Julia goes plus size at Tesco clothing

 Are you sick of seeing fatshion bloggers in powerfit dresses? Yeah okay fair enough, me too if I'm honest but hey now, whoa there, I got something a little bit different to show you.... and it's NOT from Evans!

So now, as it happens Simply Be were not the first company that asked me to review a piece of clothing. I happened to get the Anna Scholz dress first, but before all that I was asked to try a piece from the Julia range that is being sold through Tesco. I have no idea why they asked me... the Tesco plus size range True is very much hated by me because it is (in my opinion) insultingly un-stylish and horribly un-sexy. Maybe that's why they wanted to draw my attention to a new plus size range?!

 

I am all for any new range of clothes for us fatties and after checking out the standard sized Julia range I said "yes please I would love to try a dress thank you very much!". 

 It is far too hot at the moment for this dress, but I take my reviewing seriously so I got dressed up anyway & made my mardy-arsed boyfriend take the pictures!

 The dress is made from Ponte-like fabric, quite thick and very stretchy. This is the 24 but I would have got into the 22 easily enough I think. This is as tight as I would choose to go though so I'm glad I went for the larger size! The dress is lined with a super stretchy mesh fabric.

 I'm really impressed with the quality of this dress, it's very well made. I also really like the length, it's bang on the knee for me, so for girls of average height it should be just below the knee which is a super flattering length. You know me, if I thought it was crap I would say so, but it's really well put together and I will absolutely wear this to work when the weather turns!

Lets be realistic about this now. This 'illusion' dress is very similar to the 'powerfit dress' from Evans. The fabric / lining / cut is pretty much identical so I suspect its one of those situations where the dress is made in the same place but sold to different companies.....

... I have a few reasons why the Julia version is exciting though.... It's £10 cheaper than the Scarlett & Jo dresses (okay that's the only reason I really needed!), and it has a much more quirky neckline - as much as I like a v-neck I do get a bit excited by this kind of angular shaping! In addition to all this Julia is new and I really hope that the range will be popular, maybe then Tesco clothing might realise that it's worth offering FOXY plus size clothing!

I really feel good in this dress. The flash shows up my belly more than natural light does but if you want to hide your belly then this colour block version may not be for you. Luckily they have a lace print version that would mask the lumps...

... the same fabulous neckline and shape but much more disguising than the plain colour. Available here. The red version I'm wearing will be available at the end of next week.

 If your more of a peplum girl then they also currently have this LBD. Both dresses (and the the red version coming out next week) retail at £35 and are available in sizes 16-28.

As it turns out I don't actually have any smart shoes that match this dress (I have so many colours and styles but they do tend to be anything but black and court-shoe shaped!) so I decided to go for something a bit more designer and quirky. I told you I'd show you my Tracey Neuls Dragon shoes one day ('Dragon' is my name for them not the model name btw!). I can't even tell you how prized these are to me. Only to be worn out on extremely special occasions!

I had to go for a matching lip with this dress didn't I?! It's a lip stain pen, from Primark of all places! The dress looks nice with hair up or down, but I was hot so put it up. I have pretty big swooping eyeliner flicks but you can't really see them in the pics :(

See how cool the neck is?! When I wear these kind of kick-ass ball buster dresses I like to wear some of my Dior earrings, and I thought my Dior Fangs would go rather nicely with the dress and my dragon shoes!

So there you have it! A rave review for a lovely dress! The Julia Range is available exclusively from Tesco, and although there are only 2 items currently available it is going to expand very soon - I can't wait to see the whole collection!.

Friday ootd, preppy goes military

I have been wanting to wear this vintage Evans dress on the blog for so long (I feel odd referring to things from the early 90's as vintage, but that's cause I'm old!), and I've been waiting for it to be warm enough to wear this little jacket. Today I gave up waiting and just wore it with a coat over the top!

This is a fitted midi length shirt dress form back-in-the-day Evans. Classic!

The blazer is an old Primark one. Nice and stretchy. It may sound odd but I really wanted a tiny blazer. I often find blazers in my size to be too big and boxy (particularly if I wear them undone!), so i wanted something undersized because I think they look good with midi / maxi dresses! They actually have some nice stretch blazers in Primark at the moment. Nearly bough a nude one when I went to get some leggings yesterday (currently wearing!) but got a hold of myself before spending more money than I'd intended!

I guess I think of this as a military style dress because of all the buttons and the pockets. Not sure anyone else would describe it as military but it's the closest I get okay?!

If I was wearing this at home (not going into work) I'd wear heels, but until the summer holidays when my journey is easier I cannot cope with heels - I could wear comfy shoes and then change at work but I really really can't be bothered with that kind of thing!

I forget this morning to take pictures with the blazer done up, so I took some at work.

SPREAD 'EM PUNK!

Jacket - Primark (old)

Dress - Vintage Evans

Legging - primark

Shoes - New look

I love my new shoes boots, I missed out on them in the online New Look sale as they didn't have my size, but when i went to collect my order in-store I found them... last pair, proper size 7, real suede, £12! Happy Parsnip!

 Old Dior earrings which I totally love. I have quite a few pairs of Dior earrings from my designer-love years. One side has keys on, the other has a star with a piercing & I still love them after all these years!

Celebrity at the airport!

I totally forgot to do my diva Friday post.... this week my Friday outfit was a bit of a classic look that reminded me of the Victoria Beckham's of this world, who arrive at the airport with heels and blazers looking all business-like!

This was 1st thing in the morning before I got my shit together, and I will blame the odd expressions on that!

I love blazers but I rarely find ones that I feel comfortable in (or that really suit me!) and in truth all my favorite blazers are stretchy. I like them tight on the arms because it give a better silhouette  but if they're tight on the arms and not stretchy then they just look and feel odd!

Snap from work to show the lovely way the lining has black inside so I can turn the sleeves up etc. I got this jacket a couple of years ago in TKmaxx (back when they had a proper plus size section!) and I love it 'cause it's a bit unusual! How much do I love my new Dorothy Perkins capri jeggings btw?!

Jacket - Simon Jeffery via TKmaxx

Top - Primark

Jeggings - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - Tracey Neuls 'Ubar' (similar here)

The shoes are Tracey Neuls. I'm not normally a fan of designer shoes because they're so damn uncomfortable and have ENORMOUS heels! But I have a massive soft spot for Tracey Neuls....

.....yes they are super expensive, but the quality is amazing, and they are probably the most comfortable heels I've ever owned. Her designs are generally pretty original too, and I love quirky shoes nearly as much as I love comfort! Basically I wait for the sales like I do with all the designer fetishes I have! When the correct occasion is upon us I will show you my other TN shoes - I call them my white dragons and they're pretty bonkers!

Of course a 'celeb at the airport' look wouldn't be complete without a huge pair of specs, so here are a pair of my Vintage Christian Dior sunnies. I'm selling my other pair here in my blog shop if you want some vintage Dior for yourself!