Taking Shape Vintage Tea Party - don't mind if I do!

Last weekend was a whirlwind of pageantry and I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately in my haste to record the events of Saturday evening's 'Miss British Beauty Curve 2015' final, I neglected to mention that Sunday saw a lovely event too - the 'Taking shape' (Cheltenham branch) vintage tea party!

Yours Truly - Ms Gloucestershire Curve 2015
and Ms Congeniality 2015



Lady She and Ruth enjoying a little tipple! Chin chin!

Who could resist a warm welcome home at their favourite shop after such a fabulous weekend?! Greeted by the truly lovely queen of Vintage Styling, Lady She (of SheUnique Vintage Cirencester) and gorgeous Mary Kay make up artist, Ruth Dewick (http://www.marykay.co.uk/rdewick), we were spoiled as usual. Bellini's Kir Royale and Pimms flowed freely and scrummy cakes were abound! What more could a girl ask for? Except perhaps, beautiful clothing and a truly personal service - which is great because that is always available at Taking shape Cheltenham!



Lady She works her magic on vintage boutique owner,
Emma Adams of ''Katherine's Closet"

 Now as you all know, I am a complete devotee of the Taking Shape Cheltenham store, not least because of the wonderful staff Natalie and Tabbi who make each visit an absolute pleasure. Taking shape clothing really is about comfort - not simply in terms of clothing but in terms of being comfortable in your own skin. Natalie and Tabbi put you at ease straight away and I always leave the shop feeling good about myself - and the purchases that I make (I've never yet left the store without buying something!)

The afternoon was a perfectly lovely one and I hope the start of many more lovely in store events to attend. 'Taking Shape' Cheltenham is a credit to the 'Taking Shape' brand and ethos. I heartily recommend a visit and be sure to say that Charlotte sent you!

Cheers! with store manager, Natalie, Tabbi and Lady She

The Road to the Pageant may be ended but the journey's just begun...

Saturday 8th August saw the final in the 'Miss British Beauty Curve 2015' pageant, at the Epsom Playhouse - and what a fantastic time we had.

Myself and 'Katherine's Closet owner (and bestie!) Emma Adams
outside the Epsom Playhouse

Starting out at 11am with the rehearsals for our opening number, we all bonded really well and with an amazing soundtrack we were all dancing and singing along together in no time - I haven't laughed so much in ages! The time went so quickly and before we knew it, interviews had been completed and we were in the changing rooms prepping for the start of the show! Then the magic started - 28 women ready to show the audience what they could do!

Isn't this supposed to be a beauty pageant?!
(clockwise from top) Stephanie, Tracey, Aisha, me, Kat, Kim and Heila

We opened to Ariana Grande's 'Problem' and I felt truly amazing in my Lady Voluptuous 'Ursula' dress and Ruby Shoo 'Piper' navy polka dot shoes. The whole theme of the opening number was the Union Jack, so we all worked our Red, White and Blue dresses with Union Jacks in hand - and we rocked it (even if some of us slightly miss-footed and nearly fell over at the end!)

Opening number - the Red, White and Blue of the Union Jack

Feeling fab in Lady Voluptuous and Ruby Shoo

After introductions, it was on to the fashion wear round and I really enjoyed this. It was a chance for us all to show the audience a little bit of ourselves and our own individual style. I chose the Gemma Collins 'Copenhagen' dress. You might have remembered that a wiggle dress was an alien concept for me not so long ago, but with a new found appreciation for a dress of a closer fit - I felt fantastic! 

Working the wiggle in
a Gemma Collins 'Copenhagen'

Then on to swimwear! Now, you can imagine that, having had a lifelong fear of a wiggle dress, the thought of wearing a swimsuit on stage once filled me with dread. BUT not anymore! We had another amazing song in Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's 'Bang Bang' and I, like every other lady on that stage, worked my look. There was a great mix of one and two piece swimwear, cover ups and kaftans and I adored wearing my Magisculpt 'Marilyn' swimsuit and Grazia kimono (both from Simply Be).

Myself and Ms East Coast, Tracey Haynes

As I said, it all went so quickly and before we knew it we were in our Evening Wear for the final round - and what a round. So many beautiful dresses, worn by so many beautiful, caring and talented ladies. My dress was a Grecian style chiffon dress in coral from Trixxi at Macy's teamed with 'Crisp Kendra' shoes in coral suede by Clarks.

The Finale - Trixxi at Macy's and
Crisp Kendra by Clarks

After a brief interval with entertainment from 'Kaiya' and 'Dance Flavourz', it was on to the final part of the pageant - the awards ceremony. We were joined on stage by 2014 winners Emily Blake and Yvonne Cardoso, 2013 winner Amarise and 2012 winner Rio Watchorn. And the winner for the Ms category was....


