Marisota Swimwear

Swimwear has always been an issue for me.  My day to day body confidence can sometimes go out of the window when I think about buying a new swimsuit as there are just so many factors to consider.

Last time I went on holiday choosing a new swimsuit was somewhat of a colossal task.  Whilst I would have no issues in wearing one, I want to make sure that I look my best but more importantly, make sure that I feel comfortable in what I am wearing.

+Marisota have created this infographic for swimwear in order to help you choose what to wear while you are lounging by the pool and there is some brilliant advice that I wish I had had last time I was browsing the swimwear section.

Whilst I do not wish to hide my body, I do want to show it off to it's full potential and then the only thing I have to worry about is getting a tan!

A whopping 60.7% of the people surveyed found that their stomach was the area where they lacked the most confidence and I admit, this is the category I fall into as well.

Whilst I am not at a stage where I could simply throw on a bikini and not feel self conscious, having some style tips that I can work from, and grow confidence from there, will help greatly.  A bespoke swimsuit or swimdress with a cup size will help me to feel glam whilst something with a little bit of support in the stomach area would help me feel less self conscious.

Check out the Marisota Swimwear Section to find your ideal swimwear.




* In collaboration with Marisota



Dannimac Trench Coat

One thing that you can guarantee about the British Summer is that it will be unpredictable. You can have blazing sunshine in the morning and rain in the afternoon. Carrying a coat or a cardigan with you if you are leaving the house for more than an hour is always advisable.

This year when thinking about buying a Summer coat I had something very specific in mind. The golden fleece of coats. Seemingly unobtainable (if previous years are anything to go by) until you are willing to pay well over £100.00 (which I am not). What is the coat on my clothing pedestal? A stone coloured trench coat.

But they are everywhere I hear you cry! Well yes, they are, unless you are as particular about coats as I am. There is a long list of criteria that has to be met in order to be my perfect coat. It is after all something that you are going to get a lot of wear out of, so it has to be “the one”.

• The colour has to go with everything. (I thought that I have found my perfect trench coat last year, only for the stone colour described to actually be a dirty beige)

• The fit has to be impeccable. Not too tight, not too loose and comfortable.

• The fabric shouldn't crease and also, it should neither be too thick or too thin.

• I should feel like a hot female spy in a film noir movie.

Ok, the last one isn’t essential, wait, who am I kidding, of course it is :)

Anyway, I found my coat of dreams in the Dannimac coats section at +Marisota  and it can be found here: Dannimac

The dress underneath the coat is the bird print doll dress from +Simply Be and there will be a review up soon!

Vicky xx

Spring Formal

One of the things I worry about when asked to go to a formal Spring event is what to wear?  The basic black that you can fall back on in Autumn/Winter seems a bit out of place on a glorious summer day, so the question is, what do you wear?

+Marisota recently sent me a look sheet of formal looks for Spring/Summer which I have decided to share with you as there were a couple of items that I fell for.

Black blazer £50.00
(I couldn't find a link on the site)

Spotted Mesh Prom Skirt £49.00

I am dying to buy this skirt.  There are so many things I want to wear with it and try it with.  Different colours, with belt, without belt, high shoes, low shoes, the lot!

I wasn't asked by the way to do this post for Marisota, I just loved the skirt so much that I wanted to share it with you!

Today's Work OOTD

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Manchester pop up shop arranged by +Marisota where I had a look at their Shapeology collection and Mark Heyes was also there with his gorgeous Ava Collection.

I tried on various outfits while I was there (see my previous post Marisota Pop Up Shops) but the one I was thinking about when I got home and decided to get, very surprisingly for me given that I am a dress girl through and through, was a pants and top combination.

I am loving the printed trousers that are everywhere at the moment and I am drawn to anything with a beautiful cobalt blue colour so here is my outfit which I was wearing today at work.

Tribal Print Jacquard Trousers * £39.00

Mark Heyes Jersey Top with Mesh Insert * £35.00

Shoe Tailor Low Wedge Sandals £30.00

Necklace - Primark

* I was gifted a voucher for Marisota with which I purchased the above noted items.

