Spotlight on - Style by Portobello

Aloha everyone, so I recently came across this amazing company called Style by Portobello which is great monthly subscription box. There are a lot of subscription boxes out there at the moment but I just love this one as you get handpicked vintage items from Portobello market straight to your door. I love how each month it's a surprise of what you’re going to get and who doesn’t like surprises right?

So for those of you who don't know, Portobello market is an amazing vintage market in London that sells all kinds of vintage treasures. As I live in sunny old Manchester its quite far away from London so this box for me is pure genius!

 

The company is run by a lovely woman called Nzinga who includes a lovely handwritten card in each box which I liked as I love a personal touch. The website is great too as when you sign up to your box you do a little survey so she can evaluate what kind of things to get for you at the market which I think is fab idea.

 So my first box came the other day and I was so excited to open it. The first item I got was this amazing 70s snake skin bag which I simply adore as I am a massive bag fan! I think this bag is going to be great in the summer and its really versatile so it will go with a lot of my outfits. I also got this really lovely scarf and gold chain which I love, I really cant wait to style them into my outfits! 

The boxes are priced at £35 a month which is a little more pricey than other different subscription boxes but I think for what you get it is definitely worth your money and everything you get is completely unique. If you would like your own Style by Portobello box go to Style by Portobello, I cant wait for my next months box to come :)

Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls x

Spotlight on - Doodad and Fandango

Aloha everyone, so I thought I'd do a post today on a company I came across called Doodad and Fandango. I first became aware of this company because I saw the amazing Tess Holliday wearing them on Instgram and instantly was in love, and its not hard to see why because the earrings are amazing!!

Being the tropical obsessed gal I am I just had to get the pineapple and the flamingo earrings, and I am so in love with them. These are definitely a statement piece but what an amazing statement they make! The earrings are made of acrylic perspex so are made to last and the pineapples have Swarovski crystals on them which makes them extra special.

Nikita Margarita is the mastermind behind this brand and designs and hand assembles them in Sydney Australia, she is one amazing lady! I also love how the pieces are inspired by the costume jewelery heyday of the 1930s to 1950s. If earrings aren't your thing there are also so amazing necklaces and bags on the website too which are just as cool.

I love everything about this brand, they are so fun and cute and being a massive fan of anything novelty these are right up my street. I definitely have my eye on the poodle design that she currently has on her website which come in different colour ways but I think the pink ones have my heart.

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x

Pinup days out: Temple Newsam

Aloha my lovelies, so today I had a day out at Temple Newsam which is a house and estate situated in Leeds in West Yorkshire. The house is really beautiful as are the grounds that surround it, so I thought I'd do a quick post and share a bit of its history and some of the photos of the place.

If your in the area I'd definitely recommend a stop at the historic house which is a Tudor-Jacobean house which features a lovely stable area that has been converted into a little tea shop. It is a perfect place for a picnic on a warm summers day, there is also a lovely little farm on the estate too which was built in 1694.

So for those history buffs out there I thought I'd write a little a bit of history on the house. Between 1500 and 1520 a Tudor country house was built on the estate by Sir Phillips Darcy and it was described as the Hampton court of the north. Sir Darcy was unfortunately executed and the house was seized by the crown, Henry VIII then gifted the house to his niece Margaret Countess of Lennox. Her son Henry was born in the house and he married Mary Queen of Scots so the house was seized again by the crown in 1565. In 1622 the house was bought by Sir Arthur Ingam for £12,000 and over the next 20 years the mansion was built. The house continued through the family and was then inherited to Hugo Francis Meynell Ingram in 1841, following his death the house went to his wife until her death in 1904. In 1909 the Leeds Corporation bought the property and the Leeds City council now owns the house.

The grounds the surround the house are so beautiful too and are perfect for a stroll in the warm weather. I love historic houses like this as I like to imagine what it would be like to go back in time and live like the Lady of the Manor, hosting balls and taking a horse and carriage ride around the grounds, what a life that would have been like!

Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls x

Atomic Festival

Aloha my lovelies, so this Saturday I attended Atomic Festival at Sywell Aerodrome which is a mid-century vintage festival. I was super excited to go as all the pictures from last year looked fantastic! I'd never been to a vintage festival before so I didn't really know what to expect but when I got there the atmosphere was great and everyone looked amazing dressed up in their finest. So I thought I'd share with you some pictures from the festival and talk a little bit about it.

 So the first place we went was obviously the vintage shopping market. They had some great sellers there like Freddies of Pinewood, Miss Bamboo, Lady K Loves and Campbell Crafts to name but a few. The Campbell Crafts stall really impressed me as they had it all set up in a vintage caravan and had plastic lawn flamingos out which I thought looked great, they were also selling had some great American brands like Bait and Pinup Girl clothing at their stall, they even had the Mary Blair cat print skirt in my size which I instantly snagged! Also inside one of the tents they had samples of the new Bernie Dexter line which was inspired by Atomic, the dress she is bringing out is super cute, I may just have to purchase it in the near future!

