Feelin' Fallish

Happy Veterans Day!!!

This is one of my favorite times of year, the changing of the leaves, layering, tall boots, bold lip color, and no humidity.  Usually by October we are experiencing cooler temps and enjoying bonfires and hayrack rides.


     I was reading up on the trend alerts for fall in early summer just making sure I had a few staple pieces in my wardrobe.  I discovered Modcloth and decided to order.  I fell in love with this blue dress and cobalt happened to be a color mentioned in the fall look books so I decided to try this dress.  I ordered a 4x because reviews stated to size up, even though it was a little big in some places it was the right size.  Now unfortunately, this dress is sold out so I found another dress from Modcloth, the skilled and shining dress , that I think would be comparable that I would just pair with a cardigan or blazer. The belt is from Old Navy , the boot socks are from Maurices (and they are plenty big on my wide calfs), and the boots in both pictures are from Lane Bryant and are no longer available.  My second look includes a basic tunic boat neck from Old Navy in Orange, with a vest and leggings from Maurices.  If you have not checked out Maurices Plus size line, I would definitely encourage it, I am a solid 28 at most stores and the size 4 fits me in most items.  If you are a big fan of leggings and I have reviewed this before but I feel these are the best leggings I own and they have sales all the time too.  

Hope you enjoyed my fall looks!!! Head over to the plus size fashion resource Ahead of the Curve and see what Feels like Fall to the other bloggers.  Make sure to comment and give us your feedback we would love to hear from you..

Love and Peace,
Valerie XOXO
#aheadofthecurve
#prayforpeace

Downtown Plaid

 It is not often when I find a trend that I love that is also on trend when I am wearing it,  I am usually a day late because it takes me a minute to really get into things.  But Plaid is something that has been around for years and occasionally slips in and out of the stores.  I have never ever been a fan of the plaid skirts but that is just my opinion some people pull them off beautifully, I am just not in that selective group.

 I saw these pants and initially loved them even though this style usually looks a little frumpy on me for some reason.  However, Lane Bryant needs to get it together, without turning this into a huge rant their sizing and cuts have been HORRIBLE this year.  These pants are the normal size I wear in dress pants and even though they do not look it, they are incredibly tight. I originally bought these Sophie Houndstooth from Lane Bryant but they would not even go up over my thighs, and after talking to the associates working they told me that they all tried them on and had to go up at the very least 2 whole sizes larger than they normally wear.  This is NOT ok in my opinion.  I am normally a huge Lane Bryant supporter but they are definitely not winning any awards from me this year. I am wearing head to toe Lane Bryant even though their sizing is really getting under my skin (end rant).

 So, to prove that houndstooth is everywhere and has been everywhere for ever, I have put this picture of the famous houndstooth hat worn by the University of Alabama coach during the games (Roll Tide, Roll).  I just love this hat and I may buy one this year since the trend is so on point. 

Infinity scarves and even the long straight scarves can add so much to an outfit, I found this while searching on etsy for something completely different but I just love the texture and look that a simple scarf can give any look.

I am seeing houndstooth everywhere even on the new holiday packaging from Bare Minerals added in a pop of red and houndstooth which is a look I absolutely love!

I'd love to hear from you and see what prints, trends and fashion you are loving right now...Let me know...Make sure you head on over to Ahead of the Curve and check out everyone from the collective of bloggers that we have and their take on Tartan, Tweed, and Houndstooth.

Peace and Love,
Valerie xoxo
#prayforpeace

Back to School

      Well it is September which means several of my favorite things/ time of year/ events are coming up.  It is of course back to school time but more importantly it is FOOTBALL season.  I am a huge Texas and Alabama fan on the college side of things and I love the Bears and Cowboys in the NFL.  I also love fall fashion.  I live in Illinois so sweaters, jeans, vests, and layering items are essential.  I felt like since in general the game day apparel is probably vastly not talked about in women blogs that I would add a little football to the fashion world.  Usually every Saturday and Sunday you will find me checking in on my teams or sitting down and watching a few games.  Jeans are a staple in my closet and everyday wear during this time of year and if you are going back to school or even if you are looking for great deals this is the time of year to catch sales on jeans.  I love Lane Bryant, Old Navy, and Torrid for plus size jeans, I feel these three companies all make a great jean in several silhouettes that would flatter anyone.  I am currently loving my skinny jeans because we can still get away with wearing flip flops and sandals for just a few more weeks.  

