Wardrobe Weekly

Monday

 Thank goodness I had the foresight to take Monday as holiday after a a weekend away. I felt like I'd spent the last 3 days sweating and was just exhausted! Wore this outfit to go and do some grocery shopping. As it turns out, still too hot for a jacket (even a super thin one!).

Jumpsuit 24 - George

Jacket 26 - Simply Be

Flip Flops - Ipanema

Tuesday

 Something a bit OTT for a hot day!

 I love these dresses (I have a similar one in white & red) because they are super girly and a little bit like wearing a period costume!

Dress 26 - K&D London via ebay

Flip flops - Ipanema

Wednesday

 I was off to the ballet (Coppelia) after work so I wanted to look relatively smart. I also wanted sleeves in case the air-con was a bit cold in the theatre, but I needed something lightweight to combat the heat everywhere else. Double silk to the rescue!

 I wore all rose gold accessories and then managed to leave all 5 rings in the toilets at the ballet - classy clientèle though as thankfully they were handed in!

 I always think the London Coliseum looks like it was decorated by Elton John!

Dress 22 - Anna Scholz White Label

Rose gold rings & earrings - Silvershake

Sandals - Primark

Thursday

 I was planning to go for a swim after work at my local lido (scuppered because Thursday nights it closes at 6.30... BOO!) so I wore something that would be easy to put on over a swimsuit. This is a  great jumpsuit (you can see how much it has loosened up with a bit of wear - good old Primark, accidentally clothing fatties again!) but the open back meant I had to wear a jacket with it.... don't think my colleagues have any desire to see my bra!

Jumpsuit 20 - Primark

Jacket 20 - New Look Inspire

Flip Flops - Ipanema

Friday

 I've had this dress for a while but I saved it for hot weather. It's really see through as it turns out, so good job I had shorts on underneath!

 Shame I don't have any nude bras!

 Dress 24 - Vintage Evans via ebay

Earrings - Can't remember where I got these, had them years!

Flip Flops - Ipanema

Saturday

T-shirt 22 - Asos Curve

Trousers 22 - Dorothy Perkins

Sandals - Primark

Sunday

I'm dying my mega white hair today, and chances are I'm not going to get dressed because it's too hot for clothes!

Chafing is coming

I love the hot weather, but the last few weeks have been a humid nightmare for my hoo-ha area. Long time readers may remember my post on chub rub deterrents A song of thighs and fire which listed some items that I had tried out and wanted to try. I thought I'd write an update post to go with the original, listing some things I've been recommended and things I've tried out!

I got a massive response to that post because innner thigh chafing is a bitch from hell, and you don't have to be a massive fatty to suffer from it. It does seem though that the bigger you are the harder it is to find solutions. I would REALLY like to find a solution that doesn't involve adding extra layers of clothing on a hot day, but as yet I haven't had any luck.....

Lots of lovely ladies recommended Lush ultrabalm for my anti-chafe needs. At £8.75 it's not the cheapest of pots, but I thought it was worth a punt. I tried slathering my thighs in it. I tried using a teeny tiny amount of it. I tried every amount in between. It just doesn't work for me. I found it made my thighs stick together and didn't stop me chafing even when just worn round the house. I seem to have particularly massive thighs with the same desire to be together as a couple of magnets. Many women swear by this stuff though, so it's probably worth a try, it just doesn't work for me.

The totally trustworthy and lovely Betty Bee recently reviewed Vevina cream (here) and I'm tempted to try some out. It's true that Betty is not as big as me, so her thighs might not be quite as smushed together as mine, but I generally like to try out new products because one day, one of them might actually work for me... right?!

Sticking with the blogger theme, I recently read about Jockey skimmies slipshorts here on the curvy fashionista site. These look really good to me, but I can't locate them in the UK (not in big sizes or for a sensible price anyway!), but if they ever arrive over here I'm fo' sho' gonna give them a try!

Everyone and their mother is going bonkers for the new Big Bloomers long leg knickers. I want to try them, but a couple of things are putting me off. For one thing they're £15.95 per pair (for the length I'd need!) not including p&p, which seems a little steep and keeps putting me off actually ordering a pair. The second is that they look like they're quite synthetic. I might be wrong, but they look like super thick tights or something. I'm gonna drop the T-bomb here ladies..... THRUSH! Oh god how that bastard bird has plagued me through my adult life. Doctors would like me to walk around in big cotton pants, a loose pilgrim skirt and nowt else in order to combat this particular problem (piss off!) but in my world this has to translate to wearing as little synthetic / sweaty fabrics next to my fanny as possible. If these shorts are in fact cotton then I will certainly give them a go. If not, I'll stick to my bloomers, but for those of you who are more at home with synthetic pants it seems like these offer great chub-rub prevention!

