Leopard swing

On the last day of my trip to Amsterdam I knew we would be doing a fair bit of wandering round the city and then flying home late at night. This called for a super comfy outfit and in my opinion a swing dress means you look nicely turned out but with minimal effort.

Due to packing restrictions you'll notice I wore the same boots/jacket/clutch for most of the holiday but I'm glad all the looks still managed to look different enough.

Please excuse the grainy pictures, we took them towards the end of the day when the light wasn't too good.

Dress - ASOS Curve
Boots - old Topshop
Clutch - My Mums
Jacket - old F+F Tesco

I bought the dress from ASOS Curve and the brand is called Alice and You. I've not bought anything from those guys before but I was really impressed with the quality and price point of this dress so I will definitely keep an eye on them in the future.  The fabric is SO soft, like a light velvet and I'm a sucker for packaging and I loved the tags that came with the dress. I bought my usual size (UK20)

Are you a fan of the swing styles that are EVERYWHERE now or do they make you feel like you're wearing a tent?

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Mothers Day

My Mother is a glamorous, caring, beautiful woman. I have always been exceptionally close to her and she is by far the most kind hearted person I have ever met, I'm so proud to call her my Mum. As a treat this morning I bought her breakfast in bed and she opened some presents and cards from my Brother and I. We spent a lazy morning getting ready and then we all went to lunch in a local pub. I'm so full I feel like I could burst!!

As it is Mothering Sunday I fancied dressing in really feminine, girly way and I thought my *2 in 1 Floral Prom Dress (similar found here) which was gifted to me by Scarlett & Jo would be the perfect thing. I've worn this dress a number of times already and I really do love it. I have also worn this dress at a Scarlett & Jo photo shoot so keep your eyes peeled for those photos! A few other plus size bloggers, two professional models and I enjoyed a day playing dress up and being photographed in Central London, it was such a lovely day. I will feature that shoot here on the blog once the photos have been released.

The dress has a jersey top half which has a lot of stretch to it, an elasticated belt attached to the dress which really sinches you in at the waist and the floral print prom skirt is fully lined with a layer of light netting to give the skirt a really lovely pouffy look. It's so comfortable to wear, the print looks great and I received a number of compliments from a few different ladies whilst we were out! My little pointed heels were from M&S last year and the holographic clutch bag was from the New Look sale months ago sadly. There are lots of them still available on the high street though.

A wee selfie to show you my gorgeous Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick in 'La Diva"

I have decided to feature my Mummy dearest here on the blog today for two reasons. One is because it is Mothers Day and she means the world to me and absoloutley loves my blog so I thought i'd let you all see how gorgeous she is and the second reason is because the lovely people over at Bon Prix gifted me the blue "leather" jacket she is wearing and sadly, although it is very nice, it didn't suit me. My Mum LOVES when I get blogger mail and always likes to see what I've been sent and as soon as she saw this jacket she fell in love with it!! I contacted the Bon Prix gang and they said that it was totally ok for Mum to have it. How lovely is that?! Mum is stupidly happy about this jacket, the colour suits her blonde hair so nicely and the fit it perfect. There we go, one very happy Mummy! This exact jacket no longer seems to be on the site but they have a very similar one available which can you can see here.

Isn't she just the cutest thing you have ever seen? I hope you are all enjoying your weekends and you've been able to get out into the glorious sunshine.

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Ying and Yang

The second Amsterdam outfit that I wanted to show you was this one. I think this has to be my favourite one of the entire weekend as it combines my love of mix match prints and vintage.

I had packed this Asos ying yang dress  (from their main range) with every intention of wearing it with my leather jacket and studded boots but whilst browsing a gorgeous little vintage shop in Amsterdam I came across this A-MAZE-ING jacket. The price was 30€ and without thinking, I picked it up, took it to the guy who worked there and asked if he'd sell it to me for 20€. After chatting for a while and realising the zipper was a bit screwed he let me have it for 20€ and I left a very happy young lady!! I threw this outfit on the next day and Callie and I headed out to find the perfect location for some blog photos.

Callie was kind enough to pap me and after she had had her own outfit pics taken we decided to do some together. Oh guyzzzzzzzzz, the love between us is so obvious right?! She's one of the best things to come out of this blogging malarky and I am so glad we have each other. We met just over a year ago and I don't think a single day has gone by where we haven't spoken to each other. God forbid if anyone saw our Whatsapp conversations! All the lols.

