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

The Scottish Tattoo Convention & Miss Scottish Pinup Pageant

Hello loves!

I hope this little blog post finds everyone well; life has been absolutely crazy as of late with lots going on so I apologize for the lack of frequent updates! I do however have lots of exciting news to share with you all. 

As some of you may know, last weekend (28th and 29th of March) was the date of the infamous Scottish Tattoo Convention, held at Edinburgh's Corn Exchange. Now in it's 5th year, the Scottish Tattoo Convention is quickly becoming one of the UK's leading tattoo events, standing proudly with the likes of the London Tattoo Convention, Brighton Tattoo Convention and the Tattoo Tea Party. The Scottish Tattoo convention hosts all of the usual fare to be expected at an event of this type: burlesque performers, world renowned tattoo artists and piercers, vendors selling their Sailor Jerry print wares and a fabulous host in the form of Pedro- a hilarious American compere with a love for all things tattoo and dance related! As of 2014 however, the Scottish Tattoo Convention is also host to a particularly special event- the Miss Scottish Pinup Pageant. 

The Miss Scottish Pinup Pageant is the brainchild of the beautiful Rachel Renegade, star of "Pretty things Peepshow" and fearless knife throwers assistant extraordinaire (Rachel can be found on instagram @Rachelisarenegade). First launched in 2014 when the beautiful Miss Edith was crowned as "Miss Scottish Pinup" the pageant has grown in leaps and bounds since, culminating in the 2nd official Miss Scottish Pinup pageant last weekend. It may be slightly transparent by now, but I decided on a bit of a last minute whim to enter this wonderful competition and this post will detail my experience. 

All of the finalists with the lovely Rachel before the summer wear round

The pageant consisted of two separate rounds: summer wear and evening wear with an informal interview portion, followed by the announcing of the winners at the end of the day. Now, I think it's important to mention why I decided to do something like this. For those who know me from my old days on Tumblr or via Instagram you'll know that I'm a huge advocate for body positivity  and self-love. I realize that some may view a pageant as something that goes against this stance, but I am a firm believer that beauty comes in all shapes, forms and sizes and I thought this would be a brilliant opportunity to bring this viewpoint to the masses and showcase the diversity that we Scottish women encompass. Truthfully, I've recently been feeling a little less-than-confident about myself and my appearance, so taking part in this pageant seemed like the boost and shock to my system that I was desperately needing. Looking at my beautiful fellow finalists it is abundantly clear that we are all beautiful and all beautifully different- each and every one of us stunning in our own way. The Miss Scottish Pinup Pageant was a truly fantastic experience and although strutting around a stage in a swimming costume sounds quite petrifying- I found it to be an oddly invigorating experience that I ended up loving! 

Waiting to go onstage with my lovely fellow finalists 

On to the day itself! Fighting nerves and unease, I made my way to the Edinburgh Corn Exchange with several friends, my mum and a giant leopard print suitcase in tow. I made my way backstage to unpack my goods and meet my fellow finalists; expecting a room full of icy stares and a cold reception I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of the girls were friendly and welcoming - our backstage dressing area was a vibrant buzz of hot rollers, makeup and lots of beautiful clothes (the dress envy I was suffering was unlike anything i'd ever experienced before!) We all introduced ourselves to one another and ooh-ed and aah-ed over everyone's wardrobe choices before a brief pep-talk from Rachel and began preparing for our first round- summer wear. 

For the summer wear round I wanted to be vibrant and colourful, whilst showcasing my personal style and modern twist on the classic pinup style. I opted to wear the beautiful Marilyn swimsuit by Pinupgirlclothing in a stunning emerald green and I felt incredibly comfortable and happy with this choice. I ordered this swimsuit specifically for the pageant but i'll definitely be getting good use out of it for years to come! The gathered and skirted style is fantastic and incredibly flattering, not to mention the detachable jewel clips - any piece of clothing that comes with it's own jewellery is a huge plus in my opinion! The fit of this piece is fairly generous, and being available in sizes from xs up to a 4x it's a great option for any plus-size or straight-size babes looking for a vintage one-piece this summer. My only gripe with this was the straps; I'd prefer thicker and more robust straps to better support my bosom, but that's by the by. 

