Powerfit Friday

Unless you have been under a rock, you have probably heard of the Powerfit dresses by Scarlett & Jo. I fell in love with these dresses when they were first launched and was really excited when I heard that they had extended their size range to go up to a size 32.

I have seen lots of beautiful bloggers wearing the power fit dresses (they come in a range of colours and designs) but no one that compares to me size wise - so before I invested in one, I wanted to try one on! Sadly, I am lazy and hadn't gotten around to going back to Evans to try one in store.

This week the lovely ladies at Scarlett & Jo emailed me to see if I would like to try the animal print powerfit dress, as they would like to send me one... How kind!

I finally got around to trying it on today - and I love it! Size wise I would say stick to your usual size. The dress is lined and panelled inside which means that you get a tight fit, but I like that the material is thick so it gives you a nice smooth shape.

What I like about the dress is that the print is in the middle, with a black border which gives a nice 'flattering' shape. You should all know that I don't worry too much about shape and being flattering, but I do think that this is a nice touch!

Unless you can catch a Scarlett & Jo sale (they do happen quite often) then these dresses are definitely at 'investment piece' price but to be honest with you, I would say that they are well worth the price - I currently have my beady eyes on a red one!

I have kept the pictures quite basic on this one, as I plan to dress it up to attend an Xmas event next week - I'll show you how it turns out afterwards!

Have you tried a Scarlett & Jo dress yet? What did you think??

Debz x

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I was lucky enough to be gifted some items in this post and I am very greatful, but I am always open and honest in my reviews!

Brit Mums Xmas Do

On Monday I attended the BritMums Xmas Do... As I am not a parent blogger (I know shocking, right?) I don't get to hear about many of these events! Thankfully my flatmate is a mummy-to-be blogger and she heard about the event - with the promise of sparkling Christmas lights and cake I couldn't resist.

There were around 80 bloggers at the event - which was packed full of delicious goodies from Morrisons to try - lots of their Christmas range was there to tickle our taste buds (I thoroughly recommend the salt sea caramel pretzels)... We were treated to lunch and then given a goodie bag to take home - the team behind Brit Mums and Morrisons really looked after us!

I was really taken back by just how friendly everyone was - even to a non-parent blogger like me! Lots of people came up to say hi, ask about my blog, if I was enjoying the event etc - I even got 'spotted' from attending Blogfest a couple of weeks ago! 

Thank you to BritMums for letting me come along - Hopefully see you all soon!

I didn't know what to wear to the event - it started at 10:30am, so this was definitely not a dress up occasion! In the end I went for this trusty dress from New Look and a new beige cardigan from Just For 5 Pounds. I blogged about them last week and how good value their plus size range seemed - They kindly sent me this cardigan to try for myself. I have to say I was really impressed with the quality and the fit - it is a very generous fit and feels really nice on. In my opinion it is a complete bargain for a fiver and I am very tempted to try something else from the site!

Light Batwing Cardigan - http://www.justfor5pounds.com/products/CLOTHING/PlusSize/p_TP2121


Have you started your Christmas organising yet?

Debz xx

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I was lucky enough to be gifted some items in this post and I am very grateful, but I am always open and honest in my reviews!

Taking Shape at Ms Curvaceous

Last night I attended the Ms Curvaceous competition held in at The Camden Centre in Kings Cross. Although it was the 3rd year of the competition, it was my first time attending one - or anything like it! I have to say I am glad that I did.

I don't want to blog to much about names, numbers, facts and figures because I think you can read them anywhere - No doubt there will be tonnes of write ups and reviews online (the hashtag is #MCUK if you want to look it up).

However... I wanted to talk about positivity. The whole competition put such a positive spin on things - great food, great music and great company, what more could a girl want? The girls in the competition were all beautiful and they gave great speeches about their reasons for entering the competition - with positive body image messages and creating a new generation of females happy with their bodies were amongst the most popular reasons given - and what good reasons they are!

I was in turmoil over what to wear, mainly because lots of my clothes are quite casual and blingy - maybe not the best outfit for a modelling competition. Thankfully Taking Shape stepped up to the mark with a new dress and cardigan which they kindly gifted to me last week (thank you!!).

If you come across their brand then be sure to check them out. They're currently opening stores throughout the UK (YAY!) and stock up to a size 26. That said, both of the items I wore were a size 26 and fit me fine - and we all know that's a bit smaller than I usually wear!

