#ILoveYouInThis

+Debz A suggested another fabulous way of sending out some more #psbloggerlove & further extend that love today to the whole of the plus size community.  All day there have been posts & tweets about fellow bloggers & non-bloggers alike celebrating the outfits we love seeing each other wearing.

I couldn't possibly highlight one person, so I have picked a few blogger ladies who I feel really inspire me daily to push my boundaries fashion-wise and I want to show you some of my fave pics of them.

First up... Sam...
This dress is gorgeous and you are totally rocking it. Those curves! DAMN!


Tanya - you are an utter babe and I think everything you wore on holiday really complimented you.  I think this dress is gorgeous and you look amazing, as ever


Kathryn - Every item you tried on in the Simply Be store really suited you, especially this dress. Such a beauty xx


Hayley - Missy, this outfit is smokin' hot!  You are werking this look!  LOVE it!


Sarah - I'm super glad you chose this dress for your occasion because it really highlights your curves, You look ravishing! 

Sara, you look positively gorgeous in this dress - you always look beautiful though! xx


Caroline - choosing one pic was just too hard with you... Everything you wear accentuates your perfect shape, I am always so envious!  You look stunning in every photo!


Kat - I'm so glad you bought this dress, it really compliments your figure and I think the colours go really well with your hair!  Gorgeous gal xx


Lolly - this dress is divine and you look beautiful in it! 


Hollie - you are such a beauty - this dress is fab hun x


Katie - this outfit is really pretty just like you, I love the style of the top and you look gorgeous xx


Steph - another difficult choice as you are like my style guru - I've never seen you wear something that I haven't instantly wanted to buy! You are too gorgeous for words - love all of these!


Hannah, you are rocking this outfit, I love the skirt :) 


Georgina - another toughie, stop being so bloody beautiful. I love your style but I love these outfits!


Lucie - my darling girl you are always on point with your outfits and these ones are deffo some of my faves, you're too cute!


Mayah, my girl!  My body con sister - these outfits are beautiful and of course my fave dress needed to make an appearance. You are such a beauty xx


Lucia - you inspire me daily, everything you wear rocks and you always manage to look flawless from your hair, to the outfit & make-up.  You are a sensational beauty xx



Debz - I think you look bloody fantastic in these outfits. Has anyone ever told you that your smile really lights up a room?  


 Katherine, all three of these dresses look gorgeous on you - you are such a beautiful lady x

      








Last but by no means least...Leah - you will continue to be my style inspiration.  I love all of these outfits, I think you look fab in every single one.  xx



All of these ladies exude confidence and are radiantly beautiful.  Thank you for inspiring me xx

PS Bloggers Meet Up - Birmingham

Firstly - I would like to apologise...I had not realised that this post did not publish as scheduled back in March!!

Meeting these lovely ladies on 28th March was such a blast.

Nikki of +Natty Nikki very kindly organised a plus size blogger meet up in Birmingham which I jumped at the chance of going to.  Ok, so it's a bit of a trek from London to Birmingham, but I do not regret it one bit.  After all what more could you ask for; shopping, food & the opportunity to spend the day with PS Blogger babes.

I was nervous on the train going up; meeting new people, worried whether I would be welcomed given that many of these ladies are pro's at the blogging game!  All my fears were dispelled meeting them, each lady had a warm, welcoming persona, which made me feel completely at ease.

We grabbed some food whilst waiting for everyone to arrive and then we hit the shops!


I was a +Yours Clothing virgin - having never been into a store.  I was pleasantly surprised by the array of items on display, I tried on quite a few dresses all which made me feel fabulous.  I picked up a lovely long line cardi/throw which I haven't got a pic of as I am saving it for a special occasion.


We headed off to +Evans Clothing to storm their changing rooms!  Lord help anyone else in store that day, I'm pretty sure they weren't prepared for 7 ladies cavorting around the dressing room taking crazy selfies!

We all picked up a pair of the sought after "Ultra Stretch Skinny Jeans" in varying lengths & sizes and all tried them on together.  I loved the fit of these, they hugged me in the right places and accentuated the curves, it was love at first sight for me!


Next we raided the +Scarlett Jo section and each picked a few dresses to try.  I tried these two;


I had never tried on anything like these style of dresses; I was pleasantly surprised with the cut, fit and how girly they made me feel. The inner lining of these dresses were extremely fitted, which in hindsight, I reckon this was designed like this for a reason (to suck everything in) but it definitely made for an interesting vision of me trying to actually get them on! I think at one point I managed to get into the dress, without actually being inside the lining at all! So confused!  If I were to rock these dresses, I would totally wear shapewear to give my silhouette a more defined outline, but all in all I loved these.

All the ladies looked fabulous in their outfits, I know that opinions were mixed on the shapes and cuts but it was so much fun trying them all on together and getting some honest opinions on how they looked from women who really understood how difficult it can be to find clothes to compliment our figures.

I think we were all pooped after all the dressing room madness, but we wandered around to Lush and MAC and a few other places but after everyone had said their goodbyes I had some time to kill before my train back home, so Lottie & I got a cuppa in Costa.  


Meeting Lottie was the highlight of my day - she met me from the train when I arrived and stayed with me until I went home. I have been following Lottie on Instagram for a while, so when I found out I would finally meet her, I was super excited.  We got on so well, she is such a lovely lady and someone who I now consider a good friend.  Since I started following her, I have seen her come out of her shell and really push boundaries with her clothing and make up and that is so empowering to see.  Her confidence is growing and she is really starting to shine, I am so proud of her.


I cannot wait to meet these ladies again for more fun-filled shopping sessions!

Girl of the Day - Team Plus Size UK

What an utter honour to be featured as "Girl of the Day" for Team Plussize UK.

This team holds values that are very close to my heart so I am happy to support their movement, after all we are all working towards a common goal and that is to promote Body Confidence to people of all sizes.  As one voice we  may not be heard but together we can start a revolution!

#EVERYBODYISBEAUTIFUL

Representing all my avenues - I love this journey!

+Miss British Beauty Curve , Model XL, The Rubenesque Effect, +Ms Curvaceous UK 

Photographer: Tendai Pottinger Photographer​
Modelling: +Scarlett Jo


"Kat Henry 31 yr old Croydon born, living in Surrey. for the last 5 years.
I work full time for a law firm in the City and have a 14 yr old daughter.
I am currently representing my county as Ms Surrey Curve 2015 in Miss British Beauty Curve.
I am an Ambassador for Ms Curvaceous UK; a plus size modelling company and signed to Model XL. I am a member of The Rubenesque Effect. I also run a blog called "The World Through Kat's Eyes" incorporating my love for music, beauty, fashion, food & wellness."

Every BODY is Beautiful

These days the media puts such pressure on us to conform to what is seen to be physically acceptable or desired.

Different strokes for different folks though...so what one person dislikes, another might crave.
Every single one of us in this world is unique and our differences make us interesting and something to be celebrated.

People deserve the right to enjoy life regardless of their weight, size, height, colour, age, sexual orientation, religion etc.

The Rubenesque Effect is a group of 8 plus size models (of which I am one.)  Together, we are striving to promote body confidence, self love and acceptance of the body you are blessed with.
This world is filled with too much hate, so we wanted to celebrate with positivity.


When we saw the Victoria Secrets shot promoting "The Perfect Body" it got us thinking that perhaps that slogan could've been more inclusive of all bodies, because what one person considers perfect may not be the same in the next person's eyes.

So...we shot this...

#everyBODYisbeautiful

Follow us on our journey...

What changed?? My Body Confidence story

Up until September 2014 I had severe dental problems. Lots of missing teeth, broken teeth and decay. I was born with a calcium deficiency which meant I could eat something as soft as a banana and my teeth would break. I was suffering with a severe case of dental phobia after many dental visits ending badly, poor advice and bad experiences. I couldn't go to the dentist. I was ashamed of the way I looked and I was ridiculed for it.


Left to Right - Me age 15 - before pregnancy.  Me age 17 about 6 months after my daughter was born.

I was very depressed due to my teeth and my weight which I have battled with for years. I doubled in weight throughout pregnancy going from a size 12 to a 28 in 9 months. I was a dance student but I couldn't carry on dancing due to my weight gain and baby bump and being left by my boyfriend 7 months pregnant nearly broke me. 

It had taken me 14 yrs with various different methods like exercise, weight watchers, slimming world, diet pills and referral to a dietician to bring my weight down to roughly 18 stone and a size 22. I'd had enough I sought help from my GP as I had hit rock bottom and I was on the verge of a breakdown. 

It was only when one Doc finally listened & referred me for CBT, to the bariatric team at St Georges Hospital to seek advice about potential surgical intervention & to Kings College Hospital to undergo full dental reconstruction that I started to feel the fear ease.  I was ready to take back my life.

Having my teeth done was the catalyst to regain my confidence and build myself back up again. I found my smile. I was finally happy and the positive feedback from all you bloggers and family and friends help me learn to love my body.  I started setting myself little achievable goals and I started to realise that if I conquered my biggest phobia I was capable of anything. I started moving more, I downloaded a pedometer on my phone and committed myself to taking 10,000 steps per day. I hate walking, I would take a cab from my house to my car if I could. I didn't change what I ate I still enjoyed what I love and I bloody love food and cake and doughnuts and chocolate and sweets and all things in between, I just tried to moderate it, like maybe not eating a doughnut a day plus plus a Wispa and a big dinner. I am not a big portions gal so I just needed to curb my daytime snacking at work (I still struggle with this...I reckon I always will)

I found that by me moving more alone was changing my body shape, giving me more definition in my bum and waist and seeing the progress spurred me on to try harder.
Joining LouiseBunnyHop dance & fitness class has boosted my confidence tenfold. Being in a room of real women with varying body shapes and sizes gave me more enthusiasm. I wasn't going to be picked on because of my weight or size.  I was embraced and welcomed. At first I told myself just ease yourself back in, do one class and soon enough I was doing 3 a week as I love it so much.

Since I committed to moving more I have shed just under a stone but I have dropped 2 dress sizes sitting comfortably in an 18/20.

Having a solid support network is what has got me through, I have made friends with people in similar situations at every step of the way and having people who relate and do not judge has been the most helpful tool.

It's funny that my teeth were holding me back from achieving a dream that I had had since I was young. I always wanted to Model and be a MUA and now I am doing both of these things. I have more ambition more dreams. I want to complete Bunny training an become a Louise BunnyHop instructor, I love dancing and I want people to feel how I feel when I go to her classes; empowered, confident and full of a new found lease of life.

I am loving the definition of my curves which I never have seen on me before, it's giving me more confidence to step out of my comfort zone with regards to embracing fashion.

My most important fact is that I am happy and that is making me strive to continue on this journey towards being the healthiest version of myself possible.

I love my body and that makes me want to take care of it which I had not been doing for many many years.

I hope that gives you a bit of an insight to me, if you ever want someone to talk to about your journey I'm here...I'd love to hear your stories.
Xx

Me before dental work & in the immediate weeks after surgery.


My new smile :)