Showing posts with label plus sized. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plus sized. Show all posts

Sunday, 27 January 2013

2013 wants and needs

2013 wants and needs


Top
$13 - direct.asda.com


Jacket
$40 - matalan.co.uk


Aso
asos.com



Spot Print Tunic | Women | George at ASDA
$22 - direct.asda.com




Twenty-thirrrteeen has to be the most boring year ever. TWENNYTWELVE had such applomb and pazzazz, how is 2013 going to live up to it? IT ISN'T, GUYS. With that, you may have noticed my palate has taken an unexpected turn to the earthier shades on the spectrum. Call it the weather, call it my soul- but I never thought I'd see the day I'd be looking at a black tunic with such unbridled enthusiasm. And not one item is bodycon! The fatphobic amongst you may be breathing a sigh of relief as the curve of my potruding belly remains hidden- but this is most unlike me! I'm even considering a pair of JEANS this winter/spring, and I haven't owned a pair of jeans since 2007.
And what's more, I may be diverting from my fail-safe shade of ice white hair. I'm currently sporting pastel pink, and while I do love it it's hard to co-ordinate with a great number of outfits. I'm big on monochrome this season, and statement coloured hair is a great way to add a flash of colour, emphasising your hair. Going on from my look at earthier tones in my palate, I may be interested in not only statement colours such as the purple featured above, but red or perhaps burgundy! Who knows! We will see, we will bloody well see!
And with that, I bid you goodnight!





Sunday, 8 July 2012

ootd!




I love this top so much, and it is paired with the peplum skirt than I am in love with, but that is fading fast because I wear it so often. 
This top is really fun and I love the graphics on it, it's got a kind of Keith Haring 80s vibe, and reminds me of the video to Genius of Love by Tom Tom Club. That's personally a bit of a summer classic. 
I decided to sweep my hair to the side, I don't know why but since I've grown my hair relatively long, I want to do something with it! So in a rush I just did a bit of a side sweep. 
I'll leave you with the aforementioned song, Genius of Love- 
                                    


Saturday, 7 July 2012

ASOS curve- why I think web content semantics are important


“Created by our ASOS Design Team with our customer in mind, ASOS CURVE presents a collection of plus size clothing to compliment the fuller figure. Look to ASOS CURVE for carefully considered trend-led styles from our mainline range, cleverly adjusted for the most flattering fit. This season, update your wardrobe with chic skater dresses and jersey tops, alongside playsuits and pretty blouses in bold prints and ultra-feminine lace, precisely cut for women of size 20 to 26.”

I love ASOS curve. Without them, I would no doubt be in big tunics and moo-moo’s. Everything they do is lovely. I want it all. And this isn’t JUST ASOS curve by a long chalk- a lot of other plus sized brands are guilty of this.
But I just have a serious beef with their web copy. This isn’t the hefty fucking hideaway, I am not the “fuller figure”… I do not need to be “carefully considered” or my clothes “cleverly adjusted” the whole thing smacks of walking on eggshells. The whole thing reads like ASOS is holding a huge bargepole, and only daning to touch up plus sized’s with it. 
ASOS are the leading in plus sized clothing, and they could just do amazingly at it. I know it’s only a small thing, but I read the copy and it makes me cringe. I just want fashion to be talked about with no mention to flattering my “feminine curves”. I do not speak for the majority in plus sized consumers, I am aware that a lot of people want to be flattered and they want certain aspects of their body hiding- but it feels like trying to sell hats to decapitated people without mentioning the fact that they don’t have a head. I’m fat, I wear clothes, sell them to me. I have money, I want you to take it. It would be a small step in fat acceptance, and something that I think brands could really benefit from.
Was anyone at plus north today? Unfortunately I couldn’t get up north, but I really wanted to ask people and brands about this. It just seems like there’s a huge niche market that isn’t being utilised, through things as simple as the semantics of copy.

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Forward planning...

Writing in New York


Black swimwear
monifc.com


Golden Girls Stay Golden Women's Junior T-Shirt - NBC Store
nbcuniversalstore.com








I am a massive one for planning outfits for holidays I haven't booked yet, jobs I don't possess and adventures I haven't gone on yet. Today is no different, as I'm planning on entering a writing competition to go to New York. I have decided to write a fresh script, but instead of doing that I am compiling pretend outfits in my head, and strutting down the streets of NY, jay-z and Alicia Keys serenading me, like a fat Carrie Bradshaw (nah I be trippin', hate Bradshaw with a vengence).
The spotty leggings are something I popped in, because well I wouldn't really wear them, but I'd very much like to. And I am hankering after a high waisted bikini so much, but have nowhere to wear it!
It's also a bit of an ode to one of my favourite sitcoms of all time, The Golden Girls (pause for obligatory "THANK YOU FOR BEIN' A FRIIIIEEEEND"). The handbag is a little nod to the stylings of Mrs Sophia Petrillo, my spirit guide.
In my dreams I meet Betty White in New York, this is before I appear on Jimmy Fallon, I meet Lorne Michaels and he invites me to be a writer on SNL. YES THIS COULD ALL TOTALLY HAPPEN.
So in order for all of this to happen, I need to actually go and write- what an imposition! I'll leave you with some classic Dorothy Zbornak, my favourite golden girl and feminist icon:



Sunday, 10 June 2012

being a fat mod- plus sized subcultures



(me when I was around 18... yikes so about 4 years ago...)