Marisota Pop Up Shops

Last week I was invited to attend the preview night of the +Marisota  Manchester Pop Up Shop.  Mark Heyes would be there with his beautiful Ava Range and also other items would be available to have a look at from the Marisota Shapeology range.

A new report undertaken by Marisota has revealed that more than two thirds of women in Manchester now shop by shape,preferring flattering clothes to designer labels (83%).

It's Shapeology study, which targeted 100 women over the age of 45 in Manchester, suggests that out of all occasions from graduations to first dates, women from the city found it hardest to shop for outfits for weddings (46%) and summer holidays the worst (21%) for wardrobe dilemmas.

More than one third (31%) struggle to find clothes that suit their shape, with almost half (47%) wanting to hide their flaws, while 51% want to enhance their best bits.

Marisota has used a new technology called Shapeology to ensure every garment has some sort of hidden paneling and support, as well as clever colour blocking throughout the range.

Upon arrival I was immediately offered a glass of champagne (a good start off in my books!) and was made to feel welcome from the start.  Mark was on hand to greet everyone and I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour of the clothing after which Mark picked out some items for me to try on.

Now at this point I have to say that I am an idiot.  I had my camera with me, all ready to snap pictures of the clothes, only to find after a few photographs that I had somehow forgotten my memory card.  Silly silly girl.

Here are a few of the pictures I did manage to take along with a photograph of myself and Mark. 

Edit Scuba Print Dress

You can find the dress above as well as some other favourites that I found below in the Ava Collection by Mark Heyes

I have already ordered the blue jersey top with the mesh stripe detailing and the aztec trousers and have a feeling that they will be worn a lot over the Summer!

Win a VIP Experience at Marisota This Weekend

In line with the launch of their Shapeology range and the new Ava collection with Mark Heyes, Marisota have set up a series of pop up shops across the country.  Here's what they have to say about it:

 

The stores have been designed to give existing and new customers the opportunity to learn more about Marisota’s Shapeology concept and see it in action. TV super-stylist Mark Heyes and his team of specially trained Shapeologists will be on hand at each location offering one to one ‘Shapeovers’. With ‘magic mirrors’ enabling them to capture their new look and share it instantly with their friends via Facebook, Twitter and Email. They will also be able to print out a copy to take away with them.

 

Each of the pop ups will feature a selection of fashions in sizes 12-32 as well as key accessories, swimwear and shapewear. Customers will be able to order items featured at the events in-store and will be given a special 20% discount AND free home delivery.

 

 

I already love this one!

 

The Shapeology Pop Up Shop tour launches in London (56 Wells Street, W1T 3PT) 13-16 March, before going on to Glasgow (Buchanan Galleries, 220 Buchanan Street, G1 2FF) 20-23 March, Bristol (23 Penn Street, Cabot Circus, BS1 3AU) 25-30 March and Manchester (Arndale Centre) 3-6 April.

Marisota have kindly allowed me to run a competition to coincide with the launch of the Central London pop up shop, offering 5 lucky winners a VIP Marisota experience.

The winners would need to be available to attend the event in central London on either Friday 14th, Saturday 15th or Sunday 16th March. They will be booked in for a Shapeover from our team of Shapology experts (led by TV stylist Mark Heyes). The sessions are: 10am-12pm, 12pm-2pm, 2pm-4pm or 4pm-6pm.

As an added bonus, the 5 VIP winners will also go into a prize draw to win a fantastic £500 worth of vouchers to spend at Marisota.

All you have to do to enter is email marisotaukpopupshop@gmail.com quoting my blog title www.TheCurvedOpinion.com and a contact telephone number to be entered.

Good luck!

 

A Night at the Oscars

I can't believe that it is the Oscars next week, that seems to have come around so quickly this year!

One of my favourite things about watching the Oscars is seeing the fashion.  I can't even imagine how excited I would be to go to an event like that, especially with all the designers clamoring to dress you and the amazing jewellery you get to wear.  Sadly that is never going to happen for me, but what I thought that I would do was create a dream Oscars look.

Plus size women are scrutinized even more on the red carpet and more often that not are slated in the press for their choices.  I believe that there is absolutely no reason why you can't look like a million dollars, no matter what your size, so here is would be my look.

