#StyleHasNoSize Event with Evans

Good morning everyone!
So last week I was invited to attend Evan's #StyleHasNoSize event in London at the Sanderson Hotel. It was a lovely evening of catching up with lots of bloggers and the Evans crew as well as a nail bar and of course photo booth.

I was rushing over from work so thought I would put on one of my new favourite dresses from Scarlett and Jo at Evans, which was designed for the gorgeous Hollie from Pretty Big Butterflies.
It's sassy red number in a soft fabric with a beautiful fan print all over.

I don't know how or why but it just fits like a dream - it hits and hugs in the right places and is so comfortable to wear. Much like my other tea dress that I review eons ago here, it will be one of my favourites in my closet now. Sadly it's no longer available online :(.

I ran into so many lovely people who I haven't seen in a while and it was a great way to celebrate Evans' new future with the release of their Design Collective range. I can't wait to see all the new stuff from the catwalk that is trickling in over the next couple weeks - stay tuned for my wish list.

 I had a quick chat with the beautiful Rosie and Isha and then tested out the Photo Booth where I made myself look a bit silly - but all in the name of fashion, of course. Here I am wight he beautiful Lorna and then I did a vain set of just me below.

Evans will be selling their #StyleHasNoSize t shirts from the month of June with profits going to the Rainbow Trust Charity so keep your eyes peeled and pick one up for a good cause.

Thanks Evans for hosting a lovely party! I had a great evening and am excited to see everything going forward!

New Collections: Cut for Evans

Hello!

So even though I missed the launch for Cut for Evans, I still wanted to check out the collection myself in person to see what is was all about. If I 'm honest, when I first saw the collections I wasn't all that jazzed about it. I like that they are stepping out of the box, giving a young designer a chance and doing something different, so their heart is in the right place, but it really isn't me. I have found that overall 

Evans has improved a lot in the last couple of years, but there is still work to be done.

Anyways, my first impression once in the store was that it was nice to see bright colours, but wasn't sure if maybe it was a little too much. 

I also found it odd that some of the pieces are clearly designed for warm weather and others for cold - a bit random, although I suppose appropriate given the weather we have been having. The tops, skirts, trousers and jumpsuit are all thin and light where as the cardigans and knit dress feel double lined and thick.

I decided that regardless of what I thought on the outside I should check out the fit, even if some of it was beyond what I would usually pick up. I can appreciate perhaps wearing a top with a pair of jeans, but never together, it feels like too much. I wanted to see what the yellow patterned dress fit like as the material was stretchy and soft but also a bit like light scuba fabric.

It's a cute cut, but for someone bigger busted like me, the neckline isn't great and feels a bit too close - I think it makes me look squished in on the top. I also never wear yellow- but that's a personal thing as I just don't like the way it makes my skin look. I did love the little slash at the top left shoulder though - very cool.

Although, jumpsuits aren't really my thing, I recently got one from Asos (well they are dungarees, but similar type of thing really), that I love so I am giving them another chance. I can't begin to imagine where or why I would wear this. The colours are just ridiculous. I thought about sizing up but the legs would be too long so I can't. Overall it was just not a good look for me.

 Here's a little side pic of it in all it's bad fit glory.

I did like the knit dress and though it was quite cool looking but then also thought that if I was looking for this style of dress/tunic I could probably do better.

So there you have it. I don't want this post to be another bad mouth about Evans because that's not my intention. From my point of view, they sometimes go overboard and miss out on great opportunities. At the moment, the Live Unlimited and Collection range have some great pieces and of course Scarlett & Jo has the most beautiful dresses so why can't Evans stick to what works in that sense? I love that they step out of the box and do something different and involving fashion students is the greatest idea but in this case I think it was missing direction. 

Maybe it's time they did a blogger collection?

I'd love to hear your thoughts… tell me all.

xxToodalooKatie

Event: Anna Scholz for Simply Be

Hello everyone!

