The Edgar Gomez Collection

The designer is not plus size.  As a lover of fashion, his collection was too beautiful not share.  I was invited to an event for the preview of a collection from Dallas rising star, Edgar Gomez.  He did a perfect job with presentation, ambiance, and his overall collection.  It was just so romantic, flowy, and breath taking.  I loved it!!!  Is there a chance of him creating  plus sizes?  I actually probed his bestie, a plus size gal, for the answer.  Unfortunately, no he doesn't.  I would love one of his peplum tops.  

Outfit Logistics:  Top - Forever21 $20, Skirt - JIBRI, Necklace - Archive Dallas $30 , Shoes - Payless $20, Clutch - DIY Raven $35

 Fashion Folk & Twitter Buddies:  Uel & Jeremy 

Designer to Watch: SK WiLBUR

Yesterday plus size designer, SK WiLBUR, released this fabulous editorial photo of his upcoming Fall 2012 Collection.   For those of you who don't know this designer actually released a line before, but took a small break to regroup, refocus, and come back more fabulous than ever!  Do I see a studded sleeve fuchsia dress!?!? LOVE! That fabulously tailored gray dress should not be overlooked  either.  I love the touch of fur!  The designer himself makes an appearance in this adorable ad as well. 

Photography: Rebecca Rodriguez

Where you can you find Wilbur and all his fabulous plus size clothing?  Check him out at http://www.skwilbur.com/.  Now I just have to sit on pins and needles until fall comes.  This is one of the best teasers I've ever seen.  Okay Wilbur, I've taken the bait...and I want more!

I would love to hear what you think so far?

Clements Ribeiro Plus Size Collection for Evans

I can't believe Dallas has had some day where I can logically wear my new spring coat.   I thought I was going to have to wait until next year to whip out this Clements Ribeiro for Evans piece.  This coat gave me the perfect opportunity to switch things up with this skirt, a  previously worn piece.  I love the combination of these three prints.  It's so fun!  

Some of you may be wondering about the Clements Ribeiro Plus Size Collection for Evans.  I have to be honest, I had never heard of this designer before Evans put out the line.  I must say I could see myself buying almost every piece.   I actually bought two items, this coat and this dress.  I decided to keep the coat.  It is so hard to find a fabulous plus size spring coat. The definitely coat gave me a Carrie Bradshaw feel.  Her coats so effortlessly stepped up her outfits.  Anyways, the fabric was lovely and the weight of the coat was just perfect for those chillier spring days.  I will say the dress I bought and returned was cut extremely straight.  It was a beautiful dress and I would have loved to try a different size, but Evans doesn't have free shipping or free returns.  That was a turn off for me.  I suggest if you order, order one size up and be prepared to get it tailored if you have a curvier body type.  For you straighter gals this may be the perfect fit for you.  I didn't hear a lot of hype around this collection, I am thinking it was because of the price points.  This line was a bit more expensive than the regular Evans clothing.  I thought the clothes were well worth the price though.  From what I saw, the clothing matches the pricing.  

Outfit Logistics:  Top - Old Navy $25, Skirt - Asos $44 (sold out), Spring Coat - Evans Clements Ribeiro Collection $165, Necklace - Liz Claiborne $15  (super old), Belt - Michael Kors $42, Shoes - Nordstrom Rack $35

Your question are coming left and right and I love it! To help with your shapewear questions I will start to post the under garment I am wearing with the current outfit.     What am I wearing underneath this ensemble?  See this Spanx High Waisted Shaper in Plus Sizes.

Have any of you picked up a piece from the Clements Ribeiro Collection for Evans?

Handle with Care

I have gotten a lot of emails, comments, & tweets saying that you ladies have been investing in your wardrobes, so I wanted to give some pointers on protecting your investments.  As you have heard me say, I have owned some pieces for 5+ years.  When I invest in a piece, I take to the following steps to make sure the garment is maintained over the years. These 6 tips can help you keep investment pieces for as long as you want to have them.  

1.   I do not wash/dry clean an item after every time I wear it.  Now I don't want you to think I'm dirty.  I may wear something 4 - 5 times before having it cleaned.  Let me explain. I wear a shapewear everyday, so generally my bare skin doesn't even tough the garment.  If I don't get any food on my clothes then in my book that dress can be worn again without cleaning.  

