Create Account
Sign In
Forums
Members
Gallery
Blogs
Wedding Venues
4
The shop is on Holloway Road, fairly near to the Holloway Road tube station, which is on the Picadilly Line.
It was early afternoon when we arrived. The shop is fairly small, with racks of dresses all around the outside, and plenty of room in the middle for twirling!
There were 3 or 4 assistants around, all dressed in Holloway gear. I was fairly wary of them after an article I'd read on YAYW, but the woman that approached us was friendly, and I really liked that she helped us out to start off with, by measuring my waist and explaining their sizes, then pretty much left us to our own devices, but chipped in with advice now and again.
My first surprise was the sizing. I knew from the website that the vintage sizing they use means choosing a larger size than you would imagine. I measured myself at home and expected to be an 18 or a 20, but when the assistant SQUEEZED my waist to within an inch of my life with the tape measure, she told me I was between a 16 and an 18! I was already really glad that I'd taken the time to visit, and not just ordered online.
The idea was for me to try on one of each style to see which I preferred, and then go from there.
My best friend wore one of their circle dresses as her MOH dress at my wedding, but I wanted to try something a little more fitted too. I have big boobs and a big belly, but I have small hips, so I was expecting to go for either a circle dress which suits all hip sizes, or a sarong to hide my belly.
There are three fitting rooms available, with no mirror and no lighting, so you are forced to come out into the store to see how you look. (More room to twirl!)
The first dress I tried on was a circle dress in black with red spots. It felt comfortable (I can't believe I didn't need to wear my bra!), but I felt that I'd get more wear out of something a little slinkier!, so I tried on a sarong.
I found the waist seam quite distracting as it sits at an angle, and it seemed very roomy around the bottom, so I tried on a pencil dress which I fully expected to look awful, but, WOW!
The pencil dress fitted fairly well except for being too big on the hips which I was expecting. The halter neck made my bust look smaller rather than bigger, and the boning inside the dress pulled my wobbly bits around enough to give me a good shape. I then spent the next half an hour trying to decide which one I liked. I tried on plain red, black with gingham, and royal blue, and was prancing around with all three in my hand when my best friend discovered a black one with royal blue roses. She'd just bought the red pencil dress for herself to wear to a wedding, so I tried it on for her, and I loved it!!!!!! It was a size smaller than all the ones I'd tried up to that point, and it just looked so much better, so not as much alteration needed. (wish I'd figured that out when I was trying on sarongs) What I wasn't expecting was for my friend to then offer to buy it for me as an early birthday present!!!!
So, here is my dress! (My husband doesn't like it!! He says it reminds him of his mother!)
I would never have considered wearing a print before, but it gave the real vintage look that I wanted, and after picking out a matching flower clip, I was all ready to go home and start picking out shoes!!
Anyway, I've rambled on a bit, but wanted to give a few bits of advice to anyone thinking of buying a VOH dress, for yourself or for bridesmaids.
...Go during the week if you can. If you have to go at the weekend, it may be an idea to make an appointment. Remember there are only 3 fitting rooms.
...Go with an open mind. I don't like my dress on the website, but I love it on me!
...If you need to order online, measure yourself carefully, but BREATHE IN! My dress is a full 3cm smaller on the waist than I'd measured.
...Have fun!!! Whilst I was trying on dresses, the staff were having their own dance party in the corner to 40's music! ? They also have loads of accessories and jewellery to help you build an outfit.
Feel free to share your own experiences of VOH. I've got the bug now, so I'll definitely buy more in the future when I can afford it!
I'll post a pic of me in the full outfit in a couple of weeks, as I'm wearing it to a charity dinner. I can't wait!!!!