I paired the Marilyn swimsuit with a vintage sequin kimono that I picked up in Brighton back in December at a Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair. It's a wonderful 80's number with padded shoulders, and with all honestly, these photos do not do this piece justice at all. The craftsmanship and bead/sequin work that has gone into this kimono honestly take my breath away. What also took my breath away was the £25 price tag- proving that pinup style on a budget is totally achievable with a little raking through rails and bargain hunting! 

I polished off this summer wear look with a cheap purple hair flower from eBay (find similar here), stunning purple floral and lucite-look shoes from one of my favourite brands Irregular choice (find similar here), plus-size nude fishnet dance tights and the highest hair imaginable. 

Next up was the evening wear round. For this I opted to wear my new favourite dress of all time: the Lesley-Ann dress, again from Pinupgirlclothing. This is a dress that I've been lusting after for the longest time- ever since the first photos emerged on Instagram of Doris Mayday rocking this tulle and satin explosion I was living for it. This dress does come with a hefty pricetag at $260 but it is so worth it- this dress is heavy with layers upon layers of beautiful fabric and the little details are to put it simply, exquisite. The tulle is delicate but the waistband and construction on the top are made to last -this is definitely a dress to invite comment (all positive, may I add!) and will have everyone lusting over it instantly. I purchased my usual size of Pinupgirlclothing dress (2x) and it fit like a glove. For maximum volume on the swing skirt I added two full-length petticoats from Oh My Honey which are amongst the fullest and softest petticoats I've ever encountered - one in pale pink and one in purple that I hand-dyed to match the colours on the Lesley-Ann dress. 

I wanted to add an element of whimsy to this particular style, so added a flower crown with lots of pink and lilac tones to my big bouffant. This crown was picked up in Primark for the grand total of £4 so if you're a fan I recommend getting out and scooping one up. What with festival season and the warmer weather fast approaching this is another piece that'll be making it into my regular wardrobe rotation.

I kept my accessories simple for this round; a plain pearl necklace and some little blue stone drop earrings added some necessary glitz. The main attraction however came in the form of my shoes- i'm afraid there aren't many photos where you can see them clearly but they are a silver sparkly extravaganza from Red or Dead. If you'd like to buy your own pair, check out this link. 

With my fellow beautiful finalist, Kelly-Marie of LadyandtheVampVintage

After the finalists had all finished strutting our stuff out on the main stage it was time for the interview rounds. We each had to answer three questions out of a possible four: "Who is your biggest pinup style icon and why?" "If you had three wishes what would they be?" "Describe your ideal date?" and finally "What is your favourite feature about yourself?" I went for the former three options and used this as a chance to showcase issues that I care strongly about - promoting LGBT inclusion in schools, women being in power, making connections with as many people as possible and Cher Horowitz's wardrobe computer from Clueless, naturally. 

Once the evening wear round was finished, we finalists were free to wander around the convention until it was time to announce the winners. For this, I decided to change into a separate outfit; the Sweetheart Print Grace dress from Vivien of Holloway. 

The Grace dress is another of my firm wardrobe favourites- When I find a dress that I love I usually have an overwhelming urge to buy it in every colourway imaginable, and I have the Grace in Black Lace print, Pink Floral print and the above Sweetheart print which is testament to my feelings! This dress features a gorgeous high-v neckline with a lower v-style back, a huge billowing circle skirt and tiny nipped in waist, perfect for dancing or prancing around on stage as you can see from the above photograph! I coupled this with a pair of simple red shoes from BHS, nude stockings from What Katie Did and a red rose flower crown from Topshop. 

The crowning was the pinnacle of the Miss Scottish Pinup finals, and there were four awards to be given out: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and "People's Choice" whereby the audience of the Scottish Tattoo  Convention vote for their winner. The judges on the panel included the incomparable Georgina Horne of FullerFigureFullerBust, timeless beauty Tina Warren of burlesque collective Club Noir and 2014's Miss Scottish Pinup Miss Edith. After much deliberation we were called on to the main stage for the winners to be announced......

