Plump pencil

I'm really loving skirts at the moment.... I dunno what's got into me. I am a dress girl really, but I wonder if that's because it's easier to chuck on a dress than think about matching up separates? I've been massively influenced by other fatshion bloggers, there's no doubt in my mind, but as I have discovered (through occasionally disastrous experimentation!) that what looks good on another blogger, doesn't always look good on me. I don't really care what other people think about how I look, but I do care about what I think. It's about how I feel in clothes.... trust me, if I see pictures of myself and think 'yuck' you're likely to see that outfit on ebay quite quickly! 

For YEARS I didn't wear pencil skirts because I couldn't find tops I liked with them. The problem was that I was trying to hide my belly, so I wore things that were long enough to cover it which always ruined the skirt. It totally works for some people but it depends on the proportions of your body.... I have a long torso and short legs, so a fitted skirt with a long top just makes me look super frumpy and mega stumpy. I think my Domino Dollhouse Galaxy Pencil skirt is what caused the shift in my brain. Tuck it in. Pull the skirt over my top belly (that's what I call top roll of belly fat!) and tuck the top in. Suddenly I could wear pencil skirts again! 

A pencil skirt with a fitted tee or jumper is fast becoming one of my favourite outfits. I'm sure that having the option of getting long and stretchy skirts for cheap has made a real difference... in order to wear the waist as high as I like, I need quite a long skirt to ensure it's still knee length or longer. Primark has got the monopoly on skirts for me, they're so cheap and the patterns are so good!. I know they only go up to a 20, but I always size down in stretchy skirts or they tend to swamp me. For bigger girls I think ASOS curve are brilliant at pencil skirts and are still reasonably priced.

There are a few things you have to accept if your going to wear this kind of outfit. The first is that you can still see a bit of the shape of the belly rolls. Seriously, it doesn't matter, if your wearing a good outfit nobody cares about your lumps and bumps except you (well, unless they are full-on fat haters or fat-phobic, in which case they'll fear or hate you no matter how hard you try to hide your belly!). You also have to accept that your back fat will be really visible .. same thing as above, nobody cares. In this particular outfit people were too mesmerised by my shoes to pay attention to my copious rolls of fat!

It's not like I  have a flat belly and can therefore 'pull off' this look.... take a look at my Primark post here and you can see how mega big my belly looks in some pencil skirts. It's all about the fabric and pattern.... my tip is that if the fabric is super stretchy and thin you need a super hectic pattern to stop your belly pulling all the focus. I try to go for thicker and more sturdy fabrics because they look much better on me and create a better silhouette  I totally recommend a pencil skirt and tucked-in top as a massive confidence booster. Pencil skirts make me feel smart, powerful and sexy. You'll be seeing many variations of this outfit in my working week pics from now on!

I think this might be the next skirt added to my growing collection. I've been wanting to try Pink Clove but to be honest everything on there is just a bit too short for me! I had decided to wait for their next collection but then I saw this ponte tulip skirt and thought I might have to give it a go. It's only £10 and I love ponte so I think it is worth a punt, and to be honest I'm in dire need of a plain skirt because currently they're all patterned.... I have so many patterned tops that it's hard to match things up!

I'm also keeping an eye out for some affordable Jessica Dee style skirts, because I am desperate to bite her style.... she wears a-line skirts so well, they are always fabulous! 

If money grew on trees I'd get one from Jibri, but I can't really justify spending £80 on a skirt when I already have an overflowing wardrobe! I'm keeping an eagle eye out for a reasonably priced high waisted poofy a-line below-the-knee skirt in a fabulous fabric or print!