I'm so glad I picked this jacket up and that I didn't wear my standard black leather jacket with it! The booties are my old Topshop ones that I've worn approximately 17,000 times, the bag is an old H&M jobby and I pinched Callie's spare pair of sunnies.

p.s Callie and I are so ying and yang.

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A day with New Look Inspire

In my previous post just below this one I promised to show you each of my Amsterdam outfits, one after the other. Well, I want to interject with a little post about a recent collaboration I did before carrying on with those OOTDs.

The day after Callie and I landed back in London, we headed to Portobello for a day of shooting with New Look. We teamed up with Inspire, their plus size range and shot individually as well as together. The day was so good, as you can imagine we laughed an awful lot and I tell you what, it is so nice having someone you get on so well with, there to support you. I'm still getting used to being photographed and videoed by brands so although I'm a confident young lady it is still a little nerve wracking being videoed and stared at by a team of people! I'm not complaining though, the New Look team were fab and we all had a right laugh together.

Below are some snaps from the day and the video itself. Be sure to check the Inspire range out here, where you'll be able to spot the items we both modelled and lots more fab pieces. 

What do you reckon guys? It's sooooo odd hearing your own voice. I definitely have a posh video voice going on there! What do you think of the New Look Inspire range?

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Bejewelled

I recently went to Amsterdam with Callie, to celebrate her birthday. We spent a fantastic weekend there, sampling all the delights of the city and we stayed in the most amazing penthouse apartment. It was all very, very nice! I haven't cackled so much in a long time! I'm a walking disaster and this was confirmed on this particular trip. Day one - I lost my purse which had all my cards/id in it. On the last day I broke my phone. I managed to keep my shit together though and only cried once which I think is remarkable for me. Lets just say I was probably somewhat more relaxed than I normally am seeing as though we were in Amsterdam, if you catch my drift...wink wink, nudge, nudge.

Well over the next few posts I thought I would show you what I wore and a little snippet of what we got up to throughout the weekend.

The first outfit I wanted to show you was this beautiful jewel print dress from ASOS Curve. This dress has been on their site for a long time now and I fell in love with it instantly but the price was just too high. I kept on watching the price decrease and when it fell to £17.00 I had to get it. So happy I did! I sized up as the dress is woven and I knew it wouldn't be very forgiving. I was right to do so as if I'd gone for my usual size it would have cut me in half and been wayyy to tight on my tummy. Sizing up has meant the arms are a little too long on me though and in the future I will get them taken up but I didn't have time to do that before my trip sadly. I wore this dress with my trusty leather look jacket and black studded boots. The clutch bag is one of my most favourite accessories and it is my Mums. I'm hoping when I move back to London I can steal it and she wont notice.

Have any of you guys been to Amsterdam before? I want to go back already! It was my second time there and it's just such a fun place!

Photos take by Callie Thorpe

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I'll take you to the candy shop

Super sweet and sickly today! I was told I looked good enough to eat earlier... shame it was by a heinous old man.

After my mad trip to London/Amsterdam last week I had to go into my local city to get a new phone. This was because I decided to break my old one by throwing it on a stone floor in a coffee shop in Amsterdam! After sorting my new phone I decided to do a bit of window shopping. This window shopping ended up with me spending money. I have no will power.

Most of today's outfit is new and when I put the skirt and the jumper together at home, I was really happy to see they went so well together. You might have spotted the bag and the necklace in my previous post and I'm loving these two new additions to my accessories collection. The rings are old ones from last year and the heels are also from last year but I love how the pink and the flash of orange on the sole goes with the rest of the colours.

Really enjoying this whole ensemble actually. *pats self on the back*. Did you spot my nails as well? I did them last night with every intention of matching them to today's outfit. Crazy, right?

Jumper - Topshop similar here
Skirt - Primark
Necklace - H&M
Bag - H&M
Heels - old Mary Portas for Clarks
Rings - old Primark & Accessorize 

Digging candy shades this spring or are you steering clear of them?

