Forest Green Dress

I have been completely remiss in posting my outfit posts on here lately but when I got dressed this morning I couldn't wait to take some photographs of my outfit, so here they are!

 

I am wearing a new green dress from +Simply Be which is actually sleeveless but the weather is far too cold for that, hence the black cardigan (South from +Very.co.uk )!  My two bird necks I bought from Primark yesterday and the large statement necklace I managed to find in a charity shop but was originally from Per Una at Marks & Spencers.

 

 

 

 

When, Where, How?

I have a confession to make; I am a little bit addicted to Don't tell the Bride. I love to watch the grooms running around in a panic, sometimes making the strangest of choices which 8 times out of 10 work out perfectly.

One of the biggest changes is where people choose to hold their weddings.  Did you see the one where the venue was a tree house? Totally impractical for the amount of people, but amazing none the less.  Times aren't what they used to be and people don't always want to have the traditional kind of wedding. Whether it be the venue, the theme, in a church; many people now like to have their own spin.

It did get me thinking though, how do you find these sort of places?

One place to try would be a wedding venue directory like Confetti.co.uk  I think sites like these are great as they give you a bit more inspiration and also, if you want to of course, help you to think a bit more out of the box in terms of what might be available to you.  

At the start of your search you may just be thinking a simple hotel but by using these sort of directories and searches you can often find something that is completely bespoke to what you want.   A wedding by the sea, a themed Victorian wedding in a museum; an Alice in Wonderland extravaganza; anything is possible!

It all depends of course on the amount of cash you have to spend, how many people you are inviting and whether you want intimate or grandiose.  

How would I do it? Well that would be telling now wouldn't it ;)

*PR Collaboration - Sponsored.

Friday Rant

There has been something swirling round in my head for a while now, so where better to let it out than here?  So here we go:

Phobias.  There are thousands of phobias in the world.  Some of them are commonly known such as claustrophobia or arachnophobia; others not so, like Bambakomallophobia (fear of cotton wool) or climacophobia (fear of stairs).

I have previously talked about my phobias when it comes to stairs on this blog.  For those that haven’t read: I get dizzy when coming down stairs and have to hold on to the handrail.  If there is no hand rail my head starts to spin and I have practically morph myself into the wall to get me down the stairs.  Going up, my foot has to be touching the step in front and again, have to hold the handrail for dear life.  In short, stairs terrify me, even as little as three steps.

Whilst this phobia isn’t debilitating it is something that I face every day as obviously it is impossible to completely avoid staircases.  My workplace has the biggest staircase ever, go figure.

That isn’t the issue that has been irritating me though.  Here is where I am having my little strop.

I am SICK of people laughing at me when they see me on the stairs.  I can understand somebody the first time of seeing me asking me why I am going so slowly (although I fail to understand why you would ask someone who is clearly having issues with the staircase questions whilst they are still on staircase).  I don’t mind explaining the first time because it does look odd.  But after that, there is no excuse.

It is RUDE to laugh at me, it is WHOLLY impolite to say “Oh aren’t you funny” and it is FUCKING HORRIBLE to run down the stairs at me on purpose when you know damn well that I am scared.

You wouldn’t do anything of those things to someone with a better known phobia.  You wouldn’t trap a claustrophobic person into a wardrobe and you wouldn’t throw a spider at an arachnophobic person so don’t behave that way towards me.  It isn’t something I chose to be affected by and I can’t just “get over it” and I can’t “just try walking down the stairs normally” (really??? Never thought of that, you fuckwit).

And……. Breath.

I feel much better after saying that.  Sometimes you just have to get a little rant on and everything feels better again.  Apologies for the swearing and not “using my words” but sometimes, nothing but the word fuck will do.

Instagram!

Sooooo, I have a new toy.  After changing my phone contract a few weeks ago I finally have joined the cult of Instagram.  If you want to follow me by the way, you can find me at http://instagram.com/viclandfrankly

Here are a few of the photos that I have been posting so far.  Beware, heavy on the selfie!!