    
     I am wearing a mock baseball tee from Old Navy, which is sold out but similar to this.  I am wearing older (my favorite) jeans from Lane Bryant. Lastly, to finish off my back to school theme I threw on a gift from my sister which is a Texas Longhorns scarf to show my love for the game.  I am considering this my laid back, cheering from the sidelines kind of outfit that could be easily paired with a pair of tall boots for a slightly more polished look or throw on a pair of tennis shoes for something more casual. 

I am lucky enough to be included in a monthly blog collective with a great group of plus size girls who all have great blogs, please go check them out here  Ahead of the Curve Bloggers...feel free to leave comments and love for everyone!!!

Peace&Love,
Valerie

#prayforpeace

Polka Dot Confessions

The fun thing about photography and when you try new things you 

don't always get the best results and even though these pictures

were kind of my idea, the angles and everything is all

wrong, in my opinion.  So, with that being said this months

blog collective is Polka Dots vs. Gingham.  I find that polka dots 

have been a true staple and showing up in trends for quite some time now.

I hate to say it even though I love a good polka dot, I am a little over it. 

 (um. who color matched that foundation? horrid.)

  

My outfit today is completely thrifted!! I know, I know, I am just as shocked as you all might be.  I love a good deal, let's clarify this right now but I never seem to find them, so this is rare.  I purchased the shirt from Fattoo for $12.00 not sure where it came from but it was a very roomy 3x.

The jeans I also purchased from Fattoo and they are the stiletto dot jeans from Torrid and I believe they are still available there in some sizes.  

I will say these jeans are super duper comfortable but a little on the short side..

Since this was a battle royale between dots and gingham, I tried to find something gingham and included the links of two items I purchased but had to return due to the fit.  I really wasn't in love with the pants

but I thought it would provide a nice work slack, check them out below.

Alwaysforme.com 

jjill.com 

The swimsuit I loved everything about it but they sent me the wrong

size and were out of stock in what I actually ordered. (double bummer)

The pants fit but it was all wrong and made me look frumpy and like my pants

were just way too short.

I am lucky enough to be included in a monthly blog collective with a great group of plus size girls who all have great blogs, please go check them out here  Ahead of the Curve Bloggers...feel free to leave comments and love for everyone!!!

Peace and Love,

Valerie XOXO

#prayforpeace

The right to "bare" arms..

         There has been many topics about what women should or should not wear.  I do follow some of the fashion "rules" so to speak but typically I wear what I feel comfortable in, disregarding any set "rules".  All of the time I hear women of all sizes say, I can't wear sleeveless my arms will show and they are big, flappy, bat winged, jiggly, etc, and I know that is a confidence/comfortability issue but if I am comfortable sleeveless then you should be okay with that.  All of that aside lets get to the fashion, it was super hard to choose but I went with this dress mainly because it is still available at Lane Bryant and I am confident that this dress would look amazing on a wide variety of shapes as well as the generous cut will allow bigger sizes to fit into a 28, in my opinion.

                          This dress makes me feel amazing, honestly, I am not sure why.  I bought it at Lane Bryant on a whim and it is very generously cut.  I normally wear a 28 and this is a 22 and I bet I could have got a 20 in this style.  It is everything I have been loving about spring/summer fashion nautical feel, navy and cream stripes, with darting in all the right places.  When I wear this dress, and I have 4 times since buying it, I feel good and that is what makes the difference.  I pair this with some gold jewelry from Lane Bryant and my favorite sandals from Target.  I have the "right to bare arms" do you?  

 Peace, Love, and Bare Arms,

Valerie xoxo

I am part of an awesome community of bloggers make sure you check them out here , and show some comment love.  This month we are all "baring" our summer stuff so check it out.  Also, make sure you like our Facebook page, follow on Instagram and Pinterest by searching Ahead of the Curve Bloggers.  Have a awesome July!!!

A Way To Save: Plus Size Budget Buys!!

 I am not a huge thrifter but I definitely love a good sale and very rarely do I buy clothing not on sale. However, in my area the thrifting and cool vintage type stores, I see other people talking about,  are non existent so I usually have to live through others and get extremely jealous at their finds especially in the vintage department.  I feel no matter where you shop online or in the stores there are many deals to be had by checking store codes, sales ads, current promotions, and asking for upcoming events.  I have also recently become a huge fan of the Cartwheel and Retail Me Not apps that have instant savings for many stores that I frequent. The best thing to do is to do some research.

