Category Archives: plus size fashion

Still blossoming in Winter.

Since Scarlett & Jo became available in Evans they have been producing item after item that I have lusted over. I, like everyone else on the planet fell in love with the infamous prom dress but by the time I was able to buy it everyone and their cat already had it. Then the prom skirts came out and I knew I had to have one. A little late to the party (or prom lol) again I now have a beautiful Scarlett & Jo prom skirt. They are still available HERE on the Evans website on sale and in three colours.I chose the purple because with winter approaching I wanted something that was dark enough to wear throughout the colder season but with the vibrant flowers it still stands out beautifully.

The skirt has an elasticated waistband and is so comfortable, I have on a size 30 and it fits great so you could easily size down if need be. The skirt has a built in tulle underskirt and feels so girly and ‘flouncy’ to wear. It really feels like a luxury piece when you have it on. I know with all my extra padding I shouldn’t need the help of tulle to fill out the skirt but it just makes it so pretty.

This is just going to be a really picture heavy post as the skirt is so gorgeous!

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This is probably my favourite skirt at the moment and I can’t wait to see what Scarlett & Jo come out with next. They have some beautiful vintage jersey dresses in at the moment. Go check them out.

Thanks for reading x

In ca’boots’ with JD WIlliams.

 

Something I discovered very recently is that more and more brands are stocking wide fitting shoes,  some are even starting to cater to us ladies with super chunky legs with their vast range of calf width fittings, one of those companies being JD Williams.

I got a pair of boots from the wide fit shoe section of their website and I wanted to try a pair of long legged boots just to see if their largest calf size would be suitable for me. If you read my post on wide calf wellies you will know how much I have struggled over the years to find boots to fit my huge calves. JD Williams have a whopping seven calf widths to choose from in a selection of their boot; Slim, Standard, Extra large, Curvy, Super curvy, Curvy plus and Super curvy plus. I went for the Suer curvy plus as I know my legs are really really big and I wasn’t even confident that these would fit.

When the boots came I was really excited because laying them out on the floor the calf looked massive. You can find this pair HERE!

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I love the boots and this is the closest I have ever come to having a pair of everyday knee high boots fit. As you can see from the last picture the boots are still a little tighter around my calf than it should, be but this is purely down to the fact that I have huge legs (which I accept and embrace lol). But to my surprise the boots go on easily and are not uncomfortable in the slightest. I wore these boots for a few hours and I love them, they are super comfortable and easy to walk around town in. I will show you the boots again as part of my outfit;

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I will be blogging this outfit in my next post which should be up in the next two days x

 *These boots were kindly gifted to me. However all views, positive and negative are my own*

The Stellar Estella

This is the dress my dreams are made of.

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I have been on the hunt for a vintage style dress in my size for the longest time. I have come across a few but they have always been in a jersey fabric, which is fine when it comes to fast fashion but I wanted something that was going to last me years.

When I heard on the blogger grapevine that Lady V London were releasing a vintage dress in a number of prints in a size 30/32 I was over the moon.

The Estella Dresses are available here! and were designed by the gorgeous Georgina from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust

I bought the Estella in the black and white polkadot as I knew it would be very easy to style and I could wear it practically anywhere.

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When the cupcake print Estella was released on the website I was literally screaming “Oh my God, Oh my God” Two of my favourite things combined just for me… Surely a gift from the Angels!!! I went on the site and bought the cupcake dress without a second thought… just look at it… I had to!

 

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Love how I can still look fierce in a cupcake dress lol

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The Estella dresses are 97% Cotton and 3% Elastane,  the quality is so good and I feel like they are a total investment, I plan on taking really good care of the ones I have so they will last forever.  A problem I find being my size is that it is very difficult to find good quality clothes that are a good fit, I know the bigger I am the more my body will vary from someone else who wears the same dress size. The Estella Dress feels like it was made for my body, the little bit of elastane allows the dress to hug you in just the right places but still has enough structure to fit how it is meant to.

I am really hoping to see more of these dresses coming out and I would especially like to see the dress in some solid colours.

