The Curved Opinion

9 May 2014

Plus Weddings

At some point when she is growing up, a little girl's thoughts invariably turn to what kind of dress she will wear to her wedding. I know that I spent many an hour as a child dreaming of wearing a beautiful princess dress with crystals and lace. Interesting I never thought about who the groom would be, just the dress so in that respect, nothing has changed!

I still love to look at wedding dresses now and wonder what kind of dress I would choose. Although I am a plus size girl I am very specific about the kind of dress that I would wear but I confess, at the back of my mind I always wondered if I would be able to find a store to accommodate me.

There could be nothing worse than wearing a dress on your wedding day that you didn't completely love. Buying a wedding dress should be a complete experience, working with the store to find just the right dress for you and not having to settle.

I recently heard about a store in London called Bijou Bridal Wear and decided to check out their site online. I knew that I had found a great place when I read their tagline:

“Our dresses are not about what you 'should' wear to hide

but rather what you should wear to shine.”

I was chatting with the owner of Bijou Bridal Wear who has been a stylist herself for many years and her ethos behind buying a wedding dress with a plus size woman in mind is right on point. She says

“ I take everything into consideration, size, style and personality when I work with a client and definitely wholeheartedly am against the idea of any bride having to cover up because they don't fit the profile of what is being advertised in magazines!”

She really understand that whatever size a woman is, she still wants fashion and that it is up to the client to dictate what she wants to wear, not the other way around.

Here are some of my favourite designs:

Screen Goddess anyone?

The detailing to the shoulders of this dress and the design

to the waist area is just exquisite

A real princess feel to this dress.

The skirt looks to have a thousand layers.

This is my absolute dream dress. Clean lines, gorgeous pleating

and more than a hint of va va voom!

The range goes from size 12 to a very impressive size 34 which is very rare to find in a wedding shop, especially one selling such beautiful designs.

Prices start at £490.00 and you can contact them via their Twitter page, Facebook page by Instagram or by telephone in order to arrange an appointment. Bijou Bridal Wear are currently organising a 15% off weekend in June so I would urge you to give them a follow and grab yourself a great discount!

Now will someone please find me a groom so I can wear dress number four?

*Sponsored post

8 May 2014

Look Where You Wish

I watched the Look Up video recently and have seen it quickly go viral all over the internet, the irony of which is not lost on me….

The fact that the video was created for the internet makes it nothing more than a cog, taking full advantage of the machine of which it is a part of. The video is just a highly romanticised concept, practically begging to be shared across the social networks. It isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know and I have seen similar such videos saying the same things.

Preaching at people that we should be less reclusive and reserved is all very well and good, but not all of us are naturally outgoing. It is ok to be introverted; it is ok to be shy. It is ok to be whoever you are. Technology at its core is about making life better for people, finding solutions and improvements to whatever you need and social media is about connecting people in different ways which is a good thing.

I agree that sometimes we can be too connected to our phones and in a social setting it can be that everyone is on their mobile phones or on the internet; socialising with others yet ignoring the people around them.

But there is another side to the story. (At this point I must mention that Big Fashionista has spoken about this subject in Look Down and you should definitely read it!).

For some, social media isn’t just a form of entertainment. It isn’t just about playing Farmville or seeing how many likes you can get on your Facebook status. It isn’t just about Lolcats or sharing your day on Twitter.

For some, it is an escape route. For some it is a place where they can find a community of people that they don’t have in their offline life. For some it is the place to go searching for answers when none can be found. For some it gives you a voice where you had none. For some, what you find on the internet ends up enriching all aspects of your life, both online and off.

Many of those reasons I can apply to myself. I can pinpoint the exact point that my life started to turn around for the better. I joined Twitter. The small voice that I had, it got louder. My opinions got stronger. I found people like me, who think the way I do, who have experienced what I have.

I know a network of people online that I could never have found offline. A group of bloggers who are based all over the country who get exactly who I am. They understand the way I think, why I think it and have lived similar lives. This couldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the internet.

My offline life has been enhanced by the time I spend online and I have met some amazing people, some whom I have met face to face, others who I am yet to meet but feel like I know well.

The beauty of the internet and social media is that you can get out of it as much, or as little as you want. It is a resource. Yes we should probably spend more time off our phones when in company and should ring our friends more than we should text, but the benefits of social media are vast and shouldn’t be discounted or discouraged.

7 May 2014

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 is your favourite accessory.

I think that the favourite accessory I have is probably the double strand bird necklaces that I bought from Primark, for the princely sum of £3.00 per necklace.

These necklaces are my go to when I look at an outfit and it needs a small “something” added, but nothing too obtrusive. I love the dull gold and the length of the necklaces which work with all types of necklines and can either blend with an outfit or add a little interest to it.

These necklaces are also the bane of my life when they are hanging on my necklace tree as they seem to attach themselves to everything and every single time I decide to wear them I end up fighting a five minute battle in order to detangle!

Here are some of the outfits I have worn the necklaces with recently: