Review - Lil Miss Vintage Dolly Dress

Beautiful blue polka dot dress by Yorkshire based Vintage Repro brand

This beautiful dress arrived for me to review - I didn't know what dress Lil Miss Vintage were planning to send me (to be honest, I'd have been happy with any of their beautiful dresses) and I was very pleasantly surprised to open the package and find 'Dolly'.

This stunning blue dress with white polka dots has a full swing skirt, crossover bust with thick white collar and white button detail and a separate matching belt. 

The quality is impressive, it's cotton and very comfortable to wear. 

The skirt is gorgeous - very full. I wore mine without a petticoat but it would also look great with one for added 'puff'!

Lil Miss Vintage was started in Yorkshire by two friends who share a love of vintage and vintage inspired clothing. They pride themselves on hassle free shopping and good customer service. They have a lovely range of dresses, skirts and accessories from rockabilly to classic. 

UK postage is free and they deliver worldwide. 

One very endearing factor is that Lil Miss Vintage don't use models to show off their clothes. They use girls of various sizes because in their words "We want to give you an honest and realistic view of what the dress looks like on everyone, so you buy with confidence every time." Lil Miss Vintage stock UK sizes 8-24 in most of their styles.

I would totally recommend this company - I mean, just look at this dress! 

The Dolly retails at £32.00 and can be found here: http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/dolly-blue--white-polka-dress-249-p.asp

There are so many beautiful dresses and skirts to choose from, but apart from the Dolly (which, did I mention I adore?!!!) my top five favourites are:

Cherry  http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/cherry-print-swing-dress-278-p.asp

Lucille http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/lucille-black--white-polka-swing-dress-73-p.asp

Monica Cherry http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/monica-cherry-print-swing-dress-40-p.asp

Faye http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/faye-delightful-bird-print-swing-dress-189-p.asp

Sally Cute Cupcakes http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/sally-cute-cupcake-swing-skirt-97-p.asp

Go and check out their website if you like pretty and well made vintage style clothes - you won't be disappointed. 

Website: http://www.lilmissvintage.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LilMissVintage/

Instagram: lil_miss_vintage

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxxx

Review - Atomic Mollie Glitter Hoop Earrings

The most sparkly, spangly, glittery earrings I've found!

Dare I say it - I'm a bit bored of buying clothes! 

So I went on a little accessories splurge and found these absolute gems. 

As some of you know, I'm trying to 'shop small' and buy most of my clothes, accessories and my kid's clothes from small independent businesses. I love wearing unique handmade items, and hearing the stories of their designers and creators. And as I also run my own small business (it's called Dolly Cupcake Vintage Parties. Shameless Plug! Shameless Plug!) I want to support others in the same boat as me, being all creative and making things with care and love. 

I decided that I needed big, sparkly earrings to go with my more Rockabilly outfits (I do love a tea dress and pearls but I'm also a sucker for a wiggle skirt and a bit of bling). I'd bought a gorgeous pinup girl brooch from Atomic Mollie for my best friend's Christmas and I was really pleased with the quality and service, so I had a wee look. And found these bad boys.

Atomic Mollie started making beautiful hair flowers and jewellery in January last year.

The confidence that wearing clothes from the 50s gave her, she says "Was much more than any main high street store could give me." 

Struggling to find accessories to compliment her new vintage wardrobe, Mollie began making them herself, and with encouragement from her husband, she started selling her creations at vintage fairs and festivals - aloha Atomic Mollie!

I ordered the black pair first  (I had to pre-order them and they turned up really quickly, less than a fortnight) and then I went back a few days later and bought myself a red pair too.

They are absolutely gorgeous. The amount of glitter is perfect, they look amazing when they catch the light. 

They're so comfortable to wear too (I don't do danglies very often). They compliment so many outfits and really 'make' an outfit, they're a real statement piece. 

The service from Atomic Mollie was great too, I was kept up to date on my pre-order status and was sent a discount code for my next order. 

Mollie says "What I love most of all is seeing people wearing my products. To see an item that I've made and put a lot of thought into put a smile on someone's face makes all the late nights gluing bits together and finalising designs worth it!"

These earrings come in SEVEN different colours (and I won't stop until I have the lot!) 

They are truly beautiful.

Atomic Mollie's Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/atomicmollie/

Website: http://atomicmollie.tictail.com/

Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/atomicmollie/

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Pregnant Pinup!

How to dress like a pinup (or Rockabilly girl/50s girl etc) when you've got a blooming lovely baby bump!

