Cut for Evans

The second Cut for Evans collection has just launched. Working with design students, who were asked to create a 6-piece collection for a plus size woman, the judging panel managed to whittle down the entries to two winners, whose collections are in select stores/online from today.  Eve Turley, a 2nd year BA (Hons) Fashion Design student from Kingston University created a stunning collection of knitwear, taking inspiration from vintage fabrics.  I love the illusion hourglass shapes created by contrast panels and prints.  

Review: AW12 Swan Clements Ribeiro Is Out!

I just posted about the latest Swan Collection by Clements Ribeiro for Evans last week, but now that I've seen the whole collection, I wanted to write another post on it as I'm kinda in love with it. As I noted in my last post, I actually ended up buying most of the debut collection, but I'd say this one has the edge for me and is much more suited to my tastes. I'll start with the dresses (the majority of the range) and again, they all have sleeves (which will please most curvy women) and having not tried them on/seen them in person, I can't tell if the hemlines are much the same as last time (which was quite long) or if there are some slightly shorter ones. The model is most likely tall and not a good indication for us shorter ladies! Possibly my favourite is the Grace lace dress £95. Ok, so I'm not 100% sold on exposed zips, so that would be my only gripe, although I've let my dislike for them slide in the past when I've loved the rest of the dress. I feel a lot of thought has been put into this one. You have the sheer detailing and I love the nude background on the bodice, however it's not got a strappy back where your bra straps will be exposed, it's a decent lining that will cover underwear (which curvier ladies are more than likely going to wear under something like this). The lace pencil skirt is sexy but overall the shape is demure too, so it gets a massive tick from me in all the boxes.

This style is also available in a skirt £55, more images of that later in the post. Next is the Salome print dress £65, which I talked about in my last post. It's made of jersey and I'm pretty psyched to see a print like this used on plus-size clothing, it gives it an edge. However I'm not entirely convinced I would look good in it. I think given it's shape, fabric and colour, I may look like I'm wearing a tent. I'm a busty hourglass and usually require definition around the waist and am not sure how this would look pulled in with a thick belt. One to try I think.

For those not overly keen on printed dresses, this one is a little more subdued. The Doris £65 is a subtle nod to the body-con and eye trickery way of dressing. The contrasting panels draw your eye to a slim, defined waist and away from a large bust, hips or tummy, while the heavy jersey fabric will smooth in all the right places. You'd get a lot of wear out of this one.

As you would with the Debra peplum number £75 below. Personally I'm a little over peplums (did we not just have that trend resurface a few years ago?), but this one is pretty nifty as with the addition of a skinny belt to the waist, it would look like a peplum top and pencil skirt, which would usually be a little tricky/uncomfortable for fuller figured ladies to pull off, but not so in dress-form. Did I mention it's plain black? Can't really go wrong with that can you?

The 21 dress is back (£75)! This time in a satin type fabric with the same black lace inserts but a much happier, brighter print in my opinion. I like the colours in this one and could definitely see myself in it.

Speaking of pretty colours and prints, I'm in love with this pansy one on the Betty dress £75 (another restyle). I would wear this to death, with bare legs, dark tights, contrast tights, anything! This is one I definitely want.

Celia £75 is another gal I'd get loads of wear out of. I love the little sleeves in this one and there's lace inserts on the shoulders which is a cute touch and again has thought, because it's not in the bra strap area. I'm not totally keen on the lurex threading throughout it, I personally don't think it needs it, yet I doubt it would stop me purchasing it.

I love the artsy feel of this large floral print Djellaba dress £75, but again with the loose shape, I'm not sure it would suit me. I also would prefer a collar, rather than the Grandad-style neckline (although I'd probably undo the top set of buttons to get past that), again it's just a personal thing that doesn't look right on me. Nice colour though.

Finally, this monochrome Kimono dress £65 would be very versatile, it would look great with bright accessories. It's got shorter sleeves and goes into dual sizing beyond a 20 as it has a bit of stretch to it.

Onto tops and I'm absolutely loving these looks. As I mentioned above the necklines aren't right up my street, but I just want to try it, because it looks so fabulous here. The metallic top is called Kimmy £55 and the printed is Lou Lou £60. Nice detailing with the lace inserts at the elbows.

Both are worn with the gorgeous grace lace skirt I mentioned earlier and the ultra-cool burgundy and black buckle belts £15 each, from this collection. I love this style of belt and had a hard time tracking one down that fitted after my trusty old one broke. These have an elasticated back and come in sizes S/M or M/L.

There's also a jersey tunic top Tonic £40, which doesn't look particularly interesting here. I suppose if you styled it like the other two, it would instantly make it more appealing.

There's another printed top Mimosa £45, which is dual sized beyond a 20 and it matches perfectly with the Mimosa trousers also £45, to make a jumpsuit. It's not a look for everyone as it could resemble PJ's which by coincidence is kinda popular right now. I actually think it looks alright here with the belt.

There's another pair of trousers £45, in the lovely pansy print, which you could wear with the plain tops or clashed with one of the prints as shown here.

Finally there are two cardigans in the collection. Personally I love a good cardi! The embellished corsage cardigan £65 with lined body is totally the type I would wear, although that colour has a tendency to not do very much for me!

The colour block clover cardi £55 doesn't have as fitted sleeves as I'd like and maybe generally isn't as fitted as I'd like, so I'd probably size down with this one. Those smaller than a size 14 would perhaps love this as a boyfriend cardi, designed to be worn loose. Both cardigans are dual sized past a 20.

The collection for me, all ties in really well together but still with room for interpretation. There's been a great deal of thought put into the fabrics and shapes, but it's not entirely 'safe', which is what I'm pushing for in plus-size ranges but is rare to find.  I'm finding myself both drawn to items that I know will suit me and those that I would perhaps desire to dabble in. Remember there's still another collection to come before Christmas, but is there anything taking your fancy here?

Evans: Swan By Clements Ribeiro AW12

One week to go ladies until the second Swan collection by Clements Ribeiro hits Evans! I ended up ordering loads of dresses from the first collection, much more than I imagined! Mostly I found them to be super generous in size, always taking at least one size down (in some cases 2 or 3)! I loved the bright colours and prints and my favourite had to be the purple pansy Peggy dress. The bright shades were just spot on for my colouring (and new hair colour) and it's just one of those 'feel good' dresses for me. Plus I own a ton of shoes that will look good with it!

The Frida dress swamped me, but boosted my ego when I returned several and kept the 14! Had they made a size 12, I'd have even tried that, but alas it's one of those 'chuck it on with anything and out the door' dresses!

The Nancy maxi dress was a little different for me, in that it has a relatively straight skirt and is very 'covered up'. All the dresses contained sleeves and I'm not huge on sleeves. Whilst I like them as opposed to sleeveless-armholes which always gape and show my underwear (the perils of having to size up to contain big boobies), I always feel a little drowned in sleeves and think I look frumpy or uncomfortable in them. On this dress though they were sheer and elasticated at the cuff, so I didn't feel forced to wear them full length. This dress has a beautiful neckline and although I wouldn't have paid full price for it, again it's an easy to wear/throw it on dress.

Finally the last one that I've already shown you on The Shoe Girl Diaries is the blue tulip print and black lace 21 dress. I really wasn't keen on this from the online pictures. It presented itself to me in the sale and I decided to give it a go and again if I remember correctly had to order a couple of sizes to get the fit right. It was actually the smallest or truer fitting of all the dresses I tried (I ended up going for the 18). I really fell in love with it though when I tried it on. It smooths out my bust and the black lace versus the blue/red/white print which I expected to hate, I actually rather like.

The hemlines of almost all the dresses from the first collection were rather modest, which may please or annoy people. Actually I ended up sending back the mint wrap dress because I looked like I was trying on my Mummy's clothes! It was bordering on ankle length (and not in a good way) and unfortunately with the contrasting band around the hem, all that would've been lost had I taken it up (and it seemed like to much hassle to take the band off and rearrange it). I own the red Joan dress with embellished shoulder detail, along with it's turquoise and orange printed sister. The first one I bought is the heart print Betty (a huge favourite), but I'm maybe going to dabble with the sleeves in all of these as they are a little large for me hence the reason I haven't worn them yet. I've mentioned my likes and dislikes of sleeves (and forgot to add, it's great not being forced to wear a cardigan when you have dress sleeves), but I know many plus size and/or older ladies absolutely heart sleeves. They think there isn't enough sleeved choices out there and so they will be championing this collection. I'm not sure how this second collection will fit, but I would imagine much the same as the first.  The items I was gutted I didn't get the first time were the heart cardigan and the black broderie anglaise Betty dress, but perhaps my wardrobe can't take much more anyway!

The second collection is not as bright as the last (as you'd expect for AW), but still has a plethora of prints to choose from including a 'Salome' Aubrey Beardsley inspired one which actually reminds me of the SS08 Prada fairy collection, plus pansies and tulips are back again. Evans say, "taking last season’s Swan to another level, dresses and sophisticated separates remain at the core of the collection with an emphasis on autumnal colours such as oxblood red, tan, cobalt blue, dark violet and black". Commenting on the collaboration, Inacio Ribeiro says, "It has been a pleasure to work on this pioneering project. With this second collection, we gained a lot more confidence….and designs are more sophisticated in order to give the curvy girl beautiful clothes which are relevant to this season’s trends".

There was a blogger preview event this week which unfortunately I didn't attend (I couldn't afford a trip to London even if I had been asked), so those bloggers will be posting more detailed snaps of the coming collection soon.  I've seen some already (also check out the Evans blog and Facebook page) and there's a couple of interesting items that I may just stalk!  And what’s more, nearer to Christmas another phase will be dropping just in time to get your wardrobe ready for the party season! Will you be checking this collection out come September 1st?

Image Evans, prices to range from £15 to £125, sizes 14-32.  

Clements Ribeiro for Evans

I realise this post is more than a little after-the-fact, but I'd collected all the images together at the time and have never had a spare minute to put the post together. Seeing as most of the items are still in stock and there's a few offers on just now, it seemed worth mentioning. There's up to 30% off until tonight (it was 20% off the CR stuff I looked at), plus I managed to use a further 20% off code I had (you can google and find several), along with a free delivery code!

The Clements Ribeiro 'Swan' collection for Evans launched last month and I think I'm correct in saying it's the first 'real' designer/high-street collaboration aimed at plus-size women. H&M in particular have collaborated with so many designers now, but more often than not anyone over a 16 or 18 doesn't get a look in, so I think a range for size 14-32 ladies is long overdue! People seem to get hyper-critical when it comes to anything plus-sized or weight related and while I wasn't obsessed with this collection, I did think it was rather lovely and am overjoyed that it's available to curvier women.

I have to admit to not purchasing from Evans all that frequently though for a variety of reasons. My nearest store has a very poor range so I'm confined to shopping online, I can still fit into it's trendier (or at least more 'me') sister store, Dorothy Perkins and/or other brands such as ASOS, Primark, New Look etc (which I know not every plus-size woman can) and generally I don't find all that much I like at Evans. I think there's a lot of pressure on Evans to deliver, but that's because women over a certain size simply don't have any other options. We can't make our virtual shopping list and trawl every high-street store looking for what we need because we literally need to find everything in this one store and if it doesn't deliver, we're screwed! I think Evans need to cash-in on this and develop more of a variety within their own range and their collaborations. They have to remember they're targeting all plus-sized women of every age and shape. Someone who is 5ft and hip-heavy is probably looking for something different from the 6ft well-rounded girl and the top heavy 55 year old woman. Like any other woman we are all different shapes with different needs and a "one plus-size fits all" approach simply doesn't work! Personally I'm a busty hourglass, always looking for dresses, vintage styling in kooky/kitsch prints and something generally quite 'young' and I think they're lacking that. Someone else might be more of a jeans and tee girl, some might be older and prefer more coverage, sleeves, longer hemlines etc and some might fancy a younger range with shorter hemlines and more trend-led pieces. So, I think that although it's a lot to cater for, it's definitely something they could improve on. Anyhow, long story short, this collection did appeal to me more than the usual Evans range.

What I loved was the range of colours and prints. I've tried to put these images together with samples of the print and isn't there a lot to choose from? I like that it was bold without being garish, a celebration of curves and an "I'm not hiding just because I'm fat" approach. After-all why should we? In fact I probably wear more prints and colours now than (my pretty much entirely black wardrobe of) my skinny teens and early 20's.

