What I'm Wearing...

This is one of my favourite casual outfits. The navy top with gold embellishments is from Forever XXI's Faith 21 line, which is available here in Canada at the Mapleview Mall location in Burlington or in the Fairview Mall location in Toronto. I put a red camisole underneath from Ricki's and paired this with a pair of Seven jeans I picked up on a cross-border shopping trip to the US.  know, I know, not really Canadian... But they do ship here, and if you're within a reasonable distance to the border, our southern neighbours have a vastly superior range of plus options! The gold pointy shoes are from the Canadian store Spring. The bag is, again, from a vintage store. I love shopping at vintage stores for purses! It's wonderful what you can find for a great deal!

My First Pick of the Week!!!

So here's my first pick of the week, which is available at Voluptuous stores (http://www.voluptuousclothing.com/) all across the GTA. It's a button-front, cuff sleeve, tierred-skirt tunic, which, as you can see from the picture, pairs really well with a lot of chunky and flashy accessories. I would probably pair this item with some tights, since it's a little short for me to wear it just on its own. This item comes with the belt and retails for $57.50 at Voluptuous Clothing. The colours are tan and purple. It's feminine and fun, and is definitely one item I'm adding to my ever-expanding wish list! Check it out:

 

What I'm Wearing...

Hi All,

I've taken a few photos of myself in some of my favourite outfits so you can see first-hand what my style is and how I put all the pieces together. I will try to post a picture a week of me in a different outfit, with descriptions of where I got the pieces and how much they cost (if I can remember). Here's my first outfit:

Jacket - from Delirious (their store in Waterloo - they ship throughout Canada)

Top - from Addition-Elle/MXM (not sure how much it cost b/c it was a gift)

Skirt - from Suzy Shier (although Suzy Shier doesn't carry plus-size specifically, some of their items are cut a bit larger or are stretchy and will fit up to a size 18).

Bag - from vintage store (I think it was about $10)

Neclace - from Forever 21 (about $8)

Shoes - from Winners (about $35)

Hope you liked my first outfit! Stay tuned for more!

Welcome!

Welcome! I've decided to write this blog mainly out of sympathy for the frustration many Canadian women of both style and size experience during clothes shopping. The fact is, that while we may love fashion, unfortunately, the industry (and especially the Canadian retail market) does not love us back! So this blog is intended to provide some shopping solutions for (mainly younger - or just young-at-heart!)Canadian women of size who wish to dress in a way which allows them to express and represent themselves in the ways they want to. I find many of the Canadian options quite frumpy. The selection at certain stores seems to reflect an older demographic. The philosophy of the design seems to suggest that the looser the garment is, the more appropriate it is for the plus-size women. But covering up isn't helping anyone! The idea is to find clothes that accentuate your best assets. This doesn't mean that your clothes should be tight, but just that they should fit properly and have some structure so that you can discern a shape. Baggy clothes just create the illusion of more volume (which is entirely counter-productive!).

Each week, I will post a new "Pick of the Week" from either a Canadian store, or a store which provides shipping to Canada. I will also blog on certain fashion issues that affect the plus-size woman (look out for posts on where to find wide-width shoes and wide-calf boots, the best shape-wear and undies, good jewelry choices for specific outfits, and the most flattering hair designs for rounder/fuller faces). I will also photograph myself in some of my favourite outfits and provide lists of where I found the pieces (with prices if I can remember) so that you can see some of my shopping prowess in action! I plan to develop a list of Canadian stores that are plus and plus friendly as I blog. I hope that the content that follows will be both helpful and entertaining, and that the many beautiful, vibrant Canadian women-of-size out there who have trouble finding clothes and styling themselves will benefit both on the outside and on the inside from reading and participating in this blog. Remember that confidence is always the best accessory!

A note about my own style: I like many different styles, which you will see reflected on the site. My outfits will usually be fairly adherent to one sort of style, but each of my outfits can be very different from one-another. Hopefully, you will all agree with me that "variety is the spice of life" and experiment with styles you may not have tried before. If I had to describe my style, I would say that it is eclectic, yet feminine, sometimes with a flair for light touches of punk or rockabilly, or sometimes indie. The creation of this site, however, may inspire me to branch out even more, though, so stay tuned to see what I come up with!