              
(Roosevelt Matthews- You Got Me Diggin' You) 
 When I was younger, but not so much younger than now, I was really determined to be a mod. My Dad was a mod, an original mod from the 60s, working in Burtons when it was a proper tailors and spending all his money on shirts. The mod aesthetic has permeated my childhood, and shaped my tastes to this day.
I was around 16 when I plunged into being a mod. I always felt like I wasn't mod enough, being on internet forums with ageing faces who were finding it harder to fit into their sta press, proclaiming what was mod and what wasn't. Northern soul is fairly impossible to know it all. For a 17 year old girl I actually knew a hell of a lot, but in comparison to people who have spent their whole lives collecting and listening I felt like what I knew was a drop in the ocean. I never felt like I truly "got" everything and was ever good enough- clothing included.
So I kind of drifted out of it- subcultures are things I like to take certain bits from, and I can't and probably won't devote myself to one ever again.
But I am a lot fatter than when I was 17- that was me at my thinnest, and I am now at my biggest. I don't "suit" the mod look- a lot of it is androgynous and cut very close. Shirts done up make my breasts look, quite frankly, matronly, and I won't wear any kind of trousers.
But should I really care about what suits and flatters my body? The answer is yes, I still care. It's not that I want to minimise my size, but I do have curves, and boobs that are just too big for a lot of mod clothing. A lot of my staple british brands that I loved, and one day dreamed I'd be able to afford, don't stock my size. All I can do is adapt what I love and what I've grown up with, and change it to suit me.
Body positivity and acceptance is something that I feel so strongly about, but not feeling like I can be a part of something that means a lot to me is a bit galling. Should I get over it? Probably, and just wear what I want to wear and shut the fuck up. Here are clothes I'd buy if I was rich and thin- both not likely to happen-


mod staples

mod staples by banksieee 





including all british brands- baracuta, John Smedley, Fred Perry (both Amy Winehouse Collection) and Bass Weejuns.

Monday, 28 May 2012

favourite plus sized pieces from george at asda

favourite pieces from george at asda

favourite pieces from george at asda by banksieee featuring a wrap dress


George at Asda is one of those brands that are often overlooked because they're a supermarket brand, but if you're looking for fresh new pieces that let you experiment with new styles this is a great way to do so. And look at all these gorgeous pieces, all for under £20! And they go up to a size 22 (and in some instances a 24) and their online service in my experience is fantastic.
I am, for want of a better phrase, a shortarse. Standing at 5ft 2 and being around a size 18, maxi dresses scream NO to me. No, this isn't for you- run, well ok not run, but go, leaaaaaavvveeee, don't darken maxi dresses door again! But it's so hot, like I'm a sweaty mess kind of hot. And the idea of a long cool swooshy dress with a callipo in my hand is making me swoon! I will definitely have to try this on to see if it suits me, and more importantly doesn't drag on the ground picking up all and sundry from the pavements of Leeds.
The shorts are another thing in the list of "things Helena can't wear for fear of her looking mental". As well as being short, I have a massive arse. I love it, but it's huge. So I'm not a great wearer of shorts- ergo playsuits (urgh, don't start me on the playsuit). BUT THEY'RE SO PRETTY! So I might have to give them a whirl, variety is the spice of life.
Bird prints are also HUGE at the minute, and I am loving it! The cheeky orange parrot top is a mere £8 so something I will be investing in come payday. So tropicaaaal! Just give me a pineapple to pop on my bonce and call me Carmen Miranda!

AWrap dress
£20 - direct.asda.com

Striped dress
£16 - direct.asda.com

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Who am I (what's my name?)

SNOOP DOGGY DAWWWWWWWGGG, danaaanana heyy eyyy ey ey eyyyy, snooooooop...

ahem.
I thought I'd just start the ball rolling with a picture of me so you can... well neb on me and my life, basically. This is an old outfit of the day, I find it hard taking them as I don't have a tripod and my webcam is shitty. How do other people take pictures for their ootd? I also find it hard to find the time in the day to do it- these were taken once I'd got in from work, and I don't look too box fresh. You can't see very well (cardinal sin of an ootd, surely) but the skirt is a gorgeous peplum number from asos curve- it's black jersey and it's basically ruling my life right now.
The fat acceptance community embraces the VBO (visual belly outline) but in the journey of accepting your body the belly is often the hardest- I know that's been the case for me. This is a halfway house on the way to a bodycon pencil skirt- I never fail to feel amazing in this skirt.

chubby wish list

Untitled #2

 by banksieee 


I've been giving polyvore an old razzle and I love it, it's a great way of collating different looks I have going on in my brain. Monochrome is a huge love of mine, and I love to use monochrome with one accent bright colour which I've done with the dress!
I happened upon this simply be dress about a week ago and am pleasantly surprised- unfortunately at about £45 it's just a bit too much for me. Simply be is a plus sized shop that I'd roundly (no pun intended) ignored- but there are actually a few lovely pieces on there. But this is the case with most plus sized clothing stores I've found, you've got to look past the huge floral tunics and floor length skirts (the "please don't notice I'm fat please please oh god I'm so sorry I'm chubs" approach, which rarely works imho) and you'll find some ace clothes.
DMs are a brand I've always loved, and the 10 eyed boots are a design classic. It's an absolute TREAT YO SELF 2012 at around £100- I'm gearing myself up to buy the oxbloods and make sure they last a lifetime.


DAY Birger et Mikkelsen leather jacket
$450 - net-a-porter.com

Dr. Martens lace up boots
$104 - endless.com

Mango leather handbag
£35 - johnlewis.com

Ring
£30 - tattydevine.com