F&F Scuba Woes

When the team behind F&F True range offered me the choice of some of their new 'revamped' True (plus size) range, I was keen to try a little out of my usual style - which included this scuba paneled dress:

The colours, the style, and the material (as well as this picture), had my heart set on this being a dress to strut around the office in.. 

Sadly, it is a rather odd fit on me. 

The arms are way too tight, and the length sits a touch too short for my liking:

And you can tell by the rippling that the material is rather strained!

There seems to be excess material in the top part of the dress - and yet it is tight over my bust!

I feel like an oversized person in a minuture dress in this photo! I am not sure as to why! The fit over my stomach and bum may have been okay, if I didn't have both. However, I am blessed with both a bum and a bust and a bit of a belly, so I need all the material I can get! This size 22 just didn't quite meet the grade. I would like to try in a 24, but I've left it to late to return it. I may snap one up after lent is over mind!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

ASOS Curve Wednesday Adams Dress

You know when you see a dress on line and think "that is so not my usual style, but I love it?" - No? Oh, just me then!

That feeling happened when I saw this on the ASOS website: 

I ordered it out of interest, to see if this would make its way back with Free Returns. 

The material is scratchy - I'll say that now. It also probably won't get much wear in the warmer months ( not calling it Summer, not going to jinx it), due to the heat inducing powers of it. The neck is roomy, and I can wear it with it unbuttoned - I just chose to add my necklace tight under the chin. But it is a favourite outfit of mine now:

Especially once I had added my commissioned Welsh Dragon necklace from Black Heart Creatives.

It is a very 'not me' outfit, and I liked that. I liked that once I added my biker boots and leather jacket it was like I was a different person.

The buttons on the dress are real buttons, so busty ladies, beware the GAPE:

Otherwise - a swing dress with a difference!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Short, Tall, Inbetween and One Dress

Since the last edition of #shorttallinbetween was a bit of a success (check out the other ladies here: Em, Leah, Me, Sera), Simply Be asked us to review this great daisy printed baby doll dress:

As this dress only came in one length, I was interested to see how it would sit on my 5'10 frame:

I got the 22, and the fit over my bust (now a 36J), and waist is a perfect fit. The sleeves are a great length for those that like to hide their arms and the skirt flares in a subtle, but flattering way. 

When it comes to the length though, see for yourself. I'm perfectly comfortable now walking around the office with this much leg on show (I honestly never thought I'd say that), but due to the dipped hem, my bum is covered - so happy days!

And limited styling needed as the dress says it all. Although I do love it with my biker boots and leather jacket

And it seems like Maggie likes it too!

Go and check out how this dress works on the rest of the Short, Tall and In Between ladies:

The Agoraphobic Fashionista

Just Me, Leah

Terrible Tumbles

The Closet of Meg

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

F&F True Blue

I am sorry my beauties, I really am. 

I'm now that horrible person who will be going "Hey, look at this great dress - you can't have it"!

I've also been a rubbish blogger - I was offered the chance to order some pieces from the new True Range for F&F, which I previewed here. I jumped at the chance to order - which was when I was in Turkey - and as a result, I'm late in posting this great dress. And, as is the down side of fast fashion, it is no longer available on line, although it may still be in store. 

This daisy print wrap tea dress is a beaut of a dress. 

The cap sleeves, the full wrap detail, the tie backs, and the clinging skirt, all come together to be a sexy, sassy and on trend dress:

Although the wrap detail was a little too sexy for my usual office look, so I added an earring to pin the dress a little higher up (I don't like sewing them shut, to keep my options open!)

The dress itself is a 22, and fits me very well, but I would understand if some people felt this was a small fitting dress - I like that it clings and is on the slinky side:

Not the best picture, but you get what I mean...

So, I have learnt my lesson - write up my dresses earlier (I have now washed it, and it's not shrunk, piled or lost the print - something I like to know before I praise a dress as much as I was planning on praising this).

