Showing posts with label Evans. Show all posts
Thrifted finds - Evans lime lace tunic dress
Thursday, 16 June 2016
Interview with Jessica Clemmons of Jess and the Bandits
Thursday, 6 August 2015
Hello lovelies!
I'm so excited to bring you this interview with Jess from Jess and the Bandits. Not only is she a great singer, but someone who I believe is a great boost to the body positive/fat community now she's teamed up with Evans for their Style Has No Size campaign. Here's a little introduction to Jess and the Bandits:
Having debuted at #6 in the Official Country Charts with their debut album Here We Go Again, 1/5 Texan and 4/5 British country rockers Jess and the Bandits are currently gearing up for their debut UK headline tour this October, which follows on from their sold out London shows earlier this year.
Having received critical acclaim for Here We Go Again alongside support from BBC Radio 2 for the album's lead singles, ‘Single Tonight’ and 'You Can't Stop Me', the band are thrilled to announce that the new music video for their single 'Nitty Gritty' will be filmed in association with High Street plus size fashion retailer Evans.
Here's my interview with Jess.
What was your reaction when Evans approached you to be their Style Has No Size ambassador?
Oh gosh! I was honoured and excited. I love what the campaign stood for, so I was really, really excited when they asked me to do that. I think it's a really good fit, the two of us - being able to do this together.
Were you bigger/plus size when you were growing up?
Yeah. I went on my first diet when I was 9 years old. I struggled with my weight - the thing was my mother was a very healthy cook. She made everything from scratch and we were constantly playing outside and being very, very active. Definitely not like kids today. (Both laugh.) We actually spent time outside and for whatever reason, I've just battled my weight since I was a little girl. So it's definitely been a part of who I am, pretty much.
Was there anyone on tv you saw growing up that made you think 'Oh my God, this is a fat person on tv! I'm not an alien!'
You know what? There wasn't. There wasn't at all, because that was in a time.....it just shows how far we've come. That was in a time where if there was a fat person on tv they were being made fun of....they were the funny friend, or like on Friends when Monica was fat (I groan, remembering how shit that was to watch)... everything is made fun of and 'funny'. So I definitely didn't have anyone I felt I could look up to [on tv] and there definitely wasn't anything remotely fashionable either. Clothes that I remember wearing...because they didn't make anything above a size 10 [US] for teenagers so I was wearing big, baggy men's shirts and trying to hide my body. So I definitely didn't have any influences. I think kids are lucky today. They definitely have a lot more body positive influences.
How did Jess and the Bandits form? I take it you came together over a love of music, but how did it come about?
Basically, to make a really long story short, I've been at this for a really long time. I've been travelling to the UK for music since 2006 and I was doing pop music, kinda pop soul, but nothing was making sense. The pieces of the puzzle were not fitting together and in 2012-2013 I decided to get back to my roots and go country, and at the same time I was on tour with The Overtones, opening for those guys, and this band of musicians were the backing band, and we ended up becoming fast friends. Then we were hanging out all the time, and making music, then they backed me up when I started changing my genre from pop to country, and then it just made sense. We're always playing together, we're writing together, and it was like 'Why don't we just become a band?' And they thought it was a great idea, so did I, and we did it. It was meant to be.
Who's your favourite country artist, would you say?
Gosh, that's a tough one because I have a lot of different ones for different reasons. There's people like Dolly Parton, who has to be in the list of favourites because she's Dolly Parton (Both laugh.) She's such an icon. I'm a huge fan of Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert....a lot of these newer artists I love as well. Like I said for different reasons, but especially from a band perspective I love what Lady Antebellum does. I think they're just incredible.
I had an ulterior motive for asking this you see... (I explain I was a big fan of country years back, but haven't sought out any new country music, so I needed tips about new blood. I'm in kinda 1990 era Garth Brooks listening territory.)
You know, I just saw Garth Brooks in concert, like 3 weeks ago, in Houston where I'm from. I got tickets to see him and he's been out of the business for like 20 years and it's his world tour. I'm hoping it's gonna come over here because it was a-mazing! You would love it. Since you mentioned Garth Brooks, he is on the list because I was singing every single song at the top of my lungs at the concert.
Going back to plus size matters, what advice would you give to young girls growing up in a plus size body?
I would tell them to love who they are, try to accept who they are, even if they want to lose weight. I think for me, I've been that person who says 'I do want to be smaller', and at the same time there's this contentment that you have to find, otherwise you're going to feel like a prisoner. And you have to feel content, so I would tell girls: love who you are at every stage in your body whether that means you're bigger, or you're getting smaller. Because life is life, we grow up, we might have children, you may put on weight, you may lose weight, you may put it on again. The thing is, you have to find happiness in who you are otherwise you're going to spend your whole life hating yourself and life is too short for that. And you know, something I've learned, another thing which is huge is to let go of diets. Let them go. Don't diet. First of all it's been proved it can really ruin your metabolism and make things worse. If you wanna have a piece of cake, have a piece of cake, and then move on. Don't feel guilt. Just enjoy life, live life, don't overindulge, just be happy. Don't keep yourself from things that you want, and then I think we won't sabotage ourselves any more. I think that's what a lot of time happens. And then you find out you're a happier person. You start to love who you are, you don't have to stress out if you want to have dinner. (Both laugh.)
What do you think about all the health shaming and concern trolling on social media, and how these crappy articles in the media act as if a women puts on 4 pounds that she's the Antichrist?
It's so ridiculous. It almost seems like they've ramped it up because women are starting to love who they are. It's almost like the media's going 'Oh, wait a minute, we can't have people feeling good about themselves.' It's one of those things where as women we feel we have to look a certain way for men to find us attractive and I find it's such a shame. You find a lot of the time that the media pits us against each other so we end up tearing other women down because they're thin. Back to the Evans campaign, although they're a plus size brand, their hashtag is saying Style Has No Size, that is all inclusive, for all women, and that is so nice. It feels like that's something we can all agree on. None of us feel good enough, it doesn't matter what size we are, that we can all come together and say 'Actually, we're all pretty amazing so it really doesn't matter.'
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A singer. I was 5 I think when I told my mum I was gonna make records, and there was never a Plan B. There was never a back up plan, so fortunately so far it seems to be working out OK. (Both laugh.)
Before Evans, did you read any plus size blogs?
Oh yeah! I mean I've been following tons of plus size bloggers for a long time. There's a few in the States that I like to follow - Beauticurve, Garner Style, and there's quite a few actually in the UK that I follow as well so I've been on the whole plus size blog scene following everyone for a while. I like to follow both the UK and the Americans because I like to see the difference in the styles that we have, and it's great. There are so many now, and it's also a way of finding out new fashion brands, It's finally opening up to where we don't just have one option any more, or a handful of options. We have a lot of options now and it's great.
Linking in to what you just said, what do you think of British fashion - is there much of a difference [from America]?
There's not a huge difference but I find that UK fashion in general is a lot edgier. It definitely has that edgy fashion feel to it that you don't have as much in the States. It's just a slight difference in the way that Americans do things and Europe as a whole do things.
Do you ever get nasty comments and messages on social media?
Yeah, occasionally. I mean there's always gonna be that one. They wanna try and find your weakness so they go for the obvious, and as someone who's been fat their entire life, I'm like 'It doesn't really bother me.' I find it really funny when they're like 'Oh my gosh, look at you! You're so fat!' and I'm going 'What?! I had no idea. You just informed me of something totally new I didn't even know about myself. Thank you so much!' That's generally my response to people like that.
What is the meaning of life?
Ohhhh, that is like, serious! The meaning of life, I think what we're supposed to be doing is caring about other people, loving other people, doing things for other people. We spend most of our time, all of us, being very very selfish, and it's easy to be selfish. The more that we spend our lives doing for others the better we will be and the better the whole world will be. If we all did things like that, if we all cared for other people or tried to inspire other people in some way, it would be a better place. I don't know if that's the meaning of life but it's one of the things that should be done with life.
I don't know about you, but I'm more than a little in love with Jess now. Have a listen to some of their music (click through to see the video if you're reading via email.)
Here's the video in collaboration with Evans. I love it! It actually made me a bit emotional as I love the message behind it.
Keep in touch with Jess and the Bandits:
Website
Youtube
Facebook
Twitter
Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo
I'm so excited to bring you this interview with Jess from Jess and the Bandits. Not only is she a great singer, but someone who I believe is a great boost to the body positive/fat community now she's teamed up with Evans for their Style Has No Size campaign. Here's a little introduction to Jess and the Bandits:
Having debuted at #6 in the Official Country Charts with their debut album Here We Go Again, 1/5 Texan and 4/5 British country rockers Jess and the Bandits are currently gearing up for their debut UK headline tour this October, which follows on from their sold out London shows earlier this year.
Having received critical acclaim for Here We Go Again alongside support from BBC Radio 2 for the album's lead singles, ‘Single Tonight’ and 'You Can't Stop Me', the band are thrilled to announce that the new music video for their single 'Nitty Gritty' will be filmed in association with High Street plus size fashion retailer Evans.
Here's my interview with Jess.
What was your reaction when Evans approached you to be their Style Has No Size ambassador?
Oh gosh! I was honoured and excited. I love what the campaign stood for, so I was really, really excited when they asked me to do that. I think it's a really good fit, the two of us - being able to do this together.
Were you bigger/plus size when you were growing up?
Yeah. I went on my first diet when I was 9 years old. I struggled with my weight - the thing was my mother was a very healthy cook. She made everything from scratch and we were constantly playing outside and being very, very active. Definitely not like kids today. (Both laugh.) We actually spent time outside and for whatever reason, I've just battled my weight since I was a little girl. So it's definitely been a part of who I am, pretty much.
Was there anyone on tv you saw growing up that made you think 'Oh my God, this is a fat person on tv! I'm not an alien!'
You know what? There wasn't. There wasn't at all, because that was in a time.....it just shows how far we've come. That was in a time where if there was a fat person on tv they were being made fun of....they were the funny friend, or like on Friends when Monica was fat (I groan, remembering how shit that was to watch)... everything is made fun of and 'funny'. So I definitely didn't have anyone I felt I could look up to [on tv] and there definitely wasn't anything remotely fashionable either. Clothes that I remember wearing...because they didn't make anything above a size 10 [US] for teenagers so I was wearing big, baggy men's shirts and trying to hide my body. So I definitely didn't have any influences. I think kids are lucky today. They definitely have a lot more body positive influences.
How did Jess and the Bandits form? I take it you came together over a love of music, but how did it come about?
Basically, to make a really long story short, I've been at this for a really long time. I've been travelling to the UK for music since 2006 and I was doing pop music, kinda pop soul, but nothing was making sense. The pieces of the puzzle were not fitting together and in 2012-2013 I decided to get back to my roots and go country, and at the same time I was on tour with The Overtones, opening for those guys, and this band of musicians were the backing band, and we ended up becoming fast friends. Then we were hanging out all the time, and making music, then they backed me up when I started changing my genre from pop to country, and then it just made sense. We're always playing together, we're writing together, and it was like 'Why don't we just become a band?' And they thought it was a great idea, so did I, and we did it. It was meant to be.
Who's your favourite country artist, would you say?
Gosh, that's a tough one because I have a lot of different ones for different reasons. There's people like Dolly Parton, who has to be in the list of favourites because she's Dolly Parton (Both laugh.) She's such an icon. I'm a huge fan of Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert....a lot of these newer artists I love as well. Like I said for different reasons, but especially from a band perspective I love what Lady Antebellum does. I think they're just incredible.
I had an ulterior motive for asking this you see... (I explain I was a big fan of country years back, but haven't sought out any new country music, so I needed tips about new blood. I'm in kinda 1990 era Garth Brooks listening territory.)
You know, I just saw Garth Brooks in concert, like 3 weeks ago, in Houston where I'm from. I got tickets to see him and he's been out of the business for like 20 years and it's his world tour. I'm hoping it's gonna come over here because it was a-mazing! You would love it. Since you mentioned Garth Brooks, he is on the list because I was singing every single song at the top of my lungs at the concert.
Going back to plus size matters, what advice would you give to young girls growing up in a plus size body?
I would tell them to love who they are, try to accept who they are, even if they want to lose weight. I think for me, I've been that person who says 'I do want to be smaller', and at the same time there's this contentment that you have to find, otherwise you're going to feel like a prisoner. And you have to feel content, so I would tell girls: love who you are at every stage in your body whether that means you're bigger, or you're getting smaller. Because life is life, we grow up, we might have children, you may put on weight, you may lose weight, you may put it on again. The thing is, you have to find happiness in who you are otherwise you're going to spend your whole life hating yourself and life is too short for that. And you know, something I've learned, another thing which is huge is to let go of diets. Let them go. Don't diet. First of all it's been proved it can really ruin your metabolism and make things worse. If you wanna have a piece of cake, have a piece of cake, and then move on. Don't feel guilt. Just enjoy life, live life, don't overindulge, just be happy. Don't keep yourself from things that you want, and then I think we won't sabotage ourselves any more. I think that's what a lot of time happens. And then you find out you're a happier person. You start to love who you are, you don't have to stress out if you want to have dinner. (Both laugh.)
What do you think about all the health shaming and concern trolling on social media, and how these crappy articles in the media act as if a women puts on 4 pounds that she's the Antichrist?
It's so ridiculous. It almost seems like they've ramped it up because women are starting to love who they are. It's almost like the media's going 'Oh, wait a minute, we can't have people feeling good about themselves.' It's one of those things where as women we feel we have to look a certain way for men to find us attractive and I find it's such a shame. You find a lot of the time that the media pits us against each other so we end up tearing other women down because they're thin. Back to the Evans campaign, although they're a plus size brand, their hashtag is saying Style Has No Size, that is all inclusive, for all women, and that is so nice. It feels like that's something we can all agree on. None of us feel good enough, it doesn't matter what size we are, that we can all come together and say 'Actually, we're all pretty amazing so it really doesn't matter.'
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A singer. I was 5 I think when I told my mum I was gonna make records, and there was never a Plan B. There was never a back up plan, so fortunately so far it seems to be working out OK. (Both laugh.)
Before Evans, did you read any plus size blogs?
