Best & Less - Plus Size fashion

There has been much excitement in the Australian Plus Size community regarding an announcement by a local retailer that they will be offering more items that go up to a size 26. Even better, they will not hike up the price simply because it is in a 'plus' size.

Best & Less have had a plus size range for a while, Lily & Lou. It is a bit hit and miss, but it is still encouraging to see a retailer that is offering affordable items that are (mostly) in fashion.

This latest range looked really encouraging, so I decided to go check it out'

I decided to try on  the sheer/pleather tunic top that is shown above, as well as a chambray shirt and a floral tunic dresss.

First up, the black tunic top. I was not expecting to like this, as it is a cut that I usually find doesn't flatter me. However, I ws pleasantly surprised. I did go up a size to the 22, in order to allow for my expanding baby bump. The top slightly gathered on my hips, but otherwise looked quite nice. The quality is good considering the $20 price tag. I loved how they looked with my DP wet look leggings. I would say try both your normal size, and a size up, to see how it looks on you.

 Next I tried the floral tunic. The print is really beautiful, and it is made from a stretch knit, with a pleather sash. Normally the sash would go around your waist, but obviously it worked better for me above the belly at the moment. The only downside would be that I would need to remove the belt loops if I wanted to wear the sash where I have. Again, I went up a size, but mainly because I felt as I get bigger it will be less tight across my bottom. In the picture I am wearing the 20, but I bought a 22.

I was very close to buying this chambray short. It is on trend, and well cut. The 22 was a little tight in the arms, while the 24 was to big in the bust and back. I hesitated because of the arms, but I suspect they will loosen up with wear. I posted this picture on the AC facebook page and have had so many compliments I suspect I will go back and buy it next pay. Again, it was a steal at $20 and is very on trend.

My one criticism would be a lack of colour. They still offer a greater range of coloured items in the 8 - 16 range. This is frustrating, because there are items that I want, and they only offer it in black in my size, yet offer the same item in a variety of colours in the smaller sized range. I really wish retailers would offer items in a better variety of colours, yet I suspect that perhaps not all of the plus size community is embracing colour as much as the Aussie Curves ladies.

Head out to Best & Less and have a look. Let's support the retailers that are catering more to the plus size community.

Aussie Curves - Celebrate!

As I dressed this morning I realized that the outfit I was wearing was perfect for this weeks AC theme. Not because I was heading out to a party, I was just going shopping. I realised I had different reasons to celebrate.

Let me explain.

I have spoke quite a few times about how wonderful I have found participating in the plus size fashion blog hop. I have seen my style evolve. I try on things that I never would have looked at twice, and I am opening up to a whole heap of different brands I never would have known existed.

So, what is there to celebrate about this outfit? (Yes, I realised later i needed to clean the mirror. Damn toddlers and their grimy fingers)

Tunic - Belle Chemise 

Leggings - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - Target

Cardigan - Millers

Firstly, the leggings. These are 'wet look' leggings. I the past I would NEVER, EVER have looked twice at them. I would assume that my tree trunk legs would look awful in them.

 Truthfully, I definitely need to wear them with a tunic, as they look less than flattering on my bum and upper thighs. However, the fact I bought them in the first place is worth celebrating. They are a symbol of how much I am evolving. They show that I am open to trying new styles. I also tried on a few other tops while shopping today, and was delighted to see they looked great wit the leggings.

Then there's the tunic. I am a little in love with this tunic. I picked it up on the weekend at some local markets. It is handmade, designed in Australia by a business called Belle Chemise . The lady, Jean Hines, had actually only just made the design that week, and had sewed them ready for the market. It is sleeveless, with a cowl neck, and is made from a  sheer fabric.

 I am celebrating the fact that even market stalls are embracing the plus size figure. I am proud that I saw the tunic, decided to try it on, and when I saw it looked exactly as I wanted, I bought it. In the past I would have assumed it would not fit, would not look good, and also would not spend the money on myself, because it was $50.  Instead, I have learnt that you must try things on. I also knew that this was worth the money. It is an unusual item, but offers versatility. Plus the colours were amazing. The tunics are not loaded on her website yet, but if you like it I urge you to send her an email. There were a heap of different fabrics and colours ( I am wearing 'Free size - plus').

So, I am celebrating Aussie Curves. I am celebrating the Plus Size community, and I am celebrating another wonderful year where I am inspired and challenged each week :)

What have you go to celebrate this week?

Aussie Curves - Home Made

When I first saw the Aussie Curves list I had a few items I could have easily worn for the 'Homemade' category. I can;t take the credit though, all wonderful home made items are courtesy of my Mother and her sewing skills.

Then I went and fell pregnant, rendering the home made items I had unwearable for the moment!

Luckily, my Mum and her sewing skills came to the rescue again. You see, I had made a goal at the start of my pregnancy to limit maternity only items. I am conscious that this will most likely be my last pregnancy, so I wanted to use what I had as much as possible. One dilemma I faced was finding jeans. I had made a plus size maternity series where I shared a few sources where you could find maternity jeans. Yet, I did not want to buy new ones myself. This is where my Mother comes in!

I have a few pairs of Autograph Jeans. They are quite good jeans, with an elasticated waistband. My problem with them was that they did have a tendency to fall down a bit, because of my rather round bottom. I decided that these would make the perfect maternity jeans, with a bit of hacking.

As stated, I am not a sewer, so I cant really give you a step by step instruction. However there are plenty of great tutorials online that can show you what to do. What we did was put on the pair of jeans, and using a piece of chalk we marked out a semi circle shape around the bottom of my belly. I didn't need to take off much of the waist, other than removing the elastic, because I already knew they sat just on my hips. We cut off the elastic waist and cut out the semi circle shape.

You can see in photo above how we pretty much angled downwards from the waist and cut away the shape. We used some stretch T-shirt material and made a band that could then be sewn onto the pants. My Mum also added in elastic at the top of the belly that could be adjusted. This way I could tighten the elastic, stopping the band from falling down.

Just like that, I had the perfect maternity jeans, that cost me nothing because we had the supplies on hand! Hoorah!

I have one more pair that I am thinking of getting Mummy dearest to hack to get me through the final months of the pregnancy in Spring. I have no problem wearing them post maternity too. If I had it my way most of my jeans would be converted to zipper free and elastic waisted!

Blazer - Crossroads

Maternity T Shirt - Big W

Jeans - 'HomeMade' Autograph Hack!

SHoes - Hype

Check out what home made items the other Curvettes are wearing!

Kids Cooking - Wholemeal Banana Muffins

My daughter LOVES to cook. She is obsessed.  Her present for her first birthday was a toy kitchen from Ikea. At first it was used for fine motor skills - opening and closing doors, pressing buttons, turning knobs. Eventually she moved into pretend play.

 Her love of cooking has grown since going to pre school as they frequently have 'Baby Masterchef' classes where they cook all sorts of goodies.

In support of this I am finding myself letting her help me in the kitchen more. I also figure that while were cooking things we may as well try to make it healthy (most of the time). With this in mind I tweaked a recipe I found on the Chobani website.

Wholemeal Banana Muffins 

1 Cup Plain Flour
1 Cup Self Raising Wholemeal Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
4 Bananas
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
1 small Tub Chobani Yoghurt (or 1/2 cup) ( I used Mango flavoured)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 egg

1. Pre heat oven to 170
2. In a large bowl mix together the flours, baking powder & cinnamon.
3. In another bowl mash the banana
4. Add the oil, egg, yoghurt & sugar. Stir well.
5. Add the banana mixture to the flour and stir until all combined
6. Spoon into a greased muffin tray and bake in oven for 25 min or until cooked.

AUSSIE CURVES - Ruffles

I have been a bit MIA lately. I was hit by the cold from hell. (un)Fortunately it was doing my holidays so I was able to just rest and get well. My daughter was sick at the same time, which was a blessing in disguise because it meant she did not have her usual bounce, meaning we both spent about a week just cuddling and wallowing in our mutual self pity!

I decided to get back into it with this weeks theme. I initially had another dress in mind that had a more pronounced ruffle on the neckline, However after struggling to pull it's chiffon fabric over my baby bump I realised that it simply was not going to work! It seems bubs had had a growth spurt!

Dress - Target

Jacket - Autograph

Tights - Big W

Boots - Autograph

Necklace - Equip

After another dig in my wardrobe I turned up this dress. I think I have featured it on here before. The colour is just lovely, with coral tones. It was a great to wear something a bit brighter, as I have been wearing lots of black lately. I quite like dresses that have a slight ruffle on the bust, as I am very small busted (a barely there B). The ruffle makes the bust look larger, which balances out my wider hips.

