Outfit of the Day: Feathers and Flowers

Hey Guys!

I wore this outfit to teach a couple of days back. I really love this hat, which I found at a thrift store, after it had inexplicably been relinquished by its original owner... Why someone would get rid of this I have no idea - it's absolutely amazing. It's in perfect condition and looks as though it's never been worn. I have the most luck at thrift stores!

The lace top is something I picked up from Wal-Mart's G21 section. They actually go up to a 2X now, which is fantastic. I find most of the George stuff to be a bit too old-fashioned/not cute, but I am always seeing stuff I like in the G21 section. I wandered in there when Peter was browsing in the electronics section one day and I noticed that they had bumped up their sizes to the 2X, which made me happy. When they used to have 725 Originals, they had a full range of inclusive plus sizes, which I loved. Then, when they changed their private label brand to George (for middle-ish aged women) and G21 (an unmistakeable reference to another brand with 21 in its name, geared toward the younger generation), they did away with the plus sizes on their "younger" brand, and only offered plus sizes for George. I used to like George + more, but I find that the quality has really gone down lately, and the selection of items offered in the plus range are getting more and more matronly, which is why I am really glad to see Wal-Mart extend the sizing of their more youthful line. I would love to see Wal-Mart offer up to a 3 or even 4X, much like they did when 725 Originals was around. But I really love this lace top, which was rather economically priced at $9. The XXLs sell out pretty quickly, so make sure you buy as soon as you see something you like, or you are bound to be disappointed. One other quibble I have is that the G21 bikinis only go up to an XL. But the tankinis and the one-pieces go up to an XXL. I want some bikini love too! Not just Tankinis. BIKINIS. My stomach, too, would like to see the light of day. I hope Wal-Mart will begin to sell bikinis in at least an XXL. I went to Old Navy this past weekend to try some on as well, but the only bikinis in XXL were the drab gray ones. :( I guess I am going to have to buy online for that... I also got a skirt from G21 with an awesome bird print on it that I will share with you in my next Outfit of the Day post. The really nice people behind the @WalmartCanada twitter helped locate it for me and reroute it to a nearby store. I saw it in Lou Lou Magazine and I absolutely had to have it, but like 3 of the stores that were the closest to me were all sold out. So I was really pleased they were able to help.

Anyway, without further ado, my outfit:

Shoes and Lace Top - Wal-Mart/Tights - Courtesy of We Love Colors/Skirt, Necklace and Bolero - Forever 21+/Belt - Dots/Hat - Vintage from the thrift store

Cherry Velvet Plus

Hey Ladies,

I recently came across a new line of plus size vintage-inspired dresses from a Canadian company called Cherry Velvet Plus. I absolutely adore their designs, so I contacted someone there to see if I could try it out for myself! I asked for the Charlotte Dress in Love Letter print because I am such a hopeless romantic, and I love anything to do with writing, so I thought it would be the perfect dress for me! I know it's a bit summer-y, but I love pieces that can work for all seasons, and with a little cardigan, this dress can be worn whenever you like.

The shape of this dress is so elegant and nostalgic, and totally reminds me of Mad Men (which you all know I love). The fabric is really high quality, and you can tell a lot of effort has gone into the design and making sure it's a piece that will work well on plus size women. The straps are cut wide enough that you can easily wear a non-strapless bra underneath. The sizing of the dress is generous (I usually wear anywhere between a 1-3X, but most often I am at the big end of a 1, or the small side of a 2 - I only wear 3 sometimes at F21... What's with their sizing? It's way weird!), and they sent me a 1X, which had a little bit of room to spare in the bust and waist (and as you can see, the dress is free fitting around the hips). If you like a snugger fit, size down when ordering, but if you like a looser fit, stick to your norm. I think this dress is really beautiful, and I am actually considering bringing it with me as an outfit choice for Full Figured Fashion Week if I end up going this year. High praise, as I only bring my A game to stuff like that!

To accessorize, I put on my pink suede pill box hat (why not?) and my nude button-back pumps. I added a petticoat underneath to emphasize the fullness of the skirt (but it still looks really full and amazing even without a petticoat), and a skinny belt to make the skirt look even fuller. I added my Miu Miu bag, a pearl pendant (which was a gift from Peter, years ago), and a wicked awesome pair of leather moto gloves I found for $8 in a thrift store. What do you think? Make sure you check out Cherry Velvet Plus. They have lots of beautiful dresses!!!



Dress - Courtesy of Cherry Velvet Plus/Hat and Gloves - Vintage/Shoes and Belt- CBX/Purse - Miu Miu/Bracelets - Lane Bryant and Forever 21/Necklace - A gift from Peter (I think he got it at People's)



Six Take: Celebrity Style - Kate Middleton

Hey Everyone,

So remember a month ago I did a three-take on what I would wear to a wedding with Rikke from Sticky, Sweet Danish and Jessica from tooMANYsequins? Well we've added my room-mates from NYC as well! Welcome to Jessica from Chic in Every City, Yoli from Diva in Deep Thought, and Sarah from Queen Sized Flava made in Montreal! They will be joining us for these monthly features from now on.

This month we've decided to interpret our favourite celebrity's style for ourselves. I would say in terms of style, my favourite celebrity is Zoe Deschanel. She has a very pretty, feminine, and unique style, but my style is already so similar to hers and I wanted to try something different! Since Kate Middleton and Prince William are visit Canada at the moment (and everyone seems to have royal fever) I thought I would play along and use Kate as my style inspiration for this blog post. She's very feminine, proper, and conservative, she loves navy blue and has worn the military jacket look before, so I thought that's the way I would go with it.

I found an amazing vintage hat at Public Butter for $12 and I thought it would work perfectly for this post. What do you think? Did I capture the essence of Princess Kate's style? Make sure you visit the other beautiful bloggers' sites!

Suit - Thrifted (Vintage Christian Dior, damn they don't make 'em like this anymore.... $10!)/Hat - Vintage from Public Butter/Shoes - Costa Blanca/Clutch - Express