Relaxed Summer Style - An Evans Clothing Review

*All Items Worn Have Been Gifted 

Summer is drawing to a close and we are being treated to the odd day of sunshine. As Autumn is starting to creep in we are in one of those transitional periods when selecting items for our wardrobe can get a little tricky. I am currently still trying to battle some of my former confidence issues and with that I aim to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone, until things get comfortable for me that is. Many of you who are familiar with my blog will know that I don't like showing off my upper arms. My biceps have always been one of my problem areas and I have tried to pick out clothes to force me to go bare armed. I find that when I do things to push myself in a different direction, I tend to end up liking the way that part of my body looks.

Hanna and I recently took a trip to Evans in London's Marble Arch to check out the current collections and select a few items for review. I saw this emerald green tunic from Live Unlimited and really wanted to try it out. The thickness of the shoulders and the cut of the garment is one that I knew would flatter my shape really nicely. The included pockets are a bonus too as they are deep enough to store your phone, purse and your lipstick! I'm wearing this in a size size 24.

Green isn't a colour that I have bought a lot of over the years. I really like how certain shades of green bring out the golden tones in my complexion but I haven't been lucky enough to find that many items I like. I really enjoy wearing this tunic as it's comfortable, spacious and a great length. I thought it would be nice to pair this one with a pair of wide leg trousers for a relaxed summer look. I opted for this pair of white, wide legged linen trousers, I'm wearing these in a size 24. I love the lightness and the easiness of these 2 items worn together. For a really comfortable and simple look that is really nice in this transitional period, these items work really well together. The richness of the green really makes the white pop. 

Tackling a bad hair day I opted for my black fringed hair scarf. I love having hair-wear that works with pretty much everything in my wardrobe, and so I have been collecting bandanas and scarves for several years now. 

To finish off the outfit I pulled out my nude patent open toe heels. I think everyone woman should own a pair of nude heels as they work with so many colours and can offset a look in a different way to classic black shoes. 

I love my silver jewellery it's no secret that's in my preferred shade when it comes to accessories. I really like the contrast between my skin tone and the sparkly silver. My signature hoops were a must and were complimented nicely by my caged stone necklace, this one is currently available from the Dorothy Perkins website in a rose gold. You may still find the silver version in selected stores however. Finished off with this square cuff bangle from Topshop and my outfit was just as I wanted it.

I kept my makeup to it's usual style and added a sparkly pink lipgloss from Rimmel. I opted for a deep green silk finish polish from Barry M on my nails. I have recently become obsessed with nail polish and have racked up quite a collection! More will be revealed soon on the blog...

So you know what I always say, aim to have clothes that are suitable for all occasions and moods. Seperates can make this idea easier to achieve. I find that with separate items I can wear some things that were meant for the previous season into the next one, if matched with something carefully. I dress to my mood and comfort level so although I sometimes love to wear a fitted outfit or have my cleavage on show, there are times when I just like to keep it simple with a little something extra for style. 

Remember whatever you wear, feel fabulous in it and wear it with a smile!

We Are The They, And We're Not Going Away!

So the media has been going crazy the past few weeks with stories about body image, fashion and everything else surrounding us and how we are expected to look. This week there has been a huge focus on plus size fashion and the people involved in the industry. With talk about the term "Plus Size" what it means, how we feel about it and if we should keep it. The campaign #DropThePlus was first seen on Instagram and has been met with mixed responses from the public. Some feel that in order to embrace all women we should blur the lines and eradicate the categories we are put in due to our dress size. I personally like the term plus size. I feel that we are taking terms that were previously used to push insults at us and owning them. Fat people are no longer ashamed of the dreaded F word and have been able to form a worldwide community through the Plus Size label. Having said that I do think that Fashion and beauty is something that everyone should be entitled to regardless of their shape, size, age, race, and everything else in-between. 

