Wednesday 29 July 2015

Brooch Queen ~ My ever growing addiction

Hello all,

So I promised you all a little peak into my brooch collection and here is the post as promised!

After a recount (I forgot a few!) and the brooches I have in the post coming I currently own 71 brooches! How crazy!

Erstwilder



This is where the love of brooches started and is an area that continues to grow in my collection, currently being the most brooches I own of any brand! Erstwilder designs are amazing, playful, quirky and limited edition, meaning you’d be hard pressed to find some of these pretties again!

Creep Heart


I was introduced to Ella Mobbs’ Brand Creep Heart when she sponsored me earlier in the year! I have since fallen in love and have been back to purchase more! Her design and style are incredible and I always get compliments on her pieces!

Deer Arrow


I was introduced to Deer Arrow when I won an IG comp late last year and have been slowly adding to my collection ever since. They were my first wooden brooch brand and I will no doubt continue to go back for more!

Atomic Mingo


A new brand to the brooch scene, she’s release some amazing movie inspired pieces! I snatched up this pink ladies brooch and adorable pineapple a while ago! Her designs are incredibly original and I’m so thrilled to see she’s doing so well!

Soda Sweethearts


I love this little brooch so much! Being a lover of ocean based goodies, I adore this little atomic mermaid brooch! She also does mermaid inspired hair pieces!

Heidi and Gretel


This brand caught my eye when they release their Audrey 2 brooch, inspired by little shop of horrors, one of my favorite movies! I knew I needed to make her mine and am currently eyeing off a few others I quite like.

Hungry Designs


Another brand with amazing originality! Flounder was one of my first purchases and I’ve since been blessed with a small collection of their AMAZING mounted head brooches! Ladies seriously, get on these!

Glitter Paradise


This brand is great for ladies with a love of retro lingerie! My first purchase of theirs was this adorable girdle and I am now eyeing off a bra and girdle matching set. So fun and playful!

Smitten Von Kitten


I won this pretty in my runner up pack last year for Miss Picture Perfect! Such a cute little brooch!

Cutie pop Creations


A new edition because honestly, who doesn’t love a pink glittery darth vadar! Her range is HUGE and her designs are amazing!

A miscellenious bunch of brooches that I’ve been gifted over time from friends


Self made


I’ve made myself a brooch from time to time, including these cuties

Im Lucky Charm


Who doesn’t love Jessica Rabbit. Being my inspiration for red hair, I knew I had to make this pretty mine!

Daisy Jean


I kept a brooch for myself of each design of my own brand because flowers are always pretty!

Debstar Designs


I bought this pretty to match a pair of earrings I bought from Deb and I adore this brooch!

Ms Batty Boutique



You can never have too many mermaid brooches! And this pretty acrylic piece is so pretty. 

A special mention to two of my newest editions that arrived today! Another Erstwilder for my collection and my second Glitter Paradise piece!


A special mention to Jubly Umph, who I also have my first brooch from them still in the post! See below for the design I ordered!

Special mention to amazing stockists Gwynnies, Vintage Pip and Coconette-Oz, for all your brooch needs!


I personally store my brooches in a bowl, so I can pick and choose what one i want and have them visually on display. Thought its getting to the point I need another bowl lol!

I hope you've all enjoyed this post!

Til later this week!






Saturday 25 July 2015

The Nell Dress with the Erstwilder Australian Collection

Hello all,


Its review time again and this time I’m reviewing one of my favorite ever Hell Bunny dresses: the Nell dress. I first fell in love with this dress when it was first released a few years ago, but just never got round to purchasing it. When I found it on ebay recently for $30 new, I knew I had to bite the bullet and make it mine.  I’ll be talking about the fit, quality and styling of this gorgeous 1940’s inspired number!


Quality and fit

The Nell dress is very similar to the Madden dress in fabric (click here for my Madden dress review) is quite thin. It’s made of Polyester, which means it doesn’t have much stretch to it but it does sit very nicely on. It also means that it’s very easy to dress up for winter with cadigans and a petticoat or dress down for summer. I bought the Medium, when ideally I could have sized down to a small. I found it to be very roomy in the shoulders and bust which can make it a bit more bust showy than I’d like to wear. The 1940’s shape to this dress is extremely figure flattering and the black velvet detailing along the collar truly compliments the green of the dress. I found it to be well made, with no fraying or issues in the structure and the zip hasn’t snagged.