Dress from Marisota

Jewellery from 77 Diamonds

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

I think this outfit would look amazing on the red carpet and is something I would love to wear.  Sadly I think the diamonds may be out of my reach, but a girl can dream!

*Truly Wow Colour Block Skater Dress

I was recently contacted by Marisota and was invited to take part in their Dressolutions Challenge.

Looking through the new season collection, I wanted to find something which pushed my boundaries and also broke some of the so called fashion rules that are placed on us.

What I found was the stylish Truly Wow Colour Block Skater Dress  Although wearing dresses is my thing, I usually tend to go for prints and haven't been able to make colour blocking look right on me.  Also, the whole high neckline is one of the things I am told to avoid.

The coral and black make a bold statement and I love the clean lines of the dress.  I decided that with a long necklace, there was no reason why I couldn't make the dress work for me and so here it is, and I absolutely love it!

Dress - Gifted to me from Marisota

Shoes - SimplyBe - new season

Necklace - charity shop find

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Nail

It makes me really happy to put this post on the blog today.  I have bitten my nails all of my life and have always been ashamed of how they looked, hiding them away should anyone happen to glance.

A few months ago I decided that enough was enough, if I had the willpower to stop smoking I certainly had enough to stop biting my nails.  I have had a few false starts and many breakages, but after using the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, Almond Nail Oil from The Body Shop and Bettyhula hand moisturiser to make sure that they look the best that they can; I finally have a set of nails worthy of being painted. 

I was recently contacted by Marisota and asked to take part in their 12 Nails of Christmas Campaign.  They kindly provided me with various paints, pens and accessories; everything I needed to create a festive nail look.  

What I really wanted to showcase was a beautiful red varnish, inspired by old Hollywood glamour.  I have a love affair with the colour red and have always wanted to have perfectly manicured red nails. 

When I think of the festive season I think of sparkle, glamour and elegance.  That is what I wanted to create with my nails, something understated but with a touch of sparkle, classic but not boring and above all, a theme that could be carried forward through various celebrations.  After all, you don’t want to spend the entire festivities just painting your nails!

After applying the Aperetif Essie Nail Polish I applied some star tattoo strips from Andrea Fullerton and and then to add a little glitz, some crystals to the thumbs and middle fingers.  This is a look that I would happily wear for any of the upcoming festivities over Christmas.

To go with my newly decorated nails, here is a look that I have pulled together from Marisota for the upcoming festive season.

What will you be wearing this season?

* The nail products were gifted to me as part of the Marisota 12 Nails of Christmas, but all opinions and nail images are my own

Lazy Day OOTD

Last night I went to my best friend’s for a long awaited catch up.  A few drinks and a late night meant that today was definately labelled as a lazy day which needs comfortable clothing.

I went with a jumper from the Ava Collection from Marisota which was kindly gifted to me at the recent launch I attended together with some leggings and ankle boots.

Everyone needs a little sparkle sometimes!

Tired face

Sequin Stripe Jumper £33.50 from +Marisota  *

High Waisted Leggings from South at +Very.co.uk  - 2 pack for £14.00

Someone decided that she wanted to get in on the action!

How have you spent your weekend?

* Denotes a gifted item

Ava Collarless Coat Review*

Hi all!

Last Wednesday I was invited to the launch of the Ava Collection for Marisota in Soho.  I was lucky enough to be allowed to take a couple of pieces away with me on the day and as a result, I have this gorgeous coat to show you!

This collarless coat is available in black, dusty pink or red and is priced at a not at all unreasonable £49.00.  Now me being me, I went for the red and immediately fell in love with it.

The simple lines of this coat are effortlessly classic and the just above knee length (on me, I’m 5ft 4) is just at that right length that will go with both dresses and trousers.

My original idea was to show you this coat in a simple black dress so as to show off the beautiful red but then I changed my mind.  Rather than use the coat as a colour pop to finish an outfit, I wanted it to add to an outfit instead, give it a little extra zing.  Just because it is a classic style, doesn’t mean that it can also be versatile.

So here I am, complete with blue leopard print dress!

This coat will fit into my work wardrobe perfectly and will also, as shown in the above pictures, be added to some more fun outfits for nights out and weekends.  All in all, a very hardworking coat!

What coats have you been buying lately?

*This coat was gifted to me however all opinions are my own.