Plus North 2014; a belated catch up.

Much like the majority of the fat blogging community who attended I had every intention of writing up about my experience of Plus North 2014. However I found myself being admitted to hospital two days after my return from Leeds and the hospital didn't have wifi (I know, the horror of it all.).
I hurt my back, tearing a disc sack and causing a bulge in my L4 and L5. Nothing life threatening but serious enough to see me being there for nearly three weeks.

I was discharged Friday night and am now recooperating at home. As I am more or less confined to my bed, with short spurts of activity to see me to the bathroom and back to keep me from seizing up, I figured I had time to blog.

Plus North this year for me was a mixed bag. I had the benefit of knowing more people so I was able to hold my own better and felt more comfortable approaching people in conversation. I also had the added excitement of being selected to model for Curvissa and So Fabulous!

I didn't take ANY pictures over the weekend. There never seemed any time! So I've had to borrow a few.
Here is a snapshot from the So Fabulous catwalk.

image credit to bgpmagazine.co.uk

5th from the left.

No pictures but a video of the Curvissa catwalk taken from their Facebook


It was so wonderful to see so many rad fats all in one place and the only comments that were said were compliments. As I hinted at earlier the weekend was a mixed bag for me. On one hand I met some wonderful, confident, amazing fat people but couldn't help noticing that despite the promises of community there was a lot of snubbing going on, a lot of cliques that seemed impossible to navigate.
It seemed apparent that, with the exception of maybe one of two people, I ended up speaking to the same people I had met for the first time last year. I felt myself withdraw more from it, content to watch from the sidelines.
I did have the insane pleasure of meeting a mutal Tumblr follower from Scotland and we hit it off straight away! Luckily her friends were just as wonderful and with the terrible twosome of Lisa and Rachel in tow we all headed out for an insane amount of drinking and dancing on Saturday night. I felt a genuine sadness as I waved them a very tired goodbye.

So while I had some negatives, like the staff at the venue being incredibly rude and unhelpful, I feel blessed to have made some genuine friends.

I would like to make a note that while I feel there were some negatives to the event I am very grateful to the people who have worked so, so hard to make this happen year after year. I can't fathom the amount of time and effort put in and I am happy to be part of this fat community.

Every woman?

So recently Kelly Osbourne just announced her new clothing like Stories by KO. 

"I can finally reveal I am releasing my debut clothing line Stories by Kelly Osbourne next month! This has been 10 years in the making so to say I'm excited (and a little nervous) is an understatement. Stories...by Kelly Osbourne is for EVERY women, because I believe fashion should be fair! That's why every single piece will be in a size 0-24. Yes, you heard me! This is for you ALL! I'll be launching live on @hsn on September 25! I can't wait to see how you all create your own stories with my pieces! XO"

So, where to begin? 

I want to preface this by saying that I understand that another plus size range is obviously a step in the right direction. I get that. But can we just stop and just take stock a minute? 

"...is for EVERY women!"

Unless you're over a 24. Which a lot of fat people are. The way this is being presented is as if this is something revolutionary. A 24?! Way to go!!

Well..can I say..no. No, actually. This isn't inclusive at all. I can buy size 24 clothes in Asda for goodness sake. 24 is the cusp of acceptable fatness. You only have to read the comments on the Facebook photo to ascern how the general public feel about anyone bigger. 

When you have companies like Asos and Domino Dollhouse putting out some pretty on trend and quirky pieces in larger sizes I have to wonder what are we getting so excited about?

I don't think a lot of people appreciate how tough it is to be over a size 24 and to care about your apperance. Keeping up with fashion, or developing your own style, is a lot of hard work and dedication. You have to learn how to work a lot of basics. You work on accessorising because sometimes that's the best you've got. 

Truthfully I have maybe 5 stores I can shop at. Most of them online and overseas so there's additional shiopping/import tax costs to factor in. 

 Plus having an alternative style it can be even harder to accomodate for. 

Once again I will be watching from the sidelines as smaller fats get to dip their toe in the designer pool.

OOTD: Post festival blues but some good news!

So the last few months have been kind of hectic for me. I turned 28 at the beginning of July and spent the day in beautiful Brighton. I went home to visit the family a week later (of which I spent the majority in bed having pulled my back out. Sigh!)  and I've just returned from Cambridge Folk Festival following a week of lots of polka, jigging, fairylights, knee-slapping and a touch of rain.

So time to catch up with the world online.

So first things first I have been selected to model at the up coming Plus North event at the end of the month.

 As you can imgine I am very flattered and pretty excited. There's a ton of lovely ladies who will be strutting their stuff and I'm excited to be alongside them.

So onto my OOTD. A little homage to my summer holiday, a little piece of paradise in a country park.

I tend to avoid prints, colour, or pattern on my bottom half. I'm faithful to my leggings and mini skirt. But I've been going doolally for anything tropical and when I saw this skirt in Asda I was so excited to see it in my size. The material is so soft and light, perfect for roaming barefoot around the festival and the print is delicious to boot!

