A work in progress: dressing it up
I am still working on feeling comfortable and becoming healthier as I once was eons ago. I’m eating much better and go to the gym semi-regularly. One question still lingers: what do you do in the meantime? Changes don’t occur overnight and if you feel comfortable in the skin your are in, there are ways to make adjustments.
That’s why I’ve decided that the majority of my Spring/Summer will be spent in dresses and skirts.I think that will be a first for me as I can be an everyday pants type of girl. However, I’ve decided that I don’t want to spend the majority of my time stretching my waistband to note any changes or lamenting when a pair of pants don’t fit just right. You are much more flexible with dresses since you can belt them, cinch them or wear them loosely.
During my online hunt for vintage dresses, I was perusing the Dear Golden Vintage shop and listening to music. Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” (the song about an old Welsh witch, according to Ms. Stevie Nicks), when I came across a dress with a very pretty print. I looked at the name and saw that the dress was named…Rhiannon! Need I say more? I instantly brought the dress and wore it for the first time yesterday:
I wore the dress with a pair of leggings, belt and an older pair of Aldo boots. It’s pretty sheer, so I’d always have to wear a tank/camisole underneath, but otherwise, I absolutely adore this dress. Plus, it fits right in with my new outlook on wearing dresses/skirts only until…well, I guess until I just don’t feel the need to anymore.
What do you like to wear when you want to feel most comfortable?
Calling Spring
I miss spring.
I miss wearing peep-toe shoes and the cycle of getting pedicures on a regular basis. I miss the blossoming flowers and the grass turning green instead of the dirty, brown slush that used to be snow.  For me, the Easter holiday always marks the return of Spring and as a little girl, my biggest treat was buying an Easter Sunday dress.
Now, I am older and no longer go through the bells and whistles for Easter celebration, but a colorful dress always signifies spring weather to me.
I am feeling a sense of this when looking at pieces from Chicago-based designer, Jess Audey, and her Audey line. Jess is also part of the Chicago Fashion Incubator program (a yearlong mentor ship that assists up-and-coming designers) and is a graduate of Columbia University Chicago.  Her “About” page describes the look and feel of her cocktail dresses perfectly:
Dresses that are at once whimsical and romantic while maintaining the highest level of quality.
Looking at her S/S 2010 Preview pictures makes me wish spring would hurry up and arrive so I can wear my cocktail dress and peep-toe shoes.
Alternatives
I know I’ve been writing a lot about Fall shopping and my “list” lately. There are some items that I would have definitely added to my list if I knew that it would fit me perfectly. The main culprits? Dresses and blazers. Although I’m not quite “plus-size” (a word that I tread on using, but I’ll use it here for semantics), I am a larger size in my tops than bottoms because of my larger bust. It’s always that much more difficult to find a flattering dress or blazer that fits seamlessly in the “regular sizes”. And the plus-size clothing usual suspects such as Lane Bryant, Ashley Stewart and the like? I’m not overly excited by them, either. Perhaps I’m greedy and I like to have all of the options in the world to chose from instead of one or two.
Saying all of that, I’ve been obsessed with the blog, Le Blog de Big Beauty, over the past week. I’ve been going back and reading old posts and using my very limited French and Google translate to read her posts. And I have been taking notes.Where does she shop for such fabulous outfits ? Adorable tops, blazers and dresses that are flattering. Her blog has been such an inspirational find and has prompted me to find online shops that cater to larger sized clothing Here are a few shops that I’ve found from her blog as well as from ringing endorsements I’ve read/heard from other folks:
I’d never heard of Carmakoma until I read Le Blog De Big Beauty, but I really like their clothing. Moderately priced and flattering that is classic with a twist.
I particularly like this jacket:
And this very cute one-shoulder little, black dress:
Apparently, I’m way late to the Dorothy Perkins bandwagon. The store stocks clothing from a UK sized 6-22 and ships to the US. You can get casuals, work attire, lingerie, maternity clothing and whatever else you might think of . For me, it offers a bit of an alternative to the items in the other high-street stores like Zara and Topshop, who aren’t as forgiving in their sizing. For instance, with the biker jacket below, I saw a similar biker jacket in Zara, but due to my larger bust, it didn’t fit properly. With the larger sizing at Dorothy Perkins, it would fit much better.
I’m also loving this adorable pink sequin jacket to bring out a more playful side:
And this dress would be cute for a night out:
Whenever a friend or colleague asks me if they should order an article of clothing from B&Lu, I always tell them “Yes!”. Perhaps I should shut my mouth since I have yet to purchase anything from there, but I’ve always felt that the clothing is very flattering and I’ve heard some great things about the quality, so I firmly believe I’m not steering anyone wrong. Here are some of my favorite’s from their store:
This dress, the Layla dress for $59.Not a bad price for a cute dress for Fall.
And this Cholla dress for $48 would be perfect for any casual/fancy occasion–whichever way you look at it.
Or this faux-wrap Danika top which looks like it would be very flattering and would show off the curves in the right places:
I’m well aware that there are plenty more shops for plus-size clothing than the ones I’ve just highlighted and thus, there are plenty more options for everyone to go around. These were just a few online shops that have continuously caught my eye and kept my interest time and time again.There was a time when Ashley Stewart kept my interest in their tops and dresses, but lately it’s all been more of the same for me So I will hope to continue to build my list and find more shops that cater to my needs and hopefully, this list will continue to grow.
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