Wheelchair Fashion: Lilac Snowdrops
I believe in clothes much as Audrey Hepburn believed in pink & Marilyn Monroe believed in shoes. (Doesn't that sound good, doesn't mean anything but it sounds good lol.)
Seriously though I believe that the right clothes at the right time can change the world just a little bit. My world anyway & I have an 'emergency dress fund' precisely for those kinds of clothes.
I tend to be quite practical with my clothes choices, vintage style clothes can be really expensive so I can't just buy whatever looks cute. I pick separates over dresses every time because they can be worn multiple ways & I only buy anything if I can think of 3 ways I can wear it with the pieces I already have. Whilst this is sensible & means that most of the things in my wardrobe work well together, it can be a little joyless. I can't count how many dresses I adored I've had to let pass because it's not really the practical choice.
That's where the 'emergency dress fund' came in. Once a season & no more I can pull the emergency dress fund card & buy some ridiculous dress that I can't live without. Surprisingly I've only bought 3 so far. Even more surprisingly they have all become staples for days when I can't stand to wear pyjamas one second longer.
This dress is the 3rd 'emergency fund' dress I've gotten (1st & 2nd) & it may be my favourite. It's definitely the most obviously me. I mean all those pretty lilacs? I literally have a tattoo of lilacs! It's my favourite flower 100%. Plus there is all the lovely deep purple roses & the great blues...this print could have been made for me, it contains all my favourite colours. It's got that great timeless English rose floral print type look. I could have been wearing a dress with a print like this going back to the Georgian period. It probably wouldn't have been in purple but historical accuracy is not really the point, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been tattooed, in a wheelchair or showing all this much leg either. Little details.
So dress, it's a Pinup Girl Clothing Jenny Dress (capitalised with good reason, it's a title with heritage & dignity lol).
The dress cost $168 (you can see why it was an emergency fund dress...) & comes in XS-4XL. I am EXACTLY in between a 2XL & a 3XL in the Jenny Dress (the 2XL being a 36 inch waist & the 3XL being a 40 inch waist). The last jenny dress I got was in the 3XL....possibly a mistake. SUPER comfortable & great for casual wear without shape wear but it doesn't look quite right otherwise. I got this one in the 2XL, 100% by accident (I'm a 2XL in most Pinup Girl Clothing items so I didn't even think to check the size guide). I'm so pleased I did mess up though because this dress is exactly the right size, especially with a tightly laced corset (I get my corsets from Orchard Corsets & I wore a mesh one under this dress because it was the only one I had that I could zip my dress over...).
So, the jenny dress. I am a massive fan of the shape of the Jenny skirt; they are pretty much what converted me to the whole pin-up/vintage life. That should mean that I am an equally big fan of jenny dresses but I have to say I'm not 100% sold on them. They are lovely dresses, don't get me wrong, I just have a few quibbles.
My biggest quibble is the zip in the back, how the beep are people supposed to get dressed by themselves if they can't even reach the zip? It's weird, especially as hidden zips in the side are so common place now.
My next big quibble is the waist. I'm not a true hourglass anymore but I do have quite a small waist in proportion to everything else & I look best when my skirts sit on that waist (it's why I wear statement belts & cropped cardigans & big retro style skirts...it's kind of my signature look). The jenny dress has quite a long bodice, dropping a good inch & a half below my natural waist. It takes some creative accessorising to make my proportions look right, worth it but slightly annoying.
(My mum tried on the dress & the waist hits her perfectly, so I guess it's a body shape thing.)
My only other quibble is the price. Jenny dresses are pricey, depending on your budget I would say they can be worth it but they are decidedly not cheap, especially after postage to the UK.
On the other hand I am totally in love with this dress & have worn it 3 times already (which might not seem like a lot but I normally only wear non-pj clothes 3 times a month maximum, you can see how this is more than is normal for me). I would totally recommend it if you have a lot of weddings to go to this summer, or if you just really adore a good floral print. It's one of those dresses you have in your wardrobe that works for any occasion you know?
Plus I got loads of compliments on it when I was out taking pictures & I almost never do, at most one person will say something. This time I was complimented three times! It's just that kind of dress.
P.S. How nice are the snow drops? Snowdrops are one of my favourite spring flowers & it's so unusual to see more than one or two at a time!
P.P.S. Notes from my Mum. "The pockets are really handy and it looks good even on a fat old lady."
You look lovely in this dress! And such a great idea to have an emergency dress fund. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou look lovely in this dress! And such a great idea to have an emergency dress fund. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous as ever Sally. And I love that pinup girl featured you on their insta. I like the sound of an emergency dress fund. I've seen so many goureous ones and being on a bit of a spending ban is so hard. But then again I also have so much in my wardrobe I obviously don't get much chance to wear.
ReplyDeleteSian xx
www.sians-silver-linings.com
Gorgeous as ever Sally. And I love that pinup girl featured you on their insta. I like the sound of an emergency dress fund. I've seen so many goureous ones and being on a bit of a spending ban is so hard. But then again I also have so much in my wardrobe I obviously don't get much chance to wear.
ReplyDeleteSian xx
www.sians-silver-linings.com
This is such a beautiful dress! An emergency dress fund sounds like a cracking idea! x
ReplyDelete