Introducing Bolero Beachwear – Dresses for Busty Pinup Gals!

I love reviewing lingerie – it’s my passion, obviously – but I do have a great love affair with pretty dresses as well. The thing with pretty dresses though is, that not every dress I try fits me that well – not even half of them! I can rarely zip up UK size 10 past my boobs which is why I usually result in buying a size up and then cinching the waists with a belt. When I heard about Bolero Beachwear and saw some lovely fellow bloggers rocking their dresses, I decided to chat to Patricia, the owner of this lovely brand.

Bolero Beachwear started out when the recession hit the USA in late 00’s – many women were left without jobs and so was Patricia, as the beachwear company she was working for had to close down because of the owner’s cancer and customers closing down their own businesses. Patricia, the wonder woman behind Bolero, decided to start a business of her own and so she ended up founding Bolero Beachwear and designing her very own beach cover-ups. After consulting with a busty customer, Patricia decided to make additional dresses and other items for us well-endowed women, as she wanted to accommodate her customers’ needs. Today I am reviewing two of her DD+ clothing collection dresses – Erica and Carmen! *These dresses were gifted to me by Bolero Beachwear. All opinions are my own! Photos were taken by Nina Tulilahti Photography. *

The Erica dress – named after Erica from the fabulous “Sophisticated Pair”!

Patricia was super excited to send me the dresses as she knew how much I would enjoy styling them with my pinup way! Both of the dresses are full circle style with deep pockets (!!!) so they can definitely be worn with or without a petticoat (I am wearing them with one in each pic), whatever suits your personal style the best. I really enjoyed both of the styles and opted them in basic colours, black and white, which makes them both perfect staples in my wardrobe.

The Erica dress is a 1/2 sleeved wrap-dress style which I loved the most of all Bolero dresses. It comes in a sweet polka dot print, but also in basic black and another, more modern monochrome print. I haven’t owned any polka dots in years which is why I wanted to be a bit nostalgic and try to style them to my current taste. Patricia was so kind to send a couple of different sashes along my dresses, and I paired the Erica with the classic red sash you can see in the pictures. I think it goes perfectly with some red lipstick and a hair flower (from Sophisticated Lady Hairflowers) which look quite Christmassy together!

Carmen dress + the signature black bolero!

The Carmen is a more feisty little number which could easily work as the little black dress in any woman’s wardrobe, especially in the summer. As I live in Finland, I need a cover-up for this particular dress as it’s sleeveless, but luckily Patricia had included a lovely little black bolero in my parcel as well – the perfect pairing with anything sleeveless or even strapless! I rarely wear any boleros actually but find this style particularly flattering and simple enough to please me.

When it comes to the style of Carmen, I would prefer it with some small cap sleeves even, as I am a bit self-conscious about my arms. It’s probably a bit silly as I have worked hard for my biceps (lol!) but I do find them a bit masculine with my pretty dresses. So to conclude, I do like my dresses with sleeves as they soften out my features a bit. However, I can imagine this dress being perfect for anyone who lives in a warmer climate and does not like her armpits getting damp!

When it comes to sizing, I found the dresses to run fairly true-to-size in the waist area. I went for my regular non-vintage-reproduction size (as repro usually runs smaller than high street) Small and was very happy with the result. The Small is perfect for my 28-29″ waist and even though the bust is meant for 36″, I can easily fit my 40″ boobs into it without any fabric pulling or distorting the polka dot print. Both dresses fit similarly and are really easy to get over your head and wear casually. The sleeves of the Erica dress are also roomy enough for my big guns (hehe) and the fabric is overall wonderfully stretchy. As a huge plus,s these dresses feature a reinforced back (an extra layer of fabric at the back part of the dress), meaning your bra bands are less likely to show through (I wore a tight Polish band in the shoot so you need to excuse me!).

What I wear my Bolero dresses most for, is everyday situations when I don’t want the hassle of closing a difficult back zipper or I know that I might get messy at some point. These dresses are really easy to clean, as you can just toss them in a washing machine and even if you spill something over yourself (don’t get me started on ketchup!), these materials are super easy to just rinse clean. I would say, if you work with kids and still want to stay fancy – you really need these dresses in your life! Another upside is that Bolero dresses don’t wrinkle whatsoever, so they are perfect for those active days, even while travelling.

All in all I am very happy with my new Bolero dresses and regard them as a lovely option for anyone with a fuller bust and interest in a more casual pinup style. The Bolero garments are designed and manufactured in USA which adds up the awesomeness of the brand even more.

If you are interested in getting something from Bolero, they are having a sale right at this moment so go and snatch up a lovely wardrobe staple of your own! You can get free shipping and 20% off with a code HOLIDAY20. The Erica dress is now on sale for $140 and the Carmen dress for $120.

What are your go-to clothing brands for a fuller busted figure? Let me know, I am always open to any good tips on how to dress my boobs! xx

DD+ Clothing Review: “Vivi” Dress by Lindy Bop

 
Hiya lovelies! It’s Father’s Day in Finland today and while spending it with my dad and little sister, we decided to take some pics for the blog. My dad had gotten me this dress for my grandpa’s funeral so I wanted to review it for you as well; sorry about the picture quality though, I don’t know how to use my camera yet so it wasn’t focusing properly and it was quite dark outside too. These are the only decent pics and even they are slightly blurry.

But onto the dress! I saw the “Vivi“ dress on Lindy Bop’s Facebook page about a week ago and decided it would be a good choice for my black dress, as I would be needing one very soon in the future. The dress cost only a very affordable £34,99 so it was a no-brainer as I new the delivery would be fast and the dress quite curve-friendly. I was a bit hesitant about the neckline as the bust section was meant for someone with a 34″ bust and mine was about 5″ more than that. I decided to go for size 10 anyway and was happy that I did! The dress was very VERY hard to zip up at first, but after the side zip had loosened up a bit, I could easily zip it up after a few wears.

The waist of the dress fits me perfectly but as I guessed, the bust area was a bit snug and so were the sleeves. I am quite muscular when it comes to my arms so it’s sometimes a bit of hit and miss when it comes to sleeved items – this however, has just the right amount of space even though feeling a bit restrictive at first. Also, you can see a glimpse of my bra from the neckline, as it’s forced to be quite revealing on me. However, I feel like my Ewa Michalak “SM Mgielka” is doing a pretty good job and makes my boobs look nice with the dress style.

With my Vivi dress I’m wearing an old petticoat (quite a pathetic one though…), some hair flowers from H&M and my new Dresslily ankle boots. I am not much of a black-wearing person so I decided add colour with some red shoes and a matching lipstick as they brighten up any outfit. What do you think of the ensemble? xx

October Wishlist – Vintage Reproduction Clothing

Hi everyone! I need to start off the post saying I did not get the job I applied for but was left to silver podium this time. I know I’m not the only one with bad luck when applying for a job but this particular one would have meant the world to me. Not just because it was something to do with lingerie but because I happen to be broke and would have loved to get back living without a care for what I’m going to eat next week. Also I had so many vintage repro dresses and other goodies on my wishlist and now I can only dream of having something new to wear! I have recently found so many new brands I am dying to try so I must let you know guys what I’m lusting after. So here you go!

Sea Nymph Dress by Great British Retro – This is a brand I just found today via Fuller Figure Fuller Bust’s Facebook page. I took a look at their online shop and the clothing is absolutely fantastic with a pretty affordable price tag as well with this particular dress costing a rather reasonable £64. What I loved most about Great British Retro were their lovely quirky prints that absolutely melted my heart!

I took a look at their sizing chart and they would put me in a size 12 accommodating my 28″ waist (yay, got rid of the last half an inch!) and 36″ bust. My bust is actually closer to a 39″ but I have tested out so many brands and come to a conclusion that a 36″ bust room is actually quite enough for me. This can be due to my muscly back which makes my bust measurement a bit (a lot!) bigger than it actually is! I also find that repro brands usually run small as I am now a solid size 10 on high-street. I would love to try GBR sometime in the future and if I get that chance, I will review something for you to determine their fit for curvy figure!

Sally Denim Capris By Collectif – I have been looking for a suitable 50’s style cigarette or denim pants and now I have finally found a great option. I am not a great wearer of trousers but the temperature is getting pretty damn cold here in Finland. And believe me, dresses and stockings do not equal proper winter-wear! There’s already -2 C out there so I def need something pratical that fits my style and the Sally jeans would probably do a pretty good job. With my 28″ and 38″ hips I would probably do great with a size 10 as I find that Collectif runs more true to size than other repro brands. I have reviewed their Phyllis dress here if you want to know more about their fit!

Monte Carlo by Heart of Haute – I originally found this brand and dress through Twitter. I had heard of Heart of Haute before but as it’s a US brand I had not dared to even dream about it. Also, it’s a bit out of my price range with its $145 price tag but a girl can dream right? Besides, if I ever get a chance to try this brand, it’s also sold on a UK online shop called Tatyanna which also sells a few other lovely repro brands including Tatyana Boutique. According to HOH size chart I would be a size Medium so again this brand runs a bit on the smaller side in my opinion.

Sarong Geisha Dress in Pink Bloom by Vivien of Holloway – I have heard a lot of things about Vivien of Holloway but still not had a chance to try them for myself. This particular dress caught my eye on Diablo Rose’s blog as she reviews the dress and looks fantastic in it! I don’t know what size she is wearing but the size chart puts me into a whopping 14. Not a size I would gladly wear as it seems so “off” but VOH seems to be going for the original vintage clothing sizing which is a lot smaller than with today’s high-street brands. I am now super intrigued to try something from them as the brand is definitely something different! This pink Geisha dress would look stunning with my hair and I would be interested to see how it looks on an hourglass figure like mine.

Tara Black Swing Dress by Lindy Bop – The reason I want this dress is really sad and excuse me for including it on my lust list. Though it’s a beautiful dress on its own and would be great stable for my wardrobe I really need this dress for an upcoming funeral. My dear grandpa has been battling cancer for years now and it seems he’s finally making his way to where angels live. I am so sad about this and I’m crying while writing this but I have been preparing for this to happen for so many years that seems he’s only suffering while being here. His state just got worse a few days ago and we have been told not to keep our hopes up.

The Tara dress seems like appropriate choice for a busty girl when attending a funeral. The neckline is modest, the shoulders are covered and the hem reaches below your knees. It’s also a bargain for its £34,99 price tag so if you need a LBD asap for small budget, this is definitely your dress. The one Lindy Bop dress I have tried runs true-to-size so I would most likely be a 10 with Tara as well.

Poppy Floral Dress by Hell Bunny – Last but not least is the brand I have been dying to try for a couple of months now – Hell Bunny! I have known this brand for years but didn’t realize how lovely their vintage repro dresses are until now. To me Hell Bunny has always been brand associated with gothic style more than vintage but now that I have seen more of their designs, I am absolutely smitten. Looking at their size chart I would probably be a 10 with Hell Bunny but as I have not tried them yet, I cannot be 100% sure. Hell Bunny does not have their own online store meaning they only do wholesale and their clothes can be found on various other online shops. I found this particular dress on Tiger Milly and they seem to have a good stock of Hell Bunny so do check them out!

What do you think of the brands listed here? Any positive or negative experiences? Let me know! Also, if you have other favourite vintage reproduction brands, please share them in the comment box! xx