I put my head down and I ducked into the change room. I called out to Desiree behind me that I was ‘going in’ in the very dramatic way that I knew would make her smile. Arms laden with items including a new bikini top, a maxi dress or two and some skirts that had called my name. I stripped off and started to try them on.
One by one I either decided to buy or discarded. Then there was the maxi dress. Printed and sort of flowing, dual side splits and a colourful print. Desiree was having a birthday party. I decided something like this dress would be perfect for it. And it was. But let’s flash forward now.
There was something I didn’t consider.
It turns out that I can be REALLY uncomfortable in clothing that feels really feminine, to me. Isn’t that the strangest thing? As I tugged my strapless bra into place, lining the girls up as you do, and slipped the dress over my head, it was there.
I felt self-conscious.
Maybe it was the amount of boob on display, maybe it was the ruffle or the print. Perhaps it was the exposed shoulders, the full length or the print but it was there. Nerves. I turned to Desiree for reassurance that it looked ok and she shook her head and laughed at me. Pffft, errr yeah.
So I took her word for it because she’s not the kind of friend to blow smoke up your ass, and I went with it. It occurred to me that my style really isn’t feminine at all. I’m more comfortable in simple, straight lines with strong colours (black being a big factor) and well, pants! This billowy, busty maxi was something else entirely.
And I got curious about that.
Was I weirded out by the visibility of my boobs? Maybe. But not in the way you think. I’m happy to wander around in my swimmers or underwear in the company of friends no problem. My boobs have never really been a feature in my personal style. I like them, they’re there, but I don’t build outfits around them. They make appearances on occasion like Brad Pitt did on Friends. Welcomed, but hardly necessary.
But that’s wasn’t it.
I think the length didn’t help. Have you ever done a Debutant Ball? Not just been to one, but participated? There’s all this walking, being presented and dancing in a floor length gown that is practically designed to end you. This maxi dress was long.
I don’t know how the short ladies would ever have worn it because I spent the entire first half of the party (before I tucked it into my underwear a little giving me freedom of movement) lifting my hem delicately like some character from a Jane Austin novel-adapted movie. But with more visible ankle.
And then there was the fact that it looked weird with my sneakers! I mean. I can’t even.
But most of all I felt like it was a great dress, it looked great (you guys sure liked it on Instagram) but it just wasn’t me. I felt like I was playing grown-up lady at a nice party in that dress. Not always a bad thing, playing dress up is awesome. But when you know your personal style, have curated from the depths of peasant blouse extinction, wearing something that isn’t you just doesn’t work.
And you shouldn’t. I believe that. I think you shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to do, wear anything that doesn’t work for you or be anyone you don’t want to be. So keep that in mind folks. You do you.
Heya folks, long time no blog. What can I say, internet is still ridiculously CRAP around these parts. Right to your local Member folks, this girl needs interwebs! But hang on, this is a post about the little black dress. The casual little black dress and how I dress it up when I need something midway between casual and over the top let’s go oooout style l.b.d.
When you need to dress up a little black dress, there is one go to hot tip that I lean on every single time. A simple tip that will work for most women no matter their age, style or how they feel about their wardrobe. You ask for it, on Facebook, so here it is.
It’s about the shoes.
Isn’t it always?
But it is. This same dress with boots or sandals is casual, perfect for lunch with friends and comfy enough for a movie. But add these shoes and phoar. It’s got it’s “I’m heading out on the town self” covered. And no your shoes don’t have to be ridiculously buckled and pointy heeled. They can just be a pair that make you feel special. Attitude, after all, if the entire point of the little black dress.
And if all else fails and my go-to tip doesn’t work for you, try some simple gold accessories. Gold is just one of those metals that add oomph. A wearer of white gold almost my entire life, I love to add a bit of the gold gold stuff whenever I’m dressing up an otherwise casual style. Which let’s face it, casual is me all over.
The dress is BASIC by 17 Sundays from last year, the shoes are current stock from Emerson at Big W and the accessories are either Target or ASOS. Easy peasy.
