Birthday Wishlist

It's the big Three-Oh for me on July 4th. I've already been treated to a wonderful week away in Gower, and my mum is coming to visit me for a week. My first visitor since I moved down here! I'm also looking forward to it because I haven't seen my mum in over a year because the last time I went home for a visit the floods had destroyed the road so I couldn't get to her.

Birthdays usually entail gifts so here's a little birthday wishlist of stuff I've been fawning over.

Lindy Bop Bette swing dress  |  Sourpuss Bettie Page Centre Fold purse

T.U.K Pizza slip ons

Lady Luck's Boutique Kiki hair flower |  Lindy Bop 'Brigitte' Paris Stripe 

T.U.K Split Stack Nosebleeds

A girl can dream, right?

A Wales of a Time featuring Yours Clothing Red Washed Cotton Parka with Hood.

My lovely partner surprised me with an early birthday holiday to South Wales last week. Pennard, in the Gower Peninsula. to be exact Now we're back and coming to terms with not having a beautiful beach as our back garden. 

Our view from the cottage.

Don't be fooled by the lovely photo, the weather was pretty horrendous at times. I was woefully under prepared for the muggy weather and torrential rain that befell us pretty much everyday. Thankfully it only ever last a couple of hours at a time before it was gloriously sunny again so we were able to salvage something.

On one such miserable, then suddenly warm and sunny, returning to miserable kind of day we drove down to Swansea to do some shopping. To my delight I found they had a Yours store. I popped in out of the rain and found it stocked with so much lovely stuff! The staff were friendly and super helpful. To my surprise they had a selection of jackets and I picked out this lovely Red Cotton Parka. 

At £39 it was more within my budget than some of the more waterproof ones they had. I've wanted a light jacket like this for so long and I'm so excited to finally have one. Living in the Lake District this would have come in very handy but better late than never! While it isn't waterproof, probably best for a light shower at best, it is a really decent windbreaker. We spend the morning at Rhossili beach doing the cliff walk and it was very sunny but super windy. Being so lightweight meant I wasn't sweating but also snug from the wind.

Rhossili Bay: legit amazing

It has some super cute striped lining in the hood and on the shoulders, which gives it a kind of nautical feel too. Most of the photos were taken at sunset but the red is lovely and vivid. The fit is great, there's actually room around my tummy and the arms are not super long which is unheard of. It's really soft too! Super pleased with my purchase! 

Have you made an unexpected, but awesome, purchases lately?

£5 OR LESS BLOG SALE! SIZES 24+!

Welcome to another blog sale, folks! Thank you for coming to check me out. Apologies for the creased stuff, it's been in a box while I've been decorating but will be washed and ironed before being sent out.

ALL ITEMS ARE £5 UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE!

All items are posted 2nd class recorded at £4, except for hair accessories, these will be posted 2nd class at £1.

Please state if you would like it sent differently. I'm more than happy to combine shipping but prices are based on weight so let me know and prices will be amended accordingly.

PayPal only please. Money to be sent to chipsarewellnice@gmail.com

*please note while items are on a first come, first serve I will be sharing this over my social media so items might not be available but not yet stated on the post*

George Asda Polka Dot dress with sheer detail.

Size 24

SOLD

George Asda green sheer blouse

Size 24

SOLD

New Look Inspire bird print dress (bought on a blog sale but didn't suit me)

Size 24

Peacocks flamingo print shirt (men's)

Size XXL

SOLD

Green pencil skirt bought on eBay so not 100% sure on sizing. Was listed as a 26. Item has a good stretch to it.

Measurements flat are: 

Waist: 22.5"/57cm

Length: 27.5"/70cm

Chicstar pencil skirt with button detail

Size 26

Length: 30"/76cm

South tropical print mini skirt nwt

Size 24
SOLD

Something Sacred long sleeve (men's)

Size XL

New Look Inspire velour skater skirt with gold glitter detail

Size 26

Evans green chiffon dress

Size 24

SOLD

New Look Inspire skater skirt with elasticated waist

Size 26

Dickies men's T-shirt

Size L

Flamingo pendant

Chain approx: 92/22cm

Moustache Polka Dot hair clip £1

Owl print head scarf £1

Pamela Mann suspender tights

Size 28/32 (would recommend more for a 24 or below)

£3

Legs Avenue Plus Size thigh highs with satin bow

£3

Dorothy Perkins's leopard print clutch

£3

Yours Clothing Skater Pinafore Dress Review.

I've been trying to incorporate more black back into my wardrobe, a sentiment my 15-year old self would have found baffling that black were lacking in any way. More casual staples that I can pair up with other things. I need to make my wardrobe reflect the laziness that is my daily life.

Yours Clothing has been putting out some great pieces and my wishlist keeps growing. 

I've always fancied a pinafore but there's never really been much going in my size, that wasn't blue denim at least, until now. I was trying to choose between two dresses at the time and when I sent the links to my partner, this was their choice. Although to be honest I'l probably get the other one as well, ha!

I like it, but it's taking some getting used to. It's hard to explain. I'm struggling to find anything to wear underneath it that I think goes really well. I do kinda feel a bit like an artisan baker in it sometimes. I dunno. It's a work in progress. I think this is going to be better suited as a winter wardrobe piece, for me personally at least. 

The material was heavier than I expected, but still soft and comfortable. I wore this to see Grimes and despite it being pretty packed and sweaty, as you'd imagine any Grimes gig to be, I was still really comfortable in it. It's a little bit long for personal taste, but I can always hem it, so it's great for taller folks who often have a lot of trouble finding stuff that isn't cupping their bumcheeks. 

One thing I was a little disappointed with was that after the first wear at the gig I noticed the material had already started bobbling underneath the armpits, which was disappointing for a dress at £26. 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with it. It's comfy, it's cute, and you can work it with lots of things. ALSO POCKETS YASS.

Outfit: Yours Clothing Skater Pinafore

Shoes: Peacocks (old)

The Only Splits I'll Be Doing! featuring Yours Clothing and New Look

After Christmas I kept my head down in terms of shopping, avoiding any internet browsing because I've been buying shit that is just too damn fancy (albeit gorgeous) and having no social life to wear any of it. I basically live in this limbo of work clothes and pajamas. With the spring sales it's been a bit difficult to resist temptation, and for once I've been bulking up my casual wardrobe.

Yours Clothing have been putting out some fabulous pieces out lately and I've bought a couple of bits from them. I spotted this maxi tunic in my local store, but typically they had every size but mine! I figured I'd use the luxury of a changing room anyway and tried the next size down. A perfect fit! In fact they had my size in a different colour and I felt it was too baggy for me. Result!

Oh yeah my hairs back to red again too

The tunic has two large splits up the side and so I donned a pair of chub rub shorts for a little modesty! The fabric is a lovely, soft jersey. It felt lovely and cool and hangs so comfortably.

I gotta admit, I was feeling pretty fierce in this. I knew this outfit called for some serious boots. I picked these up in New Look after a lovely blogger breakfast, after being convinced by Sophie that as they were on sale I obviously would be a fool not to pick them up. How could I not heed such good advice?! 

While I went for a slightly raunchier look here this tunic is just as cute dressed down. I wore this out for lunch with the fella with some leggings and an old pair of leopard print T.U.K creepers. 

It's such a blank canvas that you can dress it up or down.

Your fat super heroine

Outfit details:

Short Sleeved Tunic: Yours Clothing

Ankle Boots: New Look

There isn't enough room for all this bullshit

HelloGiggle.com recently shared this photograph from selling website/app Wish, that were advertising a pair of plus size shorts:

Charming, huh?

As noted in the HG article this is an incredibly cruel way to advertise clothing. Naturally there's been some uproar over social media. Christina, of Interrobang art, who makes and sells clothing up to a 34, posted this fantastic response on her Instagram account

But this isn't the first time this sort of cruel marketing has been used. AliExpress were under scrutiny back in 2015 for using this image to sell plus size leggings

The Big Bloomers Company, a site dedicated to plus size underwear use this to advertise their plus size tights

Aye, you keep smiling it up Sally Small.

I don't doubt there are many more, these are just the ones I was able to find first. So what's the issue? 

In laymans terms it's disrespectful as fuck to use this sort of strategy to advertise plus size clothing. 

The photos are utterly ridiculous, verging on comical and circus-esque. "Look how HUGE this product is! You can fit a whole other person with room to spare!"

And that's the thing, isn't it? We don't see fat people as real people but rather bodies that can't be comprehended without using "normal" bodies for scale. You want to advertise plus size clothing, and demonstrate how big your products are? USE ACTUAL FAT PEOPLE. Use a diverse range of sizes to demonstrate the variety of sizing you offer. "Here's a body wearing a size 12, and here's the same product in a 32." It's NOT HARD. 

There are so many fat people out there who would offer their services. Look at how plus size brands have tapped into using bloggers to model for them. The sizes are out there: you just won't use them.

Frankly I am sick of companies humiliating fat people and in the next breath taking our money. If they aren't using micro-aggresive language like "flattering", "slimming" and other such crap to suggest our fat can, and should, be magically hidden then they are outright removing us from their brick and mortar stores. 

What is even the logic in this? Do they not think fat people are going to take one look at this and close the fucking tab? Bullying people does not a profit make. Too long have companies tapped into a person's low self esteem to sell you a product you don't need, for an imaginary issue you don't even have. But people need clothes. What we don't need is being made out to be circus freaks. 

Orange is the new black-featuring Tu by Sainburys

My laptop is finally back up and running! Not that I've had time to miss it as I've done a few sleep-ins at work and I've spent a lot of time feeling sleepy and unmotivated. I'm hoping with more sunshine coming that I'll stop feeling like such a zombie and pull my socks up.

Until then here's a new outfit post. I actually bought this top back in December when I was getting some bits for a Christmas dinner while in my local Sainsbury's. I spotted it half a mile away given how bright it is!

There's been hints of 70's stuff coming back in and this is very reminscent of a 70's wallpaper. Bright and tacky? Winner. Plus I loves me a peter pan collar. Don't ask me why. I just think they are really cute. The material is a lovely, stretchy, and cool jersey material. 

I put this together with my trusty skater skirt from New Look. I know the skater skirt is a bit of a marmite item in the fatshion community. Mostly because it's the only cut that's been offered to fatties and it's right that you'd be bored of it. 

For me it carries a little bit of a casual and wearable retro look, and as a size 26, contrary to popular belief is pretty welcome. Vintage and retro looks, beyond swing dresses, is actually pretty inacessible for fatties beyond a 22. A heads up but sometimes fat people want the swing trousers, the cute boleros and cardigans, the cute skirts, the pea coats. Not all of us live in swing dresses. Jussayin'

My lovely chap hooked me up with some new black creepers from Asos at Christmas, after my New Look ones finally gave up the ghost. Due to my fecklessness you can't actually see them in most of the photos because self timers...finding the right spot..blah blah. I'm no good at this photo lark, ok? 

But yeah, I love me some creepers. They give any outfit a little rockabilly feel. 

What's been brightening your day?