Dress - Floral Island Dress - http://www.takingshape.com/uk/dresses/floral-island-dress.html?
Cardigan - Valentino Cardigan - http://www.takingshape.com/uk/cardigans/valentino-cardigan.html

The clothes on the site have a mature feel to them, but that doesn't mean you can't dress it up how you want to - because you'll definitely be able too! So, please do not be afraid to experiment - it pays off!! Don't be scared to think outside the box - the labels on these clothes are too small for me, but they still fit me fine - so always try things before you give up on them!

I'll take some better photos another time - but the eye shadow I am wearing comes from the Barry M Smoking Hot Palette which they kindly sent me last month. I have used all of the colours so far and I love it - I just need a chance to take some proper photos. I am by no means a beauty blogger expert, but all I know is that it goes on well, looks brill and stayed on all night - with a bit of sparkle in the silver shade of eye shadow - which all make it a winner in my book!

At the Ms Curvaceous competition I bumped into this bunch of beauts - what a brill end to a fab weekend!

What did you all get up to this weekend?

Debz xx

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I was lucky enough to be gifted some items in this post and I am very greatful, but I am always open and honest in my reviews!

Katie Hopkins Attends Plus Size Awards - Thoughts?

In case you didn't know - the Miss BBW International and Plus Size Awards took place in Central London last night. I go to a few events arranged by the team who put this together, but sadly I could not afford the ticket price and therefore did not (could not) attend. However, to be honest with you I am quite glad I didn't.

I found out a few days before that Katie Hopkins had been invited to the awards to collect a 'Cream Cake Award' for being unsupportive of the plus size industry. Seeing as the event was to celebrate plus size fashion, designers, writers and general advocates, I was just surprised she had been invited to such an event, even if for a negative award.

What flabbergasted me even more last night was when I saw Gemma Collins at the awards, next to Katie Hopkins proclaiming what a "nice lady" she was... This was about 10 minutes before Kate Hopkins tweeted that fat women should change for the better.... #Ironic #YesIUsedAHashTagInABlogPost

I wonder if Gemma Collins still thinks Katie is such a nice lady?

To be honest, I was upset and angry that she would tweet something while at the actual event. If she doesn't like fat people, that's up to her - but why attend an event for POSITIVITY and bring it down with such hurtful thoughts while still in the building?

And then I saw this...

I get that Katie Hopkins makes a career out of being a bitch - I hope that she is a character rather than actually being a bullying, racist, child hating woman  - but who knows!

What I don't get is why she was allowed to tweet such drivel while AT THE EVENT! These women have taken a massive step to get up in a room full of people and show off their bodies - how dare someone ridicule them? These plus size events are set up to celebrate our bodies, our confidence & as a safe haven to recognise achievements... Even if you don't agree with plus size, or awards, or pageants - why would you come into a room where this is happening, just to put down the women who are taking part? ITS BAFFLING!

When she sent tweets like this before the event - surely people realised it would only end in belittling and bullying?

Anyway, I sent quite a few angry, ranty tweets last night - as did a few others. A couple of mine were picked up by Katie Hopkins and Retweeted - which lead to a flurry of new twitter followers and of course some interesting replies - including 'insulting' me by calling me a fat lesbo & asking if I have normal size friends... blah, blah blah... because fat is obviously as insult!

However, what also surprised me was a few tweets I got telling me that I was over reacting, that Katie Hoping was right, that I should just ignore her thoughts, that I should just walk away, block Katie, not saying anything at all etc etc.

So anyway... The whole point of this bumbling, ranty blog post is that I would love to hear your points of view! Are you angry that Katie Hopkins that attended or should she have been allowed to go? Were the twitter gang right to tweet about the event, or should it have been ignored? I could not have kept quiet about it, or ignored bullying but I would love other peoples thoughts and feelings on it!

If you were there - I';d love to know what it was like, did you talk to her? Were people in general talking about it on the night? Did anyone approach her?

Thanks so much - enjoy your Sunday!

Debz xx

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Dear Angela Epstein - An Open Letter

Dear Angela Epstein

I read your recent article on Best Daily and I feel I had to write to you (for anyone who hasn't read the 'Having Fat Friends is Such Hard Work'article, you can do so here).

Firstly, I find it disappointing that you find any of your friends hard work. Friendship should be something that makes your life nicer - not harder. However, when I look at the reasons why you find your friendships such hard work  - I am left flabbergasted.

Rather than condemning your friend for trying to do the 'right' thing and order a salad - why not tell her that you love her, just as she is - and that she should order the Welsh Rarebit if she wants to. Reassure her that life is worth far more than worrying about the size of her jeans! Tell her that you want her to enjoy her afternoon without worrying - and that IT IS OK to order exactly what she wants for lunch.

