This dress was a buy sometime before christmas, and I'm still wearing it most weeks. It's a really nice thick knitted dress in tiger print. I can't even articulate how much I love knit pencil dresses - they're comfortable and glam and most importantly THEY FIT ME. Being mega pear-shaped often means the pencil dress is out of my options if it's made from a structured fabric with no stretch. 

 Bonus face, because I was feeling vain:

Dress, £14, Matalan

Necklace, c. £5, Forever 21

Hoops, £1.50 primark

Belt, £7, Evans

Shoes, Dr Martens, £50

Tights, M&S

 Okay, so I'm wearing a lot of black lately apparently! This is still quite amusing to me, but whatever. This mesh top was one of my favourite buys this year, it was from Inspire at New Look and is actually a body/leotard. Today I'm wearing it with a somewhat ancient pencil skirt and a belt, so it looks almost like a wiggle dress.

Face close up:

 

My lipstick is lime crime velvetines in suedeberry, and is basically the best wearing lipstick I've ever owned! It was a pay day treat last month. 

Body, New Look inspire, £15

Skirt, Forever 21, £8.25

Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7

Shoes, Office, £7

Earrings, £2, Primark

Oh look, it's another pencil dress/boots combo! Er, sorry, no points for originality right now. Anyway, I wanted to post this dress despite that as it's amazzzzzing! I got it from New Look for the grand sum of £15 about six weeks again, and find myself wearing it constantly right now. It's the perfect fitted dress for me, super fitted and yet still comfortable and easy to run about in.

Dress, New Look (available here)
Belt, Dorothy Perkins
Boots, Primark

 

So this Thursday I allowed myself a night off uni work so I could go see the wonderful Lauren  in Hamburger Queen at the RVT. It was an AMAZING night, full of laughing so hard my jaw ached and celebrating talented, unruly fat people. There's still two more heats to go and a final, and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a burst of positivity or just some fun. 

Anyway, cycling shorts seemed appropriate attire for such an occasion. I got these custom made by Allihalla on etsy last year and they're marvelous. Good lazy spring attire (even though it's still bloody freezing). 

Denim waistcoat, altered jacket, New Look

Kitten t-shirt, eBay

Cycling shorts, Allihalla

Creepers, eBay

I'm certain anyone who follows more than one fat fashion blog will have seen this dress by now - it's from New Look Inspire, and has proved pretty popular. Having read a few rad reviews, I decided to buy it when it went into the sale recently (it's sold out now), and I'm glad I did. I'm a big fan of simple jersey dresses for daywear right now, and the cut and big pockets make it pretty good for errand running. I sized down to a 20, because it was all that was left online, and am glad I did as it's pretty generous, and nice and form fitting now. It'll definitely be reworn!

Dress, £12, New Look
Tights, M&S
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Boots, Clarks, £40

This was worn to go to another interview last week. The dress is pretty much my go-to tailoring - it's a ponte knit with enough stretch to wear comfortably for hours on end. I don't find that I'm as confident in traditional tailoring - it's something that isn't made well in larger sizes (too many variables I guess - itchy lining, tight arms, no breathing room). However, this season has been great for finding alternatives in ponte knits, which remain smart enough without being uncomfortable.

Dress, Tesco via eBay for £1.70
Black necklace, £2, Primark
Wide belt, £7, Dorothy Perkins
Tights, M&S
Boots, Rocketdogs, £50

Top picture courtesy of Sarah Price.

Of course, I pretty much had to take the evening event at Plus London Two as an opportunity to wear all of my fanciest clothing at once! I'm quite a quiet person, and I don't go out in the evenings all that often, so blogger events are always a great chance to dress up and swan around shedding feathers everywhere.

The dress was from Torrid via Re/Dress at this year's NOLOSE conference (my first!), and has pretty much been lounging about waiting for an occasion like this. The hat I got at the clothes swap I co-organised last year (news on a second will be revealed soon! Local types might want to keep the end of March free!), and is pretty much the best hat ever. The shoes were an extravagant purchase, from the Doc Martens final sale recently - I've loved them since I first set eyes on them last year, but couldn't justify the price tag for heels which, it must be said, I'm not the best in. However, I'm quite impressed, as I managed to walk around in them for the entire evening without feeling much aching (until the last few minutes) - very unusual for me. As they are docs, they also have good quality sales with grip that makes me feel significantly more confident too, so they will definitely be making an outing again.

Details:
Dress, Torrid via Re/Dress, $30
Feather cape, eBay, £9.00
Hat, clothes swap, £free
Necklace, Primark, £2
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Bag, market, £5
Tights, M&S
Shoes, Docs, £60

The event was fantastic, and it was great to see so many amazing fat women in one space. I never fail to come away from these events feeling empowered in my body and my fashion. There were also some great brands there, including Elomi Lingerie offering bra fittings (and I was very surprised to discover that I am in fact an E cup!), Red Bows Vintage (whose rails I have been wanting to rummage in for a while!), ASOS, and Simply Be. You can see lots of photos from the event at the Plus London 2 tumblr here, and also check out all of our best blogger poses in the Pop Up Studio here. Thanks again to Claire for organising it, and I hope that there will be many chances to see everyone again in the future.

I've owned this mustard yellow midi skirt for a good few months now, and worn it sparingly. I got it in the Dorothy Perkins sale, but have never quite twigged onto the perfect way to wear it, without it looking a bit frumpy and long (I like my skirts mid-thigh, and this is mid calf!). I twinned it with my black velvet scalloped mini dress (which I think I love more as a top now!) to wear to work this week, and I think finally got the styling right. The wide scalloped neckline of this dress, combined with a full skirt, feels very 50s to me - it's simple with just the right amount of unique detailing. I'd love to be able to master a scallop in my sewing projects, though sadly I don't seem to get along with circular hemming. Hmm.

Scalloped mini, worn as top, £3, charity shop
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Skirt, Dorothy Perkins, £15
Brooch, Primark, £2
Boots, rocketdogs, £50

Another day, another doctored granny skirt

Here's my latest doctoring project. I saw some assymetrical skirt in some skinny person shop earlier this year, and I've dreamt of one ever since. This morning I decided to hack up a midi skirt that never really worked for me, cutting it diagonally and making it a little quirkier. I'm happy with the result (though maybe windy Leeds wasn't the best place to debut it!).

Also, I can't help but show off my new boots! I bought them on a bit of a whim, from Clarks in the sale. They're black fleece lined lace ups with a brown clog heel and platform. Despite the heel being larger than I'd ever wear, they're really comfortable because of the big platform. Great to stomp about in!



Deets:

Jacket, old vintage stock
Jumper, clothes swap
Skirt, bought for $5 in an American thrift store this summer
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £5
Boots, Clarks, £40 (still on sale if you want them)