Joining Freddies Chain Gang...

Despite wearing repro and pin-up style clothing for a few years now, I'd never bought anything from amazing repro brand Freddies of Pinewood before. This was mainly due to my compulsive fear of denim and specifically, gulp, jeans. These being Freddies speciality I'd browsed but never committed to a purchase before. 

Seeing the Chain Gang jumpsuit in the sale for only £45 was the push I needed.....

A true 1950s greaser dream. The Chain Gang features a shirt style top, cropped trousers and a medium width, adjustable belt to provide that killer silhouette. While it has a denim effect look in grey pinstripe the suit is actually mostly cotton making it a little more lightweight than denim. The fabric has the perfect balance between being stiff enough to keep it's shape but flexible enough to cling to your curves. 

As I don't have the biggest waist to hip ratio I tend to choose sizes based on the waist measurement. There's nothing worse than having something fit everywhere else but cut in uncomfortably around the waist, especially if you want to, you know, sit down or something. Making the decision to have slightly roomier hips but not get cheese-wired every time I moved I went with a size 28. The measurements on the Freddies site are provided in cms which I found a little strange and, I'll admit, meant I had to use an online converter tool for. The 28 has a roughly 28 inch waist measurement and 43 inch hip measurement. This was actually a little loose on the waist and as you can see definitely gave me space to spare generally but I'm pretty sure the size down would have been far too small (with a 26 inch waist where mine is a 27). I actually liked having a bit of room in this as it's the sort of thing I'd wear out for a casual meal or drinks when it's nice not to have to get the shape-wear out. I used the belt to cinch the waist in a bit and made the most of being able to move by dancing like crazy the first time I wore it out.

Despite having to tab between browser windows to convert measurements I found the Freddies size guides really useful as they feature extra measurements that some brands don't. For example, thigh and inside leg measurements which have caught me out in the past. As a majority online shopper this was a real selling point! It was also great to know the length of the cropped trouser leg on this piece which ended up being the ideal length on me when paired with a heel. 

Overall I really enjoyed my first Freddies of Pinewood shopping experience and love this jumpsuit! You can still get it in Freddies sizes 24 and 30 in the sale section of the site for £45. As something which I know I'll be getting a lot of wear out of through Autumn and Winter I'd recommend snapping one up!

*All photos by the lovely Sally Molineaux