Oh yeah! I mean I've been following tons of plus size bloggers for a long time. There's a few in the States that I like to follow - Beauticurve, Garner Style, and there's quite a few actually in the UK that I follow as well so I've been on the whole plus size blog scene following everyone for a while. I like to follow both the UK and the Americans because I like to see the difference in the styles that we have, and it's great. There are so many now, and it's also a way of finding out new fashion brands, It's finally opening up to where we don't just have one option any more, or a handful of options. We have a lot of options now and it's great.
Linking in to what you just said, what do you think of British fashion - is there much of a difference [from America]?
There's not a huge difference but I find that UK fashion in general is a lot edgier. It definitely has that edgy fashion feel to it that you don't have as much in the States. It's just a slight difference in the way that Americans do things and Europe as a whole do things.
Do you ever get nasty comments and messages on social media?
Yeah, occasionally. I mean there's always gonna be that one. They wanna try and find your weakness so they go for the obvious, and as someone who's been fat their entire life, I'm like 'It doesn't really bother me.' I find it really funny when they're like 'Oh my gosh, look at you! You're so fat!' and I'm going 'What?! I had no idea. You just informed me of something totally new I didn't even know about myself. Thank you so much!' That's generally my response to people like that.
What is the meaning of life?
Ohhhh, that is like, serious! The meaning of life, I think what we're supposed to be doing is caring about other people, loving other people, doing things for other people. We spend most of our time, all of us, being very very selfish, and it's easy to be selfish. The more that we spend our lives doing for others the better we will be and the better the whole world will be. If we all did things like that, if we all cared for other people or tried to inspire other people in some way, it would be a better place. I don't know if that's the meaning of life but it's one of the things that should be done with life.
I don't know about you, but I'm more than a little in love with Jess now. Have a listen to some of their music (click through to see the video if you're reading via email.)
Here's the video in collaboration with Evans. I love it! It actually made me a bit emotional as I love the message behind it.
Keep in touch with Jess and the Bandits:
Website
Youtube
Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo
Outfit post: True Blue
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Hiya pickles!
I bought this lovely top in the Evans sale for £12 because I'm bananas for all things blue right now. I wore it with my New Look kimono.
The photos were taken near Battle Abbey. We had to go to Battle for hubby's vasectomy consultation, so I thought it's be rude not to take photos really!
My handbag broke this day. I was walking along and all of a sudden my bag felt lighter, then ping, the strap fell clean off! Bugger.
Kimono, New Look (no longer available on New Look or ASOS.)
Top, Evans
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Primark
Hair flower, Primark
Handbag, old Everything 5 Pounds
I can't get enough of these £3 Primark plimsolls. They're SO comfy. I want them in every colour of the rainbow!
What are your most comfy shoes?
Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo
I bought this lovely top in the Evans sale for £12 because I'm bananas for all things blue right now. I wore it with my New Look kimono.
The photos were taken near Battle Abbey. We had to go to Battle for hubby's vasectomy consultation, so I thought it's be rude not to take photos really!
My handbag broke this day. I was walking along and all of a sudden my bag felt lighter, then ping, the strap fell clean off! Bugger.
Kimono, New Look (no longer available on New Look or ASOS.)
Top, Evans
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Primark
Hair flower, Primark
Handbag, old Everything 5 Pounds
I can't get enough of these £3 Primark plimsolls. They're SO comfy. I want them in every colour of the rainbow!
What are your most comfy shoes?
Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo
Outfit Post: Scarlett and Jo 2 in 1 prom dress
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Hello lovelies,
My brother came to visit on Sunday so we went to Rye for the day. I was really ill but I'd asked my brother to visit and didn't want to waste the day sat indoors.
My Evans sale order came the day before, so I wore the Scarlett and Jo dress from it. This is old stock now. It was £60 down to £30 and I bought it for my friend's wedding next month. That's quite good going for a wedding outfit! I won't need to buy anything else at all.
These photos were taken at Rye Harbour.
I love the dress, it made me feel really princessy the second I put it on. It has a thick stretchy material in the top half, a wide elastic waistband which really holds me in, and a full skirt which is lined and has net in it to make it appear fuller. The waistline comes up quite high on me once the fabric has stretched over my boobs, but that's a silhouette which suits me as the narrowest part of my body is just below my boobs anyway.
Where the elastic pulls me in it gives me a nice shape at the waist, but the poofiness of the skirt kind of makes me look more bulky below the waistband, from sideways on at least. I can live with it as the dress makes me feel really special.
While we were sitting outside the pub at the harbour, a little rabbit came out for a feed just opposite us.
Lace cardi, old Asda
Dress, Evans (looks to be out of stock now)
Necklace, Superdrug
Hair flower, OWHH Millinery
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Primark
I'm wearing the dress in a 28 and it's true to size. There's bags of room in the skirt, plenty for twirling!
Have you bought any bargains recently?
I'm pleased to say I feel loads better. I think I have some kind of 24 hour virus.
Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo
My brother came to visit on Sunday so we went to Rye for the day. I was really ill but I'd asked my brother to visit and didn't want to waste the day sat indoors.
My Evans sale order came the day before, so I wore the Scarlett and Jo dress from it. This is old stock now. It was £60 down to £30 and I bought it for my friend's wedding next month. That's quite good going for a wedding outfit! I won't need to buy anything else at all.
These photos were taken at Rye Harbour.
I love the dress, it made me feel really princessy the second I put it on. It has a thick stretchy material in the top half, a wide elastic waistband which really holds me in, and a full skirt which is lined and has net in it to make it appear fuller. The waistline comes up quite high on me once the fabric has stretched over my boobs, but that's a silhouette which suits me as the narrowest part of my body is just below my boobs anyway.
Where the elastic pulls me in it gives me a nice shape at the waist, but the poofiness of the skirt kind of makes me look more bulky below the waistband, from sideways on at least. I can live with it as the dress makes me feel really special.
 |
| My brother and I |
 |
| Hubby |
While we were sitting outside the pub at the harbour, a little rabbit came out for a feed just opposite us.
Lace cardi, old Asda
Dress, Evans (looks to be out of stock now)
Necklace, Superdrug
Hair flower, OWHH Millinery
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Primark
I'm wearing the dress in a 28 and it's true to size. There's bags of room in the skirt, plenty for twirling!
Have you bought any bargains recently?
I'm pleased to say I feel loads better. I think I have some kind of 24 hour virus.
Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo
Outside My Comfort Zone 29 Pastels OOTD
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Hiya lovelies!
This fortnight's challenge is pastels, chosen by Hollie, who said:
Pastels are here for Spring & Summer but I'd love some inspiration from you lovely ladies. I want to see you flourish in fondant colours. Pinks, Mints, Sky Blues... the list goes on. I don't want to hide away this Summer so this will be good practise!
I don't have a lot of pastels. In fact (off the top of my head) my 'collection' as it stands is: 3 vest tops, one bracelet and a hair flower. Pastels don't really suit me until I have a bit of a tan, which is why I've avoided them I guess - there ain't a lot of sun in these parts! :) I'm loving the trend for pastels this year though (especially all the pink) and need more colour in my life. The vest is more mint green in real life but appears a tad darker here.
I'm hoping I haven't worn this exact outfit before, or at least I'd have been unfortunate to wear it twice as the skirt and the vest are both a couple of sizes too big. Before I started blogging I always used to drown myself in sizes-too-big clothes as I thought they minimised (they really don't) and sometimes it's a habit I refer back to without thinking. My waist and boobs have vanished in this outfit, so it's not my favourite outfit, but hopefully you'll forgive me. ;) I have no lipstick on as my tea was on the side going cold - the blog always comes first.
Hair flower, Primark
Necklace, old Superdrug
Ring, Debenhams
Cardigan, Just For 5 Pounds
Vest, Simply Be from 3 pack
Skirt, old Yours Clothing
Shoes, old Evans
How do you feel about pastels? Are they up your alley or a bit too 'My Little Pony' for you?
Thanks for reading.
This fortnight's challenge is pastels, chosen by Hollie, who said:
Pastels are here for Spring & Summer but I'd love some inspiration from you lovely ladies. I want to see you flourish in fondant colours. Pinks, Mints, Sky Blues... the list goes on. I don't want to hide away this Summer so this will be good practise!
Necklace, old Superdrug
Ring, Debenhams
Cardigan, Just For 5 Pounds
Vest, Simply Be from 3 pack
Skirt, old Yours Clothing
Shoes, old Evans
How do you feel about pastels? Are they up your alley or a bit too 'My Little Pony' for you?
Thanks for reading.
Evans polka dot dress OOTD
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Howdy!
When I went to Lakeside with a few other plus bloggers a few weeks ago (my post about it here) I fell in love with a dress in Evans but didn't get it on the day because I had a strict budget and I didn't want to go over it.
On looking back at the photos I really liked it and decided to buy it along with what I hoped would be the trousers of dreams. I hoped they'd be as good as the wonderful crepe trousers I had in my early 20s. Sadly the trousers of dreams weren't half as dreamy in the flesh (boo!) so I'm sending them back, but at least it got me off my bum to order the dress.
Boyfriend coat, New Look - some stock back in now
Necklace, Sister Vintage
Dress, Evans
Leggings, Very
Shoes, old Evans
Are you sick of seeing me in polka dots yet?!
Thanks for reading.
When I went to Lakeside with a few other plus bloggers a few weeks ago (my post about it here) I fell in love with a dress in Evans but didn't get it on the day because I had a strict budget and I didn't want to go over it.
On looking back at the photos I really liked it and decided to buy it along with what I hoped would be the trousers of dreams. I hoped they'd be as good as the wonderful crepe trousers I had in my early 20s. Sadly the trousers of dreams weren't half as dreamy in the flesh (boo!) so I'm sending them back, but at least it got me off my bum to order the dress.
 |
| Duck face! |
Boyfriend coat, New Look - some stock back in now
Necklace, Sister Vintage
Dress, Evans
Leggings, Very
Shoes, old Evans
Are you sick of seeing me in polka dots yet?!
Thanks for reading.
Plus size blogger visit to Evans Lakeside
Monday, 3 March 2014
Hiya lovelies!
As you may know if you read my post last night, myself (and hubs), Mookie (and hubs), Abi and Charlie all went to Lakeside on Saturday for some shopping.
We visited two plus size shops, Evans and Yours Clothing, and I will blog about Yours another day.
Mookie had rung ahead to Evans HQ to say we were coming, and was given a contact name for the day. When we arrived Mookie found the lady to let her know we were in store, and we were greeted by said lovely lady (whose name I didn't catch, sorry!) who was so welcoming and friendly. She told us to make ourselves at home and to ask if we needed anything at all. I asked if there were any Cut items in store, but there weren't yet - drat - as we were all excited to try some items on. We all wandered around for about half an hour picking up items to try on, and then we descended en masse to the fitting rooms, which were gorgeously laid out with cubicles along 2 walls in an L shape and big circular table in the middle of the space. It was very roomy and welcoming.
I've included photos of me and some of us which were taken together, but not all of the photos I took as I want to leave something for the other ladies to blog themselves.
I wanted to try on the dress below but they didn't have it in my size. I bet they're flying off the shelves!
This yellow tunic was WOW on Abi, the colour is fantastic for her.
Charlie looks amazing in the PowerFit dress by Scarlet and Jo and Mookie was rocking her maxi dress.
Now, I made a big mistake in store, and it was NOT buying the polka dot dress above. It was the nicest thing I tried on all day and I'm kicking myself now. I initially tried on the 26/28 and it was so generous I tried on the 22/24 which was what I'm wearing in the photos. It gave me a great shape, so why didn't buy it?! I don't know! I *would* stomp off down to my nearest Evans and claim it for my own, but my nearest few stores have been closed so I will wait until I want something else to justify the postage, or wait for offers on the Evans website.
All in all we had lots of fun in Evans. Thanks for having us and being so welcoming! Essex people are so friendly and warm!
Coming up in the next 2/3 months, bloggers on tour again....somewhere in the South! Who will we visit next? If you want plus bloggers on tour to pay a visit to your store, give us a yell!
Thanks for reading.
As you may know if you read my post last night, myself (and hubs), Mookie (and hubs), Abi and Charlie all went to Lakeside on Saturday for some shopping.
We visited two plus size shops, Evans and Yours Clothing, and I will blog about Yours another day.
Mookie had rung ahead to Evans HQ to say we were coming, and was given a contact name for the day. When we arrived Mookie found the lady to let her know we were in store, and we were greeted by said lovely lady (whose name I didn't catch, sorry!) who was so welcoming and friendly. She told us to make ourselves at home and to ask if we needed anything at all. I asked if there were any Cut items in store, but there weren't yet - drat - as we were all excited to try some items on. We all wandered around for about half an hour picking up items to try on, and then we descended en masse to the fitting rooms, which were gorgeously laid out with cubicles along 2 walls in an L shape and big circular table in the middle of the space. It was very roomy and welcoming.
I've included photos of me and some of us which were taken together, but not all of the photos I took as I want to leave something for the other ladies to blog themselves.
I wanted to try on the dress below but they didn't have it in my size. I bet they're flying off the shelves!
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| The gorge Scarlet & Jo prom dress |
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| This was a little too high necked for me |
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| This was a little long on Mookie & Charlie |
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| Abi and myself |
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| Mookie, Abi & Charlie |
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| Abi gets stuck in |
This yellow tunic was WOW on Abi, the colour is fantastic for her.
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| Abi and I were giggling so hard here |
Charlie looks amazing in the PowerFit dress by Scarlet and Jo and Mookie was rocking her maxi dress.
Coming up in the next 2/3 months, bloggers on tour again....somewhere in the South! Who will we visit next? If you want plus bloggers on tour to pay a visit to your store, give us a yell!
Thanks for reading.
Fatshion Feb day 25 - Dotty Dollhouse
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Hello loves,
Today I'm sporting a frilly/dotty combo with an old polka dot top from Evans and my Domino Dollhouse skirt. This was a quickly put together choice but it works, especially because of the little polka dot bows on my shoes.
When I was working I shopped in Evans a lot. It was just Evans or Simply Be for years, and that was it for me. It's only in the last 5 years or so that I've branched out to lots of other websites. Because my money isn't my own any more I stick to much cheaper shops than Evans these days, but they're still really good for the occasional item, and what I already have from them last well and seems quite well made. Except their bras. Their bras really suck.
I can't believe I put this skirt into my blog sale a while ago. I'm glad no one wanted to buy it!