Lucia Laid Bare

I, like a lot of women, love to get all dressed up… prettying up my face and put on something cute.
I love experimenting with my hair and changing up my make-up looks to suit my mood/the occasion.
But I wanted to to a blog post that was basically just me stripped back from all the extras saying… Look, This is me… The real me.
No make-up and No extra hair

This is my natural hair, The hair that I was born with. No straightening techniques, no hair managing products, just my hair as it grows out of my head. I love braids and weaves and wearing my hair straight etc… but I also love my natural hair. My hair is big and wild and difficult to manage just like me!

I have poor vision so I need glasses, and I love those too lol, I like the way I look in glasses and  think everyone can look good in the right pair of frames. Day to day when I’m out running errands and such I don’t wear any make-up and I kind feel a bit like a fraud when in all my blog posts I’m all made up. So this blog post is just basically a short post showing you all the real me.

All the dressing up is so fun but I always strip back to ‘Me’ and have recently realised that that is just as great.

Also if anyone is interested in me doing any hair posts just let me know x

Simply Be Style Challenge – Embellished Dress

I was recently contacted and asked if I would like to participate in a style challenge for Simply Be, so of course I jumped at the chance! Being right at the larger end of the plus size fashion size range, I thought it would be a brilliant opportunity to show how you can make certain items work for you at any size.
What I enjoyed most about doing the challenge was taking a piece that wasn’t my ‘usual style’ and make it something that I would actually wear just through the styling. I kept the outfit pretty simple going for something that I would feel comfortable in.
We were asked to style the dress for a specific occasion, I didn’t want to focus too much on the occasion until I had the outfit on. Once I was dressed I decided that the place I was most likely to wear this outfit would be out for cocktails with the girls.
This is how bright the cami is, It doesnt show well at all in the outside pics)
I wore a neon orange cami underneath and paired it with a neon green handbag. I am in love with little neon pops of colour this summer and love throwing them in everywhere.
I wore this with a pair of old jeans that I cut up and a pair of Primark shoes.
I really like the dress and I love the shape it gives my body, Its very feminine and a very versatile piece.
I got this gorgeous neon green clutch bag from chunkycatcuddler who had a stall at the StyleXL event this month. They had it in three colours and the bag is absolutely stunning.
A little look at the shoulder embellishment on the dress
When the dress arrived I noticed just how ‘grown up’ it is, and i immediately knew I would be dressing it down for the challenge, The embellishments on the shoulder and the chiffon material make it it seem very dressy and would be what I would describe as an occasion dress, I wanted to take away from that feel with some denim but still wanted it to be suitable for an evening out.
I cant wait to see what the other ladies involved have done for the style challenge.
Dress – Simply be – Embellished Dress

Joe browns on the Town!

The perfect dress?
As the weather has gotten warmer one of my favourite dresses to wear has been the Joe Browns Colourful Coral 50s Dress *(very kindly gifted to me to review) I can sometimes struggle with the fit of the 50s style dresses but I found this one sat very well on my body.
I love that the dress has a structured feel when wearing it, it is 98% cotton and 2% elastane, There is enough stretch in it for it to hug me in the right places and I would say it is a perfect fit and I love the way it makes my boobs look, this is definitely a great dress for ladies with a large bust.
The material is a little thicker than most of the other dresses I have been wearing and I was worried that I would be way too hot in this dress but I haven’t been, I think that’s where the benefits of it being cotton come in.
This dress feels a bit like magic, its thick enough to give that structured authentic 50s feel but the fabric is very breathable so can comfortably be worn on a hot summers day.
After deciding that this dress would not have me sweltering I decided to give it a go on a night out in a club…
I love the big prints on this dress. This fat girl loves large prints!!!!
I don’t know what people were thinking saying big girls cant wear large prints, I think it looks fantastic! I love the coral in the dress and it’s such a welcome addition to my dress collection because I have nothing else like it.
I wore this dress on an evening out with a pair of leggings, nude shoes from Primark and a nude clutch from New Look
I’m a really big fan of this dress, I think it looks beautiful on and I think it is the perfect shape/material for a bigger girl who wants to flatter her shape.
I personally am not all that interested on flattering my body, I just wear whatever I feel good in, but I do understand that not everybody feels the same way I do. I feel very comfortable in this dress though and I feel that it looks good on my body so I will be wearing this again and again.
I think this is very close to being a perfect dress, It fits like a dream and is beautiful to look at.
Joe Browns… I am impressed!
*This dress was kindly gifted to me for review purposes, all opinions expressed here are true and my own* I really do LOVE this dress!

