Friday, June 28, 2013

Epic weekend with my rad gang

Last weekend was an epic weekend! It was Becky's birthday weekend; she decided she wanted to come up to South Yorkshire to hang out with us rad fats. So on Friday night I had a houseful: Lisa, Rachel, Becky, Bettie, and Jen. We got Chinese food and just chilled out - it turned crazy! We were comparing bras and whether they fit, we were making all kinds of inappropriate jokes, and one by one we went to bed - late. I personally crashed on the couch at 5.30am. It's a LONG time since I did that.

On Saturday once we were all somewhat awake, we got the train to Meadowhall. Six fat lasses do cause quite a stir. By myself I never get much hassle, or maybe I don't notice it, but together we get a lot of attention. Maybe it's because we're confident and self-assured and, well, loud? It's great, though.

In Meadowhall we were joined by Beth and Nicola. We got lunch (badly needed by me as I was so tired/hungover) and went shopping. I personally tried to not spend much as I'm about to go on holiday, but I did buy a top in New Look, a top and a cardigan in Evans, and some stationery in Paperchase! Here's some photos:


Rachel gave me this dress - it's from New Look, it's size 24 which can be too small for me but I've decided it looks great anyway! I love having friends of similar sizes now - we swap clothes a lot!


This is what I was wearing on Friday, AX Paris dress with feather print from Simply Be, a bargain £20!


And here's a sneak preview of what I bought in Evans! I love it and it will be so nice on holiday!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Simply Be's Blogger Takeover

On Wednesday 5th June I was lucky enough to be invited to Manchester for a preview of Simply Be's blogger takeover to see the dresses that Lauren, Laura, and Em have designed. It was such a lovely day and I'll copy what I wrote on my way home on the day.

Simply Be asked some bloggers to work with them to create outfits, and all 3 ended up creating dresses. Laura’s is a black chiffon skirt with a coral crossover top, very bling for a night out. Lauren’s is a pink skater dress only the material has yellow ice creams printed on it too! It’s so out there. Then Em’s is a really funky but very classy dress with ruching around the stomach. It’s black with pink, purple, and green peacock feathers on it – it’s just beautiful. Today was the launch.

We went in and got a glass of Buck’s Fizz and a voucher for 2 drinks at the bar. This was a lovely touch as it felt like Simply Be had spent their money on us (and to be fair they get a lot from us!). We wandered around talking to the bloggers and admiring the dresses both on the mannequins and on Em, Lauren and Laura. There were also several racks of clothes which will be out in A/W 2013, so we got a sneak preview! I’d got a lift with Rachel and Lisa, so the three of us were chatting loudly, with others, and about the new items. And it really felt like Simply Be were listening.

The bloggers talked about their dresses and then a buyer and a designer talked about the process of their clothes. They have ethical working practices, with factories in Turkey and India, which I definitely think they should shout about more, as it’s nice to know that people aren’t dying in sweatshops just so I can have cheap clothes. They also have a production factory in Leicester, and it's really good that they’re creating jobs in Britain too.

Then there was lunch. All fat birds love a free lunch, obviously! It was really good though. I talked to Rachel and Lisa and Mel and Charlie, we’re all quite similar politically and in our rad fat ethos, so we can have good chats. After lunch we listened to another buyer talk about the brands Simply Be buys and how they work with Anna Scholz (I absolutely love her prints and dresses but they’re way too spendy for me, although the range with Simply Be is slightly less expensive). Then they were asking questions and well if you don’t want a bunch of fat folks telling you exactly what they love and hate well you just shouldn’t ask! All the staff are lovely though.

We each left with a lovely goodie bag – a few treats in one of Simply Be’s sturdy black bags – they’re great for keeping stuff in!

These are some photos of the preview clothes that I particularly liked:


I loved this black dress with mesh shoulders and detailing.


This is a close up of the detailing, I think the flowers are velvety.


I also loved this black dress with red lace overlay. 


