Dressing up for Summer

So summer looks like it is here and I've decided that this summer I'm going to try and look a bit less scruffy and get dressed up a bit more often. So today I went looking for handmade summer dresses to help me spruce up my wardrobe. I found so many gorgeous frocks I just had to share a few with you.

This cute little dress for all you people with lovely long legs is from 3 am Poems. It's just so much fun and would look great at the beach but equally great dressed up with some jewellery at a party.

I have made no secret of my love of the clothes Malam makes and this dress is one of her best. Firstly it's orange and I love orange and secondly it has a pixie hood and swirly skirt. I would be in dress heaven wearing this.

Now this dress from Llynfi is very different from the 2 above. It's simple stylish lines are beautiful and the hemp fabric will keep you cool even on the hottest day. This hemp fabric is very environmentally friendly and was made in Bali by skilled weavers who have been fairly paid for their work, so all in all this dress is green and a fair trade item. Great!

The Pirate Pixie in me just made me feature this dress from Funki Pixi Clothing. I love the various lengths of the hem and the way the skirt flares out at the bottom. It would be great fun to hula hoop in this dress. The colour is like a clear summer sky at noon. It's just gorgeous!

This pretty dress is just perfect for a summer wedding on the lawn of a Stately Home or Posh hotel, or maybe for a posh picnic at the regatta. TooHoi's simple lines dress with bold pattern really does scream at me stylish summer gathering.

If none of these dresses are quite your style do go and do a search for 'Handmade Summer Dress' on any of the usual handmade market place sites and you will find so many beautiful dresses. Just be sure you have a good hour's time to be looking as you will be there some time.

Lynne of PiratePixieCrew and Hyperloop Hoops

Vibrant Vintage

Today I thought we would show some of those talented vintage sellers some love. Some people think selling Vintage goods is easy peasy, but I'm here to tell you it really isn't. It takes many hours of searching, researching and skill to become a good vintage seller. You need to be the kind of person that can sort through piles of goods to spot the gems that might otherwise have ended up in landfill. Quite often vintage sellers have to become good restorers too. They fix small flaws in the goods they find to give the items new life. It takes a good eye and patience to find the perfect goods to put in their shops.

This beautiful butterfly from Royal Pink Vintage is just one of a set of four printed and hand pencil coloured, framed pictures. They would look great as a set hung on a plain coloured wall to add a bit of interest.

Hey good lookin has these eye catching vases. They are such a fabulous rich orange colour of the base and the blue/green stylised leaves. I'm so glad that HGL found them and rescued them. I hope they find a good home where they will be treasured and used.

Being the pirate loving person that I am, when I saw these boots in NStyle Vintage shop I jumped for joy. Sadly they aren't my size, but they would make some other size 7 footed pirate a great buy. I hate wearing in new boots, so vintage boots would be perfect as someone else will have softened the leather up first.

This groovy vintage 1960's Kay Selig dress in Tialey Vintage shop is a fabulous find. Bright and vibrant, funky and fun. I think it would look great as an every day dress or dressed up for a night out on the town. The Joy of vintage clothing is you are very unlikely to bump into someone else with the same frock on.

Vintage isn't only about saving things because they are pretty, it can also be about saving things for historical purposes. Sharon Foster Vintage has a group of 4 vintage French postcards that show close ups of The Notre Dame Gargoyles. It's good to have records of the way wonderful buildings such as this looked over the years. I'm guessing the dates on the cards indicate the date the gargoyles were carved or put in place, because photography wasn't around in the 1700's. They are fabulous records or a gorgeous building.

Vintage is a specialist area of recycling and I'm very glad there are people out there taking the time to save all the fantastic items that others discard. Long may they carry on rooting and rummaging around for the pearls that nearly got away. I'm off to search for a pair of size 5UK pre-owned pirate boots and maybe a nice vintage military dress coat to go with them.

