Rocking In The Seychelles! A Gemma Collins Review

*This Dress Was A Gifted Item

There isn't a single woman around who hasn't seen a friend of theirs or another female they admire turn up in something that makes her look absolutely fabulous! Not so long ago I had that reaction when I saw my friend and fellow blogger Nancy rocking a gorgeous Pink Gradient dress designed by TOWIE star Gemma Collins. The seychelles dress to me was a real show stopper! I loved how the colours complimented Nancy's skin tone so beautifully and her tattoos were on show for all to see. Often when I see a dress I like on someone I really want to try it out for myself but too be honest I wasn't sure this particular shade of pink would suit me.

Recently when Hanna and I were at the Evans store in Marble arch I stumbled across this dress on one of the rails and to my surprise, and my luck the seychelles dress was available in a mixture of blue tones! You all know that blue is my all time favourite colour and this was the very dress I had my eye on a few weeks prior so I just had to try it on! Wearing this one in a size 22 I have to say I really love how it feels on! The fabric is really slinky and silky and sits really softly against the skin. The weight of the dress is enough to keep a great silhouette in a strong wind and I love the length. 

I really like how the ruffled crossed front compliments the shape of the waist and accentuates the bust and I actually like that this dress is sleeveless. As most of you know I tend to cover my arms but I think that this dress has just enough going on that added sleeves might just be a little too much in the design, just my opinion. I think if I were to wear this out one night I may pair it with a shawl or short jacket of some kind.

I decided to wear this one with my Michelle shoes from Hotter for comfort and a little added height. I kept my makeup to a it's minimal state and I wore this holographic clutch. In keeping with my usual look hoop earrings were added and some added blue bits. A small blue daisy bracelet was a must and a new statement necklace that I had been given to review. 

Happiness Boutique recently contacted me and asked if I would like to try something out. I jumped at the chance as I love a good statement necklace! They sent me the most incredible blue and white stoned chocker and I have to say I love it! Check out their site and see what incredible bits and pieces are on there with a selection of fun accessories and gorgeous clothes it's worth a look!

Unfortunately the seychelles dress is no longer available on the Gemma Collins section of the Evans website but do go into your local store as you may find one there just as I did. I feel amazing in this dress it's a colour I love, fit that I enjoy and it's a show stopper! If you see a dress that just does it for you try it out! You never know you might just feel great in it!

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

With Flying Colours!

One thing I love, Colour! Colour to me can really impact on a persons sense of mood and it can definitely give a certain style or theme to your wardrobe! A trend that has been quite popular recently is paint! Splashed paint to be exact! It would seem that abstract swirls and patterns aren't just limited to bright canvases that sit in art galleries, we can wear them right out there on our streets! I have seen a whole host of interesting colours splashed across women's clothing everywhere and I have had my eye open for something of my own for quite some time!

Hanna and I went to a Boohoo press event at some time last year and they had loads of upcoming items with paint splattered patterns arriving in the upcoming collection (some of you may remember some of the pics I posted on my Instagram whilst at the event). Whilst having a browse on the website I came across a really fun and BOLD shift dress. The Taylor printed shift dress fits my frame like a bodycon but to be honest with you, that's one of the things I love most about it! I'm wearing this is a size 24 and I have to say I really like how it looks on. I will admit when I first took this out of the packaging and tried it on I thought 'Wow I look colourful!' Not so long ago I would have been totally pushed out my comfort zone by this prospect but I actually love how this looks.

I should note I'm not wearing any shapewear in these pictures, the bright paint print I find actually looks quite flattering against my shape. In a viscose, elastane mix the fabric feels like a soft t-shirt on. As an item that's really light to wear, this would be really comfortable in a bar or club atmosphere. The long sleeves are really comfortable with plenty of stretch and would be a really comfortable item to wear for ladies who don't like to show the tops of their arms. Due to the fact that I have a large bust and big behind this dress hitches up a little on me I wear this with leggings as the length is slightly shortened because of this.

I thought I would work with the colours of the dress and so I thought my red patent ballerina pumps from Primark would work well for comfortable footwear. I think a pair of stiletto heels would work in any of the colours featured on the dress if you wanted to slightly glam this up a little. For accessories I kept it simple wearing this Feather necklace from Topshop and my classic hoop earrings. 

Don't be afraid of colour, have fun with it and enjoy being bold! We all need to have those fun items in our wardrobes that makes us want to be colourful and vibrant. 

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

Oriental Magic - A Scarlett And Jo Review

*Both The Dress And Shoes Are Gifted Items

The amazing thing about the summer is that everyone and everything has a real zest for living. People are optimistic about the season and the rest of the year, the weather is amazing and we have unlimited options for bright and fun clothes. I'm loving all the amazing prints and colours available from all the summer collections I have seen this year and of course pastels and aqua tones are very much in at the moment. 

Usually I'm not one for surprises but I was pleasantly surprised when Gifi Fields, Founder of Coppernob Fashion and the man behind Scarlett & Jo called me last week. He had been working on a dress that he really thought I would like. Knowing my love of beautiful floral prints and vintage styles he told me about this amazing print from the 1930s that he had featured on a new style of dress that was coming to Evans. Of course I loved the sound of it and wanted to see what he had come up with!

I have to say once again I am in love with a dress from Scarlett & Jo! The shape of this dress alone ticks all of the boxes for me. I love to wear bodycon style dresses and I enjoy my curves and the shape of my silhouette when I do. For many years I was of the impression that as a bigger woman my body was undesirable, unflattering and un-sexy. Literally 2-3 years ago my perceptions changed. I realised I have never had a problem attracting male attention and everything I was thinking was all in my own head! After getting my first Powerfit dress I was reminded a fuller figured shape is a different kind of beautiful and should be celebrated as such. For this reason I love bodycon style dresses and urge more women to head out and get one! Another style of dress I really enjoy wearing is the wrap dress. I find that wrap dresses suit women of every shape, all bust sizes and all heights. They add a smartness to them which makes them wearable all times of the day with just enough sass. This dress combines the 2 styles perfectly and the length is really comfortable.

The fact that the fishtail hem of the dress falls just below the knees means that this is one you can comfortably wear a slip, shorts or shapewear should you want the extra coverage. Often when we girls wear shapewear we are concious of it showing by the hem of a dress and this length allows you to be carefree even on a somewhat breezy day. I'm wearing this one in size 24 and I have shapewear underneath. I should note that when I was taking these pictures it was a little breezy on a typical summer evening. As you can see the structure of the dress is maintained by the weight of the fabric so you can go on as normal without having to adjust your dress constantly. Often with wrap style dresses there can be a slight problem in the bust area. Often for women with larger busts we can run the risk of having our bra slip or even having a breast slightly exposed while the other remains in tact. I find myself often adjusting my wrap dresses because of this or evening having to pin them. Women with a smaller bust often have to worry about the fabric flopping and the neckline of the dress losing it's structure. I will say with this dress I was really impressed. The underline panel in the wrap detail cuts right across the inside of the dress and as the fabric has quite a lot of stretch it clings to your bra without crushing your breasts into a strange shape. The good news, the flap stays firmly in place! 

I really love the 3 quarter lengths sleeves on this one. The fabric is soft and rich so I doubt you would need a jacket or shawl when wearing this one on a warm day. I have to say I love the aqua base colour of the dress. Deep pastel tones like this really sit in nice for the season and this kind of dress would be lovely to take on an exotic holiday somewhere. As much as I love aqua tones sometimes I find they can clash a little with my skin tone. I really like how this colour compliments my complexion and because of this I kept my styling very minimal.

When I first tried this dress at the S&J offices it really gave me a feeling of wanting to dance. I joked about this with Gifi and asked him if he was thinking of ballroom dresses when working on this collection because the Red Lace Fishtail Dress had the same effect on me lol. I decided to pair this with a pair of black heels. I was recently gifted the most gorgeous pair of Michelle shoes from Hotter. I have a thing for t-bar style shoes and these are so comfortable and work with pretty much every dress I have so they were a must! 

You know what I always say, wear the clothes you feel amazing in! Every woman deserves the opportunity to feel and look sexy in something she feels comfortable in. I once again have to thank Scarlett & Jo for making this a possibility for me, a woman who once didn't think that would ever be a possibility. 