As many of you know, I'm currently in my third trimester - pregnant with baby number two!

I love my pregnant body - my big, round tummy housing my squirming, wriggling little Baby Pear. I feel pretty confident when I'm pregnant. There's a certain glow that you just can't simulate at any other time. Of course, some days my legs and back are aching, I'm absolutely knackered and suffering with chronic indigestion.... but for the most part - I feel good!

During my last pregnancy and again this time, there was one thing that I wouldn't compromise on and that was the way I like to dress and style myself. Call it Rockabilly, Pinup, Vintage...whatever - I just did not want to swap my usual look for dowdy pregnancy clothes that were not 'me'.

It takes a bit of altering, searching and putting much more emphasis on hair and make-up (heehee) but you really can stick to your usual pinup-y retro look while carrying a bun in your oven.

In the first trimester when my bump was still relatively small, I was able to wear some of my normal clothes, depending on where the waist lay. Dresses like the Lindy Bop 'Delilah' were so comfortable because the waist on this dress fits just under my bust and the amount of fabric in the full skirt meant that there was plenty of room for my bump to 'breathe' underneath. I wore this dress for every event I attended in my first trimester, until I outgrew it and had to find something looser. 

Lindy Bop's 'Delilah' dress

http://www.lindybop.co.uk/search/delilah

In my second trimester and now into my third, this style of Hell Bunny dress with either a halterneck or removable straps has been an absolute dream. The elasticated back means that there's plenty of stretch, the way the bust part fits means that there's nothing digging in and making me uncomfortable. The halter neck gives room for adjusting accordingly and the full skirt covers a big bump beautifully. I always team these dresses with leggings as they are very short - but they are just so comfortable and I've worn them with both pregnancies. It's great being able to pick a cool, cute dress that is totally my style, yet it's comfortable to wear even at my biggest (I wore these dresses pretty much until I popped last time!)

Hell Bunny Unicorn dress with removable straps

https://www.facebook.com/hellbunnyclothing

Hell Bunny polkadot halterneck dress

I've been pregnant over summer both times, so these dresses wouldn't be as easy to wear if you were pregnant during a freezing winter. Although with a cute bolero, cardigans and thick leggings, they could be adapted for winter Mummies. 

As well as still wearing my favourite brands, I mixed things up with basic dresses which had prints that I like. I love leopard print & simply bought stretchy dresses from the High Street a couple of sizes bigger than my usual size - these leopard print dresses are from Primark & Dorothy Perkins. 

Styled with a pretty cardigan, plenty of vintage jewellery and some victory rolls, they weren't too far off the type of things I'd normally wear. 

The dress on the left is from Primark, the one on the right is Dorothy Perkins

http://www.primark.com/en/homepage

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/?geoip=home

And I couldn't resist this ice-cream print dress from H&M - it's so stretchy and comfortable. They have lots of different prints in this style too.

Gorgeous little ice-cream print dress from H&M

http://www.hm.com/gb/

It's worth looking at High Street maternity brands - This black and white polkadot dress is from New Look's maternity collection. It's so light and comfortable and easy to give it that vintage look with some pretty accessories and a cute handbag & shoes.

Polkadot dress from New Look's maternity range

 http://www.newlook.com/

When baby is here and I'm looking lustily at my Collectif Vanya skirts again, planning how to style myself when breastfeeding is next on my agenda! If you're planning to breastfeed, there are some gorgeous easy-access tops and dresses out there. 

I recently bought the Collectif Jenny cherry print cardigan which has a wrap-over style. A plain black nursing vest under this will be simple, but will look great.

 http://www.collectif.co.uk/search/?text=jenny-cherry-print-wrap-cardigan

I've also got my eye on the Lindy Bop Matilda dresses, as they have a button front. 

http://www.lindybop.co.uk/search/matilda

Cute little tea dresses (vintage or High Street) with button fronts are also perfect for easy access when breastfeeding, like this little vintage shirt dress I got for a steal at a flea market.

Button-front dresses are cute - and practical for breastfeeding

Aside from clothes accessories, make-up and hair styling will keep you looking like a pinup/rockabella/vintage lady - no matter how tired I am and how much I feel like I can't be bothered, when I'm going out I make sure that I have my victory rolls or beehive set, cats eye flicks and red lips painted on - I just don't feel (or look) like me without it! (Headscarves and bandanas for lazy/dirty hair days - I love you!)

So if you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant, good luck and enjoy! 