Do you know why your friends are seemingly hard work? Because everywhere you turn, the world tells you that you should hate yourself for being fat. When you open magazines who tell you to drop a dress size before Christmas and when you go on websites for clothes who tell you that you are too big for their range - they're all telling you that your body is not OK, and that you should change it.

When you're up against this sort of hard work it can be tough to say... "I am OK just as I am, and I do not need to change", so you live in this sort of eternal turmoil which leads you to eat a salad at lunch and then a pizza at dinner because you hate yourself for not feeling that the salad was enough.

And throughout all of this - do you know what you should be able to do? You should be able to speak to your friends, feel their love and support and to know that they love you no matter what.

Rather than spending your time writing hateful articles for Best Daily why don't you spend your time telling your friends that being the size they are is OK - they if they want to order Welsh Rarebit they can and that is OK. Perhaps then, when they feel a little more confident in their body image you'll have less hard work to put up with and can put your efforts into being a proper friend, who supports them no matter what they weight.

The world can be a hard place - why would you want to make it harder for your friends to love themselves with your cruel words? If your friends are "hard work" do them a favour and find yourself some new ones. Just make sure they are thin, because we all know thin people have no problems or dramas so will give you a happy, stress free friendship...

Debz x

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OMCZ #20: The Colour of Confidence

I have wanted to be involved in a 'bloggers challenge' for some time now and have struggled to find one I feel I'll be able to contribute too! This week I was reminded about the 'Outside My Comfort Zone' posts that go up every Wednesday - and so here I am!

Sadly, my first week has to be a bit of a let down - I am in Kent looking after a poorly friend and didn't really bring any 'outfitty' things with me!

Seeing as this weeks theme is 'The Colour of Confidence' I thought I would post a couple of old oufits rather than back out of the challenge completely!

The Colour of Confidence by Vicky: My theme is going to "The Colour of Confidence".  For me, red is the colour of confidence and everything I wear it, be it lipstick or clothing; I feel an extra boost. What is your confidence colour?

I tried to look through my photos to see if a colour stood out in my outfits... and I think it has to be pink (or patterned, but seeing as we're going for colour - I have gone for pink!).

I know, this isn't the greatest Outside My Comfort Zone challenge post ever - but I promise to come back fighting next week! For now, pink is definitely my confidence colour!

Of course... I do were red, the traditional colour of confidence too!

Please take a few minutes to check out the other ladies in the challenge:)

Name Blog Stephanie  http://www.seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk Leah  http://www.justmeleah.blogspot.co.uk Mary  http://www.marysbigcloset.blogspot.pt Becky Brown http://www.doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com Rachel  http://www.adressisforlife.com/ Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk/ Nikki http://www.nattynikki.blogspot.co.uk/ Rebs http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/ Verena http://aplussizefashionobsession.blogspot.de/ Beka bekasstuffystuff.blogspot.com Rebecca http://theplussideofme.com Hollie Http://www.prettybigbutterflies.com Sabina http://www.femmefatalexsabina.blogspot.de/ Betty http://www.bigfatbetty.com/ Katt http://acurvycupcake.blogspot.co.uk/ Mookie http://muki7x7.blogspot.co.uk/

What colour do you like to wear?

Debz xx

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Taking Body Positive Influences From All Over

Evening :)

If you have read my blog before then you will have seen that I love finding positive body image sources from all over. I have linked to different people before and I think it's important to surround yourself with positive stuff, where possible. I am not saying it's a miracle cure, but I am very happy and content in the skin I am in - and for years I have sought out, collected, watched and shared positive images, videos and sayings... I guess the two are related!

Anyway, when I find pieces that I like, I want to share them because I think its important for people to have places they can stumble across little rays of sunshine when they didn't expect it - so here you go!

Carrie Hope Fletcher

The little sister of Tom McFly has had a YouTube channel for a while now. I don't pretend to know lots of facts about her but I do love her singing voice! Anyway, last week she released this video of her talking about body image, her own body and how she feels about confidence etc. I really enjoyed watching it and I hope you will too! :)

Hollie McNish

I have blogged about Hollie before and my love of her poems. This week I was reminded of her words when I found out that some of her poetry was being used for Dove adverts. 

My favourite of hers is a poem called "WOW"

One of her Dove advert ones can be seen/heard here:

I love all of these pieces - and a couple more by Hollie McNish. As ever I love Mary Lambert, Natasha Devon and so many other people!

