Black And Gold Revisted!

I bought this dress to try, and it didn't sing to me. Not much anyway! I reviewed it here, and decided to send it back. 

When wanting to put together a 'Work wear' piece for you all - hold onto your hats, it is coming! - this just shouted at me to try it again, that it was very sorry, and to please give it a home. 

I relented, and allowed it to crawl back to me. 

And, well, it's a delight!

It's bright and colourful, without being too garish for my office! It is fitted, but not too bootlicious (again, I don't want to have the agents being too distracted by my outfit when training them!), but it gave me a massive confidence boost this morning. 

I knew I wasn't going to wear it with the belt provided with it, but thought this thin belt (from this dress), and I think it works perfectly, cinching my waist a little, but not too much that it faults the cut of the dress.

So sometimes, you need to give a dress a second chance... 

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

This item was sent to me to review, but all my thoughts and opinions are my own

Body Rage

An odd thing happened to me this morning:

I was sat at my desk, getting set up this morning, and a good friend of mine walked past, stopped, came back, and said "You're necklace is rather tight there". 

Now, this friend has been supportive of me through my condition, my work woes and my blog, so this comment came as a big surprise. 

I didn't know what to say! 

I responded with "No, it isn't". Thinking that would be the end of it. 

Nope, he continued. Even the look of surprise on my face wasn't enough for him to stop.

"It is. It's sitting at your Adam's Apple". 

And he walked away. 

I'm been quietly raging all day.

What right does ANYONE have to pass judgement on someone else? Our bodies are our own, what we wear on them, or put in them, are our OWN business. 

On a day when 3 fabulous ladies are looking amazing in the Times2 Supplement (full front page picture) I was on a high. Now though, I'm reminded that the playing field is in no way even. But these baby steps we're taking are going to slowly trample this field level in time. 

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Simply Be's Blogger Edit

When I was contacted by Simply Be to see if I wanted to take part in their Christmas Party Dress challenge, I was keen to join in. 

I have a few staple dresses which have been my 'go to' items in the past, but, with the year I've had, I was hoping for something a little more outside of my comfort zone.

And when I saw this from the Gemma Collins Range:

I knew that this would push me well and truly out of my comfort zone!

Oooooh, so pretty! 

The pink underneath is the brightest, hottest pink you can imagine, and the lace detail sits perfectly. 

The sweetheart neckline sits wonderfully on my 36H chest, and as you can see, even I'm surprised about the overall effect!

Once I've pulled everything down and wiggled (literally, wiggled) my way into this dress, I've all set and ready to go!

To ensure a smoother (not slimmer, or smaller) silhouette, I'd probably team with my Simply Yours high waisted control pants:

And when I say high waisted, I MEAN high waisted!

They do a grand job, smoothing my tummy, and giving me a pert rear:

I won these as part of George's big giveaway in February, and I'm so glad I finally have GOOD shapewear.

I am surprised by how much I do love this dress. It is something completely removed from my usual choice of style / colour / fit, but I think that is why I can see myself wearing this. I'm becoming a person who WOULD wear something like this!

There you have it. 

I'm so honoured to be a part of the Simply Be Blogger Edit, and glad I went outside of my comfort zone with the dress! Va va vooom this Christmas!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Please note, I was sent this item to review, but all my comments and opinions are my own

Happy 1st Birthday to MissKathrynsMisstakes

MissKathryn has been making MissTakes for a year now. 

This is so hard to believe, that I've managed to fit so much into one teeny tiny YEAR!

A year ago, I was looking for an outlet, somewhere I could chart my mistakes, and hopefully learn from them. I wanted to take a few photos, put them somewhere, and write about my feelings on the combinations, the fit, the style. Mainly so I could look back and remember 'I don't like that style', or 'I need to size up / down in that brand'.

What has actually happened is, I've become so much more adventurous with my style choices, my hair is shorter (which is a big deal for me!), and I don't hide in my clothes any more. VBO? Who cares!!

On the 1 December 2011, I said this: 

Ok, so I'm new to this blogging world (I may have had a live journal in my youth, but that doesn't really count... Honest!), so I'm still trying to get to grips with the 'type' that I want to be.

I'd like to help people in some way - but I don't think that this in itself is a big deal.

I'd like to be witty and funny and stylish - but again, does this make my blog a Kathryn blog? Or just a show off blog? The blogs I read on a regular basis give something of their personality in the writing, in the photographs, in the admissions. They are ultimately honest.

 

And I hope I have met this challenge head on.

This blog is more than a few words on a screen for me, but had given me a 'life' back, a quality of life back that I'd been lacking for some time. 

