Yours - New Winter Coat

OK so here's my last big purchase before Christmas. Its a gorgeous leopard print coat by Yours Yours - Leopard print Coat. I went up to their shop in Hull and tried on a few bits and pieces. The ladies there are really lovely and this is a strange observation but the shop smelt lovely and fresh- like oranges!

This coat is not for shrinking violets! It is bold and beautiful!

Now then I wasn't planning on buying a Leopard print coat, having seen Lauren rocking Leopard Print (I love  Pocket Rocket!) I was happy to leave it to her as she look amazing in hers! I'm not a huge fan of fur (real or fake) but when I saw this coat in a beautiful heavy damask I couldn't resist.

The cut is just perfect for me, the A-line shape is really flattering, the tie is the perfect length and it is warm and snuggly!

The only negative with this coat (alas there is one!) all of the buttons fell off! I will be getting my sewing box out. The lady in the shop did knock me £5 off which was really sweet. I can live with doing a bit of sewing so its no big deal for me. If Yours could just go that little bit further with quality they will be unstoppable!

All in all a Great Coat! Thanks to Yours!

The Dress That I Made - The Making Of

Thank you for all you lovely comments on my last post I was so excited when I logged on and saw all those comments. It's great to get comments and it's so reassuring that I'm not just blogging to myself! (although not that that normally stops me talking to my self!)

So as promised here's the whole process of dressmaking.

1. The Concept.

I knew I wanted to rock the 50's look. I took lots of inspiration from the following amazing website:

All photos above from www.pinupgirlclothing.com 

I would love to be able to rock the look in photos 1 and 2 above, but I know my shape and I just wouldn't be able to pull it off! So I opted for the shape of dress 3 with a pinch of dress 1!

2. Now I Know What I Want - How do I get it?

Well having set my heart on a dress the next thing is how do I get it? After an extensive websearch I came to the conclusion that I was not going to get exactly what I wanted easily or within budget (plus the pinup-girl dresses are mostly sold out!). So the only option left was to have a go at making it! Hobson's choice style decision made!

3. The Fabric

Well it had to be Leopard print didn't it? I trawled e-bay until I found exactly the right print and fabric. I didn't want one that was too yellow or a print that was too large etc. etc... (fussy I know!) I also thought it would be useful to have a fabric with a stretch just in case my sizing wasn't perfect! I decided on a one-way stretch bengaline fabric. I bought 6 meters but could have got away with 4 I reckon. 

4. The Pattern.

The first thing was to decide on a pattern. There are lots of good patterns out there but I find that most just don't quite hit the mark. So I decided to take a dress in my wardrobe and make a pattern from it! I chose a dress that I bought from new look a couple of years ago now. It has roughly the right cut for what I wanted - more of a 50's Marylin than a grease style swing dress.  Plus it fits really well - so in theory I didn't need to worry about putting loads of effort into making a dress from a pattern that might not fit!

Next I made a schematic of the dress and analysed the pieces (sorry cant help it I'm a scientist!)

Once I had all the bits straight in my head I pinned each panel down onto card (A2 bits bought from Hobbycraft) and pricked through with a pin to create the outline (or corners for the straight bits)

I added a 1/2 inch seam allowance to each piece, and cut around the pattern pieces.

5. Cutting

Next I took some pins, some good dressmaking scissors and some inspiration in the form of 27 dresses! I pinned the pieces on the fabric taking care to line up the one-way stretch of the fabric in a horizontal direction (I was much more likely to need some in-and-out stretch rather than up and down!) After the pieces were pinned I carefully cut them out. This is a really important step and requires time and attention, the quality of the finished dress will rely on a precise cutting job.

6. Sewing

Next I sewed the pieces together, starting with the skirt, then the bust and back of torso, (I left the back vertical seam for now) Next I sewed the skirt and torso to the waistband. I decided that I could get away without a zip, so I sewed the back seam from top to bottom. Finally I added a hem to the bottom of the dress and the top too.

7. Shopping

All I needed now was some accessories to bling up the look. So off to the shops to find the perfect shoes, belt, purse, makeup etc. etc....

8. The Finished Look

Looking at this photo, the bag is slightly the wrong shade of red, I did buy a smaller purse but I couldn't fit all my bits in it! Next time I wear this I will make sure to take a lovely boyfriend with big pockets!

From the post: The Dress That I Made

Finally: The Dress That I Made...

This weekend was very hectic but I had a fantastic time partying with some lovely friends at the Wendy House in Leeds. I love the Wendy House, it is a great club night full of truly unique people! It's a great place for dressing up and I have been planning my outfit for the last couple of months! Having taken some inspiration from 50's pin-up I took to my sewing machine and created this dress. Let me know in the comments if you would like to see more on how I made it!

These photos were taken a little too late in the evening hence the smudged lipstick and shiny face! Though you get the picture! The fingernails are not my own, but I took some inspiration from Dita Von Teese, let me know in the comments if you would like to see how I did them!

Here I am demonstrating that no dance floor is complete without glowsticks!  

At this point I have to talk about my lovely friends and their outfits, here is Em, This dress is just gorgeous the photo does not do it justice, the colour is beautiful, it is a rich sexy purple with a black velour pattern.

