One of the most heartening things I’ e seen since I began blogging is the rise of my fellow fat women studying  fashion design. In the US there is the phenomenal Ashley Nell Tipton whose collection has just launched (and who I will be blowing my next wage on); our beloved Rosie; the lovely Francesca; and Charlotte. I’ve been twitter friends with Charlotte for a few years now and I’ve always loved her personal style, so was immensely excited to see her final collection. She posted it on her blog this week, and… Wow. It’s incredible. Cheeky, flirty and fresh.

Now here’s where I have to take a different tone. Having followed Charlotte all through her course, I’ve seen how she’s struggled to make this collection a reality. From my point of view, it seems like she had no support whatsoever from her university, for the sole reason that she stuck to her guns and wanted to make a plus size collection. Apparently they were enthusiastic about the idea (when they still felt there was time for her to change her mind and do a straight size collection instead, no doubt) but once she decided her collection would be plus size, was essentially told “you’re on your own”. Charlotte has had to make all her own pattern blocks and source models for the runway show herself –  and has been told she can’t show at the uni’s London showcase.

Given what Charlotte was up against, that she created a collection of plus size clothes that I and loads of other fashionable fat girls have been crying out for for years is absolutely amazing. In fact, I know of someone else who was forced to make her own pattern blocks and source models after her uni refused to support her: Anna Scholz.

Charlotte doesn’t know what grade she’ll get for her collection. A grade from people who are too feeble to think outside of the very narrow box of the fashion industry? I don’t even think it matters.

 Good news! Charlotte has her six models, and can show on Wednesday! Can’t wait to see the results!

If anyone is able to travel down to Southampton this Wednesday 22nd May, over 5’4″, size 18-24 and can walk in a straight line without falling over, please let Charlotte know and you can actually wear these gorgeous clothes! 

This is my fashion face. Also, holy eyebags, Batman.

Dress: Simply Be*
Boots: Evans
Hair clip: “vintage” (aka I bought it when I was kid and it magically hasn’t managed to get lost since 1995)

See, I DO laugh!

For Littlewoods” So Fabulous event all about their autumn/winter plus size fashion, I wore my favourite new dress. I’ve put it in a separate post because I always feel it’s a bit rude to talk about a rival in a post about a brand event? I dunno. ~Blogging politics, haha! This dress was given to me, although not for a review or anything – when I was in Manchester for a meeting about my dress (save your pennies for June 14th, peeps) they let us take something home. I was completely in love with this and had planned to buy it anyway so I was cheeky and went for it. I’ve worn it more times than I can count, and, even though I’m not particularly shapely I love how I look and feel in it. Other lovely bloggers like Sian and Rosie have worn it and look gorgeous, too!

You know why I love this dress so much? All it is is a basic shirt dress, with a couple of bits missing. But those cut outs make all the difference. It adds character. It’s a talking point. It’s the kind of dress you’d find in any young fashion boutique – but it’s plus size.

My beloved Evans boots, after three trips to the menders have finally retreated into that shoe shop in the sky. Parting was such sweet sorrow, but at least the sun’s out now and I can wear pumps.

Also, I really need to sort my hair out. If anyone has ideas for a hair makeover, I’d love to hear it!

So Fabulous glitter cupcakes

I really am a lucky girl – on Wednesday I attended a blogger event run by the guys at So Fabulous at Littlewoods. It was the first event they’d done ever, and I think they did a great job! I feel like sometimes I don’t give them their dues when in fact they are one of the shops I purchase from most, and some of my favourite clothes are from either the South or So Fabulous collections!

One of the SF clothing rails. Peplums, lace, florals and sequins.

Another SF rail, this time with hot pinks and camouflage jackets that everyone loved.

We all had a browse of their latest collection, and I got to try on some dresses I’d been eyeing on site for ages (and which I will probably go and buy now, haha!). They also set us a little team challenge – half of us were asked to come up with a look for a job interview, and the other half – my team – were challenged to come up with a look for a night out dancing.

Becky was on model duties for the team I was in, and here she is working our night out look where we took the “more is more” approach:

Becky working her “night out in the west end” look! I couldn’t fit in the INCREDIBLE heels she was wearing.

Awesome, no? I also loved the other team’s look for a job interview – I’d never have thought to put a blouse under a skater dress (I’d have just worn it as a casual day dress) but Betty looked so smart and gorgeous:

Becky models her “job interview” look – I loved this!

Afterwards we all caught up and also got into a bit of a debate where we talked about which brands we think are doing great things, what we like and dislike about plus size fashion, the size ranges of plus size brands and also the eternal plus size model debate. I always love a good discussion about these things, hopefully I didn’t get too carried away!

I used the event as an excuse to try out my new camera, although I’m still a total novice and half my pictures are a blurry mess. But I got some gorgeous ones of some of the other bloggers in attendence, yay!

Love Mel. She looked so good in her dress I had not-buying-regret for the rest of the day!

Callie checking out her photographs

Becky and Naomi posing for the camera!

I loved the clothes (especially the dresses, as always) and the team were super positive and passionate about the clothes, which was brilliant to see. I have to say I mostly just loved catching up with my blogging buddies seen above and including Kirsty and Hanna, and meeting Betty and Toni for the first time, finally! Bring on Plus North!

A few of us got to preview the selection for spring and summer at the amazing Duck & Waffle, somewhere I’ve wanted to go for ages. It was a really lovely evening and the view and food were incredible, but of the course the clothes were the most important thing, as you can imagine.

Since I’ve been blogging I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few different previews for various brands, and while the clothes have always been nice I’ve often felt twinges of disappointment when they inevitably aren’t particularly fashionable or clearly geared for a different type of woman than me. You can probably guess that ASOS Curve’s spring rail was met with a chorus of gasps and oohs and grabby hands. It’s exactly the kind of stuff you find in their main range – but in size fat! I hastily snapped a few pics on my iPhone and twitter and instagram went slightly crazy. Dungarees! Crochet hot pants! Neon-embellished fairy dresses! Floral cullottes! Monochrome graphic print shift dresses! Broderie Anglaise crop tops and chiffon lemon maxis! Satin patterned bomber jackets!

Some of the items we saw are available on site already, with the rest arriving throughout May and June. I really can’t wait to buy up most of it, so chances are you’ll be seeing it on the blog very soon!

Image: me, outside(!) wearing a white dress with bright accessories. I have my hand on my head and I’m squinting because of the sun.

Dress: Project D London, Carnegie*
Feminist Killjoy Necklace: Wicked Queer
Lightning Bolt Ring: David Bowie Is… via V&A
Batman ring: Claire’s
Rocket Brooch: Life’s Big Canvas*

Image: Me, as before, only this time I’m at a funny angle with my eyes closed. Wistful, obv.

Hello my dears!

You know I’ve always seen blogging style challenges and envied everyone’s productivity. I never joined up because I can be so slack with updating that I assumed I’d let everyone down. However, I was invited to do a one off with bloggers I really love: Em, Georgina, Wendy and Amy to see how we could style one of the new Project D London dresses. How could I say no?

I’d actually taken a peek at the collection last year, as at the first Simply Be meeting they showed us pieces asking for our opinions. They kept the bit about it being by Dannii Minogue quiet, though! I bloody love the Minogue sisters, so I feel a bit starstruck wearing it.

Image: me, to the other side. I’m almost doing a Brucey bonus pose.

I actually really love a lot of pieces from the collection, including this – the Liberty and Madison ones, especially. People have talked about the price points being high, but when I got the Carnegie you could tell the quality was on a different scale. It’s made SO well.

That said, I’m sad to say these shots have me a little disappointed. Not the dress, not the photographs (they look all shiny because they’re from my new camera!), but that my stylings don’t pop as much as I’d hoped. I wanted to wear bright, even neon accessories but they’ve kinda disappeared. Ah well, you live and learn. I’m sure the other women will come up with amazing versions!

Image: me mid-pose, in my bright prink and yellow ice cream print dress.

This post has been many months in the making, I keep putting it off and putting it off – there’s so much I want to say that it feels insurmountable. But it’s getting ridiculous now, so I’m going to attempt to muddle through what is, pretty much, the pinnacle of my time as a plus size/fatshion/whatever blogger.

In November of last year, I got an email from Simply Be. This isn’t unusual as I’ve been to a few of their events, and am in contact with the team there (they’re all lovely) – but this time, they wanted to know if I was interested in taking part in a blogger collection, and designing an outfit.

SCREAM!

From there, I went up to Manchester for a meeting with the team, which included their buyer Natalie, and Mark the designer. Everyone was so lovely, as you can imagine! They emphasised that they wanted us to be as bold as we could – they didn’t want us to water anything down or worry about whether things would sell, etc. Then each of us (myself, Laura and Georgina) talked about what ideas we had. I brought up a sketchbook I’ve had for years, which I sometimes doodle designs on that I swear I’ll make when I learn to sew. I also created a mood board on pinterest here:

Image: a screengrab of the colourful and kitsch inspiration I had for my dress.

I wanted something kitsch and colourful. I have a real problem when it comes to prints, as you can probably tell. If anyone hears of a Prints Anonymous group, by all means, let me know! I wanted something that the badass babes of tumblr and in my own real life would be proud to wear and put their own stamp on. At the same time, I wanted it to be accessible and wearable in every day if needs be – a knit fabric (also so it could stretch and those above a size 32 could wear it), light and an easy shape. I considered an a-line shape and initially was against the skater shape – but I suit that shape so much, and so eventually I decided to go for it even if it’s a bit ubiquitous at the moment!

