Curvatude in the Stores: Ashley Stewart:

It's been a while since I have done a Curvatude in the Stores post, so when I saw that Ashley Stewart had a ton of new stuff in store, I decided to go have a peek see.

The lighting in the dressing room is very muted so you can't really see in the picture but this dress is all lace with a poly slip liner. I like the gathered waistline and I am definitely considering purchasing it.

Now when I saw this on the rack, I really loved it. The colors are holiday perfect and so different from what I normally wear.

But when I put the skirt on, my glee was a little dashed and I was reminded why I don't wear skirts like this, they make me look way heavier in the waist and hip.

But the faux leather vest is adorable and the shell is a nice gold color and both could add a little something, something to your wardrobe.

And see what I mean about the color of the skirt? It has a very gorgeous goldy brocade feel to it.

I chose to try on this dress because it to has a nice holiday feel to it. It's long and elegant and it would be perfect for any formal occasion.

The sequins are gorgeous and well laid, which is a huge pet peeve for me when stores/brands don't get this right.

Now this red number I really wanted to work because I am going to a red dress party next month and need one. But it fit everywhere except in the bust area.

The layers on it added so much bulk and awkwardness, which is really a shame because this was so close to being a really great dress.

Now this dress (ignore my cream colored bra ;0) is really simple and sexy with sheer mesh inset.

The silver tone beads and embroidery are gorgeous and I would totally rock this dress.

I was a little surprised that they only had two red dresses in stock while I was there. After all, its the holiday season, everyone will rockin red in one way or another.

And another thing about Ashley Stewart is and has always been that they never seem to have all of their available styles on their website (which is why I could only link to a couple of pieces). And while they have gone thru a redesign recently, their site navigation is still too bulky and you have to do too much work to find things or rather to not.

But they did have a few pieces that were more than doable and their sales are on point. Most of the pieces that I tried on were 40% off.

Another Thanksgiving...

Another... (_____________________)...

Hopefully you will fill in the blank with something that thrills your heart and expands your world with joy.

On this Thanksgiving I am grateful for so many things.

In particular, the moments that make up and fuel my everyday life.

Mind you these moments do not always thrill me and some of them downright suck.

But there are so many incredibly life giving moments that I have been blessed with that I would be remiss not to take a moment to say Thank You and I hope that you have plenty of your own that move you to do the same.

I will be spending Thanksgiving very quietly this year, by choice.

Why?

Because simply, its the way that I want it.

I will do a little cooking... tofurky, mac and cheese, dressing, potato salad and whatever else I am in the mood for when I go to the store tonight.

And yes, I wait until the last minute. As much as I abhor crowds for some reason when I go to the grocers the night before Thanksgiving, it doesn't bother me at all.

I guess it's knowing that we all are there for the same purpose, to gather goods to share in love...

So as you spend this Thanksgiving filling in that blank, I hope that it fills you with love and laughter and makes you smile and remember....

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for - Author Unknown

ideeli: Plus Size Perfection Sale

In case you didn't know, ideeli is currently offering a plus size only boutique on their site.

The designers being showcased are Monif C., Adrianna Papell, Donna Ricco New York, Jules, Seven7 and Teez-Her.

They are even selling the Victoria Lace Dress and the Olivia Velvet Dress that I mentioned in my Monif C. interview.

I think that the designers they choose represent a decent variety.

Whether you fashion yourself a hot thang, who rocks leopard, or a more conservative type, ala Adrianna Papell, or a girl who loves her jeans and casual gear, there is something for everyone.

Of course it would not be a plus size anything, if there wasn't a bit of dissension, cattiness, etc going on in the comments.

But I think this is a good first step for ideeli.

The price points are $17 - $129, representing huge savings off on some of the pieces.

I love the items that I have posted here, along with a few others and I am just trying to decide what I want to purchase!!!

So don't you ladies buy out my size before I do!!!! LOL!

Anyway, the powers that be at ideelicommented that they are taking notes, so if you are or are not happy with the selections, let them know and explain why.

Let's hope this is just the beginning and that more of these sales are in the works.

ASOS Curve - Loving and Hating

I tweeted earlier today about my frustration that my last ASOS Curve order had not arrived and got a lot of questions about the clothing and its fit, so I thought I would post me wearing a few more of the pieces.

