Ticci Rockabilly- Western Style Dress

Those who follow me on Facebook or Instagram have already seen how in love I am with this Ticci Rockabilly dress.

Not only did Ticci Rockabilly make it just for me, (and by just for me I mean made to measure and I got to pick my fabric), but it’s also, quite possibly THE perfect autumn/winter dress.

Owl Dress from Rockabilly Pinup

Ah, novelty prints, one of my weaknesses. I would say my only weakness, but let's be real!
This one, however, is a bit different than the prints I am used to. A friend remarked on it best- the colours are very...vintage.
And as I looked at, it I decided that they do have a certain Chuck Jones feel to it. The slightly unusual design, the somewhat eclectic choice of colour, it all seems to point to a more vintage than pinup feel, and, at least to me, gently nudge in the later 50's than I usually wear.  It even has a somewhat 60's feel to it.

Those strange hair curlers

Even though I should totally know better by now, I am always trying out new stuff on my hair, trying to get those perfect glossy curls so many vintage gals seem to get with almost no effort. I can set semi-decent pincurls, I can do a horrible mess on my hair with rag curls, I can make a dog’s breakfast of those bendy sponge roll-things.

Velcro curlers haven’t touched my hair since I was a teenager, and when I do reach for curlers I prefer those iron ones, because I can sleep in them almost decently, and I have plenty of practice. Most of the time they even turn out just how I want them.

But wait, I said. What if... this thing?

The Belsira Bikini one

I love water. Seaside, lakes, even the pool, just plop me down next to a body of water and I’m happy. It’s a great tragedy of my life then, that I have a sun allergy and that my summers are mostly spent slathered in a very high SPF sunscreen.  This, however, doesn’t stop me from swimming every chance I get, and I’ve developed a deep and passionate love for evening and late night swims in the bay of the small fishing village I run away to in the summer.

The Medieval Sorceress

I’d totally like to say that this photoshoot is because of Halloween, but let’s face it, I dress up any chance I can!

The one with the Basset Hound

So many of these posts start with: I wanted to do X for a long time, and then X showed up wth this dress/outfit and I knew it was perfect. This is true in all cases, I am full of ideas, most of them half-formed (or half-baked), and they just need that little spark to ignite into full blown sets. This is perhaps why I vary so much in my shoots, even though I like to think of myself as primarily a vintage blogger.

Halloweeny!

Ohhh It’s almost Halloween you guys! I am still kind of keeping it together and decidedly NOT filling every available space around me with pumpkins, plastic spiders and skeletons, fake cobwebs and all other Sp00py stuff. I am, however, sneaking bits of Halloween into my everyday, and using words like Sp00py. Nope, not sorry.

40's style wrap dress by Cherise Design

If there is one thing I really love about vintage fashion, it is how so much of it used to be bespoke.

Unless you are one of those lucky few who have perfect measurements, nothing off the rack will fit perfectly, there will always be just that little bit of something that could fit better. Unless, of course, you opt for more modern fabric with more stretch in them.

Lindy Bop Tabby Dress - aka The One Where I Fly

There is a photograph by Avedon I am slightly obsessed with.  I am forever fascinated by Avedon's art and above all his approach to fashion photography. It blurs the lines between fashion and glamour and art photography, and in a way it paved the road for all those beautiful and slightly surreal fashion editorials I grew up with as a child sitting in my grandparent's tailor shop.

When Rockabilly Pinup offered me another collab and review for an essential and elegant black dress, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to pay homage to- I wanted to bring that slightly surreal and playful feel to what is otherwise a work of pure, timeless elegance.

It must have taken us a hundred tries until we got it just right, and the end result is this picture you see here, not an attempt at a copy, but a tribute.

Belsira Godet dress

As soon as someone says vintage, the first thing that pops to everybody’s mind is polka dots. This has the unfortunate side effect that wearing polka dots can make you look too costumey or like you are just trying way too hard.

This is why this Belsira dress was such a lovely and welcome surprise. It just screams pinup, without looking too much like a costume.

Even though it is more modern pin-up oriented, with a plunging neckline (well, at least as far as I am concerned) and a shorter hemline than I usually wear, I added a poofy petticoat underneath, and let it be clearly visible, for that extra cheeky and adorable look.

Belsira’s Red Dress

What’s the best thing to do on a somewhat drizzly day? Go hang out at the nearly empty train station, of course!

