Dancing In The Dark. Whiskey Kittens with Collectif, Bete Noire and Hell Bunny.

The end of the month comes with a sigh of relief for many people. For most, it means that pay day is imminent. For me, it means I get to jump behind the decks at Whiskey Kittens for our monthly rock and roll club night.

Summertime Blues.

Recently I visited East End Vintage Clothing with a few friends to rummage through the rails of their £1 vintage sale. With it being a wet and grey Winter morning, we were viewing it more as an exercise in finding somewhere for good coffee and a catch-up, but the chance of a purse friendly vintage bargain was too much of a good offer to pass by.

I've been to what feels like a million of these sort of things, and usually see nothing but rails of denim shorts and leather jackets - neither one being something I'm inclined to wear. However I had gone along with the hope of picking up some oversized lumberjack shirts and knitwear for keeping warm in the studio, but was thrilled to come away with a few cute dresses too!

These three dresses cost me the grand total of £3. I also brought a vintage cardigan with a brown and cream print and a green lumberjack shirt which goes perfectly with my high-waisted skinny jeans when shooting in the cold. I gave the light blue dress to a print loving friend as it wasn't quite right on me, but fell utterly in love with the other two. The red dress in particular I had brought almost as a "costume piece", but upon trying it on, I was really shocked to see how much nicer it was when not just on the hanger. (There will be a blog post coming up on Friday with the red dress!)

The blue dress with it's frill-bib front and white lace collar captures the transition from 50s to 60s style perfectly. It's a little clingy at the moment,but nothing which some magical undergarments can't smooth out! I'm looking forward to Spring arriving so I can team it with a cute cardigan and some footless tights and ballet flats for a look which is both fun yet smart and still nods to my vintage sensibilities.

Dress: Vintage.

Red Roses in hair: Pearls & Swine.

Red Necklace: Thrifted.

Tortoise Ring: Tatty Devine.

Tights: Simply Be.

Boots: Primark.

I wore it last night to see Wicked with my sort-of-sister-in-law, and teamed with it with a simple grey cardigan from H&M and a vintage dark navy headscarf with white polka dots as it was pouring with rain.

I can't wait until they have their next £1 sale, as it was definitely worth getting up early for to make the pilgrimage to East London. I also can't wait to show you the red dress in my next post - it makes me feel like I should be an extra from the 80s TV show, Dallas!

Until next time,

Diana xx

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(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

Lucky Ladybird.

There's no denying that having spent a lot of time on Hampstead Heath of late, I am very much ready for Spring to arrive. Autumn and Spring are without a doubt my favourite times of year, with cool sunny days fading out into balmy breeze filled nights.

Sadly my wardrobe had taken on more of a winter filled turn, with layers of black thrown over more layers of black. It kept me warm whilst shooting and editing, but also left me feeling rather drab and uninspired. As such, it was time to pull out the big guns. The lovely Bink from Pealrs & Swine had made me this beautiful veiled fascinator just before Christmas, and I had been itching to put on my dancing shoes and shows it off. I almost always have some Pealrs & Swine roses in my hair, but the black birdcage veil and adorable ladybirds make this feel extra special.

Nothing says Spring like a picnic, and nothing quite says picnic like a gingham print. The red and white check on this Collectif number made me instantly swoon when I first saw it, but it was the details such as the heart buttons and lace trim which meant I just had to have it.

Ladybird Fascinator: Handmade by Bink at Pearls & Swine.

Necklace: Halcyon Skies Necklace from the Tatty Devine SS11 collection.

Red Cardigan: Jo Bluebird Cardigan by Collectif.

Dress: Gretel Gingham Swing Dress by Collectif.

Tights: Pretty Polly. Similar at Simply Be.

Red Heels: Vintage.

I was shocked by how much dressing up lifted my mood, and I am sure part of it is wearing strong, bright colours. Whilst it still feels a little too cold to be dressing like this all the time, Spring very much feels like it's just around the corner. *puts fingers in ears about snow.*

Until next time,

Diana xx

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(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos (unless stated otherwise). Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

Modern Love: Modern Vintage, a guest blog for Simply Be.

Towards the end of last year, the lovely people at Simply Be saved my sartorial skin when I was on the hunt for a flapper style dress to suit my non-flapper shape. Hips and breasts are not a friend of the usual 1920s styles, so it was with great relief that I unpacked the above stunning dress for an art-deco event I was DJing at.

One of the things which came out of the swap was an article wrote about modern day vintage styles. I absolutely love shopping for vintage clothing, but the reality is large breasts often make for slim pickings, and it can be frustrating rummaging through rails to come away with nothing but disappointment. Although you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming for my favourite vintage haunts, I do love that there is has been a turn towards "heritage chic" on the catwalks, with a range of vintage inspired styles sailing down the catwalks and into shops. It was really encouraging to see that I could find a dress from every decade from the 20s to the 70s when pulling the article together, and you can read the whole story here on the Simply Be Blog.

It was really nice to be writing about fashion again, especially about vintage influences which is something very close to my heart.

Until next time,

Diana xx

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(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos (unless stated otherwise). Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

Dancing Machine

Whiskey Kittens is the monthly club night I run with my darling friend Tom, and with it's mixture of rock and roll and burlesque sensibilities, it's the perfect excuse to really dress up.

I'd been dying to wear my Hell Bunny petticoat which I'd picked up brand new for a bargain price from Greenwich Market a few weeks previous and I felt it really filled out my Collectif swing dress in all the right places.

Dress: Collectif Dolores Doll Classic (£50).

Bolero: Gift from a friend.

Petticoat: Hell Bunny.

Underbust Bodyshaper: Magisculpt Retro Bodyshaper at Simply Be (on sale from £17.50). 

Tights: Tights: Simply Be (£16 for two pairs).

Boots: Primark.

Roses: Pearls & Swine.

Necklace: Custom made by Bete Noire Jewellery.

Of course my favourite accessory of the night was my handsome chap, Lord Dicely. It always find it quite sweet how he steps out of his usual goth scientist attire to step back to a 1950s hunk. 

Until next time,

Diana xx

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www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)