Along with my disappointment I was also very surprised at what happened with this last order because I have ordered numerous times and received my things two weeks or less.

What I do know is that they recently (after I had placed my order) added a trackable shipping option but that is no consolation to me.

On Oct 18th they sent me an email stating that my order was delayed and they offered me a 10% coupon. On Nov 2nd they sent me an email stating that it had been dispatched. And then nothing until I sent an inquiry about it last week until today, when I sent another email.

They sent me an email stating that it was lost with their courier and they are shipping me one of the five items that I ordered that is still in stock but refunding me for the other four items because they are out of stock.

That blows big time.

I get that international shipping can be problematic but I truly believe that they bit off a bit more than they could chew with their huge US website promotion and lost control of the shipping process.

But anyway, for those of you who asked about sizing, etc, almost everything that I wore during Full Figure Fashion Week(end)™ was from the ASOS Curve line.

Here are three of the pieces. I am a 18/20 normally and leaning more towards a size 20 in these pictures. I ordered all of my pieces in a UK 22 but with their new US site you can order your regular size. I have never had an issue with the sizing. The items that I purchased all fit true to size or even slightly larger, which is not always a bad thing but never too small.

I love this dress. Its very comfortable and fits well  and i always get a lot of compliments when I wear it

I liked this dress. My only issue with it is that because of the material it tended to rise a bit but I was happy with the fit

This is a great fitting dress. Very comfortable and I love anything with ruching. I only wish that I would have had a corset to wear under it to perk up my girls a bit!

So, yes I am disappointed because I had ordered a couple of cute dresses at the most ridiculous sale prices that I now won't get but because they have a lot of pieces that I love, I am possibly willing to give them another try after I check out all the details of their new trackable shipping option.

Chatting Curvatude: Monif C Brings the Heat!

I always love the feminine, elegant styles of the Monif C. line but the latest collection sent me over the top and so I had to connect with the woman behind the brand to find out what were her inspirations for it.

Curvatude: A lot of the pieces like the Alexandra Draped Goddess Dress, has a more form fitted aesthetic as opposed to the somewhat signature Monif C. look of say the classic Marilyn Convertible dress. What was the motivation/inspiration behind this new vibe?

Alexandra Draped Goddess Dress

Monif C.: For the past couple of seasons now, I have really been inspired by some of the more edgier trends like the slimmer skirts, hardware, leather, velvet, and darker jewel tones.

Everyone knows us for our sophisticated flowy styles, but I am so in love with the idea of POWER DRESSING, making a strong statements with these show-stopping styles.

Curvatude: And the textures, from lace to leather and sequins to velvet are so rich, vibrant and sexy. What has the response to the collection been like so far?

Monif C.:The response has been amazing!

We push the envelope every season to give our curvy girls as many fashion forward workable options as possible so I'm really happy the customer has been responsive.

 Curvatude: In recent years, a lot of brands have done the lace dress. You took this new classic and added a really fresh vibe to it. How did that come about?

Victoria Puff Sleeve Lace Dress

Monif C.: Well lace was such a major trend this season, but we wanted to give it a fresh spin.

By adding the bright red under the lace, its makes it a little edgier and sexier, but its still feels appropriate for that fabulous holiday soiree.

Curvatude: And velvet can be iffy sometimes but the embossing makes it sizzle. How did that come about?

Monif C.: I didn’t want to a traditional velvet dress, so when I found this embossed velvet in this rich red and the black, I know I wanted to do a fitted style that would feel slinky and sexy.

I've also loved a lot of the cutouts and mesh inserts we saw in the Fall collection so I added the faux leather insert.

Curvatude: How would you define the woman who wears Monif C.?

Monif C.: The Monif C. woman is confident, happy, and outspoken. She is not waiting to lose 30lbs, but is enjoying life and fashion now.

Curvatude: Do you have plans to open other locations, say in Chicago? We need some Monif C. style here!

Olivia Embossed Velvet Dress

Monif C.: That’s hard to say at this point, the company is growing by leaps and bounds. I think at this point it would be great to find more boutiques in the Midwest to carry the Monif C. line.

Curvatude: What's next, for Monif C., the brand?

Monif C.: We are working on our plus size swimsuit and resort collection that will hit the website at the end of January.

