Thrifted finds - Evans lime lace tunic dress

Hiya lovelies! In this post I'm going to be talking about a brand new Evans dress I got from a charity shop recently. It was a steal at £7.50 and it still had the tags on it. Score!

Recent charity shop finds

'Ello sausages!

As promised here's a post about the things I bought from charity shops recently.

I got this brand new with tags George from Asda maxi dress. (Asda is the UK Walmart). It's a size 24 and has plenty of room in it for me. Asda size 24s are generally oversized. It was £5. I have an outfit post wearing this coming up in a few days.

 Closeup. It's black on beige.

This shirt was £4 in a Scope charity shop, and is from New Look Inspire originally. It's a size 24 and doesn't do up over my belly but I'll wear it loose over a vest top.

 Closeup. It's cream rather than white.

I got this kaftan from the same shop as the Asda dress. I'm pretty sure it's 70s era. It's has no labels, it's machine sewed and it's a really heavy static-y polyester which rustles lots. It's also big enough for me and James to get into, although strangely the head hole is tiny! I have to take my glasses off to get it on. It's not flattering, but it does make me feel fabulous! I want to wear it whilst reclining on G Plan furniture, drinking a Campari, and surrounded by brown paisley walls. ;) It has wide 3/4 length sleeves and a kind of Mandarin collar.

Close up. I bought it because I love the colours. It reminds me of Autumn leaves. It was just £3!!

And then there's the pashmina, which you saw in yesterday's post. I got it in a Demelza charity shop for £2. Here are some more photos of it though.

Smiling reversible teddy bears! Isn't it just the best thing ever? I never knew I was missing a bear pashmina in my life but I'm so glad I spotted it.

I've been feeling a bit blah about plus size fashion recently, because so many retailers get it wrong and then I don't want to spend my money with them. Simply Be are on my shit list because they value smaller fats over larger ones online and in their stores (I've been free of them a year now and I'm still paying off my credit account, agh). New Look peed me off because they don't seem to want fat women in their shops, and Taking Shape have a history of body-shaming smaller women and that makes me not want to buy from them either. I'm kinda tired of counting the ways that retailers disappoint me. I just want clothes without a side order of bullshit. So that leaves me with Scarlett & Jo, ASOS Curve and a few other places to shop and it all leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I feel much happier buying second hand. All that bad feeling evaporates in a second hand shop - I'm not supporting some company I don't care for, I'm supporting a charity.

Are you fond of charity shops/thrifting?

Check out my plus size thrifting tips here. 

Have a great weekend!
Leah xoxo

10 plus size thrifting tips

Hello my loves!

I LOVE charity shops! I never know what I'm going to find - it's like digging for buried treasure. When I was a child dressed entirely in hand-me-downs and charity shop clothes I was ashamed of it. I found it ironic that all the posh girls in my class at school wore clothes from charity shops to be cool, whereas I couldn't think of anything else more embarrassing. Thankfully the stigma of buying from charity shops has long since passed. Over the years my love of fashion and bargains has grown, so it's only natural my love of charity shops has too.

Although thrifting/charity shopping isn't always easy when you're plus size, I've picked up a few tricks over the years.

Here are my top tips for bagging yourself a plus size bargain.

1. Go early (if you can.) Less people = better chances of finding a gem. Also, the store is starting off with a full complement of goodies which may not get restocked during the day.
2. Go often. The more you look the more likely you are to find a beaut!
3. Carry a pocket tape measure. Sometimes sizes are marked incorrectly, so if you know your bust/waist/hip measurements you can quickly size up a garment for fit.
4. Ignore sizes to a certain extent - if an item has give or is oversized you might be surprised at how low a size you can wear. Use your tape measure.
5. Remember stretch is our friend. For example elasticated waist skirts, jersey dresses & tops and knitwear will often fit larger than the label says. Until you stretch that thing out you have no idea what might fit you.
6. Try things on if you have the time and if you're shopping with a friend, ask their opinion.
7. Don't buy just because things are cheap - will you really wear them?
8. Give the item a quick once-over for damage - missing buttons and suchlike.
9. If you get to know your local charity shop workers really well, ask them to hold items for you or call you when they get something you're looking for - for example dresses in a size 26.
10. Keep the tags on and your receipt in case you need to return anything.

