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 Time Saver

Well here we are again at the end of the Aussie Curves blogging week. This week's theme is Time Saver.

I have to admit that , like many other women, I feel quite time poor. Life is a little less hectic with grown children but I still have to be at work by 8 4 days a week and the other day I am still AT work at 8. So saving time getting ready for work makes life feel manageable.

So here are my tips:

1. Have a basic uniform to vary for work clothes. For me that means usually black basic shell with colourful top layer. Not always but it is a go to when I need not to think

2. Plan what you are going to wear the day before and get it out. ( I don't always follow my own advice but I wish I did )

3. minimal hair bother. I am lucky to have naturally curly hair. I fought it for a long time but now I embrace the curl. I know it can look wild and unruly at times. That's because it is. So, after washing I apply some antifrizz stuff, scrunch my hair and let it dry naturally. This is the most time saving thing I can do and I like my hair curly.

So to demonstrate my tips, here we go. I am using my basic ASOS body con Tshirt dress and styling 3 ways.

asos dress and cardi from Autograph summer 2012. Necklace Lovisa.

Shoes from Evans of course.

I would wear this to work or to dinner.

Same dress and shoes but jacket from city chic.I love this outfit for work. No necklace here bacause the sun was getting low and I had to save time but a red chunky one would be the order of the day.

natural waves in hair. No fuss

For a more casual look I have the same dress but this time with boots from this year's Autograph range and the jacket also from Autograph. Military style ponti jacket. I think I will get a lot of casual wear from this if it ever gets cold enough

The sun was in my eyes but it was nice that it was there for the pics.

Check out the other Aussie curvettes and their time saving tips. We all need them.

Aussie Curves Purple

Once again I am going right up to the deadline for a theme post. This week's Aussie Curves theme is Purple. Now I love purple but I find it hard to wear. There are so many different shades, some pinker than others and it is hard to match them or to layer. The purple I like is the very royal almost blue purple so imagine my joy when I recently walked into Autograph and found this little beauty.

I've styled it with a belt here to dress it down a little. This way I think it will be great for work.
But take the belt away and use a black background because the daughter says the yellow background washes me out and we get this

I dont even mind showing my arms in this dress. And I have to say I am still loving these Evans glitter toe cap shoes.

This outfit makes me smile.

Excuse the funny look but I am trying to show you I played with some purple eye shadow. Sephora in New York had a coffret with 100 shadow and blush colours. I bought one each for my girls. At $50 a pop I thought it made a good gift. So I borrowed one to play for myself. I am usually just a natural brown shadow girl so it was nice to be playful today.
As usual, this is a blog hop. And lots of the Aussie Curves girls have put together some great outfits. Check them out

Aussie Curves LBD

I'm just in time again but couldnt miss the little black dress theme. Being plus sized there are a few black dresses in my wardrobe. You have already seen one of my favourite black dresses here.
 Sometimes that's all you can find. But the concept of the special LBD is that it is one dress suited to all occasions. So of all the black dresses I own, this bodycon dress from Asos most fits the bill.
Yes you heard me. body con dress. That means it clings to all my curves whether I want it to or not. But here goes.

Styled with a hat and a necklace and sandals and I am ready to go to the beach, or at least a pool party or a picnic.

Dress ASOS
Hat bought in Queensland last year
Necklace Christmas gift
Sandals Saimon brand from Shoes on Scarborough. ( great little independant shoe shop for thodr of you who live near scarborough beach.

To be honest, I'm really not sure if I have the body confidence to show ALL of my curves like this.

But look at the difference by adding a cardie and different shoes.

Now all of a suddden I am ready for work. 

Cardie from Autograph a few years ago. Necklace from the Eumundie markets. Shoes from Evans.

I have a terrible habit of looking over my glasses at my clients. I really have to concentrate on not doing it.

Thats better. I love these frames.

But, imagine it's not a 30 degree day and you are going straight from work to dinner with that special someone or perhaps to a show. That's where the LBD comes into its own.

Lose the cardie, add a sparkly top, change your jewelry and shoes and we are ready for a night of dancing or a night at the opera.

Top from Torrid

Shoes Evans UK

purse Collette

Ring Lovisa

Can I just say how much I love these shoes from Evans. I dont really do heels but these are so comfy and stable yet pretty and sparkly, I could walk or dance in them all night.
So that my friends is my LBD. Pretty versatile and a very good buy. What do you think?
Check out the other Aussie curves women. This is a blog hop

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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 pastel

I love these Aussie Curves challenges. But sometimes I just want to go with what I know works for me. 10 years ago I "had my colours done". And there were very few pastels in my palette. Stronger deeper colours match my skin and hair and light eyes better.Interestingly, the colours that I had always struggled with were not on my palette. I had worked it out pretty well without the expert's help.
But I wanted to try. Even put my money where my mouth is and bought a dress that I would love to look good in.Sadly I just dont think it suits me.I have tried to make it work in 3 different permutations but the girls agree. I can do better.
But before I send this lovely dress back for somene else to buy and look gorgeous in, I will share it with you. Because we have to play and take risks even if it doesnt always work.

 However, I do love this new necklace. It is pastel and I wouldnt have bought it if we werent tryng pastels this week. So lets see what we can make work.
I bought this swimming coverup to wear as a summer dress. I think it looks great with a camisole and leggings underneath. It is going to be a very comfortable outfit for summer BBQs. The neutral colours lend themselves to all sorts of different accesory options. This time the pastel ones.

To add to the pastels I paired the necklace with some statement pastel ear rings.

I'm pretty happy with this second outfit. Thanks Aussie Curves for pushing my comfort zone. I guess I just have to know where to push to and where to stop.

This is a blog hop. Check out the other girls