Work outfits, work style, during the summer is harder than my everyday summer style, and special occasion combined. There’s usually some form of dress code, there’s always an expectation and it’s hot. Sometimes hotter than others, depending on whether you are in or out of the air con. So there’s all that. Plus, you’d rather be at the beach. Or I would anyway.
I find that by having a few key go-to pieces I get through most weeks with no issue. My work wardrobe is mostly black and white. Some colour thrown in on random days. Then I add a wow items like this duster now and again, and you’re in the work style game.
There’s something about the print and proportions of the jacket, the mixed up hem of the skirt and the texture of the top make this outfit interesting. The red shoes, great for a day when you’re more in the office than out, just add something extra. I like to keep my hair, makeup and jewellery simple for work because I’m lazy mostly. I’d rather sleep in those few extra minutes than apply more time. So a slick of gloss will always brighten the look .
I mentioned before that my work wardrobe is predominantly black and white and I do this for a reason. I find it much easier to mix and match from clothing in the same colour family. Navy is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but do you know how many times over the years I’ve accidentally matched a black skirt with a navy blazer thinking they were a set? LOTS. Best spare yourself the trouble.
Sorry team, all items are from my wardrobe and have sold out.
Hey team, welcome back! How was your Christmas? I’m hoping fabulous. I’ve been at the beach for just under a week and have managed to get sunburnt using old sunscreen. Then I sweated it out in the humidity of a summer storm riddled few days. All while eating my body weight in Christmas food washed down with some boozy beverages. Christmas was a total success in my books.
I hope you can say the same. Really, I do.
But this is an outfit post. Right? So let’s talk about that. You may notice that at the base of this outfit is a very simple, very whatever, basic ensemble. A white tank and my new favourite thing ever chambray shorts. Nothing to write home about, right? Comfy but simple. Then you throw on the Nyata print shrug and hey presto, daytime glam.
I assume. Daytime glam isn’t a style I wear too often.
But easy to wear built good foundation of basics is right up my ally, and that’s why these shrugs have become a favourite for casual-and-then-some item of clothing. Plus it has been humid as hell. If it’s not light, I’m not wearing it. Literally. I’d rather wear nothing. But that’s probably too much information. Moving on.
If you want to replicate this look, it’s as easy as securing a shrug or kimono jacket in a lightweight fabric. Then throw it on over a light summer dress, a combination like this one or a maxi dress. I picked up some nighties at Kmart for $5.50 each that are going to become beach layering pieces for me. Light and easy, that’s your aim.
Shrug on loan from Nyata, the shoes are by Emerson for BigW and the chambray shorts were given to me by 17 Sundays.
You might have heard the whispers around the interwebs that Mynt1792 had launched an Australian store. The rumours are true, and they have asked me to share the news with you with an outfit post or two. An easy task if you consider how cool the bomber jacket I’m wearing is.
Super easy. It’s been one of the only things that has convinced me to remove my 17 Sundays bomber. The other one, for both jackets, is the heat. Luckily it’s been raining on and off which has decreased the humidity on occasion, so I’ve had plenty of excuses to wear a jacket, albeit a light one.
This outfit was for a casual get-together after work one day. In the early evening with shorts on the bottom, the bomber was the perfect partner in crime. It’s beautifully made and feels like a dream to wear. Also, pretty light and easy in this weather, which is a bonus. I’m wearing the 20W for those playing at home.
Shorts with some wedges or stacked sandals like these Target ones from last year are great for afternoon BBQs or just hanging about. You look like you’ve made an effort, but it’s comfortable. Bonus points for being cool in the heat and being able to jump on the trampoline if required. Shorts are where it’s at; you’re going to loooove these chambray ones from 17 Sundays.
And then coming soon Liv, Em, and I have arranged an extravaganza in the girl gang post format. The actual plan for the sponsored post spot. It’s a crowd favourite and something I know you guys love because of the different shapes and sizes in the range. So hang tight, we had some sizing issues, we WILL be back. Until then, shop the Mynt1792 range via their Australian site here.