So, thank you for reading this, and for supporting me this past year.

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

The AF Bloggers Budget Challenge

Christmas Sparkle!

The lovely Sera, over at http://www.theagoraphobicfashionista.com/
welcomed me into her challenge, and this November is her plussize edition!

So, for her November edition, we are sampling the delights of https://www.clothingattesco.com/ - and it happened to coincide with the release of their Christmas Party Dresses!

Look at us all, looking very glam! 

About a month ago, I went off, with my budget of £30 burning a hole in my virtual pocket! 

I thought I'd better start with shoes, otherwise I'd blow the lot on a pretty dress!

Look at them!

So pretty! I opted for the size 8, wide fitting shoe, and I'll be honest, it brightens up my day just knowing they are in there, looking at me, getting ready to be worn and set the dance floor alight! 

Okay, so, shoes sorted... Now what...

DRESS!

I knew I was now down to £20, and limited my search accordingly. 

Ta-da!

I plumped for a size 22, to be on the safe side and here we are!

As you can see, it is a great fit across the bust - always a bonus, and the lace detail is perfect! Not too indecent with the higher neckline - but the lace allows for a slightly more revealing look. 

With my £2 left over, I opted for this belt (which was £4, and I took the gamble to go 'over budget'!

I mainly chose this to connect to the sparkly shoes, and because on the model, I felt the dress needed a little extra 'something'.

BUT:

 

It unfortunately doesn't 'work' with the cut of the dress, and as you can see, it gives me some major 'VBO' (Visible Belly Outline).

So, radically, I decided to ditch the belt, and try it as a simple LBD, with the hint of sparkle only in the shoes.

 I would normally have worn this with my trusty Tesco tights, but as I was recovering from surgery at the time, I couldn't face the idea of tights!

Incidently, I also suspect part of the VBO was down to the key hole surgery and the side effects, BUT, I do think this dress, sans belt, does work better.

And there you have it! I was in need of a LBD for my wardrobe, and I would certainly recommend trying this dress if you get the chance to. 

It sits just above my knee (I'm 5'9), and is the ideal dress to see you through the festive season and beyond!

 Make up wise, I opted for my usual liquid eyeliner 'flick', but added some pencil eyeliner to my bottom lashes to make it a little more dramatic than my day to day make up. 

I also added my trusty red lipstick to complete the look.

Don't forget to check out the other challenge entries this month:

Sera: http://theagoraphobicfashionista.blogspot.co.uk/
Kelly: http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/ (post to follow later)
Beth: http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/
Steph: http://sheselec.blogspot.co.uk/

So, what do you think? I'm actually really impressed that I managed to get a dress, shoes and a belt for £32. 

Well done Tesco!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Dress Down Dilemmas

Being out of the habit of actually getting dressed (PJs don't really count, do they?), when it was announced that Wednesday would be a dress down day, my heart sank. Not sang, nope, SANK.

I've been doing a lot of work on the house lately, and wearing scabby work clothes... I had to stop myself for reaching for them - I'm really becoming a creature of habit!

So, armed with this skirt in teal:

I tackled the simple matter of what top to wear...

I settled for an old Ziggy Stardust tee, to really go out on the 'dress down' theme for the day.

Ta DAH!

I really like this combination. 

And, confession time - this is my first item of 'maxi' clothing. I don't have a maxi dress, and I've steered away from maxi skirts  for no reason other than 'when would I wear them'... Well, looks like I've answered that question!

What I like about this skirt, is it doesn't cling to my bum, or my tum, but hangs really well.

The picture had lulled me into thinking it had a bit of a flare to it... not to be deterred though, I persevered, and embraced the cling!

I felt confident and casual in this outfit, not at all worried or anxious about the cling. Whether that is testament to the skirt, or how much this blog has helped me challenge and push myself, is hard to tell!

I think Ziggy approved!!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

The skirt was sent to me to review, but my views are my own

Bringing Business Dress Back

I am back in our main offices (read my 'home' for the past 4 years), after 6 months of working a smaller, more low key office. 

I suddenly realised, that terms like 'business casual', 'business dress' and 'dress down', suddenly matter for me again. 

These aren't really terms that mean the same thing in this building, never mind across the UK, but for us, business casual cannot be leggings, but can be jeans. No trainers, but tee shirts are fine. 

Given that for business casual, I wore this, when we were asked for business dress (no jeans, and a 'smart' appearance), I had a bit of fluster. 

This dress came to my rescue:

Ooooh, so strikingly different to what I currently have in my wardrobe, I was glad of the chance to give it the airing it deserved. 