I was absolutely flabbergasted to be awarded the "People's Choice" title! I was in absolute shock and so honoured by this accolade- It took me completely by surprise! Taking part in the Miss Scottish Pinup finals was such a wonderful opportunity and I'm so happy to have been given the chance to share the stage with so many fabulous women. My fears and apprehensions about taking part in the pageant were completely unfounded and by pushing myself to do something out of my comfort zone and a little scary, I had a brilliant time and now have a brilliant memento of the day in the form of this beautiful sash! 

A huge congratulations also belongs to my fellow three winners; Miss Katt, Miss Fifi le Fox and the new 2015 Miss Scottish Pinup Miss Kelly-Marie (whose wonderful blog I've linked to above). Meeting all of these wonderful women was such a privilege and definitely is experience that i'll be treasuring for an age to come. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my recent adventures, and I promise not to go so long before another post!!

Until next time darlings, 

Lovelustloves x0

The Long Sleeve Heidi Dress featuring Carolyn Henry Photography

Hello darlings! 

Today's blog post is all about a dress- a beautiful dress that incorporates many of my favourite elements- floral print, sleeves, pockets, a sweetheart neckline and a giant swing skirt. This dress is none other than the Long Sleeve Heidi Dress from the inimitable Pinupgirlclothing.com . 

It's no great secret that I am an avid fan of Pinupgirlclothing- from their unique style, fantastic quality materials and kitschy prints they really epitomize what good quality vintage reproduction clothing should be. I've been ordering clothes from their website (linked above) for years and am yet to be left disappointed. Starting their clothing line at an XS and going up to a size 4X (roughly the equivalent to a UK 22/24) their key marketing phrase "Couture for every body" is certainly realized through their extensive sizing options. 

Being plus-size myself, I am always on the lookout for clothing options that meet my needs of being fun, flirty and colourful- I'm a strong believer in dressing for yourself and disregarding the opinions of others... if it makes you feel good- wear it! This dress certainly meets those aforementioned requirements, stands up to my scrutiny and makes me feel amazing to boot!

I'm wearing my usual size (2X) in this dress and it is an excellent fit- in fact I'd even argue that this dress is slightly on the roomier side and I probably could have got away with sizing down. 

The sweetheart neckline is incredibly flattering and plenty spacious for my 36G chest. There's also more than enough wiggle room for me to do up the lengthy back zipper without assistance. As the dress comes with a matching belt, it's incredibly easy to cinch in your waist and create an hourglass shape with the large circle skirt balancing out the dress' proportions nicely.

The one problem I thought I may have with this dress was the arm room- I have quite large arms and I couldn't find any information about the sizing when I was ordering this dress back in February. Thankfully the arm space is very accommodating and perfect for covering up in the chiller months (being from Scotland I can foresee this being incredibly useful throughout the majority of the year, so I'm sure to get plenty of wear out of this dress!)

Wishing to showcase this dress in all of it's glory, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to enlist the help of my lovely friend Carolyn Henry. Carolyn is an amazing photographer that I've had the pleasure of working with on a number of occasions and she always makes me feel right at ease. Her style of photography is something marvelous to behold- soft yet captivating, powerful and dynamic- who better to help me get back into the world of vintage/pinup/plus-size modelling?! 

If you are based in Scotland and are looking for a photographer for an event, wedding or just to have your own little photoshoot, I honestly cannot recommend Carolyn enough. She can be contacted direct via her website here 

Carolyn and I shot these photographs at Linlithgow Palace, a gorgeous historical building situated within my hometown of West Lothian and famously, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. The dark stone and cobbled exterior were a perfect backdrop to such a bright and vibrant ensemble, which I completed with simple black flats and contrast nude seamed stockings.

Overall I am absolutely delighted with the Long Sleeve Heidi Dress from Pinupgirlclothing. The colours and the print are bright and engaging, it is well sized and easy to style up or down depending on where you are going and what you are doing. The matching belt is a welcome addition and the concealed pockets are just fantastic for storing your keys, phone, lipstick etc. I think this will quickly become a wardrobe staple of mine and I look forward to giving this gorgeous dress its next outing!

Dress: Pinupgirlclothing.com

Hair Flower: Accessorize 

Shoes: George at Asda 

Ring: Primark

Stockings: What Katie Did

Until next time sweet readers,

Lovelustloves x0