Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Collectif FTW!

On my last visit to London with my boyfriend in July I discovered a lovely little shop called Collectif situated a stone's throw away from the Covent Garden Travelodge. I'd always dreamt of dressing like a pin up girl and really showing off my curves, and Collectif certainly delivered!

I tried on a number of dresses in various styles and found the Dolores style fitted the best in the bust. The top I'm wearing in this first photo is the Dolores Top Knot Seagull, £25. I also got this in blue, both in a size 8. It fits really nicely and goes with jeans, shorts or skirts.


The next is a Rhonda Dress Fiesta in black satin, £30. Again a size 8, this fitted a size smaller than the Dolores, so I recommend you size up in this. It's a lassic 1940's style and is gorgeous but satin just isn't for me.


Next up, the super sexy Regina Feral Fatal Dress in Leo £50. The size 8 ftted like a glove, but sadly didn't provide quite enough room in the boob department. The neckline is beautiful and I'm so sad it didn't quite fit. This print would look fabulous with red shoes, belt and bag. I love it!



Here we have a Dolores Polka Polka Fitted Dress in Navy £45, size 8. When I got home and looked at these photos again, I instantly regretted not buying it! It fitted beautifully, hugging every curve as though it was made for me. I did manage to pick one up on Ebay in black/white a few weeks later and I've worn it twice since, with plenty of compliments too!


Up next is the Regina Doll Mini Polka Polka Flared Dress in blue, £55, Size 8. Like the Leopard print Regina fitted dress, this didn't quite fit my bosoms at the top! The waist was a little snug too, so I can't help wondering if a size 10 would have fitted. This is by far my favourite of all their flared dresses. I just love how the sleeves are trimmed with white, making it look as though the top part is a separate bolero. On my next trip to London, I'll definately be trying this again in a size 10, and probably buying it even if it means a trip to the dressmakers to get it altered. 



So here's the one I bought from Collectif's Ebay shop for the bargain price of £10 due to it being a slight second. It's the Fitted Dolores Polka Dot in black/white and I adore it! Here I've teamed it up with a red belt from Primark, a red clutch bag from I have no idea where (I've had it ages!), and red and white shoes from Red Herring at Debenhams, which my boyfriend bought for me a few years ago. The Flower in my hair was from BHS.

My other purchase from Collectif was this amazing Jo Lucky Lady Cardigan, £30. I bought a Medium and it's so lusciously soft with some fantastic rockabilly embroidery detailing. Great to slip on to add that pin up touch to any outfit.

So the moral of the story is....SHOP WITH COLLECTIF!

Thanks for reading as always :)

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

A win for crappy fitting bras! The M&S fail...tut

Just a quickie about Marks And Spencer's absolutely awful fitting bras. And I mean AWFUL. Firstly, there were 3 styles in my size, which  30G. Yes 3! So I tried them all...



This is a style I've battled with before, so I thought I'd try it again for the purpose of this blog. It's a very pretty padded plunge bra, withpeach polka dot lining inside the cups, and I really wanted it to work. The back band is fine, however, the cups are tiny, more like an F, giving me 4 boobs and even the dreaded side boob! Not good! However, if you're an F 
cup, remember to size up and you might be on to a winner!


I love the vintage look of this bra, but again the cups are too small, particularly on my bigger boob, as you can see. The band again was nice and snug, so stick with your usual back size but size up by one cup I'd estimate.



My third and final fail! Supposedly this is a push up for enhanced cleavage. Um....
As usual for me, the straps are far too long, and are not fully adjustable, which in turn makes the cups appear much too big. The back band is also very loose, so if this is a style you're keen on, try a back size down.

While I was trying these on, there was a teenage girl being fitting in the next cubicle. She measured up as a 28" underbust, and the fitter recommended a 28 or 30 back, in a D cup which is fine, and then went on to say that they didn't have anything in stock in that, so perhaps she ought to try a 32 back. Anything to get a sale. If I wasn't pushed for time, I would have waited around and handed her my magazine from Brastop! Speaking of Brastop, my next blog will be all about my massive £140 order from them!

When I handed the bras back to the lady at the desk, I mentioned to her that the fit on each one was different and subsequently awful! She went on to tell me that the inconsistency is due to the bras coming from different manufacturers. Where is the quality control? Where are the product testers? Where's the LOGIC in this?!

TTFN, thanks for reading :)