Ava Maria

Hello darlings!

I've got a new frock and I'm incredibly excited about it!
The dress I'm going to be discussing today is one that is known, revered and loved by the pinup community and has been for a long time... none other than PinupGirlClothing's astounding Ava dress! 

The Ava dress is one that has been on my radar for a number of years. When it was first released in 2010 it instantly blew up amongst pinup and retro enthusiasts alike, due in part to the similarities between the style of the tight, fitted Ava dress and the beautiful ensembles worn by Christina Hendricks in Mad Men; this dress quickly became known amongst the community as the "Joan" a fitting homage to Hendricks' character.  

Not only is this dress absolutely breathtaking when on, but it also comes in a huge range of colours so there really is something to suit everyone! From the lovely plum hue that I'm showcasing here to teal, red, black, blush, peach and a whole host of rainbow shades - I feel no shame in wanting this dress in all the colours!

As you can see the Ava dress is incredibly big bust friendly!

When I first came across this beautiful frock I was only 18 and reasonably new to the rockabilly/pinup scene. My first thought (slightly embarrassing as it may be) when viewing the Ava in its stunning Plum hue was that it would make the perfect bridesmaid dress for my hypothetical future wedding. Fast forward a few years and I no longer have any rousing desire to actually get wed, however my love for the Ava dress has remained. 

I purchased this dress last year in advance of my 23rd birthday with hopes of wearing it out to celebrate. Unfortunately at the time I found that it didn't quite fit me right so it was sadly shelved. I found that my regular size of 2X in Pinupgirlclothing dresses was too tight across my bust in this dress and crammed my breasts together in a most unflattering way creating a "shelf" effect. It was also a little too tight across my midsection and generally didn't fit well overall -cue assorted boos and hisses-

Luckily enough, I recently re-discovered the Ava lurking at the back of my wardrobe and being a naturally curious person, I decided to try it on once more. Due in part to some recent weight loss this dress now fits me like a glove and I couldn't be happier with it! My advice to anyone considering purchasing this dress is to keep in mind that it has minimal stretch, so be sure to check the size chart vigilantly before making a purchase. 

Pretty in plum

Another great aspect of the Ava is that this dress is made from a luxurious shakira satin so has a lovely iridescence to it - the fabric looks so good in the sunshine! The tulip style skirt is incredibly flattering over my ample hips and the faux-wrap bustline is sexy without showing too much or being too risqué (not that this is something I ever bother myself thinking about!) 

Look at how the Shakira satin catches the light- I'm in love!

One thing I found quite difficult to wrap (haha, see what I did there?!) my head around was the sash of this dress. Luckily for me, the lovely Micheline from PinupGirlClothing was kind enough to make an explanatory YouTube video showing us the correct way to wrap. I've attached this below for anyone else who struggled as I did to get this just right:

Lastly, in terms of accessorizing this outfit, I wanted to keep things interesting so added a few key pieces to really make this dress pop. I added a fun statement handbag that I recently swiped in a Primark sale for the meagre sum of £3, a couple of my signature hair flowers in complimentary purple and grey/silver hues and some big glittery shoes. These platform wedge shoes are absolutely stunning but due to their sheer impracticality they don't get worn as often as they should- something I will need to duly rectify! 

Because this dress is such a statement piece on it's own I didn't think it needed too much accessorizing. I feel like this would be the perfect outfit to wear to a friend's wedding or a swanky awards ceremony- it's still very "me" but at the same time ticks all the right boxes of being bold, beautiful and fancy - a winning combination! 

Outfit Details

Dress: Pinupgirl Clothing

Tights: New Look

Shoes: Schuh

Handbag: Primark
Hair Flowers: George at Asda

Do you have an affinity for the Ava dress or something similar? Let me know in the comments section! 

Until next time my darlings, 

Lovelustloves x0

Spotlight on... Atomic Mingo

Hello kittens! 

I hope that today's blog post finds everyone well. I'm keeping true to my word from my last post and trying to blog on a much more frequent basis and today I'm shedding a little spotlight on a new business that's not long been established but has already gained somewhat of a cult following across social media- it's the delightful Atomic Mingo!

Many of you will already be familiar with the adorable Miss Lixie Lou or CreepyLittleThings on Instagram who is a pinup mama and blogging queen over at misslixxielou.blogspot.com. She is the brainchild behind the fantastic new brooch brand that I'll be discussing today and is truly a woman after my own heart! She has a deep affinity for all things girly and kitsch- sound like anyone you know? Haha! 