Styling

Being a 1940’s style dress, I tried to stick to a more authentic  1940’s styling with this dress. For this shoot I matched it with my Black/Cream Ida’s as I felt the worked best with the darker colourings. I also kept the brooch simple and opted to pay ode to my Australian Heritage by wearing the Margarie Magpie brooch from the Erstwilder Australiana Collection. I missed out on Marge in February when she sold out but was lucky enough to snap her up during a restock. I chose not to wear any hair accessories for this shoot but if I was to wear flowers I’d go a black or a deep red.


I truly love this dress and I’m so glad its finally in my wardrobe! This dress is a fantastic addition for someone who is a lover of the 1940’s era and the darker colors have made it a much loved winter edition in my wardrobe!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this review!

Til next time!


Much love!


Thursday 23 July 2015

Why are you so Pinup Perfect?!

Hello all,

So this is something I get all the time and thought I’d do a blog post about it, because I’m sure it’s something other pinup’s get. If you are just starting this is something you'll encounter regularly as your style develops!


Generally no matter where I go, I’m rocking retro hair, red lips with a catseye liner click and a cinched waist. Looking retro is generally all about looking polished, which is an art that is not really held as importantly as it once was by society. My pinup style has very much become an integral part of who I am and I don’t care whether I’m doing the groceries or going out, I always like to look my best! I’ve even been known to lift weights in a beehive and red lips, or with a pincurl set under a scarf. Pinup styling for me has become a part an integrated part of my lifestyle and I couldn’t imagine life without it now.


I do however, get one continual comment no matter what I am that I find quite amusing: 

Where am I going, all dressed up like that?

It honestly doesn’t matter where I am. I can be in the grocery store, clearly doing my shopping, just at the local shopping centre, on my way to the gym, on the train to run errands, etc. People seem to NEED to have a REASON for me to dress the way I dress and they are more than willing to offer reasons to me to see if their assumptions are correct. The most common ones that I get are:
  • A wedding
  • The races (even when its NOT race season)
  • A party
  • A COSTUME party
  • A date
  • You all get the picture.

99% of the time, I am going to NONE of the above and politely decline their suggestions, simply stating that this is how I dress with my favorite comment: life is a big enough occasion.


If you are new to wearing pinup, these comments will definitely come your way and as a beginner they can be discouraging! But don’t be disheartened, it’s just because people aren’t used to seeing someone looking so lovely who does it for themselves! 99% of comments I get about my pinup style are positive and yours will be too!

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this post!


Til tomorrow


Wednesday 22 July 2015

Wishlist Wednesday~ Brooch Addict edition

Hello all!

Its Wednesday which means its WISHLIST time!

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a brooch junkie! I LOVE brooches! And I certainly have a vast collection that continues to grow of brands I love! Plus, I’m always on the lookout for new brooch brands I may like!

I think they are such a great way to mix up an outfit with minimal effort and cost. A different brooch on an outfit can throw a completely different look and I truly love that about them as an accessory! Also, as someone with sensitive ears, brooches are a bit of a no brainer as it reduces the risk of my ears getting sore and bleeding, which can happen with certain types of earrings!


So I thought I’d compile a little list of my current drooled over brooches that I cannot wait to add to my collection! 

Erstwilder

This is currently my most drooled over brooch and I intend to get him this week! He's SO gorgeous!

Ever since my Lucky duck (sadly taken be foxes earlier in the year) I've been eyeing off Donovan as a tribute to the duck that thought he was a person.

The original Fleur colorway was my first ever Erstwilder but sadly I lost her. Seeing her be re-released! I need to get her in my collection again!

I loved the entire By The Sea collection from Erstwilder and already have a few pieces from it, but I really want this little fishy too!



Creep Heart

Currently my favorite Ella piece that I do not owne! God I need it! Its SO pretty!

I love the prettiness of this little brooch. She's so pretty!

I love the concept of this brooch and how Ella does her layering!

Basically I just think this little guy looks incredibly cute!

Deer Arrow

I've been a lover of Deer Arrow for quite some time now! Here are my current wishlist items!


Luxulite

As of yet, I don't own any Luxulite pieces, but here are a few I've been eyeing off!


Baby Blue berries Brooch ~ $30 from Coconette Oz


Hungry Designs

I always loved the imagery of Beauty and the Beast and this brooch is stunning!


I have the unicorn head and ever since getting it I've been drooling over the dinosaur versions!

Same reason as above...that and I rewatched Jurassic Park 2 the other day!

Glitter Paradise

I've come to love glitter paradise recently and have one of their brooches so far! Here are a few others I want to add to my collection!


