Summer Wedding

Last June we attended my (now officially) siblings-in-law wedding.
To be more specific, it was my husband’s sister wedding.
So big event, and great chance for putting an outfit together.

From the beginning, I wanted something yellow.
It was probably the worst colour I could have chosen. It was impossible to find something that I liked and that it was not too acid for my skin tone.

I then opened my span and just looked for something that I liked, no matter the colour.
I liked some, but I did not love them.
I then put my eye on this:

 

Hepburn Seville dress in forest green

Hepburn Seville dress in mint

I first loved the forest green, but there was a protocol problem. So I thought maybe the mint is a really good option. And even better for summer.

I ordered it from The Pretty Dress Company. I was so excited. When it arrived, I tried it on and everything changed.
Firstly, I would need a size more, because it was extremely small according to the measurements. And second and decisive, it was too thick for a summer wedding.
The print was beautiful, the structure is great, and the fabric is really good quality.

I decided not to go for this dress, for its thickness and sleeve. It is really hot here in summer and I didn’t want to be a sweaty beauty that day.

Out of desperation, I went to a couple of dressmakers to see the options and the possible price. I went to the same place where I got my own wedding dress made, and they showed me some fabrics which made my original idea of yellow possible again.
This was around February, so I was supossed to go back on March/April to get it made.

I kept looking aroud in every shop I found, just in case.
For the Easter break I went to Zaragoza to visit my mom and family and we decided to take a chance there as well.
And I found it.

 

I would have never chosen such a pale colour for myself, but my mom insisted that I tried it on. Listen to your mothers.
So this dress had several great things:

• It was pink and pale, so completely out of my expectations.
• It had turquoise on it, which I love.
• The neckline was absolutely beautiful.
• It had volume so I didn’t need a petticoat.
• It had support so I didn’t need a bra.
  It is the first time in my life I go out without a bra.

Once I got the dress, the accesories kept on coming one after the other.

I went in search for shoes. I cannot stand heels, and the world doesn’t understand that, so I never know what to expect when I need to buy shoes for special ocassions.
There was some variety but the majority was patent-leather or suede/velvety.
I then found some acceptable heel in a lovely colour.

I was really lucky with the handbag. My aunt (and godmother) came to visit in April and surprised me with this present.

Another colour option I wouldn’t have picked myself. I would have probably gone for turquoise. But this is pretty neutral and it works. And also the dress has some taupe details, so it was perfect.

While visiting Madrid, I entered one jewelry shop just to take a look. And I found this.

When you find the perfect thing, just stop looking.

So the basics were done. Now I just had to figure out what the hell to do with my hair.
I didn’t want to risk it to doing it myself. So my mum and I went to a friend’s salon.
And she took my fine, shitty, one-inch-below-the-ear long hair and made this.

I danced, it rained, and it stayed intact till I got home.

As it usually happens (to me at least), I didn’t take enough photos, or proper ones, as we were more focused on being on time or having fun. But here you have the best I have been able to recollect.

 

Photographer: Javier Berenguer

My dapper man and me

Mom, brother and me

 

This is your face when you get mentioned in the toast.

 

 

Photographer: Javier Berenguer

Dress: Pilita (Zaragoza, Spain)
Shoes: Ángel Alarcón
Stockings: What Katie Did
Clutch: Abbacino
Hairpiece: Zumay Tocados y Tiaras
Earrings: Bijou Brigitte
Hair & Makeup: Peluquería Pilar Francés
Sunglasses: Primark

Husband’s Blazer: El Ganso
Brother’s suit: Mango
Men’s grooming: Oh Lord Barbershop

 

Pin-Up Style: Origins

Committing to a specific style is always complicated.

Specially if it is not standard.

Specially if your body is not standard.

Specially if you live in a country where it is hardly accessible if not through the Internet.

Specially if you live in a country where you cannot try to be extravagant or everyone will look at you as if you were crazy.

Moreover, if the style requires certain infrastructure, and you live in the Hell Mouth, the thing gets interesting.

But as I said at the beginning, committing.

For two years, I’ve been focusing gradually towards this style. And I don’t mean typical Rockabilly Pin-Up black and red with flowers and all that, but a larger one including 1950s style.

It all began in 2015.I was about to say on my friend Silvia’s wedding, but it may be on my own wedding.

I will not bore you with the details of picking and making my dress, maybe in another post.

I will just say that I found a style that I really liked and I think it flatters me, so I married in a 50s style, mid length and full skirt.

That same year, my friend Silvia got married in a similar style and, established that the dress code for her wedding should be a 50s Pin-Up style.

So, looking for dresses, I found several websites related to this style, and I saw myself prancing with joy.

We also discovered a little shop in the city centre where we could find this kind of clothes. Many of the guests got their outfits there.

I had mine already picked online, but I did buy the petticoat there.

       Dress from Lindy Bop, bought online.              Petticoat from Lindy Bop, bought at Petita Valero.

 In the process of searching the dress for my friend’s wedding, I went two or three times to Petita Valero, to try on some similar styles as well as the petticoat.

In one of those visits, I had a revelation. It was that kind of day when you woke up at 4am, worked your shift, your hair is dirty and your make up is melted.

So I entered the shop to find this.

«Today we had a visit from Miss Ginger Tulips, Marjoleen, a Pin Up blogger we love. She fell in love with these two dresses and are they incredible on her. It’s been a pleasure to see you again, thanks for your visit!»

I went through the shop feeling like an old rag (to put it nicely). There I was with my t-shirt, jeans, trying on my petticoat over that, and that girl who looked like she was someone from Mad Men telling me how nice it was.

That same day I started following her on Instagram, and like her, some others I kept finding.

And little by little I discovered that a lot of people dress like that every day. And I loved it.

It requires a budget, I won’t deny it. You have to build a whole new wardrobe.

So from my humble humbleness, I lurked through the websites, fantasising, until December came and the sales with it. And I took the step and made an order.

One after the other.

But that would be another post.