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Saturday 21 November 2015

Sparkle and Lace with George at ASDA


The Christmas Party Season is one I love and fear in equal measure. I have a rather 'Don't Keep For Best' attitude when it comes to my day to day wardrobe, which means when I need / want to go glam, I have to pull out all the stops!!

When the team at George contacted me to review their Christmas Sparkle range, I had high expectations of full on shimmer!

I surprised myself, by not going for a skater dress number, although if this had been available in my size (UK24), I would have snapped their hands off:


My aim for my outfit was all hinged around one piece, this blazer:



With a jacket that made this much of a statement, I wanted a black dress to let the jacket do the talking! In choosing this lace number, I've accidentally created a powerful combination:




I teamed it with this simple bag (similar here) with a hint of sparkle, and I had also picked out a pair of gorgeous sparkly brogues, which sadly didn't fit my wide size 8 feet. I wanted to tie all the sparkle in together, without being obviously feminine (with heels) but I did want to try to make an effort with tying the shoes into the outfit as a whole!

 The fit of this dress is perfect on me in a size 24, and a good length on my 5'10 frame:


I wanted to team this dress with some 100 denier tights, but then the lace scallop hem detail would have been lost against the black - so bare legs for the win with this dress!


The deep v neck at the front of the dress is rather nicely mirrored at the back, so it's a shame to wear the blazer the whole right, right?!


And a cute little out take from a self timer fail! Makeup wise I didn't want to go overboard, so I went for pale coral lips, and a double eyeliner on the eye!

I was lucky that I was able to get all the items from ASDA George, but the main item - the blazer, could have been added to any dress in my wardrobe, to bring the dress kicking into the Christmas Party Season! I'm actually looking forward to teaming it with jeans and a top for a completely different look!

Check out how the lovely Sarah styled her blazer here.

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

These items were sent to me for review, but the comments and views are my own

Wednesday 4 November 2015

When dresses become tunics...

When Dorothy Perkins released their Curve range (size 18 - 28), I scoured their range out of interest, and found the usual plus size staples of skater dresses (and I love a good skater dress), and muted colours. 

There was one piece that piqued my interest, and that is the houndstooth tunic dress. I liked that it wasn't the 'flattering' cut you'd expect, and who doesn't like houndstooth!


And I did what most probably did, and mentally filed the dress away in the 'maybe, after pay day' folder of my brain, and got on with my day. 

The delightful Charli messaged me to say she loved the dress tooo, and wondered if we could do a 'same Dress / Different Size' kinda deal. YEAHA! I was up for that! We're both on the tall side (I'm 5'10), and with Charli an 18, and me a solid 24, we were pretty much at both ends of the size spectrum. 

After coming to this agreement, DP had a conflicting message on their IG account, given that they had just launched a plus size range. 

I took to twitter, and the team behind Shame Body Shame, to question how this was appropriate for their brand to share, given what they had just launched. 

Over DM, we discussed the message this gave to the new followers, and I made a few suggestions on how to resolve this moving forward. As a thank you and apology for the posting, I was gifted a voucher which was swiftly dispatched.

Now, a brand who not only apologised, without opting for the 'sorry you're offended' cop out, but also listened to thoughts and recommendations of how to improve - are given a second chance in my book!

Coupled with a website promotion, this dress was then covered as part of their apology / thank you:


A perfect addition to my attempt to smarten up my work wardrobe!

I teamed it with leggings, because, as I predicted, it is just  a fraction too short to rock with tights (bum on display level of awkwardness!)

Charli, wearing the same dress, had made it look like a different dress! Teaming it with a belt was a goods move, as I saw it without, and the 18 was just a little to big for her, and so opted to cinch in the waist! Curves for days that woman!! 



The shift in this is less roomy that some might expect, but just what I was going for! VBO be damned, I feel really cute in this dress, and am looking forward to teaming it with biker boots and leggings for the office.

Much love my lovelies,

K x


Monday 2 November 2015

Newcastle's Best Kept Secrets

When the team at Travelodge asked me to put together a list of Must See / Must Do places in Newcastle, I knew what would feature! There are two events that I am proud to have happening in Newcastle, one of which happened this past weekend.
ScreenageKicks offers an immersive theatre experience for movie goers – their past screenings of the Shining and Reservoir  Dogs. For Halloween this year, they opted for the classic Ghost Busters, with clips from your favourite (or scariest...) horror films!

There were also appearances from Freddy, Chucky, and It (perfectly made up / costumed / in character!) and not for the fainthearted!

After being vetted by the various horror characters at the entrance, we were met by the MARSHMALLOW MAN:


The event started at 8, but the screening wasn't set to start til 10, so what to do with this expanse of time? You mean, other than stare adoringly at all the amazing 80s costumes? Or count how many ghost busters were in the audience? Or try to guess who were actors and who were wearing really really good costumes?

Well, there was new Screenage Kicks merchandise to look at (their tee shirts are on my wish list!), drinking BloodBombs (Jager and Cranberry RedBull), and enjoying the burger in a brioche bun combo, the time flew by! There was also a band belting out Halloween classics, like Highway to Hell, and a montage of all the horror films I've never seen because I'm a wuss, along with the actors showing they're hired for their skill, as well as their lookalike-ability!

The screening of Ghost busters was as expected, and I do wish we'd been closer to the action to be able to watch the actors a little more, but from what I could see, the effect was perfect - they complimented the screening, rather than distracted from it. The main three characters were well cast, with Kyle leading the troops gallantly, just as Dan Ackroyd would have wanted it!



Screenage's next venture is Batman returns, and instead of being in a 700 capacity venue, there are only 150 tickets or so available this time!

If Batman Returns is right up your alley, you'll need to find a hotel - and what better place to stay than a Travelodge, with a good selection of inner city locations, perfect for a quick city break for an event like Screenage!

I mentioned that there are two events that make me proud to be from the North East. If Screenage appeals to the movie fan, then Newcastle:Soup appeals to the charitable and sense of community. 

Newcastle:Soup is base on the Detroit model - which I happened to see profiled on a BBC News programme and loved the idea of it immediately. I was really proud to see that someone from Newcastle had put the leg work in and set up our own Soup.

Soup is an evening of community, where you pay £4, get a bowl of soup, and a vote - throughout the evening 4 charities pitch why they need the pot of funds raised that night, and the winner is the one with the most votes. But it also helps raise the awareness of your charity, or cause to a wider audience. 

If you wanted to set one up yourself, come along to the next event, or follow the team on twitter.

Newcastle has a lot to offer off the beaten track, and with Travelodge, it's not that expensive to stay in the city with so much to offer!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x


* Sponsored post, but my views and the event's awesomeness are not influenced by this