Fashion Friday: Hot Dame

I will make no excuses for lack of posting…But I had a little freetime this week and I thought hey I should post a little look for you all. This week I am featuring the hottest little black dress I’ve ever had the good fortune to wear! The dress is The Vamp from Pinup Girl Clothing.

Hair Flower: Gift from Miss Amy May

Earrings: Charlotte Russe/Similar

Necklace: Gift/Similar

Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing I actually tried on this dress when I went the the pinup girl clothing boutique many moons ago and fell in love instantly…but alas I was a little too broke to buy it at the time…but as the saying goes “Good things come to those who wait”. The dress went on sale, and is still on sale I might add, so I finally bought my PUG first love. The Vamp is the perfect LBD, form fitted to show off the curves, yet modest enough you wouldn’t feel awkward if you ran into your Grandma while out and about. The fabric is a sturdy cotton poly blend but still comfortable, as reference I am 36″ 27.5″ 36″ and the Medium fits me quite comfortably. Basically The Vamp is everything you could want out of a LBD…But if black isn’t your thing this dress comes in other colourways as well!

Shoes: Restricted

I hope you all enjoyed this post and thank you for putting up with me and my lack of posting. Happy Friday!

 

#iamunique

Hello my dears its been a while since I’ve posted anything that wasn’t a strictly fashion post. Yes this one will have to do with fashion but I promise it will be so much more than that.

One of my favorite companies in the world: Unique Vintage has started a campaign I could not be more pleased with. The #iamunique  campaign encourages people to really love themselves for who they are. Basically you use the hashtag and talk about what makes you different and why you love yourself for it…Sure it sounds simple enough but openly stating your truest self and your rawest emotions can be a little scary especially on the interwebs, where kindness, understanding, and acceptance aren’t exactly a common theme. But I felt called to take the plunge and put myself out there.

Basically I used to wear what was “in” and pretend to enjoy the things that “everyone else” did and in turn was miserable, truly miserable. By wearing what was “in” I felt ugly because #iamunique I have a less than common figure and most clothes aren’t designed to flatter someone with short yogi legs, a ridiculously long torso, and line backer shoulders. I only wish I could go back in time and talk to little Sarah who was crying in dressing rooms wishing to be like everybody else and tell her how happy she would become the moment she embraced her truest self.

I have loved the pinup style for most of my life, even at the age of 4 I worshiped Audrey Hepburn and her flawless glamour. But since pinup was considered over the top by so many I had resigned myself to boring socially acceptable clothes for far too many years. I was denying who I really was everytime I bought myself a pair of skinny jeans and a graphic t-shirt. But all of the denial stopped the very moment I slipped on my Unique Vintage wiggle dress “just for kicks”. Needless to say I bought the dress, but honestly it was so much more than that, it felt like I had bought myself the freedom to be ME.
My first real pinup dress changed everything for me.

By realizing how right I was about my fashion choices I carried that same confidence into other areas of my life. I no longer pretended to enjoy the music that everyone else was listening to, I would unashamedly tell people my big plans for the weekend consisted of  of staying home baking, marathoning Doctor Who, and and snuggling my dog, and if I found something funny I would laugh my witchy cackle and maybe snort a little too. I was no longer ashamed of who I was. I loved me and I didn’t have to fit societies rules to do so.

 Going steady dress

Brenda Dress.

I’m not like everybody else and that’s okay, in fact its more than okay, Its fan-freaking-tastic! By being my truest self I have had so many opportunities open up to me, I’ve become bolder, braver, happier and the people who have chosen to love me for the real me are absolutely irreplaceable. In all honesty I probably wouldn’t have half the friends I do now if I hadn’t started dressing pinup. I discovered myself, and a community of so many beautiful hearts and minds. I just want to extend a huge thank you to Unique Vintage for starting this campaign of self love as well as to my wonderful pinup community that inspires me daily and reaffirms me. Like I said in my #iamunique insta post “yes I am unique but that doesn’t mean I don’t belong”.