My make up was kept super simple. I have bought some Natio BB cream and it is just wonderful. It gives me the perfect amount of coverage, and a little goes a long way. I am finding that if I want more coverage i just do some contouring and concealing with my concealer palate, then put BB cream on over the top, and I have a great even coverage. Today I just popped on primer, BB cream, mascara and a coral coloured gloss.

Have you tried BB creams? If not, give them a go. They are great if you prefer a lighter coverage, and they do wonders for evening out skin tones.

Check out what the other lovely ladies are wearing this week on Aussie Curves

Designing a 'Big Girl' Room

As we are expecting our second child it is time to set up a big girl room for our daughter. It made sense to move her into another room for a few reasons

a) We made a gender neutral nursery when we had Abigail with the intent of the room being used as a nursery for all our babies.
b) The nursery is the bedroom next door to ours, so it makes sense for night time feeds. While the other bedroom is further down the hall, so hopefully Abigail will not be woken by baby cries through the night
c) Setting up the room before the baby arrives gives us time to transition Abigail to the room, without her thinking it is because of the baby

I used pinterest to browse for ideas and develop a mood board for her room. This was great because I was able to see a pattern in what I pinned, which gave me a good idea of what I wanted in the room.

So here is what I am planning

Neutral Walls, coloured accents

 I want to keep the walls neutral so that the colours used in the room don't end up being too overpowering. The room is quite small, so this will also help the room look bigger.

Colour Scheme

 I loved the idea of using the colour red, but didn't want plain red and white. I considered doing red, rink and pale blue, but decided that a light green would work better. especially because I was going to use floral patterns as well.

Bedding

Seeing as how the walls are being kept neutral I wanted the bed to offer a splash of colour. I am drawn to floral bedding, but mixing patterns and within the colour scheme.

Accessories

My mother bought the Alice in Wonderland plates for Abbie's first birthday. They were another inspiration for the bedroom. For her 2nd Birthday my Husband and I bought her a doll house very similar to the one pictured (that one is owned by Clara from the blog Young House Love). I am wanting to put it in her bedroom on a stand so she can play with it in there. To make the room nice and girly I am lusting after ruffled curtains and a chandelier.

I have been on the hunt for the perfect items and am finally collecting many of the items inspired by the pictures shown. A paint colour has been chosen, and the room is being prepped for painting.

Stay tuned for the reveal of the room!

Aussie Curves - Pink

It's pink week!. I really quite like the colour pink, but find I lean more towards magenta pink rather than hot or light pink. The hard part about wearing pink as an adult is making sure it looks grown up, rather than 'stuck in your childhood'. I also think yo need to find the right shade to work for you. Baby pink goes nothing for my colouring, often making me look more yellow toned, and double the size. I prefer richer toned pinks, especially as my hair is a darker colour.

Singlet (not seen) - Big W Maternity

White tunic top - Katies

Skinny Leg maternity Jeans - Target

Suede Wedge boots - Target

Scarf - Big W

Belt - ASOS

The weather has been miserable the last week or so. I decided to layer up n this week's outfit. We were heading out for a high tea to celebrate my Sister's birthday. I wanted something pretty but warm. I pulled it in with the belt, as is gave me a better shiluette. I find I perfer to do up my belt under the cardigan, but either way will work.

The photo quality isn't the best. I am experimenting with taking photos using my iphone, but need to have a look for more apps that will help me get a better picture quality. I took advantage of the fact we have an empty room at the moment, as the room I am using is the soon to be 'Big Girl' room for my daughter. You can see signs of the panting being done in the background.


I felt so comfortable in this outfit. It is modeled on an outfit I put together on my maternity style boards in this post.

Cardigan. Tick. Scarf. Tick. Skinny Jeans. Tick. Singlet. Tick. Tunic top. Tick.

I warn you that you may see the skinny leg black maternity jeans feature in quite a few posts. As well as my black suede wedge boots. That's the thing with a maternity wardrobe, you have to make a few pieces work in multiple ways.

I'd love to know of any great photo taking apps. Many of my photos seem a little grainy. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve this?

Check out all the other shades of pink the other ladies are rocking this week!