After the meeting, I kept in touch with Mark who sent me over possible print options. We’d talked about heart print, lightning bolt print and lip print, but nothing seemed quite right. And then he sent me this:

A mock up of the dress shape and possible patterns, including the final ice cream print in pink and yellow.

As soon as I saw it, I knew. As much as I liked the green and pink, the pink and yellow just popped so much more. It was just… perfect! I mean, look at the fabric swatch from later! ARGH!

Image: a close up of the fabric swatch.

After that was finalised, we were kept in the loop of how things were progressing manufacturing-wise, and later myself, Laura and Em (George sadly had to drop out – we missed her, but it was so she could do the awesome Evans campaign so yay!) for a follow up to try the test garments and iron out any changes that needed to be made before final production.

The next time we all met up, it was shoot day. With the final dresses. Aaaah!

Image: left to right Laura’s dress; my dress; Em’s dress on the rail.

Each of us was made up then shot individually over the course of the day. I have to be completely honest here: the team were absolutely lovely and wonderful, but I found shooting really difficult. I know that might sound odd since I have a website full of photos taken of myself, but the difference is that when I take outfit photos I’m in my bedroom by myself. My camera’s on a self-timer and that’s it. So to go from that to having a team of people photographing me in the middle of Hoxton was quite a departure! Em also touched on abuse she received, and I also got nasty comments from men in vans, schoolboys and various office workers. I’m not strong like Em, so I didn’t answer back. To the one girl who whispered “you look beautiful” as you walked past though, whether you meant it or not, thank you!

Image: getting “touched up” in the street by the lovely MUA.

Image: the crew. Look at all that equipment!

The shoot and how I look in it isn’t really the point, though – what I’m most excited about is seeing other awesome fatties wearing it and how you’re all going to style it! There’s also going to be a launch party that bloggers and possibly customers can attend, so more info on that when it comes. I can’t WAIT!

I really still can’t get my head around the fact that this has happened. It’s SO mind-blowing! Hannah, Natalie, Mark and the Simply Be team have been so, so amazing. I literally can’t thank them enough. And I’m so happy I got to do this with women I consider my friends as well as fellow bloggers: Laura, Em and George. I love Laura and Em’s dresses as well, and I’ve seen their photos and they look stunning! I’ll be buying both of them, for sure.

The dresses will be available in June. It’ll be in sizes 14-32 (UK). I really hope you like what I’ve come up with. <3

Dress: ASOS Curve (2010)
Tights: Teja Jamilla
Lace Cat Ears: ASOS
Cardigan: Evans (2009)
Necklace: Fancy Lady Industries
Brooch: Tatty Devine (2012)
Shoes: New Look (2009)

Hello everyone, I hope you’re having fun Saturday evenings? I’m using the snow and lack of central line as an excuse to stay home and get things done, including updating here. This was what I wore to the lovely Bethany’s club night, Dancing on My Own. I went for something simple and comfortable – and which would show off my amazing tights from Teja Jamilla. I’ve wanted to buy a pair since seeing them on Natalie ages ago and treated myself to a pair come payday. They’re made up to 3x – I’m a 22-24 on the bottom and they fit me pretty well. All the tights are hand printed and are original sketches by Teja themselves, which is awesome!

I also got to wear my beloved FAT necklace by another Aussie babe called Natalie. I’m so pleased I was able to eventually afford one of these, and in rainbow glitter, no less. It means a lot to me – just take a look at the blurb on the product page:

“Wear this and feel radical. If it’s in public or in private, it doesn’t really matter, because you’re reclaiming a word that is as descriptive as it is powerful. When you reclaim fat, you can move on. You can listen to your body instead of denying it or minimising it in harmful ways.”

Alas, after a final dance both the cardigan and dress appear to be on their last legs, which breaks my heart. LBD of dreams, you have served me well.

This is a kind of review post – the lovely folk over at Voucher Codes approached me with a challenge to find three outfits on a theme of my choice, with a shopping budget of £80 for key items and teaming it with what I already own. I went for stripes – the amazing Kirsty of Fatty Unbound did stripes too, check out her looks here – and was almost immediately hit with the realisation that I rarely wear stripes – always spots! It was a bit of a scramble but I’ve managed to find some cute things. What do you think?

Outfit One: Monochrome & Bright flashes

Dress: Primark, £13
Belt: My own
Neon Satchel: Simply Be*
Shoes: Torrid* (from 2010)

I feel a bit in love with this dress on my lunch break – the neckline gives it a mod-ish feel, although I’ve gone for a slightly different look this time around. But with knee high boots and a leather jacket I think it would be just as awesome! The dress is knit as well, so super stretchy and can fit someone larger than 20. Y’know, like myself for instance.

Outfit Two: Mint Humbug

Blazer: Forever 21+, £25
Dress and belt: Forever 21+
Shoes: New Look (2009)
L Brooch: Tatty Devine
Necklace: Si Vintage*
Glasses: London Retro* (2011)

This outfit is a bit of a turn up for the books, actually. When I think of ~fatshion bloggers~, I always image a blazer, skinny jeans, and heels. But in 3 and a half years I’ve never owned a blazer – until now! I saw this in the Forever 21 shop in Stratford and was seduced by it’s candy floss stripes. I really like it with the dress – this would be something I’d wear as a spring wedding guest, methinks.

Outfit Three: Tangerine Dream

Top: Simply Be, £18
Skirt: Carmakoma (2010)
Belt: Evans (2009)
Necklace: Tatty Devine
Glasses: London Retro* (2011)
Boots: Simply Be

I was really conscious of most striped items being monochrome so once I saw this Simply Be vest in bright orange I knew I had to have it. This one is a bit more like what I’d wear every day. You know, three years on and I’m still in love with this skirt. It’s held up so well. Carmakoma are expensive but if you can afford to, do invest in their stuff as it’s definitely worth it! Also, I’m gutted I didn’t catch my new boots in all their glory, but I’m sure they’ll get more dedication in another post. They’re bleedin’ perfect!

Well there you have it, my three ways of wearing stripes this spring! The three items I bought came to £56 in total – however I also bought this, in fact part of the reason it took me so long was because I was waiting for it to ship, but eventually gave up! Typically, H&M emailed me yesterday to say it was on its way.

I’ve also realised I didn’t actually team my stripes with spots. For shame! That said, this has actually opened my eyes to stripy clothing, so you may well be seeing even more ideas popping up on the blog.

Take care my lovelies, and speak soon!

Image: me (as you know by now) with my hair in pigtails, wearing a tomato-red shirt, black skirt and tights with little crosses all over them.

Shirt: One One Three
Skirt: ASOS Curve
Cross Print Tights: Pamela Mann (via Yours Clothing)
Leopard Bow Belt: ASOS Curve
Shoes: New Look
L Brooch: Tatty Devine
Ring: Domino Dollhouse

Hello my dears! Have you all been enjoying the snow? I managed to get to work every day without falling on my arse, which was great. Although on Tuesday a dog almost attacked me – I was wearing my fake fur coat, and I think it thought I was another dog. Make of that what you will…

After I’d gotten really over excited and blogged about the new label One One Three, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and buy something for myself. I went for this red shirt as it was one of those cases where I instantly knew what I wanted to wear it with and that I’d get my money’s worth. The most amazing thing happened though – I’d worked late and then met friends in the pub, and when I got home it turned out that the designer herself hand delivered it! How lovely is that?! I was so sad I missed it. The top itself is bloody gorgeous, and the cut, fabric and tailoring are second to none. It’s more expensive than my bargain-hunter-ness usually allows, but it’s worth every penny.

The outfit reminds me of the Burger Queen staff uniform, which is why I love it so much! Is anyone going this year? I can’t wait!

I’m so in love with these tights, too! I sized up and I think that was a good decision (as I like them to be hoiked up under my bosom). More patterns, please!

Tonight I’m off to hang out with some fabulous blogger babe’s at Bethany’s (My Arched Eyebrow) club night tonight. Yay!

Image: me (you know me by now, right?) in my usual place in front of the black wardobe with the scratch marks. I’m wearing a forest green dress with bow print tights, skinny belt and big gold necklace. Yay!

Dress: New Look Inspire
Bow print tights: Pamela Mann (via Yours Clothing)
Boots: Evans
Oui/Non belt: ASOS Curve
Necklace: Primark
Glasses: London Retro*

Hi Lovelies! How are you? It’s a SNOWPOCALYPSE here in Essex (and the rest of the UK, to be fair). I am celebrating by a) doing none of the things I had planned to do, b) not getting dressed and c) alternating between watching Community or playing Temple Run 2. Best weekend ever?

This outfit on its own isn’t advisable in the snow, but it is something I’ve been wearing a lot over Christmas. I am a sucker for a skater dress, sad as it is to say. I know they’ve become slightly too ubiquitous in plus size ranges at the moment to the annoyance of some (hi Amanda!) but, ah, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel at home in them. This one from New Look has a high waist as well, which is perfect. And since it was a last minute sale buy in their Oxford Street branch, I’ve gotten my cost-per-wear down to mere pennies. Win/win!

I’m hoping to be a bit more prolific in my updates this year and better at photographing my outfits – but if there’s anything you think I should do or talk about, let me know. Speak soon! x