Not a bad start for my first month!  How adorable is my little dog though?  She absolutely hates that jumper though so she has only worn it for the photograph!

Romance in the City

 

Today's fashion thoughts have all been centred around city chic mixed up with a romance theme.  This is what I came up with.  Two words, those shoes!!!

Dress

Bracelet

Handbag

Shoes

Earrings

Necklace

 

The Plus Perspective

Today is the start of a new project collaboration with Fashion Worked.

I will be guest posting once a month on a series called 'The Plus Perspective'.

I think that this is going to be an exciting new project. I will be talking about body confidence, learning to love your own body image and of course, plus size fashion!

You can find my first post on the 'real women' debate here.

http://fashionworked.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/the-plus-perspective/

Hope you had a great weekend!

Vicky xx

I Feel Good

You know sometimes when you spend ages getting ready for a night out, an event or even just a blog post, and the reflection in mirror isn't what you hoped? This challenge is for those times when you look in the mirror, no pre planning involved, and think "I look good today".

We all have our good days and our bad, but this challenge is to record those good days and to remember that confidence, at any size, is beautiful.

 

Today I am posting my morning face.  The morning where despite my best efforts, I'm still half asleep, my eyeliner is inexplicably only half on and I have forgotten my foundation.  I haven't had my coffee yet and I got to work on auto pilot.    This was taken this morning and thankfully I have come around this then but do you know what, I don't look that bad.

 

Zombie face.

 

 

Please check out the other lovely ladies in this challenge.

Becca http://bekasstuffystuff.blogspot.co.uk/

Becky http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com/

Bee http://www.thelittlestbuzz.blogspot.co.uk/

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/
Hallie http://knitteddaisy.blogspot.co.uk/
Hollie http://prettybigbutterflies.com/

Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/
Leah http://justmeleah.blogspot.co.uk/
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/
Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com

Toni http://theonlywayist.com/

Vicky http://www.thecurvedopinion.com/

Just for 5 Pounds?

One thing society (and my mother) has always told me; never buy cheap shoes or cheap handbags.   You can tell them a mile off and they usually fall apart quickly. 

Now no offence to society, or my mother, but sometimes, cheap is just what you want.  Whether it be a bag or a pair of shoes, if you are looking for them to go with a very specific outfit, the reality is that you’ll only use the item once or twice and so don’t want to spend a fortune. 

The other times of course are when you come across a bag for £5.00 and it is practically rude not to buy it.

This has happened to me this week.  You may have seen me on Twitter the other night exclaiming in joy about having found the Just for 5 Pounds site.  I should add at this point that this isn’t a sponsored post.  I am writing this as a tip off to the shoe and bag obsessed (like me) as there were quite a few people who hadn’t heard of this site and were jumping up and down in joy when I told them about it.

Everything is £5.00.  EVERYTHING.  Here are some of the things I have my eye on and will no doubt will be purchasing over the next few weeks.

Loves from Just For Five Pounds by kittycoop featuring boots

Rant of the Day

I have a little rant today.

It is me or is the world getting more prudish?

Miley Cyrus twerks on stage, sticks her tongue out (ok far too much, I want to chop the damn thing off) and all hell rains down on her.  Her home town say that satan has entered her life, the outraged parent brigade proclaim that she is the worst influence on their child there has ever been and thinly veiled “whore” insults fly everywhere.

She isn’t posing in a Hanna Montana outfit holding up a sign saying “Do me” or “You know you want it”.  She stuck her ass in the air, danced around and wore not a lot of clothing.  Woo bloody hoo.

It’s a PUBLICITY STUNT, not the rise of the apocalypse.  It isn’t that shocking and is just the newest controversy.   Madonna has been doing is for years. 

She’s 21, or near as dammit.  Leave the girl alone.

Today we have Lily Allen releasing her song, "Hard Out Here"

I agree with her message that woman shouldn’t have to change themselves, be thinner, prettier, more daring etc etc to sell records.  What I do think is that women shouldn't judge other women.  Judge yourselves first.