So I have been meaning to blog this for about 2 weeks now and just couldn't find the time, but as many others did, I attended an evening at Anna Scholz to see the new collection she has done for Simply Be. I was really excited as I have literally been drooling over the lime and black lace lingerie since I first saw the video at Plus London. 

I love how mixed the styles are with plenty of colour and cuts - truly an Anna Scholz collection!

I had the pleasure of spending my time with so many lovely ladies - check them out in these action shots below:

My absolute favourite piece was this incredible PU Leather jacket  with embroidery - I cannot wait to get my hands on this so I can wear it all the time. (Pardon my clashing shirt.)

It was such a lovely evening full of laughter and excellent style. Thank you Anna Scholz for having us all! And now a little candid shot of Anna's dog Frida… what a darling.

XXToodalooKatie

FTF Blog Event 4/6: Who I am

Hiya!

I am so excited to be participating in a blog event, this will be my first when it comes to online events, and I think it's a really fantastic idea. There is a theme, and this time around it is  United Nations (Contra Unus) and a telling of how where you come from influences you. What I like best about this event is that each person interprets the theme as they like.  I have decided to do photo collages that I think sum up a lot about me.

I encourage you to check out Full Time Fabulous to see all the other entries and to read  the blog!

Here is my entry:

Let me introduce myself for those who don't know me already. I am Canadian, from Toronto actually, living in Paris but soon moving to London. I have the travel bug, I can't stay put. While I am in Europe, I am like a sponge, trying to absorb all the culture and experiences that I can. Paris is know for "la mode" and I took that to heart, and am now more of a fashion addict than I was when I was back in Canada. I am Canadian at heart, sporting my stereotypical plaid shirts on a weekly basis, saying sorry to everyone, often for things I haven't done, and I am proud to say that I speak both national languages, English and French. The more I am away from home, the more I learn to appreciate it and to be thankful for all the wonderful things I have there.

(This little photos collage above shows 4 outfits of the day posted in the past on my blog and how many kilometers I am away from home at the moment based on what is calculated from the Eiffel Tower.)

A silly Facebook application told me that I have visited somewhere upwards of 9% of the globe, and I am looking to send that number into the double digits, and maybe one day hit 100%.

For now I go where I can, when I can.

(My little photo collage above shows me lying over a waterfall in Laos, lanterns in South Korea, The Great Wall of China, and a beautiful secluded beach in Thailand)

I truly believe that who you are and how you are is the product of what you have experienced. I like to think that we can all be humbled by something no matter how we grew up or what privileges we have been given. As a Canadian, I feel privileged to have an open door to almost anywhere in the world and am often welcomed with open arms. My dad has spent my entire life traveling back and forth from Asia, mostly China and Taiwan, and I think his tales of abroad are what shaped and developed my enormous curiosity for the world away. From my travels, I have always been able to find a common thing with someone I have met on the road, proving to me that we truly are all the same in some way and that our experiences shape us and mold us into who we are.

 

I would like to say a big thanks to Full Time Fabulous for creating this event! This post was really fun to create and I look forward to doing the next one!

Thanks for reading and come back soon!

xo CurvyKatie

 

 

 

For Japan with love: Bloggers day of silence

I'm sure that everyone has been following what's been going on in Japan and perhaps you are wondering what you can do to help. I think when something so sudden happens like this, so many people feel small and as though they cannot make a difference. Sending donations to Japan is a great thing to do if you are able and be sure to visit the For Japan With Love website to get more information and make a donation. www.forjapanwithlove.com

If you are unable to make a donation for any reason I think it's important to show Japan that we are there as a support and as a group, standing together to help find solutions and re-build their lives. On March 18th, many bloggers are taking a day of silence to show our support and let Japan know that we are here and keeping them in our thoughts. If you have a blog please either re-post or create a new post when you have a moment to share this with others and to encourage those who can to donate.