Written by Lynne of the Hyperloop Hoops and Pirate Pixie Crew

New Years Eve - Bring on the party frocks

Well another year is nearly over and a New Year will soon be dawning. I hope 2009 brings you all joy, health and fulfilment. As this year wanes many of us will be out having fun and welcoming in the New Year with a dance, a glass of bubbly and chorus of Auld Lang Syne. So before you rush out the door to celebrate why not take a look at some of the gorgeous handmade gowns you could be wearing.

For those wanting fun and frivolous flirting this tutu dress from Ouma is just perfect. Who could resist twirling around and around in this dress to watch the skirt float about. Let your inner child out and spin around until you have to sit down deliriously dizzy.

gougoloft made this filmstar glamour dress. Can't you just imagine Audery Hepburn wearing this dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's? It's simple but sublime design just scream out good taste.

How annoying is it when you turn up to a party and see someone wearing the exact same dress as you? Well with this one off, beautiful ballgown from Glamarita that is never going to happen. It's stopped me in my tracks when I was looking for dresses to feature. Simply stunning!

Makool created this pretty pink ruffle topped dress. The slight puff balling of the hem adds to it's cute charm. Defininately a dress for the young and the young at heart. If pink isn't your thing Makool will custom make this dress in a colour that is.

Vrreis has made the perfect rock chick frock to party in. This sexy little number is just perfect for a girls' night out on the town. Just hope that your friends aren't looking for attention because if you wear this, you will be getting it all!

To finish with today we have Highfashion's floaty pinafore shaped dress. It has such fluidity because of all the fabric gathered at the neckline that flairs out into a full skirt once past the silver grey sash. It is so dainty and airy I'm sure floating across a dance floor in it would be a breeze!

I hope you all have somewhere special to be tonight and that the New Year grants you all your wishes. 2009 is going to offer us all new challenges, some good, some bad. However, we hope there are many more good than bad, and that 2009 will be better than 2008.

Jon and Lynne would like to wish you all the very best wishes for 2009.

Written by Jon and Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and Pirate Pixie Crew

Christmas Wish List.

So Christmas is fast approaching and Jon and I have been trying to work out what to get each other and asking each other what we would like, so I thought I'd blog a list of the fabulous goodies I'd like to receive, that are made by independent artisans. Now I know money is very tight this year so I'm not really expecting to get all or any on this list, but it's fun to wish and dream.

Most of all I'm hankering for a beautiful Psi LED hula hoop. A fabulous gentleman called Patrick in the USA makes them and they truly are the most sparkly gorgeous hoops I ever have seen. I think I'd want a mix of 50%/50% the Eflin and Dragonfly lights and as many lights as Patrick could squeeze into a 95cm diameter hoop. I've borrowed this video from You Tube to show you just how pretty they are!

I'd also love to be the proud owner of Wound Around Jewelry's beautiful silver creation. Made up of silver curls and links this necklace would look fabulous when you are all dressed up with somewhere to go or over a plain T-shirt and Jeans when you were off to the market. I just love it!


I'm a huge lover of vintage and all that vintage represents. I love the idea of beautiful items from the past being given new life to be used again and these cups from uknowuneedanother just appeal to me soooooo much. The colour and the bumpiness of the glass just make me smile. Imagine serving up individual trifles or ice cream sundaes in these... hmmm starting to dribble now... Dribble's not good for my laptop :)


As a lover of all things Pirate, my next choice just had to be from Damselinthisdress. Not only does she make the most beautiful bodices but she makes these gorgeous coats with detachable sleeves. I so wish I could have one made up in with a purple outer and a burn orange lining. Santa are you listening? Hmm... what's that you say? I'm on the naughty list.... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


I've blogged about these next people before and I unashamedly am going mention them again. They make THE most sensational pieces ever! Muju are a British couple from Brighton that pay great attention to detail. To choose just one of their items is very hard but because I had to I went for one of their fabulous Plushies, although to call it a plush some how seems to be wrong. It's a miniature sculpture in felt. A perfect work of art.


For a very long time I have admired the work of Maisy Brown. She makes exquisite reproductions of clothing from days gone by. She has a knack of picking all the right styles that make me go wow! The dress that I have seen of hers that I like most is the Tuxedo ruffled matador in black and white. It has such beautiful clean lines and is such a flattering shape.