I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog - thank you!

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Review - Little Miss Savage

Gorgeous retro inspired handmade bandanas and accessories

I was a very lucky blogger on the day that this pink and perfect little package arrived for me to review...

Little Miss Savage is a haven for gorgeous one-of-a-kind retro inspired pieces, all handmade by the creative and very talented Emily Savage, who sells them on Ebay and Etsy.

Emily makes bandanas in all sorts of gorgeous fabrics and she's also a polymer clay artist, sculpting beautiful details on cardigan clips, earrings and necklaces. Her bandanas are made to order with a choice of fabrics on both sides. She also makes personalized tattoo heart jewellery, make-up rolls and beautiful pinup girl brooches.

The first thing I tried on were these fabulous pink glitter stud earrings from The Retro Collection.

The photos don't do these earrings justice - they are so sparkly and the colour is a stunning deep pink.

They are chunky but not heavy - they are so light and comfortable to wear. I didn't have any earrings like this in my collection. They are so unique and eye-catching. Little Miss Savage sells these beauties for £7.99 a pair on Ebay, along with a huge variety of other shapes and colours. I have my eye on the pink square studs with the glittery stars, but there are soooo many beauties to choose from! 

Next, I wore the beautiful flamingo print bandana. The bandanas are Little Miss Savage's signature pieces and what Emily is most known for. There are around 30 main fabric choices and 20 reverse-side fabrics. There are three types of bandana style too - original, bow and skinny. Emily makes bandanas to order, so you can have fun choosing two pretty fabrics!

Mine has flamingos on one side and pink polkadots on the other (I adore polkadots). 

The bandana is beautifully made and very soft (some bandanas I have are quite stiff and uncomforatble to wear - not this one!) The flamingo print is bright and fun, while the polkadot side is more subtle - I like wearing the flamingo side and turning over some of the polkadot side to create a cute trim. Flamingo bandanas made to order with custom choice of reverse fabrics are £6.49 from Ebay or Etsy. 

I teamed mine with this cute sweater by Miss Fortune (can you tell I love pink?)

I think my favourite thing from the little box of goodies are these amazing flamingo cardigan clips.

This is the first pair of cardigan clips I've owned and I'm addicted! They are so pretty and well-made and make a nice change to my usual statement necklaces. 

The detail is gorgeous - knowing that Emily made them herself makes them all the more beautiful and unique. The quality is so good and they just look beautiful. I teamed them with this flamingo cardigan by Banned because there's no such thing as too many flamingos!

The flamingo cardigan clips are available from Little Miss Savage's Ebay shop for £6.49.

All three of my Little Miss Savage treats are stunning - beautifully made, extremely high quality, quirky and unique.

I think I've found my new favourite shop.... and I think it may soon be yours, too. 

www.littlemisssavage.co.uk

Facebook - Little Miss Savage

Instagram @littlemisssavage

Lots of love,

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Homage to Hell Bunny

A little dedication of love to one of my favourite clothing brands

Hell Bunny is a UK brand specialising in vintage inspired 50s style clothing with an alternative twist. They release two seasons a year offering beautiful cardigans, skirts, corsets, shirts and many more gorgeous garments as well as the classic dresses that they are most famous for, created by their amazingly talented in-house designers. 

I first fell in love with Hell Bunny 6 or 7 years ago when I lived in London and spent an obscene amount of time shopping in Camden Town. 

Among the myriad of weird/colourful/wonderful shops on the High Street, I spotted a stunning white mini dress on display - it was patterned with purple unicorns and rainbows and I had to have it. Had to.

It had a little black collar, two cute black buttons on the front and detachable straps - quite frankly, it was the dress of my glitter encrusted dreams.

The first Hell Bunny dress I fell in love with - purple unicorns & rainbows!

I was gutted when they didn't have my size in stock but consoled myself with this - my first ever Hell Bunny dress.

My first Hell Bunny dress - the dress that changed my style

This cute black and red dotty dress was very similar in style to the unicorn dress. It had the little black collar, buttons down the front and was the same length and style, except this was a halterneck and had a black satin ribbon belt. They didn't have this in my size either, so I sized up - I wasn't leaving Camden without a Hell Bunny dress that day!

This was not only my first Hell Bunny dress - it was the first rockabilly/vintage/50s/pinup/fabulous dress that I ever bought. This dress changed my style completely. 

I've worn it hundreds of times and although it's past it's best as it's been worn and washed so often, it's still in my wardrobe and it comes out for a play every so often.