Here are my lovely friends Bx and Ruth, they are modelling amazing matching Gothic Lolita dresses all the way from Japan. The patterns on the hem are tea and cakes which are fantastic! They both have matching bows and collars (although it was a little hot in the club for them, they were adorable!) I also think the tights are very cool.

Here's a beginning of the evening photograph and although the colour isn't great it shows the shape of the dress really well. The stockings are from Ann Summers and finished off the outfit really well. They are a large and actually were the perfect size, they held up to an entire evening of dancing and the quality is amazing, they didn't pull or run and the re-in forced feet are so sexy!

Dress Made by me!

Shoes @ New Look

Cadi @ New Look

Bag @ Moschino

Belt @ Next

Stockings @ Ann Summers

Necklace @ New Look (couple of years ago)

Earings @ New Look 

Flower @ Claire's Accessories

Bracelet @ Accessorise

50's Glam Nails

Just a quick post ahead of my big night out to show you my awesome 50's style Dita nails, these are a reverse French manicure and ooze 50's glam! I will share how to do them when I get back, have a fantastic weekend lovelies!

Red Ruffles, what more could a girl need?

Hello to you lovely readers on this beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. Thus far I have had a very uneventful day, although having a lazy one every once in a while is no bad thing. Next weekend is going to be busy with a trip up north so I'm kicking back whilst I can!

As red is one of the central colours this autumn, I have been kitting myself out with some red goodies! I bought some gorgeous red lipstick a few weeks ago and thought I would acquire something red and sexy to wear it with! I'm not going to reveal my red lipstick yet, as I am going out next weekend and I will post a pic. with the whole ensemble (eek I'm so excited- I have been making a dress, can't wait to show you!). 

But this little baby I have to share! 

 Top @ H&M

Cardi @ New Look

Jeans @ New Look

Shoes @ Next

Earings @ New Look

This little red top is from H&M and was £7.99, It's a Viscose type material which is pretty thin, and alas not too forgiving, hence the fairly substantial cardi! It's a shame they didn't choose a slightly thicker material, however that I can forgive in light of the very sexy neckline! This top is very comfy to wear and the colour is stunning. What red items are in your wardrobes this winter?

H&M now available on-line, Wohoo!

Just went to check out the facebook group Clothes for Curves which I set up a few months ago, (It's getting on for a year old soon!) to discover that the lovely Vicki has ordered from H&M online.

This is news to me as they never used to have an on-line shop! Don't know how long this has been up and running for but if you liked this cardi:

you can now get it here: 

Visit hm.com

How Exciting!

Also just found some lovely tops with rouched sleeves!

Visit hm.com

Visit hm.com

Bigger Girl = Bigger Buttons?

Hello lovely readers, I hope you are having a good week so far - we are over half way through which is always good! Thanks for following, I am now up to 30 followers and am very chuffed!

Anyway onwards with the content. I went to TESCO last Friday (since I had been left to my own devices for the weekend) I decided to have a totter around the clothes.

I went to the plus section and noticed a cardigan that I quite liked, I decided to pick it up but thought I would go and have a look around the 'regular size' clothes too (I can often wear their 20's & 22's)  I noticed a similar cardigan in the non plus section. Here they are side by side:

The one on the left is the normal size one and the one on the right is the plus one, but they are so different, and I wonder why. 

The fabric is lovely its a black knit with a metallic copper/gold thread through it. The buttons on the plus cardi are bigger (bigger girl = bigger buttons!). The sleeves on the normal cardi are rouched, which I actually really like it's a shame they didn't add this to the plus one. So I wonder, Is it that the bigger one hasn't been afforded the same amount of 'style' as the 'normal' range? Or is it that the designer well meaning and thoughtfully adapted the garment to suit a bigger figure better?

What do you think lovely readers? Do the sleeves and buttons make a big difference? Would it stop you buying it?

I did buy this cardi, I really liked the fabric - although I feel it would look better with the rouched sleeves. Anyhow this is what it looks like on someone who could use bigger buttons!

Cardi @ TESCO

Cami @ Newlook

Necklace @ Jane Norman

Trousers @  M&S

Shoes @ Evans (now departed)

Bag @ Primark

I bought a new mac just in time for the rain!

Well I guess I have to eat some of my words here... or I suppose just answer the question 'can I live without evans?' with a No. No I can't it would seem.

I went in to Brighton and was persuaded by me friend Emma and the other half to but the purple bow back mac. I have always been a fan of Evans macs and bought a red one last year, so I guess it's not surprising that I bought another one. (I hasten to add that I tried a fair few other things and still can't seem to get anything else to fit right.) I haven't had chance to try any of the Beth Ditto line as they didn't have it in Brighton :-(  (although hearing a lot of love for the blue velvet dress)

Anyway enough rambling you want the pics! (not the best ones, I feel I could have done it more justice-but its been too rainy to take more!)

mac @ evans

I have been tottering around in this all week and don't have anything bad to say about it! The bow is cute and removable should you not like it (although I think it's gorgeous!) The pockets are sensible (deep enough for stuff, without worrying it will fall out!) The tie is long enough to tie and still have a sensible amount hanging down. Also the coat has belt loops at the front so you don't find the ties trailing when you are carrying the coat or are wearing it open. This is a 22 and there's just enough room for my chest (I refer you to my blog title  for my measurements!)

This mac has been designed by someone switched on, it is fashionable and functional. If everything in Evans had this much care and attention in it I would be broke (er!)