Bella Donna dreams

A little while ago I was tempted by the PUG online yard sale and picked up a few discounted beauties. It's hard to resist any PUG sale. I was lucky in that I wasn't coveting anything too hard at the time but I still thought I'd have a little browse. Then a few things found their way into my basket, you know, just in case, just to think about.... Then somehow I was entering in my payment details...

Any kind of sale has a weird affect one me. Things I'd thought were kind of pretty suddenly become must-haves and I find myself whittling down a wishlist that I never would have considered before! A PUG sale is extra dangerous because most of the site falls into the wishlist. The prices are the only thing that holds me back. Reduce those and I'm hopeless. This will probably end up with me living in a garden shed, dressed immaculately in retro evening gowns that I wear to sleep in.

The speed of the PUG website during a sale proves that I'm not alone in this though. I've got some soul-sisters out there, tensely waiting for each page to load. It's worth the wait though when you pick up a bargain like this....

The Bella Donna dress in black with red rose border print by PUG brand Pinup Couture. I'd admired the flamenco flare of this style before but probably wouldn't have parted with the full $144. For $60 however, I was sold.

The dress has a nice full skirt that you could fit a petticoat under but also looks fine without. It's not as full as the Harley dress so it's easier to wear without one. The adjustable, thick straps and boned bodice make for a secure fit that would work with a range of body shapes. The fabric is a sturdy cotton mix with a beautiful rose print along the skirt.

One day I'll remember to iron my dresses....

As if that wasn't pretty enough it's finished with a row of little pom-poms along the hem and neckline!

So cute!! 

I choose a M in this dress and it fits perfectly. I definitely prefer the look of the dress with a belt though. It helps accentuate the shape of the dress and pull it together.

If you like Spanish/Flamenco inspiration this is the dress for you! It's sadly no longer available in this colourway but you can get it in red with a black border print or red with an Italian landscape border print over on the PUG website. Both dresses have different feels, The red with rose border has the same look as this black version but the Italian border print is amazing and evokes the Riviera (no pom-poms on this version).

Sign up to the PUG newsletter to get alerts about their sales and snap up a bargain!

All photos by the lovely Sally Molineaux

Got myself a Harley.............

That's right a Harley dress by Pinup Couture at Pin Up Girl Clothing!

I've gone a bit PUG mad lately. Ever since I got the Laced Up Jumpsuit and an awesome vampire mouth bag back in March and fell in love with the quality of the products and the wow factor they somehow weave in there. I'd seen so much of PUG on other blogs and Instagram but was put off by the pricing - comparable with other repro brands but then there's the cost of shipping to the UK - and not really knowing the brands. With my favourite UK brands I know enough about them to be able to work out what should suit me, which size to go for etc but PUG was a complete unknown and I was wary of making mistakes. I'm so glad I put that aside and just went for it as I now feel confident in their shipping (super fast) and the quality of their products. I'm still working out the sizing but more on that later - let's take a look at the dress!

Lets just get out of the way the fact I didn't have time to iron it before the photos - it looks a million times better with an iron run over it. And, yes, I now have green hair....

Anyway........the dress......I went for the peach colourway, as my first choice (the pastel yellow) was out of stock and I don't have much of this sort of colour in my wardrobe. Coincidentally it also compliments the green hair very well! I agree with Miss Amy May that the dress is more of a coral colour than peach but it's still a lovely soft colour that should work well with different skin tones. Unfortunately I hadn't read Amy's Harley article (you should though, she's great) before purchasing and I definitely made a mistake on the sizing.

I went for a medium as I have a 28 inch waist and the guide said 28-29 inches. It does add that you should size down if you are in between but I figured the S would be too tight at 26-27 inches and I quite like being able to sit down with cutting myself in half. However, as you can see this is too loose in the waist and, more obviously, in the bust which I overlooked in selecting a size. I'm not the most busty of gals so this could relate more to my sizing than the overall fit of the dress as the neckline felt very comfortable. I could have returned and exchanged it but I left it too late to qualify while I mulled over the fit and the hassle of posting back to the US. It's such a pretty, quality piece that I'll probably alter it or get it professionally taken in at some point. Or I'll just use it as an excuse to eat lots of chocolate!

I popped a Hell Bunny petticoat on underneath to give it shape but it is wearable without as it is a very full circle skirt. The Hell Bunny petticoats aren't too voluminous so I'd probably wear this to go out unless it was for something very dressy or a 50s themed event where I wouldn't look too insane with a giant petticoat! The length is a classic 50s below knee that finished about mid-calf on me at 5 ft 5 in.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this despite my error in the sizing. It's something you have to learn when trying new brands and could have gone a lot worse so I'm more than happy to carry on experimenting!


All photos by the lovely Sally Molineaux