A Shoe In

I have always loved shoes.  Specifically the Mary Jane kind.  Even when my whole wardrobe was black, I always had beautiful shoes, usually in a bright colour to detract from the black on my body.

Shoes are easy to fall in love with.  You walk into a shop or browse online and suddenly there they are, the perfect pair.  You fall a little bit in love.  The trouble is, they don't fall in love with you.  You make the compromises in the relationship.

I have always had various issues with the shoes that I wear.  My fit veers between an E and EE fitting so finding nice ones can be hard.  My balance is not the best (to say the least) so heel height is a problem.  I can't wear pointed shoes because of my issue with staircases.

That said, for the right pair of shoes I have always ignored these issues.  I have squeezed my feet into shoes that were too narrow, but were beautiful.  I have bought heels too high for my comfort because they were fabulous.

I was looking my shoe cupboard this weekend and there were so many shoes that I no longer wear or have never worn because I bought after falling in love, but in reality that just were not practical. A major clear out was in order and by the end, I have gotten rid of nine pairs of shoes.  Sob!

I decided that I needed a new philosophy when it comes to my shoe buying.  They can still be beautiful, but I need to be able to wear them in comfort.  Not in pain and not compromising what I can actually walk in without falling over.

Here are some that I am currently looking at:

I love these Vans Shoes from Skate Hut.  I would wear these on a casual weekend with jeans or alternatively, they would look great with a casual black dress.  There is no reason why you can't wear casual shoes with a nice dress.  I have seen Callie from From the Corners of the Curve do this really well.

I am just about to buy these wedges from SimplyBe as they will perfect for the summer.  Black which goes with anything, a wedge which negates some of the heel height and a good grip sole (which is it about summer sandals that have really slippery soles???)

These nude fit loafers from Evans are perfect for work and look so stylish and comfortable.  

These knee high boots from Yours and are available (like all the shoes I have featured in this post) available in an E fit.  With a heel height of 3 inches which is a manageable height, these boots with go wonderfully with a lovely dress or will style up a pair of jeans.

Those are my current picks for shoes that work with my limitations, whilst still being stylish and gorgeous.

Today's WishList

ASOS Curve women plus size dress
£43 - asos.com

Voodoo Vixen skater skirt
simplybe.co.uk

Voodoo Vixen red dress
simplybe.co.uk

ASOS Curve brown dress
£34 - asos.com

Evans plus size pants
houseoffraser.co.uk

Betty Boop satchel bag
simplybe.co.uk

Ray-Ban sunglasses
simplybe.co.uk

February WishList

Been a while since I did a wishlist post. Here are some of my current favourites.

ASOS Curve tall dress
asos.com

Evans black midi dress
houseoffraser.co.uk

Joe Browns floral empire waist dress
simplybe.co.uk

ASOS Curve off shoulder dress
asos.com

Summer boots
£17 - amazon.com

Pull&Bear cut out boots
pullandbear.com

Playing with Purple

This week seems to have been the purple week.  When I have looked into my wardrobe each night to see what I want to wear the following day, my hand has increasing been drawn to the purple end  of the spectrum.

Today I have for you the Purple PU Trim Shift Dress from +Scarlett Jo This dress is shortly than I would ordinarily wear but for these photographs I decided to get my legs out and have a play.  You could also easily wear this dress with tights and boots or even with leggings.

I love the PU detailing on the dress which gives it an edgier feel.

I have also decided to play around with an up do as the detailing on the dress practically demanded to be shown off.  Apologies about the lighting in some of these photographs, I am really struggling for good light conditions when I come home from work!

Dress from Scarlett & Jo - found here
Shoes: +Simply Be

Obligatory pout selfie

* This item was kindly gifted to me but all opinions are, as ever, my own.

A Summer OOTD

Today I thought that I would share with you an outfit that I wore this week when I went out for the day.   I wanted an outfit that would be cool given the gorgeous balmy weather we are currently having, but also with a bit of style to it.

What I ended up choosing was the +Simply Be  Tile Print Tea Dress which I picked up recently as I thought that it would be perfect for the Summer months.  With it I wanted a few pops of colour so I went with the Evans Turquoise Crossover Peeptoe Pumps * from +House of Fraser in a wide fit and also the Heart Pendant* 

The cotton dress kept me cool and calm all day and the gorgeous turquoise sandals were comfortable and gave the pop of colour to the outfit that I was looking for.

What are you wearing in the hot Summer days?

* Denoted gifted items but all opinions my own

Magnificent 7th

We will be posting on the 7th of each month, and the aim of the challenge is to create an outfit to fit the theme, using clothes from our wardrobes, and yes that does mean digging deep into the depths and finding those long lost clothes! Hopefully one of us won’t end up in Narnia, but you never know with a bloggers wardrobe!

This month’s theme was to let someone else choose your outfit for you and so I got together with my friend and we had a look around the internet and I left the choices completely in her hands.

No surprise that the accents to the outfit were red, she knows me, altogether I am quite sure that the handbag is a little bit of my reach!  The dress however from Modcloth is so utterly beautiful.  I haven't chosen to buy a black dress for a couple of years now having largely banished it from my wardrobe but I would wear this dress in a heartbeat!

Magnificent 7th Choices by viclandfrankly featuring a michael kors charm

Cocktail wedding dress
modcloth.com

Evans red patent leather shoes
$55 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Judith Leiber satin handbag
neimanmarcus.com

Michael kors charm
forzieri.com

Check out the other ladies!

Kaye http://polishedcurves.wordpress.com/

Nicola http://chunkycatcuddler.blogspot.co.uk/

Gail http://gailygumdrops.blogspot.co.uk/

Mary http://marysbigcloset.blogspot.pt/

Kathryn http://misskathrynsmisstakes.blogspot.co.uk/

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Charley http://www.biggirlabouttown.blogspot.co.uk/

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

Leah http://www.justmeleah.blogspot.co.uk

Lindsey http://linzerellofatshion.blogspot.co.uk/

Vicky http://www.thecurvedopinion.com

Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.co.uk/

Christiana http://www.lifeofouk.blogspot.co.uk/

Leah http://www.thirtysomethingcurvyme.blogspot.co.uk/

Nancy http://sugardarlingblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Beverly http://www.thecurvyword.com/ 

Gillian http://www.weegillie.com/

Katt http://acurvycupcake.blogspot.co.uk/

Sarah http://plussizeproud.wordpress.com/

Hannah http://www.fabulouslyfatfashion.com/

Hollie http://prettybigbutterflies.com

Kitty http://misskittykaos.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma http://emmaatouchofsparkle.weebly.com/

Michelle http://stageyourpresence.blogspot.ie/

Abi http://aisforabi.blogspot.co.uk/

Sarah http://pookledo.blogspot.co.uk/

Charlie http://www.freakumdress.co.uk/

Sally http://www.thehumanmannequin.co.uk/

Mayah http://www.beautyfulyouniverse.blogspot.co.uk/

Lucie http://www.fatbeautyx.co.uk/

Natalie http://www.awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk/

Scarlett & Jo Feather Print Tunic Dress

I was recently contacted by the lovely Lucy of Scarlett & Jo and was asked if I wanted to review the Feather Print Tunic Dress.  Having seen pictures of the dress on the British Plus Size Fashion Weekend I already knew that I loved it and jumped at the chance.

The tunic dress comes with an underslip and then the chiffon over layer with the gorgeous feather print pattern.  The patterning is so beautiful but I wanted to try a different edge to my original idea of bare legs and sandals so I went with purple tights from +Yours Clothing and my new ankle boots from +Dorothy Perkins.

I like pieces that you can wear in different seasons with the aid of different accessories so until the weather warms up it will rocking the tights and boots look and then bare legs and pretty sandals in the Summer!

You can buy the tunic dress at +Evans here for £40.00   

* Item was sent for review, but all opinions are my own

BonMarche Lace Print Dress

Today on the blog I have for you an outfit that I wore to work yesterday. 

Bonmarche kindly allowed me to chose something from their New in range and I immediately spotted the Lace Print Dress by David Emanuel.  I was immediately drawn to the beautiful lace pattern on the jersey fabric and thought it would be an ideal dress for work.

It would also work well for going out for a meal in the evening but you know me, I am never knowingly under dress for anything!

I wore the dress yesterday at work with my trusty black cardigan from South  at +Very.co.uk together with my new red shoes from +Evans  and a gorgeous statement necklace that I bought on sale from +Dorothy Perkins 

If you decide to buy this dress I would advise to size down as I bought my usual size and it was a little roomier than I would normally wear.  At work with a cardigan though it worked just fine and I was comfortable all day.

*The dress was gifted to me by BonMarche.  All opinions are my own.

The Little Black Skirt

Like everyone else I have been watching the new +Pink Clove UK clothing site with interest.  They are producing fast fashion at really affordable prices and there are some really nice pieces on there.   I have the tartan dress and the blue wrap dress (so far haha).

I have been wanting to branch out from my little dress world into skirts lately but haven’t been able to find the right one that screamed “me”.  Then I saw this little number priced at £10.00 and immediately went to checkout.

I love the side split in the skirt which gives a little bit of sass to what is just a plain black midi skirt.  That’s what I little in my outfits, somewhere that has to be a little bit of sassiness to spice things up.

I have styled it with a black and white leopard print cardigan from +Next  and some red t bar shoes that I got in the sale from +Evans.  I also have on a pearl bracelet I picked up from a charity shop and a jet black necklace, I can't remember where I got this. 

I'm planning on this outfit for tomorrow, which will be today by the time you read this.  I'm thinking hair down, what do you think?