My First Camilla Kaftan

With a Thailand honeymoon planned for October this year, I decided to try on a Camilla kaftan when I was shopping with my mother and sister in David Jones before Christmas. The mother told me not to try it on because of the price tag. "You'll love it and want to buy it," she said. I ignored her advice and toddled over to the changing rooms.

She was right, of course. I loved it. Aside from the gentle turquoise and orange colouring and beautiful embellishments, it felt like wearing nothing! Amazingly light, the silk gliding over the skin like butter. The name of the kaftan is Desert Rose. 

Really, I was quite silly to treat the kaftan in such a flippant manner. A Camilla kaftan is not an everyday purchase. It's an investment. 

The price was around the seven hundred dollar mark, so I put it back and thought that I could save up for it over the year. Then, after Christmas, I received an email from Camilla . It was on sale! So I thought, "Stuff it. I'll put it on my credit card".

It's a little transparent when the sunlight is behind me, so I purchased a white cotton slip. I actually googled "plus size white cotton slip" and I accidentally found a fantastic one from a Brisbane store called Adrift. They have some great plus size stuff! The postage was quick and the packaging was thoughtful. I highly recommend checking out the website HERE. Is it just me, or is finding plus size clothing in cotton really hard? Anyway, I figure that all us plus size Australian babes need to know where all the cotton is at, am I right? 

If you get a chance to buy a Camilla, do it. It ain't cheap, but it's rare to find something that is simultaneously ridiculously comfortable and dripping with glam. 

If you're after a more affordable option, Adrift actually have some lovely cotton kaftans that I've been eyeing off for a while. 

Thanks for reading!

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See A Nice Outfit And Read About My Lump

DRESS diya plus bandeau maxi dress in scarf print via asos curve // BAG general pants

When work finished last year and Christmas drew near, my skin turned on me. My face broke out like I was a teenager again, my scalp developed a scaly and weeping case of psoriasis and I developed not one but TWO cold sores in the worst possible place: on the corners of my mouth, where the mere movement of eating caused them to split back open. I probably get around two cold sores a year and have learnt my triggers and how to treat them. This means that when I get them, they are generally quite small and only last five days or so. Unfortunately, these ones caught me unawares, as they began (or disguised themselves) as a split lip. For this reason, I have spent nearly all five weeks of my summer holidays with cold sores that have taken WEEKS to heal. This also means that I can't even kiss my fiance or wear lipstick, so I've been feeling very sorry for myself.

But that's not all!

A lump started to develop under my chin. I thought maybe it was an ingrown hair, but it got so large and tender that I assumed it was a swollen lymph node - perhaps a reaction to my other skin problems. It felt like I had a ping pong ball under the skin! I'd never experienced anything like it. I was speaking to Jeff about going to the doctor in the next few days if it didn't improve, but he asked to take a closer look. He saw that there was a small scab over the middle of the lump, so he peeled it back and what happened next was Doctor Pimple Popper worthy! I was both horrified and fascinated. I continued to drain it over the next few days and now it's gone right down and doesn't hurt anymore. But after the breakout, cold sores and stinging scalp, it was just another thing that made leaving the house make me want to cry. Jeff was very good at lightening my mood and helping me to laugh at myself by singing Lump by The Presidents of the USA whenever I complained. 

I'm glad to say I'm on the mend now and everything is clearing up. So because I was feeling strangely optimistic and happy to be leaving the house, I decided to dress in my favourite style, boho chic, and get Jeff to take some photos for the blog. 

Thank you for reading, lovelies x

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: Black

I have to admit that most of my clothes come from City Chic or ASOS, so I'm excited about writing this blog post because I've been branching out a little and have tried some other online brands. You may be wondering why I haven't been blogging very often lately. Well, I usually photograph my outfits on the weekends for my blog, but over the last few months my "weekend" wardrobe has become all about comfort and I haven't been trying out many outfits I'm afraid. It's all been a bit boring. I'm excited to get back on the saddle again and show off some of the outfits I've been wearing to work and on the occasional night out. If you're a regular on the blog, you may remember that I am a freelance DJ, and now that wedding season is over, I'm finally getting more weekends off. I had a night out in town two weeks ago - the first one in six months I reckon - and I went to an Oasis vs Blur indie night. It was so thrilling to be able to do that again. These days I get really excited about Saturday nights in, but just occasionally I really crave the nightlife again. I'm not sure why I'm bringing this up, since I'm not actually blogging the outfit I wore out that night in this post!

What I AM wearing is a lot of black, in keeping with this week's Aussie Curve's theme. 

skirt || MISSGUIDED

crop top || GISELA RAMIREZ

coat || IZABEL LONDON (gifted) find it here

shoes || NEW LOOK VIA ASOS

I realise I prefer the coat unbuttoned on me. I love how the sleeves are 3/4 length so it's quite freeing. It's also very lightweight. It's from Izabel London, based in the UK. They have started posting to Australia and have a plus size range of around 200 items. The style of these items reminds me a bit of TS here in Australia, with some more structured items thrown in. Their coats and knitwear are pretty impressive at the moment. This is my first item from Izabel and I've got my eye on a few other things too. However, I found their sizing chart a bit misleading. My recommendation is to go with your regular size, not necessarily the sizing chart. I went by the sizing chart, and thought I'd need to order  two sizes up from my regular size, and found their items swimming on me.