I had so many shooting ideas surrounding this dress! It just has a certain vintage military flair that I am very fond of, and at the same time the peplum and the length and cut have something that is just so 60’s, I was spoilt for choice.  My first idea was to shoot at one of the old grand 60’s hotels here in town, the ancient, opulent giants all decked out in marble and brass and dark wood, but I feared that I’d get lost in those settings, and finally decided that the perfect venue would be the main railway station.

Bardot inspired

I have a thing about that famous Bardot photo, where she is wild-haired in a striped top. Something about it just speaks of a perfect summer style to me. As I was arranging this editorial style shoot with Rockabilly Pinup, I wanted the styling not to be a perfect copy of that look, but an inspiration. I wanted to bring that summer feeling, and do something more relaxed. I’ll let you be the judge of my success.

Military dress by Belsira

Gang of four sang about loving a man in a uniform, but nobody ever said anything about a girl!

In the following weeks I will be bringing you some photos from my first collaboration with Belsira, a lovely and playful brand that have seemed to hit exactly the right spot when it comes to my preferences in fashion! There is vintage inspired fashion, though with a more modern, pinup twist, there is fashion with an echo of military influences, and there are some classic, timeless pieces that every wardrobe needs. But you’ll have to wait a bit for all of those.

Dracula’s Daughter

The Gothic Shop asked me if I’d like to model the Brocade dress by Hearts and Roses, and of course, I jumped at the chance! I think I gave the theme perhaps two minute’s thought, because to me, the dress just begs for something Hammer Horror Film inspired. I’m a great fan of those films, especially the ones starring Vincent Price, so I wanted to do a sort of an homage to them.

All things poofy, red and pink!

My regular readers will remember me swooning over THAT Penoze dress, probably the most flattering and comfy dress I ever wore. Well, my love for Penoze has a sequel!

Penoze is a company specializing in petticoats and they have recently added a few vintage-inspired pieces to their collection, such as the aforementioned stunning wiggle dress.

Frankencardi

At this point I don’t think there is a person in the universe that isn’t aware of my wild, wild love for cardigans, and that is doubly true when it comes to Banned cardis. The last time I counted (which was 30 seconds ago, because I needed to know) I had 8 of them, and I wear them constantly. In fact, I am beginning to fear I might wear them out, and then what will I do?!

Even more Kittens!

I really love this kitten print from Hell Bunny, and having it only on a skirt just wasn’t enough, so when Rockabilly Pinup offered to send it to me in dress form as well to review, I jumped at the opportunity!

Scary Tiki Time

I’m not usually big on shades of pale blue. I always have the need to pair them with baby pink and then it kind of all goes the way of giggling and lacy aprons and wondering if I should make myself a nice calming cocktail and  have a few canapes to calm my nerves.

This time I was saved from an attack of the 50’s by the print of this Suki dress by HellBunny from Rockabilly Pinup.  It features a wonderful Tiki and horror inspired design, full of cocktails, sugar skull ladies and flamingo skeletons, amongst other things, all on a base of aqua fabric with a white hibiscus print.

Sailing away (except not really)

I always have a strange relationship with nautical patterns. On one hand, I love them and want to have them all, and of course nothing screams summer quite like a novelty nautical print, or a vaguely sailor-inspired ensemble, but when it comes to actually wearing it, certain problems arise.

Kittens? Kittens!

Right, so, I was very naughty. I rediscovered Tropico and have been playing instead of blogging. I’d be ashamed, but I’m el Presidente and you can’t touch me!

My wardrobe got recently updated with a whole mess of summer outfits, and of course I have to share them all with you, but as I think that each deserves a decent review, every outfit will get its own blog post, as usual.
Many thanks to Villy V for the photos! 

To kick it off is a two for one, the Bardot top and Amelia kitten print skirt, both by Hell Bunny, and both from Rockabilly Pinup.

Hair goodies and pearl coat

Recently I had the chance of modelling some beautiful dresses for Brocade Budoir and working with one of the most creative photographers I ever met –Stasa Sahman.

We set the shoot in the Brocade Budoir itself, and I used the chance to get a few photos of my two obsessions- Collectif’s Pearl Coat, and The Black Cat Jewellery Store’slatest brainchild- hair sticks.