For more on Scarlett & Jo  and to see what else is available in the collection check out their Tumblr and Evans pages.

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!

Seduced By Medusa! A Lady Voluptuous Review

Those of you know who know my blog and are familiar with my sense of style will know that I have a deep love and affection for Vintage clothing. When I first took note of the style I was only a small child, I remember watching the old movies and seeing images of the beautiful and glamorous stars of the time. I, like a lot of people had resigned myself to the fact that I would ever be able to wear such gorgeous clothes. I had 2 reasons for this, firstly my being a plus size woman limited my options of clothing even when it came to the current trends that were available, secondly I figured that those sorts of clothes would be impossible for anyone to find outside of old second-hand vintage stores and because of how far in time we were away from the decades that these fashions were born from. 

When I first discovered plus size fashion blogs a few years ago so many of the women were sporting vintage inspired dresses! To see that this was an option really caught my interest and I took it upon myself to get myself measured and invest in a dress of my own. I'm happy to report that now in 2015 there is a plethora of options open to ladies of all sizes both on the high street and online. If you are a more alternative woman who loves the Rockabilly style then many of the dresses out there will be right up your street. If like me you go for a more classic form of the style, the choices are endless and can be adapted to suit the Rockabilly style.

As many of you will be aware one of the gorgeous bloggers I follow is the amazing Georgina Horne aka Fuller Figure Fuller Bust. She is a major lover of vintage fashion and amazing person to follow if you want to see great style and beauty tips; perfect for pinup admirers and women everywhere. Just a few weeks ago Georgina launched an amazing new vintage inspired clothing line that she created in partnership with Lady Vintage. Lady voluptuous is a range that was created with plus size women being the soul focus! Every single design is available in sizes 16-32. 

Recently Lady Voluptuous ran a competition on their Facebook page. They had put up an image of the amazing Medusa dress in 2 colours: Royal Blue and Oxblood. All the entrants had to do was simply say which colour they preferred and 2 names would be selected at random to win, one selecting the blue and the other who had selected the oxblood. When I received a tweet from the brand telling me to check my Facebook I had no idea why, in truth I had forgotten that I even commented myself. To find out that I was the winner of the Royal Blue dress seriously shocked me and totally made my day! You all know my love of blue clothes so as you can expect this dress was on my wish list of items to purchase next payday!

The fit of the dress is amazing, made in a bengaline fabric the dress has amazing stretch, moulding to all of the hot and sexy spots to a woman's physique and highlighting them really well. I should also note that this fabric doesn't seem to crease either which is a bonus! I'm wearing this in a size 22 and have loads of room in the arms, bust and behind. I really like the length of the dress as it's below the knee. Many plus women dislike their knees being exposed, in my case I don't mind but as my legs aren't perfectly toned this feature makes the dress that little bit more comfortable to wear. The neckline is just enough to provide a glimpse of cleavage whilst still being modest enough to wear anywhere. I always wear my fitted dresses with shapewear but to be honest the dress looked just as good without. 

Doesn't Georgina look amazing in this:

I decided to wear the dress with a metallic blue head scarf (once again I was having a battle with my hair), statement chocker, black heels and my heart charm bracelet. For an extra touch of glam I pulled out my pleather jacket with faux fur collar (from a previous New Look Inspire Collection). I think this dress would look amazing with electric blue heels, paired with gold or silver accessories. A cute cinch belt would be a nice addition for a little something extra. Acrylic jewellery might be a fun twist to provide a more casual touch. Available in emerald green, oxblood, leopard print and cerise there is a colour to suit all tastes and skin tones. 

Check out the amazing collection by Georgina and Lady Voluptuous and see what other amazing styles are available!

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

Bringing Colour Into The Winter Wardrobe

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the winter. I find that the weather is random and wild but we as people on appearance alone are the total opposite. We drape ourselves in lifeless, boring and uninspiring clothes limited to a variety of dark tones and we tend to replace style with comfort. The start of the year brings with it many changes and this is the time of the month when people are ready to ditch their new years resolutions and continue on with life as they had been. One thing that never changes with me is a need to bring a little colour to the season. I love the rich and warm tones that are around this time of year, deep greens, rich reds, crisp oranges and luscious blues.I get really frustrated at how the cold and dreary weather makes people feel that they shouldn't wear bright colours though. 

