Silky stockings! The Big Tights Company Review!

What a beautiful sunny Monday morning here in Michigan!  I enjoyed my weekend and I am awake, having my coffee, ready to conquer the day!

Today, I am reviewing The Big Tights Company.  I have never been fond of wearing pantyhose, stockings or tights because being plus sized, as well as having larger legs has made finding a comfortable fit nearly impossible.  I discovered The Big Tights Company on Facebook and I was so excited to see that they cater specifically to Plus Size ladies!!  I contacted The Big Tights Company and they were kind enough to send me  some of their stockings to sample.

Stockings: Magic Stockings in Natural C/O The Big Tights Company
Photos: Put A Smile In It Photography
MUAH: Ashley Leathead
Dress: Amazon.com
Petticoat: Jennifer in Yellow by Malco Modes
Shoes: Rockin Tiki Heels in Red by Lucky Lou Shoes

 

The Magic Stockings are 20 Denier silky matte finish stocking that fit thighs up to 30 inches.  Denier is the term for the thickness of material used to make stockings or tights.  Simply put the higher the denier number, the thicker the material. 20 Denier is sheer with a lot of stretch, yet very sturdy.  The most common issue I have with stockings is that when I try to stretch them to fit my legs, even if they are advertised to fit my size, they inevitably get a hole, run or snag that renders them immediately useless.  I did not have to worry with the Magic Stockings, I am wearing a size UK 20/24 and I am just in love with the fit.  They have tons of stretch and are also longer than average to fit even the taller ladies.  They fit like a dream, no rolling or binding around the largest part of my thigh.

I love the silkiness of the material.  They are soft as a whisper and look lovely on my legs.  They are sheer with just the right amount of color.  I have worn both pair three or four times without snags or issues so I am extremely pleased, any stocking that gets through more than one wear with me is great quality!!  The stockings are not too heavy but still made from sturdy material. I really love my Magic Stockings and cannot wait to try more of the wonderful products from The Big Tights Company!!  I am thrilled to see that so many companies are taking plus size ladies into consideration and designing quality products that fit regardless of size.  For too many years we have been relegated to the back of the store or a tiny section of dismal selections and I am so happy to see the tide turning!  Fashion is not size exclusive!

Stockings: Magic Stockings in Black C/O The Big Tights Company
Dress: Suzanne C/O Voodoo Vixen
Photo: Put A Smile In It Photography
MUAH: Ashley Leathead

Pretty in Poppies! Voodoo Vixen Suzanne Dress review.

It has been a tough couple of months here in my household.  Kevin, my husband  has been hospitalized and diagnosed with a mental illness.  It has been a huge adjustment and learning experience for us and doctors visits have kept me busier than I imagined.  This combined with my regular job has meant that I have had take time away from regular blogging to handle this new phase in our lives.  I am happy that things are stable and I can now afford to devote myself to the blog once again.  My blogging and pinup modeling is such a pleasure in my life.  I am so happy to have met wonderful people and discovered a multitude of fabulous creators who are making their mark on the vintage fashion world.  I will be posting many long overdue reviews this coming week from Kiyonna, The Big Tights Company and Dolly and Dotty; as well as reviewing my newest purchases from Pinup Girl Clothing!

Today I will be reviewing the lovely Voodoo Vixen Suzanne Dress.  I love Voodoo Vixen!!  Their flair for retro style, fabulous fit and wonderful fun prints make them one of the best vintage style clothing labels.  I already own the Kitty dress (My review!) and Isabella cardigan, they are such an adorable and lovely set.  I contacted Voodoo Vixen and they were kind enough to send me the Suzanne Dress for review.

Suzanne is a bold houndstooth print dress scattered with with bright red poppies.  Scalloped edges on the bodice and arms are a pretty and feminine touch.  The dress is fits me like a glove with a bit of comfortable stretch in the cotton blend material.  I am wearing a size 2x and the fit is just right, if you are between sizes I would recommend sizing up.  I love the scalloped bodice of this dress, it is so lovely a touch, very vintage styled and feminine.  I find the bodice to be flattering to the bust and the matching belt cinches in at the waist to give a great shape.  Suzanne also has pockets!!  I am a lady who appreciates well thought out design details in my garments and the addition of pockets to this dress is practical while being adorable with the scallop edge detail.

Photo: Put A Smile In It Photography
MUAH: Ashley Leathead
Dress: Suzanne C/O Voodoo Vixen
Stockings: Magic Lady Stockings in Black C/O The Big Tights Company (Review coming Monday!)
Heels: Vintage

The sleeves are also finished with scallop edge detail and are a great length for wearing in cooler weather because they provide a little more arm coverage.  The skirt flares out in a flattering bell shape from the waistline.  Length is mid calf for me at 5'3" which makes this a flattering and modest dress for any occasion.