 

What I want to know though is how is this song any less controversial (if you actually think that either song is controversial in the first place) than Miley’s twerking? 

Lily doesn’t twerk, dance around half clothed or stick her tongue out, but she is still using her song to hurl insult at anyone who does.  “I don’t need to shake my ass because I have a brain” anyone?  No you don’t shake your ass Lily but you still court controversy.  Her song “Fuck You” for example which was she was quoted at different times saying was about the Conservatives and then later the BNP.  Pick a side!

In my mind, you can’t look down on someone for doing one thing, whilst doing something in a similar vein yourself.  “Lily Allen has a baggy pussy” isn’t exactly making her look big or clever now is it?  It is clearly a dig against the Robin Thicke song (which by the way I can’t stand) and whilst I find it funny, that will by seen (again by those who like to complain about these things) as just as controversial. 

I don’t give a monkeys what Miley or Lily do.  They are both in the end doing what they set out to do, sell records.  You can judge them all you want, or you can actually listen the music, decide if you like it and buy it, or not.

One thing that is really making me giggle though.  If the prude police had a problem with a girl dancing with her ass in the air, how are they going to cope with little Timmy and little Sarah asking what a baggy pussy is?

The Christmas Tag

 

 

I believe that this tag originated from Make Up Pixie3 but I have seen it on Just Me Leah and Natty Nikki too so I thought I would have a go myself.

1. Do you prefer a real Christmas tree or synthetic?
We have never had a real Christmas tree, mostly for the reasons that we have dogs who would probably injure themselves on the needles and also, they make such a mess!  (The needles, not the dogs)

2.You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?
My regular coffee shop buy is a latte with an extra shot of espresso but when it comes to Christmas time I like to add a touch of either gingerbread syrup or roasted hazelnut. 

3.Whats your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?
I like reds and blues with silver tinsel.  To be honest it just depends on what comes out of the decorations boxes when we bring them out each year.

 

4.Giving or receiving?
I love to receive presents of course, but when I have planned and prepared for a present that I know someone will love, seeing their reaction is the best thing.

5.To mince pie or not?
I don’t not like them, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find one.

6. What's your traditional Sunday lunch?
I’m not a fan of the whole traditional Sunday lunch.  I’m not a huge meat eater and would prefer a bowl of pasta if I’m honest.

7. Christmas Day Fashion
For everyone opening presents I am still in my pajamas with a fluffy dressing gown.  Later on we usually have at least one or two people round for food and drinks so I like to put a dress on.  By 10.00pm though you will usually find me back in my PJs.

 

8.What's your favourite Christmas song?
Like Nikki, my absolute favourite Christmas song is All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey.  It always brings me into the Christmas spirit.

9.What's your favourite Christmas film?
The Snowman.  Every year, without fail.  I was nearly in tears last year because I couldn’t see it in the TV listings, but found it at the last minute.  If you don’t love that programme, you have no soul.

10. Open presents before or after lunch
Usually before lunch but always after my mum has been round to my sister’s.

 

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Nail

It makes me really happy to put this post on the blog today.  I have bitten my nails all of my life and have always been ashamed of how they looked, hiding them away should anyone happen to glance.

A few months ago I decided that enough was enough, if I had the willpower to stop smoking I certainly had enough to stop biting my nails.  I have had a few false starts and many breakages, but after using the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, Almond Nail Oil from The Body Shop and Bettyhula hand moisturiser to make sure that they look the best that they can; I finally have a set of nails worthy of being painted. 

I was recently contacted by Marisota and asked to take part in their 12 Nails of Christmas Campaign.  They kindly provided me with various paints, pens and accessories; everything I needed to create a festive nail look.  

What I really wanted to showcase was a beautiful red varnish, inspired by old Hollywood glamour.  I have a love affair with the colour red and have always wanted to have perfectly manicured red nails. 

When I think of the festive season I think of sparkle, glamour and elegance.  That is what I wanted to create with my nails, something understated but with a touch of sparkle, classic but not boring and above all, a theme that could be carried forward through various celebrations.  After all, you don’t want to spend the entire festivities just painting your nails!

