Collectif Are Taking Over My Wardrobe…

Some of you may have spotted a familiar face on my ‘Collectif’ advert and my blog banner. A face that looks rather like mine, when it is beautifully made up and ever so slightly photoshopped. And as those of you who follow my social streams will know, that is because recently I was given an absolutely amazing opportunity – I was asked to model for Collectif!

Having had three wonderful opportunities to be their flyer girl at the twice yearly ‘London Edge’ trade shows I could not have been more chuffed or honoured to have been asked, and I had an amazing day! The Collectif girls are such fun to be around and they made the day fly by.

The shoot was held in Joanna Krause’s home studio, and I absolutely loved working with her. She put me at ease and really made it a fun effortless shoot. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without hair and make up genius Monika Swiatek and my fellow bombshell and model, who was an inspiration to work with, and spurred me on throughout – Eliza Dotlittle.

As you may have seen in previous posts, I tend to favour just one style of dress from Collectif – the Dolores Doll. But the shoot gave my the opportunity to try several other styles that I had written off, and so of course, I had to fill my wardrobe up just a little bit fuller with some more fabulous Collectif clothes.

Naturally, two new Dolores Doll dresses were in order. My perfect Dolores Doll size is a 14. The dresses seem to be cut for a larger bust, and that is of course just what I need! The length is spot on, the neckline is fabulous and I even rather like the sleeves!
I fell in love with the Dolores Doll summer bouquet print dress – which says a lot, as yellow as never really been my thing!

However, there was another Doll that caught my eye – and she may be my favourite yet! The white and black Dolores Doll. Once again, the dress is not in a colour I would usually go for, but holy moley I adore it! I teamed it with my Hot Corsets petticoat and I never wanted to take it off!

One dress that I was really shocked by was the Gretel gingham swing dress.

I actually wore this dress at the most recent London Edge, and due to me winning a modelling contract that day, it has always held a special place in my heart.

And so, despite the halterneck straps, I decided to order this dress. I chose a size 18 and I absolutely adore it! I will need to alter to straps to make them more bra friendly, but other than that it is perfect. It’s a little shorter than the Doll dresses, but still hits the knee. the neckline is beautiful and extremely flattering. Small gingham print has always felt like ‘school uniform’ to me, but this dress could not be further from that!

Another new style for me, and indeed Collectif was the Phyllis Doll dress.

I went for this dress in a 20 as it has no stretch, and it is a great fit. The skirt is not a full circle, which is great on windy days! It fall nicely and gracefully, and I love the floral detail on the shoulder.

As you may have seen, I am a sucked for leopard print! And so I fell in love with the Paloma tiki leopard print dress.

Paloma is made of linen with no stretch, and the best fit for me was a size 20. The tulip skirt meant that it was perfect for daywear, and I adored the flowers. The neckline is rather low, but it is a fabulous dress.

One dress that I really did NOT expect to like is the Matilda doll flamingo print dress.

Pink is not a colour I am a huge fan of, and I have to say that the blue panel didn’t do many favours for me. However, after buying the dress in a size 18 and loosening a few buttons, I have become a huge fan of it. The buttons across the bust are rather tight for me, and so I sewed up the inside with a few simple stitches, and I feel a lot more secure and happy in the dress.

But of course, a girl cannot live on dresses alone! And so, I took the liberty of adding a little Collectif to my outerwear.

The Mariella cardigan in a size 18 seemed like the perfect buy to go with my Matilda. Regretfully, it is ever so slightly tight over the bust, but it’s nothing too severe. The black panelling at the waist helps give the illusion of an hourglass figure, and it’s lovely and soft.

And last, but by no means least I tried the Dietrich swing trench coat in baby blue, size 16. I’ve wanted this coat ever since I saw it at London Edge. A double breasted soft mac with an almost full circle skirt and flowers on the inside?! Count me in! I initially wanted the coat in black, but after seeing the delicious Kat from Collectif look hotDAMN in her blue version, I had to follow suit, and I am glad I did! It fits slightly snugly over the bust, but other than that I cannot fault it. I feel like a real style icon in it, and I’m half planning on getting the beige version…

As you can see, I have become quite the Collectif girl! I’m glad I took the chance to try some other pieces, as 12 Dolores Dolls is getting rather silly!

