All things bright and beautiful

On this occasion Laura Ashley made them all. While it's not quite spring, my latest purchase for Make Me Pretty Shop is so bright and beautiful that I couldn't help but share it with you early.

1980's Laura Ashley Vintage Dress

A canary yellow and white Breton / candy stripe dress with original buttons and coordinating waist tie, just add a wicker basket and you'd be in competition with the Easter Bunny for super cute status.

This vintage lovely is a 1950's reproduction - one of today's most popular categories - but is actually one of Laura Ashley's 1980's designs - the giveaway is the label.

Courtesy of Vintage Fashion Guild

The brand's labels have evolved over the decades, making them easy to date.

The label on this dress holds the green circle, font and floral spray, with 'made in Great Britain' stitched underneath.

If you're unsure if you've found a genuine piece or of its age, check out the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource. 

Another helpful guide for specifically buying vintage Laura Ashley is Style Me Vintage author Naomi Thompson's blog. 

Her top tip for buying vintage? Look for quality items with an instantly recognisable design heritage that will retain their wearability, value and levels of demand; Laura Ashley certainly fits the bill. 

This bright little number is currently being offered for a beautiful pre-sale price on my Facebook page, where my fans get first refusal before items hit my Etsy store. 

For other vintage gems and handmade crafts sign up for my newsletter or get social.

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Love Lisa x

80s child seeks 50s love

Today I'm carry on with the 50s theme, inspired by Make Me Pretty Shop's #fridaysfrock.

In their book "Style Me Vintage" Thompson et al describe the 1950s as a decade of reawakening, rebellion, discovery and progress. If I had to pick my favourite era, in terms of clothing, for me it would be the 50s - the time of doo-wop, bebop, cool jazz, blues and the emergence of Rock 'n' Roll.

There are several reasons why clothing in the 50s does it for me, but the main one is that it was truly the decade of the hourglass figure - hooray for us curvy girls! Thanks to voluptuous, smouldering movie sirens like Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren, the female shape was something to be admired.

#fridaysfrock 1950s style

The shape of the 50s was the contrast of a tiny waist with rounded hips in a pencil or full skirt.

Daytime shopping lists would have included: beaded cardigans, tie blouses, bright floral patterns, bobby socks, saddle shoes and short gloves. Fabrics were big and bold and so too were novelty prints like the poodle trend.

Evening attire on the other hand, would have been brocade, tripe rows of pearls, long gloves, boned strapless bodices, layers of petticoats, fur stoles or wraps and ornate little clutch bags. Underwear was key here girls to make the most of your assets and nip in that waist!

Teddy girls from Flickr

The 50s also responsible for the introduction of denim being worn as a casual and acceptable daytime look for men and women. They were seen as rebellious - think James Dean or Teddy girls - they made a statement and thankfully still play a large part in our wardrobes even now.

Souvenirwear and novelty jewellery was also popular - painted basket bags from Mexico, cat's eye sunglasses in an array of different colours, bright print head scarfs, bamboo earrings and wedge mules.

All in all the 50s had it all - it was full of femine, fun and fitted clothing to make the most of what you had, as well as rebellious and more casual looking styles. It had the music, the movie stars, the drive-ins, and even the rollar skates for goodness sake! 

Yes, I may be an 80s child, but for me it's all about the 50s.

Ta ta for now x