Jungle Love feat. Vivien of Holloway

Hello sweethearts, 

It's no great secret that I've been a fan of the pinup style for many years - the fun and flirty silhouettes of the 1950's are staples within my wardrobe. From giant meringue petticoats to the more sultry fitted pencil dresses, the ladies of this era really knew how to dress!

I often receive messages from women asking for advice and support on how to get involved with pinup fashion. They say they love the look on other people but don't know quite where to start or how to break into this eye-catching style. Whilst I do agree that dressing "pinup" can be daunting to a newcomer, it really doesn't need to be! The best thing to do when dabbling with retro glam is to find a silhouette that works for you and start exploring new looks that are in keeping with your personal style. 

One place that I always advise enthusiasts to look into is vintage reproduction gurus Vivien of Holloway.  I've previously written about my love for this amazing brand in an older blog post that you can check out here but for clarity purposes I'll explain a little more about why I adore this brand. 

Vivien of Holloway have been changing the pinup game and adding their magic to the world of retro clothing since 2000. Creating stunning ensembles in beautiful fabrics and prints, they've easily carved a name for themselves and host an impressive list of celebrity clients as proud VoH customers. 

Whether you're a long-time pinup enthusiast such as myself or a relative newcomer to the scene, Vivien of Holloway have something to offer everyone. I was recently sent this stunning (and aptly named) Jezebel dress and just couldn't wait to dash out for a fun photoshoot to really show it off!

 

As I've recently been committing myself to the world outside of my fashion comfort zone this dress was a great choice. Still in keeping with my personal style, the bold leopard print and fitted style really make this dress a stand-out whilst hugging all of my curves and showing off my shape. 

Whilst once upon a time I'd have balked at the very idea of wearing a fitted pencil dress (especially without a corset or cincher underneath) I now instead jumped at the chance to try something a little different and I am so glad that I did! I felt absolutely incredible in this getup and the way this dress hugged my body increased my confidence tenfold.

This dress is a Vivien of Holloway size 20, which is roughly the equivalent to a UK 16/18. Below you'll find my current measurements and the measurements for this dress in this size, as you'll see there's a fraction of variance but not enough to make any substantial difference. 

My measurements: Bust: 45.5" Waist: 36" Hips: 47.5"

VoH size 20 measurements: Bust: 44" Waist: 36" Hips: 48" 

When thinking of how best to style this dress I decided to go full on rockabilly pinup. I felt as though the leopard print was really begging for some bold and fun accessories so I opted for a feather and rose hair comb, red heels, a black chunky bracelet and a fun little faux septum clicker that I recently acquired from boohoo. I've been toying with the idea of piercing my septum for some time now so this seemed like a perfect way to test the waters (side note; I love it!) 

I hope you enjoy the photos below, and as always I've included an easy little link to buy at the end of this post for all you pinup fans! 

Outfit Details 

Hair Flower: Brighton Market Stall (old)
Faux septum clicker: Boohoo
Bracelet: Accessorize

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Stockings: What Katie Did

Shoes: BHS (customised with rhinestones) 

What do you think of the Jezebel dress - is Vivien of Holloway a brand that you love too? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time sweethearts, 

Lovelustloves x0

**This dress was gifted to me from Vivien of Holloway but, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own**

Kobi Jae's Blogiversary Giveaway!

Hello darlings!

I absolutely adore blogging. Not only does it allow me the creative freedom to come up with fun outfits to share with you all and let me show off my personal style, but the blogging world has also allowed me to connect with and meet so many rad babes from across the world. I count myself truly blessed to have been able to form some of the awesome friendships I have with people in the online community of #bodypositivity and #fatshion. 

One such babe that I met years ago by following on Instagram is the beautiful Kobi Jae. For those of you that aren't familiar with her work, Kobi is an Australian plus-size blogging babe that works tirelessly to promote body positivity and takes a strong stand against the mainstream fashion industry and a lack of diversity and representation in public media campaigns. In other words, my kinda woman!  

The babe herself!

Kobi's been on the blogging scene since early 2014 and recently celebrated her 2nd blog anniversary (congratulations, sweetie!) As part of her celebrations, she kindly launched a blog giveaway- offering fabulous prizes from small indie designers such as Re/dress and Size Queen Clothing (two amazing brands that were completely unknown to me prior to this. I just LOVE finding exciting new designers and clothing companies to lust over!) 

Well, lo and behold - yours truly won one of the prize draws! Fast Forward a few weeks and a very exciting package from overseas was shipping its way to my door. I hastily opened it (I posted my reactions to everything over on my snapchat - @ivorylovelust if you wanna be my snap pal!) and got to thinking about all of the beautiful bits and pieces contained and how I could style them up into a fun outfit! 

So, what was in the package?! 

First up, this amazing little "sweet tooth" necklace! The beautiful jewels that I won in Kobi's giveaway come from a fabulous Australian designer known as Miss-A-Ree Guts Creations and you can find them over on Etsy. This necklace is incredibly cute; a pastel colour palette and sweet little candy decorations make this a firm favourite of mine. The chain is a lovely length too- one of my pet peeves with jewellery is that it's either
a) far too long and the decorations slip awkwardly into your cleavage or
b) they aren't fat friendly and the chains are too short, cutting off your circulation! This is thankfully neither, and sits at just the right place on me.  

Next up, Kobi- being the sweetheart that she is decided to pop some Australian candies in my package! Having never visited Australia before I was not familiar with the deliciousness of Caramello Koalas, but they're incredibly similar to the UK's caramel freddos (aka freakin' delicious!) Kobi was also kind enough to pop a wee card into my parcel thanking me for entering the giveaway. Can you believe the kindness of this gesture? Believe me, the pleasure was all mine! 

 

 

The sweetest message!

Finally (and this is the real piece de resistance) was this AMAZING frend ring. Made again by the wonderful Miss-A-Ree Guts, these rings are just entirely too cute for words. As soon as I opened my package from Kobi and seen this beautiful wee gem I was screaming with excitement- it's just so perfect!! I absolutely had to style a fun wee outfit around this amazingness- how couldn't I?!  

Got my eyes on you!

Below are some impromptu photos from a fun day out I had recently where I decided to wear all of my Kobi Jae Giveaway goodies at once. I hope you enjoy them- I think the jewels go especially well with this fun & colourful outfit!

Outfit Details 

Dress: Joe Browns
Hair Flower: Alternate Normality 
Sunglasses: Beyond Retro
Jewellery: Miss-A-Ree Guts 
Petticoat: Oh My Honey!
Tights: New Look
Shoes: Primark

What do you think of Miss-A-Ree Guts? I'm personally over the moon to have discovered such a sweet little independent designer, and I'm so thankful to Kobi for introducing me to them!

For now my loves, that's all from me. 
See you all soon! 

Lovelustloves x0