There’s no real link between these ten products except the fact I love them and I will be investing in some of them ready for when the Sun finally shows its face! This Summer, I’ll be eschewing the more off-the-wall catwalk trends (jogging pants? Leather shorts? I think not…) for something a bit more flattering.

On the relaxed, bohemian side there’ll be an update on last Summer’s gladiator sandals, pretty maxi dresses, nude wedge sandals, 50s sundresses and vintage-inspired doctors bags. For something a bit more dramatic, I’m thinking chandelier earrings, waterfall frills, graphic print dresses and military inspiration. All these items are available now, so get shopping before they sell out!

The nights are getting lighter and it’s pouring with rain outside, which can mean only one thing, Spring has sprung! We’re finally through (the worst of) the freezing cold days of duffle coats and ugg boots, and we can start planning our warm weather wardrobes. Problem is, most shops have had their Spring stock in for weeks already, and if you want to invest in key pieces, you need to move fast.

To help you decide on what you’ll need to revamp your look (or just as a treat) I’ve picked a few key trends that can be adapted no matter what dress size you wear. Just one of these key items will jazz up all those old faithfuls a treat – but don’t wait around for too long. Before you know it the shops will have nothing but gladiator flats, vest tops and bikinis on the rails!

Last year I searched for ages for an embellished black maxi and never found the perfect one. This time around I’m spoilt for choice, but my top pick is currently this ASOS version with a dramatic gold beaded panel around the neck. The tiered cotton maxi dresses of previous seasons were often too voluminous to flatter a curvier woman, but I think the ASOS Curve model (left) fills out this more streamlined, jersey dress better than the slim model wearing the mainline version. The dress is £55 and available in size 20 – 26 in black as part of ASOS curve, or in black or khaki in sizes 6 – 20 as part of the ASOS Premium range.

Life’s too short to wear boring shoes, and this season there are plenty of completely over the top options to prove that! From clogs (yes, clogs) to over-embellished gladiator sandals and chunky peep-toe boots, your feet need to be dressed to impress. Tribal sandals (inspired by last Summer’s Louis Vuitton show) are still hot, and this season they’ve got even more colourful. If you need a wide fit, Evans are offering a pair in sizes 4 – 10 EEE for a very reasonable £39.50, meanwhile over at Next, the design team have completely upped the ante this season with the tribal animal sandals for £45.

After seeing Diane in Evans’ denim biker jacket, I knew I had to mention this style again. A biker jacket is so detatched from my usual style, especially a denim one, but mixed with Spring pastels it’s absolutely perfect and I’m sorely tempted to try something new for once! For plus size shoppers, So Fabulous! at Very has a £35 version in an acid wash in sizes 16 – 32. I also really like the pale wash of La Redoute’s version, which is also £35 and available in sizes 8 – 20.

Here’s a catwalk trend that’s easy to scale up or down to suit. Stella McCartney showed full-on lace jumpsuits, others went down a more subtle route with lace trims and inserts on black or pale-coloured outfits. The most literal translation of the look comes from F&F at Tesco, whose £28 lace blazer (sizes 8 – 16) is a full-on nod to Ms McCartney. On a more subtle, wearable end of the scale is Evans’ floral lace-effect top with lace trim for £27. They styled it for the catalogue with a lacy cardigan over the top, so fingers crossed that’s hitting the shops soon!

Much to my chagrin, washed-out, barely there shades are taking over the dark hues we’ve all relied on. Nudes and pastel shades are the key colours of the season, and it’s not a look that’s easy to pull off if you’re pale like me! If you’re blessed with a skintone that doesn’t fade completely into mocha, mink and beige, give one of these dresses a go. Miss Selfridge go simple with a belted tunic for £30 (sizes 4-16) while Curvety pick draped jersey for a plus size option coming in at £49.