After applying the Aperetif Essie Nail Polish I applied some star tattoo strips from Andrea Fullerton and and then to add a little glitz, some crystals to the thumbs and middle fingers.  This is a look that I would happily wear for any of the upcoming festivities over Christmas.

To go with my newly decorated nails, here is a look that I have pulled together from Marisota for the upcoming festive season.

What will you be wearing this season?

* The nail products were gifted to me as part of the Marisota 12 Nails of Christmas, but all opinions and nail images are my own

The Little Black Dress

Hello all, hope you are having a great Sunday.

I was going through my wardrobe today and I came across a black body con dress that I bought a few weeks ago.  Bodycon isn't something that I would normally wear but when the dress arrived, a little voice in my head whispered "Keep it!".  As I always listen to the voices in my head (well most of the time) I decided to keep it.

Now up to press I have only been wearing this dress for work, covered up with a cardigan, opaque dress and generally not emphasizing the fact that it was body con.  Today I thought I would try a different look, something a little more evening and with a bit more sass.  

Hope you like it!

Dress from SimplyBe

Necklace from Primark

Bracelet - gift

Shoes from Ebay

Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day.

You never realise just how much of your heart you give away, until you get it back.  In my case, I didn’t even realise it was missing, I just thought it was smaller than it used to be.

Now much time has passed, the heart is back in place, pieced back together and the bruises healed; I’d like to say that I will be more careful next time, be more careful of whom I give my heart too.  It is a precious thing after all.

The truth is though; I have always given my whole heart.  It is the kind of person I have always been and despite the hurt that sometimes comes with that, one day I will meet the person that deserves to receive it.

On a random note, I now can’t stop thinking about the Ood from Doctor Who.  They hold their hearts in their hands too.

 

The PS Community

I have seen a lot of talk recently regarding the plus size blogging community and how it seems to becoming more brand/clothing focussed rather than promoting body positivity and confidence.

I have read a few differing opinions on this subject, particularly after reading Gail’s thoughts on GailyGumDrops

The way that I see it is that everyone runs their own blog their own way.  It is a very personal thing, having a blog and you can have a myriad of reasons for running it.  My blog started because I loved to write, wanted somewhere I could vent my thoughts and this theme has carried on.  I do the plus size fashion alongside the thought and opinion pieces.  I never wanted it to be just one thing.

When it comes to being plus size and doing the fashion thing, I have written some pieces on body positivity and confidence but in the majority, the posts are me wearing pretty dresses.  I have worked with some brands which has been massively exciting for me, but if I never worked with another brand again, I would still be posting photographs.

Before starting fashion blogging I had no confidence, no body positivity and felt unworthy.  What inspired me to blog, like Gail, were pictures of other plus size women, wearing fantastic fashion and looking bloody brilliant.  It was their confidence in wearing those clothes that inspired me to grow and become who I am now. 

For me, a picture is worth a thousand words and those pictures of confident, fashionably, happy women did more than a dozen articles telling me how to be confident.

But that’s just me.  That’s my own journey and every person’s journey is personal to them.  Some are inspired by pictures, others by words, others by both.  There are some blogs that have pieces on body confidence that I have read over and over again, we all have own angles and our own stories. 

The plus size community is a diverse place, as it should be, and long may it continue.

Magnificent 7th!

Hello!  Welcome to today's Magnificent 7th Challenge!

This month's theme is leopard print which has sent me into a bit of a quandary because I only own a leopard print cardigan and that was on my blog a couple of days ago, bad planning there Vicky!

So what I thought I would do instead was show you some leopard print items that I am loving at the moment.

All About Leopard by kittycoop featuring a heart necklace

Yes indeed there is a Dolce & Gabbana bag in there, but it is just so beautiful I couldn't resist it!

