Girly Millenial Pink OOTD

I seem to be on a bit of a roll lately with online competitions, and recently I was lucky enough to win one of Yours Clothing's #winitwednesday competitions on twitter. It was a on a day that's always hard, on my dear friend Jess's birthday who sadly was taken from us when we were 17. We shared a mutual love of butterflies and it seemed like a gift from the universe to make me smile when I suddenly won a dress covered in butterflies!

Dress - Lady Voluptuous for Yours Clothing

Jacket - Matalan (old)

Shoes - Converses

Sunglasses - Sorority Princess by Quay Australia

This dress is quite possibly the girliest thing I've ever owned. In fact, this whole outfit might be the girliest thing I've ever worn! I ended up channelling Amanda Apparel for this look completely by accident. I wore this outfit to a hen do I went on, and when I realised I only had 20 minutes to get ready I gave my youngest step son a bunch of random choices to pick me an outfit real quick. He was feeling the all pink vibes, so all pink it was!

The dress is typical Lady Voluptuous, beautifully made, with a lovely print, and well fitted. Lady V offer dual sizes, and I find them very true to size. This is probably a little more low cut than I would usually wear because I don't have the sort of bust that gives cleavage, but I love it either way and think it would also look amazing on a busty babe too!

The print is a delight, flowers and butterflies in different shades of pinks and hints of blue. The sleeves sit at about elbow length with a fold up that has a really unusual shape, it actually peaks into a 'V' shape in the middle of the sleeves. I really like this detail, it's such a small thing but it's lovely. The top of the dress is a wrap over style, for me personally I might have to pop a stitch in the bust area because it does gape a bit because I don't have much to fill it out, but I don't think anyone with more of a chest would need to do that.

The bottom of the dress is probably my favourite part, the two pleated sections give it a great shape without being too full. You could probably pop a petticoat underneath it if you did want to add more fullness though!

It felt really odd to go out not wearing all pink, but I think the Converses and the pleather jacket made it feel 'Kitty' enough that I wasn't uncomfortable. I might just have to let my step son style me again seen as he did such a great job with this look!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Our First Wedding Anniversary : I Don't Want Children And That's OK

Bell Sleeves & Stripes with LovedRobe*

When it comes to this season's trends, one of my absolute favourites is bell sleeves. It really throws me back to my wannabe goth youth that involved a lot of very long and dramatic sleeves and floating about. When it came to picking out a new piece from LovedRobe's range to try out for my blog, it had to have bell sleeves, and I knew right away what I wanted to try.

Dress - Stripe Print Bell Sleeve V-Neck Dress from LovedRobe*

Leggings - ASOS

Trainers - Rose gold Converses (old)

Sunglasses - Quay Australia Princess style (old)

Bag - ASOS (old)

I mean are those sleeves not an absolute dream?! I'm obsessed! I'm loving monochrome right now, so once I saw these vertical stripes along with the bell sleeves I had to have this. It's a nice lightweight material so it's great for the transitional weather, I can see myself wearing this throughout autumn too.

You guys, those sleeves, just look at them! I want to twirl about and do my best Stevie Nicks impression in them, and for me, that's always a good thing. The top of the neck is a V neck, it's not too low but it gives a nice shape to the top of the dress. It doesn't need much detailing because the sleeves and the stripes say everything you need the dress to say.

I'm 5ft 11 and the dress sits just above knee length on me, so on most it would probably be just below the knee. I love the length, I could wear this for work happily if I wanted to! I was originally going to wear this to a meal we were going out to so I made it a bit more 'me' and put on these new fishnet leggings and some converses. The fishnet leggings are from ASOS and they have a jersey panel along the inner thigh so there's no risk of chub rub, genius! 

The fit of the dress is pretty good overall. It doesn't have any stretch to it, and it is a little tight across my back, but not in a way that really worries me. The waist is elasticated so you could wear it with more of a loose sort of style if you wanted to by pulling the waist up to right under your bust. The arms have plenty of room in them and I have quite chunky upper arms so I don't think that would be a problem in terms of it, but if you are bustier it may be worth sizing up just in case because of the snugness across the back.

This is definitely a new favourite piece that I've added to my wardrobe in a while. It's flamboyant and fun and vertical stripes aren't something you see often enough! It also comes in 3 other prints, all gorgeous florals, and I might just have to get my mitts on one of those as well because I think for £35 this is really reasonably priced.

Are you loving bell sleeves too this season?

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

*indicates an item gifted to me for review purposes. In no way does this impact upon my opinions which are entirely my own.

Why I'm Voting Labour : My Two Favourite Bloggers Right Now 

Floral and Mesh Stripes OOTD*

When it comes to dressing up for more formal occasions, keeping that feeling of 'me' is so important. It can be hard when you have a more alternative style to feel like you've dressed up enough for an occasion whilst still also feeling like yourself. Thanks to City Chic's range at Evans however, I've found some really beautiful pieces that fit the bill wonderfully.

Dress - City Chic at Evans*

Lace Jacket - City Chic at Evans*

I've featured this jacket in another blog post (here) but I totally adore it and always reach for it. It adds an extra layer of warmth but nothing too bulky, and it's a more dressed up way of wearing a biker jacket. I always reach for a biker jacket so this fills me little punk heart with glee. It is SO versatile and I adore it.

This dress has something about it. The print is gorgeous, the floral with mesh stripe inserts is a great combination and the colour tones are incredible. This is a classic fit and flare dress, but they do have this dress in other silhouettes too if something a bit more unusual is more your style. It is so soft and incredibly made, City Chic is a brand I really enjoy and their quality is consistently fantastic. If you like dresses that are a bit different, have a hint of goth or have their own little quirks, check them out. I'm forever eyeing up their range on Evans and wishing I could buy it all!

Just a note on City Chic's sizing, Evans has their XXL listed as a size UK 24, and this is the largest size. However, this size chart has been taken direct from City Chic and doesn't seem to have been converted from US to UK sizes, so their XXL is more of a 26/28, so check your measurements rather than relying on the size conversion they have listed on their website.

These photos are from my photoshoot with the wonderful Shannon Swift. I don't usually share photos of me sat down, subconsciously or not I tend to pose in ways that are more flattering than these photos are. Shannon got me to pose sat down and I love that she pushed me to do something different. And her lighting is EVERYTHING.

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

A Mini George at Asda Homeware Haul : How to Spot Real Fur vs Fake Fur

*denotes items gifted for review purposes. In no way does this impact upon my opinions which are entirely my own.

LovedRobe Cold Shoulder Dress*

When I went to the Curve Fashion Festival I couldn't resist trying on a bunch of LovedRobe's different new autumn/winter pieces. I'm a big fan of LovedRobe, they consistently produce beautiful designs, whether for themselves, or for ASOS or Simply Be. They are always high quality, and they've always been so supportive of me and my blog. I adore them! I decided to try on different colours to what I would usually opt for and fell in love with this dress, which is so outside of my usual colour comfort zone.

This cold shoulder dip hem dress* is green is just so gorgeous! The dress has a great texture to it, it's fully lined too so lies just right. It has a waist section that sits just below my busy, and the length is just above my knee. I'm 5ft 11 so on most people this would be below the knee.

It has a slight dip hem which I like in dresses as it ensures the length stays more even over a bigger bum. The colour and pattern is my favourite thing about this and what really attracted me to it. Green is a colour I love but don't wear enough of, and this dress is my first step to changing that! I usually opt for a darker base but the creamy colour really makes the different shades of green pop.

The dress also has cold shoulders. Now I know, some people consider them to be the ultimate plus size fashion cliche, but I enjoy them! I hate being too warm and that little split can really help regulate your temperature. I know they can be over used, but in this dress they look so cute and add a bit of extra detailing.

You can also get this dress in a rusty colour combination of reds, oranges, blues and greys that is so autumn! You can see Lucy Earnshaw rock the other colour over on her blog here. I think it's a really versatile piece, I went for a girly look with heels, but put on a pleather jacket and stompy boots and you could rock this up too.

Wearing more different colours is part of my new mission for myself, and I've officially fallen in love with green!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Jameela Jamil for Simply Be Midi Dress : Give Me Lace Wingz

*this item was a gift. In no way does this impact upon my opinions which are entirely my own.

Thanks to my Pops for the blog photos!

Halternecks and Flowers

I snagged myself 3 bargains in the Lindy Bop sale, and this is the last one I have to share. You can see the others here and here. This was the dress I felt I took the biggest risk with, as halternecks are always an interesting fit, but I am really pleased with it!

This is the 'Dominique', it has a black base and waist, with bright yellow, pink and red floral patterns. It has a frill on the lower hem which is a really sweet touch. The halterneck is nice and secured once tied, it didn't budge at all. It has a very light padding in the cups which meant I was safe without a bra. It isn't the most secure if you are larger busted, but I just about to got away with it. Though my Mum did insist on safety pinning the cross over section haha!

I couldn't resist pairing a girly dress with my trusty Matalan pleather jacket and black converses. I know, I know, I always style dresses the same way. But I'm still in love with this jacket and I wear it constantly. And obviously I had no objection to Ashen's smiley face posing with me! The shirring on the back of this dress means it's really comfy and the material is soft and lightweight. This is definitely going to be one of my go-to dresses for summer parties, and I hope they have it in more colour schemes and prints too.

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Pink and Black and Yellow and Summer : The Pineapple Dress of Dreams

A Summer BBQ Dress with Dolly and Dotty*

Summer is finally here and cute BBQ looks are the way forward! I love a day outside and a cute dress is my favourite thing to wear. Vintage dresses are just perfect for summer and this pale pink number from Dolly and Dotty is ideal. While they list themselves as stocking sizes 6-24 some of their styles are available in a size 26 and they also stock accessories too.

Nancy Sweetheart Dress in Peach*

I don't usually wear such pastel colours but I had a feeling this peachy colour with my washed out hair would really work together and I think they do! Dolly and Dotty sent me a matching peach belt, and also this bright teal colour which I opted to wear with it. I love the colour contrast. I'm 5ft 11 and it sits just above knee height on me so on most people would be longer. It's a nice light fabric so ideal in the heat. With a pale colour like this I'd recommend making sure your undergarments were also very pale or skin coloured just in case.

This dress is really cute, but as you can see from my bust area, you can definitely size down in it. It has a shirred elasticated back so while this dress goes up to a size 26, if you are bigger than a size 26 you could give it a go! My usual size was really roomy in the bust for me and I needed a size down at least. I'm not particularly blessed in the bust department but if you are you shouldn't have any problems with having room in this dress. The halterneck style straps are in a different place to where I usually expect them to be in a dress of this style but it still felt very secure once tied. Usually they are positioned a little wider but it worked. You could wear the bow on the waist belt on the front or the back, entirely up to you!

This particular style dress is available in a huge range of colours, 15 in total! So if you like it but don't like this pale colour, they have it in everything from brown, to grey, red, green, various shades of blue and more.

Dolly and Dotty have great plans for expanding their size ranges and are really enthusiastic about being able to sell their clothes to everyone, so if you don't currently fit in their range, keep an eye out, they have plans!

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

A BBQ OOTD : A Little Black Dress with Navabi

*denotes items that were gifted to me for review purposes. In no way does this impact upon my opinions which are entirely my own.

A Black & White Bargain

Being a plus size blogger means I've made some lovely friends, and am part of a community. One of the side effects of said community is that it's been terrible on my wallet because other bloggers share their bargains! One of those bargains that I really couldn't resist was a dress from Everything5Pounds who have a surprisingly large plus size section. They tend to sell ex-stock from various other websites, but you have to be quick, the good stuff goes really quickly!

Just like this adorable black and white dress! When another blogger shared this I just had to grab it. Actually, a whole bunch of us did! For a fiver it's a nice fabric to touch and the belt is chiffon which is a nice touch. Ashen decided he wanted in on these photos because he's a poser.

I love a good stripey dress, but so often they are navy and white, and I have a weird thing about navy that means I don't wear it. So when I see a black and white dress I have to have it. It's a really sweet style and I like that it's sleeveless, perfect for summer barbecues when I want to feel more glammed up. I paired it with Converses to make it a bit more 'me'.

Have you ever grabbed any bargains from Everything5Pounds? I'm trying to keep more of an eye on them now!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

My Hen Party Outfit with LovedRobe : A ModCloth Stylish Surprise

Don't forget to click here to enter my blog giveaway!

A Morris-Wood Wedding : My Hen Party Outfit : With LovedRobe*

Picking an outfit for my hen party has been so damn hard. Mostly because the two parts of my hen party are so juxtaposed that one outfit just wasn't going to work for them both! Afternoon tea, followed by a punk gig.... two outfits are needed. I finally have the afternoon tea outfit sorted thanks to the awesome folks at LovedRobe who have sent me a dress for the Miss British Beauty Curve Pageant, that I just can't resist wearing before hand.

It's probably the prettiest dress I've ever owned, and so different to anything I've owned before too!

Ladies and gents and everyone else.... I give you me, in a floral maxi dress.

Isn't it just so pretty?! It's the LovedRobe Floral Pleated Maxi Dress* and it retails for £79. Firstly, the thing that makes me most happy about this dress is the length. I'm 5ft 11, and it's long enough for me in flats! I never wear heels, so that's ideal for me. The fabric feels so luxurious, it's all lined and best of all, it doesn't crease! I hate ironing, so that's just brilliant.

It's a pale blue, which doesn't show up the best on camera, but that print is just wow. Pale blue with pink, yellow, reds, all in wonderful pastel tones. It has a cut out in the front and the back, and ties at the waist. I am aaaaaaall about the mega pleating in the skirt! It gives such great movement and looks incredible.

I feel like a floral fairy princess. I plan on rocking it with sandals for a more appropriate summery look if the weather allows it. It doesn't look it, but it was pretty cold when we took these photos!

I plan on swapping into something more rock and roll for the pink gig party of the hen party (Anti-Nowhere League just happen to be playing locally, so thrilled!) but this was all I could dream of for afternoon tea. I just adore it.

It's very different to what I usually wear, so do let me know what you think!

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

A ModCloth Stylish Surprise : Lady V London Verena Dress Review

*this item was gifted to me, but in no way does this impact upon my opinions which are entirely my own.

Check out my newest plus size clothing holiday haul here!

A Modcloth Stylish Surprise

I'm sure any long term reader of my blog will know by now that I have serious lust for Modcloth. They have some of the cutest and most adorable prints and I want all of their dresses. All of them. So when I saw they were doing their occasional 'stylish surprise' packages I just had to grab one! For $20 you can get a dress in your size, but you have absolutely no idea what dress you'll get. I've ummed and aahed a few times about doing it when I've gotten the newsletter emails about it, and finally decided to go for it this time. $20 keeps you under the limit for custom charges and isn't too huge of a risk if you get something you don't like. Plus, in the UK, Modcloth stuff is popular and in demand for selling second hand, so I went for it!

And this is the dress I got! Totally different to anything I would usually opt for because of the brown/tan colour tones, but actually, a really lovely piece. No sleeves, nipped in at the waist, cute pleats in the skirt, very me style. It's chiffon and fully lined, I think I snagged a real bargain here. I did a bit of googling of the print and found the original dress on Modcloth, it was originally $64.99, wow! It's the 'I Rest My Grace Dress in Feathers'.

The print is really fun, all feathers and random swirls in blues, oranges, greens, blacks and more. It almost has a hint of owl to it. I never wear brown, but because it has the touch of black in it I paired it with my trusty pleather jacket from Matalan and my favourite Demonia faux leather boots. I think it's going to be a good one for feeling a bit more dressed up in the summer because of the chiffon fabric.

While I lucked out and got something different and cute for my wardrobe, not everyone got so lucky. Several other plus size bloggers really didn't do so well! Becky of Very Hungry Faterpillar got sent a jumper instead of a dress which is a total no. Mookie hasn't blogged hers yet, but she got 2 and one was essentially a wedding dress, so keep an eye on her blog in case she shares. I would definitely give it another go because $20 isn't a huge risk and I love so much of what Modcloth do.

Have you given their stylish surprises a go? What did you get and what did you think?

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Lady V London Verena Dress Review : Casual OOTD with Navabi and Tutu Factory