A Dress Fit For A Princess: Bon Marche dress review

Before I begin this review there are two things you need to know:

1) as a small child I was obsessed with Princess Diana's wedding dress and the Emanuel's (the designer couple who created it for her)

I was about eight when Princess Di got married and despite being brought up in a leftie socialist Royal disapproving household was totally caught up in the whole Royal wedding thing. I was so in love with Diana's dress and think that and watching Grease were probably the two main things that made me start to be obsessed with fashion.

The Emanuels

2) My Nan (god rest her soul) was an artist with very little interest in clothes. She lived in slacks and jumpers (all the better to smear painty hands on) when I got married she brought her first smart outfit from Bon Marche. It was a lavender two peice. She borrowed a hat from her mate Sheila. 

My Nan-She wasnt a follower of fashion I think its fair to say.

So my one abiding memory of Bon Marche is that its where Nan's who don't really have any interest in fashion buy stuff.

So when Bon Marche got in touch with me to see if I would like to review something from their range (it goes up to a size 24 doncha know) I nearly didn't open the email.Which would have been a disaster because guess whose designed a capsule line for them? only cherub faced royal designer of crinkly dresses of dreams David Emanuel that's who. And further more its absolutely lovely!!

By Royal Appointment

I'm loving the coral panel and flower print

I picked the  stretch twill coral panel dress which is priced at a very reasonable £29.50 and I love it.nan you would be proud.

Great coral panel and flower design

The black band creates the illusion of  a nipped in waist 

The quality is fab, the cut is gorgeous and unlike a lot of designer ranges for high street  brands this feels like a dress that has had real design input.
This frock is very much in the body con family. You need to either wear big knickers or no knickers (you saucy minx)  as otherwise you will be flashing your VPL all over the shop as its fitted around the booty.

This dress requires Bridget Jones big knickers or no knickers

The coral panel with black sides and back creates the perfect illusion of Jessica Rabbit curves even if like me you are more egg on legs than hourglass.
I also like the black band in the middle. yet again it neatens off the dress and is perfect if you are self conscious about your tummy as it draws the eyes in.

My new favorite bling

The sizing on this baby is true and its nicely roomy around the arms (no pinching) the fabric is thick enough that you feel slightly pulled in (so if you detest shapewear but don't want everyone patting your food baby and asking when you are due this is a good choice)

Corn beef legs ahoy

I'm sorry about the vaguely corn beef legs on display here. You know how when the sun shines for two minutes you instantly whip off your tights and throw your coat away (or is this a merseyside thang?) well anyway that happened. 
I'm wearing my designer frock (well it was designed by a royal designer so to me its designer) with my new fave bracelet which Yours gave me when I shot for them last week.I can't see it on their site so maybe its discontinued. My lipstick is Papaya Punch by sleek.
So here I am strutting my stuff in Bon Marche's finest and feeling rather lovely indeed. Will this review make you give BM a second look?

Limited Edition Killer Curves Tee Shirts Now On Sale

My brand new Killer Curve tee Shirts cost £12 and are available to buy from here having curves never looked so good!

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Pamper (aka Perelandra Beedles) unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog

Cut For Evans

Cut For Evans-Bold designs for edgy fatties

Over the last week the plus size blogasphere has been buzzing like a jar full of bees about  the new range launched by Evans.

Called 'Cut for Evans' words like "edgy' "the future of plus size fashion" and "groundbreaking have been bandied around and at first glance the collection does seem quite exciting. 
Perhaps unsurprisingly its been a bit of a divider with some rather heated debates taking place on the Evan's Facebook page about whether this collection is "flattering" for fatties. You know my feelings on this subject. After all I did coin the hastag #f**kflattering and I think its quite exciting to see such in your face prints dominate an entire capsule range. 

F**k Flattering this stuff looks exciting

The roots of this collection are quite inspiring. Evans launched a competition last year for students from Bournemouth and Kingston Universities, known for their strong print and knitwear design divisions, and the prize was to to see their designs launched online and at Evans' flagship store.

The winners were Alice farrow who has designed some very bold contemporary prints and Rebecca Partington who has definitely thought outside the box with her knitwear.

The collection

I was invited to the launch of the collection at Evan's Marble Arch flagship store but Virgin Rail and the recent storms we have been having saw fit to scupper my plans but from the snaps I've seen of the event and subsequent media coverage  its definitely a brave design move from Evans.

