Sequins & Stripes - Feat: Simply Be

It has been a beautiful Bank Holiday weekend following a rather steamy and sultry August.  I worked a lot of it but I did have the Saturday off which gave me the opportunity to wear one of the beautiful dresses sent to me by Simply Be to a BBQ.  I chose this beautiful striped, sequined dress from their party wear collection, where it is currently on sale for £24.99 and goes up to a size 32.

I liked this dress as I thought the striped sequins were unusual and a different way to wear sequins.  The sequins were tiny and in a rope like pattern which glittered nicely which doesn't show much in the pictures and I thought it was a perfect mix of casual and dressy.  I sized up in this dress and I didn't find it roomy, so if you are interested in this dress I would definitely size up.  I wore this with leggings as it was very short on me, for reference I am five foot 5.

Accessories wise I kept with black teaming it with my fabulous Blackheart creatives Vicky name earrings and a nautilus necklace my Dad gave me around 8 years ago which I must confess I have not wore as much as I should.  I also had one of my current favourite handbags which is from Skinnydip in the shape of a can of liquid sarcasm, which my friends little girl loved.

As I am still loving the 60's I tried to do a mini beehive with my hair it wasn't as big as I would liked it to be, but passable for a first attempt.

I hope your bank holiday was lovely too, but I am beginning after the sweltering heat of the end of the Summer to long for some cooler Autumn days.

*Although the dress was gifted to me from the lovely people at Simply Be all opinions are my own,

Birthday Take 2

As I said my original day out with the girls came to a bit of a halt when my lovely friend and organiser of the day ended up in hospital.  So what's a girl to do when a celebration has been planned and cancelled, redo it of course!

So three months after my real Birthday like the Queen I trotted out to do a second one.  My original outfit was the Gemma Collins dress I tried on a Bluewater but due to the searing heat body con was out  and my beautiful Lady Voluptuous Phoebe got her first outing.

 I bought the Phoebe in size 22/24 and it is a tad bit too big if I am honest but I don't think a size 20 would have fit me as there is around 3 to 4 inches of material spare at the waist but not 6" which on the size chart is the difference.  I am really hoping that Lady Voluptuous does away with the dual sizing as for me I don't think it is a winner.  The dress itself is lovely and features a little net underskirt which gives it a bit more poof and elevates it from a day dress into something a bit more special.  Be warned though a gust of wind can see you doing a Marilyn in this dress.

I teamed it with some very old Primark Wedges, my Blackheart Creatives Fabulous Forty necklace, some amazing donut earrings that Jenny bought me, My Janine Basil Pixel Cherry clip and a Drumstick handbag also a present from Jenny.  With my hair I had tried to create some ommph and mini short hive as I am growing it but I'm not sure it was that successful, and my lipstick was a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Ole Flamingo which is a lovely long lasting bright pink.

It was an amazing day full of friends, food, cocktails, cake, gossip, laughter, fun and dancing after we swapped the more serious club for a cheese fest!  I could not have wished for more.

OOTD - Robots Take Over.

So Saturday was the day of my Birthday surprise that had been meticulously planned by my friend.  Unfortunately she had been pretty poorly throughout the week and on Saturday she ended up admitted to hospital, it seemed a bit unfair to go ahead without her when she had put so much time and effort in the planning that we postponed, but not all elements could be put on hold as my old housemate from Uni was in Canterbury for the occasion.

  Unfortunately she couldn't do the whole surprise thing cos because of the situation I now knew but the girl had come a bloody long way for my birthday so it was only fair we did cake and cocktails and my other friend Max came too and took these pics.  I will do a review of the Moat House Tea Rooms later, but for now lets focus on what I wore.

I wore my new red robot print Get Cutie Dress with my trusty Henry Holland Denim jacket.  The dress is a nice light weight cotton and really easy to wear and gives good cleavage.

I teamed it with these Silver Sandals from River Island at ASOS, which whilst having a bit of a heel were comfortable and practical to walk in, if you have visited Canterbury you will know there are a lot of cobbles which with my proficiency in heels could be dangerous.

