Here's What I Would Have Spent: Topshop.

I'd yet to try a HWIWHS challenge before so when Debz announced the next one I figured I'd give it a try. I thought it would be interesting to check out a store I don't ever shop with.

I'm a big fan of colour and prints, but I still love some classic monoshrome stripe. Are you seeing that dinosaur jumper?! SO awesome. I think between that and the monochrome shirt next to it, that has to be a fave and something I would buy in a heartbeat if they stocked anything remotely plus sized.

L-R

Flower Print Wide Leg Trousers-£40

Tie Striped Shirt Dress-£38

Pineapple Foil Print Swimsuit-£36

Broderie Pinafore Sundress-£38

Monochrome Striped Shirt by Unique-£75

Dinosaur Print Loungewear Sweater-£28

Crushed Satin Bomber Jacket by Goldie-£49

HWIWHS total: £304
£304 of this fatties cash that Topshop won't be getting!


Other bloggers taking part you should totally check out:

http://www.wannabeprincess.co.uk
http://curvygirlthin.blogspot.com
http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk 
http://uniquelyfilipa.blogspot.pt/
http://thecurvedopinion.com
http://www.acurvycupcake.com
http://www.voluptuouschatterbox.co.uk/
http://www.pinkgemma.com/
http://www.seeingspots.co.uk/
http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com/
http://therandomnessoftwee.blogspot.co.uk/

A Plus kinda week.

I'm currently up north in the Lake District visiting family. The weather has been wonderful, the scenery has been breathtaking, and seeing my family after five months has been really amazing. I haven't had much chance to be online aside from checking in on my phone. What a week to dip out of social media! .
This week we've seen Plus Size Wars hitting the tv, and like anything that puts plus size people in a remotely positive light, there is the usual furore. Then we had Jamelia, former popstar and now gob-for-hire on Looose Women (blergh), made some heinous comments about people in "extreme" sizes, noting "they" should feel comfortable when trying to buy clothes and in fact sizing that is less than a 6 and greater than a 20 shouldn't be available in stores.
The plus size community fired back with Debz from A Wannabee Princess creating a hashtag #WeAreTheThey. You can find the original posts from her here.

The basic premise was that people like Jamelia want to talk about "they" without considering that "they" are real people. So this hashtag put faces to the anonymous people that were being spoken about with little to no thought or consideration.

The hashtag took off, and even made it into mainstream media. The plus size commnity really came together and made their voices heard. It was amazing to watch it snowball over a few hours. I felt helpless, hiding out in the middle of nowhere with barely any signal. I have been slowlyl catching up now I'm in a more signal friendly part of the lakes. Everyone's pieces have been wonderful to read; sharing their heartache growing up fat, sharing their insecuritites and their own journeys to self acceptance.

What people like Jamelia seem to conveniently forget, when they preach about loving yourself but so long as you are "healthy", is that health is NOT an obligation and it is certainly not a measure of worth. But most importantly is that when she, and people like her, talk about how people in these sizes shouldn't have these things seems to think that we actually HAVE these things.
If people really knew how fat people were treated on a daily basis; how fat people are given inadequate medical care, less likely to get jobs, are physically abused, humilated, and used as a societal scapegoat for just about everything wrong, she would think twice before suggesting that simply by trying to live in peace was "gloryfying obesity".

I don't care if you think being fat is going to make my joints all fall off. I don't care if you think that being fat will clog my arteries and stop my heart. I don't care if you think that being fat will give me diabetes. I don't care of you think that being fat is a strain on the NHS (have you ever bothered to ask WHAT the money is spent on?). Even if all those things were true (they aren't) that is MY choice and you don't have a say in it (No your tax money isn't funding it.).

You don't get to make me feel less of a human being because I am fat. You don't get to make me feel less of a human being for anything.

Liebster Award!

I'm very flattered to be nominated by Vicky of The Randomness of Twee for a Liebster award, aimed at new blogs and those with less than 200 followers. I think this is a great idea because blogging can be difficult to navigate if you are not familiar with it and it's a great way to introduce people to new blogs, plus it was pretty fun to write up.

The Rules are:

Thank and link back to the blogger who nominated you.

Answer the 11 questions that they have asked you.

Nominate bloggers who have a following of <200 on Bloglovin’

Ask them 11 questions.

Notify the nominees.

So here are my questions!

What inspired you to blog?

I attended my first Plus North in Manchester two years ago where I was befriended by Lisa, Sarah, Charlie and Mel none of whom I had ever me before but made me feel very welcome as I was wandering around aimlessly on my own. Through the course of the day many people asked if I blogged, and when I said I didn’t, why I didn’t. So, feeling a lot of fatshion inspiration, and full to the brim with wonderful compliments I went ahead and started. 

Who are your favourite bloggers?

