A Sailor's Sweetheart - A Collectif Review

*This dress was a gifted item

One of the best things for me is to get dressed up. When you're a bigger girl living in London the way you view yourself and fashion may be slightly different to the view of the average person. For years we have been limited with our options and it's only been the past few years that has brought new changes and opportunities to the forefront. The fashion industry as a whole has started to embrace the bigger girls and with it we have been awarded the chance to freely express ourselves. 

What I love about Collectif is that they create their dresses in sizes 6-22. I have to say I love that the brand has the same set of clothes available for standard and plus size women. So many brands have a separate range of clothing for us bigger girls and, more often than not the choices aren't as edgy or experimental. The good news is that the options that are coming from brands all over the place are becoming more stylish, edgy and generally more fun to wear.

Collectif recently contacted me and gave me the chance to review a dress. When I saw the Ginger Sailor Wing Bust Dress, I knew I instantly wanted to try it. My Sindy Doll sailor dress is one of my favourites and I absolutely love wearing it. As the shape of this dress is very similar, I knew it was one I could have fun with. I've selected this dress in a size 22. 

I love nothing more than slipping on a fun vintage dress, putting on a petticoat and really going all in with my look. When I was styling this dress I imagined being back in the 1950s. I pictured myself as the wife of a sailor in the Navy on my way to meet my husband whilst he came back from his tour. Funny I know but it's fun to play a character sometimes lol. 

I say it all the time, I love blue, any shade of blue and so this dress was one I was determined to have fun with. A great feature is the adjustable straps. These can be worn in a criss-cross fashion, in a halter style or the dress can be worn as a strapless number. In these pictures you'll see that I have taken pictures in both the criss-cross and halter-neck style. 

I should note that the belt of the dress has no loop holes for you to have a fixed closure. I found that from time to time when walking or moving the clasp would slip open. This to me was the only flaw in the dress but can easily be resolved by using another belt if you really want to wear the added accessory.

Hanna and I were taking full advantage of the hot London sun and so we decided to spend the day taking a ton of outfit pictures this previous Saturday. Whilst I was getting my dress together the lovely Diana was really sweet and borrowed me a few things to try with the dress. This gorgeous fascinator by Pearls And Swine was something I fell in love with at first sight. I love the gorgeous collection of white roses and the net detail attached. At first we weren't sure how this would look but I thought it completed the outfit beautifully. A simple white bolero was added and in some of my pictures a necklace of a ship was worn. Definitely in keeping with my sailor theme!

I of course selected my Michelle shoes from Hotter as my given footwear! It's no secret how much I love to spin and swirl in my pinup dresses and so I needed shoes that were perfect vintage styling and pain free. If you love to swing or jive dance I cannot stress enough how incredible these heels are! 

In keeping with usual style I wore my small hoop earrings for added jewellery. Applied some deep red lipstick to my usual vintage style makeup and I was ready and set to go! I always say it, have fun with your clothes. If something makes you feel amazing, wear it! Don't apologise for expressing yourself through fashion, that's exactly what fashion is all about! 

Good news ladies this amazing dress is currently on sale! The price has been slashed in half so if you want to try this one out for yourself be sure to pick one up now! Also any of you who do get this one I'd love to see your pics and how you styled it!

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

Along Ivory Lines - An Evans Clothing Review

Hi everyone I hope you're all doing well. I'm sorry that things have been a little quiet here on the blog the previous couple of weeks. Things have been hectic, crazy and quite emotional lately, a lot has been happening. Firstly my life had a major shakedown with things happening at work and in my private life. Things have started to come back together, giving me a little time to breathe and reboot. 

So what's been going on in my wardrobe? I have been enjoying some vintage items, a few dressy numbers and of course, casual items. I'll be sure to share some of my looks with you very soon but to start I really wanted to share an item with you that I first saw a few weeks ago. Hanna and I was out for the day and we popped into the Evans store in Marble Arch here in London. Like a lot of us ladies, when there is a new collection to be seen and tried we head on to the nearest store to have a gander at some of the new lines. The Design Collective range had reached the stores and we had our eye on some cool options to try. One item that unexpectedly caught my eye whilst in the store is this ivory longline shirt. Everyone who knows my style will know that when it comes to shirts I tend to veer towards the sheer variety. I just love the easiness of sheer shirts, they can really make a simple look have a little bit of edge and they are always so comfortable! 

I loved the simplicity of this one as it's an item I know I could wear with pretty much every pair of jeans or trousers I own and even better, because of the length I could also wear this one as a singular item with some under-shorts for a shirt-dress look. One of the elements I really enjoy about sheer shirts is that they are always extra spacious in the arms. Given the tailored cut many of them have the arms are always really light and airy which gives me a look I like when trying to be casual yet formal, but a comfort that we all enjoy. I'm wearing this in a size 26. When it comes to shirts I often have to up-size if I want to be able to fasten all of the buttons without any gaping across the bust. 

With this look I decided to pair these with my indigo stretch skinny jeans. These are also from Evans but I purchased these several months ago, the good news is that these are still available. I cannot stress enough how comfortable these are and because they are slightly high waisted they cinch you in just a little and give a really nice look to the leg. I'm wearing these in a size 26. 

For accessories I wanted to keep things simple and work with my key jewellery colour, silver. I have a thing for silver jewellery and love the way it looks against my skin. I recently purchased a silver glitter clutch from New Look. I don't own that many clutch bags but all ladies must have a choice of at least 3 I think, so I wanted a sparkly one. I love the metallic strap that can either be kept inside the bag or worn. Some New Look stores may still carry this one but unfortunately I can't seem to find a link to share with you from their website. There is a similar clutch available in gold however. 

I pulled out an old pair of glitter ballerina shoes that I bought from Primark ages ago. My small silver hoop earrings, black fringed head scarf and I was ready. I like to keep things simple but I still need to add a little something extra. In this case it was a touch of sparkle in places.

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

Take It To The Maxi! - A Boohoo Plus Review

So we're deep into July which means we should be in the thick of summer! Unfortunately London has had some really random weather and we've had more chilly days than hot ones. The good news is when it is hot and the sun is beaming in London everyone finds themselves wearing their summer best and enjoying the day out and about with friends.

Recently when shopping at Boohoo I was on the hunt for a light and airy dress to wear for those hot days. You all know I love to glam up but sometimes I just like to be comfortable and casual. The thing is everyone needs to own a plain black maxi dress so when I saw the Leah Race Back Maxi I knew I had to get it! I picked this dress in a size 24 and I have to say I love wearing it! It is so light and so comfortable that it's perfect for one of those really humid days when you just want relief from the heat! I should note because of the size of my breasts when I wear this one my bra is slightly exposed at the sides. 

Like many plus size women out there my problem area with my body is my arms. I used to feel so uncomfortable with my arms exposed and would brace the hot sun with jackets and cardigans on even if the heat was Sweltering and sticky! Last year I went out totally jacket-less for the first time and it's this year that my aim is to keep pushing myself in that area. Due to the fact that I wanted to push my confidence and and have my arms bare a solution to the fact that the dress pulls a little in the chest for me was to wear a cropped, sleeveless denim jacket. I bought mine last year in Primark for a bargain! 

When the sun is beaming down on you, the last thing you want is to be laden down with accessories! I decided to only wear my signature hoop earrings and hair scarf. Finishing off with a small pop of blue with my t-bar wedges from New Look my outfit was complete.

Hanna is the lipstick queen she has pretty much every shade known to man and sat me down one day to try out all the colours and see what sort of tones look nice against my complexion. Picking out a summer bright baby pink shade, she said she thought the Nikki Minaj style tone looked cool on me. I thought it would be fun to try the shade again and so here you have it, me with supper girly pink lippy! 

Dressing comfortably doesn't have to mean losing you sense of style so have fun in other ways with your makeup and hair accessories if you want to keep things simple in the summer heat! 

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