Check out what the other ladies chose this month:


Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk
Kaye http://polishedcurves.wordpress.com/     
Becky http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com/
Nicola http://www.nicolarelph.blogspot.co.uk/
Gail http://gailygumdrops.blogspot.co.uk/
Kirsty http://www.hellokirsty.blogspot.co.uk/
Mary http://marysbigcloset.blogspot.pt/
Kathryn http://misskathrynsmisstakes.blogspot.co.uk/
Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/
Charley http://www.biggirlabouttown.blogspot.co.uk/
Rebecca http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/
Leah http://www.justmeleah.blogspot.co.uk #
Nikki http://www.nattynikki.blogspot.co.uk
Lindsey http://linzerellofatshion.blogspot.co.uk/
Vicky thecurvedopinion.com
Christiana http://www.lifeofouk.blogspot.co.uk/
Megan http://theclosetofmeganfaye.blogspot.co.uk/
Nancy http://sugardarlingblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Leah http://thirtysomethingcurvyme.blogspot.co.uk/

Swimming with the Fish

Hello all,

I thought that I would fill you in on what has been happening with my new quest into online dating.

Having been out of the dating game for a good while (read too scared to put myself out there previously, what an idiot) I decided to finally bite the bullet and give online dating a whirl with Plenty of Fish.  To be honest I am not really sure what I expected, well apart from a date obviously.

The first thing I noticed was that I got messages, a fair decent amount of messages which made me want to fall down in shock as I wasn’t expecting any.  Quite a good boost for the old self confidence thing which obviously needed kick starting given that I thought I would hear from no one.

Now I’ve got a little more used to the site and the type of people on there I am getting more of a sense of who to respond to and what people are like.

95% of the messages I receive contain nothing more than “Hi” or if I’m really lucky “Wot you up 2?”.  Those don’t get a reply.  If you have read someone’s profile and all you can come up with is “Hi” I really don’t want to know.   

Half of me thinks that I am being a cow for not replying to those messages, after all they have made a first move by messaging me.  Then I think though, if I message someone, I take the time to read their profile and try and say something half interesting; so I expect the same back really.

I have also learnt to weed out the people who are clearly just after one night stands and those who think that I am a fetish (fuck right off mister).

Anyhow…….  95% of non messages and 3% of sex or fetish messages aside and what have I found?

The answer is potential.  I am now chatting to a few people and at least a couple of those I think I might actually meet up with.   Shock, horror!!!  Girl goes on date from a dating website, who would have thought?!?

If I do get to that point you may well be seeing a “What the bloody hell do I wear post” from me.  So I will keep you posted!

The Little Black Skirt

Like everyone else I have been watching the new +Pink Clove UK clothing site with interest.  They are producing fast fashion at really affordable prices and there are some really nice pieces on there.   I have the tartan dress and the blue wrap dress (so far haha).

I have been wanting to branch out from my little dress world into skirts lately but haven’t been able to find the right one that screamed “me”.  Then I saw this little number priced at £10.00 and immediately went to checkout.

I love the side split in the skirt which gives a little bit of sass to what is just a plain black midi skirt.  That’s what I little in my outfits, somewhere that has to be a little bit of sassiness to spice things up.

I have styled it with a black and white leopard print cardigan from +Next  and some red t bar shoes that I got in the sale from +Evans.  I also have on a pearl bracelet I picked up from a charity shop and a jet black necklace, I can't remember where I got this. 

I'm planning on this outfit for tomorrow, which will be today by the time you read this.  I'm thinking hair down, what do you think?

Silent Sunday

Halloween

Today is one of my favourite days of the year, Halloween!

 

Hope everyone has a great one, just thought I'd share with you what im wearing at the office today, excxuse the flash of the bra by the way ;)

 

 

An EE of a Problem

Just a quick post today to say that I haven't fallen off the blogging world but I am having problems with my phone and internet connection so can't post properly at the moment.

Normal service should resume shortly, once I find out what the hell the shop who sold me my new contract has done to my account to mess it up so much.

I'm not able to read comments, respond or indeed read any other blogs at the moment but as Arnie says... I'll be back!