The Ms Category awards

The gorgeous Katherine Henry, Ms Surrey Curve. I am so pleased to know this beautiful lady and it was a very well deserved victory.

Ms Katherine Henry - Ms Surrey Curve 2015
and now Ms British Beauty Curve 2015

Equally deservedly won were the titles of 2nd runner up, won by Ms East Curve Tracey Haynes and 1st runner up, won by Ms Hertfordshire, Kim Ireland. Best in interview was the lovely, Ms North Wales Stephanie Jaziri and Top Model was won by Aisha Namurach.

Ms East Coast and 2nd Runner up
Tracey Haynes

Ms Hertfordshire and 1st Runner up
Kim Ireland

Ms North Wales and Best in Interview
Stephanie Jaziri

Ms Cardiff and Top Model
Aisha Namurach

Yours truly didn't fair so bad either - I was honoured to be awarded the Best Application award and - much to my utter delight - Ms Congeniality! I am the Gracie-Lou Freebush of Miss British Beauty Curve 2015! The award is amazing and all the more special as it is awarded based on voting by fellow contestants. I am truly blessed to have met such amazing ladies who value me for who I am.

Receiving my Ms Congeniality sash and certificate from
Amarise and Yvonne Cardoso

My Titles

I would like to thank Leah Precod for allowing me to be a part of this amazing pageant and to the whole Miss British Beauty Curve team for their time, patience and support. It has been a privilege. Many congratulations to the winners, both in my category and in the Miss category. Very many thanks to my Mum and Dad, Sally and Clive and to my friend Emma for coming to support me, and also to all the family and friends that supported me here at home in Gloucestershire. I couldn't have done it without you.

Finally I should like to say - Ladies and Gentleman - my road to 'Miss British Beauty Curve 2015' is now at an end but this is simply the beginning of a much bigger journey....

Useful links:
www.facebook.com/KatherinesClosetVintage
https://ladyvlondon.com/LadyVoluptuous/
www.rubyshoo.com/
http://gemmacollinsofficial.com/
www.simplybe.co.uk

Katherine's Closet - from spare room to Cheltenham boutique

It’s just over a week since Katherine’s Closet, Cheltenham opened its doors but I want to look back not just to what was a truly wonderful opening day but to look back even further to the birth of the ‘Closet’.

The Katherine's Closet Opening Team!

Katherine’s Closet is the brain child of the wonderful Emma Adams. A vintage inspired fashion devotee herself, Emma knew the value of a good dress and the fantastic feeling you get wearing something that makes you stand out and feel truly feminine. She wanted all women– regardless of their size – to have that same empowering feeling you get from wearing beautiful vintage designs. And so starting with a few items in the first floor sitting room of her town house in Tewkesbury, ‘Katherine’s Closet’ was born.

The Closet Girls

By February 2014, as Emma says, a monster had been created! What began as a little hobby had morphed into a Facebook page business with 2,000 followers and a customer base of similar proportions. She quickly took the decision to move into small premises at Perform Fitness in Tewkesbury and operated from there for just over 12 months, carrying sizes 8 – 28 in most styles. And still the business grew! Now in July 2015 with nearly 4,500 followers on Facebook, Emma has been joined in the business by a new business partner, her friend Emma Mason and the business once again has morphed! This time moving into a fabulous new shop in an area of Cheltenham locally being coined as ‘The Home of the Hipster’ – Bennington Street. Nestled between, ‘Smokey Joe’s café’ – a vintage inspired diner and ‘The Libertine’ - a stunning vintage barber shop, the ‘Closet’s’ new home at 10 Bennington Street, Cheltenham couldn’t be more perfectly placed.

'Twinning it' with Betty Pamper



 As you know, I am the store’s Plus Size Ambassador and I am delighted to be sponsored by the ‘Closet’ in the forthcoming ‘Miss British Beauty Curve’ pageant. So I was ecstatic to be asked to help with the first day in the new store.  



Right to left: Emma Mason,
Betty Pamper & Closet Founder, Emma Adams

Opened by fabulous plus-size blogger, Betty Pamper www.pamperandcurves.com and with glorious entertainment from Betsy Harmony (http://betsyharmony.webs.com/)  and Sarah Kelly (http://uke-can.vpweb.co.uk/), it was a wonderful day! The ‘Closet Girls’ decked out in their ‘Nicky Rockets’ T-shirts, the wonderful cupcakes from by the lovely Suzi Thomas at ‘Spongecakes Suzebakes’ (http://www.spongecakessuzebakes.co.uk) and the chance to see founder Emma Adams dream of a 'wall of petticoats' realised was all I hoped it would be and more.