You can't see in the picture but there is a little slit up the side which gives it a little sexy Jessica Rabbit feel to it. The waist is elasticated so there's plenty of stretch. The length is perfect for me. I can comfortably wear this on my hips and it doesn't trail.

I teamed this with a simple vest because I didn't want to distract from the amazing colours. For a final tropical splash I wore my gorgeous Palm Bling earrings from Black Heart Creatives. I opted for the matte gold.

Handmade and totally stunning, they come beautifully boxed. A decent weight to them without feeling too heavy I can wear these all day without feeling irritated. I adore everything they have so picking one was hard (but best for my wallet!)

OOTD: Tutti Fruiti

The nights are getting lighter, the days are getting warmer. Time to get sleeveless and fearless. 

I spent many a year suffering under sleeves in hot summers. No more! 

Doing the job I do I don't opportunity to dress up and often feel so tired that on days off I just want something casual to wear to run errands. 

I picked up this juicy little number from my local New Look in the Inspire section. It's light and comfortable. There's a decent amount of room under the arms but it doesn't bag. 

The design is so cute and colourful and I don't have to compromise my comfort. 

I teamed it with a denim mini skirt, again from New Look (an eBay find. Apparently denim mini skirts are impossible to find.) 

Black plimsolls are also from New Look. Super cheap and comfy. 

I did splash a little femme on this and treated my lips to some MUA Luxe Lip Laquer in Reckless. I love these so much I bought another two. Goes on as a gloss and dries to matte. The colour is a deeper red than what I'd typically wear but the colour is rich and gorgeous. It has great lasting power although does need a re-application after a meal.

OOTD: Bank holiday sundae

The sun has been out! Can you believe it? It's been a hectic few months for me. I moved house and have been up to my neck in tins of this and that, boxes, paintbrushes and all that fun stuff. But now the days are getting warmer, I've started planting flowers now I have a garden and I'm curious to see how this new chapter works out.

So, the boy and I took a trip out to a local animal sanctuary to sample their vegan cafe menu and this is what I wore.

I was in my local Asda recently checking out their sale racks. Typically they had nothing in my size. Then I spotted this adorable blouse, which they also had in a lovely cornflower blue. Half price at only a fiver! Size 22. Damn. But it was too cute to pass up. If I could get it over my bust I was golden. Huzzah! Success!

The blouse is really doft and light but enough to keep you comfortable if a cool breeze kicks in. Very comfortable. Its cute enough to wear out on a day out, but also comfy enough to wear while running errands.
I've never worn shirts like this before and I'm kicking myself for it. Shirts abandoned as I got bigger are now wardrobe contenders again. I have another two super cute shirts that I plan on giving the knot treatment so eyes peeled.

If there's one thing I have it's hair accessories. A fail safe gift it seems as I have an overflowing boxful. This cutie was gifted but if memory serves its from Cupcakes and Chopsticks.

Necklace comes from Pieces of the Past. A total bargain at £3, I bought it at a local fat swap. Perfect length and amazing quality. Sadly Paula has decided to close the shop so grab a bargain while you can!

Finally have an excuse to wear my Vans. I'm a sucker for tropical print. Its a close second to my first love, polkadots. These are so comfy. Wearing them without socks isn't an issue.

Earrings are gifted.

OOTD:Charitable soul

Last month I took another visit back up to the wilds of the Lake District to visit my family. 

Now if there's one thing my home town has is charity shops and it was while I was browsing with my mum that I found this little cutie

Checking the label it seems to be from the TU range from Sainburys which made it even better because I've seen some of their knitwear going for £20.

Just a meagre £4 and it was my clutches!

£4? Are you sure?

You'll hear many bloggers expending the virtues of trying everything on and I have to agree. This jumper dress is a 22 and I normally wear a 24/26!

The material is so soft and excellent quality. Brown is not a colour I think I've ever owned but I love the mix of brown and blue with an almost festive pattern. 

Lipstick is MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Laquer in Funky

OOTD:Queen of Hearts

Life has a way of getting in the way of things, not to mention awful weather. So after forgetting my camera on my trip home for Christmas and the typical British winter weather battering my door I've been able to have a break from my hiatus with a little break in the rain. 

Like many people I did all of my Christmas shopping online and while looking for gifts for my nearest and dearest I ended up finding more for myself. Good old eBay!

It's a lovely, soft knitted affair with very vivid red hearts scattered across. It's very warm and has been a life saver, especially when visiting home for Christmas in the wilds of the North! 

If I had to give it some critisim I would say that it sometimes feels quite short in length. As I'm a busty gal it can ride up a bit but nothing that hinders comfort. 

I teamed it with my trusty jersey mini skirt from Asos, leggings from Evans and my Doc Martin boots. As the print is quite busy and eye-catching I wanted to keep it simple and swapped accessories for a splash of red lipstick, courtesy of MAC's Ruby Woo.