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…

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…

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’.

Ask Gemma: How do I dress my post-pregnancy curves?

I don’t usually do request posts (mostly because I don’t get any good requests!) but I’m always happy to help a friend in need. So when Katie called on me for help dressing her post-pregnancy bod, I got straight on the case. I’m sure she’s not the only woman who’s strugged to dress as her body has changed following pregnancy, and as I’m hitting the age now where lots of my friends are starting families, so I get the feeling this post might be useful to a fair few other people in times to come. Katie said “I used to be slim with modest boobs. Then I had a baby. Now I am slimmish, but with a flabbier stomach that pops out after I’ve even looked at some food, and a pair of magically enhanced breasts, a couple of sizes bigger. Nothing fits me any more and I don’t understand how or where to shop!” Now, I like to think I know a little bit about dressing for a body with ample boobs and a tum (baby or not) so, without further ado…

A Fortnight in Pictures: Fabulous Frocks & Saving Shoes

It’s been a bit of a mad couple of weeks in terms of events and night’s out, so I’ve been a bit quiet on the blogging front as a result. Even this is going to be a bit of a quick post, mostly made up of various photos from the last ten days or so. If you follow me on twitter you’ve probably seen most of these already so sorry for the repeats! In the last fortnight I’ve been to blogger meet-ups, shop openings, photoshoots and parties and at one memorable moment even found myself listed alongside some of my fashion idols as I was placed at number 3 in the top fashion tweeters according to The Telegraph. Their cheque is in the mail…

Things to get excited about: new capsule collections

There are some amazing capsule and limited edition collections coming out in the next couple of months, and I’m excited about pretty much all of them. From Debenhams’ new ‘Edition’ collection, featuring pieces from Preen, Roksanda Ilincic, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey, to the much hyped ‘Inclusive’ range from H&M, which is an online-only collection of pretty dresses and separates that come in a larger range of sizes than the usual tiny H&M stuff. Keep reading for pics and info on these great upcoming fashion collaborations…

Exclusive Sneak Peek: Simply Be SS11 ‘Angel Ribbons’ Collection

The team at Simply Be have always been really supportive of Big Girls Browse and I was really happy to be offered a bit of an exclusive on one of their Spring / Summer ranges. The ‘Angel Ribbons’ collection won’t be available until next week, but you can have a little sneaky peek at some of the pieces right here. I saw some of the samples a month or so ago at the launch, and this was definitely one of the ranges that really stood out for me. I do love a bit of girly glam! Keep reading for all the pics…

Tried & Tested: Gok Wan ‘Curve Controller’

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of shapewear. I love the 1950s nipped-waist silhouette and wear a lot of wiggle dresses that benefit from a good foundation (and no VPL). That said, I see shapewear as a smoothing, shaping garment, not a miracle fix. I don’t really subscribe to the whole ‘magic pants will make you thin’ idea – this is about creating a shape with the curves you have, not making them disappear completely!

In the past I’ve tried – and been impressed with – pieces from the previous Gok Wan collection for Simply Yours. I was recently offered the chance to try something from the new range, and I jumped at the chance to see what they’d done to improve it.

Ruby Belle at Evans tried on for size!

The long-awaited vintage-inspired Ruby Belle dresses have finally arrived at Evans, and I couldn’t wait to snap one up. I’ve been a fan of Fever Designs for a while, so I’m really glad they’ve teamed up with Evans to offer this range in larger sizes. Ruby Belle normally only goes up to a UK size 14 and while the size guide suggests that should fit me, my experiences trying on other Fever items suggests otherwise!

So I was waiting very impatiently for the dresses to be recut to Evans’ slightly more generous sizes – and given that it has a stretch top and full skirt, I bought the sailboat dress in a 14. And I love it!

Vintage reproduction clothing (Pin-up, burlesque & rockabilly) – The ultimate shopping list!

It’s not hard to see why so many curvaceous women turn to fashions from the 40s and 50s when it comes to making the most of their bodies. The era’s pin-up girls, ‘cheesecake’ models and Vargas girls all had waspish waists and sexy curves. Actresses had hourglass figures that their clothes could barely contain (think Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors) and all women wore girdles that sculpted their bodies to perfection and bullet bras that gave the appearance of a Joan Holloway-esque bosom on even a petite woman.

I know from reading comments and looking at search terms that many of us wish we could eschew badly-designed, poorly-fitting modern pieces for something more flattering from the past. But finding true vintage pieces from that era for a larger figure can be difficult. Most good pieces are expensive, and many come in very small sizes, especially on the waist.

So three cheers for the many great brands and retailers who’ve allowed us to get a bit of that old-fashioned glamour in modern sizing. Some of the labels below stock plus size, some don’t, but I’ve chosen to include them all for reference…