Aussie Curves - Red, Red, Red!

When we saw that this week's challenge in the 'Aussie Curves' blog hop was 'Red', we were delighted. There is no colour that we love more. In fact, you may have noticed that the colour red has already featured heavily in all of our posts so far. We both wear an outfit that heavily features the colour red at least once a week, if not more.

Red is just such a versatile colour. It goes with so many other colours: Black, Yellow, Blue, Grey. Red adds a pop of colour to any outfit. It goes with so many patterns: Polka dot, Stripes, Chevron. It is the more colourful cousin to Black and White!

This week's outfit is being modelled by Sister Apple. Sorry about the bad quality of the photos, as they were taken at night time while we were out for dinner.

Cardigan - SES

Top - City Chic

Pants- Big W

Shoes- Ruby

 



We are embracing the current trend for coloured jeans. As expected, we have both snapped up a pair in red. This outfit also features another on trend colour, Royal blue.

The outfit itself is quite plain, but using bright colours makes it 'pop' a bit more, making it something that stands out a bit. Seeing as the outfit was already quite colourful the jewellery was kept really simple.

Another benefit to wearing a bit of red is that it can make your make up choice super simple too. Add a bit of red lippie, and keep everything else simple. Maximum wow for minimum effort!

Plus Size Polyvore

I have been opened up to a new world of fashion inspiration though the Internet. I often wish that some of the current social networking sites were around when I was younger. It took a while for me to develop my own sense of style and learn what looked best on me.
Two that have changed the way I interact with fashion are Pinterest and Polyvore. Both of these sites have shown me that there is a world of beautiful fashion available to the plus sized woman. In this post I want to talk about the influence Polyvore has had on me and the way I dress.

For those who are not already familiar with this site, Polyvore is  'the web's largest fashion community site, where users are empowered to discover their style and set trends around the world'. On this site users can put together inspiration boards that depict an outfit. You can use a catalogue of clothing and accessories that is on the site, or you can add images from websites for any brands not in the catalogue. You can also browse sets that other users have created.

This site is not necessarily aimed at plus sized fashion. However I have found it a great source of inspiration. Here is how it has helped me:

Browsing through the sets of outfits of other users has shown me how important accessories are. I have always known that adding a necklace or earrings can really lift an outfit. However through Polyvore I have seen that they can also be what pulls an outfit together, and makes it go from nice to wow!

I have learnt new ways to put together some of my pieces of clothing. I really love it when I come across a set that uses a few pieces of clothing that may be similar to items I already own. This then shows me a great way I can pull together a new outfit using items I already have in my closet.

pink flowers by htotheb featuring a full zip hoodie

( This outfit is plain unitl you add the bag, necklace and bangles!)

I have discovered new brands. When I see something I love I often check what brand it has come from. This leads me to a new brand that I may not have heard of before.

Given me new direction when buying clothes. I am learning to identify what pieces might be able to work in a variety of ways to put together different looks. I also am able to attempt to find the 'look' for less. This gives me greater direction, and discretion, when I am out shopping for new clothing. Now I look at an item and try to think of different ways I can wear it with other pieces I already own.

Because not everyone is size 0 by jayneann1809 featuring stackable rings

(I own items similar to this outfit, so I can recreate this look)

I piece together my own boards, which allows me to further explore my own sense of style. I have started putting together my own inspiration boards. I am slowly building my 'library' of items that resemble items that I already own. Then I am able to put together outfits using mostly what I already own, as well as some other items I don't own.

Wedding Chic by janna-xerri featuring stone necklaces

(I used this set to 'brainstorm' an outfit I wanted to wear to a wedding)

If you haven't checked out Polyvore make sure you do. I hope it inspires you as much as it has me!

- Sister Pear

Aussie Curves - Leggings

This week the Aussie Curves challenge was 'leggings'. This seemed to be an easy task as we both practically live in leggings during winter. Although,  we both sit firmly in the 'Leggings are not pants' camp. The only exception to this rule is a tunic top that sits below the bottom.
For myself (Sister Pear) I have also become very opinionated about this since becoming a High School teacher. I am constantly horrified to see teenage girls turn up to school in leggings (grossly out of school uniform!). They are almost always super thin, cheap ones where you can see through the leggings too! I can tell you right now, they DO NOT look good. SIGH....

Anyway, rant aside, we still love leggings. Our preferred way to wear them is under a dress or skirt with boots. This is a staple look for both of us through Winter. Leggings also come in use during the warmer months as mid calf ones can also be worn beneath a shorter dress or skirt with a pair of flats.
This year patterned and coloured leggings have come out, with a greater amount of them coming in plus sizes. This has allowed us to stray from the usual black leggings.

Top - Katies

Skirt- Autograph

Leggings- Target

Red flats- Rivers

Boots- Ezi buy

Here is my 'look' with my patterned leggings. I decided to show you how they look with flats as well as with boots. I think either way looks great. It also shows how you can still make leggings work for you into spring. Having the patterned leggings really takes a quite plain outfit and adds a bit of wow factor.

Make sure you check out some of the other great ways that the other Aussie Curves bloggers are wearing!

Aussie Curves - Nails

Top- Rimmel 'I <3 lasting finish' in Majesty

Bottom- Maybelline 'Mini Colo Rama' in Bubblicious

We know that we are really late in adding our post for Aussie Curves nail week. So late that the link up is closed, however we wanted to post this on the blog anyway.