Restricted Shoes Holiday Look

Closer than ever to Christmas now. So cannot believe it, and sadly this is my last Restricted inspired Holiday Outfit to share. But we’re going out with a bang. Like I said in my last post Restricted and I want to make sure that Christmas spending money you get goes a little further, simply use the discount code SF40 for 40% off sitewide now through January 31st.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to share this look with you all, its a culmination of everything I love, glamorous, but not over the top, detail oriented, and amazingly incredibly comfortable. Seriously I’m itching to wear this outfit again…perhaps for New Years?
I’m a details kind of girl.

My little sister is queen of candids. I’m amazed with how this pic turned out.
and because I never want you guys to get the wrong idea about me…here is the “glamorous” progression of me picking leaves out of my cleavage.and dancing like a goob 😉

Coat: Borrowed from my mom/Similar

Necklace: Sam Moon’s/Similar

Dress: Unique Vintage if you act fast you can snatch this baby up for $25

Gloves: Gift/Similar

Petticoat: Malco Modes

Shoes: Restricted  These heels though! The Doreen’s are like the smoking jacket of heels, velvety soft, comfy and cozy, yet the picture of sophistication and high style. I’m never taking them off, and if you know me at all that’s quite a statement, I’m usually the first girl to ditch her heels and brave it barefooted. But Restricted knocked it out of the park with these. So if you’re hunting for the perfect pair of heels pick the Doreens you wont be sorry!

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas full of friends, family, food, fun, and of course fashion! XOXO

 

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

 

 

Fashion Friday Featuring Kenley Collins

Hello my darlings. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are slowly but surely coming out of your turkey induced coma’s. Or if you’re one of those people who go Black Friday shopping I hope you got away without being trampled or having a panic attack. But I have to inform you there is one more thing that needs to be put on your Christmas list. You need to get yourself some Kenley Collins goodness.  Kenley is a prime example of why buying from a designer is such an excellent idea. All the cuts, lines, and silhouettes are carefully and artfully executed, because true designers understand that a fun print isn’t enough to carry a dress. But Kenley definitely likes her fun prints too, so if you like classic and flattering silhouettes but still want fun and unique prints and patterns look no further than Mrs Collins. Her new line an American Geisha is especially fun and unique, but is still classic enough to not look kooky. So do yourself a favor and check it out, odds are you need a new holiday party dress and while everyone else is wearing the bland LBD’s you can be rocking a colorful and lovely Kenley Collins original. Having a light snack of foliage…as one does.

and because there’s no such thing as too many silly photos.

Pearls: Gift/Similar

Dress: Kenley Collins Oh this dress though! As any woman knows getting a strapless dress that stays put and looks good is damn near impossible. But this dress flies in the face of reason and says ‘no I will stay put, I wont look like a towel wrapped around you post shower, I will be elegant and lovely, because I have wonderfully supportive boning in the bodice’. I could not be more in love with this dress, the construction is nothing short of miraculous, the print is BEAUTIFUL, size chart is totally on the money accurate, and the material 100% cotton so its machine washable!!! I know that may not seem like a big deal to some people but since I’m still a child I hate having to go to the drycleaners 😉 Thank you Kenley. I love you and your gorgeous (yet practical) designs!

Shoes: Miz Mooz

I hope you all enjoyed this post, and that you check out Kenley’s beautiful new line. Happy Friday my loves!

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: Snow White

Hello all, so I just couldn’t wait til Friday to share this look with all of you. I was just too thrilled with my results to be patient haha.

