Today’s post is all about the Monica dress from Pinup Girl Clothing! I had been seeing this dress all over Instagram for a while and drooling over how amazing it made so many ladies look and feel, so after much umm-ing and ahh-ing I finally bit the bullet and tried it for myself!

I found two things tricky when purchasing this dress – size and colour. I am a frequent XS PUG customer, but I had a brief moment of panic when looking at the size chart. I hardly ever purchase wiggle styles online as my hips are always outside the measurement chart (mine are more comfortable at a 37″ circumference, and PUG’s size chart said 33-35″ for the XS), but my bust and waist measurements were on the lesser end of PUG’s 33-35″ bust and 23-25″ waist guideline. I figured 2 outta 3 ain’t bad and decided to stick with my usual XS. The colour choice was also tricky as there are sooooo many to choose from, and more appearing all the time! I was desperate for navy but that wasn’t available in my size and it doesn’t look like it’s being restocked, so I opted for classic red instead.

When it arrived, I had what I realise now was the classic Monica reaction, mainly being ‘how am I going to get this on my body?!’ For those who haven’t jumped aboard the Monica train yet and you do decide to get one, don’t be alarmed; it will look very VERY tiny (I believe I compared mine to a caterpillar at the time) but trust yourself and know that it will fit. The Monica has an invisible side zip that I had read you shouldn’t undo, mainly because when you try to do it back up again when it’s on it can pull and break very easily (although a second one is kindly included in case this happens). However, with the zip closed it became clear that I would not get the Monica on at all without undoing the zip, so I did and lo and behold (with quite a bit of gentle wiggling and tugging) I managed to get it on. Then to tackle the zip – hopefully it will make sense when I say by this stage that the two sides of the zip were very far away from each other, so I needed to pull the fabric together to make sure it didn’t slide off the teeth. I recommend trying a little tenderness when doing this, and if my experience is anything to go by then you and the zip should be just fine.

Finally time to look in the mirror. Wowza! Ok, definitely absolutely no regrets with this dress, none at all. I looked REALLY good! This dress is a winner, people! The Monica sucks you in where you need it, creates beautiful curves, and the ruching is the best thing ever because it looks amazing but also means you can actually eat at that function you’re wearing the Monica to and not feel self-conscious. And because it pulls in at the knees it even makes you WALK sexy, all wiggly and Marilyn Monroe-esque. Ummm, can I win the Lotto so I can have this in every colour please? Thank you!

I wasn’t sure whether to match the Monica with silver or gold, but I have more silver jewellery so that won out on the day. It also meant my colour combo went perfectly with this beautiful red mistletoe hair flower that Katherine made for this shoot! It features little roses in white and red, small silver beads, and the cutest silver metal butterfly. Katherine has made them available to purchase through here Etsy store, so if you would like one of your own I encourage you to click here!

The Monica dress retails for $144USD and can be purchased through the Pinup Girl Clothing website, or you may be lucky enough to have a stockist near you so you can try it on in person! It’s a little pricier than some things out there, but it’s well made (and ethically too) and generally one helluva dress, so if you need something special for your next event then I’d suggest going for it! This really is a dress that embodies PUG’s mantra to make clothes for EVERY body; I’ve seen a lot of ladies of all shapes and sizes wearing this dress, all looking fantastic, so that many women can’t be wrong!

Full outfit details:

Hair flower – The Wardrobe Shop on Etsy

Necklace & heels – thrifted

Dress – Pinup Girl Clothing

Bracelet – vintage

Thank you so much to Katherine from the Undefined Photography for another amazing shoot! We were so excited to be able to take photos in the Classics Museum in Hamilton, and super lucky to even get in one of the cars, and I felt this was a very fitting location for the Monica. As always, you can check Katherine’s photography out here, and you can see her personal style blog – The Wardrobe – here.

Miss Hero Holliday

xo