On the rails at Marble Arch
(photo by Katie G)

My favourite pieces are without a doubt the yellow scuba cut out shift dress and the bright  long line tunic and matching skirt.
I'm yet to get my hands on any of the collection  (watch this space) but as I always turn to my fave trusty plus size blogger babes to see how things will look here are some of the pieces as seen on the tinterweb over the last few weeks.

Looking amazing but how does it translate off the manequin?

Cass from one of my fave blogs Plump Parsnip did a fab review of quite a few pieces. I particularly loved her in the blue print jersey shirt £39.50  and blue abstract tapered trousers £39.50 I think Cass looks like Rachel from Blade Runner reimagind by Klimt. I'm so in love with her in this outfit its insane.

Cass Plump parsnip-owning this outfit

 Georgina from Fullerfigurefullerbust and Mel from Under the sea both tried on some of the collection at the launch night. I'm loving the colour clash of the pink and green midi tube skirt £28 and shirt Georgina is wearing. Its cute and fun but sexy too. 

Mel has zeroed in on my two fave pieces and its good to see how it works on her shape as its very similar to mine. 

(photo courtesy of Debz from Imawannabeprincess)

 

The fabulous Danielle Vanier reviewed my top pick the Yellow scuba dress  which is £45. I loved how this looks on her.The purple Sleek lippy matches the purple in her dress perfectly. This is probably similar to how I would style this. Black tights and flats. Its really lovely.I was worried this might look shapeless on but as you can see on Danielle it does cling slightly to the waist which is great. 

Dan Van taking scuba to a whole new level

 Callie from From the corners of the curve looks completely fierce in the tunic dress £49.50 I am so inspired by her eighties take on this tunic and think putting it with sneakers is so stylish.This picture of her has made me want to buy this. Simples.

 

Here is Debz from Imawannabeprincess rocking the knitwear. This abstract print bolero £45 is definitely a bold print but I am weirdly drawn to it, especially seeing it worn under black. I'm not mad on the high fastening as this does make cardigans on ladies blessed with big banger's fan out in a triangle but the pop art print is quirky cool.

Katie from Toodaloo Katie also looks great in the tunic dress. This dress is definitely looking to be one of the more wearable pieces from the collection.

Katie G looking very cute in the tunic

So there is the collection. My thoughts, I adore certain pieces and absolutely love Evans for bringing in fresh new designers unafraid to try out bold crazy designs on plus size clothing. I wish more of the pieces were dresses and that the dresses that are there were more fitted. A swing dress in one of these designs would make me weep.Evans tend to favour the tunic style (they did this with the Clemence Rebeiro collection last year (featuring lobsters and lipstick marks) it is a really hard shape to pull off and doesn't look great on me so I tend to belt them in (which covers the print) so I was a little disappointed to see this style prevail again but I'm still delighted to see something unique and quirky available in a plus size on the high street. 

Whats your verdict? Does it tickle your pickle?

Thanks so much for the beautiful bloggers who let me use their photographs. I adore you all.

I've just updated my ebay shop take a look and grab yourself a plus size bargain

Limited Edition Killer Curves Tee Shirts Now On Sale

My brand new Killer Curve tee Shirts cost £12 and are available to buy from here having curves never looked so good!

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Pamper (aka Perelandra Beedles) unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog

Just Blue Betty

Ready for some serious slobbing out

These pictures were taken on my favorite day of the week Saturday. I'm was off with my delightful ball and chain and kinder egg and had nothing planned but relaxing, cooking and pottering around my little hovel.

Cute yes, but also comfy

Serious relaxing demands pretty clothes so I'm wearing a rather fab dress from Just Blue. I don't place much importance on comfort when it comes to clothes (its all about the look of the thing) but this dress is really, really comfortable. Its in a very silky slinky material which feels rather nice against the skin. 

Dress image on website

I'm rather keen on the blue squiggle print and sweetheart neckline, its slightly wench like without me flashing my boobs too much. 

Loving this squiggle print

A sweetheart neckline that isnt too flashy

The dress is cut under the bias and then has  a middle panel to the waist which has buttons on. This is a nice detail but I found the boob material slightly too short so rather than sitting neatly under my boobs it does pull across them. This doesn't ruin the overall look but worth a mention.