Curvatude: And what about for Monif C., the woman?

Monif C.: I really caught the travel bug this season so I am planning to visit a couple countries in 2011; Australia, Paris, Tokyo, London, and China.

Curvatude: Do you have any shows, etc coming up?

Monif C.: There aren’t any shows coming up in the near future. I pretty much will be working on the resort and spring/summer collections so there's not much time for shows!

Nikita Leather Dress w/ Jersey Back Panel

Monif C.: Thanks for the interview Goody!

Curvatude: Thanks Monif for taking time out of your busy schedule to indulge me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well I don't know about y'all but January won't get here soon enough!

I can not wait to see those collections!

You can shop the Monif C. collection 3 ways: Online, via phone @ 212.842.1641 and in their New York City boutique located at 325 W. 38th Street, Suite 207.

For The Love of Shoes...

So, I finally gave Shoedazzle a try.

A few months back I went thru the motions of completing the Shoedazzle style profile, which they use to get a feel for your style and I got to the part about shoe size and was totally bumbed out to find that they only went up to a size 10.

Well of course I tweeted about it like I do all of my grievances (smile) and they sent me a tweet saying that come Sept they would be offering size 11.

Although it has taken me til now, November to actually check it out for myself, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised.

For one, they presented a nice variety of shoes in my initial "Showroom" which is the gallery of shoes that they select for you based on your profile.

There were boots, flats, dressy heels, casual heels and of course booties.

While I liked the first group, I requested alternates so that I could get an even better feel for what they had in my size.

I ended up getting this open toe bootie, which was one of the selections in my original Showroom.

I really like them. I hate when you buy open toe shoes and your toe slides over the front of the shoe. Thankfully this is not an issue with this bootie.

The faux suede is really soft and the shoe is comfortable on, even for me a very rare skinny heel wearer, (the platform helps a lot). I also like that they send you a bag to store your shoes in.

They also have a section called Dazzleavenue where they offer accessories, jewelry and handbags. I actually purchased a purse with an introduction 50% code they gave me when I signed up before I purchased the booties. (I will review it later).

I also like that they send you reminders that your selection date is approaching so that if you want to skip a month you can.

My only "problem" with Shoedazzle is that I went back into my showroom today and found a couple of shoes that I love that were not there last week!

I know a real problem, more shoes to buy! But I love these! And at just $39.95 with free shipping, I am seriously considering them.

Thinking of getting your Shoedazzle on? Use my invite link and get 20% off your first order plus they will probably offer you some other deal like the 50% off deal on a Dazzleavenue item that I got as a welcome gift.

Friend Friday: Blogger Self Promotion: Shameless or Shameful

This week's Friend Friday delves into the controversial topic of blog self promotion. I say controversial because there is always some drama going on regarding this in one way or another. And so here is my take on it.

1. How do you promote your blog?

I am very laid back when it comes to promoting my blog. To put it simply, more than anything, I tweet. Usually I tweet my posts once unless its something like a giveaway or related to a cause i love like heart disease, then I tweet it more.

I find it a but much when people tweet their blog posts back to back via numerous sources. For one, I believe in spreading things out, so its more beneficial to have something go out every couple of hours or so than five times back to back.

But I also just love connecting with folks and feel that by default it naturally increases the reach and spread of my blog.

It also doesn't hurt to join orgs like IFB, etc and being genuine when I leave comments on other peoples blogs.

I read a lot of blogs and I don't leave comments just to leave them. I only do so when I really have something that I want to say.

My blog entries also autopost to Facebook but I am really not much of a facebooker although I plan to become more active.

2. In your experience what has been the most effective form of self promotion?

Connecting with people is the most effective. I am a very social person I am always out and about and I have gotten to do more things with more people simply because I am very active on twitter. So for me twitter is king and the relationships that you can develop there and take off line have been the best form of self promotion ever.

3. Do you think there is a wrong way to promote yourself and your blog?

To each their own. I don't allow anyone to tell me how to do much of anything, so I am the last person to tell someone what to do with their stuff. But what I would say is to not try to force feed your things to people. Let them get to know you and they will seek out what you bring to the picture.

4. When it comes to others pushing their product what annoys you?

Being obnoxious. One of the things I hate the most is when people tweet or DM me unsolicited links to their whatever. That's like being a sleezy car dealer to me. Don't ask me for something when you haven't even tried to build a relationship of any type with me.

