I'm a sucker for a checked shirt!

OK so I know checked shirts are not high fashion, and it's something plus size retailers make in abundance, so there's nothing ground breaking about this little snap. 

I just saw this shirt in the new look outlet in Hull last weekend and for £7 it seemed like it would have been rude not to take it home! The Hull new look outlet is strange, it's in Princess Quay and only stocks their past season sale stuff, very odd an entire shop of sale rail - worth a browse if you're in the vicinity (wouldn't make a special trip mind you!)

This snap is in my front garden, the sun is out and the sky is blue it's making me feel brilliant, ready for a lazy lunch and a casual afternoon out and about!

Jeans @ Evans

checked shirt @ new look

Hope you're having a good weekend lovelies!

Regatta Coat: dry and toasty!

Not really a fashion post this evening, more of a practical clothes post! I was hoping to exclaim that I am reviewing something that you can actually buy however having just scoured the Regatta website, perhaps not, as I cant find any plus sizes! Still I direct you yet again to e-bay and TK-Maxx (which is where this little beauty came from)

Anyway without further a-do my Regatta 'practical' coat:

coat @ Regatta

leggings @ evans

boots @ evans

It's not easy to find branded stuff in plus sizes, so when I saw this coat last year I snapped it up, alas the colour choice was Hobsons, but I actually really like it!

So where did I road test this beauty you ask?

...a long country walk?...
                                      ...a demanding cycle?...
                                                                                   ...nope...

                                                                                                    ...Hull Fair of course!

Hull fair is difficult to describe and do it justice, it is a simply unique experience. It's Europe's largest travelling fair and descends on the city of Kingston-upon-Hull once a year for one week only.  I have been building Hull fair memories for 31 years (seriously since before birth!) my parents even went to Hull fair the first day they met! I cannot do the lights, smells and sounds justice, so I'm not even going to try!

We have a phrase in Hull (aka 'ull -you either love the Hull accent or hate it, whichever you cannot dispute that its one of a kind!) ''ull fir weather' - loosly translated that means 'rainy/cold nip in the air characteristic of autumn'  This weekend was the epitome of ''ull fir weather' The crowds make umbrella usage impossible, so you need a good coat, cue fabulous Regatta coat.

This coat has a removable fleece lining and a waterproof top layer complete with a hood. Perfect for eating your pattie(mashed potato and sage breaded and deep fried) chips and peas from Bob Carvers of Hull Market. This is a MUST for Hull fair they have been cooking pattie chips and peas over coal for decades, they are a Hull tradition. (calorifically a once a year event mind you!)

This many people can't be wrong!:

Anyway last night it drizzled, then drizzled some more, then rained. On top I was soaked but underneath I was toasty warm and dry, my I-phone was zipped in the coat pocket all night and despite me being soaked, it was not. All in all pretty impressive water repelling technology! The fit is very good and the quality is great.

The only negative point is the pesky label:

 X-X-X-X-X-L, seriously  regatta 5XL? when is that ever useful information? you bothered to make a plus size coat which is amazing! It is of a fantastic quality which is amazing, you put an actual size number on it which is useful, then you branded 5X's and an L on it! ...just Grr! that's all I'm saying!

Anyway to leave on a positive note I had an awesome night! If you're close to Hull make the effort to go (you have until next Saturday) but make sure to dress for warmth and comfort!

Ruby Rocks the End of my Summer!

Well I am pretty sure today marked the end of my summer wardrobe wearing, as tomorrow I will be back in air-conditioned work.

I thought I would give my Ruby Rocks summer dress an outing. I bought this dress back in March then it promptly sat in storage all summer! I wasn't too keen on the fit of this dress at first, it's quite loose fitting around the bust, I was hoping for a fitted 50's style however its more of a kimono type sleeve, I may still wave it underneath the sewing machine, I haven't decided yet!

There was a lot of hype about these dresses but I didn't see this dress on the inter-blogs, anyone else think it was an odd fit?

Anyhow the colours are beautiful and vibrant and the fabric is cool and floaty. This dress also slips down the shoulders and reveals some sexy décolletage. There is also a lot of welcome detail in this dress, the rouched shoulders and gathered waist, along with a beautifully finished hem. Detail is something often sadly lacking in plus size clothes, a case in point is cardigans with boring pedestrian buttons when they could be pretty or unusual, but I digress!

These photos were taken in my back garden. (please excuse the wonky belt!) You may notice my car boot sale Belfast sinks which I am going to plant up somehow. Me and him indoors are huge Maple tree fans - as well as big softies when it comes to rescuing plants in need from the 'we can no longer be bothered to water' sections of garden centres, the one behind is such an example!