Girdle Brooch Set ~ $27 from Vintage Pip

I hope you've enjoyed this wishlist Wednesday! 

Looking forward to bringing you another review tomorrow!

With love!


Tuesday 21 July 2015

House of Satin Review and some shots in the set by Lauren HorwoodPhotography

Hello all! 
Sorry it took me a while to get this up! I’ve been a busy gal! 

 So here it is, the long awaited House of Satin review! I’ll be discussing look, quality, fit, price, postage and my overall opinion of this set! As well as sharing some pictures from a recent shoot with Lauren Horwood where I wore it!



So recently House of Satin has crept up on my radar, mainly through all the lovely British babes I follow posting their goodies and I got interested. I read the review done by The Nylon Swish and Jasmine of Quirky and Curvy and thought I’d give them a try myself, especially really only just starting to build a collection of foundation garments and wanting to have a variety. 




Price & postage

 I purchased: 
  • The lace cup long line vintage styled bra in a 36B- £11.95 which is $24.87AUD 
  • Vintage style black satin control brief size M - £9.75 which is $20.29AUD 
  • Vintage style black satin suspender belt size S- £14.00 

which is $29.13AUD Totaling £61.37 which was $127.70 AUD with only £5.00/$10.40 postage! 

I felt good considering they were a whole set and I was excited for when they arrived. The prices for a set where very reasonable considering the cost of brands like What Katie Did and Kiss Me Deadly. They arrived in less than a week which I thought was quite impressive and I was excited to get to try them on! 

Fit & Quality 

The Bra



My bra was spot on with size. The 36B fit comfortably and it’s a bra I’ve worn a few times over the past two weeks of owning it. The straps are still quite stiff with adjusting but I think over time this will reduce. I do also really like the low back of this bra, as it means I can wear it with things that are a more on the lower back side. It was sewn well, on mine I found no fraying or issues with its construction. I absolutely love this bra and am very happy with the purchase! 

Suspender belt 




The sizing on this was a bit of a nightmare. My natural waist sits at 30 inches, so I bought the small which is the smallest size they offer and it felt too big. My primary suspender belt is my What Katie Did 6 Strap Harlow Suspender belt which sits up on my waist and it doesn’t move, which is how I like my suspender belts (click here for my review of that belt). 


I’ve worn this suspender belt once to work with the matching briefs and honestly feared at one point it would slip straight down my legs. I think my only saving grace was that I have a bigger bottom. It sat right on my hips instead of my waist which made it extremely uncomfortable for me to wear as well as I found it slipped around HEAPS! I tried wearing it later in the week with cotton and had more success. I think the full brief and suspender fabric are both too slippery to make them functional to wear together, unless you maybe wear the brief over the top. I will note too, since I’ve had a lot of comments, that the actual suspender clips are mental and did hold throughout the day. 

Briefs



 I love the briefs and I don’t. Again, this is a sizing issue. I bought the matching waist size but they don’t list hip size. They arrived and were uncomfortably painful around my legs and my butt (see above pic). I opted for the brief after seeing the feedback from Elinor and Jasmine on the smaller briefs they purchased but definitely will need to size up if I get briefs again in future, which is a shame as the waist fit was great. The leg tightness is an issue, so much so I wore them only for my shoot two weeks ago for just over 1.5 hours and haven’t worn them since, because on the way home the sheer tightness around the tops of my thighs actually started to make me feel unwell. 



I think not having hip measurements on things like briefs is going to cause a lot of issues for ladies like myself who may have a bit more back or leg but a smaller waist. I may try these again in the next size up but am ultimately undecided. That being said, when I had them on, aside from how they sat on my thighs due to the tightness, I did like their look. 

Overall, I would buy from House of Satin again but primarily their bras suspender belts, I willing to try sizing up on the brief but I am unsure how much this would help my issue. 

I think they are a great little company that do have some very pretty things but I do believe they have some sizing issues they could be worked on to improve their customer experience as the current sizing could potentially cut them out of the market for the curvier girls. 

Considering the fact my bra size varies so much from my butt and the fact hip measurements aren’t given I probably won’t try a girdle or corslette, purely as I think the fit would be a massive issue. For ladies looking to purchase I think you REALLY need to take your body shape into account due to no hip sizes being given. If you are slender, sizing probably won’t be an issue but if you are a bit curvier with more on the thighs/butt/tummy I’d suggest sizing up on anything that’s going around your hips. 


I hope this has helped and I look forward to another review coming your way soon! 

Til tomorrow!