Thursday, April 2, 2015

Rowena/Retroglam and Hell Bunny Black Dahlia review

Good morning!  I'm sitting here enjoying the sounds and smells of our first spring rain storm.  I love the rain!!  When I was a little girl, my grandparents had a covered porch so we would sit underneath it enjoying rain and thunderstorms, so for me the rain brings back fond memories.  It's been a beautiful week here in Michigan, spring came upon us fast, suddenly birds are singing, the crocus are in bloom and the trees are budding.  It had seemed like winter would never let go!  I'm excited to get outside, I really enjoy being out in nature.  It also means outdoor pinup shoots!  I have some great shoots coming up with Renee Ricket Photography and Put A Smile In It Photography, we've been brainstorming while waiting for Michigan's weather to cooperate and we have some epic shoots planned!! 

Spring means it's dress weather!!  I was fortunate enough to win a $100 gift card in a Facebook contest from Rowena/Retroglam, a fabulous Canadian vintage glam store with an amazing selection.  Cosmetics to Coffee mugs and absolutely everything to fulfill a pinup and retro loving girls dreams. First of all, I'm impressed with a company that is so generous, they have a giveaway going almost all the time on their Facebook page.  Second,  I have to gush over their customer service!!  I actually won this gift card back in November of last year but Facebook messenger on the mobile app does show messages that are placed in your "others" folder.  I found this out from a friend and checked my others folder finally, inside was the message from Rowena/Retroglam saying I had won.  I was very upset because I had missed this message through no fault of mine, so I messaged their customer service.  They were kind and decided to honor the $100 gift card I had won.  Their selection is phenomenal, Pinup Girl Clothing, Heart of Haute, Hearts and Roses, Hell Bunny, Besame Cosmetics they have all of my favorite brand names and even more I had not heard of, this was a very hard choice.  It took me nearly three days to choose but in the end I had been eyeing the Hell Bunny Black Dahlia dress for months so that was an easy choice.  I had enough left to choose a second dress and I was immediately drawn to the Hell Bunny Eloise dress, its a completely different style from amything else I own and the dragonfly print is whimsical, reminiscent of summer.  The Eloise is a 40s style and I generally go for 50s swing styles but I loved the style so I decided to go for it.  I paid shipping and then the wait was on.  It is always a rather long wait for international packages so it took 20 days to get to me from Edmonton, Canada, that is no fault of the company, customs is just slow!  Both of my dresses arrived in perfect condition and were packaged beautifully, wrapped in tissue paper with a handwritten note saying who had packed them.  I love these little touches that say a company cares about their customer's happiness.  I highly recommend Rowena/Retroglam!  Great selection, friendly customer service, high quality merchandise and generous Facebook giveaways.  Thank you Rowena/Retroglam!!!


Hell Bunny is one of my favorite companies!!  Their dresses are gorgeous, stylish and fit my figure like a dream.  I love the variety of vintage era styles they produce and the lovely print materials and detailed designs they offer.   I decided to buy two Hell Bunny dresses because I had worn them in previous photoshoots and knew their size 2x fits me like it was made just for me. 



Sizing is so wildly different from brand to brand so when I find a company that I know fits me, I will lean toward purchasing their dresses because my figure is not easy to fit and I hate having to make returns.  My waist and hip have a 15 inch difference that makes finding a good fit a nightmare!!  I chose two completely different styles, the 50s housewife style Black Dahlia dress and the 40s day style Eloise dress.  Both fit perfectly, Hell Bunny really knows how women are shaped, the cut hugs all of the right places to enhance my hourglass shape and the materials are flattering not clingy.  I wore the Black Dahlia dress to church and recieved tons of compliments.  The black is crisp, the floral print is bright with shades of pink on the flowers, green leaves, cream and a hint of yellow that I decided to play up by wearing a bright yellow Malco Modes Jennifer petticoat as a contrast.  I will wear a much larger petticoat for photoshoots in this dress, the skirt is a generously full circle so I can go petticoat crazy!!  I felt gorgeous in this dress.  The wrap style neckline is flattering but not to revealing with button details on each side and a picture collar, the belt underneath of the bust, narrows the silhouette and draws attention to your waistline.  The skirt flares out and looks lovely with or without a petticoat, I prefer with, but there are times when it may not be practical.  The website recommended to order a size down on this dress but I do not agree, it fits me just right and the material does not have much stretch.  I went by measurements and I think their 2x runs true to size, I've loved every Hell Bunny style I've worn, I have worn a 1x for a shoot but it is a bit tighter than I prefer for ease of wear.  This is a candid shot taken at church but I love this dress so I will be wearing it in a pinup shoot as soon as possible!!!


I will be wearing my Eloise dress on Easter Sunday.  I plan to post photos and thoughts about it then but I did try it on and am happy to say Hell Bunny has not yet made a dress that disappoints me!!  What is your favorite Hell Bunny dress? 

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