This is one of the few items of clothing I own where I love the back possibly more than the front! I think I may have to get a sexy v-back for Christmas... anyone listening? I'm looking at you style 369!

Dress @ Ruby Rocks, style 369

Belt @ Next

Shoes @ New Look

So there you go a review of a dress you can no longer buy! Apologies I'm not a prompt blogger at the moment, still e-bay is a wonderful place!

Dressed for summer: a FSS OTD.

I started off today by dating a cheque the 31st September, it was then pointed out to me that it's in fact the 1st of October! Crazy eh? Its October and was a whisker short of 30 degrees! -no wonder I was a bit confused!

I of course took the opportunity to dig out all of the summer clothes I packed away last weekend and throw together a summer ensemble! This dress is another FSS gem. (I am so glad I got to wear it this year!) It originally belonged to monkey, at first I wasn't so sure as I never wear cream but swapping clothes is all about trying something that you wouldn't normally... right? I decided to play down the cream and bring out the red by pairing this dress with a red cardi, shoes and belt...

I think it worked really well, It certainly suits my shape. Once again a big thanks to monkey and FSS, thumbs up for swapping clothes! If you are free on the 29th October and in the Leeds area you should pop along to the plus size clothes swap being organised by Kirsty over at Fatty Unbound. Alas I can not make it :-(

Dress @ Joe Browns via FSS

Belt @ Next

Cardi @ Evans

Shoes @ New Look

Today has been the best day- it involved eating lots of nice food including gorgeous French patisserie cakes 

for lunch and a candle-lit barbecue for dinner (we had the heat today but not the light- well it is October don't you know!). I got to spend the day with my lovely man and my folks, together we toasted the new house with a glass of champagne! (something I have been waiting to do for a long time!)

I hope you folks have enjoyed the sunshine and broke out some lovely cool clothes!

Nom!:

Back to the Blog! - FSS and an OOTD

As I write I'm sitting in my house... in the living room.... on a comfy sofa watching all my favourite recorded TV! (currently the Bachelor-I know car crash TV but I can't help it!) Seems dull but I'm in heaven!

This year has been quite turbulent (one redundancy, three jobs, a couple of months unemployment, nowhere to call home for six weeks, living in B&B's/driving far too many miles.. oh and buying a house... stressful? ...nah!) ...but finally.... we are settled! It has taken us a while to accumulate enough furniture and appliances to make our house a home, but we are almost there! The only real beast left to tame is somewhere to store clothes, something most of you folk will identify with!

Anyhow what have I been up to lately?! A couple of weeks ago I went up to London for FSS organised by the lovely monkey.  I had a great time talking to some of you girlies and finding some of my old clothes new homes. I hope they are now happier being worn rather than gathering dust in my wardrobe!

I found FSS so interesting, it was good to see clothes by different labels and check out the different fits. It was also really interesting to see the different people there, I must admit I did more talking than rummaging! One observation I made is that the smaller sized end of the table was much more colourful than the bigger end! (story of our lives eh?!)

I came away with a few bits and pieces, along with a bag for the charity shop! (as there was too much left at the end for one monkey to manage!) I threw an outfit together yesterday with a top I procured (although interestingly this top was among the things I picked up for the charity shop!)

Jeans @ Evans

Top @ ASOS Curve (via FSS)

Necklace @ Accessorise

Shoes @ New Look

Jacket @ H&M

I talked to Sally who won Lauren's Torrid competition and I ended up gushing over that lovely striped blazer back at plus London. I was quite annoyed with Torrid, yet again something with so much promise never materialised on their website, anyway to cut a long conversation short Sally offered to post me the blazer and I am the most excited gal ever! She is a true star, and I am a lucky gal! Hopefully I will have a stripy outfit post for you soon! 

I am hoping the blogging absence has come to an end, I have a new sewing project on my mind but will share all when I manage to pull something together!

Hope you are all well! Bye bye for now,

Tweettacular!

I've had a bit more time on my hands this week and have finally joined Twitter! I have been following some of my favourite bloggers.

I think it might be more fun If I had a follower or two myself, then I may even tweet! (he he how technological am I?!)   I am wendy_cakes_ (two underscores, damn someone being a bit quicker on the old username front!)

Pop along and say Hi!

Some Bargains Just Can't be Ignored!

So I've been pretty good and resisted lots of nice things lately but some sale items just can't be passed up! I feel like a very lucky girl to have snagged these:

Shoes@ TK Maxx

Horay for TK Maxx and the red price tickets!