Are you also a fan of Collectif? Or has my post spurred you on to try some pieces? Let me know in the comments!
And if you do go to browse the site, you may spot me in a few other pieces, and hopefully you will be inspired to try some for yourself. Happy shopping!

Please note: Bar the shoes, all of the accessories and other items of clothing worn on the shoot can be found on the Collectif website. I had my What Katie Did Morticia corset on in all of the professional photos.
The belts and shoes seen in my own photos are various older items that I have picked up from eBay and other stores along the years.

Inspired By New Look

When you’re a fat girl, shopping on the high street can be a royal pain in the arse. Some shops stop at a 16, some at an 18, and some have plus size lines that in no way reflect the gorgeousness of their smaller clothes.

One shop that I have always found to fall in that latter category is New Look. New Look are famed for selling amazing affordable fashionable high street pieces, and yet their plus size line always seemed so…frumpy. So boring. So safe. And so I avoided them!

Recently I was asked if I would review some items from New Look, and I instantly thought of the Inspire range. I has seen some more impressive pieces from them on a recent shopping trip, and I felt it was time to see if they had some more appealing pieces in stock.

I selected several items and some shoes to go with them, and excitedly waited for them to arrive. It wasn’t long before they did, and this is how I got on…

The first item that I tried, and tested on a lovely sunny day was this Aztec dress.

I got it in a size 18, and the fit was great – although ideally a 16 would have been better.

The dress was a perfect length on me, and I loved the modest neckline.

The pattern was so unlike anything I have ever tried before, but I loved it! I was worried that it may be a bit too much, but it was surprisingly flattering.

This dress looks complete with a nice thick waist belt added too it, and it is a versatile dress that will look great on many occasions all year round.

The shoes I added to the dress were these gorgeous wide fit sandals:

My feet are of the wider variety, and these sandals were ideal and gorgeous looking! My only gripe is that the soles have absolutely zero grip, and so be careful how you go if you are inspired to buy a pair!

I was really excited to try the Aztec print skirt and I chose to pair it with a peplum top.

I found the size 18 skirt to look and feel great, and I have already worn it many times with several different tops and shoes.

I didn’t find the peplum top to be as flattering as I had first envisioned, and I feel it will take a bit of experimentation to make it work for me.

The skirt sat nicely on my waist, and it is figure huggingly flattering.

The shoes that I teamed with this look were these cork wedges.

These wedges are AMAZING! Them being wide fit means that the straps actually fit which is fab, and they look great with everything! They are very sturdy and comfy to walk in and I think I need the black pair…

My last purchase was a nice light raincoat. The was my first foray into trying some coats and jackets at New Look and this plum number in a size 20 was a great choice.

It’s not quite as smart as I had hoped for due to the material being rather soft, but it fits fabulously with room for a jumper or more layers underneath.

The colour is great for a mucky pup like me, and the deep pockets are great for storing my phone and oyster card in.

I have worn it over a variety of outfits, and it dries quickly and folds up neatly to fit into my handbag.

Overall I am extremely impressed with my haul from New Look’s Inspire and wide fit range. I have already had so much wear out of my outfits and I can’t wait to see what Inspire come out with next season – if only their instore range was extensive as the online selection…

Evans Up Their Game!

When it comes to shopping, I am at that ‘inbetweeny’ size where I can still find what I want on the high street and online without relying on plus size lines. I have always been grateful for this, and will usually turn to stores such as Evans for things like wide calf boots and jeans. This means that when I was recently given the chance to select ten items from Evans, I panicked and fretted that I would struggle to find anything at all that I would like and want to wear.

I needn’t have worried.

As I am London based, I visited the Marble Arch store and felt welcomed from the moment I walked in. The store opened recently, and is large, spacious and well laid out, with plenty of staff around. I explained who I was to the manager, and she left me to browse, telling me to ask for help should I need any.

In no time at all I had around ten items in my arms, and I headed for the changing rooms. I went for a size 18 in everything, and I’m pleased to say that I was spot on or had to size down in most cases. Below are some photos of my haul, as well as the links to them on the website.

This dress blew me away! I actually picked it up on a whim, thinking it was quite frumpy but still appealing. In the end, I loved it so much I wore it to the press event that I attended later that day!

You can read all about that by clicking here.

I thought that this dipped hem dress was the perfect mix of smart and casual, and could easily be dresses up or down. I rather liked it with a black bolero, click here for a similar one.

I also liked how it looked with a denim jacket, which fit perfectly AND did up over my boobs in a size 14!

I paired these looks with these fab shoes – oh so comfy with the chunky heel, and oh so George with the t-bar strap!  I teamed the whole look with these gorgeous bracelets that matched the colours in the dress perfectly.

The next items that I had to have were ones that I have tried before – this tunic and these leather look leggings from the awesome Scarlett&Jo.

When I was shown the leggings by the awesome Lucy of Scarlett&Jo, I admitted that they were really not my style. I am a sucker for a knee length dress and a bare leg, and so I didn’t see the need for the leggings… until I tried them on and fell a little bit on love!

It’s a slightly edgier look that I am used too, but I love that I have the option, and I have always been curious about pleather leggings!

I of course had to try some jeans from Evans, and my huge bottom and I are rather fond of a high waisted (read “arse accommodating”) pair of jeans. This khaki pair looked perfect!

The jeans were a fab length on me, and actually quite flattering, despite the colour being lighter than I am used too. I adore skinny jeans, and my only gripe with these was the usual…

The gape slightly at the waist. It’s nothing that a belt won’t fix, and it didn’t put me off them in any way.

This super cute heart print cardigan looked perfect with the jeans, and was a perfect snuggly fit in a 16. I was torn between that and the button up version, but in the end I favoured the longer cut.

With all this snow and general shit weather we’ve had recently, I was eternally grateful that item number ten was this size 14 jacket. It fits like a dream, even with a hoodie and t shirt underneath, it’s a fab length, lightweight and warm.

As ever, I rocked a Freya Deco underneath my items 🙂

There were several other items that I toyed with getting, and it was a hard job for me to whittle my items down to ten. I wanted to go buck wild on the jewellery as I am like a magpie around beautiful shinies. The coral Scarlett&Jo tunic was something I found hard to walk away from. And after seeing the gorgeous Nicolette Mason in this I was sorely tempted to grab one for myself…

However, I am happy with my decisions and I am seriously impressed with Evans and their in-house brands. I have never ever been able to walk into any shop and have that much success. Pretty much everything I brought into the changing room fit perfectly, which shows excellent sizing consistency (and also excellent service from the lady who worked in there and brought me the few extra sizes that I needed!) and I managed to identify a huge number of items that I wanted within minutes of entering the store. Granted, these items were gifted to me by way of thanks for being involved in the forthcoming Clements&Ribiero range, but I think you’ll agree that my hoard is a good one and my decision to snag them has nothing to do with the fact that they were free.

Have you found anything amazing in Evans recently? What are your favourites from my recent new wardrobe additions?

Busty Basics

As you will have seen in my previous post, when on holiday in Vietnam recently I took advantage of the cheap and plentiful tailors and tried to get myself a custom fit dress. Whilst there, I also tried to get a hoodie made. It’s something so basic, but it is so hard for me to find one that fits! They’re either too baggy, too tight with the pockets too high up, or the zip fails to climb any further around my bust. I have found a few hoodies that have come close, but often the pocket situation occurs, which in turn loses my waist and I struggle with that. Sadly, the tailors couldn’t quite meet my needs for a zip up hoodie with pockets, and so I gave it a miss and vowed to look harder on the high street.

