Five Fabulous Swimsuits!

Eloise Parisian Black Stripe Two Piece Bikini

Eloise Sunny Days Floral 2 Piece Bikini

Marilyn Swim Dress in Midnight Rose Garden

Grace Retro Swimsuit Cherry Bomb Black

Alice Two Piece Vintage Bikini

It is always a great pleasure to blog about Australian made vintage reproduction brands and Sirens Swimwear is not only a home grown company but in fact a local business who have a little shop just down the road from my home. It is through searching for vintage reproduction swimwear that I first discovered vintage fashion in the first place, and over the years I have trialed a wide range of vintage reproduction swimwear brands. When it comes to purchasing vintage swimwear it isn't as simple as buying a dress. Swimwear needs to be as supportive as good foundation wear to create a flattering silhouette, and be sturdy to withstand being battered by waves, scratched by sand and not lose it's colour from constant exposure to chlorine.

Since buying my first Sirens swimsuit last year, Sirens Swimwear is the first brand that I have encountered who create swimsuits that are resistant to constant wear and retain their pristine appearance, making them a glamorous investment that will last for many summers. Shopping for swimwear can be daunting - whether it is trying the swimsuits on in changing rooms or the anxiety caused by being uncertain of which size to order, so the clever folks at Sirens Swimwear have come up with the Ship the Shop program that allows customers to order five swimsuits to try on and then return the extra swimsuits at no extra return shipping fee. The Ship the Shop program is as easy as picking out five different swimsuits in your size and paying a deposit fee for one swimsuit in order to pick out your favorite - or ordering five swimsuits in a range of sizes to find the one that fits you perfectly.

To trial the Ship the Shop Program I ordered five swimsuits in different styles and cuts in order to find the swimsuit that was just right for my figure. Being a petite girl with a full bust I have always had a difficulty finding bikini tops that are both flattering and supportive. I was most impressed to find that Sirens bikinis provide the same support as a high quality bra, with full cups to support a variety of bust sizes and under wire. I love high waisted bottoms as I find them to be the most flattering and modest, and what I love most about Sirens high waisted pants is that they are made with shape wear lining to create a smooth silhouette. This is the same for Sirens one piece swimsuits, which are made with shapewear lining all the way through to provide excellent support.

With Sirens swimsuits designed to create the most flattering silhouette, it is important to size up from your regular size if your measurements are in between sizes the same as you would when purchasing foundation garments. This is why the Ship the Shop program is an excellent idea as it takes the stress out of working out what size to order! The lovely ladies behind the Sirens brand are dedicated to creating elegant swimwear that makes all women look and feel stylish and seductive and is available in sizes 8-20 with bust sizes A-F+.  As you can see I had a lot of fun trying on all of these beautiful swimsuits and deciding which one to keep has not been an easy task - so thank goodness that Christmas is just around the corner! I will be writing about the swimsuit that I chose to keep in a future post, but for now I would love to know - which one is your favorite?

To order your own Sirens swimsuit be sure to use the code harlowdarling to receive free shipping off your order!

Bob Your Hair and Rouge Your Knees

If I could travel back in time to any decade, it would be the twenties. I would go to a hair dresser right away and get the marcel wave. I have given up all hope in finding a local hair dresser that knows how to do vintage styles, because if there was such a thing you would not find me sporting the same hairstyle every single post! So I am going to wait for time travel to become possible - which is more likely to happen than finding a hair dresser that won't give me a blank look when I ask for a marcel wave. Something I truly do not enjoy is experimenting with my hair. I find it so tedious and frustrating that I give up immediately - which is what happened with this attempt at a 20s look!

The second thing I would do once I arrived back in the 1920s would be to go shopping and buy a lifetimes supply of outfits. When I first discovered blogs, I read blogs about silent era stars and twenties and thirties fashion exclusively. I knew however, that none of those looks were accessible as true vintage from that era is extremely frail, and not to mention expensive. And so ever since, I have waited for someone to come along and start making reproduction 20s styles. Unfortunately most of the time 20s looks are made deliberately costumey to cater to the oh so trendy "Gatsby wedding/party" theme but every now and then I do find pieces that aren't cliche.

This particular dress is actually by Hell Bunny - who have delighted me with releasing some great 20s and 30s dresses this year which are a stark contrast to their usual fifties dresses that I also love. That said, I would love, love for twenties looks to become more popular so that I could wear them more often! Things have been very quiet on the blog in the last two weeks because we moved house and it has taken a fair while to get the internet set up. In that time I have been busy setting up our home and I am excited to finally be able to take blog photos indoors! The room in these photos is my study and it is currently a little bare, but I am looking forward to decorating it with more art deco pieces to go with this beautiful art deco vanity and gramophone (that works)!

A Perfect Day

Photo - Cassandra Sutton

It's hard for me to believe that already a week has passed since our wedding! At the time we were so busy putting everything together that it was a very full on time, but in the end everything came together even more beautifully than I could ever have hoped. It was a beautiful day spent together with our loved ones and everyone was so wonderful to pitch in. Our wedding was entirely DIY and I am shocked to say that we came through to the other side without a hitch - thanks to the help of everyone who was involved. It made me realize how insanely lucky we are to have so many amazing people in our lives who worked so hard to make everything happen and ensured that everything ran smoothly.It was exhausting, but it was absolutely worth it.

With all of the stress and adrenaline of everything involved with getting the wedding set up, after we came home we were both hit very hard with a particularly bad case of the flu, from which I am yet to recover, so we have decided to wait until next month to go on our honeymoon. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of you who have commented here on the blog, on instagram and messaged me with your well wishes and support, it makes me feel incredibly lucky to be part of this wonderfully kind online community. In the coming months I am looking forward to sharing our wedding photos and talking more about the DIY that was involved for our wedding and some of the ways that we managed to make our dream wedding happen while sticking to a budget.

Orange County

Now I am completely aware that blogging this particular Bernie Dexter dress in an orange orchard is nothing ground breaking, in fact, I think every blogger who owns this exact dress has already blogged it in an orange orchard! But what could compliment this dress better than an orchard bursting with sweet juicy oranges? This orchard was right outside my window this weekend where I spent a few days on a farm, and got married - but more on that in a future post. For now I am glad to be back home after an exhausting few days, before its time to get ready to move into our new house!

Dress - Bernie Dexter

Shoes - Novo

Six Beautiful Vintage Blogs to Follow

I stopped buying fashion magazines when I started reading blogs, and now every time I find a new blog to read I get extremely excited and begin to look forward to each post. Blogs will always be a major source of fashion inspiration to me as I am more interested in reading about real lives and wardrobes that are relevant and accessible to me. In the last few months I've been really enjoying following some of the newer vintage and retro blogs that have appeared on the scene, and blogs that have been around for a while that I have only just discovered.  I thought it would be fun to share these blogs with all of you in hope that you will enjoy them just as much as I do!

Gussets & Godets

London based blogger Christina from Gussets & Godets is a true English rose who loves attending flower shows and decadent high teas, all of which her readers are invited along to through her beautiful photos. Christina is an avid seamstress and her blog is full of the marvelous creations that are based from vintage patterns and will be sure to inspire those of you who sew or have a passion for vintage dresses.

Meghan MacWhirter

Canadian pinup bombshell Meghan's style icons include Jayne Mansfield and Diana Dors and she can rock a wiggle dress like nobody's business. Her blog, Meghan MacWhirter, is a fabulous compilation of immaculately styled vintage reproduction outfits and dreamy photography reminiscent of the aesthetic of Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson.

The Vintage Anatomy

Croatian vintage beauty Josephina is a doctor and a fashion blogger, and has a style that is to die for and a wardrobe of vintage pieces that inspire equal envy. With the beautiful Croatian landscape as the setting for her blog photos, her blog, The Vintage Anatomy, is full of breath taking architecture, cobble stone streets and outfits reminiscent of the elegance and glamour of Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn.

Gwenstella Made

Singapore based vintage blogger Gwenstella of Gwenstella Made is impressively creative when it comes to taking ordinary items of clothing and giving them new life as vintage inspired pieces. Her style flawlessly transitions back and forth between 60s mod to 50s pinup girl with a beautiful wardrobe to match, consisting of vintage and pieces created by Gwenstella herself!

The Homemade Pinup

As you might guess from the name, vintage blogger Lauren makes her own wardrobe by hand and does an amazing job creating vintage looks from authentic vintage pieces, vintage reproduction and garments that she makes herself. This lady is proof that you don't need a big wallet to put together a beautiful and authentic vintage look and is a great source of inspiration for ladies looking to create classy vintage looks on a budget.

Retrocat

German blogger Retrocat's vintage reproduction wardrobe is the stuff of dreams, and the amazing photography that accompanies the outfits makes her blog an absolute treat to read. Retrocat's style is a beautiful combination of adorable pinup looks and flawlessly accessorized outfits outfits inspired by old movies.

What got you into reading blogs?

Flowers for the Wedding

The last few weeks have been extremely busy with getting everything ready for the wedding which is now only five sleeps away! One of the best parts of the wedding prep has been visiting the flower markets. I could visit the flower markets every day and if only I could afford it I would love to fill my house with fresh flowers! We have been working with a modest budget for our wedding and one of the ways we have managed to cut cost have been to get flowers at the flower market rather than a florist. At the end of the day all flowers are beautiful and the more the better - you really can't go wrong! The difficult part has been working out which flowers and narrowing it down, which is hard when there are so many wonderful flowers to choose from and I wish I could just have all of them!

On my first visit to the flower market I was in for quite a shock when it turned out that the majority of the flowers were kept in special cold rooms - the sort of cold where you can see your own breath. Needless to say I was not prepared and did not last longer than a minute, so we ended up coming back on a different day when I had a cardigan. This cardigan is by lovely UK Vintage Reproduction company Voodoo Vixen who many of you may already be familiar with, and if it is fall now in your part of the world - this is one brand you should definitely get to know! A couple of months ago Voodoo Vixen gifted me a few of their cardigans and I was so impressed that I promptly went and bought a Pippa cardigan in every colour. I guess that says a lot, right?

The faux fur collar on the cardigan is removable but I love keeping it on for the instant glamour that a fur collar adds, and because it feels so wonderfully soft. My reasoning for buying one in every colour is that they really go with everything and I like to keep one in my bag at all times to manage with the unpredictable spring weather we've been having. Best of all, these cardigans are very warm and wearing mine the other day meant that I was able to concentrate on all the different roses in the cold room, without running out shrieking about frostbite and that I don't give a damn whether there are any roses at the wedding or not!

Cardigan - courtesy of Voodoo Vixen

Dress - courtesy of Bernie Dexter
Bag - Sunjellies

Shoes - Vivienne Westwood

Sunglasses - ebay

Riding in Heels

Some of you may already know, but a few days ago my lovely partner Hugh surprised me with this beautiful new bike! My old bike could never handle the hills in the area we live in too well, and after one too many problems getting the breaks to work I decided to play it safe and retire it. So as you can imagine I am extremely excited to start riding again, and having a bike that can actually make it up some of the steep hills in our area makes it even better - not to mention give me quite a work out, which is also appreciated.

When it comes to bike riding, the outfit I wear always depends on where we're going. I definitely don't always get dressed up like this to go for a bike ride unless we're going somewhere in particular, such as a nice cafe or restaurant, otherwise I am more than happy to ride in work out gear. Not pictured in these photos is my helmet, although I most certainly do wear one at all times - even if it leaves me with helmet hair. However, I'm working on combating this by wearing a scarf under my helmet, and this way my hair doesn't go all over the place when I speed down the many steep hills in our area.

Playsuits are my absolute favorite thing to wear on bike rides for comfort, and obvious practical reasons, so fortunately there are a number of those in my wardrobe and they will all be making an appearance this summer. I love this two piece Tara Starlet set because not only is it extremely flattering, it's also very comfortable. There are a number of sets like this in the sale Tara Starlet have at the moment and I am very tempted...! When it comes to wearing heels while bike riding - this is something that is totally doable. However I prefer to wear chunky platforms or a stumpy kitten heel, something that won't get caught in the pedals the way a higher, thinner heel could.

Top and Shorts - Tara Starlet

Shoes - Novo