Lil Lou Lou Pt 2.

Well hearty hello to you all, I hope you’ve all had a good week. Today on the blog I have Pt 2. of my Lil Lou Lou feature. If you already read Pt 1 then you know it was love at first sight for me and this stellar brand. Seriously this company is everything I love; wonderful designs, quality construction, friendly service, and USA manufactured goods. Bandana: Lil Lou Lou Oh so darling yet oh so sturdy. The Rosie bandana is made from 100% cotton and has been sewn and hemmed in such a way that it wont wrinkle and crumple like traditional bandanas so often do. Basically it is the perfect headwrap for a girl who doesn’t want to spend ages trying to get her “rosie” do just right, you seriously just throw it on and voila, adorable hair! Blouse: H&M/Similar Jeans: Old Navy Flats: Payless/Similar Sunglasses: Unique Vintage Blouse: Ann Taylor/Similar Belt: Vintage/Similar Skirt: Lil Lou Lou to put it simply this skirt completes me. I just cannot get over how much fabric there is, anyone who knows me knows I love a full skirt and believe you me Lil lou lou delivers. One thing Lil Lou lou also delivered was a novelty print I actually love, usually novelty prints just look too sloppy or childish for me to get on board with them, but this skirt has made me a believer in beautiful and fun novelty prints. First off its blue…and for some reason most of my favorite pinup pieces are blue, and the undergarment advertisements that make up the print add just the perfect amount of sass for me. Like I said before this skirt completes me. Flats: Payless/Similar I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you get yourself some fabulous goodies from Lil lou lou! Happy Friday my dears.

Fashion Friday Featuring Lil Lou Lou’s Pt. 1

Hey guys and dolls I hope you’re all doing well, sorry its been a while between posts but I caught a gnarly cold, flew out of state for a few days, and then caught some new cold like sickness from my plane ride back home, UGH! But I am finally on the mend and ready to get back to blogging, and what a fun brand I have to feature this week.

Lil Lou Lou now if the name alone doesn’t get you excited allow me to enlighten you on this awesome company. This wonderful brand specializes in pinup/rockabilly hair accessories and children’s clothing, which sounds simple enough, but I can’t tell you how many times I have been let down by supposed pinup hair accessories, you know the ones I’m talking about. The hair scarves that are just too short to actually make a decent bow, or the hair flowers that look more like wilted flowers after a few wears. Well the owner/designer and all around sweetheart Lily Dueñas understands these frustrations and only supplies wonderful products that you’ll happily wear for a long time. The designs are gorgeous, the construction is high quality and super functional, and you should also be happy to know all the products are proudly manufactured in the grand ole US of A. Basically this is a brand I am more than happy to get behind.

Look 1.modeling is clearly my calling 😉

Cute Knotted Bows: Lil Lou Lous oh my lands I just love these cute little bows. I actually wear my hair in “kitten ears” pretty often cause its an easy pinup do, but it can be a little lack luster at times, well til now that is. The knotted bows add that perfect finishing touch to an otherwise simple hair do.

T-shirt: Atomic Swag

Jeans: Old Navy 

Flats: Payless/Similar

Look 2.

 Me channeling Miss Amy May’s Modeling skills.

Me being the dork that I am.

and because these are an accurate representation of how most shoots go 😉

Minnie Headband: Lil Lou Lous This has got to be one of the most appropriately named accessories ever, I mean who doesn’t want to be as adorable as minnie mouse? I love how easy this headband is to wear, since the minnie is elasticized  you can just pop it on and not worry about it falling off, which if you’re anything like me that’s a huge selling point! I absolutely hate when my bandanas and bows fall. Also the bow portion can be tied anyway you desire, huzzah to customizable pieces!

Tanktop: Not sure/Similar

Jivin Skirt: Lil Lou Lous unfortunately for you guys I got the last rocket ads print for adults but they have a lovely white as well as a fun blue novelty print that I’ll be featuring soon 😉

Flats: Payless/Similar

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that none of you have caught this terrible cold going around! Check out Lil Lou Lou and be on the look out for Pt 2 of the feature. Happy Friday!

The Brit and The Belle: Little Miss Savage

Sarah Forshaw (@Forshawsarah) and Miss Amy May  (@miss_amy_may) are southern belle and southern brit pinups, respectively, who found one another on Instagram part way through their pinup transformations in mid 2013, at which point they tentatively, then all of a sudden, become devoted and divine friends. Bonding over their urge to bring full on glamour to their every day lives, their shared opinions on cake, and their fierce nerd hearts, the two quickly began to look upon one another as fabulous sisters–who simply hadn’t met yet outside the confines of the interwebs. Due to finally meet IRL to share many squishy hugs and swing-skirted spins in fall 2015, they’re opening up their friendship and their closets to you in this shared blog post while they eagerly await their meeting.

Sarah: Amy and I have been crazy busy lately, so we’ve been a bit delayed in bringing you this post about accessories maker Little Miss Savage, but finally it’s here!

Little Miss Savage, Emily, hand makes headwraps, necklaces, pins, keyrings and bags/wallets, which she sells on her Etsy store and eBay. When we first came into contact with her we immediately fawned over several of her items, and we were so thrilled when she was kind enough to send us both a selection of cuteness.

​Here are the Grey rose skinny bandana $8.60, Flamingo Original Bandana $10.16, Cup of tea brooch $4.68, Cupcake brooch $4.68, Moth necklace $7.81.

When I first started incorporating pinup looks into my life I found headwraps were one of the easiest ways to achieve a rockabilly/pinup look, and over the years I still find this to be true. I’m much too lazy to pincurl my hair every night, and sometimes you have a last minute outing that you were unprepared for…but you still want to be your cutest most retro babe self, and nothing helps a look get there more than the right accessories. Headwraps are a great way to frame a good hair day, but on the flipside they’re also great for camouflaging a monstrous bedhead hair day, and I can honestly say Little Miss Savage’s head wraps are some of the best I’ve ever worn.

Oh and can we all give Emily a round of applause for her jewelry? The moth necklace I have is so me I cannot even believe it, it’s a little bit edgy and almost has a Victorian taxidermy feel to it, but it’s still pretty and girly. And teacup and cupcake brooches? I mean who doesn’t want to indulge in something as sweet as that?

Below are some of the looks I put together using the headwraps. I didn’t use the jewelry in these pics because they kind of got lost, but in person they’re real statement pieces.

​Flamingo Headwrap: Little Miss Savage

Chambray Shirt: Target

Pencil skirt: H&M/Similar

Wedges: Payless/Similar

​Headwrap: Little Miss Savage

Moto Jacket: Forever 21

Dress: Lindy Bop

Wedges: Restricted Footwear

​Buy me a giant cookie and throw me a party! I finally managed to get some decent bumper bangs. Now when you have a great quiff, pomp, or bumper bangs day the last thing you want to do is mess them up with a tricky bandana scarf situation, this is where Little Miss Savage comes in to play. Emily’s headwraps are made from 100% cotton so they’re not slipping and sliding all about, and you don’t have to worry about folding your scarf just so. Emily has done all the hard work for you by getting rid of cumbersome fabric and leaving you with a streamlined easy to use headwrap that finishes off any look. She’s basically the fairy godmother of the hair accessories world.

 

Amy

Here’s the Music Notes ‘Original’ headwrap £6.49, Anchor ‘Skinny’ headwrap £5.49, Cherry Polka dot ‘Skinny’ headwrap £5.49, Cherry necklace £7.99 and a Pinup Brooch £3.99.

I love the headwraps because I am awful at wrangling headscarves and bandanas, and with a wrap like these all you have to do is throw it on and tie the cute little bow, something I can handle. The availability of them coming as thicker wraps or skinny versions is great because it gives you the choice to have a custom made piece in the width that you most love and the fabric you love–because here’s the awesome thing, Emily hand makes every piece to order so she will create your reversible wrap out of any two fabrics of your choice available in her store. This means that at your request you can have whatever combo you like.

The cherries necklace is adorable. Red is my favourite accessories colour because I find it really pops within a lot of different colour combos. Below I’ve styled it with whites and reds for a classic and casual pinup look but I’ve also worn it with colours like my purple gingham Hell Bunny dress and it totally made the whole look.

I’ve styled some outfits below to show you these cute pieces in action.

Little Miss Savage Skinny anchor headwrap

Tatyana Alika White Blouse

Collectif Red Capri pants

Primark striped ballet pumps

Little Miss Savage Cherry Necklace

Little Miss Savage Skinny headwrap

Pinup Girl Clothing Doris top in white

Collectif Black Capri pants

Primark ballet flats bedazzled by myself

Little Miss Savage Pinup Brooch

Hell Bunny Claudia dress

Red Mary Jane heels

I am just in love with my pinup pin! It’s the perfect addition to any collar or top. At only £3.99 each it’s hard to resist the urge to collect the full set.

Little Miss Savage Musical notes Original Headwrap

Unique Vintage Manhattan Gingham Day Dress

Dorothy Perkins clutch bag

Primark pumps bedazzled by me

Since Sarah has shown you how great it looks to add one of these wraps to a well formed hairdo like her lovely bumper bangs I thought I’d show you the other side of the coin; how useful they are to have around when you’re not doing so well with your hair that day, or in too much of a rush to spend a lot of time crafting yo’ curls.

I have a couple of go-to dos that I whip out when I’m having a busy day or my hair is misbehaving. One of them is what I call the Messy Poodle. It’s like the Lucile ball and carmen Miranda style Poodle Do…but with much less skill. It basically involves piling all of my hair on top of my head as quickly as possible, tweaking only slightly to make sure it doesn’t look totally insane, and then adding a super cute headwrap to detract from my laziness. It’s great on busy work days or when I’m heading out for something more casual.

So if you’re looking for an adorable piece of jewellery or a custom bandanna or two, head over to Little Miss Savage, and while you’re there tell her The Brit & The Belle send her our love!

Amy and Sarah

xxx

 

 

Halloween Costumes You Can Wear Again: River Song and 11

I figured for my last Halloween post I should really go out with a bang, and what could be better than two outfits in one post? Especially when those two outfits are incredibly nerdy? My sister and I are both Whovians so we attended Doctor Who Day at the British Emporium (had an absolute blast by the way) and once we were done stocking up on Jammie Dodgers and meeting fellowe Whovians, we figured it only stood to reason to capture our outfits and post em on here for all of you to enjoy!Apparently River didn’t get the memo that Stetsons are cool.Drunk giraffe loves Jammie DodgersTardis self destruct button…or is it in fact a biscuit?River’s Costume

Jacket: Vintage/Similar

Blouse: not sure/similar

Belt: Vintage/Similar

Gun and Holster:  Holster was handmade/Similar

Jeans: Academy my sister has a devil of a time finding jeans due to her long legs, turns out she just needed to buy men’s jeans! Who would’ve thought?

Boots: Target

 

11’s Costume

Hat: Cavenders

Shirt: Old Navy/Similar

Bowtie: Handmade from ribbon/Similar

Necklace: Gift/Similar

Suspenders: Borrowed from my stepdad/Similar

Skirt: Cotton On

Legwarmers (Only because I could find my knee high socks): Forever 21

Shoes: Payless

I really hope you all enjoyed this post and this entire series of Costumes You Can Wear Again. Be sure to let me know what you’ll be wearing this Halloween. I love hearing from you guys. Happy Wednesday!

Costumes You Can Wear Again (sort of): Flapper

Hey cats and kittens so this week’s Costumes You Can Wear Again might just be dancing on the edge of being able to be worn again.

But I liked this outfit too much so much I had to share, and if you like something enough you kind of adopt a “to hell with acceptable clothes” mentality,  and now that I think about it I have dressed as a flapper on 3 different occasions, so maybe its a more wearable look than I realized! 😉Just casually dancing on the edge of acceptable fashion choices 😉

Eyeshadow: NYX Smokey Palette

Lipcolor: NYX Shade Transylvania

Head Scarf: Vintage/Similar 

Head Chain: Old Necklace I have no idea where I got it so I suggest using a similar necklace or headband

Necklace: Forever 21/Similar

Gloves: Davids Bridal

Dress: Homemade from a slip and a fringey wrap, so you can do something similar, buy this cheaper alternative from Forever 21, or spring for this stellar dress from Unique Vintage. In fact Unique Vintage has a whole range of flapper dresses, accessories, and shoes so I might suggest checking that out 😉

Shoes: Payless

I hope that you all enjoyed this look and that you have a very Happy Wednesday!

Fashion Friday Featuring Julie Mollo

This week’s Fashion Friday will be featuring none other than the incredible Julie Mollo!  I actually had the great pleasure of meeting this lovely lady when I was in Brooklyn back in May, and I was immediately drawn to her, she just exudes confidence and has such a playful spirit, and her sense of style is the perfect blend of feminine and badass retro babe. These wonderful attributes are carried right into Julie’s designs and its no surprise that several big names have taken notice and commisioned Mrs Mollo to create pieces for them, one of these “Big Names” is none other than Katy Perry! Katy Perry’s style has always been one of the things I most loved about her, and I’ll admit there are several looks of hers I’ve tried to recreate. Now many of us cannot commision designers and don’t have teams to make us look fab…But we can still look like stars because Julie sells her pieces to the masses as well as musicians, performers, and the like. Isn’t that wonderful?forever twirlingand pretending to be a ballerinaMy mom was standing out of shot so naturally I had to make a face at her 😉

Earrings: Payless/Similar

Necklace: Homemade/Similar

Blouse: Hot Topic/Similar

Jacket: Forever 21

Belt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Tutu: Julie Mollo I would like to extend a huge thank you to Julie for understanding how so many of us ladies wanted nothing more than to be ballerinas! Now I may not be able to dance en pointe, or just dance in general for that matter, but that does not mean I cannot rock a tutu. This glorious tutu is made from 8 layers of wonderful bouncy tulle and the tie is made from cotton sateen, also another fun factor about the tie is you can tie a bow, knot it, and wear it either fastened in the back or front, its entirely up to you! Since this piece is a true to style tutu it is a bit sheer so I wore a white pencil skirt underneath mine, but you could wear a slip, tights, or even rock a body suit! Julie creates pieces that are easily personalized, and knows that fashion is meant to be fun and a form of expression! So all of her pieces are meant to be styled from one extreme to another, so whether you want to embrace the full girly girl look or want to add a little bit of edge to your attire Mrs Mollo has what you’re looking for.

Heels: Charlotte Russe/Similar

I really hope you all liked this post and that you check out the always fabulous Julie Mollo. Happy Friday!

Costumes You Can Wear Again: Sherlock

Hello all! I have yet another fun Halloween look to share. This week I decided to try my hand at channeling my favorite consulting detective and high functioning sociopath Sherlock!

I have to admit I REALLY love this outfit, the purple dress is very reminiscent of the infamous Purple Shirt of Sex (don’t be alarmed its a fandom thing), I feel like my coat is pretty spot on, my tights remind me ever so slightly of the glorious wallpaper that is in Holmes and Watson’s flat, and what’s more English than a pair of oxfords?

Ya I’m pretty proud of this look and hope you all love it as much as I do.

a little side by side comparison 😉ya the seriousness never lasts long 😉

Coat: H&M/Similar

Dress: Queen of Heartz

Tights: Forever 21/Similar

Heels: Payless

So what do you guys think? Was I able to do the look justice? Are you a fan of BBC’s Sherlock? If so are you dying for season 4 as much as I am? I’d love to hear from you, so drop me a line even if its just to say hi. Happy Wednesday!

Fashion Friday: Costumes You Can Wear Again.

Well its almost that time of year again folks, time for pumpkin flavored and scented everything, bulk bags of candy being put on every end cap of your local markets, and terrible expensive prepackaged costumes. Honestly I have no idea why Halloween costumes are so expensive, because lets get real the quality of fabric choices and over all construction is sorely lacking, and if that wasn’t enough you’re only going to wear this outfit once! This is why for the next couple of weeks I am going to be posting Halloween costume ideas made from pieces that you can wear again and might even have in your own closet.

This week’s look is Belle from Beauty and Beast…Belle has always been my favorite Disney princess so pulling this look together was quite  a bit of fun for me. 

White Blouse: Cold Water Creek/Similar 

Dress: Pollypop Yes my dress isn’t quite the right color but I was working with what I already had…However the link I provided is to the same cut of dress but its a better shade of blue.

Apron: Vintage/Similar and honestly a waist apron would be easy to make on your own.

Book: Carry around your favorite book, hey it could make a great ice breaker!

Flats: Payless/Similar 

I really hope you all enjoyed this post! What are your thoughts on it? Who is your favorite Disney Princess? What was the best costume you ever wore? I’d love to hear from you. Have a happy Friday!

Fashion Friday Queen of Heartz Summer Line Pt 1.

You guys never have I had such a hard time narrowing down shots for a blog post, if that isn’t a testament to how beautiful this Queen of Heartz dress is I don’t know what is. Last Sunday I decided it’d be fun to brave the heat (107 degrees) and stroll the Ft Worth botanical gardens to do a shoot for this divinely feminine number. Well despite the brutal heat I had a marvelous time, there were so many gorgeous photo ops, and this dress is just wow from every angle. This is why Letty Tennant has got to be one of my all time favorite designers, everything she creates is gloriously feminine on every figure, the finishing touches put her clothes above any one else’s, and the historical accuracy of her pieces is so spot on!
its all about the details.some of the great wildlife at the gardensHow’s my butterfly impression?

I thought these climbing flowers were beautiful and would make for a great back drop…and as you can see from the photos below these flowers were also popular with a rather large bumble bee that wanted to take part of the shoot. Clearly I wanted none of it haha.

Dress: Queen of Heartz my measurements are 36″ 27.5″ 36″ and the medium fits like a glove, which felt nothing short of a miracle, not because of the previously mentioned measurements, but because I have rather broad shoulders. I kind of panic when I see sleeves (I’ve done my fair share of busting the shoulders on some of my favorite blouses gosh that sucks) but this dress fit wonderfully, I didn’t feel the least bit constricted. Because of the 40’s styled structure of this dress there is ample bust and shoulder room, but if you’re on the smaller side it will still look good on you too. I tell you if designers would just go back to the golden years of fashion shopping would be a lot less stressful. Clothes were meant to flatter every shape and that is something Queen of Heartz not only understands but absolutely delivers! This peachy chiffon checkered dress is so perfect for summer its light weight, super feminine, can easily transition from casual to formal, and is surprisingly comfortable…don’t be surprised to see me wearing it quite often.

Vintage Purse: Gift from a friend, but you can find purses just like it on ebay and etsy

Shoes: Payless these I bought years back but I think this dress would look even better with a pair of oxfords (more historically accurate too) here’s a pair from payless that would work beautifully or even these from mod cloth 

I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did, and I hope you all check out Queen of Heartz also be on the look out for Pt 2 as I have another stellar piece to show you all. Have a wonderful Friday and look out for those photobombing bumble bees 😉

 

Fashion Friday Featuring Piyuspret

Hooray we made it to the weekend! Happy Fashion Friday everyone. This week I am featuring the etsy site Piyuspret. Piyuspret is based out of India, ships worldwide, and is made up of a mother daughter team and a tailor assistant, gotta love the personal touch that brings.

Piyuspret sells ultra light weight cotton vintage style dresses, so they’re perfect for those hot summer days, plus these dresses are quite the bargain!

Look 1.

Hair Flower: Claires

Dress: Piyuspret I couldn’t find this exact dress on their site but should you decide you want it, I’m sure you could let the ladies know and they could whip one up for you. I loved how light this dress was, and that it was quite roomy in the waist but ties in the back so you don’t look like you’re wearing a bag, plus it has pockets!!! I did run into one issue in the dresses with 3/4 length sleeves I have really wide shoulders and a rather broad back so when I would raise my arms the back zipper would unzip a little. So if you have a similar build to me keep that in mind, other than the zipper I had no issues with this dress in a size large.

Shoes: DSW

Look 2.

Hair Flower: Claires

Dress: Piyuspret You guys know how much I love polka dots so you can only imagine my delight in this little number, unfortunately I ran into the same zipper issue with this dress, but I think I might look into altering them to prevent any zipper slippage, cause seriously how cute is this print?

Shoes: Payless

Look 3.

Dress: Piyuspret Coraly/red, boatneck, and pockets these are the things dresses should consist of. This dress is perfect for spring/summer cause its super lightweight and could easily be accessorized to fit whatever occasion whether it be casual or a little bit dressy, and since this dress is sleeveless I had no issues with the zipper HOORAY!

Shoes: Payless bought them years ago but they have some lovely alternatives

Look 4. My absolute favorite!

Hair clip: Claires

Dress: Piyuspret All of the dresses I got are pretty, but this little yellow ray of sunshine is my all time favorite! the fit is superb and it is the prettiest shade of yellow I have ever seen, normally I avoid yellow cause I find it doesn’t look good on my skin tone but this dress compliments me so well. I have found my official summer dress guys!

Shoes: DSW

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you have a very happy Friday! Love you all!