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…

I think I’m in love with Orla Kiely

I never really got the obsession with Orla Kiely. The prints that she’s most famous for, and the oilcloth bags and laptop sleeves emblazoned with graphic tulips in sludge green and burnt orange…they just never really did it for me. I love a bit of 70s retro, I’m always a fan of an Autumnal palette, but if I were to put Orla’s bags on my Handbag Of Dreams list, she’d be down there with multicoloured monogram Louis Vuitton. Just not me.

Then I discovered the dresses. Not the prim little things you may have seen on The Duchess formerly known as Kate Middleton. No, the amazing 1960s inspired two-colour party dresses, and the insane pre-Spring boat-emblazoned 50s dresses that look like something Sally Draper would wear (or indeed the never-really-off-duty Kiernan Shipka, who at 13 already has a better wardrobe than I will ever own)….

Top 5 dress picks: plus size styles Simply Be

Today as part of Dressember I’m looking at some of my favourite dresses from one of the brands that has supported Big Girls Browse since the very beginning, Simply Be. I wore a Simply Be dress for one of the very first days of my first Dressember, so I think there’s nice synergy in this post happening now!

I love the label for offering a great combination of classic styles and trend-led pieces in a really good range of sizes. I know that a lot of my plus size friends rate Simply Be as one of if not *the* best when it comes to UK plus size retailers, because they have such a big range and some great collaborations. I also love seeing the clothes on models with bodies like mine – Naomi Shimada and Laura Catterall can sell ANYTHING to me! Here are some of my top dress picks from the Simply Be Winter collection…

Simply Be launches gorgeous plus size wedding dress range

Words can’t begin to explain how excited I am about Simply Be’s new plus size bridal range. I don’t have plans to marry any time soon, I’m not looking at these with my big day in mind, but I’m hugely impressed at the quality and variety that they’ve managed to pile into such a small range. There are only four dresses so far, but if they’re a sign of what’s to come, this could be the start of something very special.

This could have gone so wrong. It could have been a pile of horrible, frou-frou strapless numbers and ugly toilet roll holder shapes with cheap embellishment. Instead, I really feel like the Simple Be team have done a wonderful thing; they’ve created a capsule plus size range of wedding dresses that will genuinely make people who wear straight sizes go ‘wow, I wish they did that in my size’.

I’ve been sewing: Simplicity 2444 dress with cape collar

The last thing I sewed and actually finished was my bridesmaid dress for Kat’s wedding. Given that she’s been married for two years now, I thought it was time to get some more use out of my sewing machine and dressmaker’s dummy! So spurred on by seeing how fab it looked on Roisin, I decided to raid my pattern stash for Simplicity 2444 (I have patterns, just never actually *make* them). I’d read nothing but great things about this pattern, which has four darts in the front to really shape the bodice for a good fit. It’s one of the Project Runway patterns, which means there are lots of elements you can add and remove to suit. I decided to go for the cape collar version (as seen on the model in blue floral print).

See me in the M&S body shapes advice hub!

A couple of weeks ago I was invited down to M&S HQ to take part in some filming for their new body shape advice hub. Five bloggers were invited to discuss their specific body shapes and the dress styles that work best them, with the aim of giving some advice to other women out there looking for dresses this Summer.

I don’t have all that much love for the body shape system. I think that following a set of rules based around what your body resembles (especially when it”s something as random as a strawberry or cello) means you miss out on ‘wildcard’ items of clothing that might look fabulous. I’m a big believer that if you love something, you should try it on, even if rules dictate it’s not going to suit you.

But despite that, I know people like to be given guidance, and I do believe there are some simple bits of advice around body shape that can help people who struggle to shop…

Ten more 1950s style dresses (you know you love ‘em)

Oh, you predictable bunch! It comes as no surprise to me that my posts on 1950s style dresses are, by far, the most popular pieces on Big Girls Browse. And who am I to complain that one of my favourite looks is also one of yours? As far as I’m concerned, any excuse to spend a few hours hunting down yet more fabulous frocks with those trademark nipped-in waists, full skirts and fabulous prints is good enough. Though I am going to bankrupt myself soon enough if I keep buying things as I do ‘research’. This round-up of another ten great Summer dresses includes a few old faithful brands, a couple of new ones, and hopefully some styles to suit all budgets and bodies. I hope you enjoy!

Ten Fab 40s / 50s inspired sundresses for Summer!

Watching the new Mad Men tonight, I felt a little bit let down at the lack of lovely frocks. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 60s looks – Jane’s amazing maxi and Trudy’s killer swirly Pucci-esque number – but I miss the earlier episodes, with the wiggle dresses, fifties full skirts and Betty’s amazing sundresses and shades. For me, it doesn’t get better than the 40s and 50s when it comes to clothing, so I’ve put together a list of ten fab fifties-inspires Summer dresses for my fellow retro fans. So what if Sterling Cooper has moved on, it doesn’t mean I have to. I’ll be snapping up at least one of these dresses in the next few months…

Tried & Tested: The Pepperberry Summer Clothing Challenge

Yep, I’ve been back to Pepperberry, purveyors of clothes for ladies with boobs. This time I was invited to take part in their Bloggers’ Summer Clothing Challenge. Basically, I got to choose an event and Pepperberry would dress me for it! I was sent down to the Oxford Circus store in June, where a set of frocks had been picked out for me to try on. I then picked my favourite and styled it up for the event in question. I chose a picnic with friends for my birthday, though I ended up swapping that for an afternoon in the pub (I didn’t trust the weather). I had planned to wear the dress on the day, but it ended up being a bit too restrictive. The moral of the story? Don’t pick a super-fitted dress with a synthetic lining, then put on 5lbs and expect it to still fit on one of the hottest days of the year…

Tried & Tested: Big Beauty at One Stop Plus

I’ve not done a review of a plus range for a little while, because let’s be frank, who wants to see a size 14 modelling plus stuff when you can see that in the advertising and catalogues anyway? I think my high street reviews are probably a lot more useful (because they might make it in a 14, but that doesn’t mean it was made with a 14 in mind…), so I tend to leave the bulk of the reviews to the amazing community of size 16+ bloggers.

But, sometimes I just can’t turn an opportunity down and when that opportunity is to try something designed in collaboration with one of the aforementioned bloggers, I am powerless to refuse! So this is how I, oddly, came to find myself in a’straight’ sized version of an item from a plus size collection…