OMCZ 2015 Theme Number One

I am pleased to say that the lovely Steph from Seeing Spots has reinstated the OMCZ challenge so here is the first one of 2015!

The theme is patterned legs!

I've recently bought my first pair of patterned leggings and had a few comments about being brave to wear them. It got me thinking about this challenge. For this challenge I'd like us to cover out legs in patterns. 

This could be tights, leggings, trousers, skirts, dresses, marker pens, Anything you like as long as your legs are in some way covered in a pattern. 

Show people patterns look great on the bottom half of our bodies. 

Now due to being struck down with a horrible virus this week I haven't been able to take any photos so I am cheating on this one and using some photos from previous posts!

These are all taken from last summer when I started to develop some love for loose patterned trousers!!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies also taking part

Steph

Sarah

Becky

 Leah 

Natalie

Gillian

 Mary 

Hollie

 Becca

Sam 

Simply Be Denim Babydoll Dress*

Following on from my recent visit to the Simply Be store at Merry Hill to try out the Kelly Brook range (you can read about that here,) Simply Be very kindly offered to send me something from their current range. There was one dress that I have been lusting after for awhile and having seem some of my fellow bloggers in it I was even more sure it was the one for me!!

It arrived last week and I was disappointed, I wore it to work on Friday as we dress down, and I lived in it all weekend!!

We went out to Avoncroft Museum on Saturday Afternoon so I took the chance to get some photos of the dress.
I teamed it with a Primark cardigan and my Superdry trainers which I picked up in TK Maxx. I love this dress it is everything I hoped it would be and it has pockets, and I'm sure by now you all know how happy that makes me!! I did size up as there is pretty much no stretch and I need boob room, but I don't mind a looser fit as it is meant to be a smock style dress.
I think I am beginning to form a great deal of love for denim dresses and this one will be perfect for the warmer months as well.

Outfit details
Dress Simply Be*
Cardigan Primark
Trainers Superdry
Necklace Peacocks old

*Denotes a gifted item but all views are my own.

ASOS What I Would Have Spent

The lovely Debz from Wannabe Princess recently suggested it would be interesting to do a blog post looking at the ASOS Main range and showing what we would have bought if it came in size fat!!

Now don't get me wrong I am a huge fan of ASOS Curve, when it comes to plus size fashion they nearly always lead the way but compared to the main selection there is still less choice.

So with this in mind here are the things I would have bought if they came in my size!!

Fashion Blogger T-shirt

I love this t-shirt and and finding good slogan ones in plus sizes is few and far between!

 Crayon Stripe Dress

I adore this dress, it has pockets for a start and just look at the cut of it!! Finding something like this in a plus size would be like finding unicorn poo!

Cropped Unicorn T-shirt

Talking of Unicorns how about this cropped t-shirt- so cute!!

Oversized Denim Dress

Having recently discovered the world of denim dresses this oversized one really appeals to me, and again finding good oversized items in the world of plus size fashion is no mean feat!!


So there you have it and yes these items do go up to a size 18 but that still sizes me out so it would be good to see more items like this in the Curve range.

Don't forget to check out the other ladies who are showing what they would have bought!

Debz - http://www.wannabeprincess.co.uk

Michaela - http://www.cardifforniagurl.co.uk/

Vicky - http://therandomnessoftwee.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Becky - http://doesmyblogmakemelookfat.com

Katt - http://acurvycupcake.com

Steph - http://seeingspots.co.uk

Sarah - http://plussizeproud.co.uk

Rebs - http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk

Lucia - http://ucantwearthat.com

Vicky - http://thecurvedopinion.com

Lisa - http://www.lisaphilbin.co.uk

Silent Sunday/My Sunday Photo

Curvissa Loose Fit Denim Dress Review*

Myself and some of my fellow bloggers were recently contacted by the lovely people at Curvissa and asked if we would like to style something from their new denim range  for a five way review.
I had a peruse of the new range and the Loose Fit Denim Dress totally called out to me as I don't have anything like this in my wardrobe at the moment.

It is a lovely soft and stretchy denim (for some reason I thought it would be stiffer with less stretch so this was a pleasant surprise) and comes with a tie belt. I now must admit I swapped the belt it came with for one I already have as I found it sat better on me.
I wore this dress for a family lunch last weekend and felt really comfortable all day even after spending the afternoon playing with my son, niece and nephew!!
 I also wore it to work and dressed it up with my brogues and one of the ladies I worked with said how lovely it looked!!

