Plus Size Fashion: OOTD Polka Dots and Cut Outs

Today I was off to a rehearsal for a play that I'm doing the publicity for and just felt like dressing a little girly. This dress is the oldest dress I have in my wardrobe and it was from Primark about 4 years ago so it's done pretty well to get this far, but this was the last time I wore it because it's in the bin now! I'm wearing a top over it because the straps are all broken and the top part of the dress is just generally skanky.

The top is one of my favourites and I have it in this colour and white. I got the top from New Look in the winter sale for 3 quid so it was a bargain!

The shoes are just cheap, pink Primark pumps but they are just the comfiest shoes ever. Unfortunately they wear really fast but I guess that's no surprise.

Overall, this outfit was the wrong decision for today as it was bloody hot and layers and long sleeves do not go with hot weather. I make this mistake too often.

Anyway, my hair is just in my regular style and for my make up I went for a brown smoky eye with a brown lip.

Sorry for the hiatus recently, I'm back on track now!

Talk to you soon!

Sam x

Plus Size Fashion: OOTD A Fat Girl With Her Midriff Out!?!?

Controversial I know, and some people might not like it but then, they don't have to wear it! This is actually one of the most comfortable outfits I've worn so far on this blog, and although it's not sunny today, I suffer with hot flushes so I'm my own personal radiator.

I love cropped tops, though I don't have the typical figure for it, and I usually wear very high-waisted things with them. But today I thought what the hell, if I think I look good and I'm happy with it then I'm bloody well wearing it. I know that it's not a lot of midriff but I think it's quite enough for me.

Straying away from the subject of my stomach, I love the fun feel of this outfit and it's made me feel really happy today. Today I'm going out with friends on a tourist day of Bath (even though we live here) and in the evening we are going to vegetate in a pub somewhere. I thought this outfit was perfectly between casual and outgoing for such a days activities. I honestly can't tell you how good this outfit makes me feel!

So the components. The shorts are from H&M and they were 7.99. I had been looking for some comfortable shorts that were high waisted for ages and I actually had a voucher for H&M when I found these. They are so comfortable and look great with a tan.

The top is one from Urban Outfitters in the sale about a year ago, although I have definitely seen one still there recently. The only way I can fit into Urban Outfitters is if I buy their 'oversized' stuff, otherwise I'm confined to the home wear section with the rest of the plus size girls.

I find Urban Outfitters so odd. This top is sized as a small. I think we all know that is not a word you'd use to describe me, but it's still baggy on me. Weird.

The hoodie is just your general Primark hoodie, but everyone needs a black one in their wardrobe. The pumps I'm wearing are also from Primark. I think everyone in the world must own a pair of these and I refuse to buy vans when these look exactly the same. I think the hoodie was 8 and the pumps were 4 or 5 pounds.

For my hair I've gone for a style I've never done before but I really like the two little bunches, I think they're fun and a bit 90's.

I haven't been able to wear close fitting high-waisted bottoms like this... umm... ever, so I'm super happy that this outfit looks good (in my opinion). I hope this gives you a little more confidence to wear whatever the hell you want. People who say anything horrible about you or to you are simply jealous. We all know that, and I know it's hard to truly believe it but we'll all get there!

If you have an outfit that you think you 'shouldn't' wear but love, send your picture or a link. We all want to see!

Also, my Summer Ball post will be coming soon!

Sam x

Fashion Icons Through the Ages: 1920's Coco Chanel

When you think of Chanel as a brand, you're immediately drawn to the simple and classic style that Coco Chanel herself was a pioneer for. She blew the corseted silhouette for women out of the water, and wore trousers when they were still thought to be just for men.

The epitome of style, Coco made a staple of simple black tops with strings of pearls and the signature Chanel boxy jacket. 

Google an image of Coco Chanel and you'll find pictures of her in wide leg trousers with her hands in her pockets; she was a woman well beyond her time, undoubtedly the coolest woman of the 20's.

Famous for advising 'before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off', Coco Chanel's monochromatic style never seems to date. Celebrities are constantly imitating her style and Karl Lagerfeld continues to promote her legacy through his own similar sleek style.

Nothing about Coco Chanel is fussy or taken for granted. Every piece on her body, including perfume, is meticulously thought about, creating the faultless fashion icon of the 1920's that we love.

Within these posts I am going to challenge myself to create an outfit inspired by each of these style icons. I'm not going to try to imitate them because I want my own style to be complimented by my influences rather than covered by them.

The main influence I've taken from Chanel is the monochromatic theme so I've got a simple black dress which is actually a midi dress that I hoiked up with a belt to be a bit shorter. The dress is from H&M for £7.99 and is the perfect basic. I might even do a series of posts on how to use this dress in different outfits.

I just paired this with a black and white striped top from newlook ages ago. I thought that a whole string of pearls was a bit much for me personally so I went with a short string with small pearls instead.

For shoes I just went with smart brogues from Primark years ago but it's always a good idea to have brogues in your wardrobe as they're a classic staple that will never go out of style.

I really like this outfit and will be wearing again because I love the simplicity and it's a bit different to what I normally go for. It's good to go outside of your style comfort zone!

The next installment in this series will be an icon from the 1920's and 30's.

Tune in for that!

Sam x

Fashion Icons Throughout the Ages

Coming this week will be the start of a new series of weekly posts about fashion throughout different decades. The posts will be centred around different fashion icon of a certain era.

If you have any fashion icons you would like to see a post on please let me know in the comments section, or on Instagram.

Until then!

Sam x

Plus Size Fashion: Celebrity Makeover Photoshoot

I recently got asked in my Student's Union to fill out a survey. It was just about online shopping and the guy said that you could win prizes for completing it. I wasn't holding out much hope for that, but I ended up winning a celebrity makeover photoshoot with one free photo to take home.

Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos inside the building but I have included some of the final photos.

The day was great, and I could take a friend who would also have a makeover and her photos taken, so I took my friend Harriet (whose blog you can find here: http://styluscouncil.blogspot.co.uk ).

We were both a little out of our comfort zone, we'd never had someone else do our make up and hair and I for one am very particular about that. I'll admit I am anal about my hair and make up but the girls did a great job on both of our make up looks. My hair was a little more bouffant than I like it to be but once it had flattened a little throughout the shoot I was much happier with it.

Our photographer was lovely and helped to put us more at ease and we ended up with some absolutely great photos. I got 11 photos for a very discounted price partly because I was a prize winner.

For those of you living in Bath or surrounding areas, this service is from Art Team Makeovers which is located in Bath city centre. I highly recommend it!

Sam x

Plus Size Fashion: OOTD I won an award!

On Tuesday of last week I attended an awards ceremony and showcase of work for my creative writing course. Everyone's work was absolutely brilliant and I'm so proud to have been on a course with such talented people.

I had been told that I had won the leadership award for my work with second year performance poets and on poetry events that I ran with my friend Jp. However, when I got there I'd actually won two awards, the Leadership award and Rising Star in Performance Poetry award.

I don't usually win things like this, even though I always strive to be the best, so I was so happy to have received two! I'm so proud of my friends Katie and Nadia who also won prizes for writing for young people and the Picador prize, respectively. It was brilliant for third years to get together and share their work and be rewarded.

Anyway, enough gushing, onto the outfit. I knew it would just be a casual thing, and that day I also had an interview exam for one of my modules and was staying in uni all day so I wanted to be comfortable as it was hot that day.

The top I'm wearing is an off the shoulder crop top from New look and I'm also wearing just a strapless bandeau bra. As a lady with a larger bust, my shoulders can sometimes get sore from bra straps and the weight of my boobs so I like to wear this comfy bra every so often. Sorry if that's TMI but a lot of girls struggle with this!

My denim skirt is originally from Tesco but I got it on eBay years ago for about 2 quid. Underneath this, to keep some of my dignity, I'm wearing cycling shorts from H&M with lace around the bottom. I'm not very good at being lady like and more random people have seen my arse than I care to remember, so these are perfect.

My cardigan is just a really lightweight one from New Look about 3 years ago. It's almost falling apart which I'm very sad about because I wear it all the time.

The shoes I'm wearing are just some cheap converse style pumps from Primark about a year ago.

I love this look, it's so comfortable and I also think it's very flattering on me. The white of the top, when I have the cardigan off, also flatters my tan which is a bonus for me.

Again, well done to everyone who won prizes on Tuesday and have a brilliant graduation!

Sam x

Plus Size Fashion: OOTD Neon in the sun

The sun finally came out! Admittedly not for long; it's fairly overcast today. But the main thing is, it was here. For some amount of time.

I think I've probably said this before but coming from South Devon means that whenever the weather gets even slightly mild, we all start wearing shorts and dresses and you'd be pushed to find a man with his top on. As there are a lot of marines and young farmers around Torquay, I'm not wholly opposed to this!

So naturally, I sought out the shortest shorts I could find. I know some people think that because I am a lady of a larger variety, I shouldn't be wearing short shorts, but I'm pretty proud of my legs and I had a fresh (fake) tan, so God dammit I was going to get them out. And why should I let other people dictate my fashion choices? If they ain't Gok Wan, I don't give a damn!

So these shorts are just some cheapies from H&M that I usually wear for pyjamas, but they were freshly washed and accentuated my tan. They are so comfortable and don't show my bum cheeks so that's definitely a winner in my book.

As I was going to the park with my friends for a picnic, it would be around the middle of the day when the sun is strongest. For that reason, I wore this big loose t-shirt that is also from H&M. It was nice and big so still cool enough for a hot day, but it also kept me protected as I burn very easily on my back and shoulders. However, you can still be sunburnt through clothes so of course I kept my sunscreen topped up.

I'm very particular about protection from the sun now. Apart from it bringing on premature ageing, I had to have a mole taken off last year that the doctor thought was suspicious, which was enough for me to seriously think about how I protect myself in the sun, as the mole wasn't even in a place I got burnt very much. So if you're wondering what the little scar on my left ankle is, that's where I had the mole taken off.

For shoes I just wore my white jellie sandals from Primark. I think I must have extremely thin skin on my feet because the amount of blisters I get is horrendous. Or it could be the shoes I'm wearing! It is that but beauty is pain. So that's why you can see big old plasters all over my feet.

It was a lovely day with my friends out in front of the Royal Crescent in Bath. We're all graduating this year so we're making an effort to do as much as we can before we all leave.

Until next time!

Sam x