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Minimal mono

Monochrome is a winning combination for me and when I was recently gifted this *skirt and *top from SimplyBe I instantly fell in love with them; even before I'd tried them on. I love that I am going to be able to wear this set separately as well as together so I will get maximum usage out of them. Have you seen this cocoon style top on the site... I think it'll look amazing paired with this skirt, any other pencil skirt, over a body con dress or even over a maxi dress.

The fabric is a thick waffle type jersey with a fair bit of stretch and I like that even in the white sections, you can't see what type of underwear I'm wearing. I ordered my usual size in both the top and the skirt and they are spot on.

I was brave today and bared my legs, but I instantly regretted it as it is freezing out there today. I wouldn't want to wear this combo with tights though, as I think a bit of flesh is needed to break up the expanse of fabric.

I'm wearing my bargain boots I picked up in TKMaxx today and I love them but they are very tight across the top. I'm going to need to break these bad boys in I think. The necklace is a new gem from Topshop and I bought it whilst I was out shopping with Callie before our trip to Amsterdam. I will be writing a post soon on the outfits I wore whilst away so keep your eyes peeled for that one. I had such a good weekend away and LOVED all the outfits I wore.

What do you think of my new lipstick? It's a taupe/grey colour (524) and I've wanted to try a shade like this for ages! It's from beauty brand Kiko and it's the first thing I've purchased from them. It's immense. Very nicely pigmented and the application is very smooth. I think they are a bargain price as well. Check out their site for more lipstick shades and all their other bits.

Do you ladies love monochrome or are you sick of the trend? What about beauty brand, Kiko? Have you bought anything from them and would you recommend any other product from them?

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New things

Hey chaps,

I just wanted to show you all a few new bits I've picked up in the last week. God I love new things. I've been selling stuff on eBay which is all very well but as soon as I get any spare cash, I keep spending it on new stuff! I also picked up a few new beauty products whilst in town and will be reviewing them soon as well. I've had to change my skin care routine as my skin type has totally changed... sad face. I miss being blemish free!

Jumper - Topshop in the sale, Necklace - also Topshop 

Sunglasses - c/o New Look, Bag - H&M, Necklace (L) - H&M, Necklace (R) - Zara

Skirt - Primark

Scuba & gingham full skirts - Primark 

Jacket - River Island 

Especially happy with the above jacket from River Island. It's so me and I've had it on my wish list ever since it came out. There was only a size 16 left and it fits so well. I love that I can get into their blazers and jackets. Even if you don't fit into their dresses/tops etc I highly recommend you try out a few of their blazers/jackets/coats. A lot of them come up big and it is my favourite high street shop for outerwear.

Have you picked up anything new this week that you can't wait to wear/blog about? Do you like any of my new bits?

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boohoo plus launch.

So, last week was an incredibly busy week for me and it started off with a delightful afternoon at The Sanderson Hotel in London. Myself and a few other plus size bloggers had the pleasure of attending a launch event for boohoo's plus size range. We were greeted with a glass of prosecco (always a bonus) and the uber friendly boohoo girls invited us to browse the rails of clothes they had displayed beautifully for us. OH.MY.ACTUAL.GOD... they were beautiful. Proper, decent, properly decent clothes. Clothes that I want to wear, clothes that my skinnier pals would want to wear, clothes that the plus size market has been lacking. I wasn't the only one crying out in joy either, we were all saying the same thing. It was so refreshing to see.

There were boxy shapes, two piece sets, daring colours, over size tops, modern prints, up to date garment shapes, the lot! I honestly couldn't pick my favourite piece from the collection! If you take a peek online here at their current stock, you'll see a fair bit of what we saw on the day but there is more due to be released soon and I can't wait. I'm dying to get my hands on the acid wash, tie-dye jeans! The range currently runs in UK sizes 16-24 but fingers crossed, if this collection sells well, they will look into extending their sizes.

The high tea we were served and the goodies we were given were soooooo lovely. As ever, I took a million photos but below shows you a snippet of the afternoon and what I decided to wear.

Dress - Evans/Shoes - old New Look/Cardigan - *Yours Clothing/Necklace - Galibardy

Showing the boohoo Instagram account some love with my girl Callie

So lovely to see these two again! Left - Charlotte from Apple Charlotte and Right - Hanna from The Wardrobe Challenge

With the beautiful Laura from What Laura Loves 

Have you had a look at the new range yet or maybe you've bought some of it already? What do you think of it guys?

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