Snapshots

Some people have been asking if my last post was my triumphant return to blogging or if it was a sad goodbye... umm, I don't know? I definitely miss posting here and I definitely miss all the people (I've totally been lurking on everyone else's blogs for the last few months). If I was to carry on here, I think this blog would change to something more personal - less fashion news and less dealing with clothing companies (they give me headaches, to be honest) because I was never good at that stuff really, the blogs in my blog roll at the top of the page all do that stuff better.

While I figure some things out (and your thoughts on all this are welcome) I thought I'd share some pictures of what I've been up to during my absence.


This is my husband and I in front of the Halifax skyline. I'm feeling really settled here now, I'm in love with the city - it's big enough that interesting things happen and small enough that you see people you know whenever you're out and about. Getting used to Canada has taken a really long time but I feel like I belong here now.


Skating! This is a picture of one of my very first outings with my rollerskates. My friends want me to try out for a roller derby team but I still don't think I'm ready. My balance is getting better all the time though and I'm getting faster too. Right now though it's winter so I'm trying to get the hang of ice skating.


My best friend Mif and I in the zombie walk in downtown Halifax last summer. I was yelling "braaains" so much I lost my voice. I had cool makeup that made it look like flesh was rotting off my arms and neck, but you can't see it in this picture.


Having a Monroe moment in a Ruby Belle dress I bought second hand from Katrin. I just really like this picture.


This one is from christmas. My dad always dresses up as Santa to visit the school where my mum works and hand out presents. I was home for the holidays so I was drafted in as an elf. I had a lot of fun as Santa's mute sidekick, my duties included carrying Santa's sack and waving a lot.

The most exciting thing that happened to me though was becoming an aunty, my nephew AJ is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

What have you all been up to in the past few months?

For those of you who are still wondering...

Thanks to everyone who sent me messages to ask where I was and if I was okay. Everyone in the fatshion community has always been so wonderful to me,
it was shitty to vanish without a word. Hopefully this explains what happened well enough, I owed everyone that much.

Shorts and tights and brollies... oh my!

First of all I want to apologize for not getting some better more shots of today's outfit - it started hailing on me while I was taking these pics and I surrendered and ran inside. Rarrr, isn't it supposed to be spring now?

Anyway, in the spirit of my summer challenge (which, by the way you should totally do) I decided to practice wearing my new black shorts from city chic. It's too cold to wear them on their own but lately I've really enjoyed mixing them up with coloured/patterned leggings and tights and seeing what kind of looks I can create. The shorts are super duper comfy and a great fit, I really can't recommend them enough - and usually I'm not a fan of shorts at all.


T-shirt - Walmart // Scarf - Old Navy // Tights - Evans // Shorts - City Chic // Shoes & Umbrella - Matalan
The t-shirt is one of those occasional great finds from Walmart, I think I got it for about $7. I love it because it has these zippers on the shoulder that you can zip up or down and it creates a slightly different look. (The picture below is a bit "myspacey", but it shows the zips I'm talking about).




So there you have it - hopefully the nice spring weather will come back soon and I can do a better job of showing you my new shorts. I hope it's nicer wherever you are. Peace, love, hugs, etc...

Stamp of Approval: Best Swimsuits Results

Welcome to the (super late) roundup for March's Fat Girl's Stamp of Approval. In case you haven't seen this feature before, here's a little recap: each month I'm asking you to share your opinions on a certain type of clothing (March was swimsuits) so that I can pool everyone's recommendations together and figure out which retailers get the thumbs up from us fat girls.


So who got your vote?
Some months we just don't seem to manage to find a clear consensus, and this month was one of those times. It's always a little harder to write up the recap when it's like this, but hopefully by pointing out where the industry is lacking we can help get the word out about what we're looking for when we buy our swimsuits.

Common Swimsuit Problems:
The bust seems to be the biggest problem when it comes to us plus-sized swimmers. Lots of you complained about the bust being too big or too small. It seems to me like we need a little more variety in cup-size when it comes to our swimsuits. After that, the biggest issue seemed to be finding prints and styles that are actually fashionable. I think one reader in particular put it best, "I don't want to look like an old lady... that's my biggest complaint."

Best Review: Lane Bryant
Thanks so much to Closet Narcissist for her review of her new suit from Lane Bryant: "My Lane Bryant order just arrived, and I cannot even express how much I'm in love with it. Like full-on, couch-jumping love. The construction is sturdy, the the material isn't flimsy and too-thin, the cut and shirring are flattering, and there is a FULL BALCONETTE BRA built-in. It's low-cut in front, but it's supportive enough that I look cleavage-y, not droopy. The straps convert to crossback, so I know they won't be constantly falling down. The back is cut high enough to cover my back roll. I'm a big girl (size 24, 44D, with a big rear and a smaller-but-not-terribly-small belly) and I can't believe how excited I am to actually wear this suit in public with my family -- I look curvy and sexy."

Most Mentions:
There were quite a few mentions for Land's End, who I'd never heard of before but they seem to have quite a wide selection of swimsuits and they do ship to Canada. Here's what Holly had to say, "Land's end has lots of options for fit. I wish they had more options in terms of style, because they're a little conservative and "old" for my taste and age, but they're the best I've found."

Other retailers who managed to get a few mentions were Simply Be and Torrid.

Honourable mention:
Like a huge chunk of the plus-size blogging community I am totally in love with Monif C's swimsuits. So I thought it would be a good idea to track down somebody who owns one and ask them about the fit. I managed to get this review from Gabi of YFF, who owns the red one-shoulder one: "I love it! My only complaint is that it's not supportive enough for me, but I use it for when I'm just laying out at the beach." Although, I wonder if the support issue is just because it's a one-shoulder suit? I'd love some more opinions on this. I'm seriously considering saving up for one of these suits this summer.


Me last summer in my halterneck swimsuit from Evans
Beth's Picks:
As someone who swims at least once a week, I have to buy swimsuits fairly regularly. For years I've lamented that my only real colour/pattern options have been plain black or gaudy florals, but I'm happy to say that I've been seeing a lot of changes for the better in that respect coming from stores like Evans, Asos and Torrid. To date, my best swimsuit ever has been my halterneck one from Evans (pictured above) - I loved that it was underwired in the bust so it gave me a lot of support. I also love that they acknowledge the need to have different bust sizes - for my size I have relatively small boobs so it's nice to be able to choose a smaller option. I think this is something they need to go further with though because a lot of you mentioned that the bust sizes only cover C-E cups, and plenty of us are bigger or smaller than that!

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to send me your opinions and reviews, I couldn't make this feature happen without your input and I seriously appreciate all your help.

Cherry Bomb

I've been holding out for a sunny day to show you guys my new dress from City Chic. It's the first thing I've ever ordered from them and I'm definitely impressed by the quality. I can't tell you how long I've been searching for the perfect cherry-print pin-up dress, and I'm so happy with this one. I also ordered a pair of shorts from them, and those are a wonderful fit, I'll show you soon.


It's comfy to wear with my denim jacket and leggings but I'd love to put together something a bit more stylish soon. I'm searching for the perfect red cardigan to pair with it. I also think a big white lily to put in my hair wouldn't go amiss. What would you style this dress with?

I really love the bow at the back - super cute! It makes this dress a bit of a bra nightmare though, when it's warm enough to wear it without a jacket (which it totally is not right now) I'll have to invest in a black strapless bra to go with it.


And as you may have noticed... I am outside! I've been waiting for so long to be able to head outside with my tripod, and I know plenty of you were getting sick of the sight of my bookshelf. In case you're wondering why I was hiding inside all winter, I hope the picture below will explain it for you...


For a couple of months all of my outdoor outfits looked like this.
(OHGOD snow pants!)
But spring is finally here and I'm going to endeavor to shoot outside as much as I can. I'm going to try to get some pics of me out and about too, but that'll have to be on weekends when I have my photographer husband to help me.

I hope you have sunshine wherever you are!

SUMMER CHALLENGE 2011

So if you've been following me since last year you might remember me setting myself a few fatshion challenges for the summer. I really believe that fatshion is all about challenging ourselves to wear whatever we want, and challenging others to realize that we don't need to stick to the "fashion rules" to look good. So what better way to get back into the swing of blogging than to set myself some new challenges for summer 2011?

(dress pictured is from Domino Dollhouse, shorts are city chic, swimsuit is Evans)
I know the swimsuit made an appearance on last year's list, but it still feels like something that a lot of girls struggle with, including me, so I'm going to reconquer the swimsuit. Shorts are a big fear for me but I'm going to find the perfect pair and it's going to be fine! I wear strapless things a lot, but never without some kind of cover-up, so for me the strapless challenge is about bearing my shoulders and arms.

I know some of these things can seem daunting to us when we've been told our whole lives to cover up and be ashamed of our bodies, but last year I learned that breaking out of my comfort zone can be incredibly liberating. So be brave and join me in breaking some rules and proving we fatties can wear anything! You can always set your own summer challenges if these ones seem to easy/hard, everyone has different comfort zones.

And of course I'll be recording my progress with these goals right here on the blog!
I hope you'll join me and keep me posted on how you're doing.

LET'S BE BOLD THIS SUMMER!

Excuses excuses...

Sooooo it's been a few weeks and I've vanished without a trace and as it turns out some of you have been worried about me. I'm so sorry to make anyone worry, I'm not dead and nothing is even really wrong but apparently I needed a break from the internet. I guess I owe you guys an explanation...

The short answer is that I was homesick. Which doesn't sound like much of an excuse, I do realize. But back home in Britain there's been exciting things happening like friends getting together for things without me and family making plans for easter and, most importantly, the birth of my nephew! I've been stuck here in Canada though, missing out on things like that and feeling really down about it. So for a couple of weeks it was easier to just ignore the internet and pretend like I didn't have a home to miss. And I guess in doing that I neglected my blog and a whole bunch of dear friends and made people worry. I'm so sorry, and I do promise I'll try to not let that happen again.

So there's my lame excuse. I'm feeling better though now and I have a gorgeous nephew with a chubby face and soon I'll even get to meet him! I have some things planned for the summer now and I think there's going to be a lot of fun in my future, which is definitely a good thing. I do plan to share all of that on here.

So... what'd I miss while I was gone?