I’m still pretty new to the’blogosphere’ despite having started two years ago. It’s only been in recent months that I’ve started to make an effort so I’m still lacking on following blogs. But that said I do have a lot of love for Leah of Just Me Leah. This being that, so far, she’s the most down to earth bloggers in the way she writes. I like reading blogs who read in the way I imagine they would speak. Leah shares many aspects of her life and is very open about sex and her chronic illness. But she does so with a cheeky charm. She’s honest when she needs to be, and stays true to herself with the topics she blogs about and the manner in which she does it.

Another blogger I love is Laura of Lolly Likes Fatshion. Mostly because I finally found a fatshion blogger who is my size who loves colour like me! I never thought I’d find anyone my size who wore things I was actually interested in. She always has wonderfully creative and colourful outfits. She has a great kitschy style (she pulls off a 60’s look like a dream.). She’s also very protective of her community and speaks out against bullying and bigotry across her social media. She’s fearless and won’t take any crap from anyone. 

What is your dream outfit?

Hmmmm. This is a tough one but I guess what I really want to have, and have yet to acquire, is a dress in cherry print and a dress in red and white polka dots. They exist, but never in my size. Also in flamingo print. 

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I come from one of the most beautiful places in England, the Lake District, but I moved away to be closer to my partner. I think if there were more things going on around that area I’d go back and live there.  Sadly it’s pretty rural so there’s not much going on unless you love fell walking, which is great, but I need a little more going on like music venues, shopping, events etc. 

What would be your last meal?

I thought long and hard about this and tried to think of some fancy meals but honestly the first thing that came to my head was lasagne. I love the stuff. I always make loads with the intention of freezing it and being organised, but I just end up eating it all. So yeah, lasagne and cheesy garlic bread followed by Cartmel sticky toffee pudding and cream. (No other sticky puds compare!)

Who is your style icon?

Honestly I have no idea. I know that’s a terrible answer but I don’t tend to follow fashion and I just sort of found my own style.  But I do draw inspiration from the fatshion community.

Dogs or cats?

What is your beauty essential?

Ultra Bland cleanser from Lush, coupled with their Tea Tree toner water. My skin is so sensitive and I found using remover wipes were making my skin burn, even the baby ones . But these are amazing. I use them to remove my make up at night and around my t-zone.

What are the three songs you would listen to if the world was ending?

1. Anything by Clutch. Don't make me choose!

2. Nightwish's cover of Phantom of the Opera.

3. Love Shack by the B52's

What is your favourite smell?

I’ve been using Light Blue by Dolce&Gabbana for about as long as I’ve worn perfume. People always say to me when they smell it it reminds them of me. Also Sweetie Pie shower jelly by Lush is gorgeous.

Where is the best place you have ever been to?

New Orleans. I was fortunate enough to get the last summer from her before Hurricane Katrina hit. I went in the June, and the hurricane hit in September. I only wish I had planned it better and seen more. But it was still pretty magical and I went on my own! 

My Nominations are...

Siân of Sort Life Out; Buy Milk.

Fat alt bloggers are seemingly hard to come by. Sian's style is right up my street. She's kitsch, she's goth. she's spooky, and a down right cutie. I love her bold style. She's not afraid to mix bold patterns and colours with equally bold lipsticks and hair colour. She's fearless in her fashion and I love it!

Chrissie Bee of Dainty in Doc Martens.

She's the fat feminist who is babein' up my Instagram feed. Her blog is a great mix of alt style and feminism. Perfect!

My questions are..

1. What inspired your blog name?
2. What are you currently reading? If not, recommend me a book.
3. What song are you loving right now?
4. What's for dinner?
5. It's your day off! What's the plan?
6. Sweet or savoury?
7. Do you have any vices?
8. Do you collect anything?
9. Anything sitting in your online basket waiting for payday?
10. Let's meet for a drink! What're you having?
11. Favourite memory?

So this happened..

I've been really lax with blogging lately and this is why. 

Everyone, meet Vinnie.

He's 4 months old and so as you can imagine he's kept us busy. 

It's our first week and we're still finding our routine and getting used to being out in the garden every 45 minutes instead of slobbing out in front of our respective computer screens, but it's going better than we anticipated. 

So far he seems to have a really lovely temperment. He's good with strangers, and especially children. do anything too bad. He's not really chewed anything and he's barely barked.  He's just not keen on walking much right now. I know them feels, bud. 

I'm still kinda pinching myself. I've wanted a dog for years but I've always held of because I felt I was too selfish with my time but the circumstances were right and so here we are. I do find myself forgetting how much my time is affected by a new puppy who you can't leave. I can't just go strolling into the shops when I feel like it, we've already had to cancel plans, and now I have to think about the sort of shifts I pick up at work. Sometimes, when I've been standing in the garden at 6.30am in the rain, I wondered what the hell I had done. But when we come back in and he can't wait to sit in my lap and snooze it's really, really hard to be sad. 

