MelodyMae.co.uk » Top Vintage

Happy Saturday, gorgeous people! I hope everyone is okay; yesterday on socials I dedicated to talking about mental health due to Wednesday being Mental Health Awareness Day. Although this post in particular has nothing to do with mental health, it might be worth having a look, especially since I shared some free resources. You can find me on social media platforms here. But how about we get onto happier notes with some Saturday Style?

40s Styling with Top Vintage Boutique!

I have a lot of admiration for people who do 40s style, but I can’t say it’s ever been one I thought I could get away with. I always think of the 1940’s as being a thin person thing. And something I’m not allowed to do. It’s wrong to think that, of course. There’s plenty of plus women wearing, and looking incredible in pre-50’s fashions. It just seemed like it wouldn’t suit me because of my size and shape.

The only way to combat that thinking?

Give it a go! So when I teamed up with Top Vintage Boutique to review an item, it was the perfect time to try a new brand, plus a new style entirely!

The colour of this Geraldine Swing Dress caught my eye instantly. I’ve mentioned I love greens before, but there’s something about this colour that is so perfectly autumnal and beautiful.

The Geraldine Swing dress by Vintage Chic for Top Vintage is actually labelled as a 50s dress. However, I think the bodice and half-volume of the skirt would make it more 40’s, don’t you think? At least, it’s not quite petticoat-level of poof, which I always put down to 40’s styling.

So let’s get down to it, right? I took the 18 in this dress, since the size guide told me that I’d actually fit it! You might know from other posts that I’m generally a pretty standard UK22, so it was surprising.

Honestly, I don’t think this is a great fit for me personally. But that’s my sizing judgement instead of the dress itself, since it’s one roomy size 18! However, as much as I know it’s not a great fit, it’s also not a bad fit. It’s certainly not an unwearable dress by any means!

This is the largest size available in this dress — so I am sorry, my larger darlings! They do have quite a few dresses in sizes 18-24 on their website, though.

My guide for ordering this dress in particular is to go by the bust measurements, instead of the waist as I usually suggest. There’s generous stretch in the Geraldine, which I would put as more of a UK20 than a UK18. But I found the bust to be more constricting than any other part of the dress. It’s not unsightly, of course, but an extra inch or two for boobs would have really been helpful!

This dress is irresistible, however. I mentioned that I loved the colour dearly, and I think its great on me. The first green that doesn’t look Christmassy with my hair, either!

But then there’s the bodice – the neckline has a keyhole and pussy bow effect that is very sweet. However, the keyhole neckline is just a touch lower than 40’s styling – so a little décolletage may just peek through!

Top Vintage Boutique’s shipping is great, considering they’re based in The Netherlands. The dress turned up neatly packaged in a branded box only three days later from when I ordered. They ship to the UK and USA for FREE, too, so there’s no reason to not pick up some Top Vintage Exclusives!

The best part about trying new clothing styles is that I can also try new hairstyles alongside it! I don’t do much more with it than my usual pageboy style, but I just about got this fluffy half-poodle to work for me. I used Cherry Dollface’s tutorial, and for a first go it’s not so bad. Definitely need some more volume, though!