As you all know, Plus North is approaching fast so I finally to step foot in a Simply Be store for the first time.  I am becoming a big fan of ordering clothes online however nothing beats the feeling of stepping into a changing room armed with loads of clothes and trying them on right there and then!  My plan for the weekend involves going to the exhibition and then head into the Simply Be store where I hope all of my favourite Autumn / Winter 2013 pieces will be.

I have to be relatively good though - with the wedding fast approaching, I must resist temptation to spend lots on clothes for the next few months but I will allow myself one item if I really love it as I don't know when I will next get the chance to visit the store.

So what are my favourite pieces of this upcoming season?  Let's take a look now...

First up, a houndstooth illusion dress with leather look trims. If I'm being honest with myself I don't think that this dress would suit me which really sucks due to my body shape. If it is in store I may try it on anyway.  I like this dress because it's perfect for business meetings, not too short and uses the current trend of illusion dresses with a bit of a twist. I guess in a way it almost looks like a top and a pencil skirt.

Houndstooth illusion dress with leather look trims, £65

This dress is available on the Simply Be website in sizes 14 to 32 and is £65.  

I know that I should really be varying my wardrobe a bit as all I seem to buy lately are dresses but I love the way they make you feel that bit more feminine.  I don't feel the same when I am wearing jeans.  My second pick is another dress, this time one that I would team with knee boots if I can ever find a pair that fits!

This lace trim folk dress is perfect for this season with colours that really work for Autumn yet it has that added elegance of the lace trim to make it look that bit sexier.  At only £40 it's a bit of a steal too and I can't wait to try it on.   It is on the Simply Be website in sizes 12 to 32 (although the 26 is out of stock at the moment).

Simply Be Lace Trim Folk Dress, £40

I was torn between my final pick - there are some gorgeous Lovedrobe dresses now available on the Simply Be website but after seeing Cass from Plump Parsnip in this final dress I really do think it is beautiful.  The Anna Scholz Print Peplum dress is a mix of colours in a blurred floral print and although I don't normally do peplum I'm keen to give it a try!  This dress is £75 so a bit more expensive however I have heard great things about Anna Scholz so I think that it would be worth the money. It is also available in sizes 14 to 32.

Anna Scholz Printed Peplum Dress, £75, Simply Be

What are your favourite pieces from the Autumn / Winter collection?

Hi everyone :) I just want to apologise for being a little quiet this week.  After visiting wedding venues (well actually only one - we didn't see the point in visiting the others) we finally booked a wedding date!  Naturally I am extremely excited, but then it dawned on me that I have around 5 months to plan it!!!!!! Panic set in!  Okay so what do I have so far?

• Dress  - Check... First thing I thought of to be honest!
• Shoes  - Eeek no, but will be going to look for some in next few weeks
• Tiara - Made one, but not 100% sure I want to wear it
• Jewellery - Not really sorted yet.
• Bridesmaid Dress - Not yet!
• Flowers - Where do I start?
• Photographer - Chosen one just need to pay her deposit
• Groom's Suit - He can sort that one!
• Ties to match bridesmaid dress - to do
• Little suit for my stepson - waiting until December in case he grows
• Wedding Rings - Not yet
• Cake -  I know what I want, but I haven't asked around for prices yet
• Registrar booked - Provisionally...
• Menu for wedding breakfast - Chosen 3 choices
• Wedding invitations - Thinking of making myself

I am sure I have forgotten something really important off this list... so if you notice anything, please let me know as I feel a little "all over the place" at the moment...   Anyway I just wanted to let you know normal service will resume asap and of course we have plus north next weekend I am really excited about that apart from the long drive!

Who'd like to see some of the inspiration I have found for my wedding?....

 

I'm a little late with this one although technically the new challenge doesn't start until today...  This weeks challenge involved styling an outfit suitable for a wedding guest and I have to admit I have really struggled with my wardrobe to get anything suitable. 

We all agreed not to buy anything specific to complete these challenges and I have stuck to that and have come up with an outfit which used pieces from my wardrobe and budget ones at that!

 

Dress: Primark, £14, Statement Necklace: New Look, £12.99, Hairband: unknown,
Charm Bracelet: Vintage Blush*, Heels: Select

I think that if I was invited to a wedding in the near future I would probably go out and buy something new as I feel this dress is a little short for a wedding and definitely wouldn't work for an Autumn/Winter wedding...  Check back next week for the "Denim" Style It My Way Challenge and I can't wait to see how everyone else styles it!

It's time for my second review of ASOS Curve and this time it is something completely out of my comfort zone.... BODYCON!   Apart from an unworn black lace bodycon dress that I bought last Christmas that disguises all my lumps and bumps I haven't really experimented with this style before because I am quite conscious of my tummy area and wobbly bits! I decided to steer away from my safe choices and review some clothing that I wouldn't normally choose to wear.  This makes for impartial reviews rather than everything being perfect all of the time.

