Bye Bye Bourbon And Bras!

You may or may not know, but Bourbon and Bras is actually about six years old by now. 

Did I mention bloopers? I got bloopers.

I know, SIX?! Set up in 2011, I initially used it to document what was going on in my life whilst I was at university studying fashion design. I had an unhealthy interest in lingerie and was planning on being a lingerie designer/maker once I finished university. 

Of course, I never finished university and my dreams of making lingerie for a living died once I realised I couldn't make a bra. So Bourbon and Bras became my sewing blog, and later sewing, style and the odd bit of lifestyle and travel posts.

But to be honest with you? I haven't felt like Bourbon and Bras was a good fit for me and the blog for a long time. I've been toying with the idea of renaming my blog for roughly three years, but either I couldn't decide on a name or it was the wrong time or any number of excuses.

So I took a plunge, bought myself a domain and spent the last few months manually migrating EVERY. BLOODY. POST. to Wordpress. Which means I'm moving on up in the world... or at least to my new site;

Not much will change, other than you'll stop seeing posts under Bourbon and Bras, and instead will see them on MelodyMae.co.uk! I'll still be rather crap at updating regularly, I'll still swear through posts and I'll still try and create interesting content you might like.

So, my darlings, thank you for following me on this blog journey so far, and I really hope you'll follow me over at MelodyMae.co.uk for more ridiculousness. Remember you can follow the new blog on Bloglovin, see my daily antics on Instagram and check what I'm into on Pinterest. There's the Facebook too, of course! And head over to the new blog to say hi!

Goodbye Bourbon and Bras, it's been swell! xxx

Museum Wandering At The V&A

Well hey there guys! How are we all doing? Last weekend a good friend of mine was in London and we went on a little museum adventure. We hit the Tate Modern to check out the new building on the Saturday, and on the Sunday we ventured into the V&A.

I wore this sample Lindy Bop dress that the ultra-babe Bethany gave to me (perks of having friends in high places ;) ) back in May because it's my favourite. I wish they had more in this style - it's so comfortable! The 60's style boat neck also features little bows on the sleeves, which is my favourite feature.

The V&A has the best fashion exhibition on for free, spanning five centuries and featuring a few of my favourite things. This 1700s Court Mantua leaves me speechless every time! First of all, the sheer size of the thing is gorgeous insanity. Then there's the craftsmanship of the fabric itself with it's metallic embroidery.
Also - SLEEVES.

Corsetry has fascinated me since I was young. These early 16/1700s stays are no exception! The bottom stay is probably my favourite historical corset of all time. It might not be the most supportive, but you have to love how it looks!

I'm a real sucker for bows on sleeves, evidently!

This Schiaparelli necklace is SO my thing! I'm on the lookout for plastic pinecones to make my own version for autumn, I love it that much.

There's so much at the V&A that it's impossible to look through all of it in one day, let alone post about it! But these are some of my favourite pieces. Have you been before?

Necklace&Bangles; Vintage
Dress; Lindy Bop (sample)
Brooch; Luxulite
Bag; Zatchels
Shoes; Rocket Originals

A Pin Up Picnic... In A Bar!

Every year, The British Belles put on a little meet in London of pin ups and vintage style lovers. The original was named Pin Up Picnic In The Park - since it was pin ups... in a park. But sadly we're British and rain moved the event from Hyde Park to cocktails at Barrio Shoreditch. And so it was a Pin Up Picnic.. In A Bar!!

I always have big ideas about making special themed outfits for events like these, since they're a great excuse for real dressing up. The problem with that idea, though, is I'm too lazy and busy to do that, and I end up picking out whatever is clean on the morning of.

I ended up picking up my Check, Please! dress, because in my world, gingham is a neutral. I made this dress in 2013 and it's the only one from my early sewing that I still wear!

It's been so long since I went to any sort of event that I feel like I've forgotten how to socialise! I spent a lot of my time with my housemate Ellie outside sheltering from the rain.

But don't think that I didn't have fun! Barrio Shoreditch was a great, colourful venue that was the perfect backdrop for cocktails and meeting friends old and new. Plus, there was a lot of tips about hair being thrown around - and I love hair tips!

I've mentioned my anxiety before, but I was wondering if you guys deal with it and any tips and tricks? I need to push myself to go to more events, but that pesky anxiety really gets in the way!

I know I've posted about The George bag before, but it's still my absolute favourite designs we do. I'd suggest grabbing a George item now if you've wanted one. The line is being discontinued! We do have a new pub design on pre-order, if you do miss out.