My Birthday week so far…


Hello home slices. 
My name is Lucia and I am a shopahol…. Just kidding. I actually don’t know what to write so this is pretty awkward, I think I’m just gonna talk to you guys about my week so far. I am visiting my hometown of London this week, I came down on Sunday so that I would be able to celebrate my birthday (which was on Monday) with my family and friends. I didn’t really have anything planned but I thought it would be nice to be home. I left my boyfriend in Derby as he was going to be working anyway.

I went out with my sisters and cousins on the Monday evening, we just had dinner and cocktails in Wetherspoons in Angel, and after cocktails turned into shots I was ready for bed. It was a lovely quiet night. Didn’t take many pictures but here are the ones I do have from that evening.
Pretty casual birthday outfit. 
Oh god the shots!
Fresh cream and white chocolate birthday cake (That’s 30th not 50th btw!)
Pub selfie with one of my sisters. 
I had some lovely presents delivered to me from a certain Princess who was unable to be there for my birthday due to a big move of her own. I got a beautiful Kimono that I have been after for ages and she knows I am Yankee Candle obsessed so I got some lovely smellies.
On Wednesday night I went out for dinner and drinks with a few friends. We went to a Mexican street food restaurant called Wahaca in Angel (seems like I don’t veer very far from the Angel lol) and then onto the Glassworks for drinks afterwards. As you can see from the pics below I wore my newest Kmono that I got from my Bestie and a simple black maxi dress. 
My Wednesday night outfit.

Not gonna give any info on the outfit as I will blog about this one soon.
Moving away from London was a big change for me as I was born and raised here so it’s been really lovely being able to see all my London friends and family.
I will be staying in London for a few more days as it’s my mums birthday on Sunday, then I will make plans to go back home.
I don’t really have much going on here til I go home, All I know is that I need an emergency trip to Mac as I have zero eyebrow products here lol

Hope everyone is having a lovely week and I hope you liked this post.
Lucia x

Hue am I?

Hue am I? feat. Pink Clove

With summer fast approaching I have been looking for items to add a little colour to my wardrobe, I am a big fan of black and neutral colours but I have recently been getting a lot of compliments when I wear the occasional pop of colour.
So in the spirit of what my blog is all about, I want try and change up my hues this summer.
I have been experimenting with bright colours and bold prints and actually really enjoying it.
As everyone and their mother knows I am a big fan of kimonos at the moment so when i saw this one on the Pink Clove website I was really excited as I like my kimonos to be big and flowy so whenever a brand has one in my size or larger I am a happy girl. Since the launch of Pink clove I have been very impressed with their range of fashions, quality and price.
This is the Floral Print Kimono
and the Royal Blue Cami Vest
both from Pink Clove
I really love the Kimono, Its hard to tell in these pictures or on the website pictures but the floral print beautiful and super vibrant and of the four kimonos I have at the moment it is the most colourful and summery and a steal at just £20.
I really like the quality of the camisole, In the pictures on the model on the website the cami is very loose and flowy yet I found that it was tighter around the midsection that I thought it would be, it fits me like a regular camisole would without the flowyness. I still really like it but I would suggest sizing up one if you want it to be loose and swing.
I wore the cami tucked in to an ASOS midi skirt as I just wanted a small block of colour.
I got this small leather handbag for a couple of quid on eBay because when I picked up these shoes a month or two ago from Primark I had nothing to go with it.
I really like this all these pieces together,  I decided to go without jewellery as I felt like there was already quite a lot going on and I’m still trying to get used to all the colour and prints etc.
Want this post to show you that no matter your size, all fashion trends are open to every BODY!
*The Pink Clove items were gifted to me for review purposes, all opinions, positive and negative, are honest and my own*

In The Dressing Rooms of Derby!

A Plus Size Shoppers Paradise!Any of you who read my blog will know that I have just recently moved to Derby from London, a big concern when moving here was what the plus size shopping scene was like. I was so happy to find out that it is actually much better than London especially for someone who likes going into stores to try things on.

The main plus size stores that are in Derby town centre are:
Simply Be
Yours Clothing
Evans
New Look Inspire
Bon Marche
The last couple of weeks I have been enjoying visiting the stores, shopping and trying things on. It has been a big part of getting to know my area.
Last week I went into Simply be and tried on a few pieces that caught my eye, I have a couple of dressing room pictures, not great quality but will give you an idea of what they look like on. I bought a couple of the things I tried on and will probably write about them at a later time.

 

Joe Browns Tea Dress (Can’t find it on the website even though its still in store)

Simply be Kaftan

Twit Twoo Retro Tunic

I love the Derby Simply Be store, the staff are super helpful and he dressing rooms are really spacious and I don’t feel at all rushed if I take a whole load of items in with me.
I bought the Joe browns floral tea dress and the kaftan and I love them both for the summer.

Yesterday Debz at WannabePrincess Came to visit me and we went into town for a spot of shopping and one of the places I really wanted to pop back into was Yours Clothing, They have an amazing range of Kimonos (a little bit kimono obsessed at the minute). I had my eye on one on the website and i wanted to see what it looked like on. I have a couple of jersey kimonos already so I wanted to have a look at the sheer Georgette ones. I tried on two in Yours and took pics of a couple others as they have quite a few.

A variation of prints of a beautiful long tasseled kimono

Floral Printed Sheer Georgette

Longline Floral Print Sheer Kimono

Multi Tropical Print Longline kimono

I originally went in to try these and see what they look like on but i ended up buying the black longline floral kimono as once i had tried it on i couldn’t leave without it. I will definitely blog about it separately because I am totally in love and can see myself wearing it all the time.
The staff in the Yours Clothing store are so lovely, we were greeted by the store manager and had some lovely conversations with staff members, my clothes that I selected were waiting for me in a dressing room so I didn’t have to carry them around the store while I was browsing and staff are on hand to go and exchange sizes if you need it. It was a really really nice shopping experience.

I am really enjoying the shopping experience in Derby on a whole, all the plus size stores I mentioned are located in and around the Westfields Centre so we didn’t have to travel far between stores which is always a plus in my book.

Is your local town centre a plus size shopping paradise??

Scarlett & Jo Staple in Shop your Stash

Welcome to the Shop Your Stash Challenge. This is all about finding a gem in what you already own and creating a blog post on it. This is to let go a little of the stress that comes with being a blogger – even if it is just once a month. Rummage through your beauty products and climb through those clothes draws. You might surprise yourself!

When looking through my items to try and find something that I could use for this post I came across an item that I bought months and months ago and absolutely love.
I picked up this Scarlet & Jo black fit and flare dress from the Evans Flagship store in Marble Arch London.
Scarlett & Jo are one of my favourite brands at the moment, I am totally obsessed with their prom dresses and the new prom skirt that was just recently released.
The fit and flare dresses are made from a really nice quality heavy polyester/elastane blend and the fit is beautiful, I bought this dress in a size 32 but I could have easily sized down to get a tighter fit around the bust.

I find this dress really easy to wear, I love how simple and comfortable it is. It can so easily be dressed up or down. On this occasion I wore it with a pair of Clarks brogues and tan belt and a tan Zara bag.
When I was leaving I couldn’t decide on a jacket to wear so I just throw on my New Look grey boyfriend blazer.
I’m not sure why i haven’t blogged about this piece before because I always seem to reach for it when I’m not sure what to wear.

I love this dress as part of casual outfits too, This picture was after a long day of travelling (straight to the Yours Clothing dressing room lol)
I find this is a great dress to wear on a comfy day with leggings and converse. Not the best picture but I just want you to see how versatile the dress is.
Scarlett & Jo have really got it right with the fit and flare dresses, they have a new one is a gorgeous paisley print that I want next.
What are you guys loving from Scarlett & Jo at the moment? In my head I always have a Scarlett & Jo wishlist.