Four Looks From Femme Luxe

Shopping for clothes online can be very hit & miss. It seems like there's a new fashion brand popping up every week & what you see on a website isn't always what you get. When you first buy from a new brand it can be impossible to tell what the sizing will be like or whether the material will be cheap & nasty so I always appreciate honest reviews. I've been on the lookout for cute, on-trend pieces at affordable prices & in that respect Femme Luxe seemed to tick all the boxes. They kindly offered to send me four different pieces to review. Their style of clothing is very similar to the sort of thing you often see on Missguided, Boohoo & Pretty Little Thing so I wanted to see how they compare.



Animal Snake Print Biker Jacket - Pearl* (£21.99)
Biker jackets are one of my favourite ways to add a bit of an edge to any outfit & you'd have to be mad to leave the house without one in this weather. Whenever I find a jacket I love, I will wear it to death & that's exactly what happened to my faux leather jacket from Primark. To be fair I'd had it for ten years but I literally wore it on every night out ever. It was a staple piece in my wardrobe & as soon as it started disintegrating I started searching for a new one but the only leather ones I liked were £300 from All Saints. So when I spotted this snake print biker jacket on the Femme Luxe website, I knew it'd be an awesome on-trend alternative. I wasn't quite sure which size to get as it comes in S, M & L but their size guide only covers numerical sizes. I went for the Medium & luckily, it's a really good fit. I only ever wear biker jackets undone but if I do zip it up, it's exactly the right size. The overall fit of the jacket is quite slouchy & it's really comfortable to wear. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the belt buckle as it looks a bit messy hanging off the jacket so I just tucked it into the pockets. This was definitely my favourite item that I received as I'm really into snake print right now & it works with so many different outfits. Here I've styled it quite simply with a black smock dress from The Whitepepper & some white snakeskin flats from All Saints.


Wine Loungewear Tracksuit Set* (£14.99)
Femme Luxe have some really cute loungewear sets so I decided to order a couple of those. The first one is this burgundy long sleeved top with matching leggings. I am obsessed with burgundy, I wear this colour constantly & I think it suits me really well so getting this set was a no brainer. I ordered size M/L (12/14) & it's a good fit on me. I wanted something comfy to wear around the house & to be fair that is what I received. However this tracksuit is so thin & see through, I couldn't possibly wear it out of the house even just to take out the bins! There's fashionable loungewear that you can wear out of the house & then there's loungewear like this that you can only wear as pyjamas. You can completely see my underwear through it & it's so unflattering around the crotch area. I'm sure the trousers are more see through than the top so they look ever so slightly lighter in colour & it's a bit weird. They would be passable as pyjamas but I would never wear them for anything else.


Black Off Shoulder Loungewear Set - Blake* (£15.99)
The second one I ordered was this black off the shoulder loungewear set. Despite being the same M/L (12/14) size as the burgundy set, this one was a lot tighter. The trousers were okay, again a bit unflattering around the crotch but at least the material was a lot thicker. I wasn't aware that the top was cropped when I ordered it but I don't think it makes my stomach look too bad. The top didn't fit very well though as I struggled to make it actually be an off the shoulder top on me. I think it looks okay overall but I'm far too self conscious about my belly to wear something like this outside. This style of tracksuit would look amazing on someone who is a size 6 but I'm a 12 & it just doesn't sit right. You could definitely wear this out with heels & a duster coat if that's your kinda thing. I prefer loungewear to be a casual thing though I just wore it with my Adidas Superstar trainers.



Mustard Extreme Polo Neck Oversized Jumper - Amber* (£13.99)
The last item that I ordered was this oversized yellow polo neck jumper with some huge bell sleeves. I think that mustard jumpers look really nice with brown hair so I had visions of me wearing this & looking super fashionable. Sadly, as you can see, that was not the case. The jumper is extremely oversized & I didn't want it to completely swamp me so I ordered the S/M (8/10). Everywhere fits really well apart from the neck. The neck was so tight that it felt like I was being strangled by this jumper. I'm pretty sure it pushed all the fat from my double chin further up so my face looks rounder than ever. The colour is fab & the fabric is decent but I don't enjoy looking like a Boohbah! I wore it with some black Molly jeans from River Island & ankle boots from Topshop which I feel were good style choices but the jumper just lets everything down. It had so much potential but I strongly dislike this jumper.