Surrounding myself with positive influences like this really helps me to be happy with who I am... 

What do you do to help yourself with body confidence? Do you find people influential to the way you feel about your body?

I'd love to know your thoughts!

Debz 

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A Little Bit Of Sparkle

Over the last few weeks I have been searching for Christmas dresses. Not just for me, but in general. I love summer for all of its bright colours, I am not a fan of Autumn browns and dull colours but then Christmas comes and suddenly it's all glitz, glamour and sparkle - and I love it!

I was over the moon when the team at Yours Clothing* gave me the chance to try one of their new dresses and choose this dress, simply because of the little bit of sparkle and sequins it has... I have a proper love affair going on with sequins at the moment!

Red And Black Short Sleeve Lace 2 In 1 Dress

The sparkle and sequins don't show up massively well in the photo, but I can assure you that they do look sparkly - but also not too over the top for people are worried about having TOO much sparkle (if there is such a thing!)

I wore the dress out at the weekend, to meet a group of friends for a night out. As soon as I arrived they all told me that they loved what I was wearing and that 'why hadnt I worn it before?'. None of them knew it was a gifted item and none of them would give compliments if they didn't mean it - so I knew it was a good item! You can buy the item here.

I got my usual size and found it very generous. I could easily have sized down one size, possibly two if i didnt mind it being a bit more fitted. That said, I love the size because its nice and comfy to wear and the length is good (I wore it with leggings but I oculd have gone iwthout them if it wasn't so cold).

I didn't have anyone to take my photos this weekend, so plesse excuse the mirror photos - but you'll get an idea of what it looks like.

And a little bit drunker, less posy photo... just for good measure!

The only problem with this dress? That it's available in teal which I'll need to buy too!

What sparkles do you have for this Christmas? Send me your links, I can never have enough sparkle!

Debz xx

*This was a gifted item, but all views are open, honest and completely my own!

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"Meat Is For The Man, Only A Dog Wants A Bone"... ??

I know, I have already blogged today - but something has really got my blood boiling and I have to rant somehow!

So anyway... Real Women Have Curves!

That's right isn't it? That if you're a REAL man you'll admit to being a chubby chaser, or that if you're a curvy woman you should embrace it because your body shape is real -so much more real than the size 10 girl down the road!

It all started with this post by Superdrug post (which I found via http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/2013/11/body-shaming-by-superdrug.html)

As you can imagine - there were some choice words said against their use of this photo. It was deleted within a few hours and they apologised via Twitter the next day.

It once again got me thinking about the mantras that SO many body positive influencers use, to try and make curvy women feel better about themselves... You know the ones I mean, 'Real women have curves', 'Meat is for the man, only dogs want a bone'... I have ranted about these before and no doubt I will again.

If you believe that 'real women have curves' then please look at this photo:

I am proud to say that the gorgeous girl on the left is my little sister. I have talked about her and her weight loss before so I won't go down that route - but can you HONESTLY say that she is not a real woman?? She looks amazing - and she is kind, funny, clever and has all of the good qualities that a decent person should have. I honestly do not believe that she or I have better body types that each other (not that it is a contest  - I believe we both have good bodies and that mantras like 'real women have curves' only serve to segregate people in the fight towards a body positive world and that is the last thing we need. 

Are bones only for dogs, or is my beautiful little sister just as entitled to be loved (by the way she is!) by a man as I am... We're all good, and I really can not stress enough how much sayings like these make me cringe - especially when they're used in a way to promote positive body image.

Real Men Like Women With Curves. 

That sentence right there ^^ makes me SO angry. I saw it on a website called 'Curvy Partner' although i can't see it on their page any more, so maybe they have seen the error of their ways. 

They do have this tweet though:

Someone who finds my sister (or someone similar) attractive is no more or less real than someone who finds me (or someone similar) attractive. We're all real - even those of us who are 'bad' or make bad decisions - we're REAL! Every single bloody one of us.... 

SO PLEASE STOP WITH YOUR BODY-SHAMING BULLSHIT!

I will never, ever understand the concept of bringing down a body type in order to make someone else feel better. I have said it many times - ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES! If you are fat, or thin or like fat girls or thin girls (or boys!) that is OK! Your preference is OK and your business alone. 

You do not need to be detrimental to one body type in order to make another feel better!

I'd love to know your thoughts - Do these sayings make you feel better, or do you agree with me?

Debz xx

P.S I apologise for the rant, the anger and the swearing :)

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Places You Didn't Know You Could Shop!

