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?

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.

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!!

Suits You 4

I am more than a little late with this challenge I have to say sorry to Sally-Anne Wills whom I have been allocated this month.

Blog address: www.thehumanmannequin.co.uk

Twitter: @sallywills

Instagram: @sallywills

I am trying my best to fit my blog into the whirlwind of things that are happening in my personal life at the moment but it doesn’t always work when you have hospital visits and a million other distractions.

I met Sally at my first ever event in London and she was very lovely, tweeting me before the event when I was nervous and scared to go in on my own!

I have looked through some of her recent outfit of the day posts and have put together this ensemble, I hope she likes it!

Vintage Floral Belted Dress - Yours Clothing

Shoe Boots - Yours Clothing

Pearl Infinity Bracelet from NotontheHighStreet

Please take a moment to check out the other ladies who are also involved in the styling challenge!

Patty

Katt

Vicky

Steph

Kathryn

Sally

Lisa

Leah

Kitty

Making Fashion Work For You

Whether it is something to do with the fact that I am now (whispers) 35, but the length I prefer on dresses and skirts has definitely lengthened.

Up until the past couple of years I was happy to wear an above the knee length but now when out shopping I finding myself leaning towards the below the knee and midi lengths.  Myself and leggings have never really taken to each other so they are not an option for the shorter lengths either.

How something fits is equally growing more important as the years go by in that I no longer want to have to compromise on the fit. 

What I think that we all tend to forget, or at least me anyway, is that we don't have to compromise on fit and lengths can be changed according to what you want.  Sewing services are available everywhere and for between £8.00 - £10.00 (Lancashire pricing anyway) you can get items altered to how you want them to look.

Whenever I go shopping now I always bear this in mind and when I see a dress (my go to item as you know) I always kept seamstress services in mind.

This dress for example I bought in a recent shopping trip to Manchester at +Yours Clothing   The dress started out as a maxi dress but straight off the hanger I knew that, on me, it would work perfectly at a just under the knee length.  So I bought it and had it altered to how I wanted (seamstress in this case being my talented mum).

Obligatory pout shot

Having tried the dress on I think we ended up taking about 5 inches off the dress and it really does make a difference.

Have you been making your fashion work for you lately?

99p Dresses

I have heard of companies using a marketing ploy of seeing off a certain number of dresses at ridiculously cheap prices before but have always been wary.

You see the advert for a 99p dress and immediately think that the quality is going to be terrible, the fit isn’t going to be right and the dress will invariably fall apart in the wash after the first wear.

When I heard that +Yours Clothing  were selling off five different dresses for 99p however, my curiosity was piqued.  I love their clothing, the quality is always good and although I wasn’t sure what the fit would be like, for 99p I was more than willing to give it a go!

I went for the purple dress with the cross over top and full pleated skirt.  It looked like something Marilyn Monroe wore in that infamous scene in The Seven Year Itch and that was more than enough reason to buy it.

The fantastic Debz from WannabePrincess came up with the idea of us all sharing our dresses in the same week, with each dress on a different day: 

Monday 3rd March - Purple Dress

Tuesday 4th March - Black and White Chiffon Dress

Wednesday 5th March - Black Bodycon Dress

Thursday 6th March - Red and Black Dress

Friday 7th March - Polka Dot Dress

Here’s how mine turned out!

The quality of the dress is perfect, silky to the touch and doesn't turn see through when it hits the sun as you can sometimes find with these sorts of dresses.  I love the fit and it will definately be making an appearance on my next night out!

Since the sale I have since seen the dress available to buy for £40.00 so I indeed got an amazing bargain!