Have you ordered anything from Femme Luxe?

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Party Season Sparkle With JD Williams

Black Sequin Shift Dress / Silver Sequin Clutch Bag / Silver Glitter Sandals

I love getting dressed up for Christmas party season. This is the one time of year when there's no such thing as too much sparkle & everyone gets themselves looking as glam as possible. You certainly can't go wrong with a glitzy sequin dress & I've been wearing this one from JD Williams non-stop. They have an amazing range of party dresses with something to suit every taste, budget & dress size. I picked it out along a few other pieces from their website to wear at all the parties I'd been invited to throughout the Christmas season. It's a real statement piece so you don't need tons of accessories to make it work. I really like this dress because it's so comfortable to wear but makes it look like you've made a lot of effort getting ready. Sequin dresses have the potential to be quite irritating but this one is made from a soft, stretchy jersey fabric so the sequins won't scratch your skin at all. The classic shift shape skims over any lumps & bumps so it would be flattering on most body shapes. The flared angel sleeves are great for hiding bingo wings & the neckline shows off my cleavage without being too revealing. The dress is available from size 10 to 32 & there's even a silver version if you fancy reversing my look. It's such a jazzy dress with a lovely shape & I'll be keeping it for many party seasons to come!





I decided to go with silver accessories as I normally always wear black & gold together. I wanted something a bit different but equally as sparkly to wear for Christmas parties. These glittery sandals come with a cushioned flexible sole which makes them surprisingly easy to dance in & they look even prettier in person. It might be cold outside but that will never stop me from wearing heeled sandals instead of shoes! It can sometimes be difficult to find high heels that come in different widths but like most shoes from JD Williams, these are available in D, E & EEE. I fell in love with this little sequin clutch bag as it goes beautifully with the dress & is just the right size for keeping all your party essentials safe. You can wear it as a clutch or as a cross body bag as it comes with a delicate silver strap inside.

To keep the silver theme going, I wore these fab Kiss Gel Fantasy false nails in Fanciful. They're nude with silver glittered tips & I can't think of a more appropriate style for party season. Of course, I also had to incorporate some silver into my makeup. I used the Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in Diamond Dust all over my eyelids. I'm obsessed with these, they're so sparkly & add some instant glamour to any eye look. I can't get enough of red lipstick at this time of year. I mainly stick to pinks or nudes for everyday wear but Christmas & New Year's parties demand a red lip. I'm wearing Jordana Ticia Liquid Lipstick in Paint The Town. It's super bright & bound to draw attention to your lips as the clock strikes midnight.

Whether you'll be dancing the night away or finishing off the last of the Christmas leftovers on the sofa, I hope you have a wonderful time tonight as we celebrate the end of 2018. I'm definitely looking forward to the new year & I'll see you all tomorrow in 2019!

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Cute & Cosy

Jumper - GANT* / Dress - Topshop / Boots - The Whitepepper (RIP) / Belt - River Island
Scarf - Topshop / Beret - eBay / Necklace - Rock N Rose

Well it's been almost two years since I last published an outfit post so I figured it was about time that I started doing them again. A few days ago it was my blog's 8th anniversary & blogging has changed in so many ways since I started this website. I think that fashion blogging in particular has become a lot more professional with many bloggers hiring photographers to take their outfit pictures. One of the reasons I stopped documenting my outfits was because I felt that my photos taken indoors against this same ugly yellow wall were no longer good enough.

Back in the OG blogger days everyone took their photos like this & it wasn't a problem at all. But when everyone else started taking more artistic shots outside, I didn't think that anyone would care about my posts anymore. I can't afford to hire a photographer & my attempts to teach Andy to use my DSLR have been fruitless so I just stopped. I've definitely missed doing it though & as always comparison is the thief of joy. I shouldn't have let what other people are doing affect me & stop me from doing something that I love. Fashion blogging is supposed to be about showcasing an outfit, not competing to see who can take their photos in front of the prettiest house in London. I still get quite a few emails & messages asking when I'm going to start doing fashion posts again so this one is for all of you!