Much has been written about the coat, it has been praised and swooned over, and all I could do is join in on the swooning and the praise. It is beautiful, it is incredibly well tailored, I have waited for over 2 years to be able to get my grubby little paws on it and I pet it every time I open the closet, even now, 2 months later. And I refuse to put it in storage, even though there is no chance of me wearing it now that summer is fast approaching.

The Pink Dress

About once in a blue moon I reach for my sewing machine and some patterns to make something for myself. I am not very skilled, and have the disadvantage of knowing weird tidbits and tricks about tailoring I picked up from my grandparents, but missing a lot of the basics I never learned, and I tend to get frustrated when things don’t go as smoothly or I don’t make as much progress as I hope.

Demon Huntress pt 2- The rest of the ensemble

Demon Huntress pt 2- The rest of the ensemble

I promised you there would be another part of the blog for my Demon Huntress shoot, and here it is, the second instalment. All photos were taken by Villy V.

I have already mentioned that this was a project I wanted to bring to life for a while now, and that I wanted to do something different than my usual shootings. I wanted.., well, I wanted pure badassery.  

This was, I admit, the main reason for my other choices from The Gothic Shop (and once again, I’d like to thank them for their support). These included the Embrace ofdarkness asymmetric top by Punk Rave, who are by now famous for their unique designs and attention to details (and are really not as much of a problem when ironing as I had feared), and their Witchery jacket, which is, let’s be real here, as close as you can get to wearing a wizard’s cloak and not get too many strange looks on the street. I also added a pair of Banned corset style skinnyfit jeans and a Restyle belt. The belt proved just what I needed to hold the leg armour from Brocade Budoir in place.

Atomic Lace

The recipe is as follows: Take original designs, a dash of cute, a dash of creepy, a whole bucket full of glitter, and seal it all in resin.

What you get is Atomic Lace, whose owner, Laura Michele, cooks up something new and wonderful on an almost daily basis. I’ve been eyeing her designs for a while, and so I wrote to her and asked her if she’d be interested in a review, and she said yes!

Of bats and pendants

A while ago I contacted The Black Cat Jewellery Store and asked them if they would be interested in a collab, and they were!

After that I had the sweet suffering of picking out exactly what I want to parade in front of a camera, and the choice came down to a bat shaped bracelet, a bat shaped necklace and a teardrop pendant. Quite a batty selection, but then again, I am rather fond of them.

Demon Huntress pt 1- Dragonfly Hoodie

Those of you who follow me on Facebook (Venusmantrap) have seen a few shots of this hoodie from The Gothic Shop, and those of you who follow me on Instagram (@pupastis)  have seen a whole lot more, since I never seem to be taking it off.  It is all warm and fleecy inside, all GaF on the outside, and is really super comfortable.

The Seamstress of Bloomsbury- Gloria Jumpsuit

This is part three of my shoot and review for The Seamstressof Bloomsbury. I admit to having saved the best for last!

We shot this at the Nikola Tesla museum in Zagreb, and they were kind enough to give us a free run of the place on a Monday when the museum is closed to the public. Ivy and Taja were kind enough to be set mistresses, and Villy V took the photos. 

Seamstress of Bloomsbury- Mae Dress

This is part two of my shoot and review for The Seamstress of Bloomsbury.

We shot this at the Nikola Tesla museum in Zagreb, and they were kind enough to give us a free run of the place on a Monday when the museum is closed to the public.Ivy and Taja were kind enough to be set mistresses. Villy V took the photos. 

All of you who read my blog regularly (hi!!!!) know that certain things make me happy: shirtwaist dresses, contrast trims and pretty fabrics. This dress has all of that and then some!

Seamstress of Bloomsbury – Greta Blouse

Hello guys and gals! I am so excited to finally be able to show you my latest collab! 

It was with The Seamstress of Bloomsbury, a shop I have been a fan of for ages now. They specialize in authentic vintage reproductions, from the cut and the patterns right down to the fabric.

The three garments I chose were a blouse, a dress and a beautiful siren suit, and since I really want to take the time to do a proper review, each will get their own blog post.

The Cultist

Both the dress and the jewellery came from The Gothic Shop, to whom I am eternally grateful for their sponsorship and support of my photo shoot ideas, regardless of how unusual they sometimes may be. This time the idea started off vague: a witch-like figure and strange rituals, and through a bit of brainstorming The Cultist was born. 