In all honesty I'm still wearing the same old favorites - The bloomers from ebay which are my absolute favourite and do the job of absorbing all my sweatyness (even if I find a balm to stop the chafing, how would I deal with the buckets of sweat my mothers oven & nearby area produces?!) while preventing chub rub. Sadly they only come in blue or pink, so when I really need to look like I'm not wearing anything I wear my Sloggi basci longs. They're okay if I'm not walking around too much - my thighs are not particually fond of lace, so although they protect the top of my thighs from chafing sometimes the bottom where the lace is rubs when it's very hot weather! 

And then!

What wonderful readers I have! I've never understood why it's so hard to buy cotton cycling shorts. I never see them anywhere in fat sizes! Lilac Lou recently commented on my original chub-rub post and gave me a link to some (relatively) cheap cycling shorts that come in a big range of colours.... Genius!

I ordered the 'tan' colour in XXXL (size 20), the biggest size available, but I'm size 22-24 and they fit me fine. Love love love them. They don't ride up, they're nice cotton, they're a good length and pull up over my double belly! These are my new favorite and I've already ordered another pair. I'm sure I'll get some other colours at some point too! These are my 2014 recommendation to combat chub-rub, get them here!

Wardrobe Weekly

Monday

 To the Max!

 I went all Woodstock on Monday to combat the heat.

Dress 18 - Primark

Flip flops - Ipanema

Tuesday

 SUCH a good dress. I love bright blue at the best of times, but when it has red buttons and piping.... it's even more beautfiul!

 Summery summery summery!

Dress 24 - Anna Scholz Black Label

Flip flops - Ipanema

Wednesday

 A while back I ordered a white shirt from Bon Marche and when I tried it on I kept it despite feeling like the arms were too tight. I then never wore it and planned to sell it....

 Not having found any other shirts I like I decided to to just remove the arms so I could wear it. Glad I did because the back is pleated and I love it!

Necklace - Chanel (super old and technically a belt!)

Shirt 24 - Bon Marche (modified)

Trousers 22 - Dorothy Perkins

Flip Flop - Ipanema

Thursday

 Another summer Classic!

 This is my beloved scarab beetle dress!

Dress 22 - Anna Scholz Black Label

Sandals - Primark

Friday

 It was just so hot on Friday that I didn't know what to wear! I decided this lightweight black dress would be safe. I was fine until I was trapped on a train without air conditioning from London to Suffolk!

 A plain dress gave me a good excuse to wear my massive heart shaped earrings & holographic sandals!

 Crazy golf at lunchtime. Love summer!

Earrings - superdrug

Dress 22 - Crazy Clearance

Sandals - Primark

Saturday

 I was in Suffolk for my boyfriends cousins wedding reception.

 I got these white shoes from TKmaxx for £16.99 which I was chuffed about, because the flats I'd taken were technically cream and didn't match very well. I still changed into the flats when we were dancing though!

 I chose this River Island shirt for my boy (who wanted a shirt, but not a work shirt!) and I love it! I like men in short sleeves, they make their shoulders look square! It is navy blue and was only £20, plus we got it from asos on my premier account so the p&p was free. Don't ask me why his legs are so far apart, that seems to be his pose of choice!

Dress 22 - Taking shape

Shoes - Bronx via TKmaxx

Sunday

 This is what my pictures look like when my hung-over boyfriend takes them. He properly had the shakes!

 This is one of those dress that I nearly didn't buy, but has become a firm favourite never the less. I got it on a rare trip to New Look years ago.

 It makes me feel like a flower fairy, which is the best feeling ever!

Dress 24 - New Look Inspire

Flip Flops - Ipanema

Things you should know....

I tried some stuff from George recently, and here is what you should know....

 This bra is excellent. It's a good shelf bra!

This bra is deformed - avoid!

 This shirt (the size 24) is supposed to be fitted, but really it's just very small! The fabric is a bit rigid despite the stretch, but it would be handy for those of you who need work shirts as it's quite flattering. Size up if you can!

This shirt (size 24) was a decent fit, but I found the fabric itchy.... shame as it is actually very cute!

This shirt didn't fit me and I'm SO SAD! The size 24 was perfect everywhere until it reached my belly and then it became too tight to button up. Gutted because it looked awesome otherwise! If you are bigger up top than in the belly / bottom area you should try it... instant cool!

This oversized shirt is brilliant and I love it! I got the XL and it's really big (would EASILY fit a size 26-28!). It seems that the only form of dipped hems I find acceptable are on oversized shirts! Can't wait to wear this one, I recommend it!