All buttoned up

As it would appear I'm incomplete without a cardigan (Its the style Sonny to my fashion Cher) and because its freezing halfway through taking these pictures I put one on.

Cardigan addiction

I rather like these sleeve buttons

I'm wearing this black button up number also by Just Blue. I'm rather partial to the long length and button detail on the cuffs.

The cardigan from the website

And here it is on a middle aged fatty-ta-dah!

Just Blue isn't a plus size range and currently their clothes only go up to a size 18 which is a bit disappointing. I can report that the sizing is fairly generous and if you are between an 18-20 you should fit comfortably in their clothes. I had absolutely no problem with this dress and the cardigan is a size 16. 
I'm not sure if they have any plans to increase the sizing on their range, I hope so as they have a fab dress section and some really cool jackets and coats. Come n Just Blue, the plus size pound is waiting for you, reach out and grab it.
All photos by Nicky Rockets
I've just updated my ebay shop take a look and grab yourself a plus size bargain

Limited Edition Killer Curves Tee Shirts Now On Sale

My brand new Killer Curve tee Shirts cost £12 and are available to buy from here having curves never looked so good!

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Pamper (aka Perelandra Beedles) unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog

Why TOWIE needs to stop fat bashing (and Gemma Collins must play her part)

 

Towies back for a new series and for the same old fat jokes

I watch a lot of low brow TV. It helps me unwind, I need to switch my overactive brain off and semi scripted "reality" shows like Made in Chelsea and Towie are a perfect escape. 
The massive pauses in dialogue (while the hapless "star" try's to remember his or her lines) the endless procession of handbag dogs and the cringey fake social situations which culminate in five people standing in a room whilst listening to  music quiet enough to record dialogue under is to me TV gold. I love it. Or I did.
Last night was the first episode of the new series of TOWIE. It featured new snazzy credits, the promise of some new characters as well as the old faithful. Millions tuned in and I was one of them.
As always with this kind of viewing experience I kept one eye on my twitter timeline. A huge part of watching these sort of productions is a shared piss take with your fellow twitter brethren. Yesterday however it got really ugly.
Gemma Collins one of the shows stars has famously "struggled" with her weight. Beautiful, confident an astute business woman (her clothing line sells on Simply be) her and fellow fatty Arg's relentless pursuit to be slim (and in the language of the show "attractive) has been at the centre of many plot twists and turns. 

Less than five minutes in and we are off

The show is in is 11th series and old ideas are being rehashed, it looks slightly tired and perhaps that's why the stereotyping of Gemma and Arg has been ramped up to eleven.
The show had barely started when we were shown Arg working out without his teeshirt on, watched and teased by his slimmer buffer male counterparts (who were all clothed) Slipping into the role of rotund butt of everyone's jokes with apparent ease this then set the stage for Gemma to come bounding in wearing a bright pink poncho and taking one of the buffer fellas with her to "power walk"
What ensued was much "hilarity" as the less interesting (but thinner) characters laughed and pointed as they sat sipping their cappuccinos in a cafe with not a hair out of place "whats she like" cackled Jess Wright. I don't know Jess what is she like? Like a woman keeping fit?
The subtext was simple. Fat people exercising is funny. Fat women are unattractive. Lets laugh.
Twitter took the bait on its chomping mouth.
A picture of a pink car with the line "Gemma Collins Power walking" quickly began to trend:

 Along with a barrage of hate tweets. Here are just a few

Imagine how good it would be to punch Gemma Collins in the face

you know TOWIE's set up when Gemma walks in the gym

If Gemma and Arg had kids I reckon they'd eat them 

"Gemma Collins is repulsive. Sick in my mouth"

Can't they kill Gemma off. fat bitch"

In a show so based around the notion that looks and money are the key to success it perhaps not surprising it attracts this sort of demographic but what I found really depressing was how complicit Gemma Collins was in this body shaming.

I met Gemma for all of two minutes at the Plus size awards last year. She was beautiful, confident and actually looked much smaller than her on screen persona (which suggests her fellow cast mates are very slim) Im a size 18/20 and here she is next to me.She looked like a curvy Diana Dors.