Within an eldritch circle she summons Lovcraftian horrors and they, in turn, possess her and take their first steps into our unsuspecting world.  

The Sorceress

When TheBlack Cat Jewellery Store sent me their colourful skull charm bracelet, I knew that it deserved something special.  I love charm bracelets, but too often the dangling charms are too far apart and the overall look tends to be a bit sparse. Not this one, however, the little skulls almost overlap and the silvery chain-link is rich and beautifully crafted.

Floral Tea Dress

When I was a little girl I grew up with my grandparents. They were born in the late 20’s/early 30’s and learned their tailoring craft from childhood on. My grandfather always wore trousers and a shirt, and my grandmother always wore skirts and dresses. I don’t recall ever seeing either of them in a t-shirt, let alone track suit, and even my grandmother’s aprons and housecoats were well tailored and tasteful.  It is little wonder then that I am fond of mid-century shirtwaist dresses and that, to me, they seem the perfect everyday dress.

The Yellow Bikini

I recently had the chance to work with Punkabilly Clothing and shoot a few items for them.

The first of these was a yellow Hawaiian style bikini.

Truth be told, there may have been some jumping around and some high pitched noises when I opened it. It is so lovely and so vibrant, and the built-in front panel provides just a bit of that needed tummy tuck!

I am also delighted to have found a high waist bathing suit that is still very feminine and cute.

Now if I could only stop singing Yellow Polka Dot Bikini…

In the Library

Once again Villy V, Ivy and I  were welcomed in the secret library to shoot this unique Vanessa dress for Rockabilly Pinup.

Oh that dress! It hugs, it supports, it shows off all your best assets and then some!

Made of firm, yet lightly stretchy material it clings to you like a second skin, so make sure you wear the right foundation garments underneath ;)

 

The Worst Librarian

At a secret library in an undisclosed location, three figures sneak in, all in the name of art and pretty dresses!

Nah, not really. The Library will remain nameless thought, but the head Librarian welcomed Villy V, Ivy and myself warmly and gave us free run of the place after hours to shoot this dress for Rockabilly Pinup.

I did however promise not to get any books out of order, and this is why I am trying to put a book where there is clearly no space for it and it doesn’t belong. What can I say, I am a horrible, horrible librarian :D

The Old Well

On the same day we shot the photos at the Museum we also took the chance to shoot a skirt and cardigan combo for Rockabilly Pinup.  Once again, Villy V took the photos, and Tajana, Ivy and Selena assisted.

I’m wearing a petticoat underneath this lovely full cotton skirt, and lovely it is indeed! Easy to wash and iron, and just perfectly light for the summer.

The Museum

The Museum

A while ago The Gothic Shop asked me if I’d like to model a few items for them. I gave it a short thought and came up with two ideas: One is to be a stern and serious Victorian Governess, and the other a Daughter of the Regiment, a rather carefree young woman, again, with a Victorian flair to it.

I contacted the Museum of Natural History in Zagreb and asked them if they’d be kind enough to let me shoot there, and they agreed, giving us all the time we wanted after the Museum closed on Sunday.

Villy V and I were lucky to have three assistants – Ivy to help with the wardrobe changes and light, Tajana to help with hair and tight lacing, and Tajana’s daughter Selena to remind us when it was time for cookies and a break!

The Governess features a tail coat jacket and a long fishtail skirt, a very serious shirt and, my favorite personal touch, an Alchemy pendant called Key to thesecret garden. Make of THAT what you will ;) The fact my figure looks very… Victorian is all Tajana’s fault, as she was the one who made the corset and did the tight lacing. But then again, a proper Governess wouldn’t be seen without her corset.

    

THAT Penoze dress

Even though the Penoze dress is called Martina, to me it will always and forever be known as THE dress.

Why is it THE dress? Well, for one it is a gorgeous black, slightly off the shoulder wiggle dress. That itself is enough to make it a dress to die for. The light ruching does wonders to enhance the figure, too, but what I find truly wonderful about it is the way it’s constructed: it is double layered in firm stretch fabric, and even though I am wearing some shapewear in these photos, I am pretty sure I could have done without it. It is incredibly flattering, gorgeously feminine, and hell, it makes me feel like a million bucks. How would I NOT name it THE dress?

It was graciously sent to me for review by Rockabilly Pinup, and you can also get it there in red.

Enjoy the lovely photos by Villy V!