http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog Bridging the size gap with a woman who's in between. Shopping & style for women with curves Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:40:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/08/tried-tested-the-pepperberry-summer-clothing-challenge/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/08/tried-tested-the-pepperberry-summer-clothing-challenge/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:10:32 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=2008 Yep, I've been back to Pepperberry, purveyors of clothes for ladies with boobs. This time I was invited to take part in their Bloggers' Summer Clothing Challenge. Basically, I got to choose an event and Pepperberry would dress me for it! I was sent down to the Oxford Circus store in June, where a set of frocks had been picked out for me to try on. I then picked my favourite and styled it up for the event in question. I chose a picnic with friends for my birthday, though I ended up swapping that for an afternoon in the pub (I didn't trust the weather). I had planned to wear the dress on the day, but it ended up being a bit too restrictive. The moral of the story? Don't pick a super-fitted dress with a synthetic lining, then put on 5lbs and expect it to still fit on one of the hottest days of the year...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/08/tried-tested-the-pepperberry-summer-clothing-challenge/feed/ 2 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/tried-tested-one-stop-plus/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/tried-tested-one-stop-plus/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:19:42 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1949 I've not done a review of a plus range for a little while, because let's be frank, who wants to see a size 14 modelling plus stuff when you can see that in the advertising and catalogues anyway? I think my high street reviews are probably a lot more useful (because they might make it in a 14, but that doesn't mean it was made with a 14 in mind...), so I tend to leave the bulk of the reviews to the amazing community of size 16+ bloggers. But, sometimes I just can't turn an opportunity down and when that opportunity is to try something designed in collaboration with one of the aforementioned bloggers, I am powerless to refuse! So this is how I, oddly, came to find myself in a'straight' sized version of an item from a plus size collection...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/tried-tested-one-stop-plus/feed/ 2 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/window-shopping-top-summer-sale-fashion-finds/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/window-shopping-top-summer-sale-fashion-finds/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:09:45 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1897 It's Summer sales time, and this year's bad weather means there are even more items to choose from as people are a bit cautious of spending too much on flippy Summer dresses and strappy sandals when most days are still spend in tights and coats! It's a great time to stock up - particularly if you have a Summer holiday coming - so I've picked some of my favourite sale finds to help you along. There are loads of lovely shoes and some fabulous Summer frocks, and nothing on this page costs more than £35 (except one pair of fabulous Carvela shoes I couldn't resist including). Personally, I've got my eye on a pair of fabulous wedges that'll give height with a bit of added comfort, and a really nice bright 50s dress to wear for my birthday in August. What's new, eh?!]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/07/window-shopping-top-summer-sale-fashion-finds/feed/ 2 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/06/tried-tested-dee-v-by-diana-vickers-for-very-co-uk/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/06/tried-tested-dee-v-by-diana-vickers-for-very-co-uk/#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:13:19 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1835 Diana Vickers' husky voice and propensity to yelp may be something of an aquired taste, but her new clothing range for Very.co.uk is a bit easier to fall in love with. A capsule range of vintage-inspired florals, fities skirts and 60s-inspired separates, it appealed instantly to me, so when Very got in touch to offer an item from their huge range for review, I knew I had to go with something from Diana's collection. I picked the Contrast Collar Printed Dress (£49) which I thought was very cute with its big pink buttons and collar. I'm getting to the point where I'm far too old to pull off anything this twee, so let's call this my last hurrah. I can't resist anything a bit childish!]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/06/tried-tested-dee-v-by-diana-vickers-for-very-co-uk/feed/ 4 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/02/frocking-friday-the-stylish-blogger-award/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/02/frocking-friday-the-stylish-blogger-award/#comments Sun, 06 Feb 2011 14:18:40 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1439 It's been a fashion-filled weekend despite my lack of spending during Frugal Feb. Last night I headed off to the evening portion of the Plus London meetup, the brainchild of blogger extraordinaire Lauren. It was an amazing night meeting lots of gorgeous bloggers (and getting a sneaky peek at a few new collections from brand like ASOS Curve, H&M Inclusive and Anna Scholz). But before I go into detail about that (I'm waiting for the official pics taken in the amazing studio set-up), I have a few Frocking Fridays to catch you up on, plus the lovely Emily Jayne passed on the Stylish Blogger Award to me and I've been very slow to say thank you...