{We tried out this service courtesy of Sirens Swimwear}
When the team at Sirens Swimwear contacted me about a review of their Ship the Shop offer, I was excited to take part! You know me and swimwear, no amount is never enough. It turns out that their range doesn’t extend to my size. Boooo, sad news for me and anyone else above a 20 this summer. But they would work for my sister, so I said we’d love to give it a try, and we did.
I did the ordering.
My sister Amanda Claire did the trying and deciding.
I did some photographing.
She did the wearing of the final selection to the beach.
And a review, my friends, was born.
Siren’s Swimwear makes swimmers for your lady lumps. And that is a direct quote. Haha. The range has a retro vibe that is both fun and easy to wear. I mean, high-waist bikini bottoms are the swimmers you can spend all day sitting, playing, eating, wandering, and, of course, swimming in and they don’t budge. Sure the tan lines are a little ott, but the comfort factor far outweighs that. Check out their Instagram, you’ll get what I mean.
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My sister Amanda Claire, true to family form, had her eye on the striped two piece and sits between sizes due to a rather ample bust and butt. Ship the Shop is made for her. That and taking her spunky two and a half year old to the shops can be challenging. Haha.
So I clicked through the site, first adding the Ship the Shop swimwear option to my cart. From there you select FIVE swimsuits that you would like the brand to send to you to try on. I ordered three swimsuits, two of which were the same in the two sizes my sister straddles. I went through the process (I used a gifted code, you would put in your credit card details) and they were on their way to us.
Important to note that for the price of the Ship to Shop you receive ONE of the swimsuits and a return post bag for the rest. If you choose to keep more than one pair of the swimmers, your credit card will be billed for the other choices when you return the rest with the returns form. That part was a little confusing for me at first, clearly having a blonde moment, so I wanted to make that clear.
When the swimmers arrived (super fast!), my sister took the whole massive bag home with her after work and could spend some time later that night when her son went to bed trying the swimsuits on. Working out which fit she preferred, which style and print. She chose stripes (good girl), and we bundled the rest of the items up and sent them back in the prepaid bag. Done and done. Watch your time-frames for returns, keep the additional suits too long and they assume you want the lot. Which I’m sure happens a lot. We had a little miscommunication this end, and it took well over the time-frame. Whoops.
So yes, the short version is that this was the perfect service for my sister, she loves the swimmers, and the entire process was seamless. The pic of her wearing hers beach 4WD on her Instagram account is my favourite thing ever. Haha.
Want to try the Siren’s Swimwear Ship the Shop process for yourself? Head over here and use the code SUGERCOATIT to receive free shipping on this or anything else you order. And tell me, my sister is the cutest thing ever, right?
If you visit me here often, firstly thank you, then you would know that I’ve got a thing for a printed dress with ankle boots or sneakers. It’s sort of my go-to style. My fall back. My first choice when I need to pull an outfit together. That fondness is often and regularly supplemented by the team at 17 Sundays thanks to their killer print dresses. All the prints are actually designed in-house, isn’t that amazing?
Talented people man, they blow my mind.
So I have more than one printed dress in my wardrobe (hence the post title) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Printed dresses, especially ones like this one, are easy to wear and always kick style goals. Every time I wear this dress someone asks me where it from. And almost every time someone says how awesome it is. That’s a win!
I received a parcel of items from 17 Sundays to pack and take with me to the ProBlogger conference. This dress was in it. And that’s where these photos were taken, not my living room, obviously. The day I wore it no less than 5 women stopped me to ask about the dress or pay it their compliments. FIVE, in like 6 hours. That’s got to be a new dress record…
Anyway. The somewhat short version is that a simple, but cool, printed dress can you take you places lady. So find one you love and give it shot. I know you’ll come back to me and be like, OMG Suger you were SO right. Becuase I am and I will be and this will absolutely happen. Until then, enjoy a couple more pics. Pinnable pics, hint hint, if that’s your thing.
Not every outfit has to be all glam hair and makeup, crazy heels and corsets as tops (cough cough). Sometimes the way you feel most confident and in control is when you nail the perfect casual outfit. Sneakers, dress, jacket. Done. Well that’s how it works for me.
