Quickie! Primark special....

I had a bit of time to myself today - about 20 minutes - between rushing from one appointment to another. So I jumped into Primark. I meant to go and look at the jewellery but just quickly browsed the ladies clothing....found some fab leggings - just plain ones for £3 so I got 3 pairs - pink, blue and green.

Think I must have timed it well as they must have done a restock - usually the size 18s or 20's are gone by the time I got there. I spotted these beautiful purple starry pattern leggings and yes! They had them in my size so into my basket they went. (I actually had to go and get a basket at this point)

And then I wandered over to the dresses.....I have one Primark dress - a maxi - but had never tried on any others. There were 2 lovely dresses I liked - both bird prints (think Claire was in my head) one was in a 20 (the duck one) and one an 18 (the flamingo one). I tried them both on....

 

Hello ducky!

 

Flamingos!

The duck one - the size 20 - was much more comfortable....so into the basket it went!

And then! As I was heading for the checkout I saw this skirt....(again Claire in my head). It's one of the mullet type skirts - longer at the back than the front - which I never really liked until I got my pink ASOS dress which does the same. It's jersey which I love....I'm not sure how to style it - didn't even try it on just chucked it in! But I think I'll wear it! I hope I will....

short at the front....

long at the back....

lovely swallows!

So what do you think of my 20 minute, originally for jewellery (of which I got none), Primarni haul?

OSP Challenge!

And so! My second opportunity to review an item of clothing! The lovely Claire again invited me and four others to review some trousers from OSP - One Stop Plus.

The challenge was to dress them up and down - so a casual look and then a look for evening. And here's how I did!

The trousers are by Ellos and retail at £20.30 and can be seen here I really liked the funky paisley pattern and usually wear leggings with this kind of detail. They're 100% viscose which is comfy and easy to wash and wear. They're crop length which I don't normally choose but for summer would be good.

I chose to pair them with this purple top by M&S for my casual look - this is very much how I'd wear them - I like long floaty tunic tops with leggings and although it was tempting to put them with one of my (many) black tops, I thought a splash of colour would be more interesting!

Top: Marks and Spencer (last summer)

Trousers: Ellos at OSP (gifted by OSP)

Shoes - trusty silver Birkenstocks

And for the evening, dressed up - I chose this sequin vest that I was lucky enough to pick up at a clothes swap (it has no label so I'm afraid I'm not sure where it's from). I do love a sparkly top whenever I can and again, although it's black, it's jazzed up with the sequins! The trousers are definitely more suited for casual - so it was a bit tricky to find a way to make them work for an evening look - I hope you think I managed the challenge!

The main problem I had with these trousers though was the baggy top part. (Which is why I teamed them with a long top at first). You can see with the vest that they're really baggy around my upper thigh. They are described as "Slightly baggy design with wide panel at top" which they are exactly - but while they fit like leggings on the leg, at the waist and stomach area they feel too big. I am a size 20-22 and this is the size of the trousers but they felt too big on top, and yet if I'd sized down, I think they'd be too tight on the leg. They are like a weird combination of harem pants and leggings and it flummoxed me!

As you can see they're REALLY generous at the top. I do love the fabric but the bagginess of the top part puts me off I'm afraid and I wouldn't have bought them myself.

However I do appreciate the opportunity to review them and thank you OSP for giving me my second review!  What do you think? Would you like the looser top and tighter leg combo of these trousers?

Check out how my fellow bloggers have styled theirs:

Claire at Monkey Fatshionista

Wendy at 52-46-54

Kirsty at Fatty Unbound

Gina at Fat Fit Fine

Beth at Pretty in Plus

Joe Browns Challenge for Simply Be!

Ok before I start I'll apologise in advance if this is slightly giddy but I'm very excited by this whole experience. This is the first time ever I've been asked to review an item and I'll admit I was a bit scared. But when the wonderful Claire told me it was for Simply Be, and not only that, for Joe Browns I was very very happy. I love Joe Browns - even before I knew they did a plus range I loved em. Then joy of joys I discover Simply Be's range and I fell in love. Unfortunately it's always been a little bit beyond my unemployed actor/responsible Mum budget.....

So imagine my joy when I got a package with the most beautiful top in it. And as soon as I opened it I knew I'd love it mainly for this reason....

I flipping hate ironing. Never do it. My children often look like ragamuffins and I sometimes look like I slept in my clothes but I literally cannot iron to save my life. So I pulled this out and it was joy to my eyes! The fabric of this top is wonderful - it's designed to be rolled up and scrunched about after washing - perfect in my opinion for a holiday pack - you could wear this on the beach or jazz it up for evening. It's beautiful. It's got SO many jewel toned colours in it - not sure my pictures will do it justice so have a look at it here on Simply Be's website and you can zoom in and really see the patterns. I do love a bit of paisley (showing my age here) as it takes me back to my student days!

So - the challenge - to style it however we wanted - which is a bit scary as I'm still quite new at this. The top arrived on the Jubilee weekend so I had a brainwave - wear it with my mad Primark union jack leggings. I tried it on......

  

And NO....too much pattern! I have decided my signature look is usually mad leggings with tops or tunics but even this was a bit too mad for me. There are so many colours in the top that you could wear so much with it, but it just didn't work with the mishmash of the British flag. So I wore a plain red dress with those on the Jubilee instead.

Take TWO!

I went through all my leggings but none of them worked - and I didn't want to do my usual and pair this gem with black - so I decided to go patriotic - just not so obvious! The jeans are red as you can see and although they aren't the same red hues as are shown in the top, I think they work. Unfortunately, since it's bloomin freezing at the moment, I've had to put a cardy over the top - I do love me a waterfall cardigan!

Top - courtesy of Simply Be

Jeans - Lane Bryant

Cardigan - Tu for Sainsburys

If the sun comes out I will strip the cardy off! This is really flattering, really comfy and utterly joyful to wear.

This is a beautiful top. I feel fantastic in it.  I love the hanky hem (I know a lot of people don't like them but I think it's very pretty) I love the colours and the print - very summery and funky - and I love the fact that you don't have to iron it! I'll be wearing it today when we visit the Cutty Sark so may add a few more piccies later. Joe Browns also do a version in green and purple which I'm currently saving my pennies for - love it!

My only problem with it, as usual, is that it's a bit big in the bust - even with the ties done up tight. I'd probably buy a size smaller in future - I'm kind of in between a 20-22 and this top was a 22 (I was erring on the side of caution but think the sizing is pretty true so a 20 would be better)

. So thank you so much Simply Be for the opportunity to review an item from a range I've loved for so long. And thank you Claire for asking me to be part of this little gang of reviewers!

Do check out how the other girls styled it - 

Claire - Monkey Fatshionista

Gina - Fat Fit Fine

Jo - Just Joanna

Wendy -52-46-54