The Perfect Pet Lovers look with Dangerfield clothing

Most pinups are a sucker for a novelty print. There’s something about them that is so quintessentially vintage. They’re something I’ve always admired, though I own very few myself. I find the true vintage ones I love are always WAY too small and true vintage novelty skirts aren’t cheap. So when I saw this adorable novelty style dress from Dangerfield pop up on my Instagram feed and also that they recently added afterpay to their store, I decided to take the plunge and get my first Dangerfield piece since I started in pinup a couple of years ago.

Scarf ~ Red Repro Nylon Scarf from Daisy Jean
Brooch ~ Scotty Dog Brooch from Miss Lady A Broad
Top ~ Robin  top in cream by Collectif from Gwynnies
Dress ~ Puppy in a Basket dress in black from Dangerfield
Shoes ~ Dolores slingbacks in brown from Royal Vintage Shoes

Dangerfield is an Australia store that stock a broad range of clothing, but their styles definitely are popular with the retro community, especially with their inhouse brands Revival and their Dangerfield brand. As a baby pinup who was quite a lot smaller, I struggled a lot with their proportions so moved away from them as a brand. But now days my body is very different and I thought it couldn’t hurt to give it another go. When I saw this print pop up I knew I had to add it to my wardrobe. With the price difference between the skirt and dress I felt the dress for me was a better option. So I took the plunge, added it to my cart and pressed buy.

My dress arrived pretty quickly. I got standard postage and I had it the week after purchasing (ordered the Thursday, arrived the following Wednesday). The tracking was updated throughout and it was well packaged. I was excited to unwrap it and see what it was like. The dress is made from 100%. I do love that this is the case, as I need cotton options for warmer or humid days due to my sensitive skin. The fabric isn’t super thick, but it’s also not super thin. It’s not see through (as you can tell by the fact I’m wearing a white knit top underneath and it’s now showing through). Featuring a back zip that’s not an invisible zip was also a win for me as I have a love hate relationship with them. I like the little bust tie detail this dress has and I also like that it’s easy to layer and in neutral colours, making it a great dress for all year round.

Being SO long since I last ordered from them…I scrutinised the size chart and went for the size closest to my current measurements which was a size 16. When it arrived it quickly became apparent that a size 14 would have been better. This dress is quite loose on me (though not enough to be hugely noticeable), especially in the bust and shoulders. I think I will end up just reducing the shoulders slightly for a better fit. As a first buy with my changed body I’m not too upset. I’d rather get something and have it a bit big than too small. And by throwing on a belt the dress is still wearable without the fit issues being hugely noticeable. 

The puppy print truly is the champion of this dress and its definitely why I bought it. Made to look like a painted vintage novelty print, this puppy pattern is actually printed onto the fabric, which makes it quite resilient to wear and tear. As someone who grew up always having dogs and has been unable to have them as an adult due to the rental market, I love I can wear this cutie even if I can’t own a pupper myself.  

For this shoot I decided to go a bit preppy with my look! My Scotty brooch from Miss Lady A Broad was the perfect match for my look because the only thing better than a dress with puppies on it is adding a puppy brooch! A red scarf and belt added some colour to my look while my knit top gave it the preppy feel I was after. My Dolores heels lifted the look to be a bit more adult without losing the preppy vibe of the outfit. Ladies this dress also features pockets too!

The Puppy in the Basket dress is also available in olive, if black isn’t your jam. I bought my dress for $88AU + postage and overall I’m pretty happy with it. This dress is one I know I’ll get wear out of, especially in the warmer months down here in Oz and its definitely made me relook at Dangerfield as a place to buy from to add fun prints to my wardrobe!

I hope you all have loved this review! I’ve finally finished up my holiday review post, it goes live tomorrow! And I’ve got a busy weekend shooting my style swap for you all as well as a bunch of new looks for the blog.

Til next time darlings!

