My favourite: chambry and denim

I'm a big fan of denim. Maybe not as much as Suger, but I would definitely say I'm a fan. Finding the perfect pair of jeans can revolutionize your wardrobe- they pretty much go with everything and can be dressed up or down with ease. Hunting down that elusive pair that sits right, fades right and is still comfy was always my yearly goal. But to be honest, I'm not really a pants fan. Of course I love my jeans, but there are so many other denim pieces that can give your outfit that same killer-chic vibe.

L-R:  spot shirt, boiler suit, hooded jacket, chain loafers, hat, tote, lace shorts, romper, circle skirt, long shirtdress, sequin shift

So first off lets start with the basics: denim shorts, a skater skirt and a classic denim shirt. These three simple pieces are a game changer. I love this sleeveless, spotted shirt, you can tie it into a crop to wear with midi-skirts or even style it up with some darker denim. Playsuits and jumpsuits are everywhere lately and this 17 Sundays boiler suit is the top of my lust list! The fit, the cut! It's divine!

The faded romper from Yours Clothing is another one of my must have pieces. I saw Tess Holliday modeling this a few months before it was released and I fell for it straight away! I can see this piece at the beach, out for lunch or dressed up with some tights and a jacket for drinks on the town! 

If you're new to denim or don't want to go for a full chambray look, there are funky little accessories around too. A bag, a hat, denim belt or shoes; any of these will blend seamlessly into an outfit. Or better yet, break up the denim with another detail like NYATA's sequin Shifty Thing- denim and sequins, yes please!

L -R: elbow patch jumper, romper, shift dress, t-shirt dress, denim joggers

The most import at thing about denim is comfort. Easy wear t-shirt dresses, elbow patches and slouchy joggers, these are comfort to me! Somewhere in your wardrobe, you must have a denim dress. An easily thrown on shift dress, your favourite shoes add a necklace and bang- instant denim chic!

kimono sleeve romper, jacket, jumpsuit, sweetheart dress, long vest, loafers, shorts, plimsolls, skater skirt.

I love darker denim most of all. Deep navy and rich blues give any outfit that dressed up feel. Even denim shorts can look dressy in a darker wash. I own one of the Hope and Harvest denim zip off jackets and I wear it all the time. When I'm not wearing it, it's because someone has borrowed it! 

Long sleeveless vests are having a massive comeback and this ASOS version is just perfect! Throw it over a dress, mini skirt or leggings for an easy layered look.  

How do you wear denim? 

My Favourite: Shopping as a plus-size bride

Wedding dress shopping is a pretty bid deal. Obviously. And for us plus-size girls, it can be a scary experience. Everyone has an idea about what they want and I know you could tell me where your local bridal shop is, but I'm also pretty sure you could tell me about a friend/cousin/sister who's had a nasty bridal shop experience. I had read some horror stories about shopping as a plus-size bride and to say I was anxious when I started my search would be an understatement.

So I'm going to throw it straight out there and say I LOVED wedding dress shopping- and I think its because I went in prepared. I did a bit of research and had an idea about some of the dresses I wanted and I goggled places near me that stock plus-size. Once I had a plan, I seriously enjoyed every minute. Yes, you end up pretty much naked in a change-room with someone you've just met, yes you are going to get hot and sweaty so make sure you wear the industrial strength deodorant and YES not every dress is going to look good, no matter how much you want it to. BUT, the most important thing to remember is that this is YOUR day. Get the dress you want, the one you feel comfortable in and the one that means the most to you. And hopefully you start your search with a little less worry by checking out some of the stores I stalked below- enjoy!

Henry Roth

With an amazing array of breath taking gowns, Henry Roth is an Australian based company with some pretty rad history. Back story aside, I literally spent hours pouring over images of the Henry Roth collection when choosing my own dress. They are stocked in a wide range of Australian stores (easily found by using their 'where to buy' link) and come in sizes 2 to 30. What I loved most though, was their album of real weddings featuring a bunch of gorgeous plus-size brides rocking their designs!

Dress: Zoe

Dress: Elma

Dress: Alexi

Dress: Camille

Dresses: Chloe and Eden

Michelle Roth

Available in sizes 0-30, Michelle Roth is sister to Henry and her dresses are available for purchase in Sydney and Adelaide (check out the website for international stores). Her collection is a wonderful continuation on the sophistication and elegance present in Henry's creations. I love both the simplicity and the opulence of these dresses, its not hard to feel like a princess on your big day when wearing a dress as exquisite as these.

Dress: Reina

Dress: Rhoda

Dress: Rosalind

For Her and For Him

I stumbled across For Her and For Him while doing some on-line bridesmaid shopping- in fact, all of my ladies hot pink bridesmaids dresses were purchased off of this site using their measurement guide! Based in New York, their collection of dresses range from the eclectic and modern to a definite vintage twist. By the time I'd found these guys I had already purchased my dress, but I didn't hesitate to order the girls dresses from them. The ordering, shipping and customer service was flawless. They pre-make dresses in size 2 to 26 but also offer the opportunity to fully customise and make your dress to measure- including a variety of colour options. They have easy to follow, step by step measurement instructions to help you find the best fit for you and with most wedding gowns falling around the $500 mark, there are some sure fire beauties up for grabs on this site! (Skip down to the bottom to see my bridesmaids in their For Her and For Him dresses)

Dresses: Cap sleeve with buttons, backless with 3D flower, lace and chiffon with plunging neckline

Dresses: chiffon with lace sleeves, lace tea length gown, boat neck satin and tulle gown, lace cap sleeve dress

Sydney's Closet

Sydney's Closet specialize in plus-size, glamorous gowns and with the outrageously reasonable prices (some from as little as $150), they should be your first stop shop when hunting for the dress of your dreams. AND they stock wedding dresses from a size 14 to 44! To have such a wonderful inclusion of sizes takes all the stress out of wedding dress shopping and with a flat international shipping price of $65, I'm sure you will find what you're looking for here.

Dresses: Perfect Love, Fancy That, Circle of Love

Dresses: Dream Lover, Promise Me, Love Affair

Alfred Angelo

Alfred Angelo was my stand out choice when I thought about the type of dress I wanted to wear. Their dresses are ethereal and romantic with exquisite attention to detail. Size wise, the vast majority of the Angelo dresses are made from a 0 to a USA 26- with some going up to a 30, I love that I can choose a brand that fits me and my skinny-minny besties. AND they have a Disney Princess inspired dress collection, yes, how freaking cool is that?! So if you truly want to look like a princess, these are the dresses for you!

Check out the stockiest directory on their Australian website for places you can go and see these beauties in real life. Local babes, I tried on quite a few of the Angelo dresses at Brides By The Bay in Capalaba. 

Dress: Style 2379, Style 758

Dresses: Style 2329W, Style 2347, Style 2117

Mia Solano

And then, saving (my favourite, obviously) for last, I bought my Mia Solano dress from Luv Bridal, a boutique bridal store that can be found in most major Aussie cities -check out the list here! Available in sizes 2 to 28, the Mia Solano range is classically dramatic. Here are a few of my favourites and then skip down to my happy snaps of my Mia dress on our day!

Dress: Amalie and M1347l

Dress: M1325I and M1219Z

You hear stories about when people tried on THE DRESS for the first time and I always thought they were rubbish, until, I kid you not, I cried when I saw myself in this dress in the Luv Bridal mirrors. Ridiculous but true. With its hand beading, boned waist and bust, chapel length train and eye catching runching, I knew it was the dress that I had to have! It was paid for and in my car half an hour after that first try-on! Size wise, I'm wearing a 20 and paid to have the bust tailored in- never under-estimate the power of a good tailor!

My ladies in their For Her and For Him Dresses

What are some of your wedding dress shopping experiences?
Do you have a 'horror story'??

My Favourite: New fashions!

There are some really exciting things happening in the plus-size fashion world at the moment. Most importantly, it's really great to see brands listening to the everyday consumer and collaborating with bloggers and plus-size community personalities to get models and body-types that look like us! Its almost like watching a revolution in fashion, these are everyday people modeling, making and wearing brands that are affordable and available for a whole spectrum of sizes! YAYYYYYY for plus-size fashion!!!!

So unless you've been hiding under a rock the last few months, you have probably already heard about the amazing swimsuit collection that blogger GabiFresh has launched with Swimsuits for All. Being as Gabi coined the saying (and started the movement!) 'Fatkini', I knew as soon as I heard about it, that this collection was going to be fabulous! With bold colours, gorgeous prints and easy to wear styles, I can't wait to see some curvy babes strutting their stuff in these eye-catching styles! Gabi has also written an awesome article on her blog concerning the fit and sizing of the pieces, so if you were looking to buy (like I am!). go have a read first- but you better hurry, they are selling out fast- so go have a squizzy!! 

Photos from GabiFresh

I met Rosie Mercado at FFFWeek last year and I can honestly say she is incredibly lovely and genuine. She has already done some really awesome things in the plus-fashion world, so when her collaboration with SWAK, Fuerza, was released- I popped straight over to the website to check it all out!! It features some really lovely pieces to take you from day to night as well as the high quality casual style staples that SWAK are so well known for. And even more impressive: all under $100 and available in sizes 14-32. I love that SWAK are so inclusive for all plus-sizes, not many brands go the distance, let alone in a capsule collection. Awesome work Rosie and SWAK!!!

Lastly and definitely not least- is the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING Clements Ribeiro Swan Spring/Summer collection for Evans. Totally rad prints and cuts modeled by our favourite Plus-size bloggers?!?! Ah, get me some of that STAT!!! Seeing these ladies rocking this collection and looking so darn gorgeous doing it makes me so proud to be around and part of this community. And as with the others, you better get in quick- it's all flying off the shelves!!

What are some of your favourite new fashions at the moment???

My Favourite: local places to buy imported clothes

On Instagram and Twitter, I get asked almost daily where I buy my clothes from, so I figure its time to do some proper My Favourite posts so I can share all these finds with you!

I thought the perfect place to start was with local importers. Apart from the obvious online shopping problems for the everyday buyer (huge shipping fees!!!), there are also some truly amazing international plus-size brands that don't yet ship to Australia (I'm looking at you eShakti and Simply Be!), this is where my favourite local importers come in. They take that huge frightening step in the middle out. There is no stress about shipping costs, items not fitting and lost-in-long transit parcels. These companies are local, ordinary people who love fashion- they aren't going to do a ridiculous mark-up price like some re-sellers and they are great at returns and try-ons.

Missmel is a Brisbane based online shop that sells an amazing range of vintage and retro inspired fashion from the USA, UK and China- even up to a size 32! She was a great support when I planned my local second hand clothing fair, A Plus Size Wardrobe, and her Facebook page is a wonderful source of body positivity and plus-size love. Amongst her brands for sale you will see SWAK, Kiyonna, Hell Bunny, IGIGI, Bettie Page and all with free standard Aussie shipping!

Also, in super exciting news, Mel is currently oversees developing her own range of MISSMEL brand clothes! I can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!

Now this second re-seller is my absolute favourite eBay shop. Another fabulous Mel- she owns the eBay Shop Vintage Cartel. Without a doubt, this shop sells my favourite brands- Forever 21+, Torrid, Yours Clothing, Simply Be, ASOS Curve, New Look Inspire and sooooo many others! Now hold your breath for the best part- Mel also does open house sales where you can try on and choose your favourite items from her range of clothes, shoes and accessories! I was lucky enough to pop over to her house a few weeks ago and trawl through her amazing collection! 

Where is your favourite local place to buy imported fashion???