Category Archives: psblogger

Travelling while plus size

I am at the higher end of plus size , wearing a UK size 30/32 . This was always something that was a deterrent when it came to even thinking about flying to go on trip. Some of the things I’m going to mention will not apply to all plus size travellers but those of you at the high end of plus size, like me may find these tips useful.

My top 5 tips for peace of mind when preparing to travel plus size 

*Call the  airline ahead of time with any questions and queries you may have. In my experience the airline advisers are very helpful and they will happily share information that might help put your mind at ease.

*Tell the staff what you need. The last time I flew I was concerned about the size of the onboard bathroom size as my flight was over 10 hours long, I explained that and I was allowed to board the plane early to pop to the bathroom and have a wiggle around in there so I had of mind for the entire flight that there was enough space for me in there.

*If you think you may need a seat belt extender on the plane and you are worried about asking the flight attendant for one in earshot of a plane full of people you can always buy your own online and carry it with you on your trip.

*Call ahead and make sure your accommodation is suitable for you if this is something that worries you. I have stayed in budget bed and breakfast accommodation all across the UK and have had to struggle carrying my luggage to top floors and its not fun. I always like to call ahead and if there is no lift I like to request a low level floor where possible.

*Google image search is your friend. I do this when I travel but also when I am home. If I am planning on going somewhere I’ve never been before or going to do an activity I haven’t done before  will always Google image search the location. I like to have a rough idea of what the seating will be like just so I don’t turn up somewhere that I’ve been really looking forward to going or put a lot of planning into or travelled ridiculously far to get to only to find that their seating doesn’t accommodate my big butt or spend the whole day uncomfortable.

Whatever it is that would make you feel more comfortable or give you more peace of mind and allow you to enjoy travelling, then that’s what you need to do. Everyone deserves a stress free holiday.

The last time I flew was to Vegas last year but I have also been to Florida a few times. So far I have always had easy trips because I am happy to be open with airlines and flight attendants about my concerns (even though I get myself worked up for nothing) and I have much better flights for it.

Holiday Gems fly out to a number of destinations, including one of my favourite places to go, Florida! It’s been a couple of years since I went the last time but it is definitely somewhere I ill be visiting again. The site is fantastic and allows you to book flights, hotel, package deals and all inclusive holidays with low deposits and flexible payments available. They even have an onsite blog if you need destination inspiration before deciding where you want to go.

If you’re wanting to get away I would definitely shop around and find the best Holiday and package for you and don’t let size stand between you and what could be another great life experience.

*This post was written in collaboration with Holiday Gems

 

 

 

Curve fashion festival.

The Curve Fashion Festival in partnerships with New Look is in it’s third year this year and is set to be a huge event in the plus size fashion community once again. This will, however, be my first time attending and I can’t wait. As a plus size blogger I really look forward to attending fashion based events to see what the plus size brands have in store for us in the coming seasons and getting to pop to various stands to have a looks a pieces on the market from smaller brands that I may not have heard or heard of just being able to touch and try on items that are usually only available online. For me these events are the best opportunity to see friends and fellow bloggers from all over the country that I don’t get to see very often and events like TCFF get us all in one  place at the same time and it’s always a great time.

This year returning to Curve Fashion fest will be Tess Holliday.

tess-holiday

The UK’s largest plus size fashion event The Curve Fashion Festival in partnership with New Look is delighted to announce the return of Plus Size Model Tess Holliday.

Tess Holliday will be doing a book signing of the new book The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl alongside an audience Q&A.

Looking at this years sponsors and supporters, one of the event supporters Debenhams stood out to me because it isn’t who I first think of when I’m looking for plus size women’s fashion but they have a huge range of plus size clothes for women, being a plus size woman who loves fashion I thought I would give them a mention. Debenhams plus size women’s range currently has over 3500 items from a number of brands from Evans and Studio 8 to Scarlett & Jo so I would definitely say worth having a look at next time you’re looking for something new.

Have you been to TCFF before and will I be seeing you there this weekend? what are you looking forward to the most??? let me know!

Lady V and me.

I have a long and loving relationship with Ladyvlondon, more specifically Lady Voluptuous. I have experience with quite a few of their dresses but the first one I every bought was an Estella and it was love at first try on! I had 5 Estella dresses at one point and then I started buying some of the others like the Phoebe, the Cosette, the Bellatrix, the Lyra, the iconic Medusa and most recently the Ursula swing.