I still have one more treat from the F&F range, and something extra for you all - keep your eyes peeled!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Although the item was sent to me to review, my thoughts and opinions are my own

When the dress does not fit...

I was kindly and wonderfully approached by F&F to review some items from their True range, and along with a couple of items (which I'll review later), I chose this textured skater dress:

Mainly for the colour, if I'm honest - but you know how much I love a skater dress, so I thought this would make a great addition to my wardrobe. 

Some shockingly awful photographs, but they show how tight the material is over my bust, and instead of skimming my hips, it clings to them. 

Usually stretchy material is a good thing - it seems that this material clings, rather than stretches. 

I got this in my usual 22, and I would guess that I would need a 26 in order to get the fit I'd need for this. 

I'll be returning this dress, and seeing if I can order the 26, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. 

Much love my lovelies,

K x

You Are Good Enough

It is a sad state of affairs when the term "You Are Good Enough" is a positive mantra. But it is. And it's a good one. 

We are all more than good enough:

Our faces are different, our style is different, our lives are different, but we are all good enough. 

Part of this idea was to identify a part of you that you love. I would have to say my face. It shows my feelings openly, it holds our eyes and so allows us to see beauty. It holds our mouth, so we can say beautiful things. And it holds our ears, which allows use to listen to the world around us. 

The ink on my hand didn't wash off easily, so I ended up going to Brownies with this on my hand, and I had to explain why. And I realised that I wanted this on my hand every meeting, to remind them all that we're more than good enough.

Other ladies taking part are:

Debz

Kitty Kaos

Hannah

Lucia

Sarah

Michaela

Steph 

Katt 

Sally 

Nikki 

Vicky

Mayah 

Vicky 

Good thoughts and good vibes

There have been some great moves forward in the plus size world over the past 3 years or so. 

We had the Evans blogger model campaign:

 Simply Be bloggers designing a dress and modelling it:

The Golden Renaissance bloggers show casing the Simply Be Christmas party dress range:

 And many other examples of brands reaching out to bloggers and using them to great effect.

More recently, we've had bloggers having a try on of new ranges, make overs, and model shoots in online and paper publications.

And as such, there are bloggers who feel left out. Who feel they should have been given that opportunity. 

In some respects, I feel this is entirely natural. For all we're a community, and we support each other, there is an element of competition and a need for validation. 

I long ago settled that due to my location (too far from London), and my fashion style being not 'out there' enough, that I'm not high on the list for campaigns. 

Right from the start, I didn't set out for this place to be a platform for my modelling career (selfies all the way), or a platform for my writing career (I enjoy my actual career too much for that). 

So when it comes to jealousies, I'm rather harsh in that it's a sign you're not happy with your lot - and only you can change that!

Bon Marché: Newcastle Store Opening

When I saw a tweet sent out by Bon Marché, asking if anyone wanted to attend the (revamped) store opening in Newcastle, my heart sank, as I figured I'd still be in Turkey at the time. Thankfully, it was the day after I landed, and I'd already taken the day off work to recover from my jet lag. AHA! It was meant to be!

Jet lagged as anything, I threw on a dress I'd ordered from ASOS before Lent (from Turkey):

So, the gorgeous Hannah and I head off to store on Grainger Street. 

We first were welcomed by the impressive window displays:

And there was David Emmanuel, sat in the window signing autographs and making women feel fabulous. 

We snuck past, and were greeted with cupcakes (lemon to match my dress, obviously:

One of the things I loved about the store, was that the clothes were spaciously laid out, and you could see most of them from the door way! The changing rooms were easy to access, and spacious! Hannah and I shared the disabled room, which was just as glamourous as the others!

The first dress we tried on was this one:

Which sadly didn't fit my bust, revealing far too much bra. I did add a cami underneath it, but it didn't have the wow factor of here!

Due to the 'issue' with this one, I had guessed that this Paisley print dress would have the same issue:

And it did. 

I did rather like this top, but the asymmetrical hem put me off a little

Although this dress close contender to win the dress of the day prize, but something was a little off for me. Still can't quite put my finger on it.

