OOTW&Review; Collectif Summer Bouquet Dolores

So as I've said for the last few weeks, I'm going on a 2 month break (see post here which kind of explains why) so I saved this beauty of a dress to show you guys and to review for my last post. I'm going to miss documenting my outfits each week for the next 2 months, but I really need this break. However, I originally planned on getting this dress before my birthday but Collectif had sold out in my size weeks before and hadn't restocked - so I lost hope and began looking for a new dress which I'd love just as much. I felt heartbroken at first but on my actual birthday I went to Brighton with my best friend and we went into Collectif and THERE WAS THE DRESS. In my size, in the flared style, right in front of me! My birthday was made not only by the fact my best friend surprised me by coming down for the weekend (she kept it from me for months!) but I found the dress I;ve wanted so badly for a whole year!

Summer Bouquet Dolores Dress, Collectif - £65
Red & White Becca Bag, Collectif - £35
Slingback Peep Toes, Peacocks - £12
Pink Chiffon Scarf, eBay - £4.50
Leopard Print Cat Eye Sunglasses, eBay - £10
Double Notes Necklace, Bow & Crossbones - £4.99
20"Baby Pink Petticoat, Hell Bunny - £21.99

Make-Up

Collection Lasting Finish Foundation in Ivory

Natural Collection Face Powder in Neutral

Bourjois Clubbing Liquid Liner, Black

Natural Collection Eyeshadows in Candyfloss & Mermaid 

MUA Luxe Lip Lacquer in Atomic

Review

So after a year of lusting over this dress, I feel like my world is made by owning it now. You all know my favourite brand is Collectif, so as I normally do I went to their Brighton shop, had a lovely chat with the ladies who are probably becoming very familiar with me always popping in there and browsed round with my best friend - and then I found it. Now the dress itself is in the flared Dolores Style, and this dress has a lot of give to it, I was originally looking for a size 20, but I was advised to size down due to how much give the dress has and also for a better fit on the bust; so I ended up with an 18. When I got home the first thing I did (and my friend Danielle can vouch for me on this!) was but the dress on, as I just couldn't believe how much I loved this dress. Truthfully I could actually fit into a 16 with this dress, but I prefer it a little bigger if I was to wear a petticoat (like above) and also I can tailor the dress with my sewing machine if I need to. The dress has an absolutely gorgeous summer floral pattern, and for someone who doesn't normally wear yellow due to being blonde and the colour normally doesn't complement me, this dress just looks phenomenal! There is plenty of room on the bust for the bigger busted ladies but also gives a beautiful curve on the bust for the ladies who are more slender. This dress is perfect for an hourglass look. The dress sits about mid calf on me (I stand at 5 foot 5.5) and has an absolutely beautiful flare on the full circle skirt, I also love pairing a petticoat with the Dolores dress because of how pretty it makes the skirt, I feel like I've really stepped out of the 50's when wearing a petticoat with this dress! (I personally prefer wearing a 20" petticoat as this sits above the knee and doesn't go below the dress).

My favourite part is always the twirl test - this dress just twirls perfectly, the skirt has such a good flow and spreads out beautifully when twirling around. The dress has the permanently stunning feel to it, and even my friend who dances around with me said its a beautiful dress to dance in. The dress isn't tight on the waist like some dresses from other brands that I own either.

Another amazing feature to the Dolores Doll dresses are definitely the puffed elasticated sleeves. You can either wear them off the shoulder or as a normal sleeve. Which I love, if I feel like having a sassier day then I will have the sleeves off the shoulder but if I want to be a little more conservative then I will opt for on shoulder.

I decided to match this dress with a pink petticoat and pink chiffon headscarf, mainly because I thought these would compliment the yellow quite well. However, I also added my red Becca bag, which looks absolutely stunning alongside the dress too.

So another beautiful dress has won me over from Collectif!!

I'm going to miss doing these posts for a little while, but when I'm back I'm sure I will have lots of beautiful outfits to show you all!

Lots of Love & See You Soon!

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxoxox

OOTW; The 50's Teen

So today I have the most perfect look! I've had quite a few people ask me about doing a 50's teen outfit, so here is my take! Pretty similar to most, but its still super cute & preppy!

Freddie Top in Blush, Collectif  - £34.50
Inspire Navy Skinny Jeans, New Look - £12.99
(I've cut and sewn mine into capri's, tutorial will come soon!)

White Bobby Socks, eBay - £4

White Babycham Shoes, £20

Black Marilyn Cat Eye Sunglasses, Wear it Again Sam - £9.99

Make-up & Hair

Hair is in a 60's beehive.

Make-up is thick winged liner using the H&M Dipliner

Foundation is Collection 2000 16 hour Wear in IvoryConcealer is 2True in Shade 1

Normally on my outfits I'm often in a dress and skirt, but I've finally found another outfit with trousers that I just absolutely love!

There is another cross-over of the era's here with the beehive and the outfit, 60's & 50's but they go so well together! Although, if you want an all 50's ensemble maybe set your hair in pincurls and pop it into a ponytail with a bow.

I went for thicker winged eyeliner, just for a more dramatic look, however you could also just have really fanned out eyelashes for a simpler/cutesy look.

The beehive is holding about a million bobby pins to hold it in place, but its probably the best I've ever done! I've also re-cut my fringe into shorter bangs, just as they were getting a little long and starting to go into my eyes.