Top, old Evans
Skirt, Domino Dollhouse
Shoes, old Evans
Because it's been lighter in the evenings, hubby has been able to take my photos when he comes home from work (if I haven't already done them) rather than me using the tripod and self timer. It works out well because I take way too many photos when I use the timer, and he has no truck with spending ages behind the camera so it's a swift operation for both of us. ;)
Also, Stefanie won the Drown Soda giveaway and has been informed.
Thanks for reading!
Today I'm sporting a frilly/dotty combo with an old polka dot top from Evans and my Domino Dollhouse skirt. This was a quickly put together choice but it works, especially because of the little polka dot bows on my shoes.
When I was working I shopped in Evans a lot. It was just Evans or Simply Be for years, and that was it for me. It's only in the last 5 years or so that I've branched out to lots of other websites. Because my money isn't my own any more I stick to much cheaper shops than Evans these days, but they're still really good for the occasional item, and what I already have from them last well and seems quite well made. Except their bras. Their bras really suck.
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| Wet hair don't care! |
Top, old Evans
Skirt, Domino Dollhouse
Shoes, old Evans
Because it's been lighter in the evenings, hubby has been able to take my photos when he comes home from work (if I haven't already done them) rather than me using the tripod and self timer. It works out well because I take way too many photos when I use the timer, and he has no truck with spending ages behind the camera so it's a swift operation for both of us. ;)
Also, Stefanie won the Drown Soda giveaway and has been informed.
Thanks for reading!
Fatshion Feb Day 17 - Puss in boots
Monday, 17 February 2014
Hiya.
Anyone still here after my outburst last night? *ducks*
I'm wearing a lovely Angel Ribbons top I bought from Simply Be in the sale and some knee high boots from Evans which hubby bought me for Christmas a few years ago. The colour of the top is buttermilk and it looks a tad more yellow-creamy in the flesh, like the cream on full fat milk. It's a nice heavyweight tunic with lining, an elasticated waist and lovely pintuck details on the shoulders. I love the floaty sleeves.
Anyone still here after my outburst last night? *ducks*
I'm wearing a lovely Angel Ribbons top I bought from Simply Be in the sale and some knee high boots from Evans which hubby bought me for Christmas a few years ago. The colour of the top is buttermilk and it looks a tad more yellow-creamy in the flesh, like the cream on full fat milk. It's a nice heavyweight tunic with lining, an elasticated waist and lovely pintuck details on the shoulders. I love the floaty sleeves.
Tunic, Simply Be
Belt, ASOS Curve
Leggings, Very
Boots, Evans (old.)
The shoulder detail on the tunic is lovely.
I hope you had a good weekend?
The highlight of our weekend was when hubby made a snuggle den above the bed. It was very cosy.
Thanks for reading.
Fatshion Feb Day 15 OOTD
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Hello lovelies.
Happy Saturday! I hope you have a good one today, whatever you're up to. We're hoping to go out if the weather's less monsoon-like, as we were unable to go out yesterday as I was crippled with ovarian cyst pain. Next life, I want a penis! Moving swiftly on....
I found these leggings with the little lacy scalloped edges at the back of my leggings shelf. I forgot I had them!
Hair flower, New Look (last year.)
Tea and cake necklace, Drown Soda (seems to be out of business now)
Cardi, Primark (old.)
Dress, New Look from twinpack
Scarf tied around my wrist, charity shop
Leggings, Yours Clothing
Patent shoes, Evans
I'll be doing a proper post about my Drown Soda order soon - it's my new love.
Pop quiz - what's your favourite thing to do on a weekend? Ours is a walk on a Saturday, do a bit of exploring somewhere I can take photos of old buildings (churches and graveyards are a fave of mine) then a film or two Saturday night. Sunday is usually a lazy day for the Mr while I catch up on housework - but he's got to pull his finger out as well tomorrow as we have a landlord inspection on Monday. ;)
Thanks for reading!
Happy Saturday! I hope you have a good one today, whatever you're up to. We're hoping to go out if the weather's less monsoon-like, as we were unable to go out yesterday as I was crippled with ovarian cyst pain. Next life, I want a penis! Moving swiftly on....
Hair flower, New Look (last year.)
Tea and cake necklace, Drown Soda (seems to be out of business now)
Cardi, Primark (old.)
Dress, New Look from twinpack
Scarf tied around my wrist, charity shop
Leggings, Yours Clothing
Patent shoes, Evans
I'll be doing a proper post about my Drown Soda order soon - it's my new love.
Pop quiz - what's your favourite thing to do on a weekend? Ours is a walk on a Saturday, do a bit of exploring somewhere I can take photos of old buildings (churches and graveyards are a fave of mine) then a film or two Saturday night. Sunday is usually a lazy day for the Mr while I catch up on housework - but he's got to pull his finger out as well tomorrow as we have a landlord inspection on Monday. ;)
Thanks for reading!