The recently aired documentary Plus Size Wars, focused on the evolution of fashion for people like myself and the changes the industry has faced. We saw a glimpse of how modelling agencies are now adopting a supply in demand approach in regards to who they have on their books. Men and women the world over have tapped into a new way of experiencing fashion and that in my opinion has been 100% down to the internet. Youtube videos, fashion blogs and Instagram pages have opened the eyes of people out there and are making them more aware of their choices in fashion and ways of buying it. People like the stunning Tess Holliday aka Tess Munster have really helped to changed the game, being that she is the polar opposite to what the agencies deemed acceptable for an aspiring model. Some of my friends and fellow bloggers were also involved in the channel 4 documentary and did an amazing job in representing us. The thoughts and feelings of plus size women were very well portrayed and the hour long programme did a good job in showing us all in a positive light.

As expected when a show like this airs there will be comments and criticism to follow. With the internet everyone has an open channel to voice their opinion to the world, and in doing the same we see articles reach the print and television media. Loose Women host Jamelia has recently put herself in hot water when she very rudely expressed her opinion about people like myself. She feels that people above and bellow a certain dress size should be ostracised and made to feel ashamed by having to buy our clothes in specialist stores. Now I know that these days we are being bombarded with news about health related issues and fitness information but in the mix of all of that we have also been brainwashed with a very rigid and narrow minded view of what is beautiful. We see celebrities getting nipped and tucked every day and are constantly shown images of women with the perfect bikini body. I won't bang on about how I feel about that because I want to make it very clear that in this post I am speaking as a fat woman and for fat women.

I don't think it's right for people who perhaps have never had a weight problem to speak on issues relating to the subject. We are people and that alone should let people know that most things are not what they seem and are more complicated that what you can see on the surface. You can't always see if someone suffers from a medical condition, mental illness is also something that isn't always visible but because someone like me has a physical issue that you can see people feel as though they can do more than pass comments, they feel as though they can be rude and insulting! 

Let me make this clear to Jamelia and anyone else who shares in her opinion, we are not a group of aliens to be described as "they" we are people and we have an opinion and feelings of our own! My being a confident fat woman who blogs about fashion and beauty in no way makes me an advocate for obesity. I hate the term "promoting obesity" as it's not only stupid, it's ludicrous! First of all, fat people are constantly shunned by people for our size, we are discriminated against, laughed at and have to deal with comments about our appearance from strangers 365 days a year! Why would we promote something that brings us headache and grief as if it's a good thing? Whoever would think that is actually pretty thick if you ask me. I'll be honest here we can't win. If we work out and exercise people laugh at us for trying to be healthy and if we are seen eating anything at all even a salad people look at you as though you have just grown 5 heads! I, like many people out there have recently had a change in mind set. It took me more than 2 decades to come to the realisation that I had been hating myself and the way that I looked due to other people's ignorance! Almost every over weight person has had to deal with people patronising and taking the mick out out of them at some point and with that 2 things can happen. Some people lose their self esteem and crumble under the pressure and others come up fighting with a stronger and more resilient attitude to things. I like many plus size people have heard all of the insults possible, have developed defence mechanisms and have reached a place where I simply don't have the care to fight about something so unimportant, other people's opinions of me.

Having nice clothing available as a fat person is amazing. I can honestly say that through the options that have become available to us we have been able to embrace sides of our personality that for some have previously been hidden. When all you have to wear is ill fitting clothes that are dowdy and often not age appropriate you don't really have a way to express your sense of style and have to make adaptations where possible. Since being able to wear the fashions I had admired on other women my confidence has soared. I am now able to look in the mirror and actually like the reflection that looks back at me. When you feel confident the way you look at yourself changes, I now take more pride in my appearance, and that has extended to my making healthier lifestyle choices. People who over eat often do so as a coping mechanism the same way that others turn to drugs and alcohol. To constantly insult and break a person down who is like this, is literally handing them the tub of ice cream and the spoon to eat it with! The problem goes beyond not knowing how to control your portions or getting more excise in. In order to fix what you think is a problem you need to understand it better. Some people are fat because they over eat and some aren't. Some large people want to lose weight and some are happy as they are, yes I said it, happy as they are! The thing is if we are trying to change something in ourselves or carry on as we are we should be able to look good whilst doing so. I know it may surprise some people out there but we have families, friends, partners, jobs and social lives too. We need to be able to wear clothes appropriate for the occasion just as you can. When you say "they" I am one of the people you are talking about! 

Big people know all of the same health statistics as you so to bleat on about it isn't telling us something we don't already know. I hear all the time about how we are a drain on the resources and on taxes. Do you not think we have jobs or pay tax? We do all of the same things you do just in a larger body suit. I am not ashamed of how I look and if my being confident in myself helps at least 1 other fat person out there then I can carry on smiling and doing what I need to do for myself. News flash there has always been fat people in the world and there always will be. Someone will always be battling some sort of weight problem somewhere. While all of this is going on they have every right to make the best of what they have and enjoy their lives in the clothes they want to wear!

Last night the plus size community clubbed together to spread the message that "We Are The They" we look good, feel good and will do our thing as best we can! You may not like the way that we look but remember something, just like anything people will change if they want to and they won't if they don't. Many people already think we look bad so what would you rather we wear smart and stylish clothes or stuff ourselves into things that are ill fitting and make us look a complete mess? We are all going through things and we need to be more understanding of each other, after all the saying is true 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. 

Remember whatever you wear, feel fabulous in it and wear it with a smile!

Mum In A Million!

So it's Mother's day here in the UK and with that we are seeing streams of lovely tributes and comments for mums all over social media today. I have to say I am a soppy chick sometimes and I'm one of those people who really enjoys seeing people express the love they have for their friends and family.

Of course today we are all celebrating mums and I would like to write a post about why I am extremely lucky to have such an amazing mother myself. Now I will just start by saying I won't post any pictures of my mum on the blog as she's not on social media at all and probably wouldn't want me posting her pic.

In my case though, I have to say I have a really great relationship with my mum. I won't lie and say it's always been a smooth one, I think all teenage girls get to a point when they clash with their mum but in my case that was only a very short period and it actually helped me to really appreciate my mum. Growing up in London, my immediate family has always been my mum and my older brother. My parents divorced when I was young and my relationship with my father died shortly after that. I grew up only really knowing one side of my family and I have to say I wasn't short on love, laughs and family excitement. Admittedly though growing up in a single parent family presents many struggles. I saw my mum work her fingers to the bone so that myself and my brother could not only have all that we needed but also most of the things that we wanted in addition to that. During my childhood my mum spent some time in the hospital after suffering from pneumonia and that was a really difficult time. My grandmother very much acted as a second mother to me and their influence together has helped to shape me into the woman I am today.

I know it sounds corny but my mum really is my best friend. I don't mean that in a happy go lucky sort of way though. I know that no matter what situation I should find myself in, whatever decision I have to make etc. my mum is the first person I need to speak to. Not only has she played the role of both mum and dad in my life she's the one person who will give me the truth in a direct, blunt manner. I'm a very "tell it like it is" sort of a person, I think this is a trait I picked up from her. I know that she has ALWAYS and will ALWAYS have the best interests of me and my brother and with that will tell us the things we may not like or may not want to hear that in turn will be the best information we could receive. 

I have to say I'm so proud of my mum, I really am. I'm not naive and unable see all that she has given up for me and my brother. She had my brother at just 25 years old and I came along a year after. I'm 27 years old now and I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to be raising 2 kids in London on her own! She of course had less personal time, money and opportunities because she would do everything with us as her priority. A couple of years ago she moved out to India for a year. I of course missed having those deep chats and fun nights chilling at home with her, but to see her taking the chance to do something for her and her alone is something I more than welcomed. Not only has she been an amazing influence to me and my brother she also took the time to be there for many of our friends growing up. Mum has an ease about her which allows people to connect with her and openly chat about things. A lot of my friends also grew up in broken homes or they just didn't have the kind of relationship with their parents that allowed them to speak about personal issues. One of my oldest friends grew up without her mother and during those difficult adolescent years as a teenager it was my mum who stepped up and helped her to deal with her first period and some of the other awkward things we girls experience. 

I have been fortunate to have a mother who supports me and my brother in our career aspirations and future goals. She's always had my back and always will and I really feel that I do have one of the best mums out there! Love you mum xxx

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at the Home Group who are running an amazing competition with Park Dean called Mum In A Million. You could win an amazing 3-4 night break for your mum. All you have to do is enter your details with a few words about why your mum is the best and you could be the lucky winner! Click here to enter!