Outfit August - 2nd August - Gingham mini smock dress

Hello lovelies,

This is a bit of a cheat for Outfit August - I'd already taken these photos but I haven't published them yet and I don't want to leave them any longer. This dress is out of stock but gingham is really hot right now so you'll easily be able to find something similar.

Outfit August - Trick or Treat

Hi babes! Is it Halloween yet? 👻 This is about the time every year when I get really excited about Halloween and start buying Halloween themed clothes. This kind of outfit is where I feel most me - alternative, not fashionable by 'normal' standards, wearing a hodge podge of things.

Outfit August outfit challenge - dig out your hidden gems

Hello loves. I've been doing Outfit August on and off since 2014. It's a month long outfit challenge anyone can join in with - as frequently or infrequently as they like throughout the month. I see it as a chance to root right to the back of my wardrobe and hunt out long forgotten gems. Too often I buy new things and forget about older items, and I'm rubbish at accessorising at the best of times, so it's a chance for me to dig into my accessory stash and put a bit more effort in with regards to that. As a woman with chronic illness I spend a lot of time barefaced in comfy clothes so it's a reason to get made up and dressed more often than usual. Some of the outfits work and some of them don't but it's all part of the fun of experimenting. There hasn't been more than 1 or 2 fashion posts a week on this blog for a while, so I look forward to doing more. It'll be nice to do some ordinary around-the-house shots rather than fancy ones out on location as well.

I probably won't be doing an outfit every day, and even if I do, I'll post a round up every 2-3 days rather than updating daily. It's something fun for me to do, and God knows I have enough clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery so it's time to make use of them. Here are some of my previous Outfit August posts.

Thanks for reading. Leah xoxo

Outfit August 2016

It's August and as such I'll be doing Outfit August again just like I have for the past two years. If you're a new follower it's basically a month long exercise in dressing for fun. I normally use the month to re-wear older things from my wardrobe which need a little more love, or to accessorise more, but its interpretation is entirely up to you. I've fallen out of love with getting dressed to please myself recently as blogging pressures found their way into my head, so this'll be just the thing! There will be no view to entice the attention of brands or sell product for anyone, just the joy of experimenting with different looks and seeing what happens.

When I first started Outfit August in 2014 I used to post daily, but I won't be doing that this year as I have so much going on both personally and professionally. I'm not putting any pressure on myself, so I'll be sharing outfits when I can, and you can join in as frequently or infrequently as you like. Just pop the image (above) at the end of each of your posts. Right click to save it, and if you have any problems give me a shout and I'll email you it. Once I have a list of participants (register your interest by commenting on this post) I will include those links in each of my Outfit August posts. It's for everyone - all genders, all ages, all sizes - and representation from people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQ peeps, alternative folks, androgynous dressers, the little seen chubby men, etc etc are all important so please feel free to take part. Diversity is the bomb.

Participants so far:
Me
Hanna
Christy
Nikki
Becky

You can read through the last 2 years' posts here and here if the urge takes you.
Leah xoxo

Outfit August - Last day - dusky pink swing dress

Hello babes! It's the last day of Outfit August and I've not participated as often as I wanted to, but I've definitely realised I have PLENTY in my wardrobes to keep me clothed without new purchases. I bought this dress at the beginning of the year and I hated it at the time. It hangs a little differently on me since I've been exercising more and I like it more now - it was way too short for my comfort before. Read on for more pics and how Outfit August went for me.

Outfit August - 16th August - featuring my niece

Hello lovelies!

I'm back with another Outfit August post, and this one features my niece. We went to feed some ducks at a local pond. We took some porridge and we were besieged by wagging little duck bums. I fed some of them by hand and it really tickles when they peck you!

Outfit August 28/08 & thanks

Hello loves,

Happy Friday! This is probably going to be my last post until September as I have family staying from today and I'll be a busy bee. Can you believe it's nearly September?! Holy shee-it. I'm starting to think about my second-favourite C word, C*****mas!

I want to take a little break from blogging anyway, so it's good timing.

Thanks for the kind words on my ranty post. I feel slightly less crap now. Sometimes all you need is a few kind words, you know? (Note to universe - more kind words for everyone!) I should also schedule in a mental health break every 3 months as I seem to feel like everything is too much about that often. I'm wondering if it's my weirdo sensitive/empath witch-juju making me sensitive to the change of the seasons? That had never occurred to me before but now I think about it....hmmm.