This outfit is on high rotation in my wardrobe, it’s actually the third time we’ve tried to get photos for the blog of this outfit. Seriously. One set was too dark (hello winter sunset times), the other was too light (hello midday sun) and this set, while far from perfect finally gets the job done.
My friend Lisa Kerr will be happy! She sent me this dress one hundred years ago. Here it is Lisa! Finally out of the wash and on the blog. And so you know, ladies out there, this remarkable little dress is wear anywhere, slouchy, wash and wear. All my favourite things. Win.
For those playing at home, it also looks great with ankle boots, knee-high boots and wedges. I tried them all. It’s fool-proof. I have big plans for this baby come summer with tan wedges, maybe a belt (mine is short already) and my sleeveless white waistcoat. Lots of options. I’m glad to have it in my wardrobe. I’ve even slept in it as a nightdress.
Wearing T-Shirt Dress by Lisa Kerr Designs, MYNT jacket and Adidas Sneakers.
When the new season 17 Sundays goodness arrived on my doorstep I was the happiest packer there ever was. The team had supplied me with loads of new stuff for the ProBlogger conference I was attending and it arrived in the nick of time. I gave them all a quick wash (remind me to tell you a story about how I switched to “team wash all the things”) and packed them. Done. This casual dress was chosen as my drive/arrival outfit. But it was the cape that was the show stopper.
It’s just so darn cool.
When this baby first came out {it has since been joined by some cape-y-goodness friends} it was a hot topic in many of the group chats I’m in. We rejoiced that something so current and cool was available in plus. That we would get a chance to style this on trend item… How to wear a cape jacket, challenge accepted! That’s where this post comes in.
How to wear a cape jacket: My take on things.
I wore mine open, the draw cord tied at the bottom over a casual dress with sneakers. Casual and perfect for me and the task I had ahead. Throughout the 17 website you will see other casual outfit options, open or closed over jeans with simple t-shirts under. Simple, slouchy perfection. But what if you want to dress the cape up?
Over the weekend I threw it over a dress I was wearing to dinner, left open. The navy was perfect for that and it paired beautifully with some nude shoes and gold accessories. Another get way would be to wear it with a pencil skirt, done up with heeled boots and some killer earrings. Dressing it up is about tailoring the rest of the outfit so the slouch is dialled down and the glamour is amped up. Obviously you’re not going to make it to a ball in them, but dinner and drinks with friends? Easy.
Wearing 17 Sundays c/o the brand Eye Candy Tee Dress {size L} and Set Sail Chambray Cape {size M}
Shirt dress love. That was basically going to be the name of this post. A girl can go anywhere, do anything in a good shirtdress. Work, rest or play (as the old Milo commercial goes) a shirt dress is easy to wear, comfortable and always ALWAYS chic. So if there wasn’t much more to say, it would be that you should get a shirt dress and wear it ALL the time.
The end.
Haha. Joking.
As I slipped this beauty from 17 Sundays over my head, scraped by hair into a ponytail that was wild and crazy and in need of some attention. As I dragged my socks and boots on enruote to the car. As I felt the cool breeze and the evening air settle on my skin. I thought about how easy it is to get dressed with a shirt dress. How 15 minutes ago I’d been in my underwear in bed. thank goodness for the shirt dress.
Shirt dress of awesome from 17 Sundays via MYER and Boots from Autograph Fashion (on sale!)
My work style is pretty predictable. Dress, ankle boots. Top, skirt, ankle boots. Top, pants, ankle boots… You get the idea. There’s a lot of ankle boot action, something I credit to the sometimes desk job, sometimes work site nature of my current position. But let’s face it, I need steel caps on site anyway and I’d live in ankle boots either way.
Then along comes winter and I add the occasional jacket and a knit here or there. Especially since my air-con hates me and always manages to freeze me in winter and boil me in summer. It’s drunk, I swear. But drunk air con aside, I add a knit on those mornings that I leave our fireplace heated home and realise BEFORE I hit the car that it’s too cold for me. And this baby from my mates at 17 Sundays, as per, is perfection. Just look.
So what are you wearing to work at the moment? My office is medium level corporate, some days I might even get away with a dark wash denim if I’m lucky, so I find a nice balance between my weekend basics and my work wardrobe these days. They used to have to live separately. Like a couple who don’t have sex anymore. Cold and distant from separate corners of my wardrobe. Now they’re more functional, get it on more regularly.