Wall of Petticoats

I have been extremely privileged to have been able to follow ‘Katherine’s Closet right from the very beginning and I am fortunate to count both business partners as my very close friends. Their combined passion for vintage inspired fashion for all women is as wonderful and enrobing as the warm welcome that they give to all who pass through the doors of the ‘Closet’.

A lovely welcome

  

 

 

But don’t just take my word for it: check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KatherinesClosetVintage and then pop on down to the ‘Closet’ (at 10 Bennington Street, Cheltenham) and see for yourself!

To wiggle - or not to wiggle - that is the question!

Bellatrix with suede mid heels
from Office and Hair flower by
Rockaflower

As many of you will know, I love my vintage and retro style clothing. I'm a particular fan of the 1950s - Full skirts, Dior's 'New Look' and generally really feminine shapes and styles. There is, however a style from that era that has never graced my wardrobe - a wiggle dress. That is until now!
I am now the proud owner of a rose print 'Bellatrix' dress from the Lady Vintage London - Lady Voluptuous range (http://ladyvlondon.com/LadyVoluptuous/). Now I have long favoured the Lady Vintage 'Hepburn' dresses - owning almost their entire collection - but the wiggle is a whole new ballgame for me. I've always been frightened of showing so  
much of my shape. But I've bitten the bullet and I'm really pleased with the results.
The 'Lady Voluptuous' range has been created in collaboration with the wonderful Georgina Horne (Fuller Figure Fuller Bust) and is the UK's first dedicated Plus Size Vintage Clothing label. The 'Bellatrix' dress (as you can see from my photo) features a V neck, 3/4 length sleeves, with a peplum hem. And best of all - drum roll, please - my size 22/24 dress is 46.5" in length! Yay!

Keep yours eye open this coming weekend for more vintage fun at the opening of the new 'Katherine's Closet' boutique in Cheltenham! Gracie and I can't wait!

Curvy Con revisited!

It's a week since Curvy Con and I've been so busy that I haven't really had a chance to catch up and write anything down. So here goes:

I had an excellent time! The convention itself was much smaller than I was expecting but then good things come in small packages ( so we are told!) I was pleased to meet up with some of the other ladies competing in the Miss British Beauty Curve contest this August. All I can say is that the judges will have a hard job because, fair play, we're all gorgeous! ;-)


Ms Hertfordshire, Miss Worcestershire and
Ms Gloucestershire
- MBBC 2015

Sri Lanka by Gemma Collins

Arriving at the convention, the first fashion show was in full flow and it was the Gemma Collins collection. Some more of the lovely Miss British Beauty Curve finalists were on the catwalk and the soundtrack was fabulous (I arrived to 'All about that bass'!) The collection is full of beautiful clothes that really flatter and hug your curves. I'd had my eye on the 'Sri Lanka' dress for quite a while and I have to admit that I succumbed!

Next stop was 'Voodoo Vixen' and 'Taking Shape'. Voodoo Vixen had a selection of their styles to view and a discount code for all visitors - which is always welcome -as was the red velvet cupcake that I had from their stand too! ;-) As you all know I love my taking shape dresses and I was a little disappointed not to see any of their gorgeous clothes on display at the convention but the little gift bags with travel manicure kits that we were all given were very cute and much appreciated.

Nicky Rockets
Slash Neck t-shirt

Then on to the 'Nicky Rockets' stand to meet the fabulous Betty Pamper. You can check out this fab lady's blog at Pamper & Curves - an absolutely must read. And I can tell you that in person, she's even more fabulous than I thought! I bought a gorgeous slash neck 'Curvy as Hell' t-shirt in red from the stand and I'm looking forward to seeing Betty in Gloucestershire very soon - but more on that in future blogs.

By now the second fashion show was in full swing from 'Topsy Curvy'. Gorgeous, easy to wear clothing at very reasonable prices. Everyone must have felt the same because there was a run on the stall after the fashion show and you couldn't get near! Great news for the stall holders but disappointing for me as I couldn't get my hands on a black and white tartan travel suit that I had my eye on!