When I do one of my wordy, soul-searching posts I most realise how lucky I am to have you behind me. Of all the things I'm proud about with this blog, having a 'tribe' of people is the greatest. Having a tribe isn't about having blind followers no matter what, or anyone blowing smoke up my arse, it's about that interaction between us and people having my back, and it's a blessing.

It's been a lesson about the way I act when I'm in the mental health danger zone, and also about looking closer at others who might be struggling too. I've had several people say they didn't want to intrude when I was AWOL, and then I noticed one of my fellow bloggers was off the grid a couple of days ago and reached out. Maybe it's a lesson to all of us - check in with your people often, even if you think you're just being silly. That reminds me, I need to call my mum. :D
 
Thanks also to everybody who's taken part in Outfit August. I intended to be a lot more hands on than I was so it was a bit of a fail on my part, but massive kudos to everyone who's brightened up my Instagram with your photos every day.

I took these pics when I was visiting family.

I'm wearing:

Hair flower, Peacocks.co.uk
Dress, past season Evans.co.uk 
Leggings, Yours Clothing
Shoes past season Very
Necklace, handmade & round the wrong way anyway ;)

So, what does September bring? Better things, better times, hopefully. Falling leaves, darker evenings, hot chocolate and planning for that C-mas occasion there's no running away from. ;)

I'm also likely to be doing more makeup posts (than fashion) for a while as nothing is floating my boat right now, and even if it was I have no money to buy anything with. I hope to do 30 days of lipstick to get some of those long forgotten pretties swatched and loved again, and I'll just plop a lipstick photo on the end of my posts, much like Christy has been doing on her Outfit August blog posts.

Catch you on the other side, and have a great weekend.
Leah xoxo

Outfit August 2015

Hello honey buns!

Happy Monday - I hope your week gets off to a good start.

Last year I organised something called Outfit August and it was about the simple joy of getting dressed - no pressure at all. I intend to do it myself again this year and welcome you to join me. It's a great excuse to dig through your stash and pull out rarely worn items to put a new spin on them. It's for everyone - all genders, all ages, all sizes - and representation from people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQ peeps, alternative folks, androgynous dressers, the little seen chubby men, etc etc are all important so please feel free to take part. Diversity is the bomb.

I walk this line between being the girl who often hangs around the house with my hair in a bun or messy pony tail, fresh faced and in my comfies, or feeling the pressure to be this glamour puss with perfect hair and makeup (and often failing, ha!) Then there's more pressure in wanting to pull it out of the bag when I'm sent stuff to review as I want to do things 'justice'. It's a relief to cast that off for a month and just celebrate putting outfits together for FUN, you know? Because that's what fashion should be! Self-expression, joy, playfulness.

In many respects putting on a dress is the easiest thing in the world for me - pull it on over my head and I'm done, throw on some shoes and maybe a necklace or hair flower et voila. It's in separates I tend to find the most pleasure in (once I shirk off my lazy 'I'll just put a dress on!' urges) because there is virtually no end to the combinations I could wear things in.

I'll be digging deep through my stashes, not just clothes but shoes, jewellery, belts etc. I'm such a lazy dresser most of the time, this is my time to get creative. I will probably wear some new stuff, but will mostly be concentrating on putting a new spin on older items.

If you would like to join me, please feel free! Let me know in the comments and I'll add you to my list.

By the way, you don't have to post every day. I probably won't, because something always comes up. You can post to your Blogger/Wordpress/Tumblr or just Instagram and/or Twitter. Whatever suits you! All I ask is that you post a list of links to the other people participating at the end of each Outfit August post. We might all find someone new to follow, and that's always going to be a good thing, right?

If you'd like to join in feel free - let me know so I can add you to the list. I'm going to leave the banners in the comments so you can yank them. One is 750 pix wide, the other 500. Don't forget to hashtag your posts ‪#‎OutfitAugust2015‬ on Twitter and Instagram, and I'll retweet/regram them.

