The Dress That Changed Everything: @scarlettluxe on Vintage Style and Self-Perception
A reflection on confidence, chronic illness and the vintage-inspired pieces that make her feel most at home in her body
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
Photo Credit: TPK Visuals
Finding your personal style doesn’t happen all at once.
It begins with a spark. A beloved character. A lipstick shade. A silhouette that feels different. A moment where something clicks, even if you can’t quite explain why. From there, it unfolds slowly. Through trial and error. Through pieces that almost work, then don’t. Bad haircuts. Failed experiments. Through the gradual realization that style is less about arriving at a look and more about recognizing a feeling.
Below, one of our favourite working pinup models, Scarlett Luxe, offers a rare look into her experience of finding a personal style that feels entirely her own. From early fascination to the moment a single dress changed how she saw herself, her story moves through experimentation, confidence and the gradual shift toward dressing for her own gaze.
Along the way, she offers both perspective and practical insight, mapping a path that feels as personal as it does possible.
Photo Credit: TPK Visuals
1. Vintage style is such a defining part of your visual language. What first drew you to vintage clothing, and do you feel that pull is rooted more in family history, personal preference, or something deeper about how those eras aesthetically represented femininity?
I've always had a love of red lipstick from a very young age, which I owe to my favourite Disney princess Snow White! I adored her red lips against her pale skin. But I started becoming aware of the vintage style when my Granny introduced me to Marilyn Monroe. We went to an exhibition of Marilyn's film costumes and I was in awe of the shapes, the glamour and the heightened fashion. I immediately fell in love with the Hollywood glamour aesthetic but as I was in my mid teens, I wasn't aware that it was a style that was accessible in the modern age.
I first discovered and tried vintage reproduction fashion in my late teens, when the fabulous Deadly is the Female opened in my home town of Frome in the UK. Trying on a wiggle dress for the first time was a truly transformative moment, it was the first time I actually liked my body because it was something that finally fit my curves and enhanced them in a positive way. I felt strong, powerful and beautiful. Then slowly this style became the huge part of my life that it is today.
2. For those beginning to explore vintage dressing, are there any brands, designers, or retailers you recommend as good starting points?
There are SO many incredible vintage reproduction brands and designers, many are small businesses that deserve all the love and support especially during such trying times for small businesses. We need them!
For those beginning in vintage dressing, I would recommend starting with a couple of key pieces such as a classic black dress or a blouse and pencil skirt or swing trousers. Pieces that can be interchangeable in your wardrobe and styled for both day and night so that you can find your own personal style and most importantly, what makes you feel good. Some of the brands I would recommend; Deadly is the Female, Elle Rebel, The Seamstress of Bloomsbury, What Katie Did, The House of Foxy, The Pretty Dress Company and Weekend Doll. So many to recommend!
Photo Credit: TPK Visuals
3. Your look feels distinctly yours. For readers still honing their own sense of style, what advice would you offer, and what would you tell a younger version of yourself who was still figuring it out?
I would remind myself, and anyone else, that fashion is supposed to be fun! Enjoy exploring different shapes, styles or mix and matching eras. But equally, if you find a look that makes you feel fabulous, go for it! I used to be, and still can be, worried about not being 'vintage enough' but that's silly! Fashion is completely subjective and really, it's all about what makes you feel good and confident. Don't be afraid to try something because you might find you love it! I'd also say that life is too short, don't save anything for 'best', just wear it!
4. So much of women's fashion, at large, is designed with an audience in mind. What did it look like for you to shift toward dressing for your own gaze, and how does that intention show up in your wardrobe?
I think I struggled so much with conventional high street fashion and, even when I tried to fit in with the crowd, I felt negatively about myself and would make myself smaller because I had no confidence in myself or who I was. When I discovered vintage fashion, it just felt right. I then understood that fashion is more about a feeling and how personal it is. Once you embrace that, you enjoy getting dressed to make you feel good!
5. What do you love to wear that makes you feel most like yourself? What is it about those pieces that help you to feel at home in your body?
For me, it would be either a wiggle dress or a full Hollywood glamour look. A wiggle dress I love because it hugs in all the right places and puts that wiggle into your walk, it makes me stand tall, feel powerful & sassy and just unstoppable. A Hollywood glamour look would be a gown or extravagant dress with gloves, sparkles, faux fur and all the glamour. I love this because it detaches me from the everyday and adds a Hollywood lens to my life, it's like a form of escapism to feel like I am a Hollywood starlet. I recently wore a look like this to see Dita Von Teese in London and it felt incredibly liberating to walk down the streets of London in such a look! Just gliding along totally casually in full glam.
6. Body positivity is often discussed in very surface-level ways. What does body positivity look like for you in practice, on good days and hard ones?
In this current day, body positivity is incredibly hard to practice with the rise of weight loss jabs, fillers, botox and many other aesthetic treatments. I would be lying if I said I haven't considered things like these because of social media influence. I am not against such treatments, I am a huge advocate for doing what makes you happy and what makes you feel good! But it's challenging to not get lost in the publicity and influence and to start questioning, comparing and analyzing yourself.
For me, I like to try and practice talking kindly to myself. Giving myself a compliment; I like my legs or I love my hair but also compliments to the inner self. I love that I am a positive person or I am proud that I made it through a long day. It breaks my heart when I hear other women being unkind to themselves, and I experienced it a lot working in retail. I also think it's important to give others compliments because it really can make someone's day. If you like their outfit or their smile or energy, tell them!
7. You’ve been so open about living with chronic illness, which is something that so many of us know changes how the body feels day to day. How do you approach getting dressed on days when you’re not feeling well, physically or emotionally?
I am known for getting dressed up when I go to the hospital every 6 weeks for my treatment because it helps me to feel like I'm not losing who I am to this illness but, also to feel strong to take it on. But on days where I am struggling, I listen to what my body needs. If I need a day in pyjamas, I do that. If I need something that's going to help me feel like myself, I'll put on a cute outfit like a cosy jumper with a pair of comfy swing trousers. For me, it's about listening to what my body needs at that moment and caring for it.
8. Vintage makeup plays such a powerful role in pinup imagery. Do you have any tips for approaching classic beauty looks through a female-gaze? And, for fun, do you have any stories to share about a style or look that was difficult to master?
Makeup has been one of the hardest things to learn for me personally! There was a time where doing just winged eyeliner would take me over an hour! Now I can create a full vintage makeup look in under an hour. It's all about practice practice practice, which none of us like to be told but it is so true!
My best tip would be to learn from the professionals. Over the years, mostly as birthday presents, I've booked one to one makeup classes with brands such as MAC & Charlotte Tilbury. In these sessions, it's custom to you so the makeup artists will talk you through products, your skin type, techniques & styles to suit your face shape. Often these classes, you then get the price of the class back in product so if you love the lip combo or the foundation, you get to then take that away which I think is fantastic! There are so many amazing tutorials online but there is nothing like having it completely personal to you.
Photo Credit: TPK Visuals
9. Looking back, how do you think that pinup modelling has impacted the way you see your body, both in front of the camera and in real life.
I never thought I could be a model. I didn't think I had the right body shape or size to be a model. But that simply isn't true, we are all the right body shape and size.
Because of this, I appreciate my body more. I can look at a photo and go damn, I look good! And then I channel that into real life, because that person in the photo is me in real life. I also try to think of it on an internal level too. My body is working hard to keep me alive so that I can be a model and that is incredible We have to show gratitude and care for our bodies.
10. We know this is a tall order, but for readers excited about the idea of dressing for their own gaze, do you have any tips for doing a small pinup-inspired shoot at home, from styling choices to props, go-to poses, or lighting?
My quick tips & tricks for posing at home:
Wear what makes you feel good and makes you, you!
Don't over complicate the set up with props and set, make it aesthetically pleasing for your eye. Perhaps a lipstick & compact or your favourite bag or show off that your dress has pockets!
For posing, I love to look at images and try to replicate the poses. Images of those that inspire me like Marilyn Monroe, Hedy Lamar & Betty Grable. Don't forget to also stand tall and proud, elongate!
Lighting, I adore natural light. It's your best friend. Professional lighting setups are expensive! So work with what you have. For a bit of added pow, a ring light can lift an image and is a more affordable and practical option.
Stop-you-in-your-tracks, head-to-toe style is built over time. In small decisions. In moments of recognition. In the pieces you reach for without hesitation, and the ones you learn to leave behind.
What Scarlett offers is not a formula, but a way in. An approach to building a personal style, vintage-inspired or otherwise, that is guided by curiosity, patience, and your own instincts. The result is not perfection, but alignment.
And once you find it, even briefly, you begin to understand what you were looking for all along.
For more pinup and vintage-inspired style, follow Scarlett on Instagram and subscribe to receive our free monthly digital issue, including a first look at dark feminine culture, the opportunity to vote on upcoming stories, and a preview of future features and giveaways.
