Body Jewellery Shop Review

I love getting piercings. I've had over 25, but currently have around the 11 mark. The one I've always struggled with, is cartilage piercings in my ears. I wear a hearing aid, and am a terrible sleeper, and they never seem to heal just right. Plus, my hearing aid rubs on them! As an alternative, ear cuffs have become a really fashionable and viable option. I have 8 ear piercings, and love them, but this is another way to have more without the commitment and hassle of healing them!

Top left - 3 BCR Ear Cuff*

Bottom left - 3 Ring Ear Cuff*

Right - 5 Ring Ear Cuff*

The Body Jewellery Shop were kind enough to send me some to try out. They have a huge range of ear cuffs, as well as other body jewellery. I've bought from them several times as they stock everything from plugs for stretched ears, to tongue bars and more. I tried out some of the more simple designs, but they have some gorgeous pieces, like this Spider Web Ear Cuff that I love.

How much fun is that? And you don't have to have any piercings to wear it. Their ear piercing jewellery I tried is made of surgical steel, so is very easy and comfortable to wear.

Aren't they so cute? I feel very elf-like in ear cuffs. They can be worn high on the ear, or lower, and simply slide onto the ear. I wanted to give them a proper test drive, so wore the longest one for the full day at my job. I answer the phone regularly, and I had no trouble at all with it! These might be a 'clip on' style, but there is none of the pinch associated with the old school clip on earrings for lobes. I forgot I was wearing it to be honest!

I think they add a subtle, but really cute extra bit of detail to a look. I felt so adorable! I love the way The Body Jewellery Shop have designed their website, so you can search by the location on the body of the piercing, as well as material, so if you have any allergies you can easily rule out the problem material.

Don't they look sweet? 

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

*these items were gifted to me for review purposes, but all opinions are as ever, my own.

New Look Inspire Try On Session

I recently popped into my local New Look which has an ever decreasing Inspire section. It had a sale section so I thought I'd try a few bits on I'd been eyeing up and see how they fit.

First up, a little tartan number that wasn't on sale, but I have been lusting after since it first appeared on the website.

Check Skater Dress

This dress is so damn cute! New Look stuff is often on the short side for me, but this was perfect for me. The check print and the fit are very me, and the fit is great. I might just have to go back for this!

Rust Suedette Stitch Panel Cami

I wanted to like this. Suede is really having a moment and this rust colour really works for it. I sized up as I hoped to wear it more oversized. The length was good, but the stitch panel wasn't quite right, I wish it was plain on the front.

Burgundy Suede Panel Skater Dress

I have looked at this dress a few times, and at £10 I felt it was meant to be. But sadly, it was not. It fit great, the suedette panels are cute and the colour is a favourite of mine for winter, but it has a problem I just couldn't look past.

The lining leaves this awful line in the bust area. I tried several different ways to fix it and lie it flat, and it just wouldn't. Such a shame! I would have loved this otherwise. It was all I could look at, so even for £10 on sale, I couldn't buy it.

So what do you think, do I go back for the tartan dress?

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Don't forget to check out my newest YouTube video!

Screw The Fashion Rules

Being plus sized is hard. It’s harder to go shopping, you can’t just walk in anywhere and pick up something you like in your size. It’s harder to just exist, because there is so much fat shaming and abuse that happens simply because we exist. And it’s hard because there are so many so called ‘rules’ of fashion we are told we should follow because we are plus sized.

Well I say screw that! Wear whatever you want! Wear what you love. There are all real rules I’ve pulled from articles I’ve read over the years.

1)      Don’t wear horizontal stripes.

This is a personal bug bear of mine, because I love stripes and that nautical look. This idea that stripes are unflattering, or make us look wider, so we shouldn’t wear them, it’s just silly! If you want to rock the stripes, rock them! Flattering is just a concept after all.

2)      Emphasise your assets.

Maybe this doesn’t seem like a really negative rule…. But if you have a larger bust, do you really want every day to be a boob day? If you have a smaller waist do you really have to nip it in with a belt every day? That’s boring! Change up your silhouette and reject the notion that you have to play up what society tells you are your best assets.

3)      Use black to hide your ‘problem’ areas.

First off, you don’t have any problem areas. You just have areas that you’ve been told are bad. Don’t feel that you have to wear black because it’s traditionally considered a ‘slimming’ colour. Wear bright colours and prints and have fun with colour! Never feel you have to swathe yourself in black and hide away.

4)      Always wear shape wear.

