This week I’m revisiting a brand I raved about a year ago, the Australian vintage reproduction label Retrospec’d.

Last time, I tried the Elizabeth dress, which featured a cross-over neckline that was surprisingly boob-friendly. I really liked the quality and fit, so I’ve been eager to try another style. I settled on the Norma Jean dress, but at the time wasn’t really interested in any of the available prints. They were all super feminine florals, and I’m just not much of a florals gal.

Eventually, they released a few graphic prints, as well as a black and white stripe with realistic yellow roses floating on it. And I do mean “floating”—there are shadows behind each flower to make it look like they’re resting above the fabric.

At 37”-29”-41”, I was unsure of sizing because my bust falls in sizes UK/Aus 12 and 14, but my waist falls in 10 (even though my waist is usually size 12), so I hesitated on ordering from Australia. Then one day, the dress disappeared from the Retrospec’d site! I knew it couldn’t have sold out completely, because I’d been keeping an eye on it for months and none of the sizes had yet sold out. Resigned to the idea of ordering my second favorite print, I waited until the $150 (or Australian $195) dress was within my budget.

But then I received an e-newsletter from Unique-Vintage.com, and there was the dress! I guess they sent all the remaining stock to UV. This was great for two reasons: 1) I could try size 10 knowing I could exchange it if necessary, with no international shipping; and 2) I could wait until UV had a coupon or sale, and get it for a better price. Two weeks later, they had a 20% off code for Memorial Day weekend, and I took the plunge!

(Note that UV translated the sizes to American, so to get the Australian 10, I ordered size 6 from UV.)

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Just time for a quick dress review this week. It’s another Miss Candyfloss frock, this time with a very different neckline than any I’ve reviewed before.

As usual, my measurements are 37”-29”-41” and height 5’6”, with bra size 28G – 30G (UK) depending on brand. I bought my usual Medium here.

This is the “Sia-Katalin” dress. MCF produced several of these tuxedo-style dresses this season, including navy/red, red/red stripe, navy/white/navy pinstripe, navy pinstripe/pale blue, and black pinstripe/white. To be honest, I wasn’t really into the look until I saw this bright teal/light pink colorway, and then I was smitten. Teal and pink is one of my favorite color combinations and it’s rare to find them in one garment.

In this case, my photos are a little dull, but MCF’s photos are more saturated than the fabric is in reality. So imagine the color is somewhere in between. Additionally, while the manufacturer photo shows a pink belt, it actually comes with a teal one. I personally prefer the pink one, but it’s not really a big deal. Plus, how hard can it be to find a pink belt if I really want one?

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