Taking my love of all things monochrome and sports luxe to the next level today sharing with you this new bomber sent to me by the team at Harlow Australia. As part of my challenge to myself to wear more colour this season all things black and white have been relegated to the later pile. They find themselves in the back of the wardrobe, left in favour of neon green, deep pinks and royal blue. Poor dears.
It’s been fun stretching myself though. It can be difficult to throw together an outfit at the last minute when you’re not just matching black with black, with white. I’m finding my way. I wear colour more often than not these days. But a girl’s first true love never leaves her, right? And black is certainly my first true clothes love. It was never going to stay gone for too long.
This is my second ‘official with a camera’ attempt to get photos of this mesh bomber jacket. It’s elusive in that it looks great on, and I’ve worn it a number of times. Hello, it’s a jacket with holes, in this weather, it’s perfect. And let’s face it, very my style. But the photos have never worked out. It’s hard to capture the detail I think. Harlow’s new range has a threefold focus with a little bit sporty, a little bit boho and a little bit glam. And then after that, they released some new denim. Phew. Busy busy. Check it out.
Pants – Bellecurve (old stock), T-Shirt – ASOS Curve & Shoes – Emerson for Big W
Shop the Borderline Sports Luxe Mesh Bomber here.
Oh yes, and new hair! Check that out. I cut off half, maybe more, of the substantial ponytail I’d been accumulating. All the recent colour changes, ombre styling and pool swimming had done its damage. It was time to lighten it up. I’m going to write more about it, and how it seems to be a bit of a thing at the moment, we are making changes. Making moves towards summer, towards a different life… I have more to say than can be added here. So I’ll be back.
My friend Nat always says that orange and grey are great friends; she wrote an entire eBook about such things that you can buy over here. Pair them together and have the entire world make sense. Add a print or some texture, and you’ve got yourself an outfit. The creators of the shirt call it Tangerine. I’m someone who’s skin tone suits orange, the more neon, the better. My Dad always said it was true and like most willful young people I told him to mind his beeswax.
The colour is a show stopper, right?
But what I want to talk about is the white pants.
The shredded white denim joggers.
THEY always say that fat people shouldn’t wear white pants. Plus size white pants are a no-no. Worse even than leggings as pants for some. White is unforgiving and will show all your flaws. You shouldn’t wear white pants unless you have a but like JLo. Or so they say. But THEY said not to wear stripes either or mini skirts or ankle boots… And we all know how much I didn’t listen to that! But just like stripes there are some tips to making white pants work. I’ve got your back. Let’s talk white pants.
How to make white pants work on your plus-sized butt;
Make sure they fit! If they fit, they won’t be squishing you where they shouldn’t. This goes for all pants, but particularly when it comes to white ones. I love these joggers because they slouch. In the size 22, my normal size, they gave just enough to sit and slouch beautifully. Skinny jeans in white are super stylish, but they won’t work for everyone. A jogger or more relaxed pant will.
Make sure the quality of the fabric is good. The problem with white pants and people with genuine butts is that we have lumps and bumps and imperfections. If the fabric is a decent quality then, it will cover these in a way that a lighter, less quality fabric won’t.
Don’t sit, ever. Today my Mum was wearing a pair of adorable white capris. My nephew Ashton had a mouth, hand and face full or strawberry and all the dreamy juices. Mum wrapped herself in a towel to avoid getting covered in stains then sat on a chair where Ashton had wiped his hands earlier… Cue strawberry butt stains. So short version, try not to sit, ever. Or buy some Napisan. Haha.
And last but not least buy some pants, pull them on and go for it. You are much too cool to listen to what anyone else thinks about you or your style. Go get ’em Tiger!
Button Up Shirt – 17 Sundays (last summer), tank – Emerson, White Shredded Denim Joggers – 17 sundays (gifted – size 22) + Shoes – Emerson.