Ha. Talk about a sidetrack. But my point, yes I had one, is that this knit and even the dress and boots, are just as at home in my weekend wardrobe as they are at work. It’s great when that happens, it can expand your wardrobe options no end and it means you don’t actually need as many clothing options. Which may be a downer for some of you, but it’s a plus for me.
Wearing 17 Sundays Ponte Bodycon (XL) and Head over Heels Knit (M) (gifted), Target Ankle Boots, Steve Madden Bag, Sunglasses from Big W & Belt from an old City Chic dress.
I’m currently obsessed with Australian Margaret Zhang. You follow her blog or Instagram right? Well heck, if not, get your butt over there. Her images and the way she layers clothing in such unique, fresh ways is something I can’t get enough of. I’m a stalker of her feed, short version, and it’s starting to seep into the way I get dressed.
So much so I wore underwear as a top.
Seriously. It happened, I wore this new City Chic Lingerie corset because I’d committed to some Instagram photos for the brand and wanted to give it a whirl before sharing. You know, in case it sucked to wear and I hated it or something. The short version is it didn’t suck and after wearing it a little while I felt confident enough to undo a few buttons of my Yours Clothing sheer maxi… And hey presto an underwear as outerwear outfit was born.
You can blame it on Margaret. Seriously. Haha. But in the end it’s slouch on a whole other level. The sheer layers reminded me of Liv and her killer ability to rock sheer with coloured bras. The pants from 17 Sundays have always called to me for the way they layer so beautifully, easy to wear and yet so cool (and apparently sold out, sorry team).
This is my winter style this year. Easy layers, lots of monochrome. Sleeveless if I want… Luckily I’m a Queenslander. And underwear as a top apparently. What can I say, sometimes you have to try something new. And I’m glad I did. Got to get out of your comfort zone sometimes right? Life’s too short.
WEARING: City Chic Lingerie Corset (complete the set here *affiliate links*), Yours Clothing Sheer Maxi, 17 SundaysPantsand Ankle Boots from New Look via ASOS.
Back before we had finished painting the house I received an email from The Canvas Factory asking if I’d be interested in reviewing their products on the blog. After a bit of back and forward we reached an agreement and my photos from the photoshoot last year were winging their way to me on canvas for my very own Canvas Factory review!
When they arrived I tagged our photographer Bambi in a photo and she was excited to see them printed. Photos are for printing, she said, and I couldn’t agree more. These photos are beautiful, I love them, I’ve shared them online and on social media, but they really came alive after they were printed. Now they exist. I highly recommend you print more of your photos too. Which also happens to be a really nice tie into the fact that The Canvas Factory review was the reason behind this post. Win.
I’ve printed online and via kiosks before, with varying results. Some majorly varying results. So bad has been my experience that I was worried that too much post production will be done and ruin the quality of the images. That had happened to me before. I was worried that the images would be blurred. Also happened. Or that the colours would be off. Happened, we were almost green.
Then they arrived and I was really, really, really happy. I mean look at the photos, the canvases from The Canvas Factory are amazing. I feel like they are a little more saturated than the original images, but I like the impact of the bright blues against my creamy coloured walls.
The process to get me to delivery was smooth too. I ordered above the agreed amount on my gift certificate and had my pop portrait by Marie O’Neill printed too. I’m glad I did. It’s the best. So fun and vibrant and cool. I’ll share some pics when my office is set up. I guess I just wanted to let you know we are settling in. There are things on the walls. The house is coming together. It’s funny how a few family photos on the wall will do that, right?
Want to try out The Canvas Factory for yourself? I’ve got a link that will give you 70% off your first purchase. Click here and take a look. I hope if you order you share your canvas prints with me when they arrive. I’d love to see them. Enjoy!
Most people don’t know a lot of bloggers. Maybe one or two. But not me, I have an entire Girl Gang of blog ladies. Lots of fun, a great laugh and some of us even sit around the same clothes size which means, HELLO CLOTHES SWAPPING. And yes, I was shouting. Excited.
