My Journey To Confidence

This image bellow represents me at my most confident. When I did my recent photoshoot with Chiara Aprea I was sceptical, nervous and felt pretty uncomfortable with my lack of dress. She not only pushed me to take the risk and have fun with the camera, reminding me that I could always delete any images I didn't like.

I was able to see myself in a way I hadn't previously when I saw the final images. I felt sexy, chic and most important...CONFIDENT!

Hair and MUA and photography by Aprea Chiara

Styling by Chiara and myself.

Please do not copy or edit any images without permission from model and photographer.

Many of you know how I feel about confidence and how important I think it is to have some. Looking back I honestly think that my passion for confidence stems from the fact that until quite recently I really lacked in that area. Those who know me personally may argue with that fact because I'm outspoken, I find it easy to talk to people and I make friends easily. Having said all of that I like many women (not just plus size women) would hide in my clothes and do my utmost to blend into the background and not been seen. 

It was a little over a year ago that I got fed up with trying to be in the background like a sheet of wallpaper and so I decided to venture out and put myself through my paces and really work hard to be bold! I scoured the internet looking for bright and edgy clothes for plus size women and decided that as I was only 25 at the time I really needed to live a little and not be so scared to be seen.

I played around with my clothes, met loads of other amazing plus size women and really started to be able to look in the mirror and not only accept what was staring back at me...I actually liked what I saw! After meeting the lovely Anita Bellamy and hearing her tales of modelling as a plus woman and her passion about confidence; I not only realised that I had made a good friend, I had met someone who saw confidence just as I did. Being at the Definition Of Size Art Exhibition last October led me to open my eyes even further...

I would never have been seen in an outfit like this one before, now I have more bright and bold colours in my wardrobe than I do black items!

I believe that everyone has the right to feel amazing in their own skin, look good and should be able to walk with their held high regardless of what other people think. The most important opinion you can hold is that of yourself! The one person you will have to deal with every single day of your life is you! If you are able to find an element of confidence many things in your life will change for the better. 

Since I have found an inner confidence I take more risks with my personal style, break the rules I had previously set myself and in turn I feel so much better for it! I have made some amazing friends this past year and I am still pushing myself to be even more confident within myself. I think that when your esteem is in the floor it's all too easy to abuse yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. When you take pride in yourself you will want to better yourself in as many ways as possible and I believe that your luck will start to change. A positive outlook can only improve things, it has for me!

We need to build each other up and try to find the beauty in all of us. It might be the way you speak, the way you treat a person, the twinkle in your eye or your smile.

Beauty is everywhere it's not that hard to look for it either! Just make the best of what you have and let it shine!

No matter what you do try and do it with a smile!

What confidence is to those of us involved with Plus Confidence:

CONFIDENCE

                                                  C- How CAPTIVATING we are 

                                                  O- How OUTSTANDING we are 

                                                  N- How NORMAL we are

                                                  F- How FABULOUS we are

                                                  I- How INSPIRATIONAL we are

                                                  D- How DIVINE we are

                                                  E- How EMPATHETIC we are

                                                  N- How NICE we are 

                                                  C- How CALM we are

                                                  E- How EDUCATED

If you would like to get involed with Plus confidence check us out here

For more information on the Definition Of Size Exhibition click here

Beat It And Go Wild!

It's no secret that I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan and a big part of my fanship to Michael is included in my wardrobe! Now that the sun has started to shine in London I am using the opportunity to bring out some of my MJ t-shirts and incorporate them into my summer style with a little flair. In a recent post of mine I decided to wear a tee in a more dressy way, this time I thought I would put a casual spin on things. 

I thought I would wear a modern tee with a vintage look and pair it with a bright and fun skater skirt. The "Beat It" style t-shirt which is currently available from our online store King Of Shop is one that I think works with many different looks. Available in UK sizes 6-20 and at the current sale price of just £14! The world famous image used on record sleeves and vintage t-shirts all over the world has made a comeback and it's one that all the ladies seem to enjoy wearing, especially me!

With the cute folded sleeves and red diamanté adornments this one that was most definitely going to be worn by me this season. I like to colour coordinate as many things as possible and so I thought I would wear my scarlet red lipstick and pair it with this red pleather skirt from Primark both items are in size 20. 

It seems that music t-shirts are available this summer and I can only assume that with all the fun festivals happening over the next few weeks that many people will be wearing their chosen act...

As I have mentioned in the past I used to just wear mine with a simple pair of jeans for comfort and ease but I really want to show that you can have fun when styling t-shirts. For this one I could have gone a totally different way and used the teal colours in the t-shirt to help me complete the look. Pastels are huge at the moment so maybe a turquoise clutch or nail polish would look cool. Teal or Turqouise leggings or jeans would have been a cool way to go also. I guess my love of vintage styles had me reaching for the red pinup colours with this one lol. 

At King Of Shop we have decided to showcase that the King Of Pop can and should be worn with serious style and flair in our Respect Your Monarch campaign. Fans and friends alike are all taking pics wearing MJ in fun and fashion forward ways and you'll be seeing more posts like this from me in the near future. 

If any of you are wearing music tees this season I'd love to see who your chosen picks are and how you've made them work with your style. Feel free to drop me an email or a message so I can see what you've come up with!

Lip Service! A Pink Clove Review

Summer brings many fun and adventures times for everyone. Festival fun, long days, short nights and holiday romances. Dressing for the season is always fun and in keeping with the time old traditions of summertime it's no surprise to me that a massive trend at the moment is fabrics covered in lips and kisses. Many different companies are showering their items in kisses this year and I really wanted to get in on the action! 

Pink Clove recently ran a Facebook competition inviting their followers to like and share a picture that they had put up on their page. The potential prize to be won was this gorgeous Lip Print Button Front Swing Vest. I, like many others wrote a comment and posted the picture up on my page and thought nothing of it. When I got announced as the lucky winner of this top it of course was not what I was expecting at all! I instantly thought about what I might wear this one with and that it should be perfect for the warm British summer. 

I requested this one in a size 24 as I wasn't sure if the buttons on the front were just a design detail or if I would need to accommodate for extra boob room. As any woman knows there is nothing worse than having a really nice top or shirt which gapes where the buttons are! For those of you who may be considering this one for a purchase, the front is just a design detail and the top doesn't open at the front. 

The loose fit was just what I wanted especially as London can get unbearably sticky and uncomfortable in the sunshine. A light and airy fabric, makes for a really comfortable wear and I can also confirm that the colour does not fade after a wash or two. I decided to pair the top with a simple pair of black leggings; although a pair in a bright and bold colour would look really cool or you could pair it with some jeans. 

I really like using accessories and other adornments to bring a look together. I thought it might be fun to wear a lip print hair scarf to cover my often difficult hair and to add a little something extra to the look. The Raffia clutch from Simplybe and a pair of pink and white metallic drop earrings, and a simple pair of white ballerina pumps from Primark finish off the look.

If any of you have this top I'd love to see how you styled it up so feel free to send me a picture or a message.

This summer is set to be a fun one and I hope you all have lots of fun and have a many kisses yourself! :)