2.  I'm careful when I eat.  In the case that I do get food on the garment I spot clean immediately.  Sometimes you can get the food/drink completely out.   Regardless, you don't want that stain to set in.  

3.  Save yourself and get your investment clothes dry cleaned.  I have accidentally washed investment pieces and been devastated when I found them in the dryer.  It's happened 3 times. Two were wool and the other was silk jersey.  Needless to say, all pieces were ruined.  When you wash pieces lose their luster.  With dry cleaning you can keep your items like new.   If if the item was cheap (or made out of a cheap fabric), but I really love the garment I get it dry cleaned.  I know once I wash the item cheaper items you might as well throw it in the trash.  

3.  When I do wash, I wash with Woolite.  I wash things like cardigans and I want to keep the colors vibrant, so I always have a little contain of Woolite around for color guard.  

4.  Take garments to the tailor as needed.  If something needs to be fixed, such as a fallen hem or an open seam then take it to get it fixed before the problem gets worse and more expensive to repair. 

5.   As my mom would say, pick up your clothes off the floor!  Having your nice clothes crumpled on the floor is no way to treat an item you love.  Hang them up.  This will cut down on your ironing time.   

6.  Rotate!  I keep garments in constant rotation.  I try not to wear once particular item over and over.  I mix and match different pieces all the time, so that one piece isn't getting too much wear and tear.  This also will allow you to wear a old piece in a new way.  

I hope this was helpful.  

Sidenote:  These are my new babies....LOL.  The shoe gods bestowed upon me a fabulous pair of shoes at the right height, width, and size.  Ask Kiah from the Rez to the City, I did the hammer in the store when I found them.  I like to break out a dance when I get really excited. Again I say, I love Nordstrom Rack for fab size 11 shoes!

Outfit Logistics:  Dress - Lands End $65, Shoes - Nordstrom Rack $70, Belt - Michael Kors via TJMaxx $40, Necklace - H&M $13

Cool Mint

I am loving the mint color trend right now.  Mint is one of those trends that I'm not sure if I will like in a year or so.  With that being said, I am very cheap when it comes to spending money on trends.  I like all trendy items to be $50 & below.  Both items skirt ($53) & Clutch ($7) were right in my price range for the trend.  

Some of you may notice I wear a lot of Michael Kors belts.  I get questions on plus size belt finding all the time, so I decided to clarify the sizing.  I buy an XL in his belts.  My waist is 39 inches, but his belts  should accommodate up to a 45 inch waist.  You don't necessarily have to buy a "plus size" belt.  Try the XL & XXL (when you can find them) - you will be surprised.  Also, the addition of a good quality belt can turn up the "luxe" knob on your entire outfit just by adding this little bit of structure.  To get the best deal on these kind of belts I shop at Off Fifth, Nordstrom Rack, and TJMaxx.  

Outfit Logistics:  Skirt - Asos $54, Belt - Michael Kors (similar) $48, Top - Ruche (similar) $66, Flats - Nordstrom Rack (similar) $90, Clutch - Eentrok via Etsy $7

 Shellac Color Tropix, Lipstick - MAC Pink Nouveau 

Doing Plus Size With My Tailor!

Pinterest is a wonderful thing.  You get to see what everyone else is looking at through a single posted picture.  That is how I came across Thread Over Heels Etsy shop.  This etsy seller sells a lot of vintage pieces in plus sizes.  I haven't seen anything over a size 18, but there are definitely some pieces worth working with, such as the one I recently bought.  Yall know I love all things nautical and I fell in love with this dress immediately.  I would say I probably go to the best tailor in Dallas at Art Custom Tailor (on E. Mockingbird Lane).  This dress was a size 12 petite.  The description said it would best fit a 14/16.  Off the bat for me to even try the dress on I knew the sleeves had to come off, so I removed those myself.  I got it on, but it was way too tight in the bust.  I got my tailor to finish making the dress sleeveless.  I also had him to use the sleeves add some width in the bust area.  It came out perfectly.  I will be taking this dress back though, so he can drop the hem.  This is shorter than I like my dresses to be.  

So how much did this dress project cost?  The dress was $40 and the alterations cost me $29.  It totals $69.  So $70 for what I may call my new favorite summer dress.  For me, it was totally worth it.  