And carrying on with the Robot theme I wore a Janine Basil Robot headband that kinda reminds me of Metal Mickey a TV show from the 80's.

It was still a wonderful day after all who can really complain about seeing an old friend and having tea, cake, champagne and cocktails.

Outfit details:

Grace Dress in Robot print made shorter - Get Cutie

Denim Jacket - Henry Holland at Debenhams (old)

Sandals - River Island at ASOS no longer there but these are similar

Headband - Janine Basil (could only find hairclip version now)

Fabulous Forty Necklace - Blackheart Creatives Custom order

OOTD - It's my Birthday and I will wear what I want to.

This weekend I celebrated my 40th with a weekend in London with the Hub, we shopped, munched, went to galleries and to a musical.  It was amazing and really bloomin special and I feel like a really lucky girl.

So what did I wear for this adventure?  Well as a young girl I had always wanted a ballerina dress or a tutu and had longed for one but had never owned one so what else could it be.

I loved wearing this and felt swishy and special all day, but a slight word of warning going to the toilet in a tutu was a bit of a nightmare and the Hub did have to help me out a bit with readjustment afterwards.  As some of you know I have been searching for a plus size tutu that is coloured for a while and this one is from MT Coffinz, which are US based but Elsie's Attic have also got some nice looking ones.

My only regret for the day is my hair was a bit flat as I forgot my hairdryer, Doh! and I flirted with a nude lip that made me look a bit washed out in my opinion.

I teamed my Tutu with a Nasa crop top from Primark and my old H bu Henry Holland denim jacket, although I think a pastel biker jacket would look slightly better.  I also had a fab necklace saying Fabulous Forty made by Blackheart Creatives made but none of the pictures really do it full justice.

However the silver sandals I had bought to wear with it didn't go at all, remember kids always try an outfit out at home first, but by chance my new trainers went perfectly and as my feet were aching from my shopping march the day before that was a blessing.

I will leave you with a pic of my new trainers which were a birthday present from the Hub, as they saved the day and are a thing of beauty.

Outfit details:

Denim Jacket - H by Henry Holland (old)

Nasa Crop Top - Primark

Tutu -MT Coffinz

Trainers _ Adidas at Schuh

Necklace _ Blackheart Creatives

Lace and Mirrors

It is that time of year that we get to go on the Annual Works do, where you watch your colleagues get hideously drunk and perhaps join them!  Mine is quite a small team but we combine with others in our company and half go at a time so the place is manned whilst we revel.

Initially I bowed out as I felt horrible but my lovely workie colleague told me I was a bit of a let down so I went along, spurred by the medicinal qualities of shorts and absinthe.

I had seen the dress of Toodalookatie's Blog and thought it was quite lovely and as it was in the sale at House of Fraser (although it is a Evans dress) I thought I would indulge as I had wanted a nude lace covered dress for a while.  Whilst we're sort of talking about House of Fraser do check out their plus size range it is really good, which surprised me as I thought they didn't really stock plus sizes.

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I had planned to team it with my Iron Fist Oxfords but on the night they didn't go, so these trusty M&S Teal Mary Janes with a 40's nod came out to play, they are about 5 years old so I can't provide a link.

As it has quite a high neck I didn't wear a necklace but went for my trusty statement green mirrored  Fat Bitch Earrings, people either love them or hate them and they gathered many comments from "Cool" to "Your weird!"

Owning my Bitchery

Like Cinderella I was home by midnight as I didn't want to be hungover as I had stuff to do.  Unfortunately my flu/cold came with a vengeance and even Satudays Curry cure did not fix it, so I am all Vader Trollesque here.

Anyway wishing you all fun and frolics over the festive season x 

Festive Fancies

Well if my old friend December hasn't sneaked up with it's festive cheer that somehow brightens the bright grey skies of winter, with all the twinkles and glitter stopping me from feeling like jumping into bed and not coming out till it is somehow more cheerful.

In the past I have eschewed the festive jumper, I remember my Mum buying me one in the 80's that I shunned thinking: "My god has she lost her freakin mind" that was hideously camp with a family putting up a tree embellished with beads for baubles and tinsel and little bits of gold material and ribbon to make the pressies, it was a festive monster that promtly went into my wardrobe unworn to fester in the back till a cull some years later.  Now I would kill to own it and love a bit of the old festive frippery and as the tree goes up here is the pick of my my fancies.

There was a time for me that the festive season meant some glittery diamante now I have to say I am all about the novelty.

The studs would be perfect for work as I can't do danglies there and are a bargaintastic £6.00 at accessorize.

I am seriously in love with the gold and red pressie from Blackheart Creatives at £18.00.

Obviously as a dog lover I am a pug fan and am quite charmed by these Xmas Pug earrings at a friendly £5.87 from Dolly Cool, they would be a perfect pressie for a pug lover.

Finally Hubster if your reading I think I need this Xmas Pud necklace I'm not sure if I can  feel festive without it.  Again this is from £15.00 from Blackheart Creatives.

Finally I am a sucker for the festive jumper as it is a easy way to feel festive and comfy at the same time.

The top two jumpers are from Tipsy Elves and whilst I love the jumpers the first reminding me a bit of the Jesus is my Homeboy T shirts of days gone by and the second of my Dad who I used to say looked a bit like a garden Gnome as he was short and beardy.  However at £38.00 if I am honest it is a lot to pay for a jumper with such a limited wear time each year.  Also not too sure on sizing so I would probably go mens to be certain that it would fit.

The second are more wallet friendly and are both again from Yours clothing they are cute rather than edgy but I really like both and either would be a welcome edition to my winter wardrobe.  Rudolph is £24.00 and the penguin one is £26.00.

Finally if anyone wants to spoil me or I want to spoil myself I could go all out with a Christmas Dress.

The dress with the Xmas beefcake is from Silly Old Seadog and at £95.00 it is a investment piece but refreshingly Silly Old Sea Dog do go up to a size 28 on this dress.

The second dress is from a favourite of mine Vampire Bunnies in the shop it only goes to a 18 but I know that Ellie does custom orders for a little more, this dress is £45.00.

So that is my festive round up what is making your heart sing Christmas Carols this year?

Anime, Hollywood Undead, and London Fun

So this weekends frivolities have been mainly brought by my favourite nieces 18th Birthday and a indulgent Auntie and Uncle trip to London as she wanted to see Hollywood Undead, I know meant nothing to me either!  Her other plans were a bimble round our fair capital looking for Manga/Anime stuff.

The first day involved The Diner, I have now conceded that a burger, shake and fries to share is too much for this girl.  I feel unreasonably sad as I want all the food all the time.  I din't get any pics but incase your interested I had a DCB which is a buttermilk fried chicken breast with blue cheese and usually coleslaw but I replaced it with Guacamole, it was a burgasm!  I also had the Colnel Parker which is a Peanut butter and bourbon milkshake, there were also chilli cheese fries involved which I was told was too much and had to admit defeat on.

Then we did Forbidden Planet and on to Chinatown.  My first stop was the Chinatown Market I love this shop which is just on the borders of Chinatown it is full of stalls.  My favourite is probably Qu'tse which sells jewelry and Hello Kitty memorabilia, my purchase was a cool pair of sparkly burger earrings.  This stall was popular with the niece and her friend as it had K Pop posters which they spent ages carefully choosing.  However I was quite taken with these K-pop socks and now regret not getting a pair.

I enjoyed posing as Hello Kitty Twee, and have to say regret not buying these bad boys as I think my life may have been better for them.

Also in there was a shop selling Korean cosmetics, I tried to take some pictures but the stall holder wasn't happy but I had already taken 1 of the facepacks as there was a Transformers facepack! Come on whose life wouldn't be better for that?  However, I got a super nut one which has moisturising properties.  What I will say is they weren't cheap at £3.99 a facepack and the creams I looked at were about £39.00 so if you do like South Korean cosemetics and skincare it is cheaper I'd say to do a Meme box. Across the road there was another shop selling Korean cosmetics but I didn't get pics and I think everyone wanted to move on but I am seriously regretting not getting the Hello Kitty facewash and some Manga style lashes.