During my weekend in Melbourne in March I spent some time with the team at 17 Sundays in their office before meeting up with the girls I was staying with later that evening laden down with some new season stuff. Monochrome sporty fabulous stuff.
The next day as the media/press event kicked off, after a few short delays at our hotel (ha!), the Divine Ms Liv, Nat the Darling of XL as Life and I decided to combine our sporty goodness and rock out most of the pieces at once. Yes I said rock out, but come on, these photos are the best. Don’t you agree?
To check out my posts while I was at The Curvy Couture Road Show head on over to this one with my favourite photos and this one about the blogger brunch. It has just occurred to me this very minute that I didn’t share my outfit from the night. Whoops. Remind me to get on that.
Saturday night Mr Suger and I had a very special house to warm. It was a birthday celebrating house in a ridiculously cool location in the centre of Brisbane. Well, technically it was a unit, but the party is the same. We were to celebrate with two people we adore very very much but hardly ever get to see these days. We were excited!
What to wear was something I pondered over for a little while. We are about 2 hours north of Brisbane so there would be driving (which means nothing that crushes too easily) and I had a pit stop along the way for a secret squirrel mission. Hmmmm. What to wear was the question.
A parcel arriving Friday held the answer.
THE ANSWER.
This skirt.
Paired with a simple tee and wedges, a bit of bling and big hair. Hello, house-warming fabulous. It was dressy enough to look like I’d made an effort (thanks to the wedges). It was comfortable enough to be wearing all night though I did get a little wrinkled by the end of the drive home. Plus it was casual enough for a party where most people had their shoes off.
Are we going to have the printed pants on plus size women discussion again? Probably. Every single time I wear printed pants someone tells me I’m brave. Let me tell you, wearing pants isn’t brave, they are pants. Let’s get some perspective here. I’d love to be called brave, but not for wearing pants. Thanks anyway. But what was my point?
Oh yes!
Ladies who have never tried a pair they liked, are usually the ones to have the conversation about printed pants. If this is you, I encourage you to look again. Slim fit or slouchy. There is a pair that will work for you. I really love the style of these and are indebted to 17 Sundays for continuing to feed my addiction to such things. Try lots. Find the ones that appeal to you AND look great. They are the ones.
I hate to brag but printed pants came easily to me. I embraced them in patterns and florals. Sort of stripy ones too. The more relaxed fit, peg pants style, the better. The shirt doesn’t bother me either; I’ll wear them with tucked shirts, long layers and everything in between. Printed pants never get old for me.
This post contains claims of true love & eternal devotion for a gifted item.
Chambray shirts, way essential. Trust me. Once you own one you live in them. Open as a sort of light jacket. Buttoned up. Tucked in. Hanging out. Over swimmers in summer. Under jackets in winter. The perfect chambray shirt should be a ‘must find’ for every girl’s wardrobe. Or so says me.
My search for the perfect chambray started a while ago. I wanted light wash, soft, light and with sleeves wide enough to roll. No button gape would be a bonus but something I could live without if pushed. So it began. It took me first to New Look. With a perfect light wash option that was, unfortunately, only available in a two sizes smaller than I wanted. I bought it anyway and made it work for a year or so. In the end, the too firm arms and straining bust meant it had to go. The search continued.
Then came my first chambray true love. I picked it up secondhand from a Facebook closet sale. Barely worn this deep blue chambray shirt was made for me. It turned out to be the cornerstone of a developing relationship with its maker, the team at 17 Sundays. It washed like a dream getting slowly softer, lighter and oh so easy to throw on. We were together for years before I even realised that deep down I had my heart set on a lighter wash. So I started to look again. But like most first loves I still love my chambray, and we remain close. It’s not the chambray; it’s me.
Then in a twist of biblical proportions, perhaps that a little dramatic but stay with me, it turns out that from the very same creator as the first, THE perfect shirt would emerge. My one true love. My chambray shirt soul mate. A light wash beauty that met all my crazy criteria and more. A shirt that might as well has been made to fulfill my life’s desires. Here she is folks. Love is in the air. Even though the air is a humid 40 something degrees, I’ve committed 110%. I’m all in.
Mr Suger will need to watch his back, don’t you think? Haha.
Basic Faded Shirt – 17 Sundays {gifted, on sale now}
