More tea, vicar? Host a tea party in a retro frock!

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t like tea. I know this is sacrilege given how terribly English I am in every other way (*joins queue to buy fish & chips*) but I just can’t get my head around a drink that takes so much effort; you have to brew it, work out the right milk to sugar ratio, let it cool a bit, then sip it for the next fifteen minutes. Just gimme a diet coke I can down in 20 seconds, please. I like my caffeine fix straight from the fridge (and I don’t drink coffee either).

However, what I do like is afternoon tea. Give me tiny little sandwiches, ridiculous miniature cakes and macarons that smell like perfume and even I can choke down a cup or two of green or peppermint tea for the sake of appearance. Or just order the champagne….

The retro swimwear rundown: my top vintage inspired swimsuits and bikinis

If you’re a longterm visitor to the site (or indeed, a friend) you’ll know that vintage inspired swimwear is a huge passion of mine. I’ve yet to venture into proper vintage (it’s the fear that it’s been a bit to close to someone else’s ladyparts that stops me!) but I do buy a lot of retro stuff. If it’s polka dotted, ruched and contains the same amount of fabric as at least a dozen tiny triangle bikinis, it’s likely to find its way into my swimwear ‘wardrobe’. I must have about 20 bikinis and swimsuits by now, which is a bit ridiculous given that I don’t go swimming, am not a member of a gym, and have only had one beach holiday in the last four years.

Winter Wishlist: retro-inspired lingerie & nightwear

My list of the best places online to buy reproduction vintage and retro / rockabilly style fashion continues to be one of the most popular pages on the site every month, so I know plenty of you reading have been as seduced by this style as I have.

The right lingerie is the finishing touch to your vintage-inspired look, but I know the classic bullet bra may be one step too far for some (if it’s not, go to What Katie Did right now). Luckily, plenty of more modern brands have now turned to vintage for inspiration. Here are some of my current fave more modern takes on vintage luxury undies and nightwear. Throw away your cotton 6-pack of knickers and flannel PJ’s and get yourself something gorgeous instead…

Tried & Tested: True Corset ‘Dita’ corset

With my passion for 40s and 50s fashion, it’s perhaps a surprise that I’ve never really tried a proper corset before. I’ve worn bustiers and cheap alternatives, I’ve sewn plastic bones into the top of a prom dress, and I’ve even given corset shapewear a go. But until True Corset got in touch, I’d never laced myself into a proper steel-boned number!

So I was excited to be offered the chance to try a really gorgeous burlesque-inspired corset that promised to create the ultimate hourglass figure. I was sent the ‘Dita’ corset in black with polka dot panels, a longer line corset that promised to shape without squishing my flesh too much…

Vintage reproduction clothing (Pin-up, burlesque & rockabilly) – The ultimate shopping list!

It’s not hard to see why so many curvaceous women turn to fashions from the 40s and 50s when it comes to making the most of their bodies. The era’s pin-up girls, ‘cheesecake’ models and Vargas girls all had waspish waists and sexy curves. Actresses had hourglass figures that their clothes could barely contain (think Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors) and all women wore girdles that sculpted their bodies to perfection and bullet bras that gave the appearance of a Joan Holloway-esque bosom on even a petite woman.

I know from reading comments and looking at search terms that many of us wish we could eschew badly-designed, poorly-fitting modern pieces for something more flattering from the past. But finding true vintage pieces from that era for a larger figure can be difficult. Most good pieces are expensive, and many come in very small sizes, especially on the waist.

So three cheers for the many great brands and retailers who’ve allowed us to get a bit of that old-fashioned glamour in modern sizing. Some of the labels below stock plus size, some don’t, but I’ve chosen to include them all for reference…