Embrace the party season in Voodoo Vixen

While we may be staring down the barrel of winter down under, spring is quickly coming its way for all my northern hemisphere readers and after the posts I saw about your winter, it seems many of you are welcoming the warmer weather with open arms. Spring of course is party season. The warmer weather seems to almost creep into our homes and clasp our hands lovingly to pull us outside into the very bosom of nature. It’s a celebration of warmer weather allowing us to entertain outdoors and catch up with friends and loved ones without being driven inside to hide where it’s warm. Party season of course is also a chance for dressing up and I wanted to share a dress that I cannot wait to wear to as many parties as I can, even if it means adding a big jacket to get to my destination!

Flowers ~ Black rose double from Daisy Jean
Earrings ~ Medium heathers tears in red glitter from Daisy Jean
Necklace ~ Black bead necklace from Debstar Designs
Dress ~ Scarlett Red Embroidered Dress from Voodoo Vixen
Shoes ~ Nita Heels from Royal Vintage Shoes

As I said last week, for me Voodoo Vixen has completely blown it out of the water with their latest release. I love the designs. The designs are so varied that there really is something for everyone and I find myself compelled to keep adding some of their newest goodies to my wardrobe. The Scarlett Red Embroidery dress I couldn’t help snap up within the first few weeks of the collections release. I love the colour red. When I started this blog my hair was Jessica Rabbit red. But now days I rock a less bold blonde shade….but my wardrobe has definitely picked up the slack as I wear more red than ever before! 

The Scarlett dress truly is a show stopper. With a bright red base colour and a stunning black floral embroidery. It was this detailing which really drew me to the Scarlett as for me it truly made the dress. I was so excited for it to arrive and it got to me super quickly considering it was coming from the UK (just over 1 business week!). I was delighted to find theScarlett is zipless. This dress is a pull over the head dress which has elastic sheering in the back. This detail for me means this dress is going to be very figure friendly for a variety of different shaped ladies! The straps are also adjustable which is also great, as we have different busts and shoulder sizes too!

For me, the styling of this dress is also incredibly versatile. I’ve worn it to work with a bolero to make it office appropriate (because thin straps in my workplace are a no no) and got a lot of compliments on it. I’ve also worn it out in the evening without covering up and it was equally as popular. For me this makes this dress a versatile one as I can wear it not just as a party dress, but also as a work dress too! The Scarlett dress is also 100% cotton which means it breaths (though some ladies may find the fabric to be a bit on the thinner side...its not sheer or see through) ! Which living in the humid mess that is Sydney (at least in the warmer seasons) means this dress would be perfect for warm outdoor events as well as more high glam for the evenings (just remember your sunscreen and a cute parasol if you are outdoors as it offers no shoulder protection!). A show stopper no matter the occasion!

The stunning embroidery design also runs the entire bottom half of this dress, which is great for helping to streamline and smooth the waist. The dress is also pleated at the waist which helps smooth the hips and tummy. This dress does have a lining layer sewing into it, so no need to wear a slip as it stops the dress being see through. For reference I’m wearing the size Large which is a very comfortable fit due to the elastic back of the bodice. I’m absolutely smitten with this dress and at the moment it’s a high contender as my birthday party outfit for next month (unless the weather jumps to COLD really quick).

For more of a glam look I wore my Nita heels from RoyalVintage Shoes and finishing touches from Daisy Jean and Debstar Designs to help complete this look. I had such a great time shooting this dress in a stunning Japanese garden. I feel like the colours of the green and the stones really helped make the red tones just POP!

The Scarlett Red Embroidery Dress retails for £47.00/$80AU and Voodoo Vixen postage to Australia is only $14.50AU too!

I hope you've all loved this review! I'm so excited for whats coming to the blog in May!

Pretty in Primrose with Voodoo Vixen

I’ve talked before about the oh so important little black dress….and how I struggle with the concept of one. On its own, I find black quite bland and boring. I like bright colours most days and I find when I wear black, I often feel rather boring…. unless I’m rocking a style swap in which I wear all the black! But while I find block black pieces a struggle, I do have a soft spot for black dresses with subtle patterns of embroided detailing. So when I saw the Primrose dress from the newest VoodooVixen release, I knew she needed to be added to my wardrobe. 