 

 

Bodycon dress in mirror floral print: ASOS Curve, currently reduced to £31.50,
Necklace: Unknown, Bracelets: New Look & Unknown, Heels: Next

What I particularly liked about this bodycon dress, apart from the print which is absolutely gorgeous and unique, was the length.  A lot of the bodycon dresses are cut very short and I think that the extra length gives it a bit more class.  I think that I would need a lot more confidence to wear this dress out in public without some sort of jacket semi-covering myself up.  I am wearing shapewear underneath the dress from Marks and Spencer (£29.50) to smooth out my lumpy bits.  

The reason I decided not to wear a jacket or cardigan for this review is so that you can get a full view of the print of the dress.  I am wearing a size 18 which fits perfectly and is quite tight (this also helps with smoothing out any love handles!).  The dress is made very well in a soft, stretchy jersey fabric and is available on the ASOS website in the sale currently reduced from £45.00 down to £31.50, however only a size 20 and size 28 are left in stock. 

 I think that this dress is worth the price tag as it is well made and beautiful but I think I need a bit more experience in bodycon and confidence to be able to rock it as well as the model on the ASOS Curve website (Mr FH doesn't agree with that statement and he absolutely loves it!).  I have one more item to review for ASOS Curve but I am very impressed with the quality of their items and I aim to make them a regular on the site :) If you haven't already checked out their ever changing range of clothing made especially for a size 18 to 26/28, you won't regret it... it's awesome!

If I had to choose another item of clothing that I couldn't live without apart from dresses, I would have to choose pencil skirts.  I love pencil skirts as they skim over my hips but aren't too revealing since they generally come just to or below the knee - they look classy and can be smart or dressed down slightly for a more casual occasion.

Tonight's Outfit of the Evening features a new pencil skirt that I picked up from Primark.  I can't remember the exact price but I think it was around £8 - absolute bargain.  I have seen other bloggers posting similar skirts with a cartoon / comic strip print on but I could not resist the "Stained Glass Window" effect so opted for that instead.

 

 

 Pencil Skirt: Primark (£8 I think!) - size 18, Spaghetti Vest: Select, £3, size 14 (I like them tight!), Sheer Black Blouse & Bracelets: New Look - size 18, Boots & Belt: Unknown, Necklace: Alchemy Gothic, approximately £25.

I have teamed my pencil skirt with a black spaghetti strapped top and a sheer blouse over the top.  This blouse is really cool because I can roll up the arms and fasten them with buttons, or wear it as a long sleeved blouse.  I have gone a bit gothic with this look as I have also included black boots and a gorgeous oversized cross necklace from Alchemy Gothic and bracelets from New Look.

I really love this look and it's a bit different to my normal girly style.  I hope you like it too - seriously, go get the pencil skirt it is stretchy, comfy and a bargain! :)

Whenever I think of ladies swimwear shopping there is immediate dread across my face because there's no way to hide any lumps and bumps that are on my body and I am quite conscious of my tummy and big arms.  

I do wear swimsuits when I am on holiday but I'm going to let you into a little secret of mine - I can't actually swim and never learned how to as a child.  I have always bought swimsuits that have secret hidden panels in to suck in my tummy and I have never worn a bikini EVER!

Sports Direct got in touch with me to see if I would like to review their swimwear range and at first I was a little hesitant due to having to post photos of me in the swimsuits then I decided that I would face my fear and have a go!  I must admit I'd never considered looking in sports direct for swimwear before...

The lovely people at Sports Direct let me choose a couple of items that I thought would suit me so I chose a polka dot swimdress (I've never worn one of these before) and a simple black halterneck swimsuit both by the brand Ocean Pacific (Op).  I was surprised by how much choice they had in their ladies swimwear range, but I wasn't brave enough to try a bikini!

First up, the polka dot swimdress.  I love the idea of these as they cover slightly more of my upper thigh than a normal swimming costume.    Their swimdress comes in two colours, plain black or navy blue polka dot.  I chose the blue as it reminds me of the retro look and I thought it would look really cute with a pair of kitten heels for walking around the pool in! I chose to wear this swimdress with a pair of white low wedges from Marks and Spencer (previous season).