The second brand I tried for the first time, inspired by a post by Suger Coat It, was Missguided. I had some difficulties with signing up and processing payment on several different occasions and just about gave up. However, I persevered and found that by using Safari rather than Firefox, I was able to navigate the website without any hitches. I bought two skirts and a t-shirt, which both fitted me perfectly and were so much better than the pictures implied. I loved the quality and fit of the items. Missguided have more alternative styles which I tend to gravitate towards. I should also mention that I got those three items for $60, free shipping - and the package arrived within a week from Manchester. An absolute bargain for items I've been practically living in!

Thanks for reading! x

Aussie Curves: Bridal

Last year one of my best friends, Ali, got married. We house shared for several years, a ramshackle unit on a beach in Adelaide. I still miss those days. Now Ali lives interstate and I'm a home owner with my partner, so life is very different and grown up now. Janelle was our other housemate and bestie, and she now lives in the Northern Territory. The wedding was the first time we'd all been back together in Adelaide for a while.

I was thrilled to get a phone call from Ali asking me to be her bridesmaid on her special day. If you've ever been asked to be in a bridal party, I'm sure you can understand the sense of honour and privilege you feel.

Discussions and planning commenced pretty quickly, and I suggested we use Light In The Box to select and order our bridesmaid dresses. I'd seen other fashion bloggers review the site, and I was keen to try it. It seemed too good to be true. Just send in your measurements and the dress is posted out to you, for a ridiculously reasonable price. Yes please.

When the dresses started to dribble in, we were all a little nervous to hear from each other about how they turned out.The dresses themselves were beautiful, but all of us needed slight alterations by a dressmaker at some point. I found my dress far too long and the shoulders kept falling down. Also, the plunging neckline was embarrassingly revealing! However, a family friend was able to fix all of those issues. Even though the finished product was gorgeous, I got the impression from the dressmaker that dresses from places like Light In The Box can be really tricky to work with because of how they are made. Something to keep in mind.

I had such a marvelous day and loved being a part of it with my best friends. Ali is the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen, and the day brought out a lot of unexpected emotions. I have a lot of love for those two girls.

Thanks for reading! x

Aussie Curves: Investment Piece

When someone says "investment piece", my first thought is LEATHER. Trendy plus size leather items are kind of rare, aren't they? Maybe I've just been looking in the wrong places, but I have the most luck with ASOS Curve. I have a pencil skirt, dress and two jackets - all in leather - from there. Each item cost more than what I'd usually pay for clothes, but are beautiful to wear and will be in my wardrobe as long as they continue to fit me (and even then, I'll probably hold onto them). 

The most versatile item is this black leather jacket. I was a bit apprehensive about the wide shoulders and was prepared to send it back if I didn't like how it looked. I kept it, though! I wouldn't mind getting another black leather jacket in a different style down the track, one day.

jacket ASOS CURVE || dress CLUB L VIA ASOS CURVE

sunglasses ASOS || boots DOC MARTEN || necklace COLETTE

I wore this outfit to my uncle's 50th birthday dinner. Here's a photo of me with my fella. The couple next to me is my sister Chelsea and her boyfriend. We had a lovely night at the Seaford Hotel, which has been renovated. The meals were delicious!

Where do you get your quality leather plus size items?


Thanks for reading! x

Aussie Curves: Style Inspiration

One of my favourite plus size bloggers is Danielle Vanier, based in the UK. On her blog, she writes, 

The main aim for this blog is to help empower you and to inspire you to feel confident through your choices in clothing and accessories. I want to help inspire you to feel confident about your body (what ever size/shape you are) and to show you that there are beautiful clothes out there, no matter what size you happen to be. I have very rarely let my size affect my style or sense of self worth and if I can help at least one person feel great about themselves then I know I have done a good job!

Well, she has definitely made me feel great about myself and this outfit certainly helps! When I first saw this photo of her on my Instagram feed, I was pea-green with envy (check out her blog post here). I couldn't believe how much I loved this outfit, and I was on ASOS right away trying to replicate the look. I was able to find the exact leggings, but the other items I found were just slightly different. For example, the New Look Inspire "Nothing To Wear" top is a T-shirt, not a sweater.

Also, today is the second of March and let me just say THANK GOD IT'S AUTUMN. So I might actually be able to wear this outfit out and about soon. I'm all about Autumn and Spring - mild weather is where it's at! I'm just not into the extremes, not one little bit. Also, I have a feeling that the faux fur collar is going to be all over the place come winter. I feel like I'm seeing it EVERYWHERE! I am soooo on trend, teehee. 

cardigan: river island via asos || leggings: asos curve || t-shirt: new look via asos || shirt: asos curve

My style inspiration is the bloggers that I follow. I highly recommend signing up to Bloglovin' if you haven't already. You get email updates daily, telling you which bloggers have posted new content. It's wonderful!

Thanks for reading!

Check out the other Aussie Curve bloggers on the blog hop!

My New Gabifresh Bikini

Another year, another collaboration. Working with Swimsuits For All, Gabifresh has designed a number of bikinis and one-pieces, and the online plus-size community is drooling. Including me!

It was the Sea Reef bikini that really caught my eye, though. Admittedly I love all of the designs, but I went with my instincts and pre-ordered it. 

Since I'm a pear shape, I ordered a smaller top and larger bottoms. They both fit perfectly! Now I just have to find the right occasion to wear it. Mind you, wearing it around the house was pretty nice too.

I have to say, I'm always impressed with the quality and customer service of Swimsuits For All. I highly recommend ordering from them if you've been sitting on the fence. I also find their products reasonably priced, and there's always some great sales happening. By the way - I bought this swimsuit myself and they didn't pay me to say that! ;)

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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