Flowers ~ Triple rose clip from Daisy Jean
Earrings ~ Medium heather's Teardrops in Emerald glitter from Daisy Jean
Necklace ~ Green beads from Debstar Designs
Dress ~ Primrose Wrap dress from Voodoo Vixen
Shoes ~ Nita Heels from Royal Vintage Shoes

The Primrose dress by Voodoo Vixen is one of many favorites of mine from their latest release, with 3 already having made their way into my wardrobe. For those who aren’t familiar with the brand, Voodoo Vixen is a UK based pinup brand that make retro and vintage styled pieces that cater to gals who wear dresses from the 1940s through to the 60s. I’ve been wearing Voodoo Vixen for a number of years now and I love their affordability and uniqueness! The Primrose dress however deserves a special mention as its my first wrap dress from them and I'm absolutely smitten with it!

So what does that mean? That is a ‘wrap dress’? Well basically, instead of featuring a ‘traditional’ zip or button closure, this dress is wrapped around you when worn. Two tie sections are attached to the ends of each side of the dress and one side has a small opening in the seam at the waist. This way you can tuck to opposing cord through the hole and by tying it to the other one to secure the dress on. This makes this dress a great option for ladies who experience things like weight fluctuation and bloating, as the dress “tightness” dictated by tying it closed can be tightened or loosened to accommodate your body. The tie section also situates around the waist, which helps slim the figure and pull you in.

I’ve also found that changing the placement of the tie can change the look of the dress as well. For this shoot I wore it tied at the back, but I’ve also worn it on the side which I found gave it more of a casual feel for when I did grocery shopping in it. I also love the look of this dress without a corset on as well. The only struggles I had with this dress were finding a bra that didn’t show as being smaller busted and needing to size up to accommodate my later hips, it means there is more of a ‘gap’ in the chest section and it being just a bit too short for me to feel comfortable wearing stockings with it. But these are small issues for such a fabulous dress.

The highlight of this dress for me though, is the embroidery! As I’ve fallen more and more in love with the 1940’s, embroidery detailing has becoming something I really love seeing on pieces. For me sadly, most of the true vintage pieces I love are too small (perils of loving the 40’s when you have a pear/spoon shape) but that doesn’t mean I can’t find pieces that share that same feel in repro brands. The bright colours bordered in white on this dress for me really make it. They pop amongst the black so beautifully and not only do they make this dress a statement piece on its own, it gives you a lot of fun colours to play to when you accessorize! 

This dress is strikingly elegant. One I’d happily wear to work (which I have) or out to a dinner. Its elegant and incredibly stylish but also comfortable and practical. I do love that it’s a complete look on its own, which is great for lifting my look on days I’m feeling particularly lazy or for giving you some gorgeous colours to work with to help create a complete look. For my first wrap dress I’m super happy with it and I can definitely see it being a great dress to wear during the transitioning months of autumn and spring.

For this shoot I played to the green leaves and the red flowers. Wearing red roses in my hair and some green earrings and beads. I feel like these simple accessorizes are enough to lift this outfit without taking away from the embroidery detail which is the champion of my outfit.  Accessories don’t always have to be super complicated! Sometimes keeping it simple can be better for an outfit.   

I'm wearing the Primrose dress in a size Large and this gorgeous dress averages around $74AU + postage which is very reasonable. Now Voodoo Vixen only have sizes M and below left in stock. However, if you need a different size and adore this dress, Unique Vintage have the full size range in stock still!

I hope you've all enjoyed this review lovelies and I'm looking forward to some new exciting things coming next week to the blog!

Disclaimer: Whilst I received this dress in a collaboration with Voodoo Vixen, all opinions expressed are honest to help ensure the most accurate information for my readers.