Strictly Chic And Strapless!

One thing I love about women's fashion is how so much of it has been created purely for us to showcase our best physical attributes. I have always loved strapless dresses but have only just been able to try one out for myself. Many plus size brands still shy away from cuts of clothing that are typically made for women of a smaller size. The thing is, all women love clothes and fashion and our dress size doesn't affect our want to wear fun and sexy clothes. 

I recently saw TV talk show host and fashionista, Jeannie Mai sporting an outfit that I instantly wanted to replicate on her show The Real. She was wearing a grey leather strapless dress with a sheer checked shirt and the look was edgy, casual, sexy and chic, all at the same time. I instantly went on the hunt for a strapless dress in my size! All of The Real talk show hosts have a great sense of style and they all know what works for their shape and personalities. Not only do I love the show, I also watch it to see what looks the girls are wearing. 

I'll be honest, very few brands had the kind of dress I was after and only seemed to offer maxi dresses in a strapless option. After finding American brand PinkClubwear on Instagram I got in touch with them to ask about their collection and was given the opportunity to review a few pieces. I of course selected a strapless bodycon with sweetheart cut. I love the fact that the dress was dazzling white with a peplum front. I'm wearing this one in a 3X and I have to say the fit is amazing! I tried this both with and without shapewear and I found that it worked either way (I should note that I am wearing shapewear in these pictures). The sweetheart detail is rigid and has boning across the centre to prevent the folds from flopping over or needing pinning. The fabric is very stretchy and clings in a tailored but comfortable way. I love the length and draping of the peplum front. For women with a slightly larger belly or one with a centre fold this detail will cover any area that one doesn't like to have on show.

I should note that this dress is no longer available on the website but there are many similar options available. 

Due to the fact that I have yet to find a strapless bra in my size I wouldn't want to wear this dress without one so my initial outfit idea was fixed from the get go. I wanted a sexy, sophisticated and chic look. I was going for a sexy secretary sort of look. Most of my shirts are sheer as I like for my clothes to breathe but as a fashion must, I of course own a stylish dress shirt. I'm wearing the Napoleon II shirt from Carolyn Drapiere.

I have to say I wasn't sure if the look I had in my mind would be achieved but I'm really pleased with the overall look. Those of you who know my blog and my style will know that I love to challenge myself and break fashion rules whilst doing so! I hate the fact that for years plus size women have been told not to wear certain styles of clothes or colours for that matter. I used to hear all the time that we should only wear black because it's slimming and white makes you look massive. I was more than comfortable wearing such a different outfit in the brightest tone possible!

To acceuntate the black pin stripe in my shirt I pulled out my black and white zebra print hair scarf. Tied my hair in a loose and messy bun and tied it across my brow. To elongate my silhouette and give myself some height I pulled out my Blue T-Bar wedges from New Look and I was set to go, with the added addition of my hoops of course. 

I love that we have the option to be creative with our fashion choices. We mix casual with dressy, sophisticated with sexy, masculine with feminine. In all of this experimentation we see some seriously cool looks both in the modelling world and on our local high streets. Have fun with your look, play around and see what you can come up with, you may be surprised with the results! 

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

Introducing Polly Grace!

It's always exciting when a new plus size brand hits the market! Recently I was contacted by Polly Grace, a brand ranging in sizes 16-32 with a fun and fresh selection of clothes. They let me select a few items to review and thought it would be cool to see how I might style them. The first thing I saw on the site that caught my eye was the Stella Dress. What I liked was the bold print, I really love the mix of white and blue with swirls of chocolate brown. I'm wearing this in a size 24 and I have to say it's pretty generous in size. I usually like to wear dresses that are slightly big to accommodate my behind and my bust. I found there to be a decent amount of room in this dress and a size 22 would have been a really nice fit for more of a bodycon fit to have been achieved. I really like the detail in the front which gives the dress a wrap illusion. 

The jersey fabric is really light and airy with a soft feel. This dress is a really nice option for spring and summer and would look really nice seriously glammed up. I wanted to go for a casual look with this one due to the nature of the fit. I paired this with a simple pair of black leggings and my platform wedged sandals from Yours Clothing. Now as many of you know blue is my favourite colour, I talk about it a lot and every time I see an item of clothing in any sea tone it simply has to be mine lol. The gorgeous Savannah cardigan was a must have because of the rich colbalt colour. The waterfall draping in the front is a really flattering detail for women of all shapes and can be added to both causal and sophisticated styles. I'm wearing this in a 22/24 and I really like the way it fits with plenty of room in the arms and in the main body of the garment. 