Hair Flower&Necklace; Handmade
Cardigan; Collectif (old)
Dress; Handmade
Brooch; Luxulite
Bag; Vendula London
Shoes; Melissa

I Carried A Watermelon With Lindy Bop

I love a novelty print. Actually, I BLOODY LOVE a novelty print. And right now, there's one brand killing it on the novelty front; Lindy Bop! I've posted a few of my favourite novelty prints from them before, and I'm always in awe of the quality. So I jumped at the chance to review the Lindy Bop Bambi Dress - in Watermelon Pip Print!

Surprisingly for some, I don't often wear red dresses for fear of clashing against my hair, but I just fell in love with this print. Unlike other watermelon prints, it's just the flesh and pips, which I think makes it unique. It also reminds me of some abstract art, so it makes me feel just a liiiittle bit cultured!

I also generally steer clear of orange-based reds because of the hair and skin tone. However, I don't think this looks bad at all? Oooh, that means I've gone and learned something about myself.

The Bambi Dress is a cute little sundress with a sweetheart neckline, elasticated waist and back, and side seam pockets. I'll say off the bat - this runs LARGE. I usually wear a 22 in Lindy Bop, and I'm wearing an 18 in this dress, but could easily go down to a 16. I always end up talking about my boobs when reviewing, but being less-busty means the straps are a bit loose for me. 

The elasticated waist is a great design point, but can end up a bit too blousy in the bodice if you don't size down. My sizing suggestion is; go one size down from your usual Lindy Bop size if you're busty. Two sizes down if you're less busty. Three sizes down for a much more fitted look.

It's funny how recently I'm less inclined to dress up because of anxiety - I've always dressed 'weird' or 'outlandish' since a young age. I've got one hell of a hard shell because of this, and although it's been a long time since I've had any comments, it's been a bit difficult to be looked at so much.

Also funny because I decided to take all my photos in a busy London park by myself, which really opens you up to questions, looks and people taking photos. How on earth do anxious bloggers do this all the time?!

But hey, aside from anxiety - how cute is the Biscuit Shop Grab Bag from Vendula London?

Wearing black with this dress was my attempt to almost tone it down because it's a real in-your-face colour, but the white bag brings out those white accents and I kinda love it. I'd love to wear this with green, too, to up the Watermelon realness! 

Buuuuut godamnit this dress is comfy, and if we ever have the sun back I'm going to wear it all summer! 

Hair Flower; Handmade
Brooch; Luxulite
Bangles; Splendette
Dress; C/O Lindy Bop (Disclaimer)
Bag; Vendula London (Disclaimer)
Shoes; Yours Clothing 

Something White, Something Blue With Dolly and Dotty

Red is clearly my favourite colour - but I have a lot of love for blues! And there's something about blue and white that really just grabs me every time. So I was so excited to be offered this Dolly And Dotty Annie Dress in Blue Floral to review!

Dolly and Dotty is a relatively new company in the vintage reproduction game that came to my attention a year or so ago. Their ethos is to create vintage inspired designs in modern fits for an affordable price. So I hope this is helpful for those of you also interested in the quality!

Dolly And Dotty have joined a lot of brands with having sizing from 6-24, which I find wonderful, personally. Their size guide put me between the 20 and 22, which is my usual sizing in most brands. However! I will suggest at least in the Annie style to size down. I was sent a 22 to review, but I'm wearing an 18 here, which is the perfect size for me.

I've mentioned a few times before that I have a small bust for my size, and I have bottom-heavy breasts. This is important to know and keep in mind because a larger or fuller bust would need a larger size than I took. Also because of the bottom-heavy breasts issue, I find a lot of these high-neck bodices gape. This is an issue on all brands, but as you can see in the above photo I've got quite a gap going on under my hand! There's no real way of rectifying the issue outside of popping in a dart or avoiding the bodice style, though - so don't take that into consideration with the overall fit.

The dress' fabric is a cotton blend with a small amount of stretch, and the print is clear and vibrant. The Annie is a summer dress and isn't lined, but there is no worry of showing off your underwear! The fabric is just thick enough to keep those undergarments hidden.

It's a real beaut of a dress, to be honest with you. I prefer pleating over gathering in skirts, since there's no extra volume on the stomach/hips. This dress is perfect for that! The waist seam comes a little lower than my natural waist, so if you're tall this is for you.

I think the only downside is there's no pockets!

Now you've heard my thoughts on this dress - and Dolly And Dotty have so many designs and patterns to choose from! We'd love you to try them out - and if you use the code SPONSOREDBYD&D you can even get a cheeky 10% off!

• Necklace; Vintage
• Dress; C/O Dolly and Dotty (Disclaimer)
• Hair Flower; Handmade
• Brooch; Luxulite
• Bag; Vintage
• Bangles; Splendette