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,

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,

Making My Work Wear, Work

Everyone who reads this blog knows I love a pretty dress, preferably in a crazy cotton print and as much as I love these dresses they would not work for my work life.  Mine is not a job where I get to swan about in pretty frocks I am a carer so my job can involve anything from the homemaker stuff, paperwork, doing activities to on some occasions having to hold people when they become out of control.  So practical is the name of the game and usually this means jeans and jumpers or T's.

However, dear reader I don't mind sharing I am bloody bored of this and I never feel nice or very me when I head to work.  So I think it is time for a bit of a work wear revamp and this is my current wish list.

1/ A Pinafore Dress - Practical as it has pockets and I can shove some leggings underneath.

Both of these are from Asos Curve and are £30.00, they both have pockets essential for work.

2/ The Tee's - A Tee is a perfect item to throw on or under what I'm wearing.  I gotta be honest I usually just throw on a Primarni special as they are cheap and cheerful but these Tee's are tickling my fancy.

ASOS

Nicky Rockets

As I have said on numerous occasions I am a huge fan of a indie brand and I love these Graphic B Movie style Tee's from Nicky Rockets  and I think these would take a work pair of jeans from a bit Blah to something a bit more stylish.  

3/ The Jeans - Yes I know I bitched I live in these for work but these are a necessary evil in my life and following the death of my beloved Peaches Jeans I am liking the look of these.

Ultra High Waisted Jean - New Look @ Asos

Chelsea Jean - Simply Be

Grey Jean - Asos Curve

4/ The Jacket - I need something I can quickly throw on I was quite sold on the idea of a bomber jacket but I saw this hollographic raincoat on Missguided, now I am confused before it was just a patterned vs plain debate - now I am just confused.

Camo Bomber - Boo Hoo Plus

Holographic Raincoat _ Missguided Plus

Plain and Patterned Bomber _ Simply Be

Now the only problem is earning enough money to buy these.  So if you know any hit me up with some discount codes.

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?

#HeresWhatIWouldHaveSpent - Simply Be

Simply Be is  known as being a huge plus size retailer selling quite a wonderful array of clothes, at least for me as size 20 to 22 at the moment.  However, it has been felt that with an increasing number of ranges such as:Kelly Brook where many items stop at a size 26 that they are neglecting those who have made Simply Be a success in the first place.  For example at the moment if you wanted to buy a new dress in a size 28 on Simply Be there are 345 to chose from, not too shabby.  However, if you are a size 12 who can shop pretty much anywhere you have 432 to chose from.

I know Simply Be have replied to this stating that it is because these bigger sizes sell out quicker and whilst there might be truth to this it does not answer why so many ranges stop at a size 26 or smaller.  As a major plus size retailer surely Simply Be could have some influence in saying no if we stock you our customers will want/need these clothes in larger sizes?

So in support of my sisters here is what I would have spent Simply Be as although I may be able to fit into your clothes it is a sad state of affairs when a plus size retailer is offering more dresses for any reason in a standard size than a plus size.

Firstly I have looked at things I would wear in the day, all of these items stop at a size 26 as far as I can see.

The Black Playsuit with its lace detail shoulders is a steal at £20.00 and I would wear it with wooly tights and boots through these Winter months probably with the lovely coat I have featured here.

The Long Haired Fake Fur Coat is at £70.00, but would look great with jeans and almost anything because in my humble opinion there are few outfits that cannot be improved by fake fur.

Finally this Orange dress which is part of Look magazines collaboration with Simply Be is £35.00 I love the orange and have the top that is part of this range.  I think it is gorgeous, simple and kind of classy.

Then come my evening outfits as there is a fat Barbie in me in screaming to get out and I love sequins, tulle and lace. It maybe a throwback to being a podgy teen who could never fit into these kind of things.

Whilst I appreciate Simply Be don't make 2 of these dresses I do feel that they should be putting the pressure on and only stocking Plus sizes willing to cater for all.

The Black Lace Maxi Dress is £70.00 in the sale and is by Lipstick Boutique.  It is beautiful and I think it would make me feel like Miss America as for some reason it reminds me of beauty pagent dresses.

The Little Mistress Prom Dress is beautiful, sparkly, floaty and with cut away cleavage detail it is everything I want in a party dress and £58.00.

And last but not least is the one that makes my heart sing and do a happy dance (although the anti fat campaigners who are out in force may say it is the start of a heart attack, but I know it is happiness) This dress is all my 80's fantasies come true it is off the shoulder and has a beautiful sweetheart neckline and a lovely swishy skirt and is priced £32.00 in the sale.

So there you go Simply Be that is potentially £285.00 you have lost out on as if I would buy these things I am sure many ladies over a size 26 would too.

Lots of other fabulous ladies have blogged on this and I would love it if you checked their posts out too.

Debz - http://www.wannabeprincess.co.uk

Sarah - http://plussizeproud.wordpress.com

Katt - http://www.acurvycupcake.com/

Mookie - http://www.mookieslife.com/  

Rebecca - http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/

Steph - http://www.seeingspots.co.uk/

Kelly - http://misskittykaos.blogspot.co.uk

Louise - http://mrshappyisalmost50.blogspot.co.uk/

My Big Fat Christmas Lust List

Let's face it who doesn't have a lust list, the things we'd buy if money was no option and there were no bills to pay like ever again and Christmas brings this list to the front of mind and a choir of naughty little angels sing buy it, fuck it, buy it over and over again in my head.  However, good sense usually prevails so I give you the Big Fat Christmas Lust List, most of these items will never be mine but it don't stop my little heart wanting them and maybe if I'm a good girl The Hub will get me some or I might crack and get a couple of things.

I missed out on the Mermaid dress last year, now Claire Richards is taunting me with the green sequin dress but at £95.00 I can't really justify it for a dress which I'll probably only wear about twice.
Find it here

I am really into retro packaging and the smell of cherry blossom so this should be perfect and is reasonable at £12.99, this may well be a treat for me.

I have been back in my beloved house a few months following my Swansea adventure, it is nowhere near being how I want it to look as it is magnolia to the max, has some damp that we are trying to cure and I am waiting for the carpenter to do some jobs.  But I am lusting after this  Lapin and me lamp pretty damn hard but it is more of a I will think about it purchase as for me £65.00 is a lot for a lamp, and I would need somewhere perfect to put it.

Everyone knows I love a print.  However, nearly all my dresses flare and now I am feeling a bit brave I am thinking I would love to try a pencil one and this one that comes made to measure from Little Wicked would be perfect, especially as you can choose your neckline and sleeves and the print, but all I can say perfection like that doesn't come cheap but it is only comparable if not cheaper than brands like Get Cutie.  If not for Christmas maybe be the big Birthday that is fast approaching!

I love this bag from Vendula they do a huge selection of different shops, but I love the lingerie shop and the detail involved in even having the peep show at the back.  I really want this bag and I keep going back to it, so maybe?

I have heard great things about Limecrime and I love their packaging (purple with a unicorn, I defy you not to love that)  this Candy future lipstick Contessa Fluorescent  is totally doing it for me and it is animal testing free and suitable for vegans so I don't have to feel guilty!

So that is a highly edited lust list as who am I kidding I want all the stuff all the time and maybe if I am a good girl some of it might just be mine.

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.

And The Leaves That Were Green Turned To Brown.*

I am feeling quite autumnal at the moment, from my hair now red/orange to mustard jumpers and orange tops I am embracing a autumnal colour pallete at the moment.  So when J D Williams contacted me to review a pair of boots from their range well how could I resist.

I wasn't really that familiar with J D Williams, I had heard of it years ago and remembering it selling frumpy clothes for fats, but when I looked this was a very different J D Williams both in the range of clothes and shoes.

I knew it was boots I was looking for and I was pleasantly impressed with their range which has a good choice from your knee highs which are lovely but I just never find comfy to a beautiful range of ankle boots which you can look at here,  I picked a oxblood pair of Chelsea influenced boots, with a nice sort of fuzzy almost like pony skin feel at the heel.  They feel quite well made and comfy like I could wear them for my daily stomp to the train and with the dog and for work. where I am on my feet quite a lot.  I would say that the E fit are perfect for my slightly chunky trotters.

I have teamed this in a work style way with a pair of Chloe skinny jeans from Simply Be, these are ankle grazers and I think these generally work better in the summer with ballet pumps than with boots in the autumn (mental note) and my new favourite mustard jumper from Matalan. It is not available in Mustard on line but is in a nice bottle green.  Also featured is my elderly Staffrador (Thats a heinz 57 staff x lab to most) Madame Beyonce who has been making oufits more classy since 2004.

As well as the boots I have reviewed I also liked these boots.

Classic with a leopard print, and honestly who can resist a bit of leopard.

And these boots are firmly on my wish list both in the purple and the black as I love the 80's vibe of them and think they would look great with both print mini dresses and leggings as well as jeans.

As I am home now I took these in my local church Yard which is St Leonard's in Deal I have put a couple of pics on, pretty innit?

*These Boots were gifted but all views are my own!

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

I really liked the first Look Magazine Collection for Simply Be, but never got round to buying any of it!  So when the second came out I really liked the colour palette of the blues and oranges, but I didn't want another dress as I have a lot of dresses in my life but can't really wear them at work, so I thought the Orange top might be a wise buy wearable for work but still nice for days off.

As you can see it is a lovely Zingy colour and we warm but not toasty perfect for these warmish Autumn days.  It has a lovely boxy shape and is quite short some people might like it a bit longer as I have quite a short body and it is quite short on me.  This is a size 22 so I would say it is pretty true to size.  At £30.00 it is definitely on the upper end of what I would personally pay for a top but I did get this at 30% off making it £24.00.

The whole top has a deliciously 80's vibe which I celebrated in this very 80's catalogue pose and by teaming it with my Peaches Jeans also by Simply Be which I cannot recommend highly enough and my faithful but simple ballet flats.

I have my eye on the orange shirt dress too, but y'know so many clothes so little money, so we'll see.

Ps if we can all bear with my dodgy hair it is a transitional I dunno WTF I'm doing with it stage any advice in comments gratefully received!