Party dresses and pink pianos with Elsa Billgren!

Elsa Billgren is one of my favourite bloggers. Aged 24, she lives in Stockholm, Sweden where she works as a press and PR officer for a fantastic vintage store called Beyond Retro. Surrounded by puffy petticoats and candy stripe dresses, Elsa has the wonderful job of handling Beyond Retro's website, loaning outfits to stylists for fashion shoots, dealing with TV and other media for interviews and throwing fabulous events and parties!

Swedish Elle loved Elsa's style so much, they asked her to curate a blog on their website and crowned her 'Best Dressed' in the vintage category for 2009. Her 2010 looks set to sparkle even brighter with her upcoming wedding in May and an exciting new TV show about vintage clothing. Now we curl up on the couch and have a little chat about her wonderful life!

Congratulations on your engagement and winning Elle 'Best Dressed Vintage' in 2009! You look sensational in that blue dress. Can you tell us what the shoot was like?

♥ Oh thank you so much! I love situations when you can wear a lovely dress, like both of these...The shoot was great. We were four of the winners there, had load of fun, and the assistants filled our champagne glasses every fifth minute..

On your blog, you write that you don't own a single pair of pants or jeans. Did you wear them when you were younger and why did you decide to forsake all pants for dresses?

♥ I had one pair of nice Levis jeans when I went to high school but this other girl told me she liked them sooo much so I gave them to her and after that I just didn't buy a new pair. The reason? I just think I look romantic and free in a dress. It's easier to dance you know.

Which is your most treasured dress and why?

♥ Right now it's my wedding dress. It's from the late fifties, very pink and totaly amazing! I just saw a small piece of it at Beyond Retro in the pricing area and starting to run to get to it. I think I felt the same feeling as when I first saw my fiance.. it's just right. This has to be mine!

When did your romance with vintage clothes begin?

♥ My mother has always been wearing vintage clothing and dressed me in second hand clothes from the first day I was able to wear anything. My family have always loved flea markets and to make finds. The feeling when you find a YSL belt for 1 euro is priceless! I had a period of bad taste when I went to school, but that's life. I had a lot of fun those years anyway.

What are your top tips for vintage shopping?

♥ Don't stress. Try on the garnments. Old clothes look different in size and shape to modern clothes and need to be on a body, not a hanger. Go often. The best items always goes first. Make sure you're that person!

Which are your favourite shops on the high street?

♥ I buy almost all my shoes at Topshop. Agent Provocateur's lingerie is fabulous. Everything else I buy vintage.

How would you describe Swedish style in general?

♥ Swedish fashionable people are very often dressed in Swedish labels and in black. In general I believe it's like the rest of Europe.

You refer to your fiance as the Wolf on your blog. Why the Wolf? I think it's just lovely!

♥ Haha, thanks! Me and my friends started to call him that when we first met. I told everyone I was dating a man whose last name was the coolest I've ever heard: de Wolfe. And so Pontus de Wolfe became "the Wolf".

How did that pretty pink piano come to live in your apartment?

♥ My sister called me and said she was sitting in a car with a pink piano in the back. She had found it in her friends dad's cellar and needed a place to keep it until she wanted it and had the space. I said drive to my apartment or die.

What is the best gift you've ever give someone?

♥ When my friends have their birthdays they always get vintage prom dresses from me and everyone loves it! Who wouldn't? If it doesn't fits, it's a great art piece to hang on the wall.

Can you tell us about some of the other exciting projects you're involved in?

♥ Im hosting a TV-show in Sweden but it's a secret for two more weeks... I'll tell you soon! I can say that it will be about vintage clothing though, and I'm super thrilled!

Please paint us a picture of your upcoming wedding!

♥ We will get married in the beginning of May, in city hall, and then go straight to Paris for a honeymoon in our favourite hotel. We have the penthouse with a roof balcony! When we get back we will have a huge party in my parent's fabulous apartment with flowers everywhere and french pastry.

Elsa's Dressing Table

Perfume: Chanel no°5
Lipstick: Mac Ruby Woo
Mascara: Loréal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara
Blusher: Mac Peaches
Nail polish: Essie Lollipop

Thanks for letting us into your world Elsa. May your 2010 be filled with love, light and happiness! You can visit Elsa here.

Translation/Oversättning: Hej svenska läsare! Du kan läsa intervjun på svenska här.

Lookout for my next interview with a South African Accessory Princess who lives and breathes fashion! We're going to have a peek in her wardrobe and I promise you, heaps of inspiration. x