The majority of ladies on the Golden Globes red carpet may have fit into tiny designer sample sizes, but that didn’t stop the more voluptuous women stealing the show. From plus-size divas Gabourey Sidibe and Supporting Actress (Drama) winner Mo’nique (both stars of hotly-tipped flick Precious) to Big Girls Browse’s favourite modern-day bombshell Christina Hendricks with her waspish waist and impossible bosom, I loved the looks the more curvaceous women went for, and picked out a few others that would look just as good on fuller figures as they do on Hollywood stars…

Mo’nique shows just what a good dress can do in her burnished gold Reem Acra frock. On paper, you wouldn’t think a strapless, draped and folded dress in a shiny fabric would work on a plus sized woman. But the draped cut of the skirt, the super-supportive style of the ruched, crossover bodice and the quality fabric mean this drapes beautifully. If you want to try this at home, remember the key is a good strapless bra, smooth skin (exfoliate and moisturise like hell!) and loads of confidence!

Mo’nique’s young co-star went for a tried-and-tested plus size shape from glam designer Kevan Hall. Sheer sleeves cover flabby arms*,a jewelled band around the bust creates shape and adds impact, and the soft folds of sheer fabric are pleated towards the band to pull everything in. The green colour is perfect too – kudos to these women for avoiding boring black just because they’re bigger!

*I’ve been chastised for mentioning ‘flabby arms’ here – I was referring more to what the dress shape can do, rather than attacking Gaby herself. Many women identify their upper arms as their least favourite body part, and this dress shape is flattering if that’s an areas of your body that you’re self-conscious about.

On the slimmer side, our curvy girl goddess Christina Hendricks was dressed by Project Runway alumni Christian Siriano. And boy, what a dress! Ruffles on the hip and a sweetheart strapless neckline just served to draw even more attention to that amazingly tiny waist, turning Christina into a real life Jessica Rabbit. If you’ve got wider hips and bust and think you can’t wear fussy shapes, let Christina show you that you can – if you’ve got the guts! I absolutely adore this look…now to work on that waistline!

Christina’s co-star, Elisabeth Moss, wasn’t quite so successful. She’s tiny, but the dress makes her look like she’s hiding away. While I love her choppy little haircut and the baby blue colour of her dress, I just don’t feel like the cut does anything for her. In Mad Men we’ve seen that Peggy has a gorgeous hourglass figure, but petite, curvy Elisabeth is drowned in this heavy bedsheet! Like the Fug Girls, my first thought was “is she pregnant?” as this dress is so maternity-like. Ladies, let this be a lesson to you. Just because you’re not a size zero, it doesn’t mean you should hide yourself away under big pouffy dresses – they just make you look bigger!

One curvy girl who’s not afraid of flaunting what God gave her is Mariah Carey! And while I applaud her for showing that Herve Leger bandage dresses aren’t just for size zero women (it’s fab from the waist down, These really do suck you in!) all that boobage is just a bit too overtly sexy for me. I wonder if Nick Cannon had the job of applying all that bronzer to her cleavage?

Sigourney Weaver, meanwhile, showed how to dress with class if you’re larger up top. Her body’s actually more sporty than curvy, and she’s definitely far from plus size, but her broad shoulders give the impression of her having a bigger chest than she probably has. Her super-slimming dress by Herve L. Leroux (the man who created the Herve Leger brand) is the perfect frock for making the most of your body which is why I had to feature it here. I wish Mariah had worn this instead as it’d be amazing on a fuller figured woman.

Top photos via HPFA.

Karl Lagerfeld has once again conveniently forgotten that he used to be fat and decided to moan about the use of normal women in magazines. “No one wants to see curvy women,” said the designer, on hearing the news that Brigitte, one of Germany’s top-selling magazines, was making a move to include ‘real’ women on its pages rather than professional models. This isn’t the first time the Kaiser has whined about bigger women, either. When he created a line for H&M, he complained about his clothes being made up to a size 16, stating he designed only for slim women. Well, Karl, we seem to remember you cosying up to Beth Ditto at one of your shows not so long ago…

So where to begin addressing this pile of nonsense?