Oh, so pretty, unusual, and flattering. 

It is also smart, without SCREAMING 'I got all dressed up just for you'. It's a sort of effortless smart. 

On it's own, anyway. 

And here is how I 'interviewed' it up. Or would, you know, if I'd actually had an interview:

I wore it all day, and even managed to run my Brownie Meeting in it, and it was comfortable through to me getting home almost 12 hours later. 

You might be able to see from this picture that there is some pulling in the bust area, so I did adjust it every so often, but not so much as to make me not wear the dress again. 

The thin belt came with the dress, but I'd be interested to see how it would look with a wider belt, but that is fun for another post!

So, there you have it. A dress I had glanced over numerous times, ended up saving my bacon in a time of fashion need!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

This item was sent to me to review, but my opinions are my own 

Popping my Collar!

You know when you see an item of clothing, and just see yourself in it? You can picture how it would look and you project it to everyday situations? 

Well, this happened to me when Simply Be posted their latest 'On trend' pieces on their Facebook page. It was this dress:

It reminded me of this dress:

Which was sent to the big dress home in the sky and I do miss it terribly. 

I may have a lot of dresses filling my wardrobe, but I'm not sure they actually fit our company policy for 'Business Dress, Casual'.

This embellished dress from Simply Be, however, seemed to perfectly fit the bill: on trend; smart; stylish. 

And this is why I fell for this dress: the vintage-esque print, and embellished collar. 

Oh, and did I mention flattering?

The skirt has a slight flare (not as far as a skater or full skirt, but it is an A line cut)

Ta-da!

As you can see, on Naomi, this dress actually fastens up to the neck. On me, not so much! 

My Mam was rather forceful in her belief that this dress should be returned for a larger size. "But," I countered, "It fits everywhere else". She replied with a glare. 

[The observant amongst you may have noticed my work badge and lanyard - meaning this dress fit perfectly into my office dress code, and had me feeling amazing in it.]

EDIT: I've been asked to remove the photo as it has my work badge displayed. [/EDIT]

It was my first full day in our main office for about 6 months, so I needed something comfortable, as well as something that made me feel amazing. This dress did all that and more.

I even got over my fear of showing my knees!

And here is a photo of me in a different dress - because I forgot to snap a photo of my lush 'fatness' necklace from the lovely Chloe at http://lifesbigcanvas.co.uk/

After my wonderful (and I mean it), day at work, I headed off to my house to show J my humble abode. Cue picnic:

And my black tights are suddenly purple!! I do think they work with the green dress though.

But, the main event last night, was Dee Dee and her EP launch. I mentioned this beaut here, but last night was something else!

I picked up her signed EP (which can be bought here - not signed though!), and again marvelled at her merchandise. This is a lass who looks like she is about to cry on stage one minute, and then has a laugh and a joke with the crowd the next.

This is mirrored in her merch:

There is also a 'SHAH MOAN' one. Classic. 

I've said before that I'm not a music journo. I can't put sound into words. What I can do, is tell you how it made me feel. I had goosebumps from start to finish, and can only say this: if you like your music powerful, poetic and dark, give her a listen. She is on Spotify, and when you have Ben Hillier as your producer, you kinda think she's destined for great things!!

And there you have it. 

A dress that took me seemlessly from work, to picnics, to gigs at the Baltic, is a keeper with me!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

This item was sent to me to review, and all my words are my own

'Evans above!

When Evans had an offer on their branded ranges, I had to have a peak. 

I was still off work, and thought I would while away a few minutes scanning my options...

I 'accidently' bought 2 items, to 'test the waters' as it were. 

The first was a Clements & Ribeiro cardigan:

It is now back to the main price of £65, but I was lucky enough to snap it up for £35:

 

I love that this size 20 cardigan fits well over the bust, without hiding the waist, although I have worn it like this:

whilst out at the dentist and a little bit of shopping with my Mam and Grandma at the weekend.

I was conscious of the beading detail, and worried my seat belt would cause it a mischief, but then that serves me right for going out without a coat #northernlass. 

Just look at the button detail? Just a nice touch and I do love the combination of this mink coloured cardigan and my purple Lady Vintage London Swing Dress. 

As an extra 'luuxious' touch, they' partially lined the cardigan, creating a waistcoat effect, where your arms are the only part of you making contact with the 14% Angora. 

And there you have it.

Much an improvement on my last dalliance with the Clements & Ribeiro Collection. 

Did you pick anything up in Evans recent glut of offers and discounts?

Much love my lovelies,

K x