I took advantage of my mum's garden to get some photos!!

So lets talk about the fit, I went for a size 26 which is two sizes bigger than I normally wear but upon checking the size guide online this was the most appropriate size. You do need to bear this in mind when looking at this dress to check the sizing as you may need to size up. I would say that this fits more like a 22 than a 26.
I was worried about it gaping across my bust as is often the way with clothes that button up but my fears were unfounded as even with my padded push my boobs right out bra on it still didn't gape- yay!! I have a little bit of extra room at the waist but the adding my own belt nips me in and to be honest gives me space for my tummy and I avoid it being too clingy.

I love the fact that I have been able to wear this dress for both a casual weekend outing and also for work with smarter shoes so it makes it really versatile.

Overall I love this dress and as the weather hopefully gets warmer I shall pop it on over leggings for an easy weekend option.

If I had to give it a rating out of 5 stars then it would be five out of five for me!

Make sure you head over and check out the other lovely ladies to see what they chose!

Gemma 

Hollie 

Kathryn 

Katie 

PS Blogger Love!

The always awesome Debz from Wannabe Princess decided that March 20th should be PS Blogger Love Day!!! The idea behind the day is to talk about the other bloggers that we love on our blogs and social media.

I am showing some love for the lovely Kerry-Ann from Voluptous Chatterbox.

I love Kerry's style and she looks so cute in her recent outfit post.

Her bubbly personality shines through her writing style and you can see the twinkle in her eye in her outfit posts!! I know Kerry hasn't done many outfit posts but I hope we get to see more of her outfits in the future as she is so cute!
Kerry also writes about her life and I enjoyed her Single Woman 30 Day Challenge because as a reader it gave me a chance to get to know the blogger behind the blog. 

If you don't already please go forth and subscribe to her blog!!


Also make sure you check out social media today and follow the #psbloggerlove hashtag for some feel good fun!!

Uncondtional Body Beautiful Part Three-Legs

Hello and welcome to this months Unconditional Body Beautiful post and this time we are talking about legs!!!

I am going to be honest and say that my legs have always been the part of me that I like the most, although I don't get my pins out as much these days!!!

For my height (5'4") they are quite long (which makes me shorter in the torso) and due to walking have some decent muscles going on!!!

In my younger days they were quite shapely and it is only now looking back that I realise I had a good set of legs which I really didn't appreciate at the time!!

So this is me aged about 21 and check out those legs!!!! I wish I go back in time and tell the younger me not to worry about how I looked!!

Before I started blogging I had reached a point where I often hid my legs away as over the years weight gain and lack of confidence held me back. I also hated the fact that my legs were so pale and never tanned, magazines had drummed into me that I needed a good suntan to show my legs!!!

I think blogging was the turning point when I realised what utter bullshit all of this really was, my legs are awesome- they get me from A to B and  allow me to run around with my son and should be celebrated!!!
For the first time in years I left the house in shorts, cellulite be damned these are my legs deal with it!!

I finally felt a sense of liberation during the warm summer months when I freed my legs from leggings and tights and stopped worrying about them!!


I shall leave you with this from last year!!

Bit of leg loving from last year!!

katherinehaywardmylifewithcp.blogspot.com.es
www.clotheyourcurves.wordpress.com
http://curvesalamode.com/ 

- See more at: http://www.nattynikki.com/2015/02/unconditional-body-beautiful-part-two_20.html#sthash.YG1aDRPc.dpuf

katherinehaywardmylifewithcp.blogspot.com.es
www.clotheyourcurves.wordpress.com
http://curvesalamode.com/ 

- See more at: http://www.nattynikki.com/2015/02/unconditional-body-beautiful-part-two_20.html#sthash.YG1aDRPc.dpuf

Natty Nikki Turns Two!!

Would you believe that today marks the 2nd anniversary of starting this blog? No me neither, it still only feels like five minutes since I posted my first outfit!!!
It has been a fantastic two years and I really am truly grateful to everyone who stops by to check out my tiny corner of the internet. Blogging has led me to meet so many amazing women some of whom I am honoured to now call friends.