Thanks for reading, and spread the word - the more the merrier.
Leah xoxo

Outfit August - 9th August - Casual looks

Hello lovelies! I've got a few casual looks to share today. I've been walking every day so I've been living in cosy jersey clothes that are comfortable to wear when I'm hot.

Outfit August Day 1 | Lime hi low top

Hello sweet peas!

It's the weekend, whoo! I hope you have a good one whatever you're doing. Today is the first day of Outfit August. I'm probably not going to do an outfit every day, but we'll see.

I absolutely LOVE these high low tops from Yours Clothing. I have one in black and this one and I think I'm going to get a couple more for Autumn/Winter as they're so effortless thrown on over jeans, leggings or harem pants. I'm having a rebellion against prints at the moment, preferring plain colours. I looked in my wardrobe full of lovely prints a wee while ago and thought - I need more plain things! I hardly have anything without a pattern, and plain colours are so much easier to mix together. The tops are really oversized - I'm wearing a 26/28 and there's bags of room in it - and they're so touchable, too.

I'd been wanting some summery white leggings for a while, and picked up two pairs of the cropped leggings online for £12, which is a real steal. I have these leggings in black too, and they wash incredibly well. I've had the black pair for about 3 years, which is a record amount of time for leggings to last.

James looks grumpy in  most of the photos I take of him, which is ironic as he's the sunniest person imaginable. Mind you, he was really ill when these photos were taken.

I'm wearing:

Lime high low top, Yours Clothing 
Cropped lace hem leggings, Yours Clothing
Bow shoes, past Very.co.uk
Hair band, birthday gift
Scarf, gift from Canada Rach

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

Outfit August 5th August - Monochrome

Howdy!

Thanks to all of you who left lovely comments on my blog yesterday. In some ways the level of self-centredness that blogging requires (after all you're talking about yourself all the time) can sometimes mean the world appears to shrink to the size of a pinhead, and you lose sight of the bigger picture. It's a good idea to refocus, gain some new perspective and come back at it from a new angle.

I haven't been strictly planning the Outfit August posts. When I did Fatshion February I put a lot of planning into what I was going to wear but this time (so far) I've been letting an item come to mind and then building something around it in a much more relaxed manner. I found this dress in the wardrobe the other day, thought 'That's where you got to!' and decided to give it another whirl.

You can see the sunburnt ankle a little bit in the photo above. It's not painful to walk on now. It just itches like fark.

I straightened my hair tonight for the first time in months and ye gads it's got long. Time for a trim soon! I am growing it, but not without regular trims to keep it in good condition.

Dress, Forever 21+
Scarf, a festival years ago (this differs to my cheapo eBay ones in that it's square & thicker material).
Belt, ASOS Curve
Hair flower, old Peacocks
Shoes, so old I can't even remember where they're from

When my mum and step dad had to move a few months ago, they found loads of my old stuff as they packed up. Amongst that I got back about 4 odd shoes (random) and the only pair of matching shoes I got back were these wedge sandals. I wore them to a friend's summer time wedding well over 10 years ago and was pleased to get them back.

Finding things you've lost after years is a bonus! Have you ever lost anything for ages and found it later on?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

Outfit August 3rd August - Gimme Shelter

Hello honey buns!

I'm a bit late getting started with Outfit August but better late than never. I'm feeling a little less like a zombie today. I called this Gimme Shelter because I love the Stones and I bought this dress recently from a Shelter charity shop for £4. Result!

Below left is what happens when a good song comes on when I'm doing photos. :) Dance time!

Excuse the weird puckering on the front of the dress. I did the washing up just before I took photos and I seem to throw more water over myself than the dishes and as it dried it puckered up. It's super comfy, Sonoma brand from Kohl's, and I love that it kinda looks like denim from a distance. I'm wearing a 3X.

Dress, Shelter
Lace cardi, Asda 
Leggings, Very
Shoes, Primark
Pearls, Primark
Hair flower, eBay

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

Outfit August 07/08 - Stripes

Hiya!

Since I've had my new camera (which is light enough to carry around with me all the time) opportunities to take photos happen a lot more often than when I was carrying around a DSLR the weight of a small child. Because of this I'm capturing a lot more photos, even if they aren't that special. The way things have been for me recently I'm celebrating every day I get dressed.

