a drop of around $0.30 value off our dollar, it now costs us significantly more than it once did to buy from the USA and the UK. While I was seeing this dress EVERYWHERE online and loving it, the only places I could find it stocked where America and the UK. Postage combined with the exchange rate pushed the price up more than I was willing to pay, so I bide my time and waited. I was beyond ecstatic when I saw Natasha Marie was getting this dress in! As soon as I could fit it into my budget I bit the bullet and snapped this dress up and I have absolutely no regrets.

I had this dress the week after I made my purchase, which is normal for Australia post standard postage time frames. It arrived and I was instantly struck by how much prettier it is in person. The fabric pattern is such a beautiful soft print of tropical colours and it the stock photos really don’t do it justice. I was absolutely smitten! This dress is a reproduction of a 1950’s style shirt dress, which means it features a collar similar to a blouse, button detailing down the front and in this instance short sleeves. While it does have button detailing, it features a back zip for easy wear. The buttons on this particular dress are small round wooden ones which I feel just adds to the overall tiki vibe to this dress. I particularly love the top half of this dress. The waist is nipped perfectly and the cut is truly beautiful.

I bought this dress in a medium, which is my standard hell bunny open hip size, with the exception of the Ingrid and Jennifer dresses. I can wear it comfortably with or without shapewear which tells me its pretty true to size. While it was a little firm on my shoulders initially, with two wears I found this was no longer an issue. Something to note is that this dress is made of polyester, so it is incredibly thin! For winter wear I’ve been wearing it with a slip underneath as well as a crinoline to help me keep warm. This is definitely a summer dress and while I’m not wearing it much now as a result, I know it will get a LOT of wear when the warmer weather rolls around.

I chose to accessorise this gorgeous dress with colours I felt would complement the pattern. Lilac beads from Debstar Designs, a purple, yellow and orange hair flower from Daisy Jean floral Designs, green sandals from Royal Vintage Shoes and a tan brown belt with bamboo hoop earrings! Also, how incredible is this brooch!

This gorgeous Dew Drop brooch is made by Australian small business Dottie DeLite Jewellery. Based in Melbourne, the lovely Miss Dottie makes gorgeous 50’s inspired brooches in a range of colours and bead styles. I opted for this gorgeous brooch as I felt it would fit so well with this outfit as well as crossing over to my other cooler weather looks as well as my summer looks. It features a bronze glitter based and large orange beads! You can shop their store by clicking here.

I purchased this gorgeous dress for $79.95AUD + postage from Natasha Marie Clothing. If you are in the USA I have seen this dress stocked at Unique Vintage and as Hell Bunny is a UK brand I have no doubt there are re-sellers who stock it there (I am not as familiar with UK stockists due to the expensive exchange rate.

I hope you've all enjoyed this review! I certainly am in love with this dress and I wanted to show it in the perfect setting! 

Til tomorrow darlings!