How to wear a denim vest might be a little extreme, but like most things around here, it was inspired by the interwebs. Arlene mentioned she was wondering today how and when to wear a denim vest, and I said, short version, with everything! It has to be the most versatile piece in a wardrobe. And for a while now I’ve been getting by using my chambray gillet from 17 Sundays as a substitute. That, as you can see, is no longer the case.
Embody Denim sent me their new season vest for editorial consideration after spotting my ponderings about cutting the sleeves off the 17 Sundays jacket (I know, blasphemy) and making it a vest. Things got too far indeed when it was suggested I insert zips to zip the sleeve on and off as the season dictated. Too far folks, too far, you pushed the fashion people over the edge. Checking that I would use and wear the vest, umm heck yes, the team had one in the post shortly after. Jacket saved. Denim vest of my dreams acquired. Excited!
I hate to deviate from our topic further, but I have to stop and say that this vest is an impressive piece of fashion people. The attention to detail, the quality and the cut is a thing of beauty. It’s pricey; some of you are probably going to have a conniption about the price, but I stand here hand on my heart and say it has to be worth every cent. You will hand this baby down to your grandkids, grandkids. It’s that well made. Easy to say when I was given mine, I know, but if you’ve been searching, wanting, needing one for ages. This is the one. Really.
So how do you wear a denim vest?
It is as simple as I said. These babies go with everything. Some of my favourite combinations include over maxi dresses and skirts. Over a cute summer dress and any other time, you want an extra layer of awesome added to your outfit without the weight of a jacket. A denim vest is fresh, a little bit wild and young, think Liv Tyler in Stealing Beauty, and it adds an element of that to an outfit. Start by throwing it on over everything and work out what fits your style. And maybe the good folks who read this blog will hook you up with some of their best ideas for wearing them too. If you ask nicely.
Wearing Embody Sloan Denim Vest {gifted – size 22}, Hope & Harvest Tee {gifted – size L}, Maxi Skirt & shoes from Kmart
Pretty please tell us how you wear YOUR denim vest?
Post contains raving about an item gifted for editorial consideration.
It’s not often I hand over the entire post to one item of clothing outside of my sponsored post context. But the Analogue Print Dress is just too good not to. Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a raving 17 Sundays fan and have been for years now. I would buy, hunt down and stalk their pages for new items to get my hands on. Why? They fit me like a glove and suit my lifestyle. My style and my life, so literally my lifestyle.
And this dress, well it’s all that and more. It’s pretty darn fab.
When you’re over a certain size finding a cute, easy to wear summer dress can be impossible. Finding one that isn’t fussy or cutesy makes it feel like mission impossible. It’s one of the reasons I fell hard for the 17 Sundays clothes. Cute dresses, short shorts and easy to wear basics that always have a bit of a unique spin on them. And this dress certainly does that.
I mean the print! Come oooon. It’s gorgeous. And I’m told designed to complement all skin tones. The attention to detail in the tiny spots that form the triangles that form the pattern. I’ve worn all the Analogue print pieces out and about and received more than one compliment each time on the print. It’s a crowd pleaser that’s for sure. You’ll love it. I love it. Did I mention that?
Size wise I’m wearing the 24 because was all out of the size 22. There’s room in the actual dress that I compensated for by pulling the cord a little tighter. Lengthwise though the size up doesn’t hurt at all. It makes it the perfect cheeky, without literally showing my cheeks, length. Jo at iCurvy shared her review of the dress in a sizing update the other day and found the fit generous. I would agree with that in relation to the design of the dress is that, for sure.
Want stars out of ten score? I’d give this baby a 10 outta 10! I’m obsessed with it. Bring on the balmy summer nights, I’ve got it covered.
Analogue Print Dress by 17 Sundays {gifted, size 24}, shoes Emerson for BigW {sold in-store}
When it comes to stripes, I just can’t get enough of them. I’m team stripes and the stripe’ier the better. So on Saturday afternoon I donned my mismatched stripes and my new boohoo plus white vest, and we went driving. Mr Suger and I like to do that sometimes; have Hybrid, will travel and all that. We had nothing planned that night for the first time in ages and decided to just kill some time hanging out.
With the windows down and ‘Shake It Off’ cranked on the car stereo (yes, we are those people) we drove the winding roads behind where we live. Wind in our (my) hair and singing loudly and badly we pass the time talking and laughing. Somewhere into the afternoon I decided we should stop, grab some photos and then grab a blue frozen Fanta. And let me tell you, I was glad we did it in that order when I spilt blue liquid all down my pristine white longline sleeveless white vest.
Le sigh.
Thank goodness for Napisan.
This vest only arrived last week, and I’ve already factored it into two outfits. I had to order the UK22 (normally I’d get the UK24) because the larger size was sold out. It works, but I would have liked that bit extra coverage in the front. Not that it’s hurting the wearability. I think next month when I tackle iCurvy’s 30 in 30 wardrobe challenge this is going to be one of my go-to pieces for versatility. For work and play which is going to be a tricky thing for me.
Stripe Tee – Emerson for BigW (size 18) – Instore now Stripe Skirt – Avella for BigW (size 22) – last year White longline sleeveless blazer – Boohoo.com (size 22 – 24 back in stock) Tan Strap Heels – Target Australia – last year
So stripes, we love them, right? And white clothes as long as there is Napisan, we love them too, yes? And can I just mention there is no black in this outfit at all. I win this round brighten my wardrobe challenge, better luck next time.
We haven’t been on many date nights lately. Date night had meant us both arriving home before 8pm, and someone brought dinner home with them. Busy busy and all that. But date night was reinstated this past weekend and so I donned a leather wrap around skirt of awesome to celebrate.
Mel’s leather wrap around skirt of awesome, that is. Having knocked up friends who loan you their clothes is the best. You might remember I wore this baby to the Curvy Couture Roadshow with the cute jacket and 17 Sundays afterglow tee? Well, that outfit inspired this one. The all black with the tucked in top. I even through a jacket into the car but didn’t have cause to wear it.
Spring? Who knew?
Now I don’t know about you but I like my date night outfits to have a little texture to them. All the better to grope you with, my dear. So the leather skirt is perfect for that purpose, the softness of the basic tank does too. Texture not only adds interest to the date, it adds interest to an otherwise simple outfit. That’s my hot tip. Texture for the win.
Date night, get on with it.
ASOS Curve Wrap Leather Skirt {on loan, thanks Mel}, Blondie Tank by ASOS Curve and Emerson for BigW Heels.
When was YOUR last date night? Did you get dressed up or did you do the couch version?
When I met harem pants, I was slow but then steady yes. Naturally, from there the slouch pant, which by all accounts is very similar, was an easy yes. I love my pants slouchy almost as much as I like my skirts short and my t-shirts stripy. Which is, if you are new here, a lot.
These pants came to me at the same time but required a little more consideration when it came to wearing them. I feel like you all had seen my slouch pant a-game and I need to step it up a notch to keep pushing myself when it comes to my personal style. So I literally sat on (in) them for a while and figured out how I wanted to wear them. This blogging caper is serious business don’t you know?
Additional slouch in my size 22 pants (my normal size and I recommend that you order your NORMAL size, per the website instructions, do no size down) is thanks to these wears while pondering. I sat in them, wore them out in sneakers and with boots. I tried them with t-shirts tucked and un-tucked. Jackets opened and closed. But in the end, this, my friends, was the final outfit that I decided upon; nude heels, layer of a long half tucked t-shirt and an oversized shirt as a jacket.
Slouch pant win, yes?
Shirt – 17 Sundays {now sold out} T-Shirt – Target Australia Denim Joggers – 17 Sundays {gifted} Nude Heels – Emerson for Big W Ring Necklace – Various
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Are you a slouchy pants fan? How would you style them?
(I love this game, you guys always have the best ideas! I plan to pinch the ones I like, derrr.)
