I have a Christmas dress! Well technically I have two new Christmas dresses… Let me explain lol…

I left it a little late to purchase a dress to wear on Christmas day this year – as I mentioned in my earlier plus size partywear post it is a bit of a tradition for me to get a new outfit to dress up and celebrate the day. I ventured into New Look with my mum and most of the partywear dresses had been stuck on a sale rail with hardly anything left. I was so shocked and slightly worried that I may end up in Pyjamas this year at the dinner table… And as for sizes, there were plenty of size 6, 8 and 10 clothes – and plenty of 24, 26 in the Inspire range, but nothing in the middle.  

I was about to give up when I thought, stuff it, I’ll try on a bunch of dresses that are too big – I mean I’m never going to squeeze into a smaller size, but who knows what might happen with the bigger sizes especially when you take the fabric into consideration. I grabbed a size 26 (I am a UK size 18), black lace dress, one of those very on trend lace layered dresses with long sleeves and mum found a size 22 black and beige brocade triangle style dress which I wasn’t 100% sure about but thought what the heck!

Into the dressing room I go, and try on the first dress. The black lace number which I have been after for months. It just hung off me, no shape whatsoever because it was too big. I decided to take that off swiftly and try the next dress which to my suprise actually worked. I turned it back to front to give it a lower cleavage line as the back was a scoop neck, but the front was right up my shoulders. When worn back to front, it worked! I looked at the price tag, £28.99 and sighed a little because I thought it was maybe a bit silly paying for a dress that wasn’t really my size and not really what I had in mind. I took the plunge and took it to the till. The girl on the counter got the whole story about my partywear dress disaster and then asked me for £7. £7 !?!? Hang on a minute, I thought that dress was £28.99 ?? Turns out, it wasn’t marked in the sale but was supposed to be reduced so who was I to argue about that absolute bargain!

We then ventured into Outfit, which if you’ve never heard of it before is a retail park type shop with Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Warehouse, Topshop and Miss Selfridge in…. and there it was… a black lace overlay dress in a size 18. I HAD to try it on. I was so pleased with the look I asked the assistant if I could go and find my mother in the store (in the dress!) and she thought it looked fab too. It wasn’t my usual style and clung to every curve on my body but it looked sexy, yet elegant at the same time. I looked at the price tag. £45.99 – no way was I paying that when I knew there was some on eBay for half that price.  

I took a photo of the Wallis dress to show my fiance and was slightly deflated when I left but I couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on myself on the run up to Christmas. A very similar dress was on ASOS and I had meant to order it a week ago – by the time I put it in my basket, my size was out of stock. I decided on Saturday night to have another look at ASOS Curve. I’ve never ordered from there before. Only accessories… and there it was. The exact dress, back in stock in the sale in a size 20. I took the plunge and bought it with next day delivery. It arrived this morning, and although it is different fabric to the Wallis one and a hell of a lot tighter, it looks fab!  

 

I’m very conscious of my lumps and bumps in it, but both my fiance and my mum think that it looks brilliant and for £24 to keep it. So now I just have to decide which one do I wear on Christmas day!?
Sorry for waffling guys! Just had to share that with you lol.

So the partywear season is upon us again and it doesn’t feel that long ago since last Christmas…

Although i’m not a party animal, I have a bit of a tradition that every Christmas day I dress up in a new dress or outfit that I have bought for that purpose. In fact most of my “Christmas Day” dresses only get worn on special occasions no matter what shop they came from and I always insist on a new outfit/dress every year. Gone are the days as a child where I would spend as long as I possibly could in my pyjamas! Last year I wore an absolutely gorgeous purple frock dress with embellished cuffs which was from Primark and a complete bargain. This year I haven’t chosen my dress and although I came close to ordering one from ASOS, I found out days later they had sold out so I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Anyway, I thought I would trawl the shops and bring you the hottest plus size partywear for 2012. Styles that will suit our curvier figures and shops that actually cater for us… So take a look at my top 3 picks for plus size partywear and if you have any comments I’d love to hear from you! I don’t know about you, but I think you need something pretty special for this time of year.