The cuts of the garments are apparently particularly flattering which is what I would expect from a designer range. For me the prices were a bit steep. I know it's a 'designer' range but given the vast volume of clothes in my wardrobe, I simply can't justify spending upwards of £50 on one dress and certainly not £90. The other day they emailed saying there was 'up to' 30% off the website and I thought it was a 1-day only deal and had missed it (researched what I wanted in the morning then forgot all about it), but when they emailed again to say it was the last day today, I realised I had a second chance to try a couple of things. I'd had two dresses in particular in mind and both were available in limited sizes (actually one wasn't available in my size the other day, so I was lucky to find it today). I've ordered 18's in both (because they didn't have 20's), so I'm hoping they may be generous and fit! I got the Betty heart print dress and purple pansy 'Peggy' dress. There's a few more I love, the black broderie anglaise 'Betty', the printed and red 'Joan' dresses and the heart cardigan, but alas funds were already stretched for these two! I went with those that I figured I would get most wear of.  All in all, it's a good wee collection and I'm pleased to hear there are at least two more collections from the design duo due.  Is there anything you fancy here?

Video: Animal Ring Collection Pt.1

...and this is the first part of the animal rings videos, containing lots of different brands. I speak for a few seconds at the start then there's no sound and hopefully it won't have any blocking issues for anyone without the music. Enjoy!

Hello!

Hi honey-pies, how are you all? I've been AWOL these past couple of days I know...I've just been feeling a little stressed (brought on myself). I know most people will wonder how I can possibly get stressed seeing as I don't have all that much going on in my life-but I've just been procrastinating about doing stuff, rather than getting it done. I've been more tired than normal lately too, so it's taken more of an effort to get anything done. That said, it's nothing major, I'm just going to have to start making lists (uh-oh the dreaded list making) to get things done, not for the "seeing what you've achieved" and all that bull, but just to keep me on track. Anyway, there's so many posts I've wanted to write and just never find time or feel motivated enough to do-so I'm going to try and catch up this weekend (I have 3 The Shoe Girl Diaries posts to make too). Here's a pic of me-just to fill the gap seeing as Blogger still haven't rectified the spacing issue!
It was my little sisters b'day yesterday (29, scary) and I've been looking after my little nephews so haven't really had time to do anything other than check emails (which I have a ton of), so I do have some excuses. Can you believe my oldest nephew (4) said yesterday "Aunt Gemma is so old she should probably be dead...like Great Granny"? In a way it was cute that he remembers my Granny, in another way I almost smacked him-cheeky little brat. This came right before he told his little brother to "put away Aunt Gemmas broomstick" referring to my walking stick! What pleasant little boys I have eh?! Anyway, as way of compensation for my lame post making, here are some discount codes and things that are floating around...

River Island-you won't believe this, have an extra 50% off sale items for a limited time, an EXTRA 50% off! Thankfully the stuff I bought last week has sold out anyway so I've not made a loss there, but I re-ordered those gold shoes I sent back ages ago (a size bigger this time obvi) and also got these green ones too (thought they were a similar shape, so ordered the 6 as well) plus a whole load of other things I don't really need but they were like £2 or £3 and I couldn't resist!! Unfortunately they didn't have the bags I liked...

Barry M 10% off all orders until midnight Sunday. New products include Peach Melba and Blue Moon nail polish, Wink felt pen style liner (kinda craving this) and remember there's three new shades of Instant Nail Effects, see pic for details.
BeneFit-free delivery on all orders throughout April, no code required. New skincare range available now.
Eyeko-free 'Line & Shine' pencil in Pop Star when you spend £15 with code E11752.
E.L.F. free shipping and Mauve Luxe gloss see pic for more info.
Evans £10 off when you spend £60 or more online, code SAVE10. Valid until Friday 25th April.

Cocktail Cosmetics-free UK and standard airmail shipping. International Signed For will also benefit from the same discount of £3.25. Just use the code SHIPPING at the checkout. Offer is valid until the 17th April.

Miss Selfridge-free delivery when you spend £40, code SUMMERSTYLE.

MAC-free badge set when you buy any item from the Quite Cute collection online (plus free delivery with code survey9 no minimum spend).
Estee Lauder-free concealer and mascara duo with every foundation purchase online, plus free delivery over £60 and 2 samples with every order.
Dorothy Perkins-25% off everything until midnight Sunday with code DPVIPD.