I know, I am a little guilty of this - assuming that you can only shop in plus size shops or at least those that have an infamous plus size range - ASOS Curve, New Look Inspire etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, these shops are great but they are not your only options. Since I started this blog and started looking properly into plus size fashion options I have discovered that there are lots of different places you can shop - that you might not even think to consider!

Just For 5 Pounds

This website has loads of items for.. you guessed it! £5.00. With a range of clothes, bags, shoes and accessories for this bargain price you can really pick up items without breaking the bank. However, what I never realised before (I didn't even think to check) is that they have a plus size section. What is even better about this plus size section is that they have items up to a size 30. Now, as you can imagine the bigger sizes go quickly but it is well worth checking out what is available and what you could pick up for almost the same price as a cup of coffee. The items on the website change - but at the moment they have items like cardigans and jumpers which well look like they are worth picking up. http://www.justfor5pounds.com/products/CLOTHING/PlusSize

eBay

Loads of us know that eBay is a great place to pick up bargain items and save yourself some money, but I still get surprised at how many people who don't realise you can pick up plus size items too! When you search via the fashion section of the website you can put in size and even what type of clothing you want, which helps to narrow it down. Of course shopping this way on eBay is hit and miss and you have to search out the bargains, but as you can get some great pieces - it is well worth doing this!

Supermarkets

Places like Asda and Tesco are known for having their own ranges of clothes and if you look at their pieces you can find the odd hidden gem! What many people don't realise is just how big the clothes sizes go - both on their websites and in-store. Next time you are picking up some bread, why not have a browse their the clothing section and see what you can pick up. 

I'd love to hear about your hidden clothing shops & places you'd recommend

Debz xx

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Blog Fest

Last weekend I attended BlogFest 2013 - a bloggers event arranged my Mums Net. My flat mate is a mummy to be blogger and had been talking about the event for weeks, so it was good when we both managed to get tickets a few days before and attend. I was worried that as a non-parent blogger I wouldn't be able to get much out of the day event, but I have to say I was not disappointed! There are many different blogs you can read about the event, so I wanted to keep it fun and light hearted - so here is my little look at the day long event!

B  - Blendology We were all given neck chains to wear with a name tag. The great thing about these tags is that you could 'bump' with someone else and swap data. I bumped with a few people I chatted to and was able to log in and get email addresses and twitter accounts - such a lovely way to make sure you can keep in touch with people you have met!

L - Loved. I loved lots about the day, and what I would really love is to find out about an event like this that didn't have a parenting theme. Don't get me wrong, parenting blogs are ace but a general 'bloggers' even would be amazing and I would be very keen to attend.

O - Oh What An Ending. The day ended with a talk from Jo Brand - who lifted up the audiences spirit after a arguably unsuccessful talk on feminism and its place in the blogging community. I loved her talk and found it really motivating.

G - Goodie Bags. After a few glasses of bubbly we were sent on our way with an amazing good bag. Packed full of books, fizzy drinks, posh jam, Birchboxes, champagne truffles and more, I don't know anyone who was disappointed with theirs!

F - Food. Throughout the day we were given breakfast, cakes, lunch, cakes, pastries and hot drinks in abundance. Everything was thought of and it was lovely to enjoy the day without having to worry about trying to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat.

E - Education. I liked that the talks were all about educating, but I also liked that there was a chance to attend a blog clinic. This allowed you to have a sit down, one-on-one chat with a successful blogger about your blog and what you could do to help ensure its success. 

S - Sponsors. The event was sponsored by a number of larger companies - Coca Cola were on hand with bottles and cans of fizzy drink, Honda had a fun competition and even Talk Talk had a display. Lots of fun to be had by all. 

T - Talks. I have to admit I loved most of the talks that I attended. The one about social media was particularity helpful for me and I have learned a lot about social networking, scheduled tweets and my Klout Score (though I am still getting to grips with that!).

Did you go? What did you think?

Debz xx

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ionale

Plus Size Pop Up Sale - North London

With no Club Indulge for November, a few of us were wondering when and where would ever see the smiley faces of Team Club Indulge again - Ok, slight exaggeration - and we can see them on New Years Eve if we want!

Anyway, so as not to disappoint us too much, they're hosting a sort of plus size pop up sale, fashion event, make up wearing, jewellery selling, mince pie eating Christmas event - and it sounds like such fun!

Sounds like fun doesn't it? You can find out loads of info http://www.club-indulge.co.uk/christmas-market/4577169914

I'll be there, so if you come along do come and say hey!

Debz x

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