A little selection of the gorgeous brooches for offer at Atomic Mingo 

It's no secret that brooches are a common accessory choice within the pinup and rockabilly communities- with brands like Erstwilder becoming increasingly popular it seems as though everyone is after a sweet pin to complete their vintage inspired ensembles. Atomic Mingo however are offering something truly beautiful and unique within the realms of kitsch brooches. Their designs are perfection. Not only do they create sweet little trinkets such as cats, pineapples and milkshakes but now they are carving a real name for themselves making famous cult film characters into wearable art! 

At the time of writing this blog post Atomic Mingo have six film characters that have made their way into brooch form- Rizzo and Frenchie from Grease, Edward Scissorhands and (perhaps my favourite of all) Wade Walker, Hatchet Face and Wanda Woodward from Cry Baby!! 

Now anyone who knows me at all knows of my keen love of all things kitsch, bright and film-related - all of these are elements that I try my best to incorporate into my everyday style as much as I can! Ever since the first designs were released I've been desperate to get my hands on some Atomic Mingo goodies which has proven to be no mean feat- these designs are incredibly popular so be aware that they sell out fairly quickly! 

So many pretty things!

After a bit of time however, I was finally able to make my first order to Atomic Mingo. I had been jonesing on the Frenchie brooch (she is my pastel pink 50's doppelgänger) however she had sold out almost instantaneously so I instead opted for the Rizzo and Cry Baby brooches (Rizzo is a gift for a dear friend, so will be passed on to her after I've styled her into a few gorgeous outfits!). 

Once I had placed my order direct from the Atomic Mingo Etsy store (linked at the bottom of this post) my parcel arrived in Scotland from Australia after about 9 days, which I believe to be a completely reasonable time frame to wait for beautiful things. The brooches arrived wrapped individually and neatly in bubble wrap with some adorable business cards tucked in beside them. After factoring in the current exchange rate and international shipping costs, these brooches cost around £13 each which I think again is completely reasonable for the great quality and craftsmanship you're getting.  

One of the features that I love about these brooches is that they're individually numbered on the back, so you can see where they were made in the batch (mine are 59/60 and 37/60 respectively). It's these little touches that make me such a fan of small businesses - it's lovely to see where your things come from and to see that they've been created with love and care!

My gorgeous brooches 

These brooches are absolutely divine, they are durable, made of solid wood and completely gorgeous and so naturally I had to come up with a sweet outfit to showcase them off to the best of their ability! With the help of my lovely friends Leigh and Melody we jaunted into some local woods to play dress-up and have a little photoshoot fun.

I decided to take influence from the decade that both Grease and Cry Baby are set in, in keeping with the brooch theme and channelled my inner 50's pinup princess to come up with the following look, made complete by the addition of my lovely new trinkets:

Feeling like Snow White

Cry Baby is always close to my heart 

For this outfit, as well as showcasing my brooches I was also desperate to display my new Mary Blair trains skirt from my old favourites Pinupgirlclothing. This is easily one of my favourite items in my wardrobe and I cannot believe how long it's taken me to become a fan of the Jenny skirt! I've seen pinups from various forums rave about how magnificent these skirts are and seen the #JennyJanuary and #JennyJuly tags across websites such as Tumblr and Instagram and still not been convinced that this would work for me, in part due to the sheer volume I was concerned that the skirt would make me look much bigger than I am. I'm pleased to say however that I was happily mistaken! This skirt fits like a dream and the volume is perfect for prancing around the woods (for reference here I'm wearing my usual size of 2x which fits like a dream on my 36" waist).

I'm also absolutely in love with the story behind this skirt- Mary Blair was an American Artist who worked for Disney back in the 1940s and 50s and was responsible for creating concept art for the original animated features of classic films such as Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Moreover, Blair stuck her head up above the parapet using her drive to succeed in a male-oriented world of illustration  and her love of unusual artistic elements to create truly unique and beautiful works of art - a true feminist hero!

After her passing in 1978, Mary Blair is still regaled as an original Disney master, which made her artwork the subject of much interest to Pinupgirlclothing's creative director Micheline Pitt. Working in conjunction with the estate of Mary Blair, Pinupgirlclothing were able to create a capsule collection of beautiful clothing inspired by Blair's whimsical and kitschy prints and designs and this trains print skirt is only one example of this. You can find the entire collection here to swoon after if you so desire!

 

Mary Blair's signature on her train print 

 

I switched brooches to show off my gorgeous Rizzo from Atomic Mingo here

"Eat your Heart Out!"

I feel like these brooches work absolutely perfectly with the little outfit that I came up with. I wanted my colour scheme to be bright and bold with lots of colour co-ordination but to still make my  brooches the star of the show. 

What I also found great about this outfit is that I could switch brooches halfway through our woodland shoot and both the Rizzo & Cry Baby brooches worked equally well! The colours are bold, but not so much so that they overpower the rest of the outfit. These brooches also fasten with a simple pin at the back so there's no need to worry about them leaving holes in any of your favourite clothes either  - another added bonus!  

Alison from Cry Baby or Sandra Dee from Grease- either way I'm channelling my best 50's good girl vibes here! 

Lakeside with Wade "Cry Baby" Walker- can you think of anything better?!

 

Sweet little details 

After wearing these gorgeous brooches about all day I can honestly say that I am completely in love with them! (As I strongly suspected I would be!) I would full-heartedly recommend these to anyone who was considering making a purchase and I cannot wait until payday so that I can get my hands on more of these fantastic designs and style them up with a variety of cute outfits!

Outfit Details:

Top: Dorothy Perkins (size 16) 

Belt: New Look (L)

Hair Flower: Pinupgirl Clothing 

Brooches: Atomic Mingo

Skirt: Pinupgirl Clothing (size 2x)

Stockings: What Katie Did (size M/L)

Shoes: BHS (customized by me)

What do you lovely readers think of Atomic Mingo brooches? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Until next time jitterbugs, 

Lovelustloves x0

Gary Crozier's Broken Dolls

Hello darlings!

Please accept my sincerest apologies at the lack of blog posts this month- things have been incredibly hectic for me as I've been co-organizing my local hometown's first ever LGBT pride event (which took place the other week and was a rousing success- but more on that later!) and amongst other things I've been preparing to start my Masters degree in Education Psychology (eep!)

But enough with the excuses! Today I'm talking about an amazing photoshoot that I did a couple of weeks ago in Edinburgh. Most people in the UK who are involved in the burlesque/pinup/vintage scene will have heard of the name Gary Crozier before. For those of you who haven't, he's an incredibly skilled photographer and digital artist that specializes in making people into "Broken Dolls" - beautiful images that are enhanced slightly and reminiscent of Margaret Keane's "big eyed waifs" with large eyes and doll-like features.

A beautiful example of Gary's Broken Dolls

I have had the pleasure of working with Gary on a number of occasions; when I was a young student living and working in Edinburgh I used to be employed as a makeup artist for the vintage boutique Miss Dixiebelle's where Gary often comes to shoot several times a year. Never quite gaining the confidence to venture in front of his camera, I instead made up the faces of beautiful women and watched in awe as they were transformed into Broken Dolls - something I have always wanted to experience for myself. (I actually did the lovely Joanne's makeup in the photograph you see above!)

Fast forward a few years to when I've got a little more disposable income, a lot more confidence and I finally decided the time had come- I was going to become one of Gary's Broken Dolls. I phoned up Miss Dixiebelle and spoke to the lovely Emma, paid a £30 deposit to book my slot and I was off! I began planning my outfits straight away, and packed a giant leopard print suitcase full of my favourite clothes. 

Lots of goodies ready for photographing!

The day itself arrived quickly and I boarded the train to Edinburgh with a bag full of beautiful things, a clear makeup-less face and my trusty sidekick, my gorgeous Persian cat Lux Interior (I've been dying to get some good photographs of us together for the longest time & this seemed like the perfect occasion!) I arrived at Miss Dixiebelle's Vintage Hair and Beauty Parlour just after 11am and was immediately whisked into the back of their gorgeous shop to look through some Vintage Life and Burlesque Bible magazines for some style inspiration, all whilst Lux was being pampered and preened by my mum and some adoring fans he picked up along our travels!

