Dressember Shoe Saves…a little late!

I’m massively behind with Amber’s Shoeper Challenge, and having to face the fact that I’ll be waving goodbye to fair number of my shoes in mid-February. That said, I’ve saved most of my must haves by now, so anything else is a bonus, and I knew I needed to cut down my shoe collection by quite a dramatic amount, so I don’t regret taking part in the challenge in the first place. If I haven’t worn these shoes in the last 12 months, the chance I’ll wear them in the next is very slight. And thought I may end up granting immunity to two or three pairs of occasion shoes or Summer sandals that I didn’t wear because I didn’t go on holiday last year, I am going to try as hard as I can to stick to the rules and get rid of everything I possibly can when the challenge ends on Valentines Day. In the meantime, I have worn a good few pairs of shoes in the last month or so. And here they are…

Window shopping: Top Summer sale fashion finds!

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?!

March Wishlist: Lighten Up

I’m dreaming of Spring, and the time I can finally put my winter coats back in the wardrobe and pull out the lighter jackets, blazers and my beloved beige belted trench (from Gap, bought forever ago). With that in mind, my March wishlist is all about a lighter colour scheme, dotted with my current colour obsession – rust. I just managed to bag the last ASOS pleated skirt 2-in-1 dress in my size and I’m really hoping it doesn’t look too mumsy on a curvier figure. Pleats are hard enough to pull off at the best of times, but I love the colour combo enough to risk it – I can always take advantage of the great returns policy! See over the jump for bigger pics and product details…

Dressember Week 5 – Happy New Year!

Dressember came to it’s conclusion this week, and what better way to go out than with a New Year’s Eve party frock? I also pulled out a couple of old favourites and raided the sales for the odd bargain. These are the last of my Dressember photos, but needless to say I won’t be spending January in jeans and now that I’ve got into the habit of photographing my outfits, I’ll hopefully do it a bit more often in the future. But for now, this is me signing off and saying I DID IT! 31 days…and just over 31 dresses!

Dressember Week 4 – Christmas time!

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…

Dressember Week 3 – Cocktail frocks & Boy flu

I’ve been a bit under the weather this weekend, but that didn’t stop me keeping up with my Dressember commitments…it just means the photos are even worse than usual! This week’s challenges included a ‘jumping’ day (to celebrate getting halfway through) and ‘wedding weekend’. Since I’ve never been married, I had to whip out a bridesmaid dress instead, which wasn’t exactly ideal in the snow, but since I’ve not left the house all weekend, five mins in my Liberty florals didn’t do too much harm…

Label Love: Closet at Dorothy Perkins & Oli

A chat the other day with Amber reminded me that though I’d tweeted about them, I’d yet to write about my latest dress discovery – a gorgeous brand called Closet that’s stocked in some larger Dorothy Perkins stores, as well as on their website and Oli.co.uk. As a rule their dresses tend to be quite structured and fitted, with more than a little inspiration coming from a certain Mrs Beckham. And they give you a waist like you wouldn’t believe!

Though I’d never really considered myself a fan of Posh’s style, she does know how to make dresses that flatter curves (ironic, considering her severe lack of them), and Closet have taken a few of her more iconic designs, along with plenty of generic but very pretty nipped-waist, tulip skirted shapes, and whacked them out in everything from heart print to classic black. It’s not exactly envelope-pushing fashion ingenuity, but it is really easy to wear and universally flattering.

Ruby Belle at Evans tried on for size!

The long-awaited vintage-inspired Ruby Belle dresses have finally arrived at Evans, and I couldn’t wait to snap one up. I’ve been a fan of Fever Designs for a while, so I’m really glad they’ve teamed up with Evans to offer this range in larger sizes. Ruby Belle normally only goes up to a UK size 14 and while the size guide suggests that should fit me, my experiences trying on other Fever items suggests otherwise!

So I was waiting very impatiently for the dresses to be recut to Evans’ slightly more generous sizes – and given that it has a stretch top and full skirt, I bought the sailboat dress in a 14. And I love it!

Top Ten: The New Blue

Wearing denim doesn’t have to mean wearing jeans, and this season there are loads of alternatives to the plethora of skinnies, jeggings and boyfriend jeans that are still filling the rails everywhere from M&S to Mango. I know lots of you – like me – have trouble finding jeans that fit, so save yourself the nightmare shopping trip! Shirts, jackets, dresses, skirts – this Spring, the alternatives are endless.

So I’ve put together some suggestions of jean-free ways to wear the fabric. If you’re really brave, you could tackle the double denim trend (yes it’s back!) and team a jacket or shirt with your favourite jeans or jeggings. I prefer to play it safe, though…

Boob-friendly dresses from Bravissimo

Bravissimo has long been the secret haunt of girls with D+ boobs. Stocking all the big brands that cater to larger ladies (Freya, Panache, Kalyani, Masquerade etc) and providing a measuring service that’s second to none, I know ladies who’ll sing the praises of this shop ’til kingdom come. They can lift and support even the biggest boobs and sell pretty, not frumpy designs. And following that success, they’ve turned their hand to cup-sized clothing…