I recently wrote a piece for the Yours Clothing blog talking about the need for women to be more supportive of each other.

As you may know I compete in pageants and I wanted to show that even in an situation where a group of women are physically competing against one another,  it is still possible for them to uplift and support each other at the same time.

In my opinion pageants have a bad rep for catty behaviour yet I have experienced such positivity and community from each one I have taken part in.

Head on over to the Yours blog to read the comments of a few of the contestants from the recent finals of Miss British Beauty Curve.

Read the Full Post here

Entries are open for 2018... Enter NOW!

xXx

The dress has a mock knot detail at the front with ruching all around it to pull in the waist and a panel underneath for modesty I guess.  It's made from a light viscose material and has quite a slinky feel to it. It's also advertised as dark khaki in colour but it definately looks more of a grey clay colour to me.

The dress is advertised as a maxi, but I'm not sure that's the most accurate description.  I'm 5ft 4" and this dress only just met my ankles when I stood up straight, it's also not a full skirt especially with the front panel and split front opening.  This dress is more of a midi than a maxi.

I grabbed these super versatile white heels from Yours too.  These shoes are a EEE width fitting with a 3" heel, believe me they are SUPER comfy.  I can easily spend the day in these heels without being in agony.  These retail at a mere £19.00 which is a bargain in my opinion! Product Code: 056467

So fully armed with that info I opted to size up to a size 22 on the crop top to account for the puppies. I am a size 38GG and this was totally the right decision, had I gone for my normal size of a 20 I'm not sure that it would have fitted my chest. It might have been a little more fitted in the body as this is quite loose but I'm way more comfortable with it being looser.

The crop top retails at £60.00 and is available online now.  It has a sateen type feel to it, it has a full zipper at the back which completely undoes and the cups are structured for a better fit.  The spaghetti straps are also fully adjustable.

The midi skirt is also has a sateen feel, this would be lovely with a block bold coloured top and chunky scarf for a warmer feel.  

The skirt retails at £70.00 and is also available online now.  I chose the size 20 and it's a perfect fit for me on the waist. I usually wear an 18/20 so Evans' advice on sizing is pretty accurate in my opinion. 

I am 5ft 4" and quite short in the body - this skirt would  look lovely on someone a little taller but it you are under my height be prepared for this to be more of a maxi skirt!

I did a guest post for +Simply Be's Fashion Blog; SB Edit all about when a group of Plus Size bloggers stormed the Simply Be Store after Curvy Con...

You can take a little read here >>>>  SB Edit: Bloggers Take Over Simply Be Oxford Street

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!

I simply adore this dress, I love every single thing about it from the cut to the fabric to the way it goes "swoooooosh" to the way it makes me feel!

Basically the idea is to wear a different outfit each day for 100 days with no repeats.  I have decided to add an exception of repeating my jeans as I don't have 100 different pairs. The logic behind this is to prove to ourselves the term "I have NOTHING to wear" is baloney. The added complication is the addition of the "Spending Ban"  So for this I am challenging myself to not spend a penny on any of the following; clothing, shoes, bags, accessories and make up for 3 solid months.  Not only will my bank balance be eternally grateful but it will give me the chance to play with all the stuff I have accumulated over the last year.

I started the challenge on Wednesday, so here are my first 3 outfits;

Day # 1;

Blue Jumper from +H&M bought last year. I love this jumper, its in a 2XL from their plus size range and I love the fact that it's hugely oversized and hangs off the shoulder.  

+Primark jeans in a size 20 regular.  I live in these jeans, they are extremely comfortable and despite their low price are really good quality (IMO).  They fit true to size, waist/hip-wise, however my height makes it difficult to get the right length.  I should really buy the shorter length, but I find that they come up too short and besides I prefer a little gather at the ankle so I opt for the regular.

Boots from +Primark in a size 6  These are lovely & warm, you can't see them well but they are fleece lined. 

Day # 2;

Black vest from +H&M in size 16.

Cream & Black striped cardigan from +Primark in a size 20.   I have had this for a number of years and I don't wear it often as it doesn't have buttons (which is generally a turn off for me) 

+Primark Skinny jeans in a size 20.

Very very old nude dolly shoes from +Dorothy Perkins in a size 6.

I pinched Mya's snood which I believe is from +Primark.

Day # 3;

Mustard blouse from the Moda range from George at +Asda in a size 20.  I love the colour of this top but its 100% viscose making it extremely hard to keep un-creased. The cut is quite flattering and it even has extra material under the arm to cover up any underarm bulges.  I don't like the way it gathers on my tummy but that could just be my jeans cos it doesn't always happen.

Same jeans & shoes as day 2 :)
(I'm gonna try & switch up the shoes next week!)


What has the #100DaysStyleChallenge done for me so far...

- Made my mornings more stressful
- Pushed me to have a bit more forethought about my outfits!
- Proved to me that I have a lot of things I never wear.
- Gets me excited about getting to take a(nother) selfie!

Are you enjoying it?

- Hell yes! :)

How's the spending ban going??

- Now that is hard!  It's so hard I'm actually considering leaving my cards at home!

Looking forward to the weekends' outfits & to a full week next week :)

Wanna join in? Just make sure you use the hashtag & tag me & +Kathryn Kaupa in your posts - we wanna see your outfits too :)

I love this look and I will definitely be rocking it on a night out :)

How would you have styled this jacket?