Introducing The Curve

When Georgina, over at She Might Be blogged about The Curve, I was keen to head over to their website and stalk their wares!

And I was rather annoyed at what I saw:

And instead of approaching the brand, and talking to them, I just ranted about them on twitter instead. Oh, here comes another brand that doesn't understand us - yadda yadda. 

But then I was rather embarrassed to be contacted by them, and asked if I would email my concerns to them so they can address them.

I train my staff to be proactive on social media, but I never thought I would be the receiver of such good social media practice. 

I outlined my concern with the use of the phrase 'real girls' and how it created an 'us and them' situation - when body positivity is a battle everyone is fighting, not just plussize women - so don't put one body type down in order to raise another. How about all bodies are great bodies and be done with it!!

I'm going off point here. 

The fact was, The Curve had not thought of it being read in that way. They were referring to women who wanted fashion forward, on trend clothes for their size. It was that simple for them. I was assured that they would change their website and remove that slogan. 

It is no longer on their website. WIN!

I also pointed out how limiting their size range is - going up to a 22, which can be bought in ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury's etc, meant a lot of my friends, and you lovely readers of mine, would be sized out of their amazing clothes. 

I have been assured that is because they are new and starting out, and that future collections would have an extended size. WOOOO HOOOO!!

Gobbing off on Social Media had a result! I had my concerns addressed, and promises made that they would be fixed for future collections. 

When they then offered me some of their spring collection to review, I was over the moon, and keen to pair these:

The Raglan Sleeve Neon Tee and Structured Skater Skirt

I went for their biggest, the size 22, and hoped for the best!

I'll be honest, the packaging made my night! 

A sturdy box, with the items carefully wrapped in tissue paper, it honestly felt like Christmas - THE BOX!!

Sadly, the skirt and the top did not fit - a very very snug 22 (or I am used to more generous sized 22's, one of the two) - the top was tight everywhere, on the arms and across the chest especially, whereas the skirt didn't cover my ample bottom, but was so so so pretty, I was thinking of wearing as belt, but even then realised it didn't really fit my waist enough either!

Look at the cut out detail!!

I was so hoping these would work, and I had planned on this being a rather swanky post - I mean check out my pictures:

But then a photobombing cat sort of ruined the effect really...

They also sent over this Power Blazer:

Which I wore very much as a cardigan more than a blazer:

But I'm looking forward to playing with it in a less pouffy skirt to see if I can get the jacket to look more business formal than dress down chic. I am working on it, promise!!

So, to recap - The Curve, a great new venture which is learning and grows and somewhere to look for great quality, finishing details and something completely different. Sadly not for me at the moment due to the size range, but once it expands, I'll be back!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

Because I'm Happy...

When this tee appeared on the Simply Be website, just as I was about to place an order anyway, I didn't think twice about adding it to my basket. 

Once it arrived I threw it on with a pair of jeans, and pottered about the house with it on. I stupidly sized up to a 22, and I really possibly could have got an 18 if I wanted it more fitted, or stuck with a 20 for a loose fit.

As it was, the 22 wasn't so bad:

But I wanted to see if it was a little more versatile - having seen it styled on the Simply Be website like this:

I wanted to see how it looked as an oversized top in a skirt combination. 

Instead of going for my usual Collectif skirt, I opted for this from ASOS:

Apologies for the poor picture, I'm house sitting right now and it's the best I have!

This midi skirt is the right colour to highlight the navy writing, and means all the attention is on the top. 

I have been in the office for a couple of hours already, and I have people smiling at me, singing Pharell's Happy at me, and generally, being a conversation starter! 

What more do you want from a tee?

One thing I will say though, is that this is rather see through, and so my Satine padded bra from Bravissimo is a MUST!

Much love my Happy lovelies, 

K x 

Do You Remember The First Time - Pink Clove

Pink Clove has been on my radar ever since I spotted that tartan skater dress!

I have ooooh-ed and ahhhh-ed over their collection of prints, skaters, body con, pencils, ballerina's, and more besides. 

Come the Boxing Day sales, I took the plunge and placed my first order!

First off, my heart broke a little when I saw that that tartan dress wasn't available, but then I spotted that this floral skater was:

Belt

Without the belt

Some may say that this is a little short, for one with a bottom like mine, but it's too pretty a dress to give up on due to a little thing like the length of the skirt to bother me!!

I also picked up this tartan skater skirt - if I couldn't have the whole dress, I'd happily take half of one!

Although I was uncertain as to how I'd wear this, and again, the length - but I'm really happy with it:

I still feel there is more I can do with this skirt... but for now, it's happy being the source of the attention in the outfit!!

And finally, I tossed this peplum (no longer available) into my order, just to see how it looked:

Which I tried with my printed trousers:

My printed pencil skirt:

And then tucked into a skater skirt:

I may be late to the Pink Clove party, but I'm rather happy with my 'spoils' so far! Next stop, one of these ballerina beauties!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Marisota SS14 Style Challenge

Oh February, with your subtle glimpses of Spring, swiftly taken away with the next storm. You're a mean mistress February, you really are!

Not only that, but we're encouraged to start thinking of Spring and Summer with the fashion magazines filling up with key trends, key items, and so we pine for the pastel colours and floaty skirts of summer. 

When I was contacted by Marisota to see if I wanted to take part in their SS14 challenge, I was thinking how that would translate for the North East weather. 

Never fear! The team sent me 3 items which may be sent out to me, and none of the had me grabbing a scarf in protest! They all hinted at the SS seasons, don't get me wrong, but not in a 'suffer for fashion' kinda way!

When I opened my parcel, and this beaut popped out:

I was rather happy! 

Monochrome is something which my wardrobe has subconsciously been craving, so this piece will be a great new addition! I was also keen to try the 'illusion' aspect - something I'm not worried about for myself, but I know other people would be keen to see how the effect worked (or didn't).

I first wore it, in true Kathryn Style, with my Collectif Liesel skirt:

Then, after a wash and an iron, it was paired with my black skinny jeans:

One thing I will say about it, is it does gape a little bit, but that washing it didn't make it shrink, so YAY!

Also, the material is a shiny poly blend, so not really very breathable (and I'd made the mistake of wearing during a stressful conference call - eekk).

But, I still felt pretty amazing in it, even when I was a little out of my comfort zone with pairing it with jeans. 

I am really keen to see the other bloggers in the other two items, to see their thoughts!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

YEE HAH! A Rodeo Shirt Inspired Outfit

It took me a little while to get into the latest US import Nashville, but after about the 5th episode, I was hooked. 

I've watched with interest as the Rodeo trend has been picked as a hot trend for A/W13, and I am as keen as anyone to try my hand with denim dresses, and embroidered shirts.

When perving (sorry, looking!) at the preview of Simply Be A/W collection, I spotted this straight away:

And could imagine this paired with a full skirt in denim. I scoured the site for a skirt that matched the image in my head, and realised it would make the outfit more fancy dress than maybe necessary.

I instead paired it with my full skirt from Collectif Clothing and did what I always do, tuck it in and add a belt:

I sized up to a 22 in this, knowing from my Simply Be experiences in the past that buttons don't like staying together in a 20, and you can see here that the buttons in the 22 aren't overly friendly with each other either!! But with a basic black tee, I made this work!!

Because seeing this embroidery made it so much worth my while!

By the time I got to the office, it looked like this:

A tired face, but a great colour, collar, and detailing!

An even more interesting detail to the shirt was the back:

I mean, this detail is unnecessary, lets be honest - the embroidery is, I think, enough. But when I saw the piping and colour detail on the back, it was a wonderful touch. 

Given the weather on Thursday, I opted to wear my sleeves up:

With this useful method of keeping them up and out of the way! The material isn't thick, but very much an Autumn type of shirt, with the option of having the sleeves at full length. 

The top is rather short on me however, and I only have the option of wearing it tucked into a skirt. I do stand at 5'10 though remember, so this may not be the case on you!

Whether you are looking for a nod to the Rodeo trend, or wanting to go all out Nashville, this is the ideal shirt to try!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

This shirt was gifted to me, but my words and opinions are my own x

Life is too short

I spent a lot of my early blogging days moaning about how short a lot of dresses were on me, often sending them back with a heavy heart. 

I think of those dresses I wore once, and then panicked and sold on because, again, the skirts were too short. 

Since I have moved out of my parents, and I can choose outfits without the beady eye of my Mam saying it is too short, too tight, too revealing, I have noticed a definite shift in my dress choices. 