Here are just some of the Lady Voluptuous dresses I’ve had/I have.IMG_20170626_091448

We have now come full circle and I have just received a new style Estella. Ignore the squinting, it was sunny out lolIMG-20170614-WA0026This is the Sunshine Toucan Estella dress This one is a little different to the Estella I knew and loved, it has longer sleeves and an upturned cuff. I feel like this one covers more in the bust area than the ones I’ve had before.  IMG-20170614-WA0030This Estella is a little tight on the arms for me but that is purely because I have huge arms and I’m fatter than I was when I wore the old Estellas. Edit: I tried on an old Estella from my wardrobe and it still fits, I just think that the old Estella has short sleeves so accommodates my arms better. IMG-20170614-WA0018

This is such a nice dress for the summer the print is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the hot weather we have been having recently. You can count on the great quality that they have always been consistent with in their dresses too.

Do you have a favourite Lady Voluptuous dress?

Wearing sixteen47 twenty four seven.

Recently I got to experience  sixteen47, a brand that goes up to a size 42!!! I am always looking for brands that have items in a larger size than I am so I can have the luxury of oversized pieces in my wardrobe.

Looking through the website a lot of the items weren’t the usual style that I would go for but there are some definitely some treasures. I chose a staple black dress and the brand were kind enough to send me a second piece to review.IMG-20170511-WA0104

The black dress is a skater shape with panelling so there is so much fabric at the bottom it makes it very flowy and flattering on my shape. The fabric is thick and the sleeves are long so it is definitely an item that I will be wearing in the colder months. I love that the shape of the dress give it a alot of movement and it swishes when I walk. IMG-20170511-WA0111

The second piece I have isn’t something I would usually choose but I’ve actually worn it more than the black dress, it’s a nice piece to throw on with leggings when you have errands to run, I’ve been wearing it when I’ve been going out for walks. The colours are perfect for summer and so is the light fabric. This cappuccino jersey top is really nice to wear.IMG-20170511-WA0123It is so nice to be able to wear clothes and have space in the garment, these are easily two of my most comfortable items that I own. The thing that stands out the most about the items from sixteen47 is the quality! you can tell straight away that their pieces will wear and wash really well. The quality of the fabrics used and how clearly well made they are means you will have long lasting additions to your wardrobe.

Make working out more fun with fashion

As the weather has started to improve I have been making more of a effort to get out and walk more.

I know it sounds silly but one thing that makes me a little more interested in doing more exercise is having cute workout clothes and to honest anything that makes me want to do more can only be a positive. I personally need to increase my daily activities since I was diagnosed with asthma.

When I am taking walks, whether its just me or with the dogs, around my local area I still like to look nice, I’m new to the area so it’s nice to get out and see the lay of the land.

When I’m getting ready to go for a walk I always grab a pair of black leggings and an oversized tee.  Because I have plantar fasciitis, the footwear I choose is the most important part, the last couple of years I have been sticking to New Balance and I’m on my third pair because they are so comfortable but I recently realised that I haven’t tried any other brands that claim to be good and supportive walking/running shoes. Skate Hut

I recently got myself a pair of Nike Roshe runs and they are absolutely fantastic! just like the new balance I find they don’t aggravate the plantar fasciitis and they are definitely more my style than the new balance. Not only that but I find that the nikes are a little more supportive and don’t put any strain on my ankle.

20150124_105512 20150201_130046These are the new balance that I wear most often when I know I will be walking a lot.

20170504_142623These are my brand new Nike Roshe runs that I’m adoring at the moment and are my go to shoe when walking any distance and so far they have served me well.

When you’re my size and wanting to work out I would say footwear might just be the most important element when looking at sportswear.

All items in the post have been paid for by me and all opinions are my own, post in is collaboration with Skate Hut.

Breast embrace with Elomi

So if you have been reading my blog or following my social media and haven’t noticed …I have a pretty large bust and I’m always looking for good bras to give me the support I need. Finding a brand that caters to my 46K bust and also caters to my budget isn’t easy.

A few brands offer option in  very large sizes but they are often not very pretty bras and/or they are soft cup and I prefer a good amount of scaffolding to support the girls.

I have tried an Elomi bra before and I absolutely love it, I have to wear a bra extender on all the bras I wear because I like wearing cute bras.

The two bras I am showing you are in a 42K and I wear one stretch extender. I love these bras because they are literally like a boobie cuddle, I have had so many bras that my breast does not sit comfortably in, giving the appearance of quad boobs and all round excess spillage.

The Caitlyn

I find the Caitlyn to be a great every day bra, it offers me great support and the soft wide straps add an extra level of comfort

IMG_20170428_161458

The Carmen

The Carmen is absolutely gorgeous! this one has a mocha detailing which matches my skin tone and makes me look a little bit naked (which I love lol). I don’t have any other bras like this one so its one of my new special bras that I wouldn’t wear on a normal day. It’s also a little lower cut in the bust and gives great cleavage in tops.IMG_20170428_161613

 

This post is in collab with Elomi Lingerie, a brand that can handle my whoppers and I’m oh so grateful.

My big busted sisters…where do you get your bras from, any suggestions as to where I can get some cute large bras? please comment below

Bidvine has something for everyone.

It’s not very often that I am pointed in the direction of a non fashion site and I instantly fall in love with it, however this is exactly what happened with the website I am about to tell you about but I want to say first that these opinions are MY OWN and all the gushing to follow is for real!

Bidvine is a website that offer a huge ( and I mean HUGE) range of professional services. They offer people looking for a particular service a range of service providers so you can find the match that works best for you. Have  a little look at the How it works page where it explains much better than I can.

As far as the range of services I honestly don’t even know where to start so I’m going to talk a little bit about the services I would and will be using on the site. I have moved to a new city four months ago so a lot of my focus has been on getting the house sorted and making it look pretty so as soon as I went on the site the first thing I looked for was gardening services and fence repair as I have two small dogs and one of the little beasts keep escaping and I have tried and failed at a makeshift repair using chicken wire haha don’t ask? being new here I don’t know where to look to find someone specifically for the job I need and that is the main reason I feel like I found Bidvine at the perfect time.

I am living in a big rented house so I will be having  a six month landlord inspection of the property and I want the garden to be as neat as when I moved in so I will be using Bidvine to get someone out to cut the grass and make the garden  look presentable for that but the weather is starting to get so nice I’m thinking of a good time to organise a BBQ or something drunken and outdoorsy at my house because I’m lucky enough to have a large garden, so again a nice neat lawn will be perfect. I have no grass cutting equipment and not a green finger in sight so Bidvine here I come.

There are so many other useful services from health and beauty, fitness,  nutrition and yoga to learning services like languages and musical instruments, its amazing!

For all my bloggers out the reading this they also have photographers local for blog shots and people to take pics for portfolios for any of the wannabe plus size models. I will personally be using the site to make contact with people who can help me get the house the way I want it but there is so much on offer I can’t stop browsing (if my next blog post is written in Spanish you’ll know who to blame lol)

 

*this post is in collaboration with Bidvine but again all the excitement is my own and I love love the how useful the site is and will 100% be using it this summer.

The Purrrfect Dress

One of my most ‘liked’ pictures  on my instagram is me in the mustard Lyra dress, it is by far my favourite dress so when Lady Voluptuous released some new prints I was very excited, especially when I saw they had a cat print! The elegance of the Lyra style and a quirky print make for the most amazing dress and I had to have it. 

Screenshot_20161125-114038 Screenshot_20161125-114043 Screenshot_20161125-114025 Screenshot_20161125-114103

It’s really cold here at the moment so I wore leggings underneath and put on some little tan boots to keep warm, having long sleeves on this dress helped with that too.

The dress

There really isn’t much I can say about the dress except that it’s another stunning Lyra and once again Lady V London and Lady Voluptuous have done great!

This dress was very kindly gifted to me, the opinions in this post are all my own.

I want to Simply Be comfortable.

I love dressing up and wearing fancy dresses but when I’m shopping I’m usually looking for cute items that I am comfortable in and can wear on a daily basis.

I wanted a couple of new items that I could wear with leggings and trainers and still be really cute. They are definitely my favourite buys as I get much more wear out of them than I would a party dress. Screenshot_20160928-124753

This is the Jameela Jamil off the shoulder dress. it is definitely a more fancy day time dress which I like and would be a great piece to transition from day to evening if you had drinks after work etc.

This one has no stretch in the fabric and is a little tight on my tummy but still absolutely wearable for me. Screenshot_20160928-124732 Screenshot_20160928-124717This one i love more than life, you know when you find an item and the fit is just perfect and its the most comfortable thing ever…. well this is that for me. its the Multi print jersey babydoll dress. On a normal day I like to be as comfortable as I can and this dress feels great, such an easy piece to wear and a really cute ditsy floral print.

Both of these dresses are listed as Simply be Party Dresses but they are definitely more day to day dresses for me.  I am very much into wearing whatever makes you feel good and what suits your lifestyle and dresses like these are just perfect for me and mine.

My Time is Valuable!

Really quick post to show you guys a little something I bought recently..

Screenshot_2016-08-30-13-20-05

Naomi of Diamonds & Pearls in collab with XL.Promodoro created a really cute slogan tee with a really good message. If you want to find out more about the idea and what it means to her, have a look at Naomi’s post here.

I’m going to leave you with some pics of me looking cute in my tee 🙂

 

Screenshot_2016-08-30-13-20-53 Screenshot_2016-08-30-13-20-24