Because I've been completely up in the air mentally since my step dad was diagnosed with the big C I keep finding stuff I'd forgotten about, and this outfit is one of them. I wore this on a roasting hot day in June when my dad (not my step dad) was visiting, so I got him to take my photos.

Doesn't my pops look fetching in my hat? ;) We went for a walk then went to the pub.

I'm wearing:

Hat, past season New Look
Top, Asda
Skirt, past season New Look
Plimsolls, past season Primark

Even though these photos were taken a month ago they're still very much in the ethos of Outfit August as I've made a point of using older stuff for a while. I guess I've grown disillusioned with some parts of blogging - particularly the capitalist side of it. I like new things as much as the next person but I like to have a mixture of old and new things on the blog, which is not very fashion blogger-y at all. The very successful bloggers are new-new-new all the time, which of course they CAN do as they're supplied with everything. But that isn't indicative of real life, and it's important as bloggers and readers to realise that. I've come to realise that being the bastard child of UK plus size blogging with allegiance to no brand (thus being able to call them out if they disappoint) is a bonus, not a drawback. If success is being under the wing of a brand (or a few brands) and my blog no longer feeling like mine, I don't want it. I think maintaining your own flavour under that kind of influence must be difficult, so I'm starting to feel glad I'm not 'bought'. Happiness for me lies in doing my own thing. The blogs I really like to read are by people who look at what they've got in their wardrobes, get creative and try new ways to pair things up. So yes, I'm leaning away from the capitalist thing deliberately.

How do you feel about bloggers and the amount of brand influence they have on their blogs? Do they lose their voice? Does it bore you if I wear older things?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

Outfit August 03/08 - Short playsuit

Hiya lovelies!

I didn't put a blog post up for Outfit August yesterday, and I probably won't every day, but I have yet another really chilled out outfit today. All I'm wearing is super casual stuff at the moment - I haven't dressed up in ages! I bought this comfy playsuit from a local shop called Pure and I absolutely love it. When I had my hair cut almost a month ago my hairdresser Helen was wearing one, and it was love at first sight. So I popped in a couple of days later and picked up a black one and a khaki one.

Resting bitch face!

It's basically a giant square of fabric and all the excess drapes around my hips. One size fits up to about a size 30-32 I'd say, and it's a super soft stretchy fabric. I might go back to get a couple more if there are any left in stock as they're ideal for summer and you can wear them in lots of ways. My hairdresser was wearing a short sleeved top and cropped leggings underneath hers, and you could also wear a top over it. It's like an adult baby grow, and although it might be an acquired taste I love mine - except for when I'm dying for a wee and I have to wiggle my way out of it. :)

I'm wearing:

Playsuit, Pure, 47 Queens Rd, Hastings (they don't have a website.)
Necklace, past season New Look
Wide fit plimsolls, New Look

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

Outfit August: Be seen in green and why I wear crop tops

Hiya pickles!

I've got a right lust for everything green at the moment, so here's an outfit I put together to go to the cinema to watch Star Trek Beyond. I liked the film - especially Jaylah (she's brilliant and I adored her makeup!) but it lacked a little something for me. I'm not sure what. Maybe it was a bit heavy on effects and slightly lacking in storyline. Did you see it? If so, what did you think of it?

Outfit August - another tapestry print dress

Hiya babes! I was all ready for Autumn, and then we had the best bank holiday weekend I can remember in years. The weather has been amazing. My dress may not have suited the weather, but I love the warm tones of autumn florals all year round.

More about Outfit August

Hello sweet peas!

I wasn't expecting this much interest, so thank you everyone who wants to be involved.

As I said before, I've been thinking about doing a similar thing to Fatshion February (where I blogged an outfit every day for a month, mostly from items I already had) but in August, as it gives us time to prepare. I feel happiest when my outfits are a mix of new and old items. When I buy too many new things it actually puts me off blogging my outfits out of guilt/shame. I'm happiest when I'm being resourceful, and that means digging deep into my stashes for pretties and deep into my mind working out combinations of things I may not have blogged about before. There's so much that can be done to turn one dress into several different outfits using hats, hair flowers, bags, shoes, scarves, cardigans etc etc (as I proved when I wore the same dress for 14 outfits as part of Fatshion February.)