I think it all started with this eBay bargain - ex-Sainsbury's stock:

A dress that had been in my wardrobe for about a year, but certainly not worn as often as it should have been. Because, you guessed it, the Mam voice in my head said it was just too SHORT:

TOO SHORT? If this is too short, well, it is going to be my go to dress / skirt length then!

And then the flood gates opened, mainly down to this lovely skater skirt from Simply Be:

Ta dah - a girly skirt, and comic book tee - what more can you want for a casual Friday at work!

It has also meant that dresses I'd normally wear with leggings for a little more leg coverage, I'm now more inclined to wear with tights:

It has only been a short time since moving out, but the change in my day to day (even if we jsut look at fashion choices) has been palpable. My knees are no longer the enemy. 

Whilst out in the Metro Centre with Rebecca of Sullenhearts fame, I sneakily tried this beauty on:

And reader, I bought it! £9.99 for a plain skater skirt - where is the harm in that! So, my next casual Friday outfit will feature this I reckon!

Life is too short to allow other's opinions and expectations drag you down. 

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

Marisota Edit

When the lovely people at Marisota asked me to chose an item from the site to review, I was torn between two items:

Edit Demure Printed dress

Edit Print Peplum dress

I had a suspicion that the prom dress would be a great fit and would suit my style of preferred office wear. But, having just taken part in the #psbloggerschat, which that week had been trends. There were a lot of tweets in praise of the peplum and so I went for the Edit Print Peplum dress.

 I was so excited when it arrived, my instagram feed was bombarded with images:

The print immediately got a LOT of love and compliments - before I'd even tried it on!

When I did eventually try it on:

It was met with mixed reviews. I was unsure of the fit, wanting to try it with a different bra and to actually put some tights on! The main thought was that the peplum got lost in the print - that if it had been a contrasting block colour, it would have popped out a little bit more. Some thought if the neckline was a little different, it might look better. 

I wasn't willing to give up on it that easily:

See, tights and a better bra seemed to have made all the difference!

I went for the size 20, and found the fit perfect. The dress is a mix of 95% polyester and 5% elastane, which made the dress stretch without losing shape or print.

The skirt sits like a tube skirt, with no annoying riding up when walking (a massive pet peeve of mine!), and the peplum moves nicely when stomping around the office! 

If it wasn't for the peplum, this dress would make a mighty fine bodycon, so for anyone wanting to try bodycon, but a little self conscious, give this peplum a try for a bit of a taster!

The length is just about knee length on my 5'10 frame - although when sitting down, I did have to pull the skirt over my knees, but with the stretch in the material this wasn't a problem.

I swanned around the office effortlessly in this dress. I didn't have to worry about the belt slipping, or showing too much cleavage. I didn't have to readjust or fidget.

I was complimented a number of times on the vibrant print, on the cut of the dress and the usual backhanded compliment of 'you look slimmer' was rolled out once or twice but that is for a discussion another time.

I did try the dress with a belt, just for laughs and giggles:

And yes, you can see what I think about this from the look on my face! Worth a try though :)

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

This item was sent to me to review, but my words & views are my own

The Magnificent 7th does Monochrome

The Magnificent 7th is a new 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 a bloggers wardrobe!

Now, the observant amongst you will be looking at their calendars and thinking "but it is the 8th?" - yes, I am a day late in posting!

The theme this month is Monochrome. Something I thought I would be able to manage, given the past love of black. And actually, I really struggled!

My first outfit was one that immediately popped into mind. It is a dress my Mam gave me a month or so ago, mainly to use when singing with the choir (as we have to wear black & white). Perfect:

Dress - Donated, but originally from Sainsburys

Shrug - Excite Clothing

Belt - Charity shop

Tights - Gifted from Simply Be

Erm, no. 

I wore this to work on Tuesday, first day back after the Easter break, and with the purple tights, shrug and necklace, it failed at the Monochrome. Also, that belt really didn't work with it.

Oh well, live and learn. 

Wednesday saw me really get into the Monochrome though:

Top: Simply Be*

Skirt: Collectif

Same with the failed attempt, I waltzed into work rocking the Monochrome. A colleague even said that it looked bright and colourful, even though it wasn't! How perfect is that!

I added a grey jersey blazer, from ASDA last year:

And of course, when doing Monochrome - red lips are a MUST!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

Make sure you check out the other Magnificent 7th bloggers:

Beth

Kaye

Becky

Nicola

Gail

Kirsty

Mary

Steph

Charley

Rebecca