 

1) Sequin Gold Chiffon Dress, £40 – AX Curve 2) ASOS CURVE Exclusive Peplum Dress In Lace, £45.00 – ASOS Curve 3) Vienna Dress, £80 – Gemma Collins Official

Everywhere I look, Metallics are really popular for one of the hottest Winter trends, 2012… but as I gaze upon every shiny pencil skirt or glitzy dress I do wonder if this trend will suit curvier girls. I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those styles that you have to try on to see…

Although Primark is not sterotypically known for plus size clothing, I know they go up to a size 18 or 20 at times… and they seem to be bang on trend this winter with plenty of Metallics to choose from. For those of you who are daring, full mini dresses clad in metallic shiny fabric are on sale along with embellished blouses for those of us who aren’t so sure (so there’s no need to feel left out!) Check out some of the winter 2012 metallics trends from Primark below:

Sequin collar dress – £18, Chelsea Glitter Boot – £10

Cut out collar blouse – £15, Sequin pencil skirt – £14, Studded Zip Boot – £20

Sequin short – £16, Sequin jacket – £25

I’m a bit late to the instagram bandwagon so tried to install it on my iPhone… first problem – my iPhone is soooo old it won’t install lol… However I figure I am constantly taking photos on my phone that I didn’t want to feel left out so here’s my first of many “iPhone Photos Collections” for November 2012!

 

1) Cupcake Tasting for the Wedding 2) My new lion hoody from New Look (LOVE THIS!)
3) Christmas Trees! 4) Mum cuddling a HUGE bear in the middle of a shop!
5) My gorgeous Bailey posing 6) Vitamins! Lots of them.  7) New employee!
8) My new dressing gown thanks mum! 9) Bailey blouse (Didn’t Buy but WOW!)

Me and mum decided to pop out and do a bit of Christmas shopping this evening as the shops in our local mall have started staying open until 10pm yay! This is perfect as I can get all of my work done during the day and head out early evening.

We got kind of sidetracked with the clothes shops, as I wanted to take a look at the new Kardashian collection in Dorothy Perkins. I’d seen it advertised online and it has only just launched here exclusively so into Dorothy Perkins we went… Admittedly, I don’t watch any of the TV programs associated with the Kardashian sisters, but I know what they look like. Kim Kardashian is said to be a UK Size 8 (I do question this myself, as she has a very curvy bum), and Khloe Kardashian is meant to be a size 10/12… and both girls promote healthier curvier bodies so imagine my shock when on all of the racks in Dorothy Perkins there was hardly anything in a size 14 or 16 and nothing above a 16. I thought it was maybe just where the line had been so popular so I vowed to myself that I would check on their website when I got home as I quite liked one or two of the new 2012 Kardashian line, one dress and a pencil skirt. 

So fast forward to now, and sitting here on the Dorothy Perkins website. The Kardashian clothing line doesn’t actually do anything above a size 16 !! Now I’m highly disappointed in Dorothy Perkins for this because I shop there quite often with their in store dress sizes allowing size 18 and 20. But I’ve noticed a trend this evening because it appears that all of the UK high street chains who are offering celebrity endorced clothing lines are following suit – Kelly Brook at New Look is another. Again, some really cute pieces, I loved this gorgeous red bodycon dress with a black mesh shoulder, and a cute bow blouse. Neither available in anything above a size 16. In fact, I couldn’t find anything higher than 14. Now come on Dorothy Perkins and New Look, what were you thinking? Us curvier girls do like to wear fashionable, sexy clothes too you know! Maybe not Bodycon in my circumstances with all my lumps and bumps, but I know plenty of bigger girls who have perfectly toned hourglass figures and would look absolutely gorgeous in any of these designer lines.

Rant over. Saying that, today’s shopping trip wasn’t all bad. I picked up a very sexy and warm (highly important at the moment!) faux fur jacket and a light peach/beige blouse with a black embellished collar. Very in at the moment.