Looking cute when it's absolutely freezing outside is harder than it seems. More often than not I end up throwing my burgundy parka & beanie on top of a hoodie & thermal leggings because it's too cold for anything else. In between the recent snow showers we've had, the weather has been a lot more agreeable & it's not long now until Spring arrives. One of my favourite ways to make my outfits more exciting whilst still dressing appropriately for the cold weather is to layer. It's much easier than you might think as you can play around with length, colour & texture to create an entirely new outfit from pieces that are already in your wardrobe.

The mini polka dot wrap dress I'm wearing here is rather revealing despite having long sleeves. I paired it with a thin cable knit jumper to cover my chest. The length of the jumper covers up too much of the dress so to keep things in proportion I rolled it up which makes it even cosier & doesn't hide my shape. I added a belt under the jumper to further emphasise my waist. I'm obsessed with these double ring belts from River Island. They give the same effect as those £300 Gucci belts but without the hefty cost! These gladiator style boots from the much missed The Whitepepper are another great Winter/Spring transitional piece. They feel much warmer than they look & are just a bit more interesting than your standard black boots. Winter is the best time to experiment with hats. I recently bought loads of cheap berets on eBay & they are my new favourite way to hide my roots! As I'm wearing a grey jumper & a grey hat, I decided to finish off the outfit with this super cosy nude pink scarf. It adds a bit of colour to an otherwise monochrome outfit & the texture contrasts nicely with the cable knit jumper. If you keep your top half warm, you can get away with wearing less on your bottom half & I always like to show off my legs haha!





One thing that has definitely cheered me up during all this cold weather we've been having was the arrival of this package from GANT. I love the timeless preppy style of their clothing. There's no better brand if you're looking for a classic button down shirt or premium casual knitwear. I'm wearing their Mini Cable Jumper & it's the perfect piece for transitional layering. This lightweight jumper is made from 100% Merino wool so it feels super soft & keeps me really warm even though it isn't a chunky knit. I adore the look of the mini-cable pattern & the elegantly draped sleeves. Layering this jumper with a short skirt & boots is my favourite way to stay looking cute & feeling cosy this Winter.

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Dolly & Dotty

Dress - Dolly & Dotty* / Jacket - Primark / Shoes - Office / Necklace - Mhoho Jewellery*

Vintage fashion is something that I have always loved to look at but I've never really felt that I could pull it off myself. I used to spend hours trawling through vintage stores in London but it was rare that I ever came away with anything other than accessories. My favourite eras for fashion are the 1950's (rockabilly), 60's (mod) & 80's (new romantic). It's such a shame that our current fashion styles will never be remembered with the same fondness that we have for past decades. I never had much luck with finding real vintage clothing but luckily there are now quite a few clothing brands that take inspiration from these old styles & make vintage fashion accessible to everyone. Dolly & Dotty specialise in vintage inspired clothing with a modern flattering fit. Their range of dresses is insane with tons of different retro styles in every colour & pattern you could possibly imagine. Their clothing comes in size 6-24 which is lovely to see, especially from a smaller brand. All of their dresses are designed in Brighton by their in-house design team. They kindly offered to send me one of their dresses & I figured this would be the ideal time to see if I could actually rock a 1950's swing dress.

This is the Sophie rockabilly 1950's style dress in white with black polka dots. They don't seem to do this exact colour way anymore but you can get it with a black belt & halter neck tie instead. This dress is unlike anything I've ever worn before so I wasn't quite sure how to style it. I decided to wear it with my Primark leather jacket & some T-bar wedges. I actually took these photos a little while ago so tights were definitely needed that day but it does look better with bare legs. It'll be perfect for the Summertime! This retro dress is made from soft cotton, features an elasticated back & fastens with a concealed zip. It's a little bit too long for my taste as I think this style makes me look shorter than I really am even though I'm wearing heels. Plus I like to show off my legs! I either need to get the hem taken up a bit or buy a tulle petticoat to give this dress that perfect 50's silhouette. Otherwise the cut of this dress is very figure flattering & definitely enhances my curves. I absolutely adore the sweetheart neckline! I wish they were easier to find on the high street. I hardly ever wear halter neck tops but this feels very comfortable & the tie doesn't come undone throughout the day. The Sophie dress is so beautiful that I didn't feel overly self-conscious about exposing my arms & back for once! No 1950's vintage look would be complete without some winged eyeliner & red lipstick. I'm wearing Magnetic Melon* by Saturated Colour which is super bright & makes me feel fabulous!

