Thursday, October 6, 2016

One Top Three Ways: Lavender Vamp Top

Sometimes my sister and I speak in TV-Tropes shorthand to each other, which confuses anyone we happen to be around. (If you've never visited TV Tropes…make sure you have a couple of hours to kill before you check it out! It's an endless link-clicking, new-tab-opening wormhole of Wikipedia-level  proportions.) The Vamp top from Pinup Girl Clothing, like its close relative the Vamp dress, is a prime sartorial example of Exactly What It Says on the Tin: putting the shirt on turns the wearer into Jessica Rabbit.

As someone who's only embraced pastels recently, I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to work this lovely lavender hue into my wardrobe, so I figured I'd give it the ol' One Piece, Three Ways treatment and see how it went. As it turns out, this shirt is super versatile!

lavender vamp top pinup girl tiki little jun orchid jenny
Outfit #1
modcloth pastel striped skirt
Somebody give this lady an ice-cream cone!
Finally, an outfit that actually works with my old blush Gap flats!

As soon as I heard the lavender Vamp was restocking, I imagined this outfit and prayed that the lavender of the skirt would match the top. I've worn this skirt with pink a few times, and am planning to wear it to work with my blue PUG Carole top and a white cardigan, but I think I actually like it best with lavender. Bonus: the top is also a perfect match to my purse!

Outfit #2
pinup girl clothing purple orchid print

Jenny dresses are a bit long in the bodice for my 5'2" frame, but this print was too pretty to pass up, and it didn't come in a swing skirt. The obvious solution to my swing-skirt-loving conundrum: wear the dress as a skirt, slap a belt over the whole thing, and call it a very successful day! I love how green and purple look together, and the Vamp top picks up the lightest shades of purple in this print. Add a stack of multicolored sparkly bangles and boom: instant win.

pinup girl clothing orchid print jenny

Since Jenny dresses have boning in the bodice, I generally like to slip a petticoat in between the folded-under bodice and the skirt when wearing them like this. I find that adding the petticoat helps to disguise the lines from the boning and keep things looking smooth. One day, I'll get around to having this dress deboned, but in the meantime, a petticoat will do!

Outfit #3
Pinup girl mint tiki little jun

In my third outfit, I've once again embraced pastels by pairing the Vamp with my mint tiki Little Jun skirt. I further tiki-fied the outfit with a stack of bamboo bangles, a lovely giant pink hair flower from Daisy Jean, and, um, my Atomic Lucite stormtrooper brooch. (What do you mean, stormtroopers aren't tiki?)


I love how the tiki print looks with the lavender of the top, but I'm not sure if I like how short-waisted this outfit makes me look. I mean, I am short-waisted, but I don't need to advertise that fact! I thought about breaking it up with a wide black belt, but it looked a bit too start against all the pastel of this outfit. In any case, this skirt is comfortable and has enormous pockets, so I think I can deal with my miniature torso until I figure out what color belt to wear with this combination!

It really doesn't get much more versatile than a solid-colored top that fits like a dream, so there are plenty of other ways to wear this. I keep meaning to pair it with my Paris Jenny, for example, as well as my aqua circle skirt, and it would also look amazing tucked into jeans, with black or pinstriped pants, the spiderweb Little Jun/Jenny skirts, paired with pastel yellow (for that subtle nod to the Lakers), and with the upcoming Halloween skirt from the Oblong Box Shop. If you'd rather be a bit more covered up, PUG's famed peasant top also comes in this exact shade of lavender.

Which of these looks is your favorite? I'm partial to the second one, myself.

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3 comments:

  1. OMG so much cuteness but this top rocks with that rainbow ModCloth skirt. It's cotton candy perfection!

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  2. That lavender vamp & your rainbow skirt & lavender purse is such a perfectly matching outfit, and I think few people appreciate a perfectly matching outfit more than me, ha! That top just looks so great on you. I hope the lavender peasant top is the same shade of lavender as this vamp top, so that it'll match my rainbow skirt, too!

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  3. They're all really lovely but I love the ModCloth skirt pairing the best! That skirt is screaming for purple and I need to style it in more purple next time I wear it, ha! XO

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