Rocketeer reporting for duty! Featuring Hell Bunny

So I'm a bit slow on the uptake (nothing new, right?) but I'm finally usting out my Curverella t-shirt from Nicky Rockets after purchasing it at Plus North in August last year. Shortly after the attending the event I injured my back and by the time I was up and about again it was jumper weather. So here it is and man I LOVE it.

The stall was manned by the simply gorgeous Betty Pamper, who was really sweet and helpful. She advised me on the best size to choose and she was bang on. It fits like a dream! I opted for the slash neck.

The sizing is very generous with the material having a decent stretch to it. The fabric is high quality, as is the print ink. I love the tongue in cheek designs, especially the B-movie horror vibe. Perfect!

What prompted me to dig this little gem out was the recent arrival of my first Hell Bunny piece. 

I'd been on the hunt for a plain jacket with the weather warming up slightly. As with most of my endeavours into plain things I come out with something all singing and all dancing.

There's nothing plain about this amazing Sadie 50's Baseball Style jacket in red and black. 

The fabric is thick and soft, the jacket being fully lined with its corrosponding colours. The colours are very rich and vibrant. There are two stitched designs which are excellent quality; one on the front and a huge back piece.

As with all vintage repro I buy the biggest and cross my fingers a I try it on. It fits, but is slightly snug towards the bottom. It sits on my hips so if you prefer something longer this won't be for you. I have room to swing my arms without any buttons popping open. Success!

Now I can grab a milkshake at my local diner and gaze scornfully at all the squares.

Jacket: Bought on ebay at MaggieAnn Vintage Store--4XL

T-shirt: Nicky Rockets (I can't remember the size and there's no tag. Possibly a 3 or 4Xl?)

Mini skirt: New Look Inspire via eBay

Leggings:Evans

Boots: Doc Martens via eBay.

Pyjama Project

I had been thinking for sometime about the fat-posi media I was consuming. As someone just getting into fatshion blogging I found myself following lots of blogs for inspiration and to find out the who's-who of fat blogging. But I became more and more aware that I was seeing a lot of the same thing. Inspired by my last post, about the imperfections being ok, I realised that I was seeing a lot of polished, perfect images. High fashion, or highfemme-which are amazing in their own right and I'm super grateful they exist-but there was very little in the way of those who don't subscribe to that either because they don't want to or an unable to for whatever reason, and those people are important too.

So it was for this reason that I started the Pyjama Project. A submissions based Tumblr where fat people can submit images of themselves in their comfy clothes, baggy tees, ugly nighties, lazy day off clothes, face masks, messy hair--and be celebrated for being fab. It was pretty daunting and I didn't exect much of a reception, but there has been some great support so far. I'm not exactly 'tumblr famous' or barely even a drop in the blogging ocean but I wanted to do my bit and I hope it doesn't fall flat at the first hurdle.

If you're interested in submitting you don't need to have a Tumblr account. You can submit 'anon' and just leave any details you want like any social media platforms and the like.

This was my submission. Eeek!

Miss Match

Truthfully I had no intention of posting these photos. While I had planned the outfit in my head and was really excited to put it together, it didn't translate quite how I had in mind. Things didn't sit how I imagined, didn't pair up as I'd hoped. My hair was messy, the day was windy and made everything blow around and ruffle out of place. I felt really disheartened.

Then I realised that that was exactly why I needed to post them.

If I'm honest I'm not the most fashion concious person. I'm not one for spending time on my appearance. Mostly because the way I spend ym time doesn't call for it. My job as a carer means that I have to wear a lot of stuff that I'm prepared to have pulled at, have various bodily fluids splashed on, keep me cool as I rush about in an already warm house, not reveal too much skin, and just be generally practical.

Dang wind!

When I'm not at work I'm basically slobbing out on my pj's. As I tend to work evenings there is little time for me to relax after work before bedtime, so I spend most mornings before work curled up eating toast and watching Steven Universe. On my days off it's Dragon Age marathons. 

When I started blogging here I wasn't really sure what I wanted to achieve. I think I just wanted to be another fat body for fellow fat people to see in a positive way. A fat body wearing what they wanted, no matter what fashion media tried to say. Mostly because when I was growing up I had no such thing. 

But the fact remains that it's ok if things aren't quite right. This is more of a reflection of me. A little mix of this and that; a cheapy casual top with something a little more expensive in this instance.

I like to shop about and piece together what I can. Sometimes it means forking out a little more, like this adorable Modcloth skirt. Quality fabric in a vivacious red, with a lovely soft white underskirt. The skirt is very full but isn't heavy. 

Paired with a cute, and cheap, top from Primark. This is a pretty casual box tee with rolled sleeves. This is actually a size 20 (I'm generally a 24/26 on top) but it's probably meant to be really baggy but if it works, it works. I love the cheesy tattoo flash pattern on it. For a fiver how could I not?!

Outfit details

Top: Primark size 20

Skirt: Modcloth 4XL

Shoes: Hush Puppies