Ethereal garden nymph

 

Hello my beautiful flower children!

 

Hopefully you will all be well and enjoying your week- things have been ridiculously hectic for me as of late what with starting my new job as a trainee Educational Psychologist and studying towards my masters degree but as the old phrase goes- no rest for the wicked! (sidenote: if you're interested in what I do outwith the blogging/fashion community I have recently written a big "life update" on my Instagram account @ivorylovelust, feel free to follow me there and keep up to date with my miscellaneous posts and updates!)

 

Despite being ridiculously busy I've still been trying my very best to keep up with blogging and the world of fashion in general, and I was lucky enough to be asked to take a recent jaunt through to Edinburgh a few weeks ago to do a photoshoot with the lovely Micha Ferreri thus tying up my interests in a fun and creative way.

 

Micha is one of my favourite photographers who I've mentioned before in this post & this post - if you're based in central Scotland and in need of a brilliant photographer then you need look no further! Micha is fun, friendly and has a fantastic eye for details; she gives great direction when on shoot and my collaborations with her have resulted in some of my favourite photographs of all time, these included!

 

 

 

 I also got a new little Twin Peaks tattoo recently- sweet huh?

 

 

 

All of these images were shot in the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens, this was my first time here but I'll definitely return soon- wandering around seeing all of the beautiful foliage & greenery made me feel like a sweet little wood nymph, I was definitely feeling my ethereal fantasy!

 

Knowing that we would be doing this photoshoot in such a nature-friendly location filled with gorgeous flowers, I chose to wear a new frock for the occasion- one that matched the setting insofar as being sweet & colourful, with a floral theme running throughout. This dress is the lovely Ella dress in "Mary Blair Lips and Roses" print from my all-time favourite vintage reproduction suppliers that i've mentioned many a time- Pinupgirlclothing. 

 

I bought the Ella dress in my usual size of 2X which I found to fit beautifully, it's tight enough that it hugs my ample curves in all the right places but still loose enough that I can get it on and off again with ease. I also added a simple black velvet waist belt from another of my Pinupgirlclothing dresses, which I feel really completes the look. For added volume I stuck on my old faithful OhMyHoney petticoat to fluff out my skirt, threw on a wee Primark flower crown and a set of dramatic false eyelashes!

 

 

 



 

 

As much as I love this beautiful Ella Dress, I thought I'd use the opportunity of shooting at the Royal Botanical Gardens to showcase another of my beautiful frocks- the Jenny Dress in Neverland Print. I have coveted this dress for the longest time; ever since seeing the beautiful Pinup Courtney Maylee rocking it at a recent photoshoot on her Facebook page. This dress is undoubtedly my new favourite acquisition of all time! Everything about this dress positively screams "me" - the colour, the kitschy print & the hugely voluminous skirt; as soon as I slipped this dress on I felt every inch a caricature of my every day self- something I always like to strive for with my personal style.

 

Whilst we were walking around taking photographs I also had many people coming up to me and commenting on how pretty my dress was- one little girl even remarked that I looked "like a princess" which is proof enough for me that this is the dress of my dreams!  

 

The main unique selling point of this dress for me was the print- for those who aren't aware it is a beautiful interpretation of the map to Peter Pan's "Neverland" as designed by pinup artist extraordinaire Micheline Pitt. Featuring recognisable characters such as Captain Hook, Tinkerbell and my personal favourite -a wee topless mermaid- all brought together by map markings and images from the original J.M.Barrie novel (note the depiction of skull rock, mermaid lagoon & the thimble and acorn motif!) this is fun, frivolous and most of all- fabulous. I am a sucker for any type of unusual print so this Jenny dress ticks all of my fashion must-have boxes!

 

 

 

 Never stop twirling

 

 

I was originally a little unsure about what size to purchase in this dress- i've heard incredibly mixed reviews about the Jenny, due in part to the structured boning and limited stretch of the print fabric. After posting for advice in the brilliant facebook group "PUG style pinups" (a lovely place dedicated to helping fellow pinups with everything from hair tutorials and winged eyeliner to dress fittings) I made the decision to order this dress in my regular 2X size, which I'm happy to report fits like a dream! It is slightly smaller than my other 2X dresses, but not so much so that it's uncomfortable to wear. Also, as I briefly mentioned earlier, the Jenny dress has boning sewn into the top that provides a great uplift that allows you to go braless if you so choose. The straps are fully adjustable too, allowing for the dress to be worn however you like - a great options to have!

 

I decided to style this dress with a sweet purple cardigan that I picked up in a Debenhams sale a number of years ago and a little yellow hair flower, the colours of the dress are so vivid I thought these tones would be particularly complimentary -I'll make sure to put links to this full outfit at the end of this post.

 

Ultimately, my experience of shooting in Edinburgh's Royal Botanical Gardens was fantastic- after starting such a dramatically new chapter of my life I am finding so much comfort in protecting a little time to pursue my own creative interests. Creating a concept for a shoot, styling it and seeing everything come to fruition at the end is so rewarding, and something I definitely won't be giving up any time soon! What do you think of the Ella and Jenny dresses- are they something you'd wear? Let me know in the comments section.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Pinupgirlclothing

Cardigan: Debenhams

Belt: Pinupgirlclothing

Hair Flower: Alternate Normality

Shoes: Schuh

Stockings: What Katie Did

 

 

And so my sweet things, that concludes another blog post!

Now as a disclaimer I'm under no guise that it is the middle of October and that Halloween is fast approaching! Next up on my blog I'll be focusing on all things scary and spooky, as well as having a wee retrospective look through my favourite Halloween outfits of all time- this is my absolute favourite time of the year so I do have a *slight* tendency to go all out! I do hope that you'll stick around and enjoy my up and coming spooky-fest.

 

Until next time angels,

Lovelustloves x0