All the Latest Trends with Addition Elle's Perfect Fit Curvy Jeans

Hey Guys!

So for this week's #jeansdujour post, I wanted to show you a few different outfits featuring the latest trends with Addition Elle's Perfect Fit jeans. Addition Elle has come out with the Perfect Fit jean - a collection of three different denim fits uniquely designed to work with customers' different shapes. They have Curvy jeans (that's me!) which is smaller at the waist and fuller at the hips, Shaped, which is gently curved from the waist to the hip, and Versatile, which is a straighter cut that works for most customers because of its stretchy fabric. I am wearing the Curvy in blue (and petite - I am only 5'4", and these work amazing well on me).

The first trend I wore is lace. Lace is the perfect fabric to make your plus size jeans look very feminine and pretty. The jacket I wore is another trendy piece. The puffy sleeve is definitely making a comeback, albeit a more conservative puffyness than its 80s counterpart!

Jeans - Courtesy of Addition Elle/Shoes - Old Navy/Purse - CBX/Top - ASOS Curve/Jacket - c/o Stefanie Bezaire

For my second look, I wanted to show you some of the geometric stuff that is on trend right now. This look is a little edgier, but the pink in the top softens it up a bit.

Jeans - c/o Addition Elle/Shoes - Target/Top - Anthropologie/Braclets - Forever 21/Earrings - New Look/Body Jewellery - Aldo

And for my final look, I broke out the vintage vixen vibe. Polka dots are always fun, and when you mix them with a great colour like this one, and put them on a jacket cut as well as this one, they just pop, you know? Polka dots are great, and I do love a good peplum waist!

Jeans - c/o Addition Elle/Jacket - Vintage/Shoes - New Look/Earrings - Vintage Alfred Sung/Necklace - Your BIG Sister's Closet

So, which is your favourite look? And which trends are you planning on wearing this season?

Outfit of the Day: Chantilly Lace on a Pretty Face

Hey Guys!

I am so sorry, it's been forever since I've done an outfit of the day post! Peter was like, "Hon, shouldn't you be taking some pictures for your blog? We haven't done that in a while..." Hahaha, so when I went out for Easter with my family yesterday, I made sure to take some time before leaving to snap some shots. I promise I won't let it be so long the next time. It was the end of term with school, and it was a really busy time (all my students had their essays due, and had a million questions, and then I had to grade all of them). They've got their exam on Saturday, so I just have to go in for that, grade those, and then I have the whole summer to relax work on my dissertation.

So without further ado, here is my outfit... The lace is certainly not from Chantilly. The dress is from F21, so it's more likely to be from Guangdong, haha. But I like to make my titles creative, so... yeah. I really like how this outfit turned out. I bought this dress a couple of months ago at the F21 in the Eaton Centre because I fell in love with it, but then when I got it home, I was like, where on earth am I going to wear this? I'm sure many of you have experienced similar conundrums. I just decided I'd break it out for Easter. Why not, right?

Jacket - Attitude Jay Manuel for Sears Canada/Dress - Forever 21+/Shoes - Rainbow/Hat - Vintage/Purse - Thrifted/Necklace - House of Harlow

And just a quick reminder, if you haven't purchased tickets for the Curvy Girls' Cross Border shopping Tour that I'm organising and leading from Toronto to Buffalo on April 21st, then make sure you get yours soon! You can read more about it here.

Outfit of the Day: My Blog's Birthday!

Hey Guys!

I was looking through some old posts last night, and I realised that it is my one-year blogo-versary! I started the blog in May of 2010, but I didn't really start focusing on it (and consistently posting Outfit of the Day posts) until the post from March 2, 2011. This is also when I "came out" to my friends and family as a blogger (and as a proud, confident fat woman), which is why I consider it my blog's "true" birthday. I hadn't told anyone about my blog or even participated at all in the amazing community that I am now a part of until then. I think a part of me was still ashamed of being fat, and incapable of loving myself or appreciating my own beauty.

I am so glad I did went public with my blog, and I am so glad I have kept it up, even though there were days when I didn't feel like posting or putting together an outfit. It has changed my life and my outlook immensely, and I have all of you to thank for keeping me motivated by commenting and visiting so often. I never knew that my voice could reach so many of you. I thank you for the opportunity, and promise I will always be trying to inspire each and every one of you as much as you inspire me!

I thought it would be fun to do a collage of my favourite outfits from the past year, kind of like musicians do "best of" albums, to celebrate this milestone. They are all in chronological order, so you can kind of see the evolution of my style over the past year (and the change in seasons!). It's kinda cool to see all of the outfits I loved wearing and sharing over the past year (and how long my hair has grown, and the fact that I have eyebrows now!). What do you think? Which outfit is your own personal fav?

I know I personally hate it when tv shows do recap or clip episodes, and the collage post is sort of like a blogs version of that, so here's a NEW outfit of the day post for ya! I think this might be one of my favourite outfits ever. I wore this to celebrate my friend Gen's birthday with her. Hi Gen!

Skirt, Cropped Jacket, Earrings, and Clutch - Vintage/Shoes - Torrid/Camisole and Bracelets - Forever 21+/Belt - Dots

Oh, and if you haven't entered the giveaway with Your BIG Sister's Closet yet, there's still time! Enter here!

Outfit of the Day: Coffee and Errands

Hey Guys,
I wore this outfit on Saturday to get some coffee with Peter and run some errands. We also got to check out the Junction area of Toronto, and I found a couple of really cool stores down there.

With all the heels I wear, I was super suprised that these combat boots, which I assumed would be more comfortable, actually ended up giving me blisters on my heels. Ouch. I'll stick with my comfy heels, I guess!

I wanted to create a look that was very feminine, but with a bit of a rough edge, which is why I wore the boots with the floral print and the pouffy skirt. I wpre sheer hose from Secret, which I actually got in a swag bag at an event I attended. When I first got them, I wasn't that excited because I thought that they would have runs in them before I even got out the door, but this is about my fourth time wearing them, and they are as durable (if not more so) than totally opaque tights, which is so suprising to me. My experience with sheers has been that they run really easily, but these are great. I also got a pair with tiny polka dots and a pair of fishnets, which I haven't tried yet. I actually really like how this outfit turned out, and in one of the photos, you can see how windy it is, which made the picture look pretty cool.

If you guys aren't following/liking me on your social networks yet, I would love for you to join me there! I sometimes post sneak peek pictures of my outfits in advance of posting them on here, and I always tweet on location from fun fashion events that I am at. I would love to interact with you. Each of these links will open in a new tab, so you don't have to leave in order to add me.

Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Flickr | Lookbook | Bloglovin | Google Friend Connect

But now to the good stuff: the outfit! What do you ladies think?

Top and Bracelets- Forever 21+/Skirt and Petticoat - c/o Sofistafunk/Boots - Famous Footwear/Purse - Vintage/Pantyhose - c/o Secret

Outfit of the Day: At the Cafe Again...

Hey Everyone,

So you already know that I tend to spend a lot of time in cafes. It might be less clear why. Well, I am working on my PhD at the moment, and I honestly find cafes among the easiest places in which to do research and write.

I get a lot of quizzical looks when I tell people this, but it really works for me. It gives me a reason to wake up, eat breakfast, shower, and get ready for the day, when if I planned to spend my whole day at home, I'd probably have none of that stuff done by noon. I also see others in a similar situation at the cafe, and I feel a quiet but discernable sense of camraderie with these fellow writers and readers. There's a certain appeal about working amongst others. I know I am not alone, and if I let my eyes wander from my screen or page for too long, I can be sure that one of these kindred spirits will shame me back into focus with their own prying and distracted eyes.

There is also an endless supply of caffeinated beverages just waiting for me to order them, giving me that 3pm boost that I always so desperately need. There is no tv, couch - or worse yet - bed, to draw me into hours of procrastination that will ultimately lead to an all-nighter or a missed deadline. So the cafe is a warm place of solace for readers and writers to gather and work, drink coffee and think. And for that reason it will always be one of my favourite places - either to study, write, or pass a Sunday morning with The New York Times style section. Baristas - you have no idea how appreciated you are!

I tried a new cafe in Toronto, and I absolutely love it, despite the fact that it's almost always absolutely full of patrons (and there are many good reasons why). Peter took these pictures of me at Crema (the Junction location) in Toronto. Such excellent coffee, atmosphere, and the best chocolate almond croissant you've ever had.

I got this amazing (yes - shoulder-padded, deal with it!) dress at Goodwill for $4. The boots are c/o Torrid, the leggings and bracelets are F21+, and the scrabble piece necklace (which spells out LOVE) is from ASOS.

Another couple of fun new things to show you: my "new" (another $4 Goodwill score) bright blue coat, and my closet jewelry organizer. Peter was tired of untangling all my necklaces all the time (I do NOT have the patience for that kind of thing!), so I've been looking for something like this for ages. I found one by Umbra, which was featured in January's Vogue, that was shaped like a little black dress, but it was $25, and didn't have as many pockets as this one that I ended up with. I found it at Wal-Mart in the jewelry section amongst the 50% off stocking stuffers and I was ecstatic. Each one was $7, so I bought two, because I have quite a bit of jewelry! I am so pleased with them. No more tangles, and now I can find everything so easily - no more burrowing through my jewelry box for that matching earring that can't be located anywhere when I'm already running 15 minutes late. It makes it easier to co-ordinate jewelry choices with clothing as well. Big time saver! If you can't tell, I'm really excited about organization, lol. Anyway, just thought I'd share that fun stuff with you!

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)