I love my black staple pieces and I will always have a large variety of black items in my wardrobe. Monochrome colours tend to work with pretty much anything and everything in the wardrobe so they make for a great staple colour to have. I like to switch things up a little by finding ways to wear some of my favourite items in a way that is comfortable and stylish this season. I recently went out in one of my favourite bodycon dresses from Pink Clove (click here for my review of the item). I have a deep love of panel dresses and this is definitely the brightest one that I own. This time of year it's important to cover up and the fact that the neckline is above the cleavage is definitely a bonus if you're wearing this as a casual daytime item. I thought it would look cool to wear this dress with a thick pair of black leggings and my biker jacket. 

To finish off I wore my black Shawberry boots, black beret, my black diamonte heart necklace, twisted hoop earrings and small black clutch. 

If like me you like to wear bright colours but still want to keep in with the current trends maybe try a singular coloured item. This kind of look would work with most dress types and a block colour would be pretty cool which would also give you the option to play with colourful adornments and accessories.  In my case everything I wore in these photos is black except for the dress. I wanted something bright, bold and sexy that would pop, and this dress was the perfect option for the look I was trying to achieve. I developed a love for bright and brashy prints last year and it's definitely a trend that I hope we see again in 2015! 

Seeing as the weather is getting colder by the day this sort of outfit would most likely require a scarf and some gloves. A cool pair of black leather gloves would enhance the biker chic look and a scarf or snood are not only practical, they can also provide a little something different to the style. 

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

Gold Dust - The Perfect Duster Jacket - A Boohoo Review

This year a huge fashion item has been the duster jacket. Tons of brands have had these available in an assortment of colour and print variations, different fabrics and interesting cuts. When it comes to my jackets and coats I like to select items that I can picture wearing with existing items in my wardrobe. A few weeks ago I had a bit of a shopping haul on Boohoo, they had an amazing offer which took 20% off all of the items in the plus range. I had been looking for a duster jacket that would act as a staple and work with many of my favourite items. I like wearing shrugs, boleros and cool jackets as my cover ups and when I saw the Natasha Checked Duster Jacket it had to be mine! 

The interesting pattern reminded me of a top that I have from Lane Bryant. As I have been able to work that into several different looks I knew this would be the same. The length of the garment matches loads of my bodycon and t-shirt dresses and the simple black and white colour makes this an adaptable item that works with pretty much anything. 

I picked this up in a size 24. I always buy my jackets and coats in a larger size so that they hang nicely with the clothes underneath. The 3 quarter length sleeves are a really nice touch especially if this is worn with a dress or short sleeved top. Short lapels and no pockets make this one a really nice cover up.

I paired this with the Cream Contrast Powerfit dress (size 22) by Scarlett & Jo. Check out my full review of my favourite bodycon dress that I have in 5 colours! All Scarlett & Jo Items can be purchased from Evans. Unfortunately the Powerfit dress isn't available at the moment but stay tuned as there are some gorgeous new lines from the brand! 

When putting this look together I was thinking about the amazing events that are happening this time of year. Christmas dinners, drinks, new years celebrations and I wanted a casual/sexy outfit that had that little something extra and showcased my curves in an understated yet chic way.

I decided to keep this look very simple with my usual makeup of black winged eye liner, mascara, brows and foundation. Accessories I kept to a minimum wearing only a pair of twisted hoop earrings and a black diamonte heart pendant. I finished up the look with some black platform heels and I was set. 

Wearing this jacket as part of a monochrome look really works but if you wanted a shock of colour you could pair it with black or white skinny jeans and then a coloured top. I would tend to gravitate towards something blue personally but any would work. Alternately fun statement jewellery or coloured acrylic accessories would look really cool. 

This Jacket is still available from Boohoo in sizes 16-24 so if you like it and want to try it out it's just been reduced in price and is only £25! 

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