I'm as guilty as anyone of being a sucker for shiny new things all the time. The hope is that in concentrating more on the stuff we already have for just one month we'll be less tempted by new possessions. Hopefully. :)

• You don't have to blog every day. Join in when you can.
• You don't have to avoid new stuff entirely.
• You don't have to be fat. All bodies welcome.

All I ask is on August 1st you write an introductory post with the header and linking to the other participants. (I'm going to add the links to this post as people join and keep updating.) After that, just join in as and when you can throughout the month.

I will blog a reminder post in a few weeks. I have loads of ideas which I'll talk about later on too. This post today is mainly to see who's interested.

So far we have:

Sam
Debz
Vicky G
Nikki
Sarah D
Nic
Charlie
Christiana
Kitty
Hannah
Mary
Veronika  
Cathy  
Rebecca
Natalie
Steph  
Laura
Yvonne
Louise 

If you want to take part in August give me a yell in the comments and I'll add you. 

Any questions?


Feel free to yoink the header direct from my blog now if you want, or else I'll have a grab code box when I post the reminder post in a few weeks.

Thanks for reading!

Writing process blog hop

Hello lovelies!

This is something new to me - a blog hop about how I write. Vicky tagged me after seeing this post and I'm going to tag a couple of people to play along at the end.

1. What are you working on?

I have 3 posts scheduled at the moment. One is fashion, one is beauty and the other is a lifestyle post. I always have oodles of future posts planned. Without giving away the game too much I have a post planned about my husband's vasectomy and what to expect for others considering it; lots more beauty posts as I slowly make my way through the piles of stuff I'm hoarding; and the rest of Outfit August as well. I'm a bit manic in my planning though - I scrawl ideas down in the Notes feature on my phone, on the back of envelopes and in notepads and on to do lists. We just bought a huge corkboard so I can organise myself better - I'm so chaotic!

2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?

It's very hard to be unique as there are millions of bloggers but I guess I'm one of a minority of bloggers with Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME and depression who have a fashion and beauty blog. I try to bring as much realness to my blog as possible, even if it isn't glossy and pretty.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I'd been reading plus size blogs for a long time before I dared join in. It was like a double-edged sword - I loved reading what the bloggers had to say and seeing what they were wearing, but I felt really low thinking that I could never join in because I wasn't confident enough. Eventually the need to put myself out there overcame my fears of haters saying horrible things, and I've never looked back. It was the best thing I ever did! I've made so many friends from blogging (both blog readers and other bloggers) and have had some wonderful opportunities come my way. It's not always easy blogging with chronic illness, but it gives me something to focus on other than pain and fatigue and it's been a real lifeline for me at times. I tend to focus on the fashion side with beauty coming a close second, followed by any days out and about we've been on. I want to start talking more about my health to help other people with chronic illnesses, but fear of turning people off stops me.

4. How does my writing process work?

I blog as I think, typing straight into Blogger. I tend to take photos earlier in the day when the light is good (I'm dreading the dullness of winter!) and shape the post around them, rather than writing the text parts first. I work from about 11pm to anything up to 2-3am on posts. I need silence to be able to concentrate. It's a rare day when I'm not blogging every evening. If I feel particularly creative I might write a few posts in one go, usually on a Sunday so I can start the week relaxed knowing I have a couple of posts scheduled if I have a particularly hellish pain or fatigue day during the week. I normally try to blog every day, but am blogging more often at the moment as I'm doing Outfit August. Once it's over I'll be back to doing daily posts most of the time.

Now it's time to nominate a couple of people to do this tag. I nominate Nic and Woosang. If you don't want to join in, just let me know, no biggie.

Thanks for reading. If you blog, how does your process work?

Leah xoxo

Outfit August | ASOS Curve night foil metallic leggings

Hi loves,

OMG, I've bought the best leggings in the world. I'm basically living out ALL my childhood dreams as an adult because when I was a child/teen there was never any fun clothing in my size.

I'm not stranger to 'out there' looks - blue lipstick, undercuts, hell I even shaved my eyebrows off once. (No you can't see the photos, I looked like an alien!) But this might be my most out-there post of them all. Tank Girl and Mad Max are being channeled in this look.

Outfit August reminder

Hello pickles,

Tomorrow is the beginning of Outfit August if you're joining.

Refer to this post for more information.

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo