Friday 4 March 2011

My dream dress....

Well...here we are on the final day this week of the new Hummingbird Vintage dresses...and I may have saved the best until last.

When I saw this dress I literally snatched it from the seller and ran away to the changing room absolutely convinced that this dress was made for me..!!

Sadly I was wrong..! Although the body of the dress fitted lovely the neck gave me some issues. For some reason I can't wear things around my neck so chokers, roll necks, dog collars (should the occasion ever arise) are all out....damn this weird phobia...!!

So here it is...my dream dress


Totally amazing...right. I would have loved to have worn it with chunky grey tights....

..and brown brogues.


But it would also have been perfect for the evening with a net petticoat and tan peep toes...


I am totally in love with this dress and have considered therapy in order to get over my fear of high neck items just so I can wear it...!!

It is available from Hummingbird Vintage (link at the top of the page), is a size 10 - 12 and costs £30.

Photoshoot....for a good cause....

Happy Friday folks.

I am in a good mood today for the following reasons....I am wearing a full 1950's circle skirt with net petticoat, I have a fun new fringe, I have been given a chai tea latte for free by the lovely people at Starbucks and it is Friday...!!

This weekend I will be going photoshoot crazy...tomorrow I am creating an East End bridal shoot so I can launch Hummingbird Bridal...a gorgeous range of vintage wedding dresses under £100 and on Sunday I am meeting up with a lovely lady called Kim who is raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support by only wearing second hand clothes for a year.

Cancer charities are very close to my heart due to the fact that mother is going through the Big C so when I heard about Kim's challenge I immediately contacted her and practically forced my services upon her.

Thankfully she accepted them and we have been working towards the photoshoot for the past few weeks.

I will be obviously posting the final pics on here from the shoot but here are my favourite looks so far from Kim...what a girl...!!


Love the outfit.....love the pose....


I love the sleeves on this top and matching it with a classic black skirt makes it perfect for work...


When I saw this outfit I had to stop myself ringing Kim and begging for the dress....totally fab!!

So...if any of you are around the Shoreditch area on Sunday afternoon and fancy popping in to see how we are doing feel free...I will be providing fizz and cupcakes...!!

Kims story is available here Preloved Reloved so please go on and take a peek....after all...it's for a good cause..!!

Thursday 3 March 2011

A Festival Vintage Vibe.....

When I go out and buy new stock there are always a few pieces that I hope don't sell so that I can keep them for myself and here is a story about one of them.

Before I start though let me tell you about one of my favourite summer things....festivals. I love them but haven't quite got the camping, not washing, outfit consisting of shorts and wellies thing down. No....to me festival attire consists of long floaty dresses and hats...not practical I know but I love it and refuse to change my ways.

When I saw this dress I was instantly transported to a summer festival....gorgeous print and colour....it practically screams out 1970's hippy.



All this dress really calls for is some flat gladiator sandals.....


..some statement gold earrings...

..and some sunnies.



But I also think it would look really cute with a vintage denim cutoff jacket....just to give it an uber festival vibe.


The dress will fit a size 10 - 12 and is £35. It is available from Hummingbird Vintage which you can access through clicking the image at the top of the page.

My new favourite high street store....??

At the beginning of the year I made a very bold statement to the boyfriend which went a bit like this 'I am not going to buy any clothes for at least six months but instead save my money for future grown up type things'. I am now just over two months in and I CAN'T DO IT. I physically need to buy clothes it is like a disease....a very fun disease.

So I am allowing my self to buy one item a month and it needs to be special and not another black vest top of which I probably have about six hundred.

So I started doing some online research (very important) and I came across a shop that I don't normally look at but I found some simply AMAZING things in there.....the shop in question River Island.

The main reason I have steered away from River Island is the fact that in the past they have loved to whack on a bit of 'bling' to almost every item of clothing. Although I do hail from Essex I am not a fan of diamante adorning items of clothing. However, it looks as though River Island have realised this (thanks guys) and have taken a step back from the bling and have created and amazing range of vintage inspired treats.

Here are my favourite pieces...

Although summer seems a long way off this dress is just beautiful and would look great with flats sandals or dressed up with tan peep toes...



 ...I love this dress for the colour alone but it also as it nips in at the waist and has a swirly skirt...simply divine...

....this dress is a real treat...1950's prom silhouette with a gorgeous floral print but it is short enough to wear during the day without looking over the top...

...although not my normal style I bloody love this dress and it is a real daytime to evening transition piece...


High waisted skirts...you can't beat them....although my one tip with the lighter cotton floral version below is to wear a slip as it stops static (evil, evil creation) and makes the skirt hang better.



At the moment I have a real lust for lace and capes and this top combines the two, it would look great with the skirt above and would balance out hips perfectly.


And finally....red, shiny, buckle shoes....need I say anything more apart from 'SOMEONE GET ME A PAIR QUICK'..!!

However although I love every piece above and could easily buy each one I did give myself a limit of one piece per month and here it is.....

...I love this as it is black so can be worn now, has a floaty skirt, is vintage inspired, is nipped in and.....has pineapples on it....who couldn't love a dress that has pineapples on it...??

Wednesday 2 March 2011

A Seventies Summer....

According to the fashion gurus and magazines two words should pop into our heads when we think of summer fashion....1970's and maxi.

Now I love a maxi dress as it covers up the two worst parts of my body....my legs....so I have been delighted when, over the past couple of years, the maxi has been a big summer trend.

However, many people associate the maxi with a casual boho look that is more suited to the beach than the bar...but I beg to differ....especially when I saw this gorgeous dress.

