Hello From The Other Side

blue dress XL CITY CHIC// necklace LOVISA

I am very pleased to be blogging again after having such a dry spell over the past year. I have missed it a great deal. I don't really even have a proper reason why. I guess after moving into our first home and the DJing taking off over wedding season, I was just too busy and put blogging in the "too hard" basket. In that time, I also stopped checking my favourite plus size fashion blogs regularly and started checking Instagram once a week instead of the usual two or three times a day. 

It seems silly considering that I still spend a lot of money on clothes and enjoying what I wear, and since I've been on holidays over the past few weeks I've felt rested enough to feel the drive come back. Plus, I also need to write blog posts about getting engaged and finding a wedding dress! Both of which I have not announced on my blog or on Instagram, and I plan on fixing that over the next week or two. 

Although I haven't been quite so immersed in the online plus size fashion community, I've dabbled here and there, checked out hashtags, popped back onto some of my favourite blogs and checked out new brands. Exciting things seem to be happening! New faces are popping up too. It feels like there's a new phase of the revolution. A settled, more steady growth of body positivity, and I don't want to miss out!

Now onto my outfit. This dress came out in black at City Chic in the pre-Christmas season. I bought it because the fabric was very light and comfortable, with no lining. Perfect for a scorching hot day. Then it came out in blue as an online exclusive, and I leapt at the chance to have it in such a dynamic and eye-catching colour. Easy to wear, but great impact - and can be dressed up or down. 

One of our rabbits jumped into the photo without me realising, too. 

Thanks for reading. Maybe comment below, and then I'll know if people still read this! haha

Wine, sun & a new dress

Just a quick one today. I picked up this dress in the City Chic sales in January and it's just darling. The perfect outfit for day trip through McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. Many wines were tasted. I love South Australia. 

A Pop Of Colour

I thought I'd pop onto my blog today to write a post because I have some outfit photos that I haven't written about yet, and I suddenly realised how long it's been since I did this. I'm sitting at the table with some crackers and pate, contemplating a cup of tea, and I actually feel nervous. Will I remember how to do this? It's a little hard to explain why I've neglected my blog because there's a few factors involved. But mainly it's because it's harder during winter when there's no daylight saving. Also, I've become more shy with taking photos in public places, but I'm sick of my backyard as the backdrop. Perhaps the most honest reason is that my fashion choices are more conservative these days, or just plain lazy and convenient - and therefore boring! Having said that, I do have some bloody awesome pieces that are yet to be blogged. I have some big non-fashion news to share too, so I'll make sure I take some time to do some catch up posts.

I've been excited to blog this particular outfit because this skirt from Missguided is so damn awesome. It's a pencil skirt, but the red tartan fabric belt is attached, which means I can feel a bit more comfortable about my VBO (visable belly outline) - not something I have amazing confidence about. 

The long cardigan is from City Chic and the plain black tee from ASOS. All together, the outfit is very 90s, which I kind of love, and the red belt gives it just the right pop of colour. 

I love a lot of the clothes on Missguided, so it's a shame they don't have a larger plus size range, or a quicker turnover of new stock. They seem to keep outfits up for ages, even though they are sold out in all but one size. I also found their website very difficult to navigate on Firefox for some reason. I had to use Safari to finally checkout. But that might just be issues with my browser version, perhaps. I have to say, I love the sizing though. Quite generous - probably on par with the ASOS Curve brand.

What has been your experience with Missguided?

Thanks for reading! x

Aussie Curves: Date Night

Jeff and I haven't gone out on a "date" in a while because we've been making more of an effort to eat in. It sounds boring, but we're totally obsessed with Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals right now. A lot more thought and effort has been going into our grocery shopping and buying our vegetables from farmers markets. We are really enjoying cooking together and trying new things. 

But I know my boyfriend, and if I was out to impress, this is something I'd wear. He waited outside for me with the camera, and when I appeared, ready for him to photograph this outfit, his first reaction was, "Rowr!" He loves well structured pieces. I feel more myself in flowing bohemian-type styles, but I still keep outfits like this around to impress the fella.

shoes: new look via asos || top: city chic || skirt: junarose via asos curve

I first saw this City Chic spliced corset crop on SpijkerKat's Instagram. I thought it looked amazingly sexy on her, and I thought it was a bit different to the usual City Chic stuff. The skirt is also a bit unusual, but I'm enjoying mixing it up a bit. Gabifresh is wearing a white version here, with a matching white top. It's positively breathtaking. Fashion goals right there.

Thank you for reading! x



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OOTD: City Chic Aztec Dress

For Halloween this year I dressed up as Cleopatra. I didn't get many photos of my costume but I'll do a Halloween post soon anyway! In this outfit I'm wearing the gold bracelet cuffs I bought specifically for the Cleopatra ensemble but totally fell in love with. They're just cheapies from Colette, but are just the right touch for this City Chic Aztec resort dress (sold out, but similar here). This dress was love at first sight. I love the colours, but my favourite thing is the adorable pick-up/bubble hem that gives the whole thing a fun, flirty feel, especially when the wind picked up a bit here, haha!

I bought the shoes from Joanne Mercer a few years ago, and the green is the perfect match. I absolutely love how this dress makes me feel. So comfortable and summery, and yet glamorous!

Thanks for reading! x

Aussie Curves: Everyday Style

For some reason, I interpreted this week's theme "Everyday Style" as what I wear to work. With that in mind, I set up my tripod to take photos of my outfit after work on Monday. The outfit captures the essence of what I've been wearing lately. Leggings or stockings with a dress and blazer. 

My workplace does not have a dress code. A lot of schools adopt a no-denim policy, but the only instruction I've heard on the matter is, "Don't dress like you're going to a family barbeque" and a few subtle hints about my tongue piercing - which luckily I was happy to take out anyway. As a result, teachers cover a wide spectrum of styles and "effort". You get your PE teachers who saunter into school wearing trackies and a t-shirt (like, seriously).  Women who wear a lot of purple. Beautiful, pressed suits. Lots of blazers. Pretty scarves. Unwashed hair. Thrift shop basics. One grey dress (or grey suit) worn everyday of the week. Beautifully styled hair. Short, low-maintenance pixie cuts. Spats, sneakers, sandals (sometimes with socks). Freshly shaven. Biblical beards. No make up. Bright red lipstick everyday (me). Teachers who don't wear make up to school are pretty smart, as it becomes your "norm" and that's how people expect you to look. If I turn up to school without makeup - or even just a bit of BB cream and blush - I get odd looks all day and "Are you okay? You look tired". 

Over the years I've worn hundreds of styles to work. The librarian suggested I start a fashion blog. So I did. Having said that - my style has toned down a bit. A mixture of wanting to appear a bit more "professional" and dare I say it - more "mature" so that others would view me more seriously, perhaps. Don't get me wrong - I still wear lipsticks that are ridiculously bright and choose the pink stockings over the black every now and again - but I've definitely become more boring and value comfort equally to style these days.

dress ASOS CURVE || blazer CITY CHIC || stockings CITY CHIC || shoes Dr MARTENS

Thanks for reading!

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Aussie Curves: Boho Look 2

The outfit I wore for the last Aussie Curves Boho week, is still my favourite outfit post on my blog, like EVER. I don't wear a lot of boho in general, but I love the look and I have a few favourite outfits that I always go back to. I wear this dress to work when it's really hot because it's not lined and is a nice breathing fabric.

Dress: Thrifted via Savers, Noarlunga SA

Necklaces: Thrifted

Shoes: BETTS

Belt: CITY CHIC

Sunglasses: COTTON ON

Thanks for reading! xx


 

Aussie Curves: Activewear

The only form of exercise I've ever been able to stick to is swimming. I tried the gym and walking, but neither lasted long. I can be a pretty lazy person, especially because I love sedentary activities, like reading and writing and watching films. I had to be really honest with myself. I didn't want to psych myself up to join another gym or get into a walking routine because I knew it wouldn't last and I'd end up hating it like all the other times.

So I found my local pool and started swimming laps after school. I did this for ten weeks, and didn't get sick of it. Then over the summer holidays I skipped the pool and went to the beach instead (it's across the road from my unit). I bought a snorkel and explored my little piece of the coast. It wasn't as vigorous as swimming laps, but it still felt good to get out there. Now that school has started back, I'm keen to getting back into my routine at the pool. 

Just one photo from me this week. I'm wearing a swimsuit from Swimsuits For All and the swim skirt is from City Chic. I wouldn't swim laps in this, but it's nice for a leisurely beach snorkel! 

I'll be writing a review soon on the book, The Unapologetic Fat Girl's Guide to Exercise, by Hanne Blank, as part of my Body Loving Book Review series. So keep an eye out for that!

Thanks for reading! xx

Aussie Curves: Animalistic

I wore this outfit late night shopping tonight. I went into Best and Less to buy my favourite knickers, got to the counter to line up and realised that one of my students from last year was serving. Deciding not to subject the two of us to the embarrassment, I promptly returned my four pairs of size 22 control briefs and made a swift exit. I have to admit, I was pretty annoyed about it though. Yep, I get super excited about new knickers. 

So about the outfit. I'm wearing my Jurassic TART t-shirt, as my boyfriend calls it. I bought it around the time that Jurassic Park was released in 3D. I was pretty excited about it, teehee.

t-shirt: ebay || skirt: city chic || clutch: dangerfield || boots: dr marten

Thought I'd throw that last one in for good measure. The boyf asked me to pretend I was a t-rex trying to scratch my face. So yeah. That's what I'm doing there.

Bye!! xx

From Babelicious to Goodbye Eyebrows!

I had seen this dress in the occasional Instagram photo and was always quite amazed at how beautifully it photographed. The colours in the dress are just stunning. 

At the time I took these photos, it was so bright and it seemed to take a lot of editing to get them to look right. The photos looked faded out and discoloured, which was really disappointing because I knew the dress could photograph well.

I got it in the City Chic sales for $40. Such a great price! I wore it to a wedding where I was to DJ, hence the heavy Doc Marten boots (foot safety is very important when you have to load in heavy gear!). 

With a bit of orange lippy and rose gold jewelry, I felt totally babelicious in this dress! Of course, after half an hour of lugging heavy speakers up a flight of stairs in the glaring sun, I felt more like a drowned rat; my eyebrows had dripped down my face and the foundation on my forehead was long gone....sigh. What's a girl to do?

Thanks for reading! xx