There has been an awful virus going around (so it seems) and I caught it! I have not been so sick in years. I used to get the flu shot every year as I worked in aged care. However I am currently making a career change, and am learning to become a make-up artist and beauty therapist.

This challenge came with great timing as I am currently learning how to so a manicure. I have been practising on myself with these bright colours.

Here are a few tips that I have learnt :

Don't shake the bottle, roll it in your palms.This is so that there then won't be too much polish on the brush when painting.

Apply the polish in 3 strokes. Dip the brush, wipe one side then the tip and do 3 strokes. Any more it will go gluggy.

One final tip is if you are in a rush for your nails to dry immerse them in cold water for a little while. This makes them set quicker!

I hope those tips help you next time you are applying your nail polish. Do you have any tips or shortcuts that you use when doing your own manicure?


- Sister Apple

High Tea

This weekend I attended a high tea. The mandate was to wear a dress. I own plenty of dresses so at first this seemed simple enough. However, when it came time to choose a dress none of them seemed quite right. It was a very sunny day but windy. Also, high tea was to be held at the Gunner Barracks tea rooms. I wanted a dress that was bright enough for the sunny day, but still warm enough for the windy weather. I also wanted it to be 'classy' enough to fit in with the very swish setting.

I suddenly remembered this City Chic dress from last season. Teamed with a red shrug for a pop of colour and heels it was the perfect outfit.

There are a few things that make me feel that this outfit worked for me

• The cut of the dress - It is fitted on top but aline on the bottom, but not too flowy. This is perfect as it accentuates my smaller waist, while not clinging to my butt and thighs. The wide collar also drew attention to my upper half and also balanced me out.

• The shrug - I don't really like the way my arms look in most sleeveless dresses, so I often wear a shrug or cardigan. This shrug is perfect for the dress as it stopped just below the bust and was able to tuck under the collar. This added colour while still covering a part of me that I am less comfortable with.

• The dress length teamed with heels - My knees bow inwards, so I don't ever wear anything above the knee unless I have leggings on. This dress sits just below my knees. What this does is it shows the curve of my legs. Any longer and it would make my legs look thicker, as they would appear 'cut off' at the thickest part. Adding heels lengthen my (short) legs too!

• Tieing the sash at the front - In the photo I have shown the dress sash tied at the fron twith a bow, and without. When I first put the dress on I felt that it wasn't sitting right around my waist. I also didn't like the way the sash was making the shrug stick out when tied at the back. I had the sudden brainwave to tie it up at the front. It added a bit of interest to the waist. I really loved the way it changed the look of the dress!

I am delighted with the idea of tieing my dress at the front rather than at the back I think this may work well with a few dresses I own. I can't wait to try it out!

Have you had any 'lightbulb' moments of inspiration that has transformed an outfit? 

Aussie Curves - Boots

Dress & Belt: Crossroads (a bargin I picked up for $10)

Jeggings: Kmart

Boots: Target (A few seasons ago)

Cardigan: SES

I (Sister Pear) have been nagging my Sister (Apple) for a while now about starting a fashion blog. I think we both dress well, plus size or not. I especially think Sister Apple always looks amazing.

We had both only discovered plus size fashion blogs in the last year or so. It has been a revelation. We have felt inspired by the beautiful curvy women that share how they put together their outfits. Like all fashion, we don't always like all of it. After all, we have our own style and taste. However, even having the ability to look at something and say 'hmm I don't like that' is liberating. For too long if you were plus size it wasn't about finding something you liked it was about finding what fit. Finally these is starting to be greater variety in clothing size 14+.

When  Danimezza announced that she was starting an Australian plus size link up challenge we took the plunge. This was the perfect time to start getting involved in Australian plus size blogging.

The boots in this outfit are cheapies I found a few years ago from Target. They were a bargain at $20. I loved them so much I picked up a colour of each (Brown and Black). They have a stiletto heel but not too high and are made from (synthetic) suede. The very best part about them is the way they have that overlapped slit in the side. This means they easily fit my chunky calves. For me these are the ideal dressy boot.

Despite these shoes being cheap I have had them reheeled, several times over. I am also planning on getting them resoled, to make them last longer and add comfort. I believe that if you find a great pair of shoes, it is worth paying for their upkeep, even if they were cheap to start with. Particuarly if you are like me and find it difficult to find boots that fit the calves.

Do you have a pair of cheap shoes that you just love? How do you ensure you get as much wear out of them as possible?

Two Sisters' Closet

In recent years it seems the fashion world is finally starting to recognise that there is a huge market for 'plus size' clothing.  It seemed to take Australian retailers longer to catch on to this fact, however recently there has been an increase in clothing targeted at the 14+ market.

This is a relief to many women throughout Australia. Afterall, studies have long shown that the average woman in Australia is a size 14+. Yet for so long retailers only offered black, sack like clothing for this market. Just because a woman may be 'plus size' does not mean that she does not want to, or can not, look beautiful.

As two women that are currently in to size 18+ category we are delighted to be seeing many new options for us in fashion. We are both women that take pride in our appearance. We have spent most of our lives trying to find nice cloting that fit. While we are sisters, we actually have two different body shapes. We will refer to ourselves as Ms Apple and Mrs Pear.

Through this blog we want to share tips that we have learnt over the years that flatter our differing figures. We also wish to share beauty secrets and bargain buys along the way.

We look forward to the start of many adventures exploring the range of fashion choices that are available to the plus size women of Australia.