I have been asked to do a review on a party outfit by
Very.co.uk; the
Holly Willoughby contrast dress with cummerbund detail, the
Love Label Lavish frill suede platform shoes and the
French Connection fabric quilted bag. Well who would say no to that?
Arriving just in time and colour-wise, white and blue, the outfit is perfect for the independence day of Finland, today, December 6th! (Although the color combination actually is white-blue-black, which really makes me dressed up in the colors of Estonia but let's not get picky here. Plus I'm a quarter estonian anyway so...)
The Holly dress is far more fancy than on the pic in the online store! It's a dress for fine occasions. The material feels good. The fit is alright, but I am, as always, between sizes - what fits my behind and does not stretch over the shoulders is once again too big in the waist. I might reach for my sewing machine on this one, but so far it was easily adjusted by taking the waist in with a large sequined safety pin in the back; just folding the belt and fastening. Otherwise I have to admit I think this dress would gain on having the belt removed, or the cummerbund could rather be in horizontal pleats like the tuxedo cummerbund, smoother, more plain. Sometimes less is more, and the waist would appear smaller if it wasn't for the belt.
But sometimes more is more and just right! The shoes are over the top - in a good, delicious way. Very burlesque. I love the blue color! I chose blue since I thought red might be too, hmm,
obvious somehow. (And like my boyfriend said, a bit 'too sexy' perhaps.) Plus everybody needs a pair of blue suede shoes, right? These shoes also come in grey which I think would be the most perfect for this dress - and otherwise too - but there are only big sizes left. So if you have bigger feet, go for it! I normally prefer shoes with a slightly thicker heel for the sense of comfort and everyday usage, but these are still alright to wear due to the platform. These will be swell for burlesque nights and shows!
The bag is the exact same color as the shoes! I think most shoulder bags get a fancier look when worn as a clutch so for this outfit I have put the chain strap in the bag.
Now what? The Finnish independence day is quite a serious celebration and no carnival. So fancy dinner and then the president's independence ball on TV.
PS. there is a discount over at
Very which lasts tomorrow still; 3 items for the price of 2!
Photos by Frej Linna
I am now very happy to announce that one lucky reader will win a Iittala Aalto vase! If you could ever have only one vase it should definitely be this one, as the Aalto vase is such a classic design piece. I think every home should have one - I had one too, a special edition one actually, which I got from my parents for my graduation. My cats broke it within two weeks. A sad story yes, but- back to the good news again: the vase you can win is a classic large clear one, and all you have to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post!
The thing with layering, not the layering thrifty fashionistas do when they pair dresses tops and cadris, but the one that will keep you from freezing, is to have a lot of them - the layers- keeping tight but not being stuffed or unable to move. That will make you colder actually. You might want to add another pair of socks or leg warmers, and perhaps a long sleeved blouse under that cardi too, depends. (Oh damn it takes so long to get dressed in the morning!)
But we're quite not done yet:
They say the cold will last for two months still. If that's the case this is what I'll look like everyday for two months then. Versatility, yey!
I'm wearing birght red and gold Christmas flowers in my hair that I got from Rascal. Aren't they just perfect for the season?
The 'do is a variation and slightly more difficult version of the basic chignon I do with a roll; rolling my hair in pin-curls, fastening them standing, not flat. I normally lay them a little more sideways so that the swirl will show, but this time they are pretty much just rolled straight upwards and fastened. You can make the hair do the other way around too, rolling the curls downwards. That's a fun making-long-hair-short look. But more on that some other time :)
First of all, we are going to throw a great night at Storyville on Friday! Sotryville is ranked as one of the best jazz clubs in Europe and we will present some new numbers there!
On New Years Eve I will load my last ship with my hair pin curled (that's the thing with work like that, it happens every day no matter whan celebration or holiday it is...) and then do my make up in the car while heading from Helsinki to Tampere for the New Year Burlesque Extravaganza. E and I intend to do a lot of swing dancing after the show; Sweet Jeena and her Lazy lions are playing. We've performed with Jeena's rockabilly ensemble some times before, but she also does great swing. A very talented lady indeed.
Tinkerbell and I will perform in between to great bands on January 5th at Lepakkomies. Look out for the surprise guest!
I have bought myself a pair of winter boots. 
They feel quite robust compared to what I normally wear so I wasn't sure at first but then again they are winter boots , they are supposed to be a bit heavy. And they're still rather slim on the foot plus have a nice firm heel. Makes me think of old school skiing boots!
The Holly dress is far more fancy than on the pic in the online store! It's a dress for fine occasions. The material feels good. The fit is alright, but I am, as always, between sizes - what fits my behind and does not stretch over the shoulders is once again too big in the waist. I might reach for my sewing machine on this one, but so far it was easily adjusted by taking the waist in with a large sequined safety pin in the back; just folding the belt and fastening. Otherwise I have to admit I think this dress would gain on having the belt removed, or the cummerbund could rather be in horizontal pleats like the tuxedo cummerbund, smoother, more plain. Sometimes less is more, and the waist would appear smaller if it wasn't for the belt.
it's time to take out the November roses,
and put up the December star.
( I may be one week after schedule but hey, better late than never :)
The dress is my fourth and last in the series of dresses to easily dress up and down. (Notice how good I am at linking myself here today :P) It's also from Barbara Brown, the only one which did not fit perfectly without some slight altering:
I had to open and take in the seam in the waist a bit since it got strangely puffy there.It was a bit to loose around the shoulders so I added a satin ribbon in the back, tying it into a bow to avoid the dress slipping off. You know I like fixing my dresses with ribbons.