Lux waiting patiently in the parlour whilst I get my hair and makeup done

So, onto my hair and makeup; I came prepared to this shoot with a clear idea in my mind of what I wanted. My inspiration for this style was Beyonce circa "Dreamgirls" - one of my favourite films. Think huge waves of cascading curls with enough volume to lift off into space, a liberal application of atomic hold hairspray and a bright pop of colour. The lovely hair stylist Ariana set straight to work and left me with the big bouncy coiffure of my dreams, that ended up lasting two full days(!)

In terms of my makeup I wanted something bold. I'm a firm believer that my lips are my best feature and the gorgeous MUA Layla was more than happy to listen to what I wanted and create a dramatic style to suit both of my outfit plans (I of course had to have a costume change at some point throughout the day!)  We ended up going for a deep purple hued red lipstick that worked fantastically for both ensembles with a dark smoky eye with a sharp cut crease and a liberal dose of liquid eyeliner. Being a trained makeup artist myself I often find it quite difficult to allow others free reign over my face but I needn't have worried- Layla was a consummate professional and put me right at ease.

After hair and makeup it was time to get dressed - the piece de resistance!

My first look for my Broken Dolls shoot was again slightly inspired by the movie Dreamgirls- I chose to wear a lovely new dress that had yet to receive it's first outing; the Voodoo Vixen Dress in green lame by my vintage repro favourites PinupgirlClothing (Sidenote, for a fantastic in-depth review of this dress please check out the lovely Stina's blog Fatshion Peepshow). This dress fits like an absolute dream, it hugs my curves in all the right places and is definitely a bit of a show stopper! For reference I'm wearing my usual size of 2X and it fits perfectly on my 5'7 size 18 frame.

One of my favourite features of this dress is the unusual crossover bust detail, it's a natural cleavage enhancer and draws the eye right upwards and the shimmery effervescence of the lame is breathtaking- honestly I don't think my low quality phone photographs do this dress justice at all! Another favourite feature here is the asymmetric waterfall skirt - the kicked out pleats across one side of this dress give it a whole new dimension! Rather than being a simple wiggle dress, this dress is a true visual masterpiece and was the perfect choice for some bold Broken Doll photographs with Lux Interior by my side.  

Close up details of the show-stopping dress

After I'd shot in this gorgeous gown, it was time for a costume change! I decided to go a bit more risqué with this second look and opted to shoot in just my underwear - something I haven't done a whole lot of! Lots of Gary's Broken Doll models are Burlesque performers and look absolutely phenomenal in their skivvies, so I decided to take my inspiration from them and go for it! 

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll probably remember me talking about my body positive journey and how I am often afraid to step outside my comfort zone- well this was no exception! Standing in a shop full of people in your bra and pants is no mean feat but I decided to push my boundaries and really go for it- I was looking to get some sultry and dark atmospheric shots and the outfit I'd chosen to shoot in was perfect.

The underwear set that I decided to wear for my second photograph was a mixture of What Katie Did stockings, the sadly now discontinued Lulu Garter Belt and an old faithful Gossard Plunge Bra. I paired this with some show-stopping Pleaser Bordello high heels (link to purchase here) and I was ready to shoot! I chose to wear this lingerie set as I wanted to show off my tummy tattoo and it also has the added bonus of making me feeling incredibly sexy! I put any body hangups to the side and embraced my inner pinup fantasy.

The actual process of shooting with Gary was an absolute dream. Gary is a total expert and is more than happy to direct you into poses that he thinks will work well for the photographs he's trying to capture whilst listening to your own ideas. He isn't afraid to try out new poses, positions or styles and is incredibly patient and sweet- when we were shooting he even made a joke about Poison Ivy and Lux Interior (any fellow Cramps fan will get the reference!) 

So without any further waffling on from me, have a wee look at the beautiful images Gary and I were able to create together! I've ordered a couple of these as prints and can't wait to see them framed and hung up in my house.

 

Ta-da! 

If you're ever in need of a wee confidence boost or you're just looking to treat yourself, I'd definitely recommend booking a photoshoot with Gary. He can be contacted through his official website here  and for anyone local to Edinburgh he does shoots at Miss Dixiebelle as I've outlined in this post fairly regularly (you can check for updates here). 

Becoming a broken doll was such a wonderful experience, I really can't recommend it highly enough! Being primped and pampered in such a lovely place and made to feel like a queen is something that absolutely everyone should experience and I hope that this post has inspired you to release your inner broken doll too. 

Until next time darlings, 

Lovelustloves x0