After shopping we then went to get some lunch in the restaurant on site which was really awesome as it was all Art Deco style. Then we toddled on down to meet some girls I had met through a vintage meets up page on Facebook. The girls were so lovely and really made the festival for me as it was great to meet people with similar interests. So after meeting we went to check out the jet display by the red arrows which was really cool, I love planes and the sound they make, I feel like I've just stepped back into the 1940s. It was then on to see some drag races which was really fun but made you smell like burnt rubber haha.

While there we also did some Jive lessons which was amazing, it was super fun and has definitely inspired me to look up for Jive lessons closer to home. They also had a Jive competition on which was great fun to watch but it was hard to see as the room was so packed. The festivals also had a classic car display, the cars were absolutely gorgeous, I just wanted to drive away in one. I was a bit disappointed that the poodle display was on the Sunday but happy to see that the owners where walking round so I got to have some cuddles with them! I think I may have developed a love of poodles on the spot as when we went on the second shopping trip Clumsy Kate was selling her own design of poodle printed chiffon scarves, I got so excited and had to buy one!

After grabbing more food at a great hog dog stand and waffle stand, we went to check out some bands. The bands in the afternoon were playing the the big top, the music was great and I loved seeing all the couples taking to the dance floor and jiving along to the music.

In the evening we all went into hangar one which had a bar and live music. This was one of my favourite parts of the day as it really felt like you had been transported back in time. I kept thinking a pilot might ask me to dance haha :P. I even got up and did a bit of dancing myself from the coaxing of one of my new friends and put what I'd learned from the previous dance lesson into practice, I was terrible but it was great fun, we even got a lady to show us how to stroll which was a bit like line dancing. There was great atmosphere at night when everything was all lit up, the caravans some people brought were vintage and looked really lovely, I would have loved to have been staying in one at night or at the hotel on site called the Aviator hotel which looked really Art Deco.

I had a fantastic time and it was amazing experience for my first festival. Some of the things we didn't try was the wall of death which you have to pay extra for, they also had trampoline and roller rink but I didn't fancy rolling and jumping around in my petticoat haha. I would most definitely go to a festival again and fingers crossed I will be attending Twinwood this year.

Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls x

Lust Haves #3

Aloha everyone, so I'm constantly lurking the internet for things I would love to buy and this week was no different as I found some beautiful things that I thought I just had to share with you all.

So the first thing I found was this amazing Tabatha top by Lady K Loves , I'd heard some great things about their hug me baby jeans so I thought I'd have a sneaky look on their website and this top instantly stood out to me. I love harlequin print so this top is just perfect and I think the colour is just beautiful too. One of the things I really love about this top is that you can wear in two different ways, in a simple halterneck style but you can also cross it over your chest and tie it at the back which gives a really lovely criss cross effect.

 I came across this brand recently on Etsy called Desperate Beatnik and I instantly fell in love with these beautiful Confetti Lucite pendant earrings. I love the style of them as I don't own any dangly Lucite earrings and I adore how classy they look too. The colours in these earrings are stunning too, I bet they really twinkle in the light.

So lastly on my Lust have list is this amazing dress by Collectif and I think this dress must have come out of my dreams! It's perfect in every way, the print is a tropical dream with flamingos, pineapples and atomic symbols and I simply adore the Dolores cut of it. This dress is a definite must have for me, well done Collectif you've out done yourself!

Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls x

Vintage Treasures

Aloha everyone, so the other week I was in Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire with family and we went into a little vintage shop that I love called Lucy and the Caterpillar, this is where I picked up my yellow box bag I blogged about previously. While there I happened to see a navy blue Kelly bag, I've seen a few of these at various vintage fairs in the past and have always liked the look of them. I love the shape and I think they look very classy. Well, when I picked up this bag my Nanna who was there with me happened to say that she had a few at home that belonged to my Great Aunt and that I could have them, well I was instantly excited and couldn't wait to get my hands on them.

So my Nanna brought them over a couple of days later and she did not disappoint, they were gorgeous! They all all made out of patent leather and are just beautiful. They are in great condition and I especially love the white one which is actually a pinkey white colour, this shall be adorning my arm to the upcoming Atomic festival! I just love how classy they make my feel and are aptly called a Kelly bag because Grace Kelly used to wear them which makes them feel even more special.

My Nanna also brought over these cute little evening bags too which was an extra special added bonus. I love the little embroider one, theses also are in perfect condition and I can not wait to put them to use. Top marks Nanna!

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x

Pinup on a budget

Aloha everyone, so I wore this super cute outfit the other day and I thought I’d do a little post about it since everything I wore was on a budget, it just goes to show you don’t have to spend big money to look pinup.