Kim & myself at
'Apples & Pears'

From there, we went to the 'Apples & Pears' stand and met the lovely Liz Smith. Again, another collection of great, easy-breezy clothing that is perfect for the summer. Great to see that MBBC's very own Miss London Curve 2015 is a model for the 'Apples & Pears' line. Us MBBC girls get everywhere ;-)



Boho dress from
Simply Be (wedge
sandals form Zalando)



Gingham Bardot top from
Simply Be (shown with 'Pear Fit'
high waist indigo crops
from Evans)

Our last stop for the day was the 'Simply Be' stand - and it was great! Lovely samples of clothing that is on sale in their Oxford Street store (all very tempting) and a discount coupon to take along to the store that day! Well - it would have been rude not to!



And so all done at the convention, we popped along to Oxford street to 'Simply Be'. And I bought this gorgeous boho dress (with 30% off I might add) and a fab gingham Bardot top that comes straight out of the 'Grease' style book! Fab store, amazingly helpful staff and we will most definitely be back!  
 
 
All in all, my day in London (accompanied by my amazing sponsor, bestest bud and owner of the fabulous 'Katherine's Closet', the exquisite Ms Emma Adams) was phenomenal. I met some amazing people in the plus size community and received some fantastic support for the Miss British Beauty Curve pageant. It really brought home how honoured I am to be a part of such an amazingly supportive and wonderful group of people. Thank you all xx

Myself and Emma - living it large on the train!

 
 
 

Enlightenment comes from Australia!

I've recently been enlightened! And it was completely painless, I assure you!

On Bank Holiday Monday, I went to Cheltenham for a spot of retail therapy. Rather than look at the old faithful Evans or New Look, I decided to take a look at a still relatively new store - 'taking shape' in the Regent Arcade - and I was very pleasantly surprised.

'taking shape' is a company founded in Australia. The stores stock an easy to wear, casual style of clothing, incorporating the brands eplissé and virtuelle, as well as their own taking shape and ts active wear brands.

Botanical Breeze dress from 'taking shape'.
Shoes from Nine West

As I'm always on the lookout for new plus size brands, I tried on two of their virtuelle dresses - Botanical Breeze and Tea Rose.

Botanical Breeze as you can see here is a silk shift dress with sunray pleating throughout. The whole thing is so light and airy, it feels weightless. As you all know, my bug bear is dresses purporting to be knee length that, on my 6'1" frame, end up being thigh skimmers! Not at all a problem in this dress and the bonus is that I feel a million dollars. I'm looking forward to wearing this dress on my hols but I know it will look equally fab with a black jersey blazer in the office too.

Tea Rose dress from 'taking shape'.
Shoes from Nine West

The Tea Rose, shown here, is a similar set up. Crinkly, silky fabric in a mix of red, pink, purple and black. Again, really easy to wear and it feels amazingly light and airy. As it is a crinkle fabric, I think this is a perfect travel dress as any creases won't show. Just like the Botanical Breeze, I can definitely see the Tea Rose becoming part of my work wear wardrobe.


Aside from the gorgeous, perfect-for summer styling at 'taking shape', the thing that I found amazing about the shop was the store assistant's genuine desire to serve and to make you feel both welcome and comfortable. I was looked after by Tabitha, who offered me a cup of my choice of tea or coffee on arrival and was in no rush to push me through the purchasing process. Instead, setting up a changing room and relieving me of my selected items to allow me to continue my search in comfort. I have to say that in terms of a shopping experience, other stores will have to go a long way to beat this!

The store's slogan is 'helping you to celebrate your curves' and that is just what they are all about. I can't wait to revisit!



 

I am here - I haven't faded away!

OK so it's been nearly a month (slap on the wrist for on me!) since my last blog and the truth of the matter is that I really didn't know where to go next. My last blog was a whinge-fest about the length (or lack there of) of certain plus size clothing brands. Since then, there has been the media furore about plus size women in the public eye and the fat-shamers response to the 'offensive sight' or us bigger girls being so visible.
 
I wanted to join in with the #wearethethey campaign but really didn't know where to start or if I honestly could cope with opening myself up to the possibility of being 'trolled' by faceless fat-shamers on a wider scale.  And so, with some shame on my part it has to be said, I have remained quiet; but I have been watching, listening, absorbing all sides of the argument and now I am ready to speak.
 
I am who I am. There are some days when I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror. But there are other days when I think, "I've got two legs and two arms that work, two eyes that see perfectly, two ears to listen, a mouth that permits me the ability to speak my mind and the right to be whoever the hell I want to be.
 
The great Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No-one can make you feel inferior unless you give them your permission". I now know that only by speaking up will the message get out that EVERYONE matters; that no-one should be made to feel inferior by another's words or actions; that no-one should get your permission to make you feel inferior.

I am proud to be a part of the rising number of plus size women in the public eye. Vive la difference!