Firstly, and most importantly, people do want to see curvy women. This website – started up after I worked on a mainstream fashion website and was constantly approached for help for dressing curves – proves that. And as I have said time and time again, curvy does not always mean fat. It definitely doesn’t mean ugly. It means natural, shapely, normal. Curvy can just as easily be attributed to a UK size 12 as a UK size 22. Nobody’s suggesting that Brigitte are suddenly going to fill their pages with obese housewives in high fashion (though if they did, good on ‘em), despite Largerfeld moaning that “You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly.” The magazine is simply taking a stand against the impossible ideal that the fashion press has promoted up to this point. Brigitte’s editor-in-chief told The Guardian, “For years we have had to use Photoshop to fatten the girls up, especially their thighs and decolletage. But this is disturbing and perverse, and what has it got to do with our real reader?”

I think this is a fantastic step forward, hot on the heels of Glamour US’s use of a plus size model in an article about body confidence. These magazines are recognising their audience and targeting them (something that will undoubtedly shift more copies in a recession, and who can blame them for that). If just a handful of magazines started using healthy UK size 10 – 16 models on their pages instead of emaciated size 4 ones, the world would be a better place. If we start seeing some more women in magazines who look like the women we see in real life on a daily basis, perhaps all of us will get a much-needed confidence boost and be inspired to live a healthier life. As someone who is only slightly overweight, I look at women in magazines now and think “I could never look like that”. I would love to look at them and think “Hmmm, maybe one day!”

Lagerfeld argues that people don’t want to see curvy women because fashion should be about “dreams and illusions”. Fair enough, I’m not going to pretend I don’t love a catwalk show full of ethereally beautiful women in frocks that could never be worn in real life. But I can safely say that this is not my dream, nor will it ever be. My dream looks a hell of a lot more like this; someone who is curvy, healthy and beautiful inside and out.

Unlike Karl Lagerfeld.

[Lagerfeld doll via Dazed Digital]

Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks may not be plus size, but with that gravity-defying bosom and handspan waist, she definitely embodies the kind of curvy girl many of us would love to be. A dress worn by the star to the SAG awards was recently auctioned off. Back then, her measurements were 40-28-40. Those are some curves! With her Marilyn-esque proportions, she’s a poster girl for the curvaceous woman. Let’s face it, nobody pulls off a wiggle dress like Joan Holloway!

To channel Joan’s look in real life, your best bet is obviously vintage. Pieces were cut much smaller in the waist back then – perfect for hourglass women like Ms Hendricks. The US is the best place to go if you have a Big Girl waist. There’s much more floating around in larger sizes than you’ll find in Europe. Try eBay, of course (don’t underestimate those ‘bulk’ vintage lots, loads crop up on Australian eBay for some reason) and make sure you know your bust, waist and hip measurements. There’s nothing worse than buying something you love only to find it doesn’t fit (you can take stuff in, but you can’t let it out).

If you’d rather not hunt down second hand pieces, there are some great brands making modern reproduction pieces too. Try Bettie Page clothing, a Vegas-based boutique and online store full of wiggle dresses and retro pieces. They go up to a sze 3X, which has a waist somewhere between 34 and 38 inches.

Stop Staring is also a popular brand, worn by Paris Hilton, on Gossip Girl and modelled by Ashley Greene from Twilight. The figure-hugging Mae dress is very Joan, and again sizes go up to a 3X.

Don’t underestimate the power of decent underwear, too. In the 50s and 60s women sculpted and shaped their silhouettes with girdles, we can do the same with a a lot less pain with modern shapewear (though most of it is nowhere near as pretty as the stuff the cast of Mad Men get to wear). See the Big Girls Browse lingerie section for some ideas on what’s out there.

For more tips on buying retro reproduction, check out the huge shopping list I compiled for Catwalk Queen. As this look is so flattering on the fuller figure, a lot of the brands featured make their dresses in larger sizes.

[images courtesy of AMC]