Simply Be contest from Blog to be Alive!!!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share with you this wicked contest that Valerie from Blog to be Alive is having.  Go to her blog to enter to win £100 of goodies of your choice from Simply Be (UK)!!!

xo Curvy Katie

The Photos are up!!! Plus London!!!

I just arrived home from a busy fun filled weekend of snowboarding in the French Alps ( I know, how fancy!) to find that the photos from Plus London taken by The Second Floor studio and Fashion Loves Photos have been put up! They are wonderful photos and I think they really capture how great everyone was feeling that evening. It's nice to see so many dressed up smiles in one room!  Here are a few of my favourite shots- and to see the entire set click here.

Here I am trying out my new must have item from the Anna Scholz collection

Gaelle (Les Pitreries de Vanoue) and I looking oh so serious.

Diane (Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too!) and I doing our best blogger pose!

Daphne looking radiant as per usual!

I love this picture of Valerie (Blog to Be Alive), absolutely gorgeous!

I also absolutely love this photo of Nefferth (Modeplus). Stunning!

 

Be sure to check out the album as there are tons of super fun shots and everyone looks amazing! Thanks again to the wonderful photographers!!!

 

xo CurvyKatie

Plus London Blogger Meet-up: What a weekend!!!

Hello my lovelies!

I am so excited to finally bring you a little wrap up of my amazing weekend in London. I'm not sure I can quite capture in words how wonderful and sweet all the other girls at the meet-up were. It felt like walking into a room of people you have known for a lifetime, only most of us had only just met. I have to start by saying an enormous thank you to Lauren from Pocket Rocket Fashion for organizing the event and really pushing for us all to get together as bloggers and readers. It was such an enormous success and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it. With that I will now overwhelm you with photos.

 

After many excited hellos and hugs we spent the entire day shopping!

Carla (from Messy Carla) and I on the left and Diane (from Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too) in her wicked Evans shirt and super red envelope clutch

Below are a few other fun snapshots of the event, it was such a blast! I am rally looking forward to seeing all the fun pictures taken by fashionlovesphotos.

Also be sure to check out these other blogs who have also posted their weekend tales and photos. If I have missed yours (which I no doubt have, as there are so many amazing blogs and bloggers) go ahead and pop it in the comments below to share with everyone! :)

Gaelle: http://lespitreriesdevanoue.blogspot.com/

Diane: http://fatgirlslikeniceclothestoo.wordpress.com/

Valerie: http://blogtobealive.com/

Anika: http://byanika.com/

 

Also, I had a great chat with Cliff, one of the Anna Scholz reps at the reception and he provided me with high res photos of the upcoming collection, so I'll post those this week for you all to see. In the mean time, Anna Scholz is offering all you readers a 10% discount on all purchases from the new Spring/ Summer 2011 collection and sale items for the rest of February. Just enter the code PLUSLONDON in the voucher code box at the checkout.

Since I did little collages on here I have also uploaded all these pictures individually into an album on Facebook. Feel free to tag yourself or anyone else as well as use them for your own blogs. I know many of us have been scrambling to find pictures of ourselves. You can see the album here - and become a fan my page while you are there :)

Once again, I am so happy and feel so lucky to have been able to meet you all this past weekend. I hope to see everyone again soon!

xo Curvy Katie

Sunday:Pret a Porter Paris

This past weekend I was invited to attend the Pret a Porter Paris exhibition. The exhibition is an enormous gathering of clothing, shoes, and accessories companies and designers who meet in one place to show off their goods to buyers from stores. Only buyers can place orders, and you can't purchase anything at the show so for the public it's really more of a up to date fashion museum where touching and trying on is discouraged. Despite not being able to buy there were plenty of great designers there to oooh and aww over.

I wore my BigBeauty (For Taillisime/LaRedoute) Smoking blazer, a black short sleeve shirt from Evans, stretch mini skirt from H&M, Spanx tights, New Look black buckle booties and a black LaRedoute handbag.