Not so long ago, I was in Primark with my boyfriend. He has a few size medium Primark hoodies that I do wear, however, they are quite baggy on me. And so I thought I would try the size smalls, just to see if they would work any better…

Wowsa! What a great fit! They could fit a *tiny* bit better on my waist, but at ten pounds a pop I was more than happy with them. I went all out and got three of these beauties in a few of my favourite colours. They zip up easily, the pockets sit perfectly and the length is spot on.

I didn’t find much variation between the colours in terms of fit. The hoodies come in about 8 different colours, and it was hard to pick just these three!

The jeans worn in my post are from Evans Clothing and the boots are from Australia.

Are you also a fan of hoodies, but do you struggle to find any that fit well? If you can’t get to a Primark then you may be interested in these hoodies from BiuBiu that are designed to fit a larger bust.

Wrapping Up With Collectif

I am a huge huge fan of Collectif. From their instore customer service, to the dedication of their head office team, to their gorgeous garments and amazing experiences at London Edge with them, they are awesome! And so it should be no surprise that I am completely in love with their winter coat collection.

Last year I bought a cheapish coat to last me a few years, and lo and behold it is looking a little bedraggled this year and is sporting several holes and other signs of wear and tear. And so I was looking for an investment piece, something to stand the test of time.

The coat that I lusted after for quite a while had to be the Gretel.

The lovely Julia works at Collectif and owns of of these goreous coats. Here is what she had to say about it:

“The Gretel coat is really a love it or hate it style.  I have spoken to ladies & gentlemen who just don’t get it and seen girls go mad for it.   Personally, after first seeing the sample of this style I was in love. Initially there were hesitations over whether the Red Riding Hood Theme had been taken too literally, but after relentless squeeling from the office girls we managed to confirm the sample for production. This was a risky piece for Collectif as its higher price tag could put some people off but it was worth the risk.

I originally hankered after the red for 2 months, as I live in the forest I felt that I needed this coat in my life. After it arrived I tried on the red and I felt like it was slightly too obvious. As a lover of black & the gothic aesthetic that was the one for me, it is more versatile and looks more elegant.

The Gretel Coat is made from a wool based fabric perfect to keep you warm on a chilly day. I will warn you though try and avoid getting it wet! This is a not a style to get caught in the rain in, snow in the forest though is it’s natural habitat. The whole coat is lined in luxurious polka dot satin. Black with white dots inside the black version & red with black dots inside the red. This lining is found inside the oversized hood and underneath the cape which gives it a truely luxurious feel. The high quality faux fur trim & pom-poms is another touch which makes this style worth the £175.00.

Size wise, if you are busty you may need to size up, I am a (34) D-DD and the 14 JUST does up over the bust, I think I will move the button so that it is the perfect fit. The 14 fits really nicely on the waist so I went for this size and sacrificed it being a bit snug across the bust.”

It was Julia’s initial images of herself in the coat that made me very sure that I wanted one and that she was not just being biased about her love of the coat!

She looked stunning in the black, but part of me wanted the red – and another part of me wanted both! However, my eye was caught by the now sold out Ashley, a style that proved so popular, Collectif will be making more next year. And you can see why!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the black Ashley in a size 20 just before it sold out for the year, and I cannot say enough good things about this coat!

It is so warm and snuggly thanks to the wool, and in no way itchy, which was my worry.

The beautiful silky polka dot lining felt amazing on and the coat slid on and off easily.

The 20 was a perfect fit across my bust, and the belt ensured I got my desired cinched in look. Sadly I did think that the belt length was a little short, and I may have to have a hunt for something a little longer to replace it with.

The coat has a gorgeous circle skirt, which not only looks great, but also ensures that my bottom will fit into it!

Of course, the leopard print collar and cuffs made Ashley a huge hit with me, and I loved how soft it felt.

I felt oh so vintagey in this coat, and couldn’t resist roping my boyfriend into taking a few snaps of me in it and messing with the resolution a little!

Collectif have really outdone themselves with their coats this year, and I don’t think that even they could predict just how popular they would be. I cannot wait to see what they come up with next year, as well as the return of Ashley!

Which coat is your favourite? What do you usually wrap up in in the colder weather?