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.