Collectif & Erstwilder Match Made In Heaven!

A happy Tuesday to you all!

I hope you've all been having a wonderful day, I am settled on my bed in my fluffy dressing gown, and pleased as punch with my recent purchases so I thought I'd share.

When I heard Erstwilder was being stocked at Collectif I freaked! Her brooches and jewellery are beyond adorable and are so unique to what else is out on the hight street. They're made from quality resin in amazing colours and characters.

As I have a cute schnauzer called Teddie who I love and adore when I saw the pink schnauzer brooch I knew I just had to have it!

Isn't he the cutest?! And only £17.50 from the Collectif website it is such a bargain, as it's also a great size and very eye-catching! Also the packaging is adorable, I am definitely keeping it stored in the box!

After I browsed the new Erstwilder collection I found myself in the sale section on Collectif as usual! Oops!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Marianne Jacket for £20 and the matching Caroline Skirt for £16 - that's a whole set for £36! Amazing! Pictures below (with some professional photos from the website thrown in as my camera does not do justice to the colour!).

I went for a size 8 in the skirt as my waist is quite small, and it fits very snugly, it's perfect! It's lined and the material has a lovely woollen feel so it's prefect for the current weather, as it's still very chilly in London. The jacket is a size 10 as my bust is quite big, and then I can also wear it comfortably over clothes without the buttons pulling. This is the same material and lining as the skirt, but the faux fur…WOW…it is so soft! The faux fur is amazing quality, I really couldn't stop stroking myself! Hehe!

I am super happy with the fit, quality and of course the price of all the items I bought from Collectif! I really recommend having a look at the Erstwilder brooches as they match perfectly with the style of the Collectif clothes. The cute pink Schnzauzer looks really adorable on the blue/green and I can't wait to wear this out tomorrow…it'll certainly turn heads on the tube!

I hope you enjoyed my review, do let me know if you have any questions about what I've bought! The sale section is still on and everything above is still available for sale, but be quick about it!

B

xxx

Woman Crush Wednesday

Happy hump day!

It's Wednesday already and after today we can quickly slip into the weekend. Hurrah! To celebrate I thought I'd dedicate my second blog post to the three women I constantly crush on, as they are not only incredibly beautiful, but also daring, brave and all round inspirational.

Bettie Page

Of course I had to start with Bettie, the Queen of the Pinups. She has recently been coined as the Notorious Bettie Page - a term she herself has refuted, as she saw nothing wrong in what she did. I recently watched Bettie Page Reveals All and I can't recommend it enough. It's narrated by the Queen herself, and contains unseen photos and video archives that are a joy to watch.

However underneath Bettie's enticing smile was a very dark and troubled childhood and adolescence, that she discusses very frankly in the documentary. Her willingness to carry on in the face of so much hardship, and embrace herself for exactly who she is is so inspiring to me.

One memorable anecdote from the documentary is when she confronted her first husband with divorce. He had returned from the war a changed man, like most men did those days, and Bettie wanted out. He yelled and threatened, and held a knife to her throat screaming; 'If you leave me I'll kill you!' but (in Bettie's own words) she 'did it anyway'. She never let any man walk all over her.

Bettie is beautiful, ballsy, brave, and her pictures speak louder than any words, so here are some of my faves.

Betty Brosmer

Ah another beautiful Betty. Betty Brosmer with the waist that just won't quit. I remember the first picture I saw of Betty, and I just thought 'wow! That waist can NOT be real!' but it is and she's all round amazing!

Betty was a model through and through, appearing on hundreds of magazine covers, and winning many beauty pageants - everyone loved her look. Betty was the first true glamour girl, and for me is the personification of Glamour.

She's often overshadowed as she appeared at a similar time to Marilyn Monroe, and as they were both blonde they were often compared. But Betty's insane figure and radiating smiles has always won me over.

Dita Von Teese

The Queen of the Tease, Ms Von Teese herself. The woman who arguably bought burlesque into the modern age. For me she is the performer who introduced burlesque to me, and has promoted it in such a positive way.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Dita three times and every time she has been lovely, sweet, and ridiculously good-looking (not to mention hr outfits, wow!). I also once saw her perform her Opium Den show, and there really is nothing like seeing that woman move on stage, I highly recommend seeing her perform if you can. Check out her website for details.

Most of all I love Dita's approach to life and being a burlesque superstar. She must be interviewed a hundred times a day but her answers are always so on point. A few of my favourite quotes below:

Physical beauty isn't so impressive to me.

I advocate glamour. Every day. Every minute.


Ignore the critics… Only mediocrity is safe from ridicule. Dare to be different!

You can be the ripest, juciest peach, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.

I have included only 3 of my favourite femme fatales, but my list is endless. If you need any inspiration in either life, performing, or a confidence boost I suggest you check out: Miss Mosh, Raquel Reed, Gia Genevieve, Miss Miranda, Immodesty Blaize, Sabina Kelley, Masuimi Max - I've listed modern pinups so you can check out what they're up to now and perhaps catch them performing/appearing near you, each name links to their website or social media.

Please feel free to comment with your woman crush Wednesday, I'd love to learn about more amazing ladies either past or present.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

B

xxx

V is for Victory

Hello and welcome to my blog, and to my first ever blog post!

I have been wrestling with the idea of starting a blog for a while and finally moved my lazy self to make one. I have always loved to write, and I love the vintage lifestyle so I thought I would combine the two.

And let's face it - we all love to drool over aesthetically pleasing, super cute pictures so I will try my best to please. I'll be posting reviews on makeup, outfits, stores etc. I live in London so there's lots to do and lots to see.

That's me! My lovely hairdresser gave me my first ever Victory Rolls (as I am beyond useless with my hair) and they were so lovely and so sturdy! You can catch her at Hula Nails near Old Street, just ask for Lucie Luella and feel free to name drop me!

I partied heard on Saturday night and they looked exactly the same when I rolled into bed. Lucie told me the key is to always curl the hair first, back comb like crazy, and use lots and lots of hairspray! I'm definitely going to practice and I'll keep my blog updated on progress and maybe even one day, a tutorial!

Let me know if you have any tips or know any great tutorials. Pinup Doll Ashley Marie usually has some really fab hair and makeup tutorials so check out her youtube page.

Whilst looking into Victory Rolls it got me wondering about the origin of this great hairstyle, I always knew it was from the 1940's but why 'victory rolls'? Well turns out it was named after a plane manoeuvre in World War II, some people say it's also based on the V shape the rolls create. Of course the trend became wildly popular as more starlets sported the hairstyle, and who can blame then! I felt both glamourous and also secure, with no worries of my hair falling out of place.

I will leave this first blog short and sweet! For my next post I will be discussing my three biggest female inspirations (hint: one of them is Queen Bettie!).

B

xxx