There is nothing wrong with shape wear. Sometimes a fabric might show off your knickers a bit too much, or not quite lie right, and a smooth shape is preferable, but you really don’t have to smooth everything out. Personally, I haven’t worn shape wear in years and years, because I just haven’t found anything I think is particularly comfy, and I just don’t care! Rock that VBO (visible belly outline) if you want to. Humans don’t have smooth bodies naturally, we have all different lumps and bumps and shapes.

5)      Avoid baggy clothes.

I happen to love baggy clothes. The old rule was that baggy clothes hid our figures, so now they should be avoided instead. But sometimes you just want to be cosy and a baggy t shirt is the way to go! Baggy or oversized clothes can look really chic, a lot of my office wear involves oversized tops, and I love how they look.

6)      Don’t wear loud prints/show off your arms/wear shorts…

So this one is a more general one, because I hate seeing people being told what they shouldn’t wear. Ultimately, if you want to show off your legs, wear a mini skirt, buy those shorts! Want to get your arms out? Don’t be afraid, kick ass in that sleeveless dress! Want to embrace the trends and wear those fun prints you’ve been seeing? Do it! Funk up those prints, and mix them altogether if you want.

Rules were always made to be broken, so have fun with fashion, and screw what other people tell you that should or shouldn’t do. It’s your body and your life, so live it!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

November Favourites

November seems to have been a month that couldn't have been over soon enough. It's so close to Christmas now so I am concentrating on that!

First up, I'm nominated for a Navabi blogger award! I've never won anything for my blog, and I don't imagine I will this either, but it's super fun to be nominated. If you want to vote for your favourite bloggers, click the picture below

I got a few exciting bits in November, so here are my faves.

First up has to be this Candy Strike dress. I ordered it a few months ago when they announced they were sadly closing, and I am so glad I managed to get something from them before they closed. I wrote a full blog post about it here.

Part of my Crown & Glory Glitterati box, this amazing painted rose flower crown was part of their Alice in Wonderland theme. And I am obsessed! It almost looks like blood which I love. This was exclusive to the Glitterati so isn't available for sale, sorry! I filmed an unboxing for this on my YouTube channel.

Ashen's new hi-vis jacket! As a furbaby Momma, their health and safety is top of my concerns list, and especially in winter I worry about how easy it is to see my babies. Ashen is predominantly black as a rottie cross, so whilst I always walk him on the lead in areas with roads/populated areas, there is always that risk that something could happen and he could get loose or panic unexpectedly. It's so dark at night now, that a hi-vis is a must for him. I want him to be incredibly visible just in case. I also have a light up collar on order for him that hasn't arrived yet. This one is really bright and the reflective parts are crazy bright! I got it from Amazon, and it is available in different sizes, Ashen is wearing the X Large.

Another Crown & Glory Glitterati box goodie! Our boxes were slightly late this month due to a delay in something being shipped to them, we were told right away and in our secret Glitterati group no one minded the extra wait, we knew it would be so worth it! They popped this silver moon hair clip in as an extra way to say sorry, which was so sweet. And I was thrilled. I'd seen a similar clip on ASOS and loved it but it was only available in gold, which is not my thing, so when I received the silver version I was so pleased. It holds really well in my hair.

I won a voucher from The Serpent's Club and bought this gorgeous Sabbat necklace. It is so striking and pretty, it comes in different stones, but I opted for the opalite as I adore it. I was worried it would rotate but it actually sits perfectly all the time which I was impressed with, the skull is weighted just right.

I buy a lot of my clothes second hand, from Ebay, Depop or other bloggers, and I snagged myself this dress from Kate London-James. It was originally from Yours Clothing, and it is such a 'me' sort of dress. I love a midi for autumn, especially with 3/4 sleeves, and the rose print is lush. This is so the perfect autumn dress. I bought this back in October but it arrived in November so I wanted to feature it in here.

So these are actually from October's Crown & Glory Glitterati box, but I've been wearing them so much more this month. I love butterflies, and I love the versatility of these clips. They have them in more colours I'd love Santa, just in case you are reading this! I'm quite surprised I've managed to keep hold of these, my Mum is always eyeing them up.

What are your favourites from November? Let me know!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Check out October's favourites.

A Scarlett & Jo Surprise

EDIT - While the quality of their clothes isn't in doubt, I cannot encourage anyone to buy from Scarlett & Jo or support their business for ethical reasons.

Recently the Scarlett & Jo launched their own website! I have been really excited to see this, S&J really care about what they do, and really love what they are doing. Their website is a wonderful thing, the range of models is so diverse, there truly is every body shape and size wearing their clothes and looking amazing. So many brands claim to care about all sizes of customers, but so few then actually use models who don't conform to the 'acceptable' side of plus size. Hour glass figures, big boobs, small waists, tall, white. So to see what Gifi has done with S&J fills me with joy!

I've been ordering a lot of Christmas presents lately, so when a box turned up for me I assumed it was one of those. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up to discover a Scarlett & Jo box inside! I hadn't ordered anything, and had no idea anything was being sent to me, it was such a treasured marvel!

My beautiful surprise inside came wrapped up in tissue paper in this box, it's so well presented! I couldn't wait to open it.

And inside was this gorgeous fit and flare dress with lace shoulders! It is so very 'me'. The neckline is incredible. I don't have much of a bust, but it really played up what I have! It is very short on me, I'm 5ft 11 after all, but I paired it with some mesh leggings from ASOS, an old ASOS belt, and my favourite stompy boots, and I was well away. The dress hangs slightly longer at the back, so while it is short, my butt was well covered! I went out for dinner in this dress with my family and got compliments all round.

I couldn't resist an extra cheeky selfie in the bathroom at the Kingsway. It had a freaking chaise lounge in it! I added accessories in the form of a Rosa Pietsch necklace and a Crown & Glory flower crown. S&J were also kind enough to send me some truly lush midnight blue velvet leggings that I will post as soon as I have a good outfit photo of them. I often find velvet leggings to really slide when you wear them, but the stretch and fit of these doesn't feel like they will.

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

ps. Don't forget to check out my new YouTube channel!

Check out my last OOTD here.

Photoshoot with Indie Fox

I hardly ever put out casting calls on PurplePort, but I did recently and was totally thrilled when the gorgeous Indie Fox responded to it. I love shooting plus size models, and I really try hard to have as much diversity in my portfolio as I can. I think it is so important to showcase all the different kinds of beauty, and believe it is one of my responsibilities as a photographer. We worked together to produce a bunch of different sets for Zivity, a paysite I shoot for. I love Zivity because it is body positive and so inclusive.

First up we shot a simple set with this fab Killstar tshirt. I love a mix of casual and sexy!

Next up we shot some classic black and white lingerie photos. Hasn't Indie got the most beautiful face?!

We had so much fun working together. I clicked with Indie really well and we nattered while we worked.

Just look at that face!

You know I couldn't not shoot this amazing leopard print ensemble! I think the blue of this location, combined with the leopard print and Indie's red hair look so good together.

I don't do much in photoshop, just some colour adjustments. Indie has great skin and posed her butt off.

I fell in love with this velvet dress! It's like, something teenage Wednesday Addams would wear. Love it!

Sometimes I like to do a bit more of an unusual edit, and with the pleather corset I thought this red look would work so well. Fetish glam!

For our final set of the day I had a rather.... unusual concept in mind. I proposed it, and got a yes! I always love when models are up for something crazy. I went out in the garden to prepare the concept while Indie got ready.

How many models would get naked in a bath full of autumn leaves for you?

I absolutely LOVED shooting with Indie, and I really hope we get to work together again soon.

I also filmed a little behind the scenes vlog!

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

Check out my last photoshoot blog here.

OOTD : Candy Strike

So before I get on with the actual blog post, I wanted to tell you guys I've been nominated for a Navabi blogger award! You can vote for me (or all your other faves) here.

It is so sad when a truly innovate and wonderful independent plus size brand closes it's doors. When Candy Strike announced that they were doing one final run of their dresses before closing, I was gutted and had to order myself the dress I had been lusting after. I hope one day they will be back, but in the mean time they have a small etsy store with some t-shirt designs here.

Dress - Candy Strike

Pleather jacket - Matalan

Leggings - ASOS

Boots - Demonia

Flower crown - Crown & Glory

Necklace - The Serpent's Club

Rings - BloodyMary Metal

You might have noticed by now that I have a bit of a thing for moths, so this dress was an easy choice for me. I went for the pink version of this dress, and I am so thrilled with it. It is so soft and comfy. Patches my old lady cat is obsessed with it and won't stop sitting on me! I'm 5ft 11 and the length is great on me.

I wanted to give the dress a more 'rocky' look, so paired it with my pleather jacket and favourite boots. I so love contrasting really girly looks with rock and roll twists, it's so perfectly me!

I think someone was thinking of me when they made this.

I had to share a close up of this gorgeous necklace from The Serpent's Club. I was lucky enough to win a voucher on their instagram and I knew immediately what I was going to get. Opal/opalite is one of my favourite stones, and this skull carved from it is lush. All rings, save for the two with black stones on my ring fingers are BloodyMary Metal. I wear all of these every day and even sleep in them. Love!

Who are your favourite independent plus size brands? I am always looking to support more!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Check out my last outfit of the day post here.