If the weather gets a little chilly, add a cute cardigan. I've added my old cricket cardigan from New Look which I bought about 5 years ago, still super adorable and matches the outfit perfectly!

Anywho my dears! Enough chat from me today, I hope you like this look as much as I do!!

All I need now is a greaser boyfriend, a 50's diner and I'm good to go for summer!

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxoxoxox

OOTW; The Charlotte..

WARNING - THIS OOTW IS JUST TOO DARN CUTE!!!!!!!!

Hello darlings, me again!!

So after Saturday's post being rather a bit formal and sad (please read if you haven't already, it is rather important), so I decided to do the most adorable OOTW possible!!

White Chiffon Headscarf, eBay - £4

Lavender Charlotte Dress, Hell Bunny £30
(Size 16)

Marilyn Cat Eye Sunglasses, Wear it Again Sam - £9.99

Peep Toe Slingbacks, Peacocks - £12

MUA Luxe Lip Lacquer, shade 'Reckless'

Nails
White Barry M Polish
Blue Sparkle Barry M Polish

I cannot get enough of this look, its just perfect and cute all rolled into one! I definitely get that cute 50's teen feel with this outfit, it makes my figure look fab by enhancing my curves and sits just on the knee making it not too short!

I'm currently using a new red lipstick, which I've discovered! I really love the velvet finish to the lips when using this lacquer, although it dried my lips out at first it did give an amazing effect!

Review

Overall this dress ticks all the boxes... The skirt has amazing movement and is perfect for twirling in! This dress is fairly similar to the Gretel in all fairness, it has an adorable trim on the bottom of the skirt, and a thicker trim on the bust and pockets with a ribbon to tighten the top for cleavage (I went for the full on in your face boob cleavage, because I wanted a 'sexier' edge to the cute 50's teen). 

 I also really like the fact this dress has pockets... Sometimes when I go out, I just take my purse and phone and not a handbag, and the deep pockets on this dress make it perfect for me not have to carry everything in my hands. As said above the light material on this skirt is perfect for twirling, I often test without a petticoat just to see how well the skirt flows and this one definitely gets my seal of approval!

Since losing about 15lbs over the past few months, I've dropped drastically in my Hell Bunny sizes in clothes, I used to wear a 20/22 but now I'm actually fitting into 16 and 18's a bit better. I tried on my Bobbi Lee dress the other day and I'm slightly sad in the fact its too big for me, so I'll probably have to tailor that down.

Overall the Charlotte dress is a perfect light dress for summer, I'm completely loving Gingham patterns this summer and this lives up to my satisfaction/collection of gingham!

Love you lots

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxox

OOTW; Gretel

This week features yet another new dress I bought in Brighton a few weeks back... Its the Gretel Dress in Gingham from Collectif! 

Gretel Swing Dress, Collectif - £58.50
Round Sunglasses, Vintage Fair - £5
Peep Toe Sling Back Heels, Peacocks - £12

I did super basic make-up with this, just a simple thin winged eye-liner and foundation. Mainly because I opt to wear less make-up in the summer due to the heat. I put my hair in plaits mainly because, well, I think I look cute and it matches this outfit absolutely perfectly!

Overall the Gretel dress is super cute, it has the halter neck style I really adore and the buttons on the front of the dress are an adorable heart shape. The top half actually opens up like a top which is quite a sweet feature if you maybe want a little more cleavage. The skirt of the dress and top of the dress has a beautiful little crochet lace detail on the trim, it just adds to the cuteness of this dress completely!!

I was a little wary of this dress at first (yes I know, surprising for me with a Collectif dress!), however a friend bought this dress a while back and she found it came up quite short, now both of us being plus size princesses we have rather chubby thighs, and tend not to go for shorter dresses. But I bit the bullet when in the Brighton shop, and bought it. For me it sits just on the knee, as you can see from the above picture, which is good for me personally, as I stand at around 5ft5.5, so the dress isn't too short for me.

The dress is super lightweight and is perfect for summer, however you can team it with a cardigan on the shoulders, if their is a slight breeze in the air!

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxoxox

P.S Guess who was in the Hell Bunny Rag... ME! Sporting my Red Meriam Dress (blog post here!)

OOTW; The Saturday Dress

 The other week I went to the Brighton Vintage Fair and Decided to go shopping in Brighton afterwards! While walking through the lanes I arrived at my favourite stall, the one with all the pretty vintage dresses! Then this one caught my eye... I'd been eyeing this dress up for a while and it was only £30! When picking this dress up however I got my sizes completely wrong... I forgot that a large was a size 14 NOT 16... BUT IT STILL FITS PERFECTLY! Two in one!!!!

Saturday Dress, Hell Bunny - £30

(depending where you buy from)
Bow Tie Shoes, New Look - £5 (sale)
Hair Flowers, Amazon (Pack of 10) - £3.89
White Sunglasses, Bow and Crossbones - £6

I've put my hair in plaits quite a lot recently, and it just looks so cute! Because I'm growing my hair a little I've not been able to do this in ages! Anywho, on to my make-up I just went for a super simple look for this outfit and just had mascara and a little bit of pale pink lipstick just to go with the purple of the dress!

Seeing as my hair was in plaits I just decided to put a white and purple hair flower on each side for that extra cuteness and my white sunglasses just add to the retro style of this outfit!

I'm not wearing any shapewear/corset with this dress, and no bra as it holds the boobs up quite well! 

Cheeky jumping shot too!!

Eeek, I'm just loving summer!

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxox