OOTD: My Beyond Retro Dream Vintage Dress

ootd-beyond-retro-my-dream-vintage-dressDress: Beyond Retro* | Backpack: ASOS | Sunglasses: Ray-Ban*

My dream dress is fitting, yet comfortable. It makes me look taller than my actual 5’3. It accentuates my curves, but isn’t overtly sexy. It’s casual, but can be dressed up easily. Hmm I don’t want much, right? Well I’m beginning to think that my style demands are not actually that obscene. As it would appear that I have found my dream dress. Well, my dream vintage dress at least.

When the lovely Plum from Beyond Retro invited me to their Dalston store I was eager to return to my old neighbourhood. Not only for nostalgia sake, but because she had promised to help me find my perfect vintage dress. Now usually when I buy items from vintage stores I never end up wearing them. Why? Well because I like to treat vintage items like pieces of art. Some are so beautiful I just have to own them, if only to look at them. This time though I was determined to find a dress I would get wear out of. I knew that if anyone could do it, it would be Plum. I mean after all, she did find me my ideal Christmas jumper. After trying on around 20 dresses – I kid you not – I was giving up hope. Until I found it. The perfect LBD (little black dress). No, my dream vintage dress.

Fancy winning a vintage wardrobe full of YOUR dream dresses? Beyond Retro are giving one lucky winner £250 to spend in one of their London stores, and an overnight stay at The Hoxton Hotel (with a friend). Enter at Beyond Retro.

Thank you to V.A who took the photos of me.

ootd-beyond-retro-my-dream-vintage-dress-2 ootd-beyond-retro-my-dream-vintage-dress-4 ootd-beyond-retro-my-dream-vintage-dress-1 ootd-beyond-retro-my-dream-vintage-dress-3

OOTD: Tis The Season for Vintage Christmas Jumpers

ootd-christmas-jumper-beyond-retro-vintage-fashion-style-blog-blogger-bloomzy-3 ootd-christmas-jumper-beyond-retro-vintage-fashion-style-blog-blogger-bloomzy-5 ootd-christmas-jumper-beyond-retro-vintage-fashion-style-blog-blogger-bloomzy-4 ootd-christmas-jumper-beyond-retro-vintage-fashion-style-blog-blogger-bloomzy-6 ootd-christmas-jumper-beyond-retro-vintage-fashion-style-blog-blogger-bloomzy-7
Jumper* – Beyond Retro | Trousers – Topshop | Boots: Topshop

Thinking back to this time last year, I had one Christmas jumper…and I wasn’t a particularly big fan of wearing it. Fast forward and already I have three this year alone. One of those is from Beyond Retro (if you would kindly look at the photos above), which I’m trying desperately hard to pretend isn’t my favourite (so the others don’t feel left out).

If you had told me a few months ago that I would be wearing a vintage Christmas jumper I would have laughed in your face. When I think of vintage Christmas jumpers, I think of cheesy, itchy woollen things that your nan forced you to wear when you were 10. Well I was proved wrong with this little number, which was expertly handpicked for me by the Beyond Retro team. I never have much luck at finding vintage items that suit my personal style, so I was over the moon when I saw the Christmas jumper they had chosen for me. Clearly I need to go shopping with my own BR stylist. Daydreaming aside, this gorgeous piece has restored my faith in Christmas jumpers, and I already know I will be getting into the festive spirit and wearing it as much as possible. I wonder if I can get away with wearing it after Christmas? Who am I kidding? When something’s this fabulous, of course you can!

Pssst, if you missed my post on BR’s Christmas jumper pop-up, you can read it here. You can also view their amazing selection online at Beyond Retro.

Feeling Festive at The Beyond Retro Christmas Jumper Pop-up

beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-7 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-3 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-6 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-4 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-2 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-5 beyond-retro-christmas-jumper-pop-up-old-street-station-st-bloomzy-1

Beyond Retro has always been known for quality vintage goods, and now they’re also bringing some Christmas cheer with their latest pop-up shop in Old Street station. The store is aptly named the Christmas Jumper Store, because that’s mainly what you’ll find here. That said, there are other festive goods in-store too, such as scarves, party dresses, accessories and faux fur coats.

I first stopped by for the launch party where we sang carols and perused the store, whilst sipping on Babycham. It felt very Christmasy indeed. I left with a specially handpicked vintage Christmas jumper, which I can’t wait to debut on the blog soon. I also found the most amazing full-length emerald lace dress (with a beautiful art deco style back). It was just perfect, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Luckily for me, when I went back a few days later, it was still there. So I snapped it up, but not before I tried on everything else. There are so many hidden gems that I had to be dragged away by Ben, as I kept picking up piece after piece. Prices are more than reasonable, and the stock has been expertly selected.

If you fancy getting lost amongst the rails too, you can visit the Beyond Retro Christmas Jumper Pop-up at Old St station.

A Masterclass in Burlesque at Cafe de Paris

Last Friday I headed into the depths of the Cafe de Paris. When I arrived the impeccably dressed staff were hurriedly preparing everything for the night’s show. Obulent chandeliers hung from the ceiling, whilst glasses lined the tables, sparkling like crystal. A well dressed man led me to a dark room beneath the dance floor, as I stared at my surroundings in wonder. It almost felt as if I’d walked into London’s own Moulin Rouge.

This was all thanks to Sarah (of The Prosecco Diaries) who had arranged a burlesque evening for a select group of bloggers. I was greeted by Sarah herself with a delicious vodka drink from Pinky, and a lovely smile. It was obvious that everyone was eager to take part in the festivities of the evening as I’m usually one of the first to arrive, but this time round everyone was there before me! Cupcakes and macarons littered the room – a bloggers best friend. We all got to know each other as we nibbled on snacks and sipped our drinks (through adorable straws might I add). As the atmosphere built we were asked to move to the dance floor. Yes, our private room had it’s own dance floor, and boudoir…but that’s a tale for another time. You might be curious at this point as to why we needed a dance floor. Well that’s because we were in for a mini masterclass in burlesque from Zoe from The Cheek Of It School of Burlesque & Cabaret – a very sophisticated and classy lady. I am a very big fan of burlesque and have attended more than my fair share of cabarets. I’ve often left after a show and professed my desire to be a burlesque dancer to anyone who will listen. I find it such a beautiful, sexy and empowering form of art. So you can imagine just how excited I was to have this opportunity. It’s safe to say I shimmied and I shook, like there was no tomorrow! Luckily for me, my eagerness and effort paid off because Zoe chose me as one of the students of the night, alongside the lovely George. Our prize? A sparkly bottle of Prosecco (pimped out by Sparkle Up Your Life), fit for any queen of burlesque. After the class we headed back to the main area of the club to watch the cabaret show, where we sat high above the floor overdosing on fabulous drinks and sweet treats.

The show at Cafe de Paris was wonderful, which was made by the lovely ladies I got to share it with. Although our compère for the night was equal parts fabulous and fierce, I have to say that the burlesque class was my favourite part of the evening. I am hoping I can save up for Zoe’s Showtime Beginners Course because I’ve caught the burlesque bug, and everyone knows that once you’ve started shimmying that booty, you can’t stop (when you have an arse like mine anyway).

Thank you so much to Sarah for hosting another fabulous event, and for all of the goodie bag sponsors. I’ll be uploading the contents of my goodie bag and linking to the brands on my Instagram and Twitter.

Photos: Thanks to Sarah

Sale Finds Series: Collectif

ve decided to do a small series on some of my online sale finds this month.
That means I’ll be posting mini-wishlists or recommendations from various online stores.
It’s quite simple really, if I find an amazing sale I want to be able to share it with everyone!
This seems like the easiest and also best (I enjoy making wishlists too much) way to do it.
You can find the series here.

Collectif Sale Wishlist

Who? Collectif
What? 40s & 50s vintage style clothing
How much off? Up to 75% off!
Running until? Undisclosed – new items are still being added
Collectif is a 40s & 50s style vintage clothing brand I have known of for a little while.
I went to their Spitalfields store last weekend, and immediately checked out their online sale after.
I saw some of the pieces from their in-store sale and a few others that they didn’t have in the shop.
I like vintage style items, but I like to fit it into my own personal style so I don’t want to spend lots.
I featured Collectif’s Skull Print Dress on my Instagram at the weekend and a lot of people liked it.
So I decided to share their sale with all of you, in the hopes you might find something too.
You can view the full Collectif sale here.

Source: 1