  This print is so bold and bright!!  I have been trying to step outside of my pastel and floral print box, Suzanne is perfect for that.  The print makes a fun statement that catches the admiring eye of people who just had to compliment me when I wore her out to dinner with my husband!  The poppies would also make this a great dress for Military themed outfits like I wear for my Pinups for Patriots events.  I love wearing these vintage styles, they seem to be a big hit with people both young and old.  Voodoo Vixen is continuously bringing us amazing new vintage inspired designs that are well constructed and high quality,while being fun and flattering to wear!   

Katrina Parker Frocks Whoopie Pie in the Sky Review!!

September is here and summer is nearly coming to a close.  It's been a beautiful season full of adventures!  I've done fun shoots, tried new things, met amazing new people and enjoyed every second!

I love cooking, so when I saw that Alfie Jean's Pinup Charm School and Put A Smile In It Photography were teaming up for a kitchen disaster themed shoot, I had to be there!  Alfie Jean's Pinup Charm School is a comprehensive pinup class that teaches the history of pinup, makeup, hair and posing.  Alfie Jean is an infinitely gorgeous old soul, who obviously loves sharing her retro knowledge and empowering other women.  I cannot speak enough praise or recommend either Alfie Jean's Pinup Charm School or Brandy at Put A Smile In It Photography, highly enough.  They are beautiful, talented ladies who know their craft and truly exude a love for others that makes working with them as comfortable as spending time with an old friend.

Fortuitous timing introduced me at the same time to the fabulous Katrina Parker Frocks, who offer a lovely selection of hand crafted vintage styled plus dresses in sizes 0x-4x and whimsical accessories.  Katrina Parker Frocks philosophy is that clothing should be fun.  The idea that plus girls should have a love or hate relationship with food is absurd and Katrina Parker Frocks turns it on its head with their delicious novelty prints.  I contacted Katrina Parker Frocks because I fell in love with their philosophy and fanciful food based novelty prints, they were kind enough to sponsor my dress for this shoot.

  I chose the Whoopie Pie in the Sky Dress and it is absolute joy!!  Chocolate-y whoopie pies decorated with bright colored sprinkles and chocolate chips dance over a bright pink background.  This dress fits as delightful as it looks.  I'm wearing a size 2x and it fits just right.  The dress is made of super soft 100 percent cotton and fully lined, but be aware there is no stretch, so be sure to measure carefully and order according to your measurements. 

The bodice is fitted onto an adorable pleated full skirt that bells out in a graceful manner.  I love the vintage style and shape, the dress is flattering to women of many different shapes.  A wonderful surprise but welcome addition to this dress are pockets cleverly hidden in the folds of the skirt, perfect for tucking away your cell phone or money when you cannot carry a bag. 

I look delectable in this dress and love the cheerful brightness I feel when I wear it.  It was a hit with the other pinup gals at my photoshoot and I have recieved multiple compliments wearing it in my day to day life as well.  I love my Katrina Parker Frocks Whoopie Pie in the Sky Dress and I cannot wait to see what they come up with next!!

I am excited to be able to offer my readers an exclusive discount for 20% off purchases at Katrina Parker Frocks until September 30, 2015.

Katrina Parker Frocks has been very generous and I am also hosting a giveaway!  One lucky lady will win a gift certificate for half off your purchase from Katrina Parker Frocks!!  This giveaway will run for One Week on my Sassy Scarlet Facebook page, beginning today September 1, 2015 and ending at 7 PM EST on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.  The winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, September 9 and posted on Facebook by 1 PM EST!  Good luck!!

Wishful Wednesday and Daisy Jean floral review

I'm in a bright sunny mood!  It's lovely outside today although a bit chilly.  I'm enchanted with Michigan, watching the world around me coming alive each year after winter gives me hope.   Everything around us is dressed in shades of green and there are colorful flowers in bloom wafting their glorious perfume about.  I had an exciting weekend, Sunday was our first Pinups for Patriots Michigan photoshoot.  We had 11 girls from our group gathered in Grand Rapids taking group and individual photos with several lovely vintage cars.  The talented Paige Gabert shot us in both digital and film, I cannot wait to see the final results!  Here's a sneak peek!

This week's Wishful Wednesday outfit is inspired by the blossoming beauty all around me.  I love the designs I keep seeing from Retrolicious, the vintage inspired collection of classy and fun dresses by Folter. Their colorful and quirky designs include retro and rockabilly style dresses.  The Retro Floral dress is an all over rose print dolly dress with a contrasting peter pan style collar, an adorable bow waistband and a full pleated skirt.  I love the bright orange, green, red, yellow and white floral print, it's summer perfect and the solid red contrast accents add bold and feminine detailing.  I enjoy the flirty swinging 60s feel of this dress!