Gemma Collins with me at the Pus size awards

She wasn't crying about how fat she looked, she was celebrating winning new designer of the year in recognition of her clothing brand. So why then does the Gemma Collins we see on Towie stand at a social event with Arg and laugh hollowly about how they would have "chubby kids" 

It obviously serves the character arc of "sad looser" that's been created for her but it just feeds the notion that fat girls are pigs, alone, unloved, lucky if they will even ever have kids.

The irony of course is that between Gemma's clothing range and Args singing career (he earns an absolute fortune doing PAs and private bookings) these are the only two characters who seem to have carved out anything resembling a career and both do something that would actually be quite interesting to watch. This wont ever happen of course because the slimmer cast members are scripted as "winners" even when all they appear to do is get beauty treatments and sit in jacuzis.

To portray Gemma as anything other than a diet obsessed looser would interfere with the carefully constructed cliches on which the shows success relies. 

Never mind that amongst the milions of viewers tuning in will be lots of impressionable girls who will swallow hook, line and sinker the notion that its probably better to be dead than be fat.

With such a big audience reach wouldn't it be amazing if the producers and Gemma sat down and decided to show the reality. That Gemma is a successful business woman who has no problem attracting friends and lovers (she only recently broke up with her fiance Rami) and that she is one of the real TOWIE success stories.

Now that would be TV worth watching.

I've updated my ebay store-Hop on over and grab yourself a big fat clothing bargain!

Capturing the Curve Workshops

In other body confidence news tickets are now available for my plus size pin up event "Capturing The Curve" on March the 29th in Manchester. A day to revel in your curvy beauty, be made over myself and Lilly Von Pink and have your very own photoshoot in a safe empowering environment-All the details can be found here

Limited Edition Killer Curves Tee Shirts Now On Sale

My brand new Killer Curve tee Shirts cost £12 and are available to buy from here having curves never looked so good!

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Pamper (aka Perelandra Beedles) unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog

He Used To Bring Me Roses

I never promised you a rose garden

One of my favorite dresses of recent times has been an orchid print number by Bon prix. I always get so many compliments when I wear it and its so flattering on.

This dress is such a winner.

So I was really keen to try this floral print skater dress from their new collection as yet again the print made my heart sing.

Come to mama

I love the paneling (such a flattering design detail) and the material is really thick so you don't have to worry about flashing your VPL or showing the outline of your double belly roll.

Loving this dress so much

Its classic skater dress length so hits just past the knee on me but remeber I'm only five foot three (I've teamed it with leggings because its absolutely freezing) and just feels really lovely on.

For a skater dress its not too short which is a blessing-its so cold I don't need a draft up my foo

J'Adore this print

I'm mad about this print. The fact that its in sections means its really wearable and is just as pretty as can be.

Here I am with my bush

A pink Kelly bag-the perfect accessory

I'm shivering in these pictures so you get the full effect of it lusciousness (I'm such a fashion blogger pro  aren't I) but once I had stopped voguing for these pictures I teamed it with a black cardigan and it looked just as awesome.

Its cut under the bias so perfect if you are barrel shaped like me and the sizing's true (Its also got a bit of stretch in it so doesn't nip or pinch under the arms)At £27.99 I think its a bit of a bargain too (which is one of the things I love about Bon prix) so won't leave you eatting doll noodles until payday if you buy it. 
I've teamed it with my "You're the one for me fatty" necklace by Blackheart creatives. I love this and it just seemed to be calling my name when I got dressed this morning.

You're the one for me fatty

Its brass monkeys here on the Wirral but I am feeling that spring may be around the corner so this dress is rather fitting.  

I have been singing "he used to bring me roses" since I put it on which I've now realised was the theme tune to prisoner cell block H-Vinegar Tits!! !
All photos by Nicky Rockets

I've updated my ebay store-Hop on over and grab yourself a big fat clothing bargain!

Capturing the Curve Workshops

In other body confidence news tickets are now available for my plus size pin up event "Capturing The Curve" on March the 29th in Manchester. A day to revel in your curvy beauty, be made over myself and Lilly Von Pink and have your very own photoshoot in a safe empowering environment-All the details can be found here

Limited Edition Killer Curves Tee Shirts Now On Sale

My brand new Killer Curve tee Shirts cost £12 and are available to buy from here having curves never looked so good!

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Pamper (aka Perelandra Beedles) unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog