Plus Size Workwear Wishlist

One thing that I love about working in an office is that I get to dress up.  Where I work it is not required that you wear a suit, as long as you look smart and put together.

I am definately one who is never knowingly under dressed and like to experiment with different styles and patterns whilst still looking professional at work.

Here are some of my current favourites on my wishlist.

1   Missguided Twist Dress £35.00

2   River Island dress £60.00

3   Very bodycon dress £19.80

4   BooHoo   Flare Sleeve Blazer £10.00

5   RiverIsland Duster Coat £65.00

6   DorothyPerkins Peplum Pencil Skirt £6.30

Moving My Wardrobe to Autumn/Winter

This weekend I was finally dragged (kicking and screaming I might add) into packing my summer clothes away and greeting the old friends of my Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

As the nights now draw in and the days get colder, my thoughts turn away from pretty Summer dresses and move towards cosy, warm clothing.  Vibrant scarves, faux fur, gorgeous warm clothes that you can wrap yourself up in while still maintaining your style.

It is this point that I have a ruthless cull of anything that I have not worn over the previous season, giving me a good excuse when the seasons change and I change my wardrobes, to purchase a few new key pieces.

That being said, at this time of year my focus has to be on buying Christmas presents and saving for my New Year break away, so my clothing choices and the costs thereof have to be measured.  I always look for free delivery offers and check out sites such as Boohoo Discount Codes and Crazy Clearance for discounts on clothing.  The Boohoo site also donates 20% of its profits to charity, so I can also feel a little philanthropic while I shop.

Here are some of the finds that I have my eye on at the moment.

No need to disregard colour when the cold hits, embrace it!

Asos Curve £35.00

This glittering bomber jacket is perfect for slipping over a party dress or funking up an ordinary weekend outfit

Boohoo £40.00

No florals in Winter?  Think again with this gorgeous dress from Joe Browns

Crazy Clearance £20.00

Everyone needs a traditional Christmas top, my choice comes with baubles!

Very £25.00

 What are your favourites for this season?

South Ruched Sleeve Tea Dress

So I had a spare ten minutes the other day and decided to have a look at the +Very.co.uk to see what they  had going on in the fashion section as I haven't checked it out for ages.  This was perhaps a bad move as I ended up coming away with two dresses...... Oops.

I have one of the dresses to show you today which is a pillar box red tea dress with a blue and turquoise cherry blossom pattern which I adore.  The length is a little shorter than I would normally wear but hey, it is summer after all!

The fit is true to size and I love the skirt to the dress which is very swishy (yes, that is a technical term).  I am 5ft4 for height comparison and I would say that if you are any taller than me then you would definately need tights or leggings.  The sizing ranges from 8 to 24.

I wore the dress with a turquoise necklace that I found in a charity shop, my crochet cardigan from +Simply Be and some Mary Jane shoes from +Clarks 

The South Ruched Sleeve Tea Dress is a lovely dress and for the current bargain price of £25.00, I do urge you to run and get it quick!  

What have you bought lately?

My New Favourite Thing

I thought that I would quickly share my outfit which I have worn to work today.  You have seen the fox print dress before (which can be found at +Very.co.uk ) but what I really wanted to show you was my new necklace which I found from Etsy.

I love all things that are from Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz.  This is the first of my necklaces that I have bought from Etsy recently, I will show you my Wizard of Oz necklace in another post.

 

 

Here is a close up of the necklace

 

 

If you want one for yourself, you can find it here at Etsy

 

What have you been buying recently?

 

 

 

Girl’s Night

Just wanted to share the outfit I wore last night.

Myself and my two best friends had planned a catch up with involved first much gossip, wine and 90’s music at my friend’s house to get us in the mood and then off out into town for a few drinks and a dance.

Alas due to the pulled muscle in my leg I didn’t get to do much dancing, but there was a lot of laughter, gossip and much needed time with two of my favourite people.

I wore my black Hush Puppy shoes, purple tights from Evans and a geometric print dress from South at +Very.co.uk .

After some persuading from my friends, I decided to ditch the little black shrug I had been wearing and went out with bare arms, so was feeling very brave as my arms are a part of my body I don’t like.

I had a fab time though and absolutely loved the dress.   Here’s the link to the dress if you fancy one yourself South Shirt Dress  I really want a mustard colour cardigan to go with it now, but need to be good on the spending front for the moment!

What did you get up to last night?

Feeling Foxy

When it gets to this time of year I start to look for dresses that can make the transition from Summer to Autumn just with a change of accessories.   If that dress can also work for either day or night time, it gets extra bonus points!

I recently spotted the South Lace Insert Day Dress in +Very.co.uk and was immediately drawn to the beautiful lace detailing around the neck and chest, combined with the fox print of the dress.  I knew that I could make it work for both seasons and dress it up or down, so it went straight into my shopping bag.

Today I have been trying to figure out how to wear this dress for an upcoming night out with the girls, so decided to take a few pictures to show you.  I would equally wear this dress at work too, just toning it down a little when Autumn arrives with a black cardigan and some opaque tights.

Shoes from +Next , bracelet was a present

What have you been buying lately?

Beautiful South

I have been so engulfed in the 30 Day Challenge lately that I am trying madly to fit some outfit posts in with everything else I have to do.

I wore this outfit on Sunday, just two photographs unfortunately as they were taken just before I went out for a meal with the family.

I wore a beautiful black top with a Bow Lace Jumper from South at +Very.co.uk - click the link for better photos of it and also Tile Print Peg Trousers, again from South at +Very.co.uk , £22 and £25 respectively.

The red cardigan you have seen before, I think it was £7.00 from Primark.  My lovely lovely bag is from last season at +Next and the shoes are from I don't know where, old but I love them!

Searching for Sandals

Hi, my name is Vicky and I am a shoe addict.  Luckily for my bank balance although not so lucky for me, I have to take a few considerations into mind when I am purchasing shoes.

Any shoe higher than 3-3.5 inches is probably out for my due to my clumsiness and lack of general balance.  

In addition to that I have to factor in my limitations when it comes to stairs which I will inevitably encounter at some point in my day/night.  This  means that I need some flexibility in the soles and again, not too high a heel.

Due to my ridiculous idiosyncrasy that I have to be able to feel the next step in front of me with the front of my toes/shoe means that when it comes to Summer, many sandals are impossible for me to wear.

My quest for the perfect Summer sandal for me is never ending.  All I want is the perfect sandal, fitting with my limitations, in a colour that goes with everything, comfortable and if at all possible, can carry me from day to evening if necessary.  Yes, I want the world in other words.

Well a few weeks ago my search for the best sandals in the world ended when I found the Hush Puppies Faith T-Bar Leather Sandals in gold from +Very.co.uk . 

The sandals are are cushioned slightly which makes them ultra comfortable, they fit perfectly and one key feature for me, they didn’t need breaking in whatsoever and didn’t have that annoyingly slippery surface that new shoes sometimes have.  I’m in love!

Whilst at £45.00  they are a bit more than you would generally pay for a pair of sandals, for me the price is totally justified as I can wear them with anything, they work as well with jeans as they do with dresses and I can make it up a flight of stairs without looking like a complete fool.

Have you found your perfect Summer sandals?

Oh Holly!!

I recently wrote a post called “What is a Real Woman?"

I feel obliged to mention it again as I have just seen the new Very campaign with Holly Willoughby.  Now I love Holly and I love the clothes that she is associated with on Very.  But this ad campaign leaves a sour taste in my mouth I’m afraid.

A competition has been launched to find “real women” to walk the catwalk and model her collection.  She has been quoted in their blog saying:

“I want to show the clothes as they should be seen, on real women with real figures walking down the catwalk. This is when the clothes will look their best.”

What does that even mean?   Holly, Holly, we are all real women, whatever our size.  A woman is just as real at size 6 as she is at size 30.    

We all have a body.  We all wear clothes.  We all wear our clothes in different ways, with different attitudes and with varying amounts of confidence.  A dress can look fabulous on a woman of any size.

Design a collection for specific sizes if you want Holly, but don’t say that it is for real women.  Size 6 or size 30, every woman is real and has a right to dress, feel and be how she wants.

Wardrobe Staples

There are a few things that every girl should have in her wardrobe.  One of them is a biker jacket.

A biker jacket is one of those items that I have always meant to buy, but have never gotten around to purchasing.  They are just as perfect with jeans as they are with a pretty dress.

After reading MrsBeBe's post today which showed her styling of a biker jacket with a floaty dress, I have decided to have a look around and have picked out my favourites with a view to hopefully buying one soon.

Image from Asos Curve
£100.00

I love the zip detailing to the wrists and the quilt trim to the this jacket.  It can be found here

Image from So Fabulous at Very
Currently £34.00

 I like the simple styling on this jacket.  It has a quilted look to the shoulders but generally it allows your clothing to make the statement whilst providing a stylish finish.

Image from Yours Clothing

£65.00

This jacket is very on trend at the moment with the studding detail to the shoulders and the side buckles.

So those are my favourite biker jackets available at the moment.  Now I just need to decide which one is right for me and get saving!

   

Spring, Where art Thou?

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I don't know about you, but I for one am absolutely sick of the Winter now.  I've had it with the cold, I 've had it with the multi layers of clothing, I've had it with boots, I've just had it basically.

 

Last night I decided that whilst I couldn't physically change the season, I could dress a little more to suit Spring weather which would a least make it feel a little better.  So after raffling through my wardrobe I came across this dress which I bought from Very

 

I am only just starting on flower prints but already have a few in my wardrobe and they seem to be everywhere this season!

 

 

 

 I have worn the dress today with a black jumper underneath to keep me warm and also to ward off the usual excess cleavage that a wrap dress seems to come with!  The bow belt is also from @Very and I have teamed the dress with opague tights and some long boots.

 

 

How do you combat Winter fashion when you have had enough?

 

Hearts & Flowers

Against my better judgement and ignoring what my purse told me, I couldn’t resist having a little look on the Very website when their recent “70% off” email popped into my inbox.

I have a rule when sale shopping.  Don’t buy whatever you normally go for.  My view on it is that whatever you tend to usually buy when it comes to clothing, anything you may have wanted you have already bought, put on your wish list or bought a different example elsewhere.  

Sales are the times for change, for something new, and being daring.

My form of daring is patterns.  Having only in the past few months moved away from having a wardrobe crammed with black and dull clothing, colour is just about settling in my mind whilst prints are still scaring me somewhat.  

So, with an aim on buying something new, bright and patterned, I ended up with these two lovelies. 

I love the heart print black and white dress as it is something that I can style for work, a Saturday afternoon out somewhere nice or dressed up for an evening with a pair of killer heels.  The dress is still available and can be found here "So Fabulous Ditsy Day Dress" .

The flower print dress is definitely the one that frightened me the most.  Flower print?  Me?  Really?  The jury is out on that one at the moment, especially as I couldn't get a good photo for love nor money.  But in any case, you can buy it here "So Fabulous Tea Dress".

I'm still getting used to taking photographs of myself and need a better camera, but bear with me.

How do you do your sales shopping?