Bonus tip: Know your body. I'm a size 28 but I can get away with wearing a size 18 cardigan if the arms are big enough. I rarely do a cardigan up so it makes no difference to me if it doesn't quite meet in the middle. My belly and bum is the biggest area on me, so finding trousers to fit is highly unlikely, so I concentrate on dresses and tops.

Do you have any plus size thrifting tips to share?

Thanks for reading.

Leah xoxo

Beaded Grazia floral tunic outfit post

Hiya lovelies!

I have a gorgeous tunic dress to show you today which I picked up in my local Oxfam shop for less than a fiver.

It's a size 26 and it's very generous - there's loads of room in it. It has sequins and seed beads on it and is a really light floaty material. There are plus sized items to be found in some charity shops - not as often as regular sized items, but I have noticed an upward trend in the last few years. I even saw some plus size vintage yesterday, but alas it was far too frumpy nana for my liking. I check the charity shops whenever I'm in town and sometimes my luck comes in. On this day I got two other dresses, one from Very and one from ASOS Curve.

I haven't used a gif for a while, so here you are:

Dress, Oxfam
Leggings,Yours Clothing
Shoes, old Evans
Necklace, made by me

Have you found any charity shop bargains recently?

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Crepe shirt dress OOTD

Hiya!

My dad and brother came down to visit last Monday so we went to town for lunch. On the way back through town I suggested going in the Heart Foundation charity shop (much to my brother's disgust) so my dad and I could have a peek at the bargains. I picked up this gorgeous heavyweight crepe shirt dress.

I love the contrast stitching, pocket and side slits at the bottom, plus it's a lovely length.

Shirt dress, British Heart Foundation charity shop
Sparkly vest, from Mookie
Belt, ASOS Curve sale - get it while the going's good!
Wet look leggings, Very via Miss Difusa
Patent flats, Evans
Double layer necklace, Superdrug (last year.)
Bracelet, Primark
Earrings, New Look
Ring, Bluebirds & Daisies

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday (if it IS Sunday where you are right now!)

Outside My Comfort Zone 14 - Stand Out

Hello cockles!

This fortnight's challenge was picked by Rachel from A Dress Is For Life.

She said: I'm going to go with stand out from the crowd, if you're fat you're told to blend it but let's stand out with pride :) whether it's bright colours, loud prints crazy hair it's up to you :)  

You may need your sunnies for this post as my very white legs await below!

As most of you will be aware, I'm a big fan of leggings as pants (or trousers as we call them in this fair land!) Today I decided to forego the leggings and get my milky white legs out in a very short dress.

I picked this cardi up for the princely sum of about £4.50 recently in a charity shop. I've wanted a pinky red cardi for ages and this is a heavyweight one which'll see me through autumn and winter.

The shot below left is one like I've never shown before, and not just because I have a face like a slapped arse. ;) The back of my legs are my next thing to learn to love. I've got huge upper legs. There's my knee and then boom - chunkers. These are strong legs which carry me about so I should love them. They are good legs which have lots of muscle under my squidge. Yet because society deems legs which look like chicken drumsticks not to be the norm I dislike them. Silly, isn't it?

Hair flower, New Look
Necklace, Punky Pins
Cardi, charity shop
Dress, New Look (from 2 pack - no longer on the website.)
Shoes, Rocket Dog

Do you ever give 2 fingers to the seemingly never-ending set of 'rules' women are meant to guide our lives by?

Thanks for reading!

Dotty for Anna Scholz OOTD

Hiya pickles,

I want to show you another of my recent charity shop finds. This top was £4.75 and was brand new with tags. As you can see it's slightly see through, which would be solved by wearing a black bra, but I don't really care about such things. ;)

It's a lovely heavyweight material with tons of Lycra and flares out wide at the bottom. The polka dot ribbon came with it.

Next time I wear this I'll wear it with a skirt as I think that would look a lot nicer than leggings.

Headband, fat swap
Top, charity shop
Leggings, found everrrrwhere
Shoes, Evans (old)
Necklace and earrings, Extreme Largeness

Have you been charity shop shopping recently?

Thanks for reading.