Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Accessorizing, old style! The Dress Clip

I bought a beautiful floral vintage inspired dress last week and I wanted to alter the shape of the neckline. I remembered a clever little vintage invention which seems to have gone out of fashion these days; the dress clip.
Art deco 'Duette' £47 BraceletstoBuckles. Etsy.com
The Dress clip was used to hold back gathers of fabric or to add interest and detail to a dress. They were usually sold in pairs and many, when fastened together, formed a brooch (Duette). Clever huh?!
I wanted to achieve this effect with my floral dress so I came up with a few inspired ideas.
The dress is what I would call an Audrey style and can be worn slightly off the shoulder. I was trying to get from this (above) to more of a sweetheart neckline. I tried some clip on earrings in one of my local vintage shops but they didn't have a long enough back and promptly fell off (which is why authentic dress clips had little grippers on the back), so in leiu of real dress clips I tried a brooch or two...

TaDa!
The brooch proved a really good idea as I could hold all of the spare fabric tightly together. The only problem was that I don't have two brooches the same so I tried a different one on the other side.
 
This worked well visually, but the size of the brooch meant it kept poking me under the arm! I really need to find some proper dress clips, but it's a start!

It always amazes me how many clever and beautiful things things from yesteryear have got lost over time. I love being able to bring them back. Here's some vintage inspiration for you and a few rather glamorous and gorgeous dress clips I've spied recently on Etsy.

Wallis Simpson in dress clips (source)
1940s clips £24.87 Etsy.com

Filigree clips £5.89 Etsy.com

Grapes Clips £6.54 Etsy.com


Rectangular clips £9.16 Etsy.com
Makes you wonder what else our fashion paced, fast fashion modern world has forgotten about? Have a great Wednesday folks!
            x

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Who can wear which dress Wednesday: vintage for the curvy girl!

I stumbled upon this fab new Etsy shop specialising in vintage for curvier ladies this week. Well Rounded Vintage! It was opened earlier this month by the lovely Charly, otherwise known to the cyber-world as Landgirl1980. (Catch her blog here!)
Well Rounded Vintage, Etsy
Charly specialises in finding gorgeous peices 'with the plus size in mind'. A great concept and a fab shop, so if you are a gorgeously curvy girl, pop on over and have a squizz!

All girls are gorgeous and deserve to feel gorgeous (ideally in a fab frock or gorgeous gown) so I wholehearedly applaud Charly's passion to source things specifically for this market. Feeling that we look good is part of the continual confidence battle we ladies face and finding something which fits like a glove is the icing on the confidence cake.

Knowing what suits the more curvy of us is also really important. I blogged a while back about capsule wardrobes for vintage looks and whether you are a vintage purist, a repro-diva or in fact happy with the High Street, there are some basic hints and tips if you are busty.
1950s ad for becoming curvier!
A lot of what I'm about to tell you, you probably already know but I'm going to remind you anyway! Basic rules 1. and 2.- avoid necks which are too high, and doubly avoid sleeveless tops where the neckline is too high as your boobs can all too easily become a sort of shelf. Wearing something with some detail at the neck is best if you just have to have the 1950s sweater girl look (If you do try a What Katie Did bra underneath!)

Why not opt for a V neck, wrap top styles or scoop neck as these are much better on a bigger bust and there are plenty of vintage styles like these. Heyday have some stunning wrap vintage style tops and they're on sale too. (We can all look like Kitten Von Mew!) I have this one and it is fab.
Heyday Vintage Style srap top on sale at £20!
Accentuating the waist is always a good idea when bigger busted- that's why the Fit & Flare full circle skirt dress is always such a mainstay of retro glamour. Even if you aren't an hourglass and don't have the hips to balance your bust, a circle skirt dress hides them and you will look in proportion (great news for those of us who are triangles or inverse pears!)
Vivien of Holloway circle Dress £80
 Just be a bit weary of the forties shirtwaister if you are very busty, unless it's exactly the right size those buttons will gape! Learn to measure yourself properly, bust, waist and hips; all good online shops will be able to give you accurate measurements for their items and a good size guide is worth its weight in gold. It takes me an absolute age to measure all my dresses for website listing but it's so worth it when someone is considering buying something they haven't seen!
How to measure yourself correctly
 So if you are a curvy girl, look good, feel great and know that you are utterly gorgeous, inside and out. Remember, it's not what you wear, but how you wear it!
                                   x