Hairspray Vibes with Simply Be

I have mentioned my love of the 60's far too many times to regular readers and I guess it no surprise I am still feeling them.   So when Simply Be offered me a dress from their amazing Day Wear selection, despite the fabulous selection it was already pretty much a given I would pick this high necked Geometric Swing Dress, that made me feel a lot like Tracey Turnblad and I should be dancing on the Corny Collins Show.

As this is such a bold print I kept my styling simple with Black Opaques from Primark, I cannot recommend these enough as the XL fits my size 22/24 bum perfectly and they are mega cheap.  My fun ice cream clutch which is very old from New Look came out, you can't get these in New Look now but rip offs are all over E Bay and silver chunky Sandals from River Island a while ago.

I found the dress super comfortable and perfect for this outing to the cinema to see Suicide Squad. The length was great and I found it to be quite a large size 22, so if you wanted a more snug fit you could size down.

Hair and make up I kept it simple with a side pony which is a style I am feeling at the moment with the heat.  For a night time look I would try and do a beehive and put more eye make up on as I feel the dress could easily be styled for a night time look, but here I kept it simple with basic make up and a Limecrime rip off of their pink velvet from Wish.  

*This item was gifted to me but the opinions are all my own,

Great Lengths - Or adventures in hair extensions.

The eagle eyed among you my have spotted that around December my hair had a sudden growth spurt, of course this wasn't natural and owed more to head of Meccano (Micro rings) holding beautiful hair not belonging to me to my own.  I have always played with my hair colour and the only thing I had never done was extensions always believing I was a short haired girl, then  I did a photoshoot with the genius that is Chiara Aprea who popped me in a beehive wig and ever since I have longed for long hair and my own hair just wasn't playing ball fast enough. So I booked in for extensions which took me from a jaw length grown out crop to shoulder length hair.

I did everything right got recommendations saw a couple of people and got a head full of micro ring hair extensions,  The beautiful colour doesn't really show on this picture I took on day one but you can see it better on this my hairdresser took.

I'm not going to lie going from fine short hair to a mane, my husband used to go "Put em up, put em up." like the lion in Wizard of Oz at me quite a bit to illustrate my mane was strange.  Blow drying went from a 5 minute blast to 15 minutes, oh it's still not dry never mind, and styling was difficult where my hair was pretty short it could be tricky if I wanted it up to hide all the bonds.  However, I loved it.

I had my maintenance which was pricey too but I loved it, so didn't mind  Then 10 days later disaster struck there was a incident at work and loads of my extensions were pulled out.  My hairdresser is very popular and I couldn't get in and I couldn't live with a patch of hair just not there, so I googled micro rings and my home town paid £30.00 to get them put back but the bonds felt different and still the extensions were falling out and I felt like it just wasn't quality work.  I tried to get in with my hairdresser but she couldn't fit me in till after my birthday, so the impatient Aries I am I sought out options.

I got recommendations and saw 2 people the first person said she would take all my extensions out but because I was walking around with her name on my head she wanted to use her extensions and me to buy new hair.  The second said she would take them all out and it would take about a hour and a half to put them back in so would cost about £90.00 I liked her so I booked.

On the day it ended up taking nearly 5 hours but before she started she got me to sign a disclaimer as she is trained in Balmain extensions and mine were Remy.  She did mention she couldn't guarantee the bonds but I didn't think to much of it.  I found out from the geniuinely worried look on the girl's face that the lady who put in my extensions that had been ripped out had used bonds that looked like they had been used before with no cushioning to protect your hair, and if they slipped had put another on top!  Leading to moments where she thought they may not come out.  So despite it costing double what I had been quoted I was happy as I had what looked like a good head of hair.

And for my Birthday a few days later manged a beautiful mini beehive.

I'd like to say the saga ended there but it didn't.  My hair continued to fall out at a alarming rate about 10 micro rings again.  I went back to the hairdressers who said I think it is these bonds I did say I can't guarantee them and as I had signed a disclaimer I had nowhere to go.  She offered to put them all in again but if they were all going to fall out in 10 days what was the point.  I am going with she didn't know.

As I was skint having used my birthday money and more to get them done.  I am left with my natural just shorter than shoulder now length now hair, that just feels as insubstantial as Olive Oyl.  As I am not happy my lovely hub has said just get them done.  So I am going for a consultation with someone who i have seen recommended quite a bit in another town as my original lady is booked till July and doesn't do taped ones.  So wish me luck.

Vegas 2015- The what I wore edition. (Part 1)

At the end of the year I was lucky enough to go to Vegas for my 13th Wedding Anniversary.  I was going to write about it whilst it was all still fresh and as sparkly as the neon adorned skyline. However, what can I say life struck I was pretty much straight back to work with a killer cold and there was Christmas.  Basically life was kicking my arse.

So here is a what I wore post which is basically print dresses and headbands from Janine Basil.

Day 1

My red Robot dress came out to play on landing but in honesty after a 11 hour flight we were just grabbing a pizza then heading for a snooze.

Day 2.

Conjunctivitis struck so I am in glasses, but I tried a kinda librarian look with a headband my Hell Bunny dress, black tights bizarrely the 100 denier Primark ones in XL fit but the 80 denier ones don't and I cannot find the legendary plus size Primark tights near me.  The shoes came from Top Shop but I got them from E bay for a bargain £2.99.  We may have indulged in drinks on the big wheel

Day 3

I wore my very old Galaxy Print Get Cutie dress with leggings and my Janine Basil Solar system headband, which I adore.  I may have indulged in the R2D2 handbag.

Day 3

My eyes were well enough to wear contacts again.  Yeay!!!!  This was the day the Hub went out to the desert to shoot guns, I watched and we went on allegedly the world's biggest monster truck.  I wore my Ninja turtles Vampire Bunny Dress, Primark Cardie and Leggings.

Day 4

So this was the dress that got the most compliments, people seemed to really love the Lady Voluptuous lip print Phoebe, which I teamed with my red glitter heart Bete noir necklace that says Mrs Jones and Red flat Mel shoes with a bow I picked up a few years ago in a sale,  I am also wearing the glitter heart headband in red from Janine Basil.  I felt like a Cartoon character and loved it.  I must say sizing down to the 20 in the Phoebe alleviated the sizing problems I had with my first one.  

This day was my day and we hung out in old Vegas and went to the neon graveyard.

Day 5

I had this dress made by someone, and it is based on a Get Cutie dress, I chose the elephant fabric from Fabricyard and the tiger necklace is one I won from Snixy swoons do check them out.  

I am going to leave it here and show you the rest of my outfits at a later in the week

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.

Sometimes I Wish I Had Wingz - A Product Review

Firstly apologies to the lovely Sarah who sent me these Wingz to try out a little while ago and I had meant to review much sooner.  However, life has been kicking me in the arse a bit and if I was the Queen I would certainly be using terms like Annus Horribilis, but things like blogging have been low in my list of priorities as have even hair dying so excuse the barnet.

Now for the Wingz, my husband thought they looked a bit like crotchless leggings but the idea is they give you sleeves to pop on under dresses or tops without sleeves and look a bit like this when on.

Not me - Taken from the Wingz Website

I Chose the 3/4 length fitted sleeve version as I felt this would go best with my style and what is already in my wardrobe.  I teamed these with Vampire Bunnies Star Trek Print Dress with spaghetti straps, I have a sneaky suspicion that a thinker strap might of looked better but here is how it looked.

I found the Wingz pretty comfy to wear after getting used to them, as initially they did feel a bit odd and I liked that you could see all of my dress as a cardigan can hide such a lot and sometimes ruin the line.  I think the weight will be perfect for Spring, early Summer and Autumn although I would maybe want something a bit warmer with this dress in Winter.

If you fancy giving Wingz a go there are several styles on their website - Here

*I was gifted this item for review but my opinions are mine, mine, mine!

She's Not Ashamed To Come Out Of The Water.

Wow!  What amazing time it has been in the Plus Size Blogesphere, with the airing of Plus Size Wars (Ladies you all rocked! and were seriously articulate)  this was followed by Jamelia's very literal body shaming that I should be so ashamed of my size that I should be made to feel uncomfortable when I dare to look for clothes to adorn my body!  Oh bore off, hasbeen!  Katie Hopkins has already been voted the nations number one mouthpiece so that role is filled, try and find a new unique selling point Ms I'm against bullying but it's fine to bully the fat or very thin.  Big thanks to Debz at Wannabe Princess that created the hashtag #wearethethey, a most brilliant response to such stupidity!

Unfortunately throughout this exciting time I was silent as work stuff meant I didn't feel like blogging and was too tired/busy, but I loved reading everyone else's stuff.

