Big Girls Browse » retro

Tried & Tested: Curvy Kate ‘Tease Me’ lingerie review

Gemma — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:43:31 +0000

I was very excited to recently be invited by one of my absolute favourite online retailers, BraStop, to be part of their Fuller Focus group. I've shopped at BraStop for ages and I love their dedication to finding great brands for bigger busts, and the fact they hunt for new reader models every month, letting their customers show off the different sets brilliantly and never airbrushing their pictures. Being part of their reviews team is a great honour, but before I began my official duties, I was sent a special set from one of their key brands - Curvy Kate - to review for this site. They obviously did their research into the styles I love, as the set I got was their very best retro-inspired favourite, the 'Tease Me'...

More tea, vicar? Host a tea party in a retro frock!

Gemma — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:36:23 +0000

I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't like tea. I know this is sacrilege given how terribly English I am in every other way (*joins queue to buy fish & chips*) but I just can't get my head around a drink that takes so much effort; you have to brew it, work out the right milk to sugar ratio, let it cool a bit, then sip it for the next fifteen minutes. Just gimme a diet coke I can down in 20 seconds, please. I like my caffeine fix straight from the fridge (and I don't drink coffee either). However, what I do like is afternoon tea. Give me tiny little sandwiches, ridiculous miniature cakes and macarons that smell like perfume and even I can choke down a cup or two of green or peppermint tea for the sake of appearance. Or just order the champagne....

The retro swimwear rundown: my top vintage inspired swimsuits and bikinis

Gemma — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:03:17 +0000

If you're a longterm visitor to the site (or indeed, a friend) you'll know that vintage inspired swimwear is a huge passion of mine. I've yet to venture into proper vintage (it's the fear that it's been a bit to close to someone else's ladyparts that stops me!) but I do buy a lot of retro stuff. If it's polka dotted, ruched and contains the same amount of fabric as at least a dozen tiny triangle bikinis, it's likely to find its way into my swimwear 'wardrobe'. I must have about 20 bikinis and swimsuits by now, which is a bit ridiculous given that I don't go swimming, am not a member of a gym, and have only had one beach holiday in the last four years.

Winter Wishlist: retro-inspired lingerie & nightwear

Gemma — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:46:47 +0000

My list of the best places online to buy reproduction vintage and retro / rockabilly style fashion continues to be one of the most popular pages on the site every month, so I know plenty of you reading have been as seduced by this style as I have. The right lingerie is the finishing touch to your vintage-inspired look, but I know the classic bullet bra may be one step too far for some (if it's not, go to What Katie Did right now). Luckily, plenty of more modern brands have now turned to vintage for inspiration. Here are some of my current fave more modern takes on vintage luxury undies and nightwear. Throw away your cotton 6-pack of knickers and flannel PJ's and get yourself something gorgeous instead...

Tried & Tested: Jasmine Guinness ‘Queen of Hearts’ dress

Gemma — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:23:03 +0000

I was recently invited by Very.co.uk to try an item of clothing from their website. I knew there'd be no problem finding something - with Holly Willougby's curve-friendly collection and plenty of stylish stuff in the Love Label range, the most difficult thing was actually narrowing it down. I eventually decided to go for something a bit special from vintage fiend Jasmine Guinness, and picked her 'Queen of Hearts' dress, a 50s style number with a cute heart-print peekaboo hemline that was very Alice in Wonderland...

Vintage reproduction clothing (Pin-up, burlesque & rockabilly) – The ultimate shopping list!

Gemma — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:26:59 +0000

It's not hard to see why so many curvaceous women turn to fashions from the 40s and 50s when it comes to making the most of their bodies. The era's pin-up girls, 'cheesecake' models and Vargas girls all had waspish waists and sexy curves. Actresses had hourglass figures that their clothes could barely contain (think Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors) and all women wore girdles that sculpted their bodies to perfection and bullet bras that gave the appearance of a Joan Holloway-esque bosom on even a petite woman. I know from reading comments and looking at search terms that many of us wish we could eschew badly-designed, poorly-fitting modern pieces for something more flattering from the past. But finding true vintage pieces from that era for a larger figure can be difficult. Most good pieces are expensive, and many come in very small sizes, especially on the waist. So three cheers for the many great brands and retailers who've allowed us to get a bit of that old-fashioned glamour in modern sizing. Some of the labels below stock plus size, some don't, but I've chosen to include them all for reference...

Things to get excited about: Red or Dead swimwear

Gemma — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:48:13 +0000

Friends and longterm followers will know I'm a huge fan of pin-up inspired style (in fact, I love just about any look from the 30s to the early 60s). Retro swimwear, in particular, is something of a speciality of mine. I'm so excited that after years of nothing but skimpy triangle bikinis and badly-fitting styles, brands are slowly branching out into vintage-inspired pieces. Swimsuits are no longer the frumpy option which is great news for those who prefer a bit of extra coverage.

In fact, 40s-inspired cossies with ruched detail, concealed panels and pull-down skirted styles are becoming a really stylish alternative to the modern bikini, and the best news is this style looks much better on a curvier woman than it does on someone with no hips! Think Marilyn Monroe on a beach in her white swimsuit - this is all about voluptuous glamour...

Big Girl’s Babe: Christina Hendricks

Gemma — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:54:02 +0000

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 we'd all love to be. 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!