 

Ocean Pacific (Op) Polka Dot Swimdress*: Sports Direct, £9.99,

Wedges: Marks and Spencer

I am wearing a size 16 in this swimdress which helps to hold my tummy in a little.  The material is very good quality and overall I think this swimdress has been well made.  It also has spaghetti straps and padded underwired bra cups.  The only downside to this swimdress was that even though the cups were padded and underwired I still felt like they didn't give me much lift or boost and that I was maybe a little flattened by it in the chest area. 
I mentioned this earlier, but I really love the length of this swimdress as it hides my upper thighs and I would be happy to wear this in / around the pool.  I don't even feel like I need to wear a kaftan to cover up in this swimdress.  I think that swimdresses are a style I will be definitely beinvestigating more in the future. This Ocean Pacific (Op) swimdress is available from Sports Direct at an extremely reasonable price of £9.99 and is available up to a size 18.   

The second item that I chose from the ladies swimwear range at Sports Direct was a black halterneck plunging neckline swimming costume again from Ocean Pacific (Op) at Sports Direct.  This swimsuit is plain black  but is also available in a black and white floral print.  I opted for the black because of it being a little more slimming.

 

 

 

Ocean Pacific Halterneck Swimming Costume*: Sports Direct, £7.00,
Wedges: George @ Asda, £7.00

I really love this swimming costume even though it doesn't hold my tummy in and would benefit from a slimming panel.  At £7.00 you can't really expect that though and I am impressed by how it looks on.  This swimming costume feels extremely flattering and the neckline is super sexy. Perfect for the honeymoon!  I am wearing a size 16 again in this swimming costume.  The halterneck can be adjusted to make it tighter or looser and this swimming costume also has underwires and added padding in the cups.

I think that I would probably wear a sarong around my waist while walking around the pool just to cover up the tops of my legs but the good thing about this costume is that it isn't particularly high cut in the legs.  There is perfect coverage for my rather big bottom and it isn't too low cut in the back.  This swimming costume is only £7.00 which is unheard of in my world!  For the slimming panel swimsuits I have previously bought I have paid up to £40.00 each which really is quite a rip off when Sports Direct are selling equally comfortable and beautiful swimming costumes for a fraction of that price.  I am very pleased with my choices for review and think that I will venture into a Sports Direct a bit more often than I used to as generally it was for Mr FH rather than myself!

Check out Sports Direct's full ladies swimwear range including tankinis, bikinis and swimming costumes.  Please note, I have not been paid for this review and all opinions are 100% my own as always! :)

Not long after I wrote an article about the new range of ASOS Curve jewellery that is due for release in August 2013 I got in touch with ASOS Curve and they were lovely, they sent me a few items to review.

I must admit I was very excited about this *insert squeal here* because although I have ordered accessories from ASOS before and one dress from their main range, I had never experienced ASOS Curve and I really love their fashion forward pieces.  For these reviews I decided to be a little more adventurous and instead of choosing things that I knew would suit me straight away I chose three items that were very different to my style even though there were three dresses I loved.  I have the opinion that if I always choose things that I am guaranteed to fall in love with it doesn't make very impartial reviews.

The first item I was sent to review is the ASOS Curve Quilted Jacket in Floral Print.  I was very unsure about the sizes since I've never tried any of their products before so I opted for a size 18.  I was delighted when it turned up - it fit perfectly, no gaping on the bust line due to my massive back.

This jacket is black with a multitude of different coloured flowers on it.  Pink, blue and orange are the other main colours that stand out on this jacket. It is very striking to look at and super comfy - made from polyester and a cotton lining it feels really smooth on your skin and although it isn't a lightweight jacket it doesn't pull you down with its weight and feels like it is a really high quality jacket.

When styling this jacket my first thoughts were to pair it with some skinny jeans and a black tank top however I noticed that this was how the model wore it on the website.  I took photos of this look anyway to show you all what it looks like on my frame/shape.  This jacket can be worn as both a casual jacket and a smart one though and is very versatile!  Try wearing it with a pencil skirt and the whole look changes completely just from changing one item of clothing (and shoes of course!).  

ASOS Curve Quilted Jacket in Floral Print *: ASOS Curve, currently £36.00,
Skinny Jeans: George @ Asda, £8, Tank Top: Select, £3, Cross Necklace: Select, £5.99, Ring: Unknown, Shoes: George @ Asda, £6. 

ASOS Curve Quilted Jacket in Floral Print *: ASOS Curve, currently £36.00,
Textured Pencil Skirt: Select, £8, Tank Top: Select, £3,
Ring: Unknown, Necklace: Star by Julien Macdonald @ Debenhams, Shoes: Morgan

This jacket is available over on the ASOS Curve section of the website in sizes 18 to 28 and is currently reduced from £45.00 to £36.00.  I would say that even at full price this jacket is worth every penny and will be a perfect addition to any Autumn wardrobe now the weather is cooling down substantially.

So far my experience of ASOS Curve is a very positive one and I actually went to place an order the day these review items arrived but unfortunately the dresses I had been drooling over previously were all out of my size so I am trying to decide what to order potentially to wear in the daytime at Plus North.