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Surania Custom Swimwear

Surania are an online Spanish swimwear brand who offer their customers the opportunity to design their own swimsuits or bikinis. They make swimwear for men, women & children in hundreds of different styles so you can choose something entirely unique to you. A little while ago they asked me if I would like to create my very own bikini & I jumped at the chance! I was immediately intrigued by the concept of their website as I've often struggled to find swimwear that I like & that looks good on my body. Surania kindly sent me a gift voucher so that I could try out the website for myself & design my dream bikini.



After looking through all the different styles available I decided to order the bandeau balconette flounce bikini top & the high waist fixed bikini bottoms. Coming up with your own unique design is the best part! It's so much fun & I could spend hours playing about on their website. They have so many different colours & patterns to choose from, the possibilities are endless! To complete your design you just click on a section of the bikini template & then click on your chosen fabric. As much as I wanted to design something bright & colourful, I figured I would be more body confident in something monochrome. I fell in love with the pretty floral design of the Vitoria fabric so I used it all over with a couple of black & white accents. After finalising your design you need to choose the sizes. Surania's swimsuits aren't just designed to your specifications, they are tailor-made to fit your exact measurements! Buying swimwear off the rack can be nightmare because most of us will need a different sized top & bottom. They tend not to accommodate for large boobs or bums either so Surania is a great place to look if you want something that will fit you perfectly.




I had to wait about three weeks for my bikini to be delivered. They provide fast shipping all over the world using DHL but of course you have to wait for your custom bikini to actually be made. Once it arrived on my doorstep I couldn't wait to see how it looked in real life! This is my bikini set & it's everything I was hoping for. It's so cool to see something you've designed become a finished product. I wanted a top with an underwire & I love the cute flounce trim. High waisted bottoms are great if you have a bit of a flabby tummy & they hide my laparoscopy scars. I'm really happy with the styles I chose & the fabric looks lovely too. It's really thick & fully lined so it helps to hold you in. Best of all the fit is spot on! Surania offer a perfect fit guarantee so if you didn't measure yourself correctly, they'll happily exchange your order within 30 days of receipt. It might be a bit more expensive than the average bikini but this is no average bikini. Swimwear of this calibre is worth every penny.




Bikini - Surania* / Kimono - eBay / Sandals - New Look / Hat - River Island / Sunglasses - Quay Australia
I never thought I would be posting bikini pics on the internet but here I am! I've spent most of my life hating my body after being bullied over it at school & even though I lost a lot of weight I was never happy with myself. Over the last year I've gained a stone from not exercising enough & eating whole share bags of chocolate buttons in one sitting. August is the worst month for me food-wise because I always pig out at the Huddersfield Food Festival & have a few indulgent meals for my birthday. I'm currently the biggest I've been in a long time but I'm just tired of being down on myself for it. I'm planning on joining Slimming World when Chloe goes back to school on Wednesday but in the name of body positivity I decided to take some pictures of my current beach body. As you can see the Surania bikini is such a great fit on me & the style is flattering on my shape. Wearing it definitely makes me feel more confident in my body & I'm not ashamed to go out in public like this. To go with the monochrome design I paired it with some black & white accessories. I bought this kimono from eBay & it's a fab beach coverup. I adore the tassels on the sleeves & bottom edge! I also wore my white New Look sandals & black straw fedora from River Island. I've bought so many pairs of sunglasses from Quay Australia this Summer! These are the Invader sunglasses & I love their cut-out cat eye shape.