Here's what I wore: skull print dress from New Look last season. I love it because it's so feminine and yet so badass!

When the dresses were released for sale I ordered Lauren's and Em's. Unfortunately Em's, although beautiful, wasn't for me. I wouldn't have felt comfortable in it, so I sent it back. 

Lauren's, though - wow! I love it! I love the neckline and the colour and the print and the length! 


Excuse my unbrushed hair, it was early in the morning!


This is to show you the length - I'm 5'5" and it is plenty long enough for me to wear on its own (if I ever get brave enough to!)

You can buy the Blogger Takeover dresses here. Please please Simply Be do another one of these!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

What I Wore June 16th

Today is Father's Day, so it's a bit of a hard day for me because my dad died over 5 years ago. I miss him every single day. He wasn't perfect, but he did his absolute best and he loved me more than he could express. I am a lot like him in a lot of ways.

I have a great stepdad now, N. He married my mum 3 years ago and I gained all his family too - including my stepsister. However, she had a falling out with her dad last year and we haven't seen her since then. So Father's Day is hard for N, too, since he won't get anything from my sister. Lee and I always give him something - this year I bought him some fudge, and some DVDs which I took a chance on - and thankfully he didn't already have any of them! I bought Slumdog Millionaire, Taken, and Angels and Demons.

We went out for lunch to a pub near here. It's a very basic place, but very cheap and everything is homemade, so we like it. I had garlic mushrooms, lasagne, and chocolate fudge cake! I'm stuffed!

Anyway, this is what I wore. I loved the new Clements Rebeiro collection at Evans, and I asked my mum if she would so kindly buy me one of the dresses, and she decided to spoil me and say yes! I ordered the daisy print and the lip print dresses, and was so excited when they arrived,

However, the 26/28 (damn dual sizing!) did NOT fit me. A lot of people have said that this collection runs small, and it seriously does. I sent both dresses back; I was bummed out!

Anyway, then I went to Meadowhall with my friend Chloe and saw this dress in the Evans store. I tried on the 30/32 and it felt a lot better on me. It was a bit shapeless, though, so Chloe foisted this belt upon me, and it did the trick.


This is what I looked like taking a selfie in the mirror


I felt like this was quite short on me, but I love this dress so much that I decided "Whatever!" and wore it anyway. Plus I was only walking from the car into the pub.


Here I am outside the pub, Lee took this photo for me. Legs out for real!

With a bit more wearing I'm sure I'll gain in confidence, I love this dress so much!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Magnificent 7th - well, 9th

I'm a bit late in posting this as I didn't get chance to do it earlier.

This month's theme was maxi. I don't own mane maxi dresses, just three. This one, a purple one that's the same, and a black tiered one. I do like them, but I prefer to wear my dresses with leggings.

Anyway I wore this today for my mum, stepdad and grandma coming over for roast dinner.


Red maxi dress - Forever 21+, a couple of years ago
White cardigan - Sainsburys, £8, I love it

I'm standing outside my back door. You can excuse the shelves next to me - we're redecorating the living room and we're gloss painting the shelves!

Check out the other bloggers:


Sunday, June 2, 2013

What I Wore 27th May

Last weekend Lee and I went to the Lake District with my mum, stepdad, grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins. We had a big cottage which was really lovely and well-equipped, right in the middle of Ambleside. On Saturday Lee and I went to Keswick for a quick look round, and on Sunday we walked round Ambleside. On Sunday night we went out into the park at midnight to look at the stars and take light trails pictures! I'll share some of the photos when I can.

Monday was the Bank Holiday and it was also my mum's birthday, so it was nice that we were all together for it. This is what I wore:


Black leggings - H&M £7.99 (I love how tight these are at the ankles)
Black spotty skirt - Yours Clothing £9.60 in the sale
Striped top - H&M £7.99
Black cardigan - New Look, ages ago


My uncle took these photos, so thank you to him for that!