Gemma’s adventures in sewing…

A bit of a departure from the shopping-related norm today...I want to talk about my latest rediscovered hobby, sewing! My mom taught me to sew when I was about 12, and I made quite a few of my own dresses when I was a teenager. Nothing beats the thrill of putting on a garment you've made yourself. Not only is it a guaranteed one-off, but if you struggle to find clothes to fit all or a specific part of your body, learning to sew means you can make things fit perfectly. So few women make clothes any more, which I think is a real shame. We can buy things so easily (and often so cheaply) that it often seems a waste of time to sew our own clothes. But I think it's a real shame that we've stopped at least learning the basics, as it's a really good skill to have. That said, the last time I did any 'proper' sewing was when I made my dress for the school leaver's meal. Since then, apart from the odd cushion cover or armchair cover, I've not really had the time to get behind the sewing machine. I have a handful of patterns and a box full of fabric but actually sitting down and finishing a project seems to have eluded me to this point. But then my friend Kat said she wanted her bridesmaids dresses made from Liberty print fabric....

Tried & Tested: True Corset ‘Dita’ corset

With my passion for 40s and 50s fashion, it's perhaps a surprise that I've never really tried a proper corset before. I've worn bustiers and cheap alternatives, I've sewn plastic bones into the top of a prom dress, and I've even given corset shapewear a go. But until True Corset got in touch, I'd never laced myself into a proper steel-boned number! So I was excited to be offered the chance to try a really gorgeous burlesque-inspired corset that promised to create the ultimate hourglass figure. I was sent the 'Dita' corset in black with polka dot panels, a longer line corset that promised to shape without squishing my flesh too much...

Featured Story

Size ain’t nothin’ but a label

I was overwhelmed by the amazing response to my recent guest curator post on Etsy. Before listing my picks from the site, the team very kindly let me wax lyrical about Big Girls Browse and why I started it, and it was lovely to see some of the reactions from the Etsy community. One comment in particular really stood out to me. Niftyknits said "I've been trying to pretend I'm still a UK14, not 16...but this gives me the courage to say heck - I'm a 16!!!" I was so touched when I read that, because it sums up the exact reason I started this site. We live in a world where there's so much stigma attached to a stupid number printed on a clothes label, and there shouldn't be! Your dress size does not define who you are.