Outfit Logistics:  Dress - $40, Belt - Michael Kors $32 via Off Fifth, Pin - Revente (Dallas) $20, Sunglasses - Ted Lapidus,  Flats - Nordstrom Rack $32, Watch - Michael Kors $250

 I love Pinterest.  I would love to pin with you.  Find me here.  

Easter Sunday Best!

I picked up this dress for this year's Easter Mass.  As I always have since I was a little girl, I always get excited about buying an Easter Dress.  This dress definitely has vintage feel, I even took it one step further and "hot rolled" my hair...LOL.  Also, Mass was beautiful, the choir literally sounded like the angels themselves came down to bless us with a song.  It was enough to get me misty eyed.  Bravo St. Aquineas choir! 

I bought this dress from Ruche.  I think it is a beautiful dress, but there were some bumps in the road with how it was made.  First, the  zipper was horrible.  It was very gritty and not smooth.  Brian had a time getting it up. I'm actually afraid to take it off for fear I wont get the rotten zipper back up in time to go watch Mad Men.  Ahh...the dilemmas of a stylish girl...LOL.   I have a right mind to replace it.  Second, I bought the dress in a 3X, but the dress fits like a 14 or 16 straight size.  It was listed in the straight size section of Ruche, but the waist is 38 inches on this thing, which left me one inch to try and configure myself into.  Ugh!  But other than that, the fabric & length is fabulous.  A beautiful dress indeed.  

I also may need to officially dub Sundays as Mad Men Sundays since I plan on watching the entire season at Angelika Theater.  The awesome thing about this dress is that it does double duty with the Lord and with Mad Men Sundays.  If you have been watching Mad Men, Betty arguably the most stylish girl, has gained a bit of weight.  With this weight, the Mad Men stylist have started to dress her in the "I hate myself" clothes.  There are a few brands (that I will not name, but you know who they are) that associate with the "I hate myself" look, so I  generally wont buy their clothes just on that principle.  The thing is Betty is still probably half my size, but they cloak her in horrid outfits.  Betty could wear the dress I'm wearing with no problem and be fabulous.  Mad Men script writers & stylists I am going to need yall to do better!  Betty doesn't have to dress like she hates herself.  She can wear the same things she was wearing, just in a bigger size.  

Outfit Logistics: Dress - Shop Ruche $124, Shoes - Luchiny $50, Belt - Talbots $16, Necklace - White House Black Market $40 

Leopard & Tornadoes

Thanks to everyone who gave me an "Are you okay?" shout today.   Brian and I are fine.  The tornado hit about 20 minutes away from us.  Funny thing is that even though all the signs were there, I didn't know there was a tornado going on.  I had all the signs:  1. Continuous sirens 2. Daytime Darkness and 3. My dog acting like a crazy person, but with all that I didn't put two and two together until I heard someone talking about it.  I have my slow moments and I'm still not used to Texas Twister weather.  As you can see the tornado did not keep me from getting dressed LOL. 

Anyways, I brought out one of my old favorites and paired it with a new favorite.  I am in love with peplum tops! They are so easy to wear, always figure flattering, and effortlessly chic.  

Outfit Logistics:  Top - Dorothy Perkins $39, Skirt - JIBRI $70 (super old), Flats - Nordstrom Rack , Belt - Michael Kors via Off Fifth, Pin - Vintage $20

Side note:  I'm getting a lot of sizing questions, so I wanted to clarify my sizing at Dorothy Perkins.  I bought the top in a size 20.   I actually should have sized down one, but I was thinking it was going to run small.  I think the size 20 could fit up to a 22.  Also, can I just say that Nordstrom Rack has the most awesome size 11 shoe selection! I love it! They even have some great selections in 12s & 13s.  I go to the one at Park Lane here in Dallas.  I'm not sure if the other locations are as great, but the one at Park Lane is the best. 

I'm Joan tonight!

I figured I would view Mad Men tonight as Joan.  I usually don't give derriere shots, but I thought the back of the dress was so pretty.  It was definitely picture worthy.   Happy watching!

Outfit Logistics:   Dress - Torrid $58, Shoes - Hollywould for Target Gifted, Belt - Michael Kors $35

For those who don't watch Mad Men, Joan is the sultry secretary with the body and ambiance of Marilyn Monroe.