Aussie Curves - Races

Aloha Petals!

I inadvertently took today off as it's the Scotsman and my 7 year anniversary today.According to the husband-man once you get married,you don't count the anniversary of the day you got together.I say screw that though! Love is always a cause for celebration!

So anyways,this is the first time since I can remember that I've ever actually went out anywhere for the Melbourne Cup.Hell,I've never even been to the races despite having to drive past Randwick Racecourse for 6 years when I worked in Bondi.It just never tickled my fancy.

Anyways,here's my hastily put together (and photographed) outfit for our Melbourne Cup lunch outing to the St George Motorboat Club. We had a great time,there was a fab atmosphere and we may consider getting tickets to a proper luncheon - function type thing next year.

As for this dress,I purchased it from Ebay aaaaages ago.......I've hardly worn it as it just doesn't feel like 'me' despite being a vintage repro number.The colours are very muted and too neutral for my personal taste and the dress just feels too conservative and dainty lady like,for me personally.

I do think it's a gorgeous dress,don't get me wrong.......it's just not moi.I felt quite uncomfortable in it,more so psychologically than physically.I really can not fault this dress for comfort and cut and style.The material breathes,the cut is gorgeous (though I do prefer things a bit more cleavagey ;P ),the skirt length is just lovely and 50's like and the skirt flows beautifully.

I would've felt more me had it been more colourful.........and OMG there are soooooo many gorgeous dresses from Lady V in more my style................

OUTFIT DETAILS

Dress - Lady V London (Ebay - 2 years ago)

Belt - ??????

Shoes - Big W (current)

Hair Frangipani - Hot Dollar (old)

Aussie Curves RETRO

I've been admiring the Aussie Curves posts from afar for a loooooonnnnng time now.It's partly what convinced me to start blogging again.When  I saw the 'Retro' challenge come up I knew that would be the post to start with.Hence these photos were taken a couple of weeks ago,before my transition to my Mermaid-Ariel hair.

So retro.Le sigh.If I could wear dresses and skirts like these every single day,I would! I was uber excited when I got a promotion at work,partly because I would have 1 office day where I could glam up.Turns out one office day is enough for me.I get restless sitting behind a desk and computer all day.

Anyways,I've posted before about my love of vintage.A childhood with several gay Uncles and a musical loving Mama Frangipani started my retro lust early on.My little home is filled with vintage posters,portaits of Marilyn Monroe,Marlene Dietriech,Ava Gardner and I worship at the alter of Ms Bette Davis.Oh,and I would give up my husband for the diviiiiiine Monsieur Bela Lugosi.Swooooon! *jokingnotjoking........of course I'm joking........maybe.................

Mr Bela Lugosi

I even managed to find a vintage - repro handfasting dress that was a cross between Jane Russell-Marilyn Monroe's wedding dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Grace Kelly's divine number in Rear Window.Complete with a gorgeously kitsch little hair piece.But I will blog about my handfasting another time.In the meantime,here's a couple of photos for those that are curious.............

Oooh,my Scotsman looks diviiiiiinnnnnneeeee!

Off duty,my style is eclectic,ultra femme-ultra-colourful............but I would dress in vintage all the time if I had the budget.Le sigh.Unfortunately,vintage clothing in big sizes is very slim pickings and vintage repro dress prices mean they are a treat,but my collection is building slowly.As for this dress,this is the very first Collectif dress I bought for the size I am now (but that's a different post altogether!),and dammit I wish I'd bought it sooner!

The fabric is a really good quality cotton,so it 'breathe's in our hot Sydney weather,or transitions to winter wear with a cardigan,tights and a petticoat.The cut is just gorgeous and make my knockers look ultra fantabulous.And the print..........oooohhhhh,the print! Collectif designs have the most gorgeous prints - I have a few in frangipani,yellow hibiscus,owl,geisha,leopard (of course),teapots,Eiffel tower and poodle! The colours are super bright and lush,it's withstood about 2 years worth of washing and still hasn't faded.....although I do always dry my stuff inside out.(We dry our stuff in the sun,on the balcony)

Unfortunately this dress is out of print but you can find many more gorgeous prints at collectif.co.uk This was a size smaller than I would usually take,so there is some give in the fabric (I'm a 22-24).I can even scandalously squeeze my bosoms into a size 20,as seen in this post.

**** There are photos following of me twirling joyfully in this dress with my fat,cellulite ridden thighs in all their glory.If you are going to body snark,please leave now.My fat and cellulite does not bother me,so it should not bother you.It's took  me a looooong time to get this confident.And for the record,I've had my 6 monthly check up at the Doctor and have a clean bill of health.All my stats are on the very healthy end of the spectrum.Size is no indication of health.

My best Betty Grable impression.

                                            

OUTFIT DETAILS

Dress - Collectif (old)

Petticoat - Vivien of Holloway  (currently available - was my handfasting petticoat)

Shoes - Primark (Old - Glasgow)

Belt - ???

OOTD #3 - Tiger print and fire engine red

It's was a long weekend here and I am wayyyyy too skint to do anything very exciting.Life in Sydney is expensive.Amazing but expensive.Thankfully we have gorgeous sun and beautiful beaches for cheap/no cost days out.

Saturday,I was just simply hanging out with The Princess and Mama Frangipani.We went to Lakemba,a working class area of Sydney made up of mostly Middle Eastern - Asian immigrants,to stock up on Indonesian ingredients,and just to do some people watching and check out the Eurotrashtastic shops where you can sometimes find a gem amongst the racks of tat.

It was a very warm 27 degrees,so it called for comfort and coolness (in the temperate sense).I've loved tigers for as long as I can remember,so much so that I had one tatttooed on my arm (along with some regrettable tribal markings which needs to be covered/improved on) as my protection symbol on my first backpacking trip alone around SE Asia and Europe.

Unfortunately tiger print clothing is very few and far between.Maybe it's possibly crossing the threshold of punk into Eurotrash? Either way I care not a jot and when I saw this skirt,in Best & Less of all places,I had to have it.

I need a better singlet top than this one as I realised when I came home and uploaded the photos my bra is visible from the sides.....and they make me look all boob! GAH! These bazookas,they're a blessing and a curse!

Since my clubbing days of the 90's,I've always had a penchant for teaming animal print with fire engine red.....well any bright colour really,but fire engine red is my fave go to.Again please excuse the hair,it;s still recovering from the whole 'shampoo free' natural experiment.The only way it looked semi presentable was to scrape it up in a ponytail.

So,if anyone has any hair care tips for frizz prone - curly hair PLEASE let me know! And tiger print - yay or nay? * I actually thought about posting this in the Aussie Curves weekly stripes challenge,but I wasn't sure if tiger stripes would count.

Awkward posing - still getting used to this whole selfie thing

The shoes! Cute shoe alert!

Excuse the visible bra!

Tiger print.....Eurotrash or not?

Outfit Details

Top - Can't remember,some cheap arse shop

Skirt - Best & Less (old)

Belt - Autograph (old)

Shoes - Big W (current $9.99)

Lips - Kate Moss for Rimmel

Hibiscus Hair Flower - Ebay

OOTD - Fat chicks can wear Leopard print!

Hello to anyone out there that may be reading this.I've missed blogging immensely so decided to start afresh and start my incessant ramblings again.

Those of you that used to follow my old blogs will know that I've come full circle in my attitude to myself and to fashion.I used to think (crazily) that as a fat chicka I was somehow less worthy, less beautiful and less deserving of gorgeous,funky clothes.Instead of focusing on looking good in the now,I would spend my spare cash on lovely things in smaller sizes that I would 'one day fit into'.As much as I loved vintage dresses and fashion I would never look for those dresses as I assumed that they wouldn't be made in my size and that I wouldn't do the outfits justice.I would hide in muted tones and 'safe' stylings.

I can't pinpoint when I began to transform my thinking but it was definitely a gradual thing......red lipstick crept into my every day wear,flowers in my hair became a daily thing (in direct correlation with how depressed I was getting in the Glasgow winters),my wardrobe gradually became more and more like a flower fairy village that had been invaded by various jungle animals.

And eventually I stopped giving a fuck what people thought.I began dressing for myself and living in the now,rather than buying clothes for when I became a certain size.I began wearing animal print.I began wearing loud colours,loud prints.I began wearing whatever the fuck I wanted.And with this transformed attitude,my disordered eating began to slowly sort itself out too.Sure I still struggle,but it's hella improved...........but that's a story for another time.

This is my first ever proper OOTD.Not a grainy instagrammed one in my dirty mirror that I can't be arsed washing.

On Saturday,my wee sister,The Princess (yes,that is how she wishes to be known on my blog......and how she is pretty much known to everyone in real life.She even has her own 'Princess calling' ringtone on my phone,but again I digress) and I toddled off the first ever Sydney Vintage Fair.

It was a pretty hot Spring Sydney day so my raspberry red frou frou petticoat was out of the question.I considered one of my various Collectif repro 50's dresses but then I remembered my beloved Best and Less leopard print dress.It has a kind of 60's feel to it so on it went.And plus leopard print goes so well with fire engine red and the best-n-ecklace-ever-made..................

Please excuse the hair.It desperately needs a cut and re-dye......and this was at the tail end of a 'no shampoo - baking soda/apple cider vinegar' experiment.Needless to say it didn't work on my hair.I've since found a cruelty free,natural,chemical free brand which I'll review later.

And I'm new to this whole OOTD/fatshion/posing thing so excuse me if I look like a prize d!ck....

I <3 this outfit! 

  

Let's take a moment to admire the best-necklace-ever-made!

Years ago I would've looked at this photo and hated myself.Now I think I look pretty damn fab,flab and all.

Outfit details..............

Dress - Best & Less (old collection)

Belt - Autograph (old collection)

Shoes  - Big W (Available now $9.99)

Watch - Swatch shop lucky dip,courtesy of the Princess

Pink Vintage trunk - The Princess's purchase at the vintage fair

Sunglasses - Cheapo shop at Cronulla

Nails - Ciate 

Lips - Rockalily 'Hot Rod Red'

Hair flowers - Frangipani:Hot Dollar,Hibiscus:Ebay

The-best-necklace-ever-made - Bela Lugosi as Dracula,Etsy