Punky Pins is a unique online shopping experience with all jewellery and clothing designs produced and handmade in their UK based design studios.  They offer fresh, fun, cutting edge designs.  Their Flower Garden Necklace and Earrings made of layered acrylic are funky garden flowers that coordinate perfectly with this frock.  Punky Pins has a delightfully different collection of accessories sure to draw attention and add interest to a variety of wardrobe styles. 

Modcloth offers an amazing selection of vintage wardrobe pieces.  I've featured them here in the past but I find myself addicted to so many of their products!  The Freshly cut-out flower wedges in crimson are the fabulous footwear I want with this look.  Crimson accents at the collar, waist and feet will flatter and draw the eye giving a put together appearance.  These peep toe wedges have floral cut outs and appliques would pair beautifully with many outfits.

I have featured the lovely Daisy Jean Floral Designs here before and recently I was lucky enough to win my own Daisy Jean piece in Rosie Dynamite Pin-up's Facebook contest.  I love my Delightfully Dainty double pink ranunculus piece.  Daisy Jean uses high quality realistic flowers and leaves glued securely on a felt backing with a sturdy clip.  The flowers lay just right and the design is great because the leaves camouflage  the clip so no matter which way you wear it the clip does not show to ruin your look.  The Daisy Jean pieces are pinup model made and designed, they will definitely stand up to everyday wear.   I wore my Daisy Jean piece in my Pinup Picnic shoot with Put A Smile In It Photography and its so delightfully beautiful and fits so nicely, I wear it as often as possible! 

To top off this floral fantasy I would wear this Daisy Jean Delightfully Dainty double ranunculus yellow and orange.  It's the perfect contrast to the crimson and echoes the orange and yellow  shades in the dress.  The Delightfully Dainty floral collection is just the right size for everyday wear, they're not overly large and sit flush to your head.  The ranunculus is such a lovely flower, one of my favorites, how I wish they grew here in Michigan!

I have some exciting things coming in the mail and I'm collaborating on a guest blog soon that has me super excited!!!!  Keep up with me here, on Facebook or Instagram.  Until next time!

Vivien of Holloway Grace review and photoshoot fun with Put A Smile In It Photography!!

Blogging has been such an amazing journey.  I've been so blessed to meet amazing people from all over the world and have discovered so many beautiful vintage style brands that cater to all sizes, the retro loving community is at the forefront of the body positivity movement, embracing that people of all sizes should be able to wear fashionable clothing.  Style has no size!   I feel humbled and extremely flattered to be able to share this journey with you, to get to know new people, each new friend opens up a new universe of personality and possibility in your life.  I've struggled my entire life with self worth, believing for so long the lie that attaining a certain size instantly equaled beauty and peace.  Your worth is defined by so much more than your size, age, race, sexual preference, gender identity, personality or anything else that we are told we should change to make us suddenly desirable or accepted.  I've found peace after years of pain not through weight loss, diets, self help books or self critical words but through each and every person I've been blessed to meet.  By building one another up we not only bless others but we also heal ourselves, so I want to thank each and everyone of you for your kind words and all of your support!

  I'm so thrilled to have my first blog collaboration with the incomparable Vivien of Holloway.

  Vivien of Holloway has an amazing selection of vintage style clothing from high fashion dresses to trousers and crop tops, everything to outfit the fashionable vintage girl.  I'm smitten!!

I was sent the Grace dress with Silver lace bust to wear and review.  What a classy, sophisticated design!  Timeless styling and curve hugging lines.  I am wearing a UK size 22 and I found the measurements to be just as stated, it fits beautifully.  The wrap top flatters my bust without being too revealing, the dress nips in to accentuate at the waist and flares out into an enormous circle skirt but does not overwhelm my frame, some dresses can as a petite women.  I wore a 120 yard petticoat underneath for volume but the skirt drapes in lovely fashion even without a petticoat.  I would love to wear two petticoats under this dress to emphasize the gorgeous circle skirt plus it would be fun to play with bright colors under the monochromatic dress.  The cotton sateen material is heavy with just enough stretch to make the garment fit beautifully but comfortably.  The silver lace bodice is a lovely floral pattern that sets off the deep black perfectly.  I felt like a princess in this dress.  I cannot wait to wear it to my first Michigan Pinups for Patriots veterans gala event.  Grace is perfect for events where you need to look glamorous but also need to be comfortable and functional.  Perfect for the hostess of a black tie gala or a casual garden party, Grace comes in a large variety of colors and patterns making it the perfect dress, I want to own it in multiple colorways. 

 I had so much fun shooting with Put A Smile In It Photography in their fabulous vintage living room set. Dress: Grace in silver lace bust courtesy of Vivien of Holloway, Makeup and hair by Kara Summers.

I apologize for the lack of Wishful Wednesday blog yesterday and rest assured it will be back next week!  I was busy traveling and enjoying a fun retro styled shoot with Brandy at Put A Smile In It Photography, it was a phenomenal day!!  Located in Jackson, Michigan, Put A Smile In It is a labor of pinup love.  Owner Brandy Chase has a passion for vintage style, she has done pinup modeling in front of the camera as well, so she has a model's experience to go with her incredible photographic eye this makes for a perfect combo!  The studio includes vintage living room set, boudoir dressing room and paper background sets for a variety of fun images.  The sets are fantastic!  Period furniture, lamps and electronics compliment the lovely green walls, details such as curtains made from vintage material, kitschy knick knacks all arranged to showcase the beauty of the surroundings, flatter the model and virtually tranport you back in time.   The possibilities are endless with a wide selection of props, choosing your favorite swingin' 50s album, gossiping on the telephone, daydreaming while an episode of I Love Lucy plays on television or vacuuming with the cutest working 1953 Kirby vacuum cleaner.  I had fun playing with everything including a giant tiki head and hanging some laundry out to dry on the super adorable clothesline set.  A perfect escape for a work at home mom, I enjoyed a getaway day for my birthday shooting and laughing with Brandy, who is one of the sweetest people I've met.  Put A Smile In It Photography is extremely professional and affordable, I cannot recommend them highly enough.  I look forward to shooting with Brandy again in the near future at the Pinup Picnic shoot on May 3!! Put A Smile In It Photography is also on Facebook, like her page and follow to see their latest shoots and upcoming events!! 

Monday musings and Bearpaw Scarlet Review

The beautiful spring weather has given way to rain today.  I love the rain but its tough to stay inside when I have so much pent up energy! They're predicting snow possible on my birthday Tuesday but I'll celebrate anyways!!  I'm extremely excited for my upcoming shoot with Put A Smile In It Photography on Wednesday.  I haven't shot since December so I'm anxios to make some beautiful art.  It's funny how no matter how many times I'm in front of the camera, I always feel like its the first time.  I'm anxious and jittery, always a bit unsure but once I get in front of the camera it all seems far away, I absolutely cannot wait!  I have been in prep mode readying my vintage hats, going through accessories, picking the perfect shoes to match the beautiful dresses from Vivien of Holloway, Hell Bunny, Lindy Bop etc. that I have the privilege to review and wear in fun, creative retro shoots.  I am also thrilled to collaborate with Brandy at Put A Smile In It because she is a sweet supportive person with a gorgeous vintage studio and an amazing artistic eye.  Bring it on!!  This is going to be such a fantastic adventure!!!

I adore history, I'm fascinated with bygone eras, fashion, customs and faces.  I took up genealogy because I wanted to know our family history.  I spend a lot of my free time pursuing my hobby of genealogy as our family history has not been well documented.  This often means long walks through acres of cemeteries searching for relatives tombs, clues or just history to solve genealogical mysteries.  I've been working on my family tree for a little over two years and have traced some branches to the 1500s.  I'm thrilled that spring is here and with it the opportunity to get out in my community and find more about my ancestors amazing stories.  My ancestors have gone from only names on paper to fascinating people with interesting, triumphant and sometimes tragic stories.  I'm lucky to have four generations of family from our local area and have used the internet to fill in history beyond that. There are many free websites and applications to use for records and research, it is a very rewarding hobby.  Ancestry and Family Search offer free family tree builders on their website alpng with huge records databases searchable for subscription fees however many local libraries have an Ancestry library subscription you can use to access records and research if you cannot afford the fees.  It's been such a pleasure to not only learn about our local history but to teach my son too!  I'm looking forward in the future to putting together and teaching a class on our area history to local homeschool students.

Because I do a lot of walking I'm always looking for practical and comfortable shoes.  I was thrilled when I saw the Scarlet moccasins in the Bearpaw spring line because first, I've always loved a cute, comfy pair of mocs and second because I am Sassy SCARLET, perfect!!  I like to wear moccasins with jeans, cute hippie dresses or just puttering around the house, They're very versatile.  The Scarlet moccasins are buttery soft suede with fringe toe detail, a cute tie and driving moc soles. 

The wonderful thing about Scarlet (and honestly all Bearpaws I've tried) is that they fit beautifully, I walked nearly two hours around our local park and cemetery in my Scarlet mocs, no back of the ankle rubbing, chafing or sore feet. The tread is good for indoor or outdoor wear and very good for walking, although I would not recommend them on a wet day or for trekking through rough woods.  I love their stylish simplicity.  Scarlet have become my fave casual shoe of the moment, they're rarely off my feet!!  I cannot help but gush over how much I love Bearpaw, they make a great variety of amazing quality, super stylish footwear for a great price!  I'm blessed to be a proud brand ambassador for them but I have been a huge Bearpaw fan and customer for years.