**Please Note: since the release of this review, it has been drawn to my attention that Retro Stage has been engaging in unethical practices. Customers have not been receiving their orders and all attempts at corespondance has fallen on deaf ears. Furthermore, pinups have had their photos used to promote a dress of Retro Stage despite the original dress being from a different brand. I am now aware that they are using stolen images and even captions to promote their brand which I find unacceptable. Despite being contacted about their actions, Retro Stage has done nothing to change this and the issues continue. I will be leaving my original review up but just wanted to add this note.

Read Part One here.

Now that the dust has settled from all the excitement of the previous Retro Stage review, it’s time to share the second and final installment. Just incase you need reminding, Retro Stage is an online brand who sell vintage replicas at affordable prices. They can be really great when you first dip your toe into the waters of dressing pinup so they can be worth checking out if you’re interested. In this review, I move more towards a golden glamour look which was an awful lot of fun to shoot.
Photos by Angie Delarie Pinup Photography 

Note: This is not a paid/sponsored post. All opinions expressed are honest, solely my own and not influenced in any way. 

As always, lets just straight into this review with the dress; this is the Apricot 1920s Sequin Maxi Dress. Much like it’s previously review counterpart, the dress is styled in a flattering 1920’s silhouette, is full length and heavily adorned with sequence and sparkles. The bodice has a v-neck cut and thick strap sleeve, the dress itself fit me really well (ordered a small and there was still room to move) and I was surprised that it was quite flattering even though I was having an Endo day. The dress is made from a stretchy synthetic blend with an overlayer of sheer fabric to which the sequence is attached to. There is an invisible side zip and beautiful flaring on the skirt which swishes whilst you walk. The dress is available in sizes small to xxLarge which is great as I can see this suiting many different occasions.

Upon receiving this dress and doing an inspection of it, there were several loose threads and beads coming off the dress which I had to fix up (in fear that it would just keep dropping sparkles and ruin the design) but the biggest flaw was a hole in the side of the dress. I completely forgot to take a photo of it but it was only minor and a quick fix with my needle and thread. For the price, these are minor adjustments and the dress really does have a wow factor. Once again, this dress is not 100% historically accurate so if you’re going for an exact replica, this is not the dress for you but if you want a fun Gatsby outfit, this is perfect.

To complete the look, I decided to go a different direction than the quintessential 1920’s accessories featured in my previous blog. Instead, I paired this dress with the 1920s Shawl Beaded Sequin Flapper Cape in beige. I’m not going to lie, I loved this cape straight away; I think capes can add just that extra zing of glamour and it was perfect with this dress. The cape comes in a one-size fits most kind of deal but is availale in several different colours meaning it’ll suit lots of different outfits. I went with beige as I thought it would most suit the creamy tones in the dress. I was right, it went perfect and I loved showing off the capes styling. The cape itself has sits perfectly on the shoulders and closes with a hook at the top front seam. There’s a really beautiful zig zag hem and the entire cape is adorned with sparkles and sequence.
The only thing I really needed to do to this cape was trim the hem as sometimes the beading would finish short of the material so by trimming back the material, it just looked cleaner. There was a loose thread of two but nothing else major. I think this is my favourite item out of the whole collaboration and in the future I see myself getting another cape in a different colour.

Final Thoughts
If you want historical accuracy, then sorry, your princess is in another castle. But if you want a budget-friendly costume for a Gatsby or 1920’s themed party, than Retro Stage is where you go. They have so many great designs and the items are a pretty good representation of what’s on the website. Apart from a few loose threads here and there, there wasn’t anything wrong with any of the items that couldn’t be fixed in under five minutes.

I had a lot of fun styling and doing this shoot. My hair was curled the night before, and as this way the second photo shoot of the day, the curls had dropped a little since the first brush out but i simply tucked the curls to the back of my head to give myself a faux bob. My eye make up was my normal go-to vintage eye but I added tones of plum and purple with a hint of gold. For my lips, I drew on a smaller lip shape using ‘Vintage’ from Lola Von Rose. It was great getting to use a darker makeup pallet and this sort of costume is a great excuse to do some fun new things.

I loved shooting with Angie and we shared many silly moments and laughs in between shots. If you’d like to, Angie is going through some recovery after her cancer removal so go and support her by buying one of her calendars or booking a shoot. She’s so much fun to work with and you’re bound to have a great time. Visit her website or Facebook for more details. She has so many exciting new projects and shoots coming up, it’s worth giving her a ‘follow’ on her instagram too. Oh, and you’ll also get to see behind the scenes from this shoot and much more tomfoolery from yours truly too!

Credits:
Photographer: Angie Delarie Pinup Photography
Outfit: Apricot 1920s Sequin Maxi Dress
Accessory: 1920s Shawl Beaded Sequin Flapper Cape in beige
Shoes: Thrifted
Hair: styled with Poison Apple
Lipstick: Lola Von Rose ‘Vintage’