If someone is interested in supporting you or what you have to offer, they will seek it out because they feel a connection to you.


5. In Dressful's post on this topic earlier in the week she said, "It's impossible to respect someone who wants all the attention, but adds nothing worthwhile to the conversation." Do you agree?

I agree to a degree. I think respect is not really the right word for me, as I think some people just don't know all the "rules" of blogging, or the etiquette. So I wouldn't be so extreme as to not respect them but it would make me think twice about them. But there is that blogger who knows the rules and yet still for whatever reason, doesn't even attempt to follow them.

This also applies to people who do not even attempt to respond to the comments you leave on their blogs. For me I blog to connect, to share, so if I leave a comment and you never respond in any way, I assume you are not interested in connecting, so I usually won't visit your blog again.

I tell people all the time that if folks like Chris Brogan who gets hundreds of comments can respond, we lil fashion and beauty bloggers have no excuse.

It's the reason why I use disqus, because it will send me notice of comments and I can post a response via email, so that I can respond because that is important to me.

Til next time!

Friend Friday is the brainchild of Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Join in!

Friend Friday: The Great Unwashed

Welcome to another Saturday version of Friend Friday. This week's topic is one that initially made me go eww...but the more I read into it, I could at least see some of the "logic" of some of the reasons why people are choosing to go this route.

This week we're veering more toward the beauty side of things and talking about the growing trend of going all natural by eliminating shampoos, soaps, deodorant, etc...In case you missed it the NYT over the weekend had an article entitled The Great Unwashed, which is all about this growing trend.


So here goes this week's questions:

1. The move to do away with soap, shampoo and deodorant has been growing in popularity in the last year. What are your thoughts on this trend?

I feel to each their own. While this is not a trend who's bandwagon I will ever jump on because I am a product whore and try as many as I can, I have recently started looking into more green and healthier options.

I recently purchased Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products by Sophie Uliano and it contains a lot of homemade recipes to get your beauty on.

So I am hoping to experiment with some of them but I don't think I will ever be completely natural.

2. Be honest how often do you wash your own hair?

It has varied depending on the length but I can not go without washing my hair at least once a week and in the summer when it's hot and I active, I have to wash it way more. I just recently cut off most of my hair which means I can wash it every day and slick it back and not have to worry about it, whereas before, it would require more work.

3. Have you tried to go the more natural route by forgoing shampoo? What happened? Or would you be tempted to try it?

I have never gone without shampoo. I can't stand smelly hair, or smelly anything for that matter. And naw, it is not something that would tempt me but as I said, I am looking for more natural, homemade ways to beautify but I repeat, that will not include abstaining from shampooing.

Here is a picture of the current shampoos and conditioners I have.

4. What products do you use and have you ever gone with more organic alternatives?

The list of products that I use is ever changing although I have a few favorites that I always keep in the arsenal (see side bar). But I like trying new things and I am really not loyal to any hair products. I do keep Organic root stimulator Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion on hand at all times and even still, I am always using other ones.

I also switch up my deodorant regularly and it was crazy coincidental that I was reading the current Uptown Magazine yesterday and came across and interview of Flex Alexander who was talking about the products that he uses to keep his swagger up.

He said "I'm very conscious of what they put in deodorant. I feel lemon juice does the trick" and I thought well hmmm...maybe I will give that a try, although I am a little hesitant to do so. I just can not take musty smells. I remember being in a class with a guy from France who did not wear deodorant and it used to drive me crazy. He would have on the most impeccable suits and fly shoes and he was smelling like a billy goat. Thankfully he started dating one of the girls in the class who turned him on to the "american way" of masking/controlling natural body odors!

Also, there has been a couple of times where I was rushing and just plain forgot to put deodorant on and thankfully I keep alcohol wipes on hand and they work well to keep the smells under control.

5. What about that daily shower? Would you forgo that opting to shower three times a week instead?

Besides showers, I am always in the bathtub, so basically no, I would not. But I have gone without showering daily and "ho bathing" it before, like recently when the hot water heater was on the fritz in my apartment but it is not something that I would do regularly.

Friend Friday Out!

Join in on the Friend Friday fun brought to you by Katy of Modly Chic!