I did eventually get my unicorn dress thanks to Ebay - in two different styles. The one I'd lusted after in Camden and also in a t-shirt style with short sleeves and ties at the waist and back of the neck. 

These are vintage Hell Bunny and I haven't seen the t-shirt style in YEARS!

Vintage Hell Bunny! T-shirt style dress

As I love this style so much, I went on to buy another halterneck mini with the collar and buttons. They are so comfortable, even when heavily pregnant! No boring old maternity wear for me - I styled my bump in Hell Bunny!

Styling my baby bump in Hell Bunny

Stylish Hell Bunny baby bump

The next dress I bought in this style was the pink skull-print 'Perky'. 

This is the most detailed pattern on any dress I own - check out the skulls, eyeballs and bones!

'Perky'

This is my favourite Summer dress, usually paired with black cropped leggings, a bolero if it's cool and an ice cream cone.

The next Hell Bunny dress I got was in a completely different style - the purple tartan 'Zipper' dress. 

This was a Christmas present from my husband a few years ago. It's still one of my absolute favourites and continues to look amazing despite it being well worn and washed. This dress is just beautiful. The tartan fabric is thick and soft, making it a perfect Winter dress. It falls just above the knee, with a full skirt which looks fabulous with or without a petticoat. This was a halterneck dress but since I already have a few Hell Bunny halters, I altered the straps to make it a shoulder-strap dress. The rich purple colour is stunning and I love to wear it teamed with a black bolero or little black shrug. The two faux-pocket zips and full zip down the front gives the 'Zipper' dress its name - and also a bit of edge and just the right amount of cheekiness. 

'Zipper'

Another eye-popping dress is the stunning 'Skippy'. This won me 'Best Dressed' at Missy Malone's Burlesque Review, and it's no surprise - the detail on the Skippy is amazing. Black with white dots, a fitted corset-style top with red ribbons criss-crossing the back. Red buttons down the front  and a full, flouncy skirt with ribbons that act as drawstrings and can be pulled up to show as much leg as you dare! This is one of the most beautiful dresses I've worn. Photos don't do this dress justice. It fits as though molded to me and the way the skirt flares out at the bottom...wow! It's a dress that won't go unnoticed! Oh...and I actually bought this dress to wear to a wedding!

'Skippy'

Winning 'Best Dressed' thanks to Skippy!

Next, I treated myself to two Hell Bunny dresses that I'd had my eye on for a while - the elegant 'Gery' and the vibrant 'Perry'.

'Perry'

The Perry is in the same style as my early Hell Bunny dresses - a halterneck mini. This one is patterned with eyeballs! Again, I altered the straps, making holes in them and adding buttons to the back of the dress so that I can wear it with either shoulder straps or a halterneck. It fits beautifully and as expected is so comfortable to wear. 

The Gery was bought for a friend's wedding and I've worn it many times since. I always feel special wearing the Gery as it's so pretty and elegant. The dress is black with tiny pink polkadots and pink satin buttons all down the front. The shoulder straps have bows on them, as do the pockets and there is a waist tie that can also be tied in a big bow. This dress is knee-length and looks great without a petticoat but better with one for added oomph. I bought a Hell Bunny petticoat in black to wear underneath and of course it works perfectly with the Gery. The Gery comes in other colours (purple polkadots, blue polkadots and I think there's an all black version too). This is probably my favourite Hell Bunny dress, it's simply stunning. 

'Gery'

When Autumn came to a close I had a tough decision to make - which Hell Bunny coat would see me through the bitter Scottish Winter? I decided on the Mika in red, as it was so thick and cosy with lots of fake fur for added snuggliness!

'Mika'

This coat is amazing. It keeps me soooo warm and looks fabulous. You could honestly go out dressed in a bin bag, and with this coat over the top you'd still look fabulous! The hood has detachable ears (I prefer to wear mine without) and big pompoms on the hood's drawstrings. It's the best coat I've ever owned and I plan to wear it until it falls apart (which won't be happening any time soon, as the quality is so good). 

It has loads of detail - the toggles are the traditional style you'd find on duffle coats (think Paddington Bear!) There are three sets of toggles down the front of the coat attached to patent shiny black hearts on either side.The hood is trimmed with black fake fur as are the cuffs and there are two black fake fur pockets. The coat flares out at the bottom trimmed with more black fake fur, so you really get that cinched waist/kick flared skirt look - really it's like wearing a beautiful dress - as well as keeping you warm. 