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/02/frocking-friday-the-stylish-blogger-award/feed/ 9 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/01/tried-tested-ines-collections-plus-size-prints/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/01/tried-tested-ines-collections-plus-size-prints/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:59:26 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1319 I've been sitting on this review for months (literally) because I didn't want it to disappear in the middle of all the Dressember madness, so please forgive the fact I didn't tell you all about INES Collection sooner! The brand (available at ShopTranslated.com, who ship internationally) offers affordable plus size dresses and blouses with an emphasis on prints - a great move as plus size fashion is so often black, black, black, and while some people can totally pull that off, others want a bit of colour! I was sent the Graphic Pop dress ($72) and a ruched sleeve peacock print blouse to try out, so read on for how I got on!]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2011/01/tried-tested-ines-collections-plus-size-prints/feed/ 5 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-week-4-christmas-time/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-week-4-christmas-time/#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:38:24 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1206 I'm almost at the end of Dressember, but I'm not giving up yet! It's been really fun snapping each outfit, planning what to wear and knowing each morning when I get up that I've got yet another frock to wear. At the beginning of week 4, the last thing I wanted to do was snap photos of my flu-ridden self, but I managed to keep it up, and I'm so glad that I did! This week also saw me heading home to spend Christmas with my family in Worcestershire, and three guesses what I had in my suitcase...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-week-4-christmas-time/feed/ 3 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-continues-with-week-2/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-continues-with-week-2/#comments Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:51:22 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1167 Dressember continues as the online challenge to wear a dress for every day of the month gets even more silly, with the addition of 'Ballgown day' (not my idea!) on Saturday. My self-appointed extra challenge of no repeats has been brilliant for helping me to rediscover old favourites from the back of the wardrobe - a lot of this week's frocks are 2 or 3 years old. Between the 6th and 12th December I managed to wear 9 dresses, which I think is pretty good going. From full-length and fabulous to short and silly, here are my looks from the last 7 days...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-continues-with-week-2/feed/ 9 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-31-days-of-dresses/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-31-days-of-dresses/#comments Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:40:44 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=1116 The first of December marked the beginning of Dressember, a challenge I'm taking part in with a bunch of lovely ladies (some of them fellow bloggers) via Facebook. The premise is pretty obvious - we have to wear a dress every single day of December. On days when it's not practical, a skirt or a tunic will do, but the basic idea is to get out of jeans and t-shirts and start wearing all the gorgeous dresses we undoubtedly have hanging in our wardrobes... ]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/12/dressember-31-days-of-dresses/feed/ 25 http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/10/october-must-haves-aviators-capes-velvet-shoeboots/ http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/10/october-must-haves-aviators-capes-velvet-shoeboots/#comments Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:08:05 +0000 Gemma http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/?p=963 My lack of enthusiasm for the new season has finally started to wane. Is it because I'm getting used to the Winter trends, or have the latest additions to the virtual rails been better than what we got in September? Perhaps it's just the fact the temperature has dropped and I can finally see the need for a beautiful coat or a fabulous cape. Whatever the reason, I'm finally getting excited about what's in the shops, and have picked out some of my favourites from a range of retailers. Top of my list is Miss Selfridge's super-glam velvet coat with fur trim. It may not be the most practical piece of outerwear, but it's definitely beautiful, and the rich, thick, stiff velvet is far nicer than the cheap stretchy stuff that can be found elsewhere...]]> http://www.biggirlsbrowse.com/blog/2010/10/october-must-haves-aviators-capes-velvet-shoeboots/feed/ 5