With it's gorgeous patten and high ruffle neck it is a real statement piece....


It is fully lined so the skirt swishes as you walk (I love a swish) and the bodice fits snuggly so shows off the curves.

Another great thing is that as the shoulders are quite wide you don't have to worry about underwear showing which is always my maxi dress issue....do I wear a bra and have a nice cleavage yet messy straps or do I go for the strapless bra/flat chest approach...?

The detailing on this dress make it special enough to wear for an event matched with gorgeous gold statement heels...


...and a gold box clutch bag....


...however the floral pattern also makes it great for everyday wear.....for example I would match it with  flat gold sandals....

...gold hoops earrings and big sunnies with my hair in a messy ballerina bun....




...a simply gorgeous dress for different occasions....!!

The dress is £35 from Hummingbird Vintage (please click at the link on the top of the page to go through to the shop) will fit a size 10 - 12 and...to be honest...is simply stunning.
According to the fashion gurus and magazines two words should pop into our heads when we think of summer fashion....1970's and maxi.

Now I love a maxi dress as it covers up the two worst parts of my body....my legs....so I have been delighted when, over the past couple of years, the maxi has been a big summer trend.

However, many people associate the maxi with a casual boho look that is more suited to the beach than the bar...but I beg to differ....especially when I saw this gorgeous dress.

With it's gorgeous patten and high ruffle neck it is a real statement piece....


It is fully lined so the skirt swishes as you walk (I love a swish) and the bodice fits snuggly so shows off the curves.

Another great thing is that as the shoulders are quite wide you don't have to worry about underwear showing which is always my maxi dress issue....do I wear a bra and have a nice cleavage yet messy straps or do I go for the strapless bra/flat chest approach...?

The detailing on this dress make it special enough to wear for an event matched with gorgeous gold statement heels...


...and a gold box clutch bag....


...however the floral pattern also makes it great for everyday wear.....for example I would match it with  flat gold sandals....

...gold hoops earrings and big sunnies with my hair in a messy ballerina bun....




...a simply gorgeous dress for different occasions....!!

The dress is £35 from Hummingbird Vintage (please click at the link on the top of the page to go through to the shop) will fit a size 10 - 12 and...to be honest...is simply stunning.

Someone marry me...please...!!





As I mentioned yesterday Spring is here and this also denotes the start of my favourite time of the year....WEDDING SEASON.

I love a wedding and although I am all for just marrying once it does make me slightly sad that I will only get to wear one wedding dress....actually....sad indeed.

Now...I am lucky enough to have got my hands on some simply amazing vintage wedding dresses for the shop and have persuaded some gorgeous girls to join me this weekend to do an East End bridal photoshoot which I am very much looking forward to and will be sure to post the results here. However before I do I just wanted to bring to your attention the wedding dress shop of my dreams...The Vintage Dres Company.

I have probably spent hours looking at this site whilst sending the boy psychic thoughts persuading him to propose so I can finally wear one of these creations.

They do both vintage inspired dresses from each era which allow to to add pieces on such as floaty sleeves, sashes and trains and full on vintage dresses which have to among the nicest out there...!!

Here are my faves....








These dresses above are from their 'Vintage Inspired' range. They come in lace and silk and range from the 1920's - 1970's.....simply stunning.

And these beauties are from their vintage collection.

I adore the high neck and puffed sleeves on this 1930's dress....




...and this dress has a real 'dreamy' quality and the removal of the short cape will give it a great day to night transition...




....glittery bodice....ballerina skirt....who couldn't fall in love with this 1950's dress...





...and I simply love this 1970's dress....a glamourous twist on the classic wedding dress.





And they don't do just dresses....oh no...they also do accessories which I think would actually look great in everyday life not just at weddings.....

These gorgeously embellished bags would add serious sparkle to any outfit. I have a number of sparkly clutches at home and use them almost everyday...as...lets be honest...how can you be sad when you are armed with a sparkly clutch bag...??




Alas...I am not a hat lady...which...when I see hats like this one makes me very sad indeed..!!







I LOVE THIS.....and that is all I can say really....simply amazing.



And what wedding outfit would be complete without some gorgeous statement jewellery...they say less is more but with items like these to choose from I can safely say I will be ignoring that piece of advice...!!






So...as my wedding outfit is clearly sorted all I need to do now is get the boy to propose....psychic thoughts are back in business!!



Tuesday 1 March 2011

Sixties Skirt Suit for a Spring Wedding....

Here we are on day two of the Hummingbird Vintage New Dresses Adventure and have I got something special for you today...!!

Today marks the start of March and in my eyes the start of Spring and therefore the start of wedding season....hurrah.

If you didn't know I am a HUGE fan of weddings....especially the dressing up part..so when I saw this outfit my heart leapt.

An original 1960's does 1950's skirt suit....and it is just gorgeous...!!

Made in a creamy beige light brocade fabric, the suit consists of a stunning nipped in, button up jacket with bell sleeves and a high waisted skirt which is fastened with pearl buttons.


As a suit is is simply stunning and I can imagine it paired with a pair of classic red courts...

...red corsage.....


...and a vintage inspired white cotton camisole...


However I also think that both pieces would be equally as stunning on there own.

The jacket could be paired with blue skinnys.....



....and a plain black vest.


And the skirt could be paired with a classic white vest....


....gorgeous gold flats.....

...and statement gold earrings.

The suit is available from Hummingbird Vintage (just click on the link at the top of the blog to be taken there) is a size 10 and is £35 for both the skirt and jacket.

Happy shopping xx