Anyhow in celebration of being fine, fat and forty, I intend to parade my fat old body in my first bikini since my twenties and these beauties are the contenders.  The first sites I looked at were the US based sites but around $80.00 is a bit costly for a bikini especially with possible postage and customs.

The first contender is this Avon Bikini, Avon is definitely not even somewhere I think of when considering clothing but this beauty is affordable at £9.00 for the top and £8.00 for the bottoms.  The sizes are up to a 40F on top and a 26 on the bottom.

A bit pricier but also very lovely is this summer rose set from Asos it goes up to 42F on top and a size 28 on the bottom.

I have no idea of what the quality of this would be like but if you are a smaller fat and I would say more modestly sized on top like me, this might work.  It goes up to a size 22 and is under £6.00 on e bay.

This bikini by Liz McClarnon is fun and fruity I can see it teamed with a fun fruity clutch for a day out at the beach.  Although I am pretty confident my only concern it is a bit lower waisted than the others but the print is so fun it could win me over.

So which would you choose and what will you be wearing at the beach this Summer?

ModCloth Stylish Surprise.

As I have said before I have lusted after a lot of the clothes on ModCloth for a long while but I am always wary as it is US based and I am afraid of the postage and the dreaded customs.  So when I heard that ModCloth a couple of times a year have a big sale selling their stock from $5.00 to $20.00 depending on what you are getting I was in.  The catch is you don't know what you are getting so for $20.00 you get a dress that originally retailed between $30.00 or $299.00, a bit like fashion lucky dip.  As I figured it could be sold on, that $20.00 is like around £13.50 and that I like a surprise I was in.

The only problem was I was bang in between sizes so I ordered a 2XL and a 3XL, which at $40.00 meant I incurred a hefty £13.44 customs charge, a rookie error and if I do this again I will order the dresses separately as the postage is less than customs.

So what did I get for my $40.00  I got a beautiful blue and green dress in the 2XL and a really pretty purple dress which Katt Cupcake also received in the 3XL which unfortunately I didn't have the boobs to fill out so it has been moved on to a better home.

The dress is really lovely in a sort of moleskin/velvet and has an exposed brass zip with a lovely angel wing as the zipper, being a bad blogger I have not got a photo of this.  I have gone for a vaguely 90's styling crossed with school girl chic on this dress as it reminds me of dresses from that period and catholic school girl plaid.

So I teamed it with my trusty denim jacket, really I must get some more jackets!  My school girl shoes that are pretty old from Topshop.  A milk carton handbag via Ebay.

And my Janine Basil Solar system headband.

I also wore my Urban Decay Catfight lipstick but it had worn off a bit by the time I took these pictures and my Dolly Cool Virgin Mary Kitty necklace.

Some other lovely bloggers also got the Stylish Surprise and are posting today so share the love and have a look at what they got.

Katt - A Curvy Cupcake

Kathryn - Miss Kathryn's MissTakes

Mookie - Mookie's Life
Nikki - Natty Nikki

Sarah - Plus Size and Proud

OOTD - Did Cute Go Too Far?

I was meant to go to the Fat Clothing Swap today.  However, lack to money to get to London and extreme lethargy struck so I never got there.  Here's what I would have worn anyway, but I have to ask has my love of cute and Kitsch gone to far and I'm not sure I might look like cute threw up.  You decide?

I am wearing a New Look Inspire Bardot dress in a size 22, I am usually a 20 on top and this was a ok fit so I would size up, I bought this for a bargain tenner in the Asos sale.  I always loved Bardot tops in the 80's but somehow never had one so this is my chance.

Here's a picture of the dress without the cardie, I teamed it with my trusty Dolly Cool Zombie cocktail necklace.

Despite not being in love with the Voodoo Vixen plus size collection I did adore this cardie and although it was a bit expensive I bought it from Simply Be. I did mean to send it back but forgot! But is super cute with the cat applique and it makes me feel a bit sweater girl.

This is where cute may have threw up I then teamed it with a Milkshake bag bought in the New Look Sale for a bargainous £4.00, some Iron Fist shoes in Buns and Roses (look closely there are Bunnies!) and Hamburger earrings from Qu'tse in the Chinatown Market.   I was going for a Grease themed stranded at the drive in look but not too sure I got there.

So there you have it is more, more or perhaps less would have been better, personally I think either the shoes or the bag should have gone but you live and learn and fashion is about fun and experiments right?