 I then spied one of the Paddingtons that are currently dotted all over London - This one is the Lloyd Webber one and probably looks far more handsome than the Lord to me.  Although decidedly more feline than bear I'd say.

Then we did a walk through chinatown which is always magical to me and a quick stop off for cake.  As I can never resist these cute cakes and the weird icing is sooo good on them.

There may have been a cyber candy run involved and I may have posed like it was my job in Leicester square,

In case anyone is wondering about my outfit I am wearing my favourite Flamingo dress from Uncommon Nonsense, Coat from Tesco (they don't seem to have it online but maybe in store?) and you may be able to see the outline of my fabulous Fat Bitch Earrings from Blackheart Creatives.

Day two involved getting up late the plan was to do Tokyo Toys and Camden but I'm sorry to say we didn't get to Camden as we all wanted a chill before heading to the gig in Brixton.
 For the day I wore a old Vampire Bunnies Star Trek dress ( I am not sure this print is still available but this is similar, also you will note the sizes run out at 18 but Ellie does custom orders and is great at sourcing fabric) I love the retro Nimoy and Shatner on it, I am not going to apologise that I am wearing the same coat as I was away from home and travelling light and frankly in my opinion there are few outfits that cannot be improved by a splash of the old Leopard (But I did idolise Bet Lynch as a kid so............)  and I also unashamedly wore the same boots all weekend which were a studded black pair from Simply Be that in honesty are the stuff of dreams as they are both stylish and really comfy, this was their first outing and i can cheerfully report no blisters or rubbing!  There is no decent pic of them but you can have a butchers here.

As I said we headed to Tokyo Toys in the The Troccodero Centre which is not somewhere I usually go it is at the bottom of a arcade stuffed with crap London Gift Shops.   It specialises is anime merchandise and the niece and pal were as happy as me in a fine dress shop spending over an hour in there and the shop next door buying posters and T shirts.  I bought a cute list book in the shop next door and a pen.

The shop was full of keyrings too and disturbingly stocks these mouse pads that they implore customers not to squeeze. Where well the boobies are your wrist rest.  No repetitive strain jokes here!

We then stopped for a reluctant picture break with the Cath Kidstonesque mini London Bus. (see the poster bags)

And I spotted another Paddington so had to share him.

We then headed back to get ready to see Hollywood Undead at Brixton Academy, which is a band I'm not that familiar with but are a rap/rock band that made me think Linkin Park but true fans are probably yelling at this comparison.

I wore for this my Zombie Unicorn Hell Bunny dress that I have wanted for ages but has only recently come in plus sizes, thank you Hell Bunny.  Oh and I would like to thank Wonderbra for the uplift as after reading a review of the ultimate Strapless Bra on Cardiffornia Gurl  I needed to try it out as I needed a new one, and can report the girls were perky and supported throughout the night.

 The photo is rubbish so I will try and wear this dress again soon and get some better pics and there is a gratuitous pic of the stage just cos I think Brixton is one of the most beautiful venues ever for gigs.

Then Sunday came and it was time to drop Fee and friend back to the station at Kings Cross we had a look at the Potter shop but it was in my opinion hideously expensive and the queue for the the 9 3/4 trolley was waaaaayyyyyy too long.

My plans to go for dim sum and soup in Chinatown evaporated in exhaustion and I have to say we headed back.  Apart from the Cyber Candy haul there wasn't loads I bought but in case you cannot live without knowing here it is.  I am the Green Mushroom keyring and Ed is the red, he bought the Rosario and Vampire Graphic Novel from Tokyo Toys and if you look closely you can spy my burger earrings.

So that was my weekend it was fab, tiring and I am lucky to have such a cool niece and her rather fabulous if camera shy friend, The Hub was also fun too.  However I think the rest of the day maybe devoted to the art of lounging, light tidying and perhaps some Christmas decorating.

OOTD - Sweet Saturdays

Soooooo I am aware it has been a while since I posted on my little bloggy, but I have been a busy Twee moving back from Wales, which hasn't been smooth sailing but perhaps more of that another time.

So today I have a rare Saturday off where I can indulge myself and see friends who work normalish hours.  So off I went to see my dear friend Maxi Moo for a cuppa and a snack at a new cafe in Deal where I live.  It was a nice morning so my pictures are quite smiley a departure from my usual bitch face.

Yesterday I dyed my hair a pastel pink over a pale blue so it is kinda pale pinky lilac which reminds me of sweeties, so I decided there was only one print for it my Vampire Bunnies Junk food dress.

I did wear this dress to Plus London last year but I love it so much I think you all need to see it again to truly appreciate it.  I like Vampire Bunnies and although they only do to a size 18 on the website, they do custom orders for larger sizes, making it longer and putting straps although they do charge a bit extra for this.  A lot of their designs feature the elastic back I have some mixed feelings about this as although it allows for growing and shrinking, I sometimes think it can flatten my boobies a bit in the sweetheart styles.

I teamed this with my trusty H by Henry Holland Denim Jacket from last year and my Red Mel shoes from a little shop in London.  I love these cos there Red and they have bows!

I also gave my wonderful Blackheart Creatives " Your the one for me Fattie."  Necklace a outing cos I'm the kind of girl who wants a cupcake with her Junkfood.

And as I am trying to grow the pixie out into a bob and it is getting longer (But not that long as you can see) I added a bow headband from Janine Basil to round it all off.  These are amazing and glittery and available in loads of colours too!

My lipstick is a Bourjois is a Rouge Edition Velvet in Ole Flamingo and I am impressed as this is after eating a Croque Monsieur and drinking a cup of tea at Deal's newest Cafe,  Hope and Lane.

Sorry I should have taken a pic whilst it wasn't half eaten but I was starving!!!  I quite liked the place there was big selection of teas and coffees and a small variety of pastries and snacks to go with this but no bigger hot snacks so probably won't become a local favourite for me, that said the Croque was good but would have liked a bigger cheese to white sauce ratio.

Finally a gratuitous shot of the church that was the backdrop for the pictures as I love Deal and there is many pretty buildings in my little town.

Shop my look:

Dress - Vampire Bunnies

Shoes - Mel (similar here as old)

Denim Jacket - H by Henry Holland at Debenhams (similar here)

Necklace - Blackheart Creatives

Headband - Janine Basil

Fabulous Flamingos!

I love Summer it makes everything seem somehow better and like anything is possible, I remember being a teenager and seeing the first leaf fall one year and ever the dramatist thinking:  "this is it, nothing will be as good again!" a single tear trickling down my face.

This year I am particularly impressed by the Pineapple Prints that are about but the Flamingos, be still my beating heart!  I love the kitschness of them, they remind me of 1950's Vegas and cocktails with cherries on top!

I am particularly in lust with this beauty by Uncommon Nonsense and have it earmarked for my friends 30th Birthday Bash.

Also making my heart beat faster is the Palm Bling Range by the fabulous Black heart Creatives.  I have already indulged in a Neon Yellow Pineapple Necklace but these Flamingos are also making my wallet itch and a pair of drop earring would compliment the dress nicely I think!  Although the Palm Bling Earrings themselves would also be lovely!

 I am also having a bit of a internal struggle with myself over the Fatkini, I have seen loads of Blogger Babes totally rocking theirs but I am not sure I feel ready to push this boundary as despite feeling confident I worry I am too bumpy, fat and hairy, despite knowing I'm not, also I look very different to last time I wore a Bikini back in 1996!  But if I get there this Liz McClarnon for Simply Be is lush and despite her involvement in Atomic Kitten(Sorry any fans just not my taste), I think her swimwear looks lovely.

So what Prints make you think Summer and have you seen any cool Flamingo stuff and if so where?