I'll be totally honest I'm having a really bad relationship with my hair at the moment. No matter what I do with it I'm finding it hard to maintain at the moment so my very frequent use of bandanas and hair scarves is because of this. As the print of the dress is quite loud I wanted to go for something really simple so I opted for my white mesh hair scarf. Combining this with my signature hoop earrings gave me a finished look that I really liked. A casual look with slight gypsy flair.

No matter what you wear there is always a way you can pull more than one look out of it. There are so many ways that you can make a casual item more glamorous and vise versa. Next time I wear this dress I may well pair it with some heels, heavier makeup and I may wear my hair down. More jewellery would also be a way to glam up this look. You can always pull from a single colour with your outfits and use that when selecting your accessories, nail polish or makeup.

There's many more interesting and fun items available from Polly Grace and I'll be sharing some more of them with you in future posts. Check out their website to see the full collection, when you make your purchase be sure to use my exclusive code: Mayah20 for a discount, also for a limited time in May the shipping is absolutely free! 

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

My Aquatic Mermaid Shoot With Chiara Aprea!

I spend a lot of time on the blog talking about my love of fashion and showing you all the outfits that I have put together. When I first started this blog my aim was to show plus size women a variety of clothing styles available to them and hopefully give them some ideas and tips when styling their looks. Early on in my journey to confidence I played around with my look and it was through this experimentation that I discovered that we all have the ability to wear whatever we like and we can use fashion as a way to show our personality and have fun. As it stands I haven't shared that many beauty looks on the blog because in truth, I haven't had much of a chance to play around in that area. 

There is one woman who knows my face better than most and is able to transform my image in a variety of ways. Chiara Aprea is real visionary and such a talent! So far most of my photo shoots have been with her. As a plus size model, photographer and makeup artist her skills are second to none. I love working with her because each experience is different to the last. When Chiara and I prepare to do a shoot we usually brainstorm over different themes and MUA styles. I had told Chiara quite some time ago that I really wanted to do a beauty shoot featuring fantasy mermaid makeup. Fast forward a few months and we had set a date to transform me into an aquatic mermaid with hints of the ice queen! 

Having worked with Chiara twice before I knew I was going to be in for a fun and very creative day. Our first shoot together was a vintage boudoir theme with a series of different costume and hair changes. My makeup for this shoot remained the same but the different accessories, angles and looks made for a really varied set of photos. To see some of them check out my previous post about it here. 

Second time around was a new experience for both myself and Chiara. She had wanted to start offering beauty shoots which focused on hair and makeup set to a specific theme. This time around she had approached me to do this with her. The idea was to transform me from the Mayah you are all familiar with to a technicolor geisha and dangerous dominatrix! I loved the idea as I thought this would be a challenge and a great way to play with makeup! Chiara thought that with my hair type and complexion I would be a great candidate to showcase some of her capabilites that people weren't very familiar with. To see some of these images and hear about our day check out my previous post here.

So here we are, I'm back in the makeup chair and this time we both knew that the process of application would be quite lengthy. Firstly she started by painting my forehead in a blue and silver gradient. My eyes and hairline were perfectly lined and the plan was to have a similar finish on my lips. We then added sequins and glitter and finished off by adding tons of diamontes in a variety of sizes and shades of blue. We then straightened my hair, added extensions and sprayed the tips in white and silver hair paint. The colours we used didn't show up hugely on my hair but they gave me a slight tint which actually worked really well in the pictures.

My aim was to tap into a really quiet sombre side of my personality and do my best not to smile. As quite a smiley person this was a challenge for me. The aim was for me to showcase all of my emotion through my eyes. We switched up the lighting throughout the shoot which gave my skin and makeup a really interesting hue throughout. When bright lights hit my eyes they tend to go from their usual dark brown to a bright chestnut colour, this happens to me in the sunshine too. I really love that in these pictures my eyes constantly look different and I have a variety of expressions from dark and moody to sweet and sultry. I absolutely love how these pictures came out and love the high fashion feel that they have. Once again I am in awe of Chiara's work and her direction helped me pose for some beautiful images.

If you would like to see more of Chiara's work check out her photography page on Facebook. You can also get information on how to book your own shoot. To check it out click here.

As I mentioned before Chiara is not only an amazing photographer and makeup artist she is also a successful plus size model and a gorgeous one at that! Check out her model page here. 

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