Top Tips For What To Wear To A Wedding

I have been invited to a wedding in October and I have already started looking at outfits and shoes, trying to decide what to wear.

For this wedding I have been invited to both the ceremony and subsequent wedding breakfast, going straight through to the evening celebration at another location.  Which poses a problem.  What do you wear that is going to work for both parts of the wedding, at different times of day?

Here are some tips that I think will get you through a wedding with style and without offending the bride!

1.  Stay Classy

If you have been invited to a wedding, chances are that it is going to be a formal event (unless it is on a beach, then you might get a little leeway!).  So this is not a time to bring out your jeans.  Have a really good shop around for something formal, but also ideally something that you can wear again or style up to give you different looks.  No white please!

For the summer months, why not go with a mid length fishtail dress in a bright colour?  This one from SimplyBe is an absolute steal at £25.00.

As the wedding that I am going to is in October so I am looking for something a little more covered, but still stylish.  I love the River Island dresses that are around at the moment and am in love with this one which is very reasonable £65.00 and could be worn to a variety of events, not just a wedding.

2.  Think With Your Feet

Chances are, if you have been invited to both the day and evening events of a wedding, you are going to be on your feet, a lot.  There are a few different things to think about here.  

• You need a pair that are going to work for both day and evening wear.  Glitzy glitter covered heels look fab underneath a disco ball but not so much in a pew at a church.

• You want a heel height that still looks elegant and stylish, whilst also not being too high.  They have to be comfortable enough to wear the shoes for hours on end without killing your feet and of course, you have to be able to dance in them (after you have negotiated uneven flooring outside churches, cobbled streets etc).

• Try to go for neutral tones or black.  Matching that perfect colour of jade green from your dress may seem like a fab idea at the time, but you want to wear a shoe that you can wear again with other outfits (thereby justifying paying slightly more than usual for a gorgeous pair!).

I am loving these shoes at these black diamante shoes from River Island at the moment which have just a touch of sparkle and have a manageable, block heel which shouldn't prove hard to walk in.

Finally,

3.  Remember, it is someone's wedding day

When you are going to day and night event, probably surrounded by many people that you do not know; the urge to have a few more drinks than usual to "ease you up a bit" is an easy one to succumb to.  I know only five people at the wedding I am going to in October and that includes my plus one!

Everyone has a few too many drinks at weddings but make sure that you eat something at the wedding breakfast, have a nibble at the buffet later in the evening.   Tripping the light fantastic on the dance floor is one thing at a wedding, but there is always one that gets too inebriated and can potentially spoil a couple's wedding day.  Don't let that be you!

3 Tips For Shopping The Sales When You Are Plus Size

I must confess, I am not a fan of shopping in the sales.  Trawling through racks of clothing that have been looked at and rejected by many others before me and jostling for position for that one great item that everyone spots at the same time is not my idea of fun.

That said, the "in the shop" experience is not something that I do, mostly because the nearest shop to cater to my dress size is an hour's travel away.  Which means that 99% of the time, my shopping is online. 

Shopping in the sales online is sooooo much easier and there are many tips and tricks that I have established along the way to ensure that I get the items that I want, for a cheaper price with the minimal time and effort.

Maintain an Offline Shopping Basket

Although I love looking for new clothes, if I am strapped for cash but in need of an item of clothing, there is nothing worse than trawling through a dozen websites and navigating their sales sections.  With this in mind, what I tend to do is whenever I see something I like but cannot yet afford in the regular non sale sections, I note down the link to save for later.

I have a shopping document on my laptop where I note down my favourite items, what they are, the current price and a hyperlink to it.  Sometimes there are just a few items on this list, sometimes dozens when I have a particular event in mind.

Every week I spend around an hour checking out these links to see if any items have gone into the sale.  This technique works particularly well at the end of the season when many items have moved to the sale section.  I don't tend to move with current trends and instead focus more on what I like so I don't worry about what is "in" and "out".

Shopping the Sales in One Go

One of the most frustrating things about shopping in the sales online when you are plus size is the limited options available to you.  You know what I mean.  You hit the sale section, full of hope of finding a bargain.  You click on a section, and then filter to only include your size.  The screen refreshes and you are left with five options.  Four of which you wouldn't dress your grandmother in.

My upgrade version of my offline shopping basket is a site that I have found called LovetheSales that puts together the sales from all the sites and lets you view them all on one website.  Below is a screenshot of a search that I did on the site, filtering down to dresses and my clothing size of 24.

Did you just let out a little "Eeeeeeeek!".  Because I did.  The idea behind the site is that they host all the sale items in one place and then it takes you to the relevant website like Asos or New Look to purchase the item.  Couldn't be simpler!

Look for Discount Codes

This is something that we call should do, but usually forget.  I cannot tell you the amount of times I have shopped on a website, only later to find a 25% discount code that I could have used.  I also have cashback account with a site that I always forget to use.  

By combining items in the sale and discount codes you can often end up with a real bargain and by using my offline method, many of my favourite items have been bought this way.

Do you have any tips for shopping for plus size fashion in the sales?

Fashion Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy

Pexels At: Unsplash

There are times where even the most confident fat girl feels society thinks she’s not thin enough for fashion. Hell, we just don't feel it, we experience it and sometimes, that can really affect our confidence.

For years, numerous articles warned fat women off wearing vertical stripes, tight dresses and short skirts to make their weight less noticeable. In turn, this had led to thousands of women feeling ashamed, and alienated by their bodies as they hide impressive figures in baggy jeans, sweaters and T-shirts in a desperate bid to fool people into thinking they’re smaller. Enough is enough. We are done hiding away because that is what some in society seem to want.

Over the past few years, things have slowly started to change thanks to an army of body positive beauty bloggers, plus-size bloggers and healthy, but curvy fitness followers! Fashion is no longer about being thin or the door is closed to you, people no matter what size they are, are beginning to realise being happy is far more important than fitting into a certain dress size.

Earn Your Stripes

How many times have you seen a fashion article talk about suiting vertical, horizontal and diagonal stripes depending on your body shape? Thinner girls were given carte blanche to wear whatever they liked, while those of us with more shape we told, almost covertly, avoid horizontal stripes as they’ll accentuate your figure. Well, so what? Now’s the time to embrace your curves because it’s not just possible, horizontal stripes look downright amazing on someone who looks like a woman and if a striped knit dress clings in all the right places it can look super sexy too!

The Right Fit

There is no "right fit". If you want to wear baggy clothes, then rock them. If you want to wear a skin tight dress, you wear that dress with a swagger. I found it quite helpful to look at tips to shop for your shape. Working out whether you are an hourglass, pear, apple etc shape can assist with some of your earlier decisions when you are changing up your style.

Pexels At: Julian Jagtenberg

Stick To The One Piece

Up until very recently, even the most progressive fashion magazines have struggled when it comes to swimwear season and advising women on what to wear if they’re over a size 16. Look, it’s simple.

Wear what you feel great in.

If that’s a swimming costume great, but if it’s a fifties style halter neck bikini or tankini with flamingo fashion jewellery then that’s awesome too! Stop worrying about what everyone else looks like in their swimwear and just focus on having fun. Most people will tell you the most attractive thing about a woman is when she's just being herself and feeling confident.

Out Of Print

Who says you can’t mix colors, fabrics and prints? Sometimes the most fashion forward, on trend outfits are a color clashing whirlwind of gorgeous shades, luxuriously soft material and to die for tropical prints. Anyone who knows me, knows that I wear print every single day and I love it.

Looking for some inspiration? Just check out the #psbloggers tag on Instagram or start following plus size fashion bloggers because when it comes to amazing street style looks these ladies aren’t afraid to push the envelope!

I would highly recommend that you check out Danielle Vanier, Callie Thorpe and the gorgeous George from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust for some great style and confident tips for wearing exacting what you want, when you want.

Pexels At: Unsplash

Plus Size Separates

I recently bought and shared on the blog a gorgeous organza check skirt from +Simply Be which you can read about here 

My style over the past couple of years has evolved to the point now where I wear a dress every day, usually with some sort of print and frequently floral.  Feminine with a nod to 50's styling is my thing and I do not stray from it often.

My purchase of this skirt was an impulse buy as I fell in love with it immediately, however I did not really know how to style it, with the skirt being out of my usual comfort zone.  Straight edges, black and a separate; not my usual wardrobe choice at all.

As such, I ended up styling the skirt in my usual feminine way with sandals, a v neck and pretty necklace as you can see below.

I was going out for a meal today and came across the skirt in my wardrobe and decided that today, I wanted to do it justice.  Channeling the fabulous style of MrsBeBe and using pieces from my wardrobe (and my new fringe), I went with the below.  

Black jumper (past season)
Neon necklace - charity shop
Organza check skirt
Black ankle boots - previously reviewed here

I believe that it is important that we always challenge ourselves when it comes to fashion.  Try things that you ordinarily would not and in my case, returning to colours like black that I had previously banished.

One thing that I will still maintain is that I am no longer a pants and top kinda gal.  I wore trousers and a top for a full day last week and I was so uncomfortable!  Long life the dress (and the separates on occasions).

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