Aussie Curves Tee

Who would have thought that a simple thing like a T-shirt would challenge my sense of style?

But I have to be honest. Probably the first T-shirt I owned was one of those bonds high necked polycotton numbers that clung in all the wrong places and was cut the same for boys and girls which meant it was too loose on the top and too tight on the bottom for me.

Never could rock the white T-shirt rock chick vibe.

As I have learned how to dress my body in a way that I enjoy, I have found how to adapt that Tee. Lower cut neck for a start. Preferably V but not essential. A cotton blend is always better for me in the Sydney heat. And some kind of treatment of the front so that it is not just flat.

So band T-shirts are not my thing. I am in great admiration of the Aussie Curves women who can rock a band T but they do nothing for me.

Today's Tee was a quick purchase in Perth in late August.  You know how you can travel across the country for a long weekend and watch the forecast. 18 to 20C was the expectation so layers and winterish clothing was packed. After all it was still Winter!  And when I arrived it was 26C and rising.

Thank goodness for TS14plus in Subiaco. I always pop in when I am over there and they had just started putting out their spring and summer collection. This Tee ticked the boxes.

Black and white/ graphic. V neck and gathered front in cotton blend for comfort. Tick, tick tick.

The top goes with Black and white bottoms as well but I love red and these shorts were purchased yesterday from the TS outlet store sale. Last year's stock but they are my preferred length of short. I already had the black and bought the white, red and cobalt yesterday. Starting at $89.95 they came down to $29 with discounts. Score!

The necklace is also TS. It keeps on giving a pop that I love.

Playing with blurry camera effects.

There are some lovely Tshirt outfits on the blog hop. Take a look.

Thanks for viewing and feel free to leave nice comments.

Aussie Curves Handmade

Those who know me well would have thought this Aussie Curves theme would be easy for me. After all I sewed nearly all of my clothes from about the age of 14 until about 6 years ago. It was a complete necessity. At the age of 14 I was a size 14 and even that size was difficult to get at normal stores and no-one in my family was going to help me find stores for my size. My mother was a good seamstress in her day but having 6 kids got in the way so she taught me how to sew  and off I went. I even sewed my year 12 formal dress. Thankfully no photos remain.

The very first paycheck I got from a summer job went towards my own sewing machine which came to college with me when I moved for uni.

When the children came along I sewed a lot for them and bought an overlocker for all the stretch stuff little ones wear. They each have their own christening gown made by Mum and there are some heirloom gowns made of silk and French lace in my cupboard waiting for grandchildren. ( I am hoping to wait quite a lot longer yet though). As they took up dance I got good at sewing leotards and costumes. One year I sewed about 160 dancing costumes for the school and the dancing school and the girls. My daughters have far more faith in my abilities than they should and often draw something they want and ask for it to be made with no pattern. Most of the time I manage. This year, most of my efforts have gone on pole dancing costumes for the oldest. And no you cant see them on this blog. But she loves them.

So I kind of stopped sewing for me. Luckily by now plus sized clothes are easier to find and getting better and better and relatively more affordable.

But I do have one handmade item of clothing in my wardrobe. I put so much effort into sewing it years ago that I can't part with it. Vey much from the 90s fashion era, this swing coat made of purple wool is so warm and comfy, it still gets worn on very cold days.

It's very heavy so I cant take it away if I go to colder climes unless I drive there.

Coat hand made, top Autograph, Skirt TS14plus

For those of you in the know it is underlined to give it structure as well as lined with satin silk lining.

It's so warm.

In a past life I have been very crafty and have made a few items of jewelry as well. One I made about 3 years ago was worn last week and it still gets comments. If you are interested, pop over to my old crafting blog and check it out.

One day I might get back to my craft. You never know.

But in the mean time this is the least of the first year of Aussie Curve posts. There are more to come for the second year. I have enjoyed participating immensely and hope that seeing a 50 year old woman having a go at fashion has contributed to the wonderful positivity that Aussie Curves has meant to me. Thanks to Dannimezza and Melissa for starting the group and the challenge. It has been a blast and I am sure will continue to be so.

This is a blog hop. Check out the other wonderful women from Aussie Curves

Aussie Curves Retro inspired

This week's theme is Retro. At first I got all OCD and started researching individual decades for inspiration but I decided retro is not the same as vintage. It is fashion inspired by looking back to fashions and styles that are classic or that remind you of a different time in your life or a feeling. The series Mad Men is my inspiration as well as my memories of my aunt's fashion style when I was a child in the 60s. Oh yes, I was a CHILD in the 60's.

So a pencil skirt with a polka dot jumper and a belt it is. I love the bright pink of this top from Big W, They went more for pastels in the 60s but I like bright.

This is a bit washed out because the photographer forgot to set her white balance properly but it seems more like a 70s colour photo so it just adds to the retro theme.

My new cats eye glasses just match the retro feels dont you think? I had a pair of blue cats eye glasses when I was a little girl. Didnt love them quite as much as I love these ones.

Skirt TS 14 plus, top Big W, Belt Autograph Shoes Evans , pearls from my 21st birthday

 Pardon the belt slip. That wasnt supposed to happen.

just for laughs.

Thanks for reading. I do think I will actually wear this to work when the weather gets cooler. Could be fun.

This is a blog hop and we are loving the retro look so check them out.

Aussie Curves Black and White

This week's theme is Black and White. Now anyone who knows me knows I have a lot of black and white in my wardrobe. It is born of necessity because for ever and ever plus sized clothes have been very limited in the palette to black, black and black. Because, after all, black is considered flattering. And it is flattering to lots of people but mainly people with a winter colouring to their skin and I am more of a summer girl. So White with a splash of red brings my blacks to life.

I even planned a whole travel wardrobe around black, white and red during a trip to Europe 2 years ago which made a very functional travel wardrobe.

Yes, it's the Colosseum.

Herculaneum

But not many photos of that time have me in them for other reasons. It was a great trip but not a great time in my life. And I wasn't too keen on getting in front of the camera. I had many lessons of self acceptance to learn.

On to today.

I love pops of colour now and will take the chance to wear them frequently but there is still the drift towards the black and white when I am out shopping. They can be relied on to look good and not too out there for work.Combine them in a stripe and you could say " you had me at Hello.

So when this chevron stripe skirt came out from City Chic I knew I had to have it.

 I already had the peplum top from Asos but hadn't worn it yet.

I love the combination.

Still need to work on my poses though.

Check out this necklace from TS. I was shopping today and had gone into town to get something specifically from the Virtue catalogue. Unfortunately it wasn't in yet but this necklace spoke to me and said it would finish off my Black and White outfit for this week.

Just one final comment. I applied some pretty significant eye makeup for tonight's shoot. I cant believe how much the lights wash it out. You can hardly tell apart from the brow shaping courtesy of the benefit brow bar earlier today. Gonna have to work on this in the future.

This is a blog hop and as usual I am skipping in at the last minute. Now go and check out the other wonderful Aussie and New Zealand curvettes.

Aussie Curves Strapless

I wonder what kind of giggling went on when the lovely women who dreamed up the Aussie Curves challenge set the tasks. I think they knew what they were doing when they wanted to push our limits. But it must have been a hoot when someone yelled" I know, let's do strapless".
I do not know a single large woman who likes wearing strapless. I do know a lovely curvy young dancer who loves strapless. Especially if that means corset. But her mother is acutely aware of the slopy shoulder dilemma that means strapless emphasises her apple tendency. I dont really have a problem with my arms. Its just the shouldersok?
Never the less I have two wonderful skirts by TS14 plus that lend themselves to a dress conversion. The red one has already been featured in an Aussie Curves challenge for skirts so I have used the other one.

The belt is from Autograph and the shoes from Rivers. I think the necklace is Autograph last season.
Strapless doesnt mean you cant wear sleeves though right?
So I would prefer to team my skirt/dress with this lovely light mesh shrug from Autograph.

It's the line thing. The opening of the shrug gives a vertical line. Always good on a round body.

But just for fun, lets show some shoulder girls

My oldest likes the cheekiness of this one.
Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome.
Go see what the other, much younger than me women are doing to meet this challenge.

Aussie Curves: Skirt

The ladies at Aussie Curves are exploring Skirts this week. I must admit for much of my life I hardly wore skirts. A combination of not liking the way they sit on me and having the kind of feet that need supportive shoes and those kind of shoes often dont go with skirtts. But two things have happened in the last few years that have solved my problem. I discovered leggings. Yay for TS14 plus and city chic before them. And I found boots that fit my calves. I love the look of skirts with boots as you saw in my Blue post.

I have about 5 black skirts. They are different lengths and weights because they are a great staple to just give enough length to make a gillet a dress. But today I am going to show off one of my New York purchases. I didnt buy a lot of clothes in New York for me. Aske me about what I bought my daughters! But I did spend a few hours in Macys in the Plus size department. It takes up half of a whole floor! and this skirt was one of my finds.

I was prepared to pay the ticket price which was quite reasonable but it was columbus day week so I was happily surprised to find I was only charged $17 for this beauty. Cant complain about that.

Normally I would wear a slightly longer top to hide the ample tummy bulge in fornt but it was still damp when my photographer was available. Even when I was a teenager there was a bulge there so I have learned to live with it.
But dont you love the colour? Even though I wear a lot of red I love this magenta and will be able to make it work across the seasons.

Skirt Macy's NYC

Top decorous top 2010 TS14 plus

Leggings TS 14 plus

necklace TS14 plus

Shoes Rivers

This is a blog hop. See what the other beauties are up to

Aussie Curves Breaking the Rules

All this week the girls at Aussie Curves have been breaking the fashion rules.
Meanwhile I have been busy thinking about rules. Are they made to be broken or there for a reason? I found myself quite unwilling to break many of the "rules" of dress I follow because they work for me.
But there are rules for fat women that are just stupid
Like " fat women should never wear white"
I wear white a lot. I love it in summer. Black pants are too hot in summer and well fitting white ones are fresh and lovely.
And rules for "women of a certain age" that also dont always work. Like "if you remember wearing it the first time around you shouldnt wear it this time"
And boy do I remember wearing fluoro brights in the 80s. Even though they broke another rule which was " Don't wear colours that are not flattering for your skin"
So here I am breaking all of the above rules.

White cropped jeans from Big W, white Tshirt and over vest from TS 14 plus last year. Bright Yellow scarf from Gloss.

And by the way, I bloke another personal rule. "Dont wear really flat shoes. You are too short.

But these cute multicoloured ballet flats from Target were too tempting. I think they will get a work out in summer.
Here's to pushing myself to experiment a little more and not always be bound by the "rules"
If you haven't already, check out the other posts.
This is a blog hop

Aussie curves blue

Here's hoping this posts. I just love blue. Especially the shade I am wearing. I often wear red white and black but blue is my second fave and I have been drawn to a lot of it this season. These pics were taken two weeks ago as we prepared the picnic post as well.
This jacket is from city chic. I thought about it for weeks before I bought it and even tried it on three times. I figured after 3 try ons I definitely needed to have it. I love that it is made of heavy jersey so even though it looks smart enough to be corporate like how I have styled it this time, it can be dressed down with a pair of jeans or skirt and look great as well. It's very similar to the stripy jacket from my stripes post.

 I have to say that after taking these photos I wore it with black long stretch pants, cotton Lycra long sleeved T-shirt, black riding boots and a navy and white spotted scarf to fly across the pacific to New York. It was the most comfortable flying outfit I have ever worn. I was so grateful for it when the cabin got cold. I like to look smart when I fly and this was just the ticket.

Aussies curves picnic

Originally when I read the picnic theme for Aussie curves I thought gingham skirt and blanket. Not really my style. Neither is the cute shorts and tied shirt look. But really for me, being the fair skinned Celtic background girl I am, picnic is all about the hat. 10 minutes in the sun without protection and I start to look like a lobster so hat and sunscreen are essentials for this girl to picnic.

And hat invites the theme of the mad hatters tea party. So my girl and I got dressed up and took photos with that in mind. She is not plus sized but forgive me. I think she is so beautiful so I had to share.
My hat is from the eumundi markets bought last year. I love it's graphic style.
The dress is from ts14 plus. And of course, because a picnic involves sitting on the ground, I have cropped pants on underneath for comfort and decorum.

Aussie Curves, Tribal

Last week's theme was Sparkle. I would have thought I could do that but I had nothing so took a week out.
But this week's theme at Aussie Curves is Tribal. And I'm excited.
A few weeks ago I was asked to walk for my local TS14 plus store's Spring catalogue launch. I didnt wear this piece but loved it. It is actually designed to be worn as an overdress with a swimming costume for the beach. I guess that's what I love about TS. You can restyle and combine different elements from different seasons to get your own look. So, team mesh beach dress with last year's basic body dress and this is what you get.

I love this print. It reminds me of a Zebra. But not too animal print because that not really my thing. The sides can be ruched up to make it shorter or a top. And my red necklace? Thanks TS. It goes with nearly everything in my wardrobe, is not too heavy and I love it.
Cant decide whether to ear it with a belt or without?

Noe I'm not usually the most playful of people and this kind of post is way out of my comfort zone but here are a couple of fun shots.

Well its tribal. Lets be silly.
This is a blog hop. Have fun seeing what the other stylish curvy girls are up to. But before you go leave a comment. This is new for me and I am being brave.