The skirt I adore as it has got pineapple print all over it and as everyone knows by now I love pineapples. I picked up this skirt at Primark last summer and it was only around £12, they had some great circle skirts in last year so I really hope they bring them back this year too! I paired it with this cute striped bardot top that I got recently at Primark, I know everyone is going crazy for these at the moment as they are only £3.50 and they have a big selection of colourways. I love these bardot tops not only because they are so cheap but they are very versatile, so if you have access to a Primark I’d recommend getting down there and snagging one. For my shoes I put on my go to shoes at moment my TK Maxx anchor pumps which I talked about in my last post. I also decided to throw on a cute vintage headscarf to give the outfit that finishing look, I love these headscarves you can find them in a lot of vintage shops or on the market as I discovered a few weeks ago, they are normally sold at the stands for "older ladies" but I love these stands as they sell vintage style nighties and really good stockings!

Well there you have it, a perfect pinup outfit on a super cheap budget. Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls I hope you enjoyed it x

Pinup outfit - Cute and Casual

Aloha everyone, so I had a cute and causal look the other day as I was going out for a walk with family, I didn't want to wear anything too fancy and I thought it would be a good opportunity to show girls what they could wear if they don't want to wear anything too dressed up but still want a pinup vibe.

This outfit was on a budget too which is great, the jeans I picked up at New Look, I picked them because they are high waisted which I love and I really liked the colour of them as they are a brighter blue than most jeans. I also tend to roll my jeans up at the bottom to give them that retro vibe. I paired it with a cute striped bardot top from Primark and on whim I decided to turn this outfit into a nautical theme so I also put on this super cute cardigan which was from Primark too, it's hard to see from the picture but it is covered in cute little anchors.

Following the nautical theme I also wore these amazingly cute pumps that I picked up at TK Maxx, I love how you can find pinup inspired clothes at the most unlikely places. These are super comfy and are now my go to shoes and the anchors print is adorable!

So I'm absolutely mad about bags, they are my favourite accessory so this was my favourite item in my outfit. I think this is one of my favourite bags ever, I picked it up in an amazing vintage shop in Hebden Brdge in Yorkshire called Lucy and the Caterpillar Boutique. It was love at first sight when I walked into this shop its just full of vintage treasures and the bag really stood out to me. It's an original 1950s unused box bag that had the original receipt with it. Its in perfect condition and I love the colour. Its so beautiful and one of my favourite vintage items to date.

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x

Book review - The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance

Aloha guys, so I read this really amazing book the other day so I thought I'd do a quick review on it. I first came across this book from the instagram page of the beautiful Georgina of Fuller Figure Fuller Bust. The first thing that grabbed me was the front cover, I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover but in this case I did and it paid off, I just love how fun and bright it looks!

I'm a huge book worm and I'm always on the look out for books that incorporate vintage into them so this just ticked all the boxes. Without giving too much away the story is about Jessica who is very much a modern party girl and ends up down on her luck, so she goes to seek out her long lost Grandmother who wrote guides on how to be a good woman and catch a man in the 1950s, they decide to try these guides on Jessica and transform her so she can try and snag a playboy using a love guide from the 1950s to prove they still work.

Kirsty Greenwood writing style is funny and warm and its just a great feel good book. I also loved how in the book Jessica is from Manchester and blogs which is just like me haha! :) I definitely would recommend this book to any gal regardless if they are into vintage or not as its a great read.

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x

Lust haves #2

Aloha guys, so I thought it was high time that I should do another lust haves post because there is just so much out there that I need to share with you lovely people.

So my first lust have is this gorgeous dress, I am a huge fan of candy stripes and this amazing Audrey dress by Lindy Bop is just to die for. I love all the Lindy Bop dresses but I have to say that the Audrey shape is my favourite, I've had a few in the style before and they look so flattering, I feel like I should be going to a 50's prom swing dancing the night away when I wear one. If any of you gals have not tired Lindy Bop before I definitely recommend them, they look great and the prices are really good!

These swing trousers by Vivien of Holloway are an absolute must buy for me. I am totally in the love with the colour, I love how bright they are and I think they will look great in summer paired with a gorgeous blouse. I haven't worn swing trousers before as I'm normally a dress wearing gal but I've been thinking of expanding my horizons to swing trousers and I think these are just the perfect start.

I've been pondering getting a corset like this for sometime, I purchased one not so long ago for Corsets UK but it was over-bust and fully backed so it wasn't great to hide under clothes but I think this What Kate Did maybe perfect for me. This is the Monica corset and I've heard some really great reviews on this. They are pretty pricey but the amount of care that goes into them make them worth it. I recently read Lipstick and Dresses review on this corset and she has convinced me I that I need one in my life as she looks amazing.

My final lust have this week has got to be this Fifi retro night gown by Glamour Bunny, I recently purchased the Fifi nightie and its just gorgeous, it fits so lovely and makes me like a glamorous movie star when I go to bed so I just have to get the matching night gown to complete the look!

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x