One dress did catch my attention, and I'll be showing you it in more detail in a post or two's time! But here it is teamed with an amazing teal suede effect biker jacket.

All in all, I can recommend taking a look at Bon Marché (pronounced March-ay, not March) you might just be surprised what you come across!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Lent

This may be a post I write and leave in my drafts for months on end before deleting it, or something I press publish on straight away - who knows!

I've been actively giving something up for Lent (and managing to stick with it) for about 3 years now. Usually things like Diet Coke, chocolate, latte's from the office canteen. That kinda thing. 

I first tried to do it, and put the money I WOULD have spent in a pot, or at least calculate how much I would have spent.. But it wasn't that easy to do - would that need / want have turned into an actual purchase? Who knows. 

That was the first year. The years following it, I've done it more out of the ritual of the church calender. And this year is no different. When I made the decision to give up clothes buying, I didn't instantly think "oooooh, blog challenge", but I did share my thoughts with a few pals.

So, consider this my disclaimer - I am giving up unnecessary spending for Lent. That means in my food shop, in my wardrobe, and for my home. No unnecessary spending. I have ordered a few items while in Turkey, so they'll be waiting for me when I get home. But for the next 33 days and nights (or 5 more weeks almost), I plan for no unnecessary spends. It helps, I guess, that I'm craving the clothes in my wardrobe, that I'm really looking forward to eating out of my freezer (not in a restaurant. Please. No more waiters for a while...) and I can't wait to enjoy my house for a while, as it is.

Being away from home has really made me appreciate everything a little bit more than I already did!

This Lent is not a money saving exercise, it is something that I know is getting a little bit out of control, and something that I feel will push me and challenge me and make me think about why I'm doing this. 

Much love my lovelies,

K x

The Magnificent 7th: Sports Relief

The theme for this month's Magnificent 7th is Sport Relief, which makes sense as it's coming soon to a TV near you (21 March - I've just looked it up!). 

Sport relief usually means wearing red and white in the office, eating red and white cakes people are selling which are over priced and a little dry, but HEY, charity!

And if I'm going to go for Red & White, it has to be this little number: 

My Domino Dollhouse cardigan (no longer available), and my Collectif Skirt, which, after countless washes, is still black! 

I do wear a black T Shirt under this as the cardigan is sometimes a little low, or a little short, but I suspect that is due to my busy stealing material!!

If you've forgotten, The Magnificent 7th is a fashion challenge, which will be posting on the 7th of each month (hence our name!), and the aim of the challenge is to create an outfit to fit a theme or a topic, ONLY using clothes & accessories from our wardrobes, and yes that does mean digging deep into the depths and finding those long lost clothes! Hopefully one of us won't end up in Narnia, but you never know with my wardrobe!

Check out these other fabulous ladies and how they are doing sports relief!

Kaye

Becky

Nicola

Gail

Mary

Steph

Charley

Rebecca

Leah

Lindsey

Vicky

Nikki

Christiana

Leah

Nancy

Beverly

Gillian

Katt

Sarah

Hannah

Hollie

Kitty

Emma

Michelle

Abi

Sarah

Charlie

Sally

Mayah

Lucie

Natalie

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

F&F True Range

It is always hard for a brand to find a middle ground. Think of the latest collection for a main stream plus size brand, and how it divided opinion. And that was an established plus size marque. 

For a mainstream brand to venture into the murky depths of plus size fashion, and time and time again fall into the floaty, hanky hem trap that so many brands fall into! Becky covered some of them here.

The True Range for F&F used to be be one such brand. Not any more!

They have taken the feedback on board from 2012, and created a bright, colourful and eye catching collection of coordinating pieces.

Their pieces, either worn together, or as separates (Not the scuba dress above, obviously!), speak of spring, and new beginnings. It really looks like this is what is emerging from F&F these days!

From work wear, nights out and weekends relaxing, there is something here for every occasion, and I can't wait to show you how these look (and feel!) on.

Much love my lovelies, 

K x