Sewing time – Butterick Retro B5882 shelf bust 50s style dress

My recent holiday in Antigua gave me the perfect opportunity for some slightly more glamorous outfit shots than usual – the Caribbean backdrop definitely makes the most of my latest sewing project, Butterick B5882, a 1950s inspired shelf bust dress pattern by amazing retro sewing blogger Gertie. This is my favourite sewing project so far because it’s so ‘me’. The moment I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it, and I decided to go all out in leopard print fabric with a black trim for the full-on retro reproduction vibe. The pattern is gorgeous – a lined and boned top with a ‘bra’ shelf section, and a huge full skirt which hangs beautifully. Here’s the full-length photo…

A bride’s opinion of the Simply Be plus size bridal range!

It’s time for a slightly different – and very special – post with a special guest!

A while back, when this site was still Big Girls Browse, I featured the lovely range of wedding dresses from Simply Be. This was a collection I felt really passionate about the moment I saw it. Wedding dresses are expensive, and plus size women get a very raw deal when it comes to their big day, often having to shell out for really expensive made-to-measure pieces, or settling for the very few cheaper off-the-rack options, most of which are pretty ugly and old-fashioned. Simple Be managed to produce a capsule collection of pretty, simple and non-frumpy styles in sizes 12 – 32, all costing £100 or less. They felt modern, chic and special, but fit a tight bridal budget. I knew they’d be popular, but I didn’t realise quite how popular! My post about the range quickly became one of the most visited on this site, and perhaps one of the loveliest moments of my entire blogging career so far was discovering that, in a tiny little way, I helped a bride have a brilliant wedding day.

With no further ado, I’ll pass you over to Rebecca…

Designer fashion wishlist – Avenue 32

One of my biggest bugbears when shopping online is stores that have so much choice I fear placing an order in case I miss something brilliant in the process. A girl doesn’t have the three hours needed to look through everything on some of the big online retailers. Choice is excellent if you’re looking for something specific, but sometimes I crave an edit. That’s where sites like Avenue 32 come in. They take the stress out of the online hunt by doing the hard work for you, bringing shoppers cleverly chosen selections from a crop of must-have designers, rather than stocking everything under the sun just in case. With some of my favourite designers like Temperley, Phillip Lim and Giles in stock, this is pure designer fashion heaven. And even if you can’t afford to drop £1k on a dress, you can dream…here’s my current wishlist in action!

VIP vintage style fashion at Dollydagger in Brighton

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to the gorgeous Dollydagger boutique in Brighton for a taste of their VIP shopping experience. I’ve been a fan of the brand for years so I was very excited for an excuse to head down to the seaside for the evening. The event is all about the full-on retro experience. Think vintage-inspired shopping with a personal touch – small groups (hen dos, birthday parties etc) can book in with the store for a night of bubbly, pampering (hair and makeup to complete your retro look) and plenty of retro fashion fun, with a goodie bag at the end of the night. The shop specialises in 1950s dresses (own brand and hard-to-find labels like Bettie Page Clothing), rockabilly style and quirky gift ideas, so it’s perfect for a retro fan like me…

Spring / Summer outfit inspiration: casual, party and holiday

I never usually enter blogger competitions, but I couldn’t resist the lure of Money Supermarket’s latest ‘Passion for Fashion’ challenge. The rules are simple: create three outfits for under £200 based around three areas: casual wear, party wear and holiday wear. There’s a blogger judging panel (hi guys! LOVE YOU!!!) and prizes will be awarded for each category, plus a grand prize for the best set. We’re advised to take trends into consideration, and create budget outfits for Spring / Summer 2013 based around the key season looks. I love doing outfit picks and I am the queen of the budget outfit, so most of these come in well under the £200 allowed! My three trends are Global Traveller for my holiday look (encompassing all the ‘boho’ and ‘tribal’ inspired trends floating around this season), Monochrome for my party look (with an added dash of 1920s, Great Gatsby glam in honour of the long-awaited film), and for casual wear, Print-on-print with a slight 50s twist, inspired by my post about cropped trousers the other day, with a touch of off-duty Taylor Swift in her Keds (wha? I’m obsessed with 22 and I don’t care what you think). Here goes nothing…

How to wear cropped trousers

There are certain styles that you never think will work for you, and cropped trousers have always been one of those for me. It wasn’t always that way – in my late teens I loved them, and had my fair share of black combat-style numbers that ended mid-calf. But pretty soon cropped trousers became last year’s trend and even my mother started buying them. During that time, I’d learned that there were alternatives for warm-weather dressing (like dresses, dresses and more dresses) and never really wore a pair of cropped trousers again. I was happy to leave them in the late 90s where they belonged, until now…

Claire Richards for Fashion World

A few weeks ago I was invited by Fashion World to meet the new face of the brand, Steps star Claire Richards. Fashion World, for those who’re unfamiliar with the brand, is a catalogue shopping brand aimed at busy women sized 12 – 32. As a working mum with a busy life, Claire is a great fit for them, and what has begun as a simple collaboration where she chooses her favourites from an existing range should extend to Claire co-designing her own range in the near future.

Claire’s yo-yo dieting and battles with her weight have been highly publicised over the last few years so I was interested to hear what she had to say about body image and acceptance. After years of trying to slim back down to where she was in her Steps days, she seems to have finally accepted that she’s not meant to be that size now…

Five fab pairs of flat shoes for Spring

I have dozens of pairs of gorgeous heels, but the truth is I spend most of my time in flats. I love how heels look and I can bear the pain for long enough to wear them on a night out or for a quiet day at work, but I hate the way they slow you down. Even my low-heeled ankle boots cut down on how quickly I can get across London – and I love to walk everywhere. In this city you get about faster if you ditch the public transport and use your legs instead!

So I am always on the hunt for flats that look good, are practical, and work with my wardrobe. Here arefive pairs of fabulous flats….

Fitness fashion & a 30 Day Shred update

I have a confession to make. I’ve not done very well at the 30 Day Shred. By now I should be pushing towards day 30, showing off my abs and well into level 3. But the truth is I’ve only managed to get halfway to day 10. It’s not because I not enjoying it, it’s purely because my schedule has got in the way, and I keep finding excuses not to squeeze it in. I’m feeling very guilty – it’s only 30 days and the last two times I’ve done it I’ve managed to fit it around my life with only a couple of missed days. But for some reason I’m struggling this time.

But I’m not giving up. Next week, I start again, and this time I will persevere…

The Evans Shape Studio Event

I’ve been to loads of great events over the last few weeks that even finding time to write them up has been difficult, but I’m playing catch-up now, starting with the first, the Evans shape studio event. It was a brilliant chance to catch up with the fab ladies from the Evans team, plus the new models for the latest Swan by Clements Ribeiro collection (coming soon) who just happen to be five fabulous plus size bloggers – Georgina, Callie, Bethany, Marie and Nicolette. By now you may have seen *that* Liz Jones article (and the usual bile-filled comments on the Mail online) relating to this campaign – if you haven’t, congratulations for avoiding it. You’ll get a far better idea of what this is all about by reading the thoughts of the people that matter – their consumers, the plus size bloggers and the people who SHOP at Evans, not a bunch of unimaginative trolls who think they’re being clever. What I saw at the event were five incredible women having loads of fun and perfectly representing the people this brand is trying to target. And who can argue with that…