To celebrate this milestone and also as a way of saying thank you I have a Make Up Revolution palette to give away!! It is the Eyes Like Angels 32 eyeshadow palette full of fabulous colours!

To enter just follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below!!

(Open to UK only sorry).

Best of luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

Silent Sunday/My Sunday Photo

 

Simply Be Merry Hill Store Visit

Last weekend I met up with the awesome Kim from Call Me Kim and we headed off to Merry Hill Shopping centre for a fun afternoon of playing dress up!!

We had been invited to go have a look at the new Kelly Brook range which has just been launched online and in store at Simply Be.

I must admit I do like the Simply Be store at Merry Hill it has the most amazing changing rooms with huge mirrored doors well lit changing rooms and of course the magic mirror (more about that later).

I do own a dress from the first Kelly Brook range and having had a quick look at the collection online when it launched I was keen to see what it was like in real life. Sadly the Merry Hill branch doesn't carry the full range but Kim and I did try everything on that was there. I was disappointed to find that the dress I most wanted to see wasn't instore but nonetheless still had a good afternoon of dressing up!

The collection is very much all about spring colours with floral prints and would make ideal dresses if you had a wedding or christening to go to.

For reference everything I tried on was a size 22, so to get us started here is the first dress.

This is the Kelly Brook Textured Dress and I really wanted to fall in love with this dress as it looked gorgeous on the hanger but sadly it just didn't work for me. Length wise it is perfect as it sits just above my knee but as I am busty the neckline is a bit too high for me and the puff sleeves don't quite work on me as I am narrow in the shoulder. This dress is very stretchy so you can stick with your usual size and it won't be too clingy (If you are not keen on VBO then you will be fine). As you can see on Kim who is much taller than me it comes up much shorter so do bear this in mind.

The one legged pose!

This is the Lace Peplum Dress and I did like this dress, the only slight fit issue I had was the deepness of the V neck showed some of my bra, but I could solve this by switching to a plunge fit bra. Again the length on me was perfect especially as this dress has the split at the front which could be risking a wardrobe malfunction if you are taller than me! I loved the colour and fit of this dress and I think with the right bra underneath this would be a winner for me.

Add caption

Boobs!

This is the Print Belted Dress I love the print on this dress as it is so cheerful and would be fabulous as a wedding guest outfit. I am pleased to say that the belt actually fitted which can often be an issue, and made a nice addition to the dress. The only fit issue I had with this dress was across my shoulders where it felt a bit big, I don't think I could have sized down as my boobs wouldn't have fitted into the smaller size. Sadly this often a problem for me with dresses due again to my narrow shoulders/ big bust combination! I think this was my favourite dress of the day, but I would have liked a skater style version as I feel it may have been a bit unforgiving across my tummy when sitting.

This is the Print Scuba Dress which is a lovely thick scuba material that hugs you but again I had a few issues with the fit. Due to my bust the neckline didn't feel quite right for me and it wrinkled on the sides over my hips. I love the colour and the print but as it is a lighter colour it pushes me to the edge of my comfort zone especially with regards to showing my tummy. The length again is perfect for me as it came to just above my knee but on as you may expect it was shorter on Kim.

I mentioned earlier about the magic mirror where you can have your photo taken, and then either post it on social media or print it out. Well as you can imagine we had great fun so please enjoy our pictures from the day!!

This Belted Lace Trench Coat  was lovely and not something I would normally wear as I usually steer clear of double breasted coats due to my bust. It looked lovely paired with the floral dress and again would be fantastic for a wedding guest outfit. I just know I would never keep it clean!!!


Now the magic mirror did have a mind of its own and would occasionally just go off on its own!! It seemed to take a liking to me as twice it caught me having a derpy moment so please enjoy!!

Overall my favourite dress from the day was the floral belted dress, I loved the fabric and if I needed a dress for an occasion then this would be on my wishlist. We were a bit disappointed that there wasn't more of the collection in store but I understand there is limited floor space. I would also like to see more of the collection go above a size 26 and be more inclusive.

I just remains for me to say a huge thank.  you to Simply Be for a brilliant afternoon we had loads of fun and we were very well looked after. I also want to say a massive thank you to Kim for a lovely afternoon full of giggles, tired feet and lots of clothes!!

Don't forget to head over and check out Kim's Blog as well!

Have you tried anything from the new range?