I was in town before Christmas and when I got to the traffic lights, there was a girl next to me wearing the black and white version of this coat! 

As well as the dresses and the coat, I have a Hell Bunny corset that I picked up for a bargain price in Camden market and plan on wearing to my next Burlesque event. I also found this cute little tie-front checked shirt with a heart-shaped pocket when out charity shopping one day - amazing find! 

Not just dresses and coats!

Next on my Hell Bunny Wish List is the Sugar Skull wiggle dress - I would LOVE this! If/when I get it, I promise to review it!

My next Hell Bunny dress???

Hell Bunny don't have their own website, but you can buy from lots of fantastic alternative clothing websites such as  http://www.bluebanana.com/section.php/65/1/hell-bunny?a=lauwi , www.popsoda.co.uk , www.tigermilly.com and Ebay.

For more Hell Bunny photos check out my Instagram!

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Writing Comedy

Melting Pot at The Stand Comedy Club, Edinburgh

As well as being a vintage loving, pinup adoring wife, mother and cake enthusiast I am a comedy writer.

I have been writing short stories, long stories, poems, diaries, songs and scripts for many years. Some horrendously cringe-worthy, others not too bad...and some...well....quite good.

I should probably point out that I am also a published poet - I won a doll and had a heartfelt poem about my Uncle's puppy published in Twinkle comic circa 1987. Since then, I've written down everything from lists of who I hated at school (with illustrations) to horrible teenage poetry about why I was such an outsider and how no one understood me. 

Then, a few years later I decided to take it more seriously. 

I had two short plays performed at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre and when I heard the audience laugh along with my character's mishaps something fell into place. In 2012 I realised that comedy was what I enjoyed writing most. The more OTT, the more crazy and ridiculous the better. Which brought me to my monthly night stand at Edinburgh's top comedy club.

Melting Pot has been running at The Stand Comedy Club for years. It's a monthly sketch night where new (and established) writers submit sketches of around five minutes long on any subject (and I mean ANY) and a troupe of actors perform each sketch.

There are ten sketches performed during Melting Pot and at the end, the audience votes for their favourite. An extended version of the winning sketch is then performed the following month.

There are four actors each month, and around eight in total so there is a good chance that if you submit a sketch you will see it being performed by a few different people which brings a new perspective, changes the characters slightly and keeps things interesting.

Melting Pot is run by John MacIsaac who is also one of the actors, and the compere Susan Morrison whips the audience up into a frenzy with her madcap crude banter before the show even begins. 

My first submission to Melting Pot was in 2012. It was a sketch called Cut Price about a robbery in a hairdressers and the police intervewing the suspects and witnesses. The characters didn't speak English - they spoke broad Scottish - so one of my characters was an interpreter who translated the Scottish slang for the benefit of the police and the audience. 

Cut Price won Best Sketch of the month and then later went on to win Best Sketch of 2013. 

You can see Cut Price here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To3c2a6icOo

I have submitted seven sketches in total and I've won three times and also come runner up which is really encouraging for me since I did become very lazy about my writing and went through dry periods where pen just didn't touch paper at all.

My sketch The Trailer was a tongue-in-cheek film trailer also written in broad Scots, I also wrote Talent which focused on young Pinky Palmer, a talent show wannabe. Buddies for Old Biddies was about a patronising volunteer in a residential home who was scared off by a feisty old woman and Film Buffs featured a competition winner who won the chance to review films on TV - despite not having seen any of the films.

Name Dropping was my runner up and one of my favourites that I've written. This was shown twice at Melting Pot and received raucous cheers because it's rather crude! Two seemingly posh ladies having afternoon tea and trying to outdo each other by name dropping all the celebrities that they are friends with/have slept with. 'Noel Edmonds is my f*** buddy', anyone?

My other winning sketch is Babies. This sketch probably got the best response of all of them, the audience laughing and wincing in equal measures as one of the characters goes into labour on stage and her friend regales her with horror stories of death - and worse - in the delivery room.

You can see Babies here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OxP0Cmx7Zw

Melting Pot is such a gem of a show and has been invaluable to me for getting my work seen, performed and reviewed. 

That's why I am so sad that the January Melting Pot will be the last one.

It really will be a sad loss to new comedy writers like myself as well as the audiences who pack out the venue each month. 

But with the energy of Susan the compere, the genuine comedy talent of the actors and of course the weird and wonderful hilarious sketches, Melting Pot will definitely go out with a bang.

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx