Day Two - OOTD

A few days ago I showed you some of my recent finds from eBay and today was the first chance that I have had to wear my lovely ASOS dress I won.

The dress is really light weight and perfect for warm London and Leeds days.

What I wore....

Denim Jacket - New Look Inspire
Dress - ASOS Curve via eBay
Leggings - New Look Inspire
Sandals - primark

London seems so much more beautiful when the sun is out....Plus I didn't have too travel in the tube!

Toni x

OOTD

Just a quick OOTD. I bagged a lift to my sister's on Sunday and she made me lovely food! I love visiting my sisters. My nephew is even more amazing in his home environment and I can't wait until nephew number two is born in June!

Bad mirror photo but hey, my next one is the same......

What I wore......

Jeans - True at Clothing at Tesco
Tunic - F&F clothing at tesco (via eBay)
Cardi - George (old)
Flats - Barratts

Short and sweet tonight! Got my Plus North head on! Can't wait for you all to see the treats we have in store for you! Roll on September!!!!

Toni x

Club 27 & OOTD

The dreaded club 27. The world has taken so many amazing souls at the age of 27. Its a horrid number and as much as I don't want to get old, I can't wait to be 28!

This weekend was one of my best friends turn to join the club.

On a rare night out, my and my two bestest got dolled up and strolled to the local village for cocktails and shenanigans.

I was recently send this lovely cut out dress from the amazing peeps at Simply Be.

I have a love/hate relationship with this dress. One minute it felt amazing, the next I felt really over dressed and faaaaar to girly for my liking! I tried to dress it down a bit by wearing it with my black blazer and flats, and think I got away with it....

As you can see the dress was very snug over my 38G's and I would recommended you size up, esp if you have an ample chest!

I has a really fun time, however I was home and in bed by 12.30am because I just can't hack it any more!!!

Toni x

PlusNorth!

PLUS NORTH!

You may have heard a few rumbles about Plus North? After much searching, and talking and phone calls, Toni and I are thrilled to announce the details of this exciting event!!

Plus North,

7^th July, 2012, 1pm – 6pm

at

Aspire, 2 Infirmary Street, Leeds, LS1 2JP

www.aspire-leeds.co.uk

Open to members of the public and bloggers alike, Plus North is a celebration of all things Plus!! A chance for you to meet the brands, meet fellow bloggers and plus size ladies and spend an afternoon with like-minded folk, talking about the thing we love the most.....Fashion!!!

Keep checking the website for all the news, confirmation of exhibitors, activities and all thingsPlus North.

Tickets will be priced at £5 per person, this includes your delegate pack, name badge and automatic entry into our prize draw. Dependent on the level of interest and sponsorship we receive we're hoping to throw some extras in too! Tickets can be purchased via the website using paypal, if you don't have a paypal account and wish to pay by cheque or postal order, please email plusnorthtickets@live.co.uk 

Along with stalls from plus size brands, retailers and independent retailers, there will be a catwalk show hosted by our Premier sponsors, Simply Be and much, much more.....

If you'd like to be involved, we are looking for sponsors, stall holders, models, anybody who thinks hey may be of help!!! Please email plusnorth@live.co.uk to express an interest. We will be sending out a press release for companies, and a newsletter to those of you interested in helping out as soon as possible. 

We REALLY hope you can make it, we're looking for ward to catching up with old friends and making new friends alike!!!

Toni & Becky

x

Ohhhhh George!

I must admit that Asda is one of my favourite places in the whole world! (to be honest, I love Tesco too!) I can quite happily spend hours wondering around! I have been know to spend upwards of 3 hours in my local Asda, albeit with a very frustrated boyfriend at home.

I love George! From their jeans and jumpers to bra's and sock, as well as everything in between! 

A few years ago we had an actual George shop in Leeds City Centre. I was devastated when it closed down and moved to crown point!

My latest purchases from George are two lush jumpers from the G21 range. The G21 range is somewhat more on trend compared to the normal range. G21 only go up to a size 20. The sizes are generous in tops and dresses, but i tend to stay away from the trousers skirts as they are often 'oddly' sized. 

(apologies for the pics! I took them myself on a self timer. Still getting used to it!!!)

Purple and sequinned Star jumper dress - £16

G21 star jumper - £15

They have lots and lots of yummy tops and dresses that I want.... Pay day can't come quick enough!!

Row 1. Stripy knitted jumper - G21 (£16), Playsuit - G21 (£14), Printed Dress - £14.
 Row 2. Grey Star jumper - G21 (£15), Black ponte flare dress £16

Have you bought from supermarket brands before? What did you think? Would you buy from them again?

XOX

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!

Colour

OK I'll be honest. I tend to stick to colours that I know suit me. I love natural earthy colours and I love back. I wear something black to work every day. Whether it is a cardie, trousers, tights or a top. I feel good in black. I have occasional days when I moan to my boyfriend that I am feed up of wearing black and buy something in a different colour and then it lives in my wardrobe for the rest of eternity! However, I have seen some lovely pieces that I really want. Especially as its coming up to my birthday and Christmas and I'll be going more nights out in November and December then I have done in the whole of the rest of the year.

Evans £29.50

Simply Be £47

Evans £39.50

I love these Shoes from Next. They come in black and red in standard and wide fit. For £30 they are an absolute bargain. Next wide fit shoes are some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.  

If, like me, all out colour is too much adding coloured accessories is definately a must.

Evans £6 available in a range of colours

http://www.plus-sized-tights.com/ £3.75

http://lilyloveslola.bigcartel.com/ hand knitted scarf from £18

These scarfs look lush! I can't wait to get paid so I can buy one! I am going to get the bright Pink one. Delivery can take up to 4 weeks but they hand made so I can cope with waiting that long. Below are the colours that are available. They start at £18 and increase in price depending on the length of scarf you want.

Colours available

See you soon  xxxx

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.

As Summer Ends.......

As the long hazy days of summer draw to a close I can't help but think about what i'll be wearing in a few month. And although I love Summer, I must confess that autumn/winter is my favourite season for clothes. I love layering and big woolly jumpers. I love the snuggly feeling that you get when you are all wrapped warm.

The A/W 11 collections are begining to be released and it looks as though the plus sized clothing industry is finally catching up with high st industry in providing us bigger girls with affordable, as well as fashionable, a/w ranges.

Here is the next full outfit that I plan on getting.






Animal Print Top. Evans £35

Brown Twill Trouser. Evans £35 (also in black)

Biker Boots. Evans £45

Flared Coat. Next £90

I love the coat from next (the hat i'm not so keen on!). It's very flattering as it comes in at the waist and then flares out towards the bottom.  Its available in two colours, black and berry, and its also available up to a size 26.

For me, this is the perfect shopping outfit!