Review - IGIGI from Curvy and Stylish!

A while ago myself and the Becky we offered the chance to review an item from curvyandstylish.co.uk. 

They say great minds think a like! Therefore myself and Becky must have great minds as we picked the same dress!!!

Instead of one of us returning the dress we decided we would dress it differently! 

I picked casual and Becky picked formal.

I teamed it with my trusted denim jacket and a pair of sandals from Peacocks.

I took a separate pic of the sandals as I have a bad pedi going on!

The dress its self retails for £84.98 and is worth every penny. Its well made and beautifully lined. 

The dress is a size 18/20 (US), so approx. a 22/24 UK and it's a tad too big, I can get the dress on and off without undoing the Zip and I am forever pulling the front up so the boys are away, but its wearable.

In all honesty, I don't do occasion wear as it often makes me feel awkward and over dressed. 

I would rather dress casual clothes up. 

But I would soooo wear this dress again. 

I feel a trip to the races coming on! 

What do you think? 

Check out Becky's post here!

Toni x

I think I am in love........

With Christina Hendricks!

I applaud Cosmopolitan for having a full body shoot of the curvy Christina on their March front cover! Here's to many many more curvy cover girls! (wishful thinking I know!)

The rest of the images I have had to take pictures of from the magazine as I can't find the images on the Cosmo website!

Definitely my dream girl crush!

Toni

xoxo

Style Steal - Mad Men

I am loving the Mad Men style at the moment. Especially Christina Hendricks.Voted as Esquire's Sexiest Woman in the World 2010 Christina is known as a plus size model/actress (but I think she is more an inbetweenie, if not a straight size. She is rumoured to be a size 16) Her Stats are 40-32-40 and at standing at 5'8 makes her a perfect hourglass shape. Having been hailed the "new modern ideal of Hollywood glamour" for her full figured, voluptuous and curvy body is Christina Hicks more like the role model that young girls should aspire to be?

Here my picks of "Mad Men" styles...

Anna Scholz Black Velore Dress £70 @ Simply Be

Simple Be Bespoke LBD £70



Simply Be Bespoke Ultimate City Dress £55

I also love this. It give an amazing silouette is very comfortable compaired to some shapewear.

Naturally Closer Shapewear @ Simply Be £30

Enjoy!

Boots

I have an addiction to boots. Well, to footwear in general, but boots are by favourite type of footwear. Over the years I have struggled to find boots to fit my man sized calf's and always ended up disappointed that all my friends could wear  lovely boots and I wasn't able to :-(

Nowadays, its much easier for us 'wide calf' girls to find decent, fashionable boots in varying calf and width fittings. The most obvious choice for wide fitting boots is Evans. In the past I found that the fitting of Evans boots wasn't every good, but over that last couple of years this has drastically improved. As well as having a good fit I find the quality of Evans boots is exceptional.

Here are my favourite boots at Evans at the moment

Available in Brown and Black and in Extra wide (EEE) fit. £79.50

£79.50

£39.50

Available in Black and Tan and in extra wide (EEE) fit. £89.50

Click here to see Evans Footwear size guide.

Next also have a good range of boots. They accommodate standard, wide and extra wide calf's.  Next also do a good range of wide fitting shoes. I do tend to find that if I buy Next wide fit shoes I have to get a size smaller, size 5 instead of size 6. I also find that the next range is more fashionable. They also have a lot more choice of 'going out' boots.

available in Tan, brown and Black and standard, wide and extra wide fitting. £85

£40

£50

£65

 Click here to see Next's footwear size guide

Now to Viva La Diva. If you didn't know Viva La Diva is a partner company to Simply Be. Viva La Diva have some amazing shoes (and handbags). They hold a lot of designer brands from Ugg's to Rocket Dogs to WedgeWelly. Some brands are ridiculous expensive for what you are paying for and some are very reasonably priced. The range of wide calf boots isn't very extensive, and some of the boots are very old ladyish. My previous purchases from Viva La Diva have included ankle boots or shoes, but i have managed to find some wider calf boots.

Legroom Boots available in Standard, wide (E) and Extra wide (EEE). £85

Rocket Dog cowboy style boots. £54.99

Ugg Clovis. £200

Wedgewellys. LOVE THEM. The circumference around the calf goes up to 15inch, with an adjustable strap, but have managed to get my 17inch calf's in to them. I also love that these wellies are so glamorous. I hate with a passion the multicoloured, patterned, love heart print wellies!!! These are definitely wellies to go 'glamping' in!

Wedgewelly. £45

I also love the short Hunter wellies. And as I love pink they are perfect for me. I don't own a pair of Hunters at the moment but my sister does. She has both standard and short length. She told me that the standard wellies don't have a very big calf circumference but they are uber comfortable. The claims that the short one are more suited for wide calf's as they are quite short!!! I think I need a pair of these on my wish list!!

Click here to see Viva La Diva's Footwear size guide.

Jeans and Jumpers

''There are no jeans like designer jeans''...... Apparently designer jeans will instantly make you look taller, slimmer and feel more seductive..... If they did wouldn't we spend every penny we had on them (if they did them in plus sizes!)

In my eyes, any jeans that fit properly will make you look taller and slimmer. And anything that feels and looks good WILL make you feel more seductive and confident.

The key is finding a style of jeans that fit YOU! I am still on a mission to find the perfect pair of jeans. Next and Evans come close though. I generally buy boot cut, wide leg or flared jeans as I am larger around the chest and middle. They balance my shape and make me look more in proportion. (I wore skinny jeans once and looked like Buzz Lightyear!!!)

Plus boot cuts, flared and wide leg jeans look fab with my new craze, wedges. Below are four pairs of jeans that I can't live with out.

Evans denim boot cut jeans. £29.50

Evans light weight wide leg. £30

Next mid wash boot cut. £26

Next authentic Flares. £26

I love winter. And I love winter fashion. Partly because I love knitwear. Knitwear, whether fine knit and fitted or chunky and over sized, is a key item for any wardrobe.

During the transition between autumn and winter I often wear a chunky cardie instead of a coat. Chunky cardie's look amazing with legging and jeans, as well as over work wear.

This season seems to be all about over sized jumpers and boyfriend cardigans.
Simply be have a wide range of knitwear in various styles, colours and price. I really love this pleat sleeve cardigan. It comes in purple and black and would be a great addition to any wardrobe.

Simply Be Pleat Sleeve Cardie. £38

I purchased the next jumper, also from simply be, a few weeks ago. It is a v-neck jumper and comes in a range of colours, which makes it extremely versatile (I purchased it in olive green). The material is very soft to touch and washes extremely well. It has a slight bat-wing to the sleeves and a nice deep waist band. It also sits very well around the bust as the v-neck isn't too deep. Some of the colours are very 'worky', but the silver grey would look good with a pair of jeans and heels on a winters night out.

Simply Be V-neck Jumper. £29 

I also love this Joe Browns brown tunic jumper. I think I would wear this jumper out its so versatile. It would look good with leggings and flats as well as thick black tights and boots.
This jumper is definitely next on my wish list.

Joe Browns @ Simply Be. £46

Simply Be

When I first started shopping with Simply Be I wasn't sure what to expect. But they have fast become one of my favourite places to shop.

My most recent purchase was this Rock and Revival 'Day of the Dead' top from the new A/W range.

Its made from a 'fluid' jersey material that hangs incredible well. The length of the top is perfect, long enough at the back to make you feel comfortable to wear with just leggings and a cardi. I generally have a problem with the armholes in long vests like this, they always seem to be really long, but this one is perfect. It is also gathered slightly around the bottom which gives it a much better shape that a normal long line vest.

Well done Simply Be, you have exceed yourself again.