My favourite outtake 

My Outfit

Bardot dress - New Look Inspire at Asos

Cardigan - Voodoo Vixen

Shoes - Iron fist (sold out but these are similar)

Necklace - Dolly Cool

Milkshake Clutch - New Look (sold out but some killer ones planned for summer)

Tights - Marks and Spencer Bodysensor in XL

Throwback Thursday - Twee through the years

Inspired by the spate of first profile pictures and Throwback Thursdays I thought I would share with you a quick peek at me through the years, if it seems a bit narcissistic please feel free to skip.  But here we go.

In the first pic I am probably about 12 so it is 1987, I am wearing the stonewash denim blouson style denim jacket so popular of the time with a very white T shirt I obviously hadn't eaten else it would probably be food splattered with some kind of print skirt.  Although I look happy I was probably riddled with insecurity and felt very fat.  I am sporting my first perm others came they weren't as successful.

In the second picture I am 20 I am obsessed with Drew Barrymore and Pulp and try an look like Drew, although I am a size 16 with a 28 inch waist I always feel fat.  However, this is the first time in my life I realise that boys like me and I exploit this as it makes me feel pretty.

This picture is from early 2003 I have just got married, I never wear anything but trousers or jeans and I feel fat most of the time.  I have just put on about 2 stone and although fatter squeeze myself into whatever fits in Dorothy Perkins and Debenhams.  I am still loving a denim jacket too.

The final picture is my fist profile picture I hated it at the time and thought my face looked huge but I never had pictures taken as I hated them so much so there weren't many to choose from, so this one it was.

The next picture is my first short haircut in 2009 I felt really pretty for the first time in a while and I had just lost about 2 stone that year and it was quite a good period for me in my life.

This is New Year 2011 and that is my first print dress which has become my personal brand really, I am getting more into a retro look.

This is July of 2012 I am again wearing a print dress my Limb fishing girls one, I am a few months away from reading my first plus size blogs but I am getting into my own personal style a bit more and I think it was about this time I decided I would stop dieting.  It was a fun night but I know my mind set hadn't changed that much as I remember seeing the pictures and thinking: "oh I look fat."

My final pic is New Year 2014 I am wearing my first and probably favourite print dress again and I feel happy and pretty through blogging I don't hate having my picture taken any more and I am not as preoccupied with if I look fat, cos well I am fat and that is okay.

On New Years Day

So as I may have mentioned in earlier posts me and The Hub are Carers which means we work holidays and the like this year I worked Christmas and Boxing Day and The Hub worked New Years Eve and New Years Day, so New year was a bit of a wash out and as the bells chimed and the fireworks went off, freaking the dog out we were tucked up in bed.  So we decided when he finished on New Year's Day at 9 we would have a New Years Eve/Day Party for two and watch the Hootenanny and have some drinks.

So I set up the bar for his return and ordered in a Chinese and soon I was sipping out of my new Sailor Jerry Glass, a final treat for me in the sale.  Isn't it pretty I love old school tattoos so this glass is very me.

Now what did I wear for this evening - It had to be probably my favourite ever dress, this was the dress I lusted after for a year and scoured E bay for one in my size, until the Hub who I must say is less careful with money than me, sick of me pouring over the Get Cutie webpage said: "Just buy it!"

This started my love affair with print dresses but I think this one is still my favourite, so I am not going to apologise if you have seen this dress before.

 I love the little cap sleeved and the way they bounce and the forgiving Empire line cut even if it is a little more booby than I usually go.  Unfortunately Get Cutie don't do the Cap sleeve in short any more but if you are after an investment (cos they ain't cheap) print dress I highly recommend

See what I mean about the boobs

. Keeping with the Woodland Gnome theme I teamed it with my Hairy Growler Hedgehog necklace and my Mario style Mushroom earrings from the Chinatown Market.  I think you can just see them, I did take a close up but it just looks weird, so this is the best I can do.

 I kept the face simple with black liner and MUA Lip velvet in Criminal which I am loving although a nice red might have looked better in honesty.

For the shoes I just wore my trusty Black patent schoolgirl style flats from Topshop.

We ate, drank, chatted and generally had an ace time and I felt like a champ so slipped into my new PJ's which I got for Christmas but had saved for the New Year, as honestly I spend half my life in PJ's.

I'm not sure all those hipsters from the mid 90's will be thrilled that you can get Paul Frank in Primarkbut I am!  I am also proud of these photos as usually anything with that much of VBO like that would not make the cut but I think I am getting better at embracing my body.

Any way It was a bloomin lush night as I don't get loads with The Hub where it is just us and what ever you did I hope it was splendid.