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Twenty Seven

Dress - Vero Moda* / Shoes - Topshop / Bag - Zara / Watch - Michael Kors

As I mentioned in my last post I recently had my 27th birthday. I honestly still feel like I'm a teenager & not a real grown up! Does that feeling ever go away? I decided to wear something quite simple as we were spending the day in Blackpool & I wanted to be comfortable. It might seem odd that I'm wearing tights in August but last time we went I made the mistake of not wearing any & it was so windy that I couldn't walk two steps without my dress blowing up! Anyway this gorgeous Vero Moda dress caught my eye on the House Of Fraser website. I love the floral pattern & I thought the colours looked really pretty together. My obsession with skater dresses is still going strong but this one looks slightly more mature than some of the others in my wardrobe. I've gotten to the stage where I feel that most of my dresses & skirts are way too short for me now so I really appreciate the longer length of this dress! The pattern of the dress is quite bold so I decided not to wear many accessories. I just put on my Michael Kors watch & trusty old Zara handbag. I still absolutely adore these shoes from Topshop. I bought them a few years ago but I wear them all the time. I have a thing for white shoes & they're the perfect T-bar Mary Jane style.

I liked this outfit so much that I also wore it for my birthday meal in York with the rest of my family. Our train was a nightmare as the York races were going on & somehow their train from London was delayed by over two hours! By the time we all met up we were starving. We'd never been to Bill's before so we decided to eat there & the food was incredible! I had a huge burger with sweet potato fries & onion rings followed by pecan pie. Luckily the cut of this dress is super flattering & skims over my stomach so my food baby was kept perfectly concealed!

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Black Magic

Top - River Island / Trousers - Patrizia Pepe* / Sandals - New Look / Necklace - Rock 'N' Rose
Watch - JORD* / Bracelet - H&M / Rings - Regal Rose & River Island

I'm probably wearing more black clothing here than most would deem suitable for the Summer but I like to indulge in my gothic tendencies all year round! Cold shoulder tops aren't normally my thing as I'm quite broad but I thought the shape of this one from River Island was really cute. The body is relaxed & floaty so it's very comfortable to wear when the weather is hot. I love the neckline & it dips down at the back as well. I definitely want to get it in a few more colours & they've just brought out a lovely polka dot version too! I think it looks great with jeans or trousers so I paired it with these black Patrizia Pepe jeggings from Repertoire Fashion. For some reason I've avoided jeggings in the past but these are such brilliant quality. They're so well made & very flattering on my figure. I don't think regular leggings are acceptable as trousers but these are completely opaque & quite thick so they really hold you in. They also look smart enough to pass off as work trousers whilst providing all the comfort of leggings. Repertoire Fashion offer some amazing discounts on designer brands. The jeggings normally cost £109 but Repertoire Fashion sell them for just 40 quid so it's well worth checking out all the designer bargains on their website!

As this is quite a plain black outfit I wanted to dress it up a bit with my accessories. I went for my gorgeous white sandals from New Look which I consider to be the perfect Summer shoes. I got these last year but they have some similar ones in store now. They're so comfy & easy to walk in. I love a good statement necklace & it doesn't get much bolder than this gold pentagram choker from Rock 'N' Rose. I've become completely obsessed with Quay Australia sunglasses lately. The Kitti glasses are one of my fave styles but the matte black material sometimes leaves black marks on my face, boo! Red lipstick goes beautifully with a black outfit & Illamasqua Tramp is the ultimate. Sadly I think they've discontinued it now but they do loads of other fab red lippies too.




Womens Wood Watches
One of my newest acquisitions is this wooden JORD watch. I think it looks absolutely stunning & so unique! I've never seen anything like it before. The watches are all handcrafted in the USA. Each watch also looks slightly different due to the nature of the wood so you end up with a one of a kind timepiece. I chose the Ely Cherry watch as I loved the colour of the wood & I like to have a date window on the clock face. It feels incredibly light & comfortable to wear. The style is elegant & goes with everything. It has a smaller dial & band than some of their other watches so it's perfect for my delicate wrists. One thing I dislike about buying a new watch is having to get it sized at a jewellers. For just $10 JORD will actually take care of this for you. Simply measure your wrist before ordering & your watch will arrive ready to wear. It's an excellent service & I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of it. I had no problems with UK customs which is something I often worry about when ordering from abroad & delivery was extremely quick too! I'm completely in love with this watch & I've had so many comments about it lately. A wooden watch certainly attracts lots of attention. If you're after something a bit unusual or want to get someone a very unique gift then I'd highly recommend taking a look at all the wonderful wooden watches that JORD have to offer.

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