I was super excited to see one of my newest brand discoveries - Paz Torras. Over the winter break I bought a new winter coat made by Paz Torras and I am in love with it. Once I get my real camera working I will share it with you, I promise. It's hard to tell from my photo, and to be honest I didn't think the display items they had out were enormously exciting but this company really does make beautiful pieces. My winter jacket is so well cut and comfortable. and it flatters my shape. I was hoping to be able to tell you what size they go up to but their site lacks in information. If I come across it, I will update this, but definitely check it out.

The show was lacking in plus size apparel, but I did see some great accessories and leather goods! For some of my favourites, I am going to do specific posts on them so I can actually show you all the neat stuff they have to offer so stay tuned. In the mean time, don't forget, it's the London Plus Blogger meet this Saturday! I can't wait, I am bursting with excitement, it's not even fit. I will have plenty of updates for you soon with photos of the weekend and all that good stuff.

Until then happy weekend everyone!

 

 

London Blogger Meet!

 

I wanted to let you all know about the London Blogger meet up that Lauren from Pocket Rocket Fashion is organizing.  It's going to be a day of shopping, lunching, and amazing fun.

Here are the deets:

Date & Time: Saturday, 05 February 2011 · 12:00 - 23:30

Place: London, England

More information and RSVP: FACEBOOK EVENT & ++LDN 2011 Tumblr

If you are going to be traveling from someplace else in Europe, like me, check out the train tickets now, as there are plenty of sales. Eurostar is offering a there and back price of 88 euros from Paris. It pays to book early so do it!  Also, if you are coming, post of the Facebook event wall to let Valerie know if you need accommodations, as she is looking for deals with hotels and will need numbers.

I hope to see you all there and officially can't wait for February now!

Fashion Blogger Secret Santa!

It finally came! I have been checking my mail everyday in hopes that my little mystery package from it's mystery sender would arrive! When I saw the letter with fancy pink writing on it, I knew my secret santa gift had arrived! I have to send out a huge thank you to Dorothy from Dorothy Dancing for the beautiful silver key pendant necklace she sent me. I wish now that I had taken a picture of it all wrapped up but here it is with the lovely letter it arrived with:

If you don't know DorothyDancing, go take a look, she is fabulous!

To see all the wonderful exchanges that have been happening check out the Fashion Blogger Secret Santa Tumblr

Merci merci merci DorothyDancing! J'adore mon cadeau! Biz

OOTD - Cartel de la Mode Fashion Show!!

I know you are all asking yourself "oh whatever did Katie wear to the fashion show???" because this is clearly important!  Well, I wanted to take this occasion to share with you my new Beth Ditto for Evans dress that I  thought about buying for 3 months before actually doing it. Let me start by telling you that I am so happy that I finally did buy it - because I love it! It has a great fit and looks cute with almost anything - even my battered up old sneakers that I wore that day. I couldn't bare the thought of heels that day as I'd worn a pair of uncomfortable pair of shoes the day before - so I opted for a casual footwear sunday. Anyways, I was ever so fortunate to have a photographer at the show, Jeff Will, take my photo, so I actually have a decent pic of the outfit for you.

Dress - Beth Ditto for Evans

Tights - Spanx - black

Sneakers - I'm not sure, they are old :)

After all my obsessions with the Beth Ditto collection, and the other two pieces I bought, It think this is my favourite!  Let me know what you all think, did you have a favourite piece from her collection, now that you've tried them on and worn them?

UK Plus Size Model Search! Win a trip to the Curvy Revolution in Las Vegas!

Think you have what it takes to be a plus size model? I know that a lot of bloggers and blog readers have been itching for a chance to go to The Curvy Revolution in Las Vegas. It's going to be an amazing event bursting with opportunity and positivity, not to mention a great place to showcase all the amazing plus size fashion around. Now, one lucky candidate will have the chance to go to The Curvy Revolution, happening in February of 2011 and win £500 worth of Evans clothing! Here are the details and below is a little showcase from the  Paris event for the French Candidates! Read the details and be sure to visit the website for Plus Size Tall to see everything they have going on!

Searching for UK's plus size model

Plus-Size-Tall.com's mission is to encourage all initiatives making plus size fashion more visible. This is why the British website Plus-Size-Tall.com has chosen to partner with the American event The Curvy Revolution. There is a whole host of fantastic prizes at stake and the competition kicks off with 15 lucky finalists being kitted out by evans for the catwalk show, to ensure they step out in style.  Each finalist will get to select and keep their outfits each worth over £100.  Following the runway showcase, two runners up will receive £250 of evans vouchers and the lucky winner will receive £500 worth of Evans clothing, a plane trip to Las Vegas and accommodation at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Hotel. She will also take part in the Curvy Revolution official fashion show, modelling on the catwalk amongst some of America's leading plus size models.

How to take part?

Contestants must be women who are UK residents and over 21, wear at least UK size 16 clothing, be at least 5′6″,  be able to walk in heels 3″or higher, and apply online at http://www.plus-size-tall.com/community/model-search .

3 Easy Steps:

1) From November 18th to January 2nd,, the contestants can fill in the online application, sending in photos and explaining why they wish to win the competition. The first decision is down to the other members of the Plus-Size-Tall.com community who will vote for their favourite contestant. Anyone can vote by becoming a member of the Plus-Size-Tall.com community (for free).

2) On January 2nd 2011, the 15 contestants with the most votes will be announced and invited to London to take part in step two.

3) On January 15th 2011, these remaining contestants will face a professional jury in London. The ladies will be asked to walk on a stage and explain why they think they should be the UK's plus size model at the Curvy Revolution. At the end of this session, the jury will pick the final winner.

While all of the preparations were being made for the UK competition, things were well underway in Paris and the top three finalists have been chosen! Unfortunately I couldn't be in attendance on the big day but from what I hear it was quite the event and the finalists did an amazing job! Voting is still underway and you can check out the details and more photos here on the French website Ma Grande Taille.

Daphne

Christiane

Anne-Sophie

Here is a little preview of inside the competition with the jeans and tee showcase. Congratulations and good luck to the top three!

I can't wait to see all the contestants from the UK! To see who is already participating in the competition check out the website Plus-Size-Tall.com

 

Black Friday! Sales sales sales!

Actually I don't think it has been a week, more like a month of what feels like constant news and excitement all over twitter and facebook about fashion shows, models, plus size wonderfullness, and of course most recently Black Friday prep. I think this is probably the one weekend a year that I wish I was in the states. I would really love to see all those nutty shoppers out there jumping over one and other to get the best deal on something. I can't deny though, that the Black Friday sales online are making me all excited... the possibility of being able to get my hands on something I might not have been able to afford before is so delightful! I also love that retailers across the board, USA or not are participating in the sales, making it fun for everyone.

Currently on my need list are a new pair of black boots, as my last pair gave up on me when the heel just broke apart. A new pair of dark denim jeans, something that actually fits, and could be dressed up or down and a couple new comfy mini skirts, as I wear them almost every day. Now to begin hunting...

Plenty of places are doing the sales as I'm sure you've all been getting emails about them lately, but today I am going to give a huge shout out to a site and store that is based out of Toronto, the motherland... well for me at least! I will be heading back to Toronto for a visit in about 3 weeks and I can't tell you how excited I will be to be back in my city.



If you don't already know Lola and Gigi, they are a Toronto based store that sells amazing clothing sizes 12 to 24 (Canadian/USA) from a really stylish and perfected list of designers and companies like Anna Scholz and Igigi. I think it's safe to say that with a pickings being a little generic sometimes in Canada for us curvy girls, Lola and Gigi is our connection to the wicked styles in Europe and the UK, and gets us connected with some great local designers too within Canada. Does it get any better than that? Me thinks not.

Tdot represent. :)

Let the shopping begin ladies!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to anyone in the states and stay cool on Black Friday!

P.s Laura, I will be bringing those Laduree delights back to Toronto and coming for a visit!