This outfit that I chose to wear cost a total of $22 including shoes and jewelry which I felt was a steal.  The dress I bought at Ross in Houston, Texas for $10.00 it is a Cynthia Rowley in a 3x which is plenty roomy, almost too big.  The cardigan is an Old Navy find in their regular sizes xxl and it fits plenty big.  I bought this on clearance for $5.00 along with the cream cami for $3.00.  I bought these gold rope braided sandals (my favorite) at Target at the end of season two years ago for $4.00, they are amazing quality.  My jewelry came from Lane Bryant as a gift.

 

                                If you are looking for some great pictures in the Springfield, Illinois
                                        area please check out Kristi Mitchell Photography!!

I am lucky enough to be included in a monthly blog collective with a great group of plus size girls who all have great blogs, please go check them out here  Ahead of the Curve Bloggers...feel free to leave comments and love for everyone!!!


For the love of $avings,
Valerie xoxo

Floral Frenzy!!

Top from Lane Bryant

 The theme for this months blog collective is Garden Party or Pastels.  Neither of these two things are in the range of clothing that I wear but every since starting this blog I am really trying to broaden my horizons and step out of that comfort zone...And come to find out I really love a floral print, even though I don't have many prints I have recently started buying a few more things.. Here is a collection of what I am currently loving right now...

Add a pop of pastel with a scarf!

I am wearing a floral tank from Lane Bryant

 It never hurts to accessorize, try adding in pastels or floral prints with a bold scarf, nail, jewelry, or even a shoe this will get you used to the color if this is something that might intimidate you.

              

Accessorize with a pop of nail color!

I have noticed in my recent shopping trips that the major plus size stores that I frequent, Lane Bryant , Torrid , and Simply Be all have a wide variety of floral dresses, shirts, and accessories with a pop of pastel or floral in them.  Most of those sites plus a few others have been running great sales to get ready for summer, especially Lane Bryant, it seems like to me that their sales have been really good recently so why not save!!!

I am lucky enough to be included in a monthly blog collective with a great group of plus size girls who all have great blogs, please go check them out here Ahead of the Curve ...feel free to leave comments and love for everyone!!!









Love and Blessings,

Valerie xoxo

Radiant Chaos

      I absolutely love the color red, I especially love wearing the color red.  I am also extremely excited to talk about this outfit because we recently had a Torrid open up in the nearby mall, and I pretty much raided them around Christmas time for this look.  I have bought a few things from them online in the past but was semi reluctant just because I hate shipping things back.  This whole outfit I received for Christmas even though I picked it all out, I felt it was perfect for this topic. The dress is black with flocked velvet polka dots and I actually sized down because of the armholes, it is very roomy in my opinion.  I am wearing Torrid's size 3 in the dress and the cardigan.  As you can see it is winter here so I paired this lovely dress with a basic open cardigan from Torrid in this radiant red color.  If I am going to wear red it is definitely going to be this deep blood red because I feel it looks the best on my skin tone.   I am loving this skater dress trend, I feel like it is a shape that would look flattering on any body type.  I paired this outfit with some simple leggings from Wal-Mart in black, and my favorite black boots from Lane Bryant.  I will also note that I bought two pairs of tall boots this year from Lane Bryant and both were accommodating with extra room to my bigger calves. I know they are no longer available online but maybe some of the stores still have them.  I also made my sister do my hair in these gorgeous rosette type pin rolls just for something a little special.  I topped off my look by wearing the most amazing lip color I have found to date.  It is from NYX in the color Chaos, I bought this at Ulta for around $4.00 or less and it is so smooth.  I felt like I needed to mention this lipstick because I will be going back to get other colors, you cannot beat that price.  I will link below the items in case you want to see the different things on the models.   

                                                               Peace&Love,
                                                                   Valerie

 Flocked Polka Dot Dress
                                                                                       Drape Front Cardigan

Banner created by Elizabeth Tamny: http://www.elizabethtamny.com

 
We are a collective of plus size bloggers coming together to post on the same subject. This month we are sharing our take on “Red Hot Themes” so check them out by clicking on each link:

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Always Red Hot

My "Red Hot" Moment

Feeling the Love in Igigi Polka Dots

Red Hot Remake: Too-Tight Dress To Peplum Top

Fearless Fashion: Channeling My Inner Lady In Red

"Red Hot" Valentine's Day Look

Rouge Blouse

Red Hot Luxe: My Top Sexy, Fabulous, Gorgeous Valentine's Day Picks for the Plus Size Princess

 Red Color Love
Nuclear Red Hot Hair 

 You can find more information about Ahead of the Curve or our past topics here, http://www.aheadofthecurvebloggers.com or our Facebook page Ahead of the Curve.