I feel like Snow White may be one of the easiest looks to pull together that still has a great payoff, as long as you get the right colors you could do any interpretation of snowhite you wanted, you could be super casual and wear jeans, a yellow t-shirt, blue cardigan, and a red belt and headband for a relaxed look, or if you have a fancy yellow dress you could always do that up too, its completely up to you…So of course for my own interpretation I decided go for a pinup inspired look.

gotta include a terrified running through the woods pic 😉

Can you believe there wasn’t a single crystal casket to use for my eternal slumber? So I made do with the bridge.and not one prince came along to kiss me…but its all good I managed, all one really needs is proper motivation to wake up…for me that motivation was dinner, you can’t just live off of apples you know 😉

Hair Bow: Made it with some ribbon but if you want to buy something better check out this one by Juicy Bows

Dress: Piyuspret but also happen to like this dress from Pinup Girl Clothing its on my ever growing PUG lust list 😉

Cardigan: Borrowed from my mom so I have no idea where its from /Similar

Belt: Vintage/Similar

Shoes: DSW/Similar

I hope you all enjoyed this look and maybe found a little inspiration for your own Halloween looks too. Happy Wednesday!

Fashion Friday Featuring Atomic Swag

Oh my goodness guys I’m so stoked for this week’s feature. As you all know I really enjoy rocking the pinup/rockabilly look, but unfortunately that style can be a bit too dressy. Now I’ve actually come to the point where I no longer care about people thinking I’m too dressy, but some day’s I’d prefer to be a little more chill, and what is more chill than a t-shirt? Well I’ll tell you, a t-shirt from Atomic Swag Apparel. I’m not sure I’ve ever worn a more delightfully soft shirt, seriously it’s like wrapping yourself in your favorite cozy blanket…except these bad boys are way more stylish than walking around wearing a blanket.

Atomic swag’s shirt designs are just fabulous and could fit anyone’s taste, men included, this post isn’t just for the ladies. The different styles offered range from rockabilly, motorcycle, state, to hotrod racing t-shirts and all these designs are printed on 100% cotton t-shirts using waterbased inks so they won’t chip, peel, or fade. Huzzah for excellent quality! Looking good isn’t enough, I need style and quality and Atomic Swag certainly delivers on both accounts.

Shirt 1.

Shirt: Atomic Swag Apparel I just love how delightfully cheeky the design on this shirt is don’t you? I’m just so pleased with this soon to be “overworn” piece. Since I’m a pinup and a Texan I’ve always had a bit of a softspot for pinup cowgirls and this shirt could not combine those two styles more perfectly.

Shorts: Target

Boots: Atwoods/Similar

Shirt 2.

and of course I had to do the pistol hands dance

Seemed like an appropriate sign to stand under 😉

Shirt: Atomic Swag Apparel Oh my word, I didn’t even know it was possible to love a shirt this much you guys. I have a ridiculous amount of state pride and if you’re a fellow Texan you know what I’m talking about, this shirt could not be more perfect! The cream colored background, the vintage soft feel, and the Texas design just combine so beautifully and I am not even a little sorry about how much I am going to wear this shirt. It’s a Texas thing Ya’ll 😉

Shorts: Target

Boots: Atwoods/Similar

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you get yourself some Atomic Swag gear…In fact both the lovely people at Atomic Swag and myself so badly want you to experience their brilliant combo of style and comfort that we have a 20% off discount code for you to use, its sarahforshaw20. So what are you waiting for? You’ve got a discount code and everything, this could be the smartest decision you make all weekend.

Happy Friday my loves!

Keith Harkin at Poor Davids

Hello all! Today’s post is all about my fabulous Saturday night. I was fortunate to attend/handle merch at Poor Davids Pub for the Keith Harkin gig, and man it just never gets old…I look forward to every gig of Keith’s like its the first time, and when its all over I leave even happier than the last.

Fortunately this go around I was actually able to step away from the merch table for a bit and snap a couple of pics of the opening act, Phoebe Hunt and Connor Forsyth. All I can say is wow! The amount of style and artistry they brought to each song was astounding. Both are phenomenal writers Connor is master of the keys and Phoebe’s voice is the kind of voice that you would want to have singing the soundtrack of your life. The depth, soul, and incredible variety this lady displays is absolutely mind blowing, not only does she have the voice of an Americana bluesy gypsy angel she can tear it up on the fiddle as well as the guitar. Can you tell I have a bit of a girl crush working? This duo is musical perfection and I implore you to see them live. Keep up to date with Phoebe and Connor through http://phoebehuntmusic.com/home 

Odds are if you’re a regular here on my blog you know my love for Keith Harkin’s music. If this guy is in town I go to his show, simple as that. Keith is not to be missed. I am constantly in awe of this gentleman, his vocals are so strong and invoke so much emotion, his skills as a song writer are incomparable, and his ability to merely play the guitar in such a way you’d swear he was playing with a full band is just outstanding.  I’ve been pretty blessed in my concert outings and have see many a highly skilled artists, but I can truly say Keith still stands out as one of the most talented acts I’ve ever seen. The man doesn’t hold back, he pours his heart and soul into everything he does and it so evident in his music. The crowd, setting, and how tired this weary traveler is have no bearing on his performance he truly lays it all out there and its pretty magical to experience firsthand. If you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere Keith has a gig you really HAVE TO GO! Keep up to date with this phenomenal guy through his website and his various social media platforms (facebook, twitter, and instagram )

As always Keith absolutely killed it, and was kind enough to play several of his new songs. Just when I think this guy cannot get any better he does, the new songs are just out of this world amazing and have me chomping at the bit for his next album…which according to Keith shouldn’t be too far off now. YAY! So now more than ever is the time to hop onto the Harkin bandwagon because I know he’s only going to continue to grow stronger and stronger as an artist, which is really saying something because this guy has Herculean musical strengths 😉
describing his parents’ “domestic bliss” 😉
Everytime this guy plays he shares his soul and its just beautiful.

This guy is the best and that’s all there is to it.

Now here are some pics my sister snapped of me working the merch table…and amazingly I don’t look as lazy as last time 😉
See I’m even grabbing shirts here!Of course it wasn’t all hard work though haha 😉

I had such a wonderful time and want to thank everyone of you who came out to show your support, and an extra thank you to those of you who had to put up with me selling merch again. I really hope you all enjoyed this post and that you show these multi-talented musicians your love because they really deserve it. Happy Wednesday.

Fashion Friday Queen of Heartz Summer Line Pt 2.

Hooray time for Pt 2 of my Queen of Heartz feature! Let me start off by saying I’m a fairly modest person and I don’t particularly enjoy putting it all out there, so the idea of doing a swimsuit shoot was a little intimidating. But let me tell you this, no swimsuit has ever given me the confidence to “rock what I got” quite like this one. I think the main reason this swimsuit made me feel like such a bombshell was yes its beautiful and the print is just straight up sexy, but it balances that sex appeal out with a cut that is not only modest  but its also incredibly flattering.

Who knew an empty pool made such a great backdrop?Pretending I’m an actual pinup 😉

You guys! There was another bee!!! Apparently bumble bees love Queen of Heartz as much as I do 😉

Head piece: Gift from my dear friend Amy who sells other gorgeous headpieces on her etsy site 

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters they sold out of the exact pair I’m wearing but they have other brilliant options

Robe: Gift but you can find a similar robe at JCPenneys or Victoria’s Secret

Swimsuit: Queen of Heartz I’ve never been a huge fan of one pieces which is funny for a “modest” person to say, but I always felt like they were more revealing in structure, and not at all flattering, most resulted in a ham in a tube sock like appearance. But this suit could not be more opposite of that, I love how the structure of this suit keeps you supported without being as brutal as spanx, the little buttons on the bust add a beautiful polished appearance, and the adjustable halterneck ensures your comfort regardless of size. Speaking of size Queen of Heartz size chart is always on point, my measurements are 36″ 27.5″ 36″ and the suit in medium is a perfect fit. I know I say it all the time but its Letty’s keen eye that truly sets her pieces apart, if you purchase anything from her you can rest assured the fit will be beautiful, the tiny details will give your outfit that polished edge, and the quality of construction will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. I cannot sing the praises of Queen of Heartz enough!

Shoes: DSW again not the exact pair I’m wearing but I actually like this alternative better

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you check Queen of Heartz out. Happy Friday my love!