Christmas Glamour - Glamour Bunny 'Jessica' dress

One of my favourite things about the festive season is the excuse to go overboard - eating, drinking, and dressing up are all taken to extremes. It's the time of year you get to wear your ridiculous heels, 'that' dress and every item of bling you own.

I love the twinkle of lights, warming up over mulled wine and the feeling of excitement in the air. It's a time that people spend thinking about others, catching up with friends and family and celebrating with colleagues.

I've been saving a couple of outfits especially for Christmas and the 'Jessica' dress from Glamour Bunny is one of them.

I'm sure you can see why! It's everything you could want in a dress all rolled into one. Sparkly, curve hugging and show-stopping! The Jessica (in any of it's four colourways) is perfect to make a statement at any party. The sequins give sparkle from every angle and will guarantee you twinkle under the Christmas lights.

It's also just a really well fitted dress. Fully boned through the bodice and free over the hips, it's structured while still giving you room to move. You're also in no danger of it slipping down and accidentally revealing more than intended as the bodice is firmly supportive. The dress hits just knee length on me at 5'5'. I got a small because it was the only size left in the red. I knew this would be a risk as it's slightly under my measurements but it fits perfectly everywhere albeit a bit tightly across my upper back (damn all those early morning gym trips!). While I imagine the sequins might get a bit scratchy after a few hours it's otherwise super comfortable and will allow space for a bit of Christmas indulgence if you size wisely.

While the red is sold out now you can still snap it up in a Small in blue or Small and Medium in pink with a huge discount at £24 down from £80. Glamour Bunny also have a great range of wiggle dresses and some cracking bargains in their sale section so they are well worth a look! 

What are you planning on wearing this party season?????

Oh Erika!

I don't think it's a secret that Pin Up Girl Clothing are one of my favourite brands.

They have a huge range of pin-up products, quick delivery (from the States), the quality is always outstanding and they have some of the best sales around. If you are not already signed up to their newsletter DO IT NOW! You'll get new product notifications and will be the first to hear about the sales where you can pick up some treasures for a fraction of their original prices. This also means that you can take a chance on something you might not be too sure about. I did exactly that with the Erika Dress....

I'd fallen in love with the print but don't tend to go for anything quite so figure hugging. I was also concerned that it was so dressy I'd never wear it (forgetting how easy it is to find reasons to wear beautiful dresses!). It hit the sale at half price for $60 in the last online yard sale so I went for it and I love, love, love it! 

The fit is perfect. I chose a Small and with minimal shapewear it clings but flatters. Here I just had some trusty Spanx underneath (which you couldn't see through the dress despite being black).

It's the details that really make this dress though.

The print I got was Vintage Red Rose, sumptuous red and orange roses on a white background with dark green leaves. Ruching around the bust creates a flattering shape and would work especially well for bustier ladies! The velvet bow beneath the bust is an extra cute detail that breaks up the pattern a little.

The back features a kick-pleat, giving you room to move as well as a classic chic look.

Did I mention it comes with a matching Bolero? 

I was worried this would be too tight on my arms due to some dabbling in weight-lifting but it fit perfectly. I have relatively broad shoulders so this might be something to consider when thinking about sizing - the Bolero was a lot more snug than the dress. 

Although this version is no longer on the site the Erika dress is available in three other colourways -  Vintage Rose which is a soft pink on a dark grey background, Yellow Rose (in plus size too) which is a yellow rose on a white background, and Yellow and Plum Rose (in plus size too) which is a purple rose on a yellow background. Just search 'Erika' on the site. Although currently all full price at $120 dollars these are show-stoppers that would be ideal for a special occasion, I've used more pictures than usual today simply because I was happy with every single one in this dress, not a fault of my wonderful photographer but my own pickiness. This is a classic, classy and elegant dress that will definitely turn heads and continues my love affair with all things PUG.

*All photography by the lovely Sally Molineaux

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