Summer Wishlist

I feel that I have not talked about fashion for so long!  So to resolve this, today and tomorrow's post will be all fashion focused with favourite items in my most recent purchases and my current wishlist today and tomorrow, I am talking about how to work the sales when you are plus size.

I have always been big on patterns and bright colours.  So today I wanted to share a few pieces that I love that celebrate pattern and colour for the summer months.  First off is a recent purchase of mine, a jumpsuit that I bought from the Joe Brown Collection.

When you are plus size, finding the perfect jumpsuit can be an impossible task depending on your height, shape and the style that you are looking for.  This jumpsuit is perfect for me.  I love the bold pattern.  At 5ft 5 I had to have the length adjusted so that I wasn't falling over the hem and I also replaced the button fastening at the back with a press stud.  It is very easy to get on and off and I love it!

Next up is the dress for all occasions.  This is on my current wishlist as it is the perfect hardworking dress that can cover you for many occasions.  Again, this is a Joe Brown dress from Simply Be 

This dress will cover you for everything from going to work in the summer months to that after work drink with the girls (that turns into a few cocktails on a Friday!) simply by a change of accessories and shoes.  I would also wear this on a weekend for going out to lunch.

In September I am going to Grassington for their annual 40s weekend.  After going last night and loving how everyone had dressed up, this year I decided to do the same.  This is a dress that I have just purchased.

I love the dogwood print (which I confess I thought was cherry blossom when I first saw it).  The fit is just right and I will share photographs of the weekend after the event.  Now I just need to find the right shoes!

Lastly is a dress that is on my current wishlist from the Hell Bunny collection. 

I really like the 50s style with a sexy twist.  The length looks great and I am always a sucker for sweetheart neckline!  This is on my wishlist for the moment as I do not (yet) have the right occasion to wear it.  I may have to create one!

What are your favourite items at the moment?

Summer Sandals - The No Budget Edition

Whilst writing my Summer Sandals Essentials Guide last week, my eyes could not help be drawn to the more expensive shoes and sandals sections.

If you decide to treat yourself to a pair of designers shoes, my tip would always be to chose something classical and not to complex.  You don't after all want to spend hundreds of pounds on a pair of shoes, only to find that they only go with one outfit!

These are my favourites sandals that I have been looking at over the past week, all of which could fit into any wardrobe whilst still eluding a sense of style of glamour.

Michael Kors £55.00

I just adore these Michael Kors Sandals.  They would be perfect to show off your summer tan and add a touch of bling to your outfit. 

Southaven - £119.00

These sandals are a classic strappy style with a manageable heel, given a cool edge with the vibrant orange colour.  These will look fantastic with a black dress, or something clashing if you are feeling adventurous.

Swedish Hasbeens £149.00

I love these shoes so much I cannot even tell you.  They aren't particularly stylish or up to the minute fashionable, but anyone who has ever loved the Mary Jane combined with a 50s sense of style will love these shoes as much as I.

J Crew - £360.00

Now we are getting into the pricier end of the market.  I love the simple style of these sandals, jazzed up with the sequinned heels and strap.  You could wear these sandals with lots of different neutral tones.

Alaia £750.00

Last, but not least, the most expensive pair of sandals I am showing you today.  Classic, stylish, expensive yes, but absolutely beautiful.  These are the pair that you save for.  What is more, you could wear these shoes with any evening outfit for years to come. 

What are your favourite pair?

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

I love to wear costume jewellery.  It is inexpensive and can really change and enhance an outfit.  A bright statement necklace to jazz up a simple black dress or that elegant black jet bead necklace that goes with everything.

If I could wear one type of jewellery for the rest of my life however, it would have to be diamonds.  I do not know what it is exactly that draws me to diamonds, their sparkle, their durability, their classic elegant looks; but frequently I find myself looking at jewellery websites and dreaming of the pieces I wish I owned.

When talking about jewellery on the blog I usually feature necklaces, but for this post I wanted to show you some diamond bracelet designs. If you are going to invest in diamonds, I love the idea of wearing a diamond bracelet as it can be a sparkling luxurious feature on your wrist that you get to see every time you look down.

Here are some of my favourites:

The bracelets that I have shown you today range from £900 all the way up to £4,000.00.  Diamonds are not something that you buy every day, but their classic looks will last you a lifetime.

I aim to own a piece like this before I am 40.  That gives me three years to save for a present that I will cherish forever.

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*This post is in collaboration with Anjolee however all views are my mind

New Dress Wishlist

It has been a while since I had a good look around at the various brands to see what new dresses catch my eye.  I had a bit of time to spare tonight so I decided to have a browse and do a little wishlist of my current favourites.

First up is a gorgeous red lovely from +Yours Clothing

I am a sucker for a red dress and I love the pattern of this Glitter Flocked Skater Dress and for £35.00, what a bargain!

Next up is the stunning Briar Rose Dress from Taking Shape.  I love the black accents and as you will know if you have read my blog before, give my a floral print and I am happy.  This is £99.00.

Next is the Claire Richards spot mesh prom dress from +Fashion World   This is such a classic look and would be perfect for the Christmas party season.  

Adding a little va va voom to my wishlist is the +ASOS Paper Dolls Plunge Neckline Pencil Dress priced at £58.00.  You cannot go wrong with a monochrome theme and the neckline detailing is just gorgeous.

Finally, I have a dress that I recently spotted on the beautiful George from FullerFigureFullerBust and I have been lusting after ever since.  This is the +Scarlett Jo red floral jersey dress from Evans which is currently on sale for £40.50.

That is it for my wishlist today, hope you have liked my choices!!

Friday Wishlist

I was watching “This Old Thing” last night, the vintage clothing programme with Dawn O’Porter who I have a bit of a girl crush on.  She was having a conversation with a lady who was a complete vintagephobe and in it summed my ethos to clothes perfectly.

Vintagephobe (she has a name, but I forgot it, and it’s 10pm and I don’t care that much) “But that dress, where would I wear something like that?”.

Dawn “Just put it on and wear it wherever you like!”.

I don’t believe in saving clothes for a special occasion.  The days of wearing your “Sunday best” are long since behind us.  I want to wear my best every single day.  It makes me happy.

Every night before I go to bed I have a rummage through my wardrobe and find something to wear for work the next day.  Shoes are pulled out, jewellery is selected; it takes less than ten minutes out of the day and is time that I willingly sacrifice to be able to look good the next day.  Another ten minutes (ok fifteen) with my makeup bag in the morning and I am good to go, happy and ready to face the world.

I still remember going to work every day from head to toe in black.  I felt invisible.  I made an active choice not to blend into the surroundings any more and now I celebrate the fact that I don’t.  As is well documented in this blog I love bright colours and bold prints so with that in mind, here are my current things on my lusting after list!

1   Multi Floral Print Prom Skirt

2   Sydney Loose Pants

3   Oriental pleated maxi dress

4   Tapestry Floral Dress

5   Jeffrey & Paula Print Dress

Friday Wishlist Taking Shape

Welcome to this week's Friday wishlist.  Today I am focussing on one brand in particular, Taking Shape. 

 

Taking Shapes have been in business for over 28 years in Australia and New Zealand but I confess that I only heard of them when they extended their business to the UK.   I have seen various bloggers talking about their range in glowing terms so I thought that I would take a look myself.

Their tagline is “Celebrate your Curves” and they have some gorgeous patterns and shapes available in their range.  All their stores have trained fashion stylists which is something that I think some be extended across more clothing stores. 

Here are my current favourites, available in store and on their UK website Taking Shape

Here are the links to each item:

 

1 Frost Coat

 

2  Hepburn Ankle Boot

 

3  Boucle Coat

 

4 Mindy Dress

 

5 Cria Dress

 

Have you seen that Boucle coat?  It is one of my favourite coats of the season I want to run away with it back to the 1940's!

 

Have you found any new brands lately?

 

 

*  Please note that this is not a sponsored post.  I merely want to support a new brand coming into the UK market and there were lots of things available that I loved! 



May Wishlist

I am quite certain that you could lure me to practically anything if the words “Pretty Dress” were included.  I can’t help myself.

I have been looking around at the new dresses available and have fallen in love with a few that I thought I would share with you.

PeacockSkater Dress Desire Clothing £32.00

RedMulti Floral Dress Lovedrobe £40.00

PaisleyMaxi Dress AX Paris at New Look £35.00

KissPrint Dress – Evans £45.00

 I recently discovered Desire Clothing through a blog post done by the lovely Mrs Bebe.  I love the peacock pattern of the dress and the contrast of blue at the neck and waist.  As to the gorgeous red floral dress from @_Lovedrobe_ , well it's just fabulous isn't it?  I absolutely adore the floral print and the black edging.

I previously saw the paisley maxi dress on the +AX Paris site in their regular size collection and was praying that it would also be created for their Curve section so I was delighted when I found on the @NewLookFashion site.

Finally, the kiss print dress which was modelling by the gorgeous @CallieThorpe of From the Corners of the Curve.  I thought the dress looked amazing on her and I'm itching to see what it would look like on me.

I have previously done a roundup of my favourite dresses back in March and happily managed to buy one of them (read unable to resist so bought with my eyes closed at my bank balance).  I think you’ll agree though that the +Simply Be  dress as worn here is one I had to have ;)

What are your favourite dresses at the moment?

Wishlist - Shoes for the Summer

There are a few words that you could say to me to bring an instant smile to my face.  Formula One, Bagpuss, Adam Levine, shoes.....

Every woman loves shoes, I think it may be part of our DNA.  When buying shoes for the summer I try to look for pairs that will go with multiple outfits and also can carry you through from day to evening for those Summer's days outs.

Here are my favourites:

1.  Sporty Black Wedges £36.00

Wedges and not too high, ideal to take you from shorts to a maxi dress

2.  Leopard Print Lace-Ups  £24.00

Comfortable and with a cool print to add a pop of colour to your day time outfit

3.  Tan Block Heels £40.00

Ideal shoe to go with most evening dresses from short to maxi

4.  Espadrille Sandals £25.00

If you have had a long day sightseeing, these lovelies will still look good with a dress at the end of the day

5. Sparkle Ballerinas £28.00

What girl doesn't need a pair of ballerinas?

So those are my favourite shoes for the Summer season, what are yours?

All Dressed Up

One fantastic thing about reading all the plus size fashion blogs is that I find all new places to buy clothes that I didn't even think of before.  Especially if, like I used to think, that if you walked into Evans the world would be over.

I've gotten over that particular foiable and recently made my first purchase there, a pair of bright purple tights.   Anyone watching me would have laughed as I shot into the shop like a startled gazelle, before I could change my mind.  Yes, I'm daft.

One of the places I have discovered recently as a decent stockist of (actually decent) plus size clothing is John Lewis.  I have been looking mostly at the dresses (my favourite thing after shoes) and although a lot of the dresses were between the £60 - £150.00 range, they do fill  a gap in the market.

Previously when I had been looking for an occasion dress I have had a real struggle.  Had I know about the selection at John Lewis, my four month search for a dress for my best friend's wedding may not have been fraught with anxiety.

Here are my favourites:

£52 - Linked Here

£79 - Linked Here

£69 - Linked here



£59 - Linked here

My favourite of the dresses above would definately be number three.  This is the dress I would chosen for my friend's wedding had I seen it at the time and to be honest, I'm that much in love with it that it may be finding it's way into my wardrobe sooner rather that.

Where do you get your occasion dresses from?