A Pin-Up Christmas Gift Guide.............

So I've been pretty absent from posting lately, partly due to tightening the purse strings for Christmas and partly to do with an exciting new project I'm working on (all will be revealed very soon!) but I've been doing a LOT of wishlisting ahead of Christmas so I thought I'd pull together a gift guide for those of you shopping for a retro gal (or for those of you wanting to start planning your sales shopping!

Personally I think it's super easy to buy for the vintage/pin up/retro inclined because there's so much choice and loads of decent stuff in all price ranges. However, we can be very specific about what is decent and what isn't so unless you've got the inside scoop on the best brands or the right websites it can be a bit of a minefield!


Under £10
Let's start with the cute little extras that won't break the bank! These would all make great secret santa gifts or stocking fillers.

1. Hellbunny cinch belt, Audrey Stars Boutique website, £5.95
2. What Katie Did retro seamed stockings, £8.50
3. Splendette butterscotch carved bangle, £8.00
4. Bow and Crossbones silver holographic linda hoops, £8.00

£10-£25

Medium sized gifts that'll put a smile on the face of any retro lady :)

1. Erstwilder diner brooch, Audrey Stars Boutique website, £16.95
2. Atomic Swag Texas t-shirt, Campbell's Crafts website, £17.00
3. Luxulite winter scene brooch, £16.50

£25-£50

For most retro style clothing this is still a reasonable price range so go for a staple cosy top or a kitsch print in a less luxurious brand...

1. Collectif Chrissie Fair Isle jumper, £39.50
2. Tara Starlet tie front shirt, £45
3. Lindy Bop cocktail print Audrey dress, £29.99

£50-£100

This is where pretty much most of the statement pin up style pieces fit, it's that little bit much to justify spending on yourself too often so any of these classics will go down a treat!

1. What Katie Did Maitresse Set, Full set £86.50
2. Lady K Loves classic jeans, £65
3. Seamstress of Bloomsbury Lauren Siren Suit, £89
4. Vivien of Holloway Red Rose Halter Dress, £69

£100+
This is pretty much the stuff most of us only ever dream of or save up for 6,000 years to buy so will probably be accompanied by squealing or, if you're me, crying (I'm not much of a cryer generally but big gifts always open the flood gates!)

1. Pin Up Girl Clothing Monica dress, Deadly is the Female website, £135
2. Violets in May Jessica Dress, £100
3. Miss L Fire Alpine Boots, £134.99

Hopefully that little round up will give you some inspiration or at least a place to start. I'm definitely lusting after a few of these myself - hopefully Santa thinks I've been good this year! What are you hoping to find under the tree this year????

Hair no more...........

So any of you who follow me on Instagram will have probably seen that I've had a little bit of a haircut.......

Photos from Hula Hair (see link in video below)

Going from boob-length green hair to less than 1cm long has been an interesting experience. Shaving my head is something I've always wanted to do and talked about for years. Working up the courage to actually do it was another matter. Since taking the plunge I'm not sure why it was such a big deal. I suppose there's something innately scary about a major change to the way you look. You get kind of used to yourself a certain way and changing it seems like it might change who you are somehow. There's also a major association with long hair and femininity. Almost without exception every person I told beforehand tried to convince me not to do it, or at least expressed concerns that it was too big a change. The words 'but you're so pretty', while extremely complimentary, uncovered an ingrained assumption that girls with short hair can't be considered as attractive or as female as those with long, flowing locks.

The reactions I've received post-shave have therefore been pretty surprising. The positivity has been overwhelming and come from people in varied contexts. I expected my friends to be supportive and positive as they're all people pretty similar to me but I was taken aback by work colleagues and strangers telling me how much they liked my new look. I realised on receiving these reactions that I'd been expecting people to treat me like I was weird or unstable for doing such a thing. These may well be ridiculous concepts in the broad range of human existence but they are often gut reactions to difference. While I can't deny I've been getting some odd looks on the bus and I'm pretty sure the group of lads on a stag night last Friday wouldn't have tried to talk to me had I been wig-less, the majority have been completely cool. It's actually helped to identify the sorts of people that I am more likely to connect with and encouraged my already present lack of fucks about criticism of the way I look.

From a fashion perspective I've been able to be more of a chameleon than ever. I already owned a ton of wigs but I'm much more likely to reach for one now that I have more of a prompt and changing my hair colour, cut and length to match my mood is revealing a layer of expression I hadn't necessarily always noticed. Dressing to match my mood is now even more apparent. While I think I'm going to keep it short for a while I can imagine limitless possibilities for growing it out!

I've definitely found a cliched sense of freedom in doing this and I'm interested to see how it will continue to develop. To see the complete transformation visit https://vimeo.com/144728699 and watch the video Molineaux Productions made for me!