Day 10 Fatshion Feb - Fuzzy Floral
Monday, 10 February 2014
Hello lovelies!
I have definite ideas about what constitutes summer clothes and winter clothes, and am finding ways to 'winter up' summery clothes.
Hair scarf, charity shop
Eyelash jumper & dress old New Look
Belt, ASOS Curve (last year)
Black patent wedges, Evans
Did you have a good weekend? I had a lovely weekend. On Saturday I met up with fellow blogger Maggie, who was visiting London from Chicago. Here's us together:
We had lunch together and got squiffy and it was lovely. We wished we could've stayed longer (we were together about 4 hours) because we had loads to talk about but we had to be home to James's mum as she was cooking a roast dinner. Maggie was lovely and so easy to talk to.
Yesterday was hubby's grandad's 90th birthday and almost the whole family were there to help him celebrate. With everyone's partners there are about 100 of us. All from one man and his (sadly deceased) wife. It's quite mind-blowing when you think of it like that.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week.
Hair scarf, charity shop
Eyelash jumper & dress old New Look
Belt, ASOS Curve (last year)
Black patent wedges, Evans
Did you have a good weekend? I had a lovely weekend. On Saturday I met up with fellow blogger Maggie, who was visiting London from Chicago. Here's us together:
We had lunch together and got squiffy and it was lovely. We wished we could've stayed longer (we were together about 4 hours) because we had loads to talk about but we had to be home to James's mum as she was cooking a roast dinner. Maggie was lovely and so easy to talk to.
Yesterday was hubby's grandad's 90th birthday and almost the whole family were there to help him celebrate. With everyone's partners there are about 100 of us. All from one man and his (sadly deceased) wife. It's quite mind-blowing when you think of it like that.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week.
Fatshion Feb day 7 - Sky Lady OOTD
Friday, 7 February 2014
Howdy!
When I looked back at these photos I thought I had a hint of the air hostess about me, well around the neck anyway! When I worked at Gatwick in the 90s and early 2000s scarves around the neck seemed to be an air hostess staple, hence the title 'Sky Lady'.
This is day 3/14 in the black dress stakes. (As a part of Fatshion February I've challenged myself to wear the same black dress every other day to show how versatile one dress can be.)
Cardigan, H&M last year
Dress, New Look last year
Scarf, gift
Belt, ASOS Curve
Patent wedges, Evans
The cardi is a straight sized one from H&M, a size XL. It's a little tight across the arms and shoulders but not too bad. I probably could've/should've dug some tights out, but I was watching Eastenders (and didn't want to miss it) which is why I look gormless in a couple of these shots. ;)
Ah well, it's Friday! I hope you have a lovely weekend planned. I'll tell you all about mine next week. :)
Thanks for reading.
When I looked back at these photos I thought I had a hint of the air hostess about me, well around the neck anyway! When I worked at Gatwick in the 90s and early 2000s scarves around the neck seemed to be an air hostess staple, hence the title 'Sky Lady'.
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| ...still watching, ha! |
Cardigan, H&M last year
Dress, New Look last year
Scarf, gift
Belt, ASOS Curve
Patent wedges, Evans
The cardi is a straight sized one from H&M, a size XL. It's a little tight across the arms and shoulders but not too bad. I probably could've/should've dug some tights out, but I was watching Eastenders (and didn't want to miss it) which is why I look gormless in a couple of these shots. ;)
Ah well, it's Friday! I hope you have a lovely weekend planned. I'll tell you all about mine next week. :)
Thanks for reading.
Beaded beige OOTD
Monday, 16 December 2013
Hiya lovelies.
There is actual daylight in these outfit photos! Whodathunkit?
I'm loving this New Look maxi skirt with ankle boots at the moment.
The lovely beaded top is from Evans via the Leeds fat swap I went to earlier in the year.
The cardi is from Everything 5 Pounds and is an XL, which is supposed to be a 16-18, but it would easily fit a 30+. It's very oversized. Often on E5P things sell out, but they do occasionally get stock back in again, which is how I managed to get this one - I bought the burgundy one first as it was the only colour available. It's available at the moment so jump on it if you want one.
Cardi, Everything 5 Pounds
Top, Evans via fat swap
Skirt, New Look
Boots, Tesco (mine are dark brown but they have black and tan currently.)
Thanks for reading.
There is actual daylight in these outfit photos! Whodathunkit?
I'm loving this New Look maxi skirt with ankle boots at the moment.
The cardi is from Everything 5 Pounds and is an XL, which is supposed to be a 16-18, but it would easily fit a 30+. It's very oversized. Often on E5P things sell out, but they do occasionally get stock back in again, which is how I managed to get this one - I bought the burgundy one first as it was the only colour available. It's available at the moment so jump on it if you want one.
Cardi, Everything 5 Pounds
Top, Evans via fat swap
Skirt, New Look
Boots, Tesco (mine are dark brown but they have black and tan currently.)
Thanks for reading.
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