Swing it!

As colder weather sets in, you might find yourself reaching for trousers and tighter skirts, sighing as you pack away all your beautiful and playful swing skirts, leaving perhaps only one or two special occasion dresses.
We used to do that for years, until it occurred to us- why shouldn't winter be a swinging season? After all, we wear our wiggle dresses with opaque tights and boots, what's to stop us from doing the same with our swing dresses?  This year we decided to keep our swing dresses where they belong, and paired them with strong, bold colours to chase away the winter gloom.

Hot cakes features one of our favourite dresses, and the moment we thought about the perfect match for it, we knew everything had to be hot pink!  Yum!

This next dress just made us think of mint-crisp winter mornings and hot orange tea our grandma used to make. We added spicy tights and and a fresh cardigan, but we kept the booties a little more sensible, so grandma won't disapprove ;)

But it's not just dresses that have that special swing to them! Skirts can be just as versatile and just as comfy to wear in the winter!  A gentle pink can be paired with greys for a romantic wintry feel without going into drab colouring or looking too childish.  We added bolder pink makeup to this pastel coloured skirt and mixed our shades of grey to give the outfit a grown up, sophisticated feel.

It usually takes us a bit of time until we fall in love with Lady Winter all over again.  But when we rediscover our love, we like to celebrate it! You'll be a proper Ice Queen in this black and icy blue outfit,  but the hot red lips hint at the burning fires beneath your cool exterior!

How do you feel about winter? Do you prefer to spend it  with a hot drink by the fireplace, or are you out chasing snow flakes?

Celebrate Black Friday Early

Rockabilly Pinup has decided to celebrate Black Friday early!  Jump the queue and get 30% off everything using Coupon Code BLACKFRIDAYBLOG at checkout.  The coupon code is valid until midnight Sunday 29 November 2015.

Model VenusMantrap by Marija Buljeta Photography.

Dotty about dots

The polka-dot pattern is one of the staples of rockabilly and vintage wardrobe. It is both cute and sassy, playful and sophisticated. It can be whatever you want it to be. It is no wonder, therefore that the popularity of the pattern survived centuries and spread across the continents.

But one of its downsides is that sometimes it can look like you are trying too hard to fit the stereotype, or it can make your outfit look like a dress-up costume, especially when it comes to vintage or rockabilly wardrobes.

We have taken four dresses in this beloved pattern, and gave them a twist:

My business is none of yours takes a black and red wiggle dress and makes it office ready with a smart suit jacket, playful kitten heels and a black scarf with a red and white print. We added simple black earrings and matched the lipstick and nail polish to the iPad case.

Sugared flower is what happens when we feel extra dainty. The black and pink dress is paired with classical t-strap heels and a gentle pink cardigan. The only nod to modern style are the double sided pearl earrings, which also bring the outfit from the sweet into the sophisticated.

The Autumn Mistress on the other hand, is a bold, almost aggressive combination.  The black and red dress, the smear of red lipstick mirrored in the earrings and the scarf, the hat, the extravagant belted cape, all speak of a confident woman. We borrowed from the fetish archetypes- long leather gloves and high stiletto heels, to make heads turn and hearts beat just a little bit faster as you pass them on the street.

And sometimes you just want to with the (almost) classics. The iconic black and white polka-dot dress got a bit of a lift, and not only by adding a petticoat.  We added shades of silver and glitter to the makeup and accessories  to give it an extra spark, and kept the lipstick nude to draw all attention to the eyes.

Don't forget you can also view all our sets in detail on our Polyvore page!
We'd also love to hear from you about your favourite polka dot combinations!