Collecting Collectif - the sale haul!

A good ten years ago, my mama took me to a small store in London selling reproduction vintage style clothing. She bought me a dress, which I kept in my wardrobe and only wore for special occasions, and when I was feeling brave. Fast forward to today, and as my regular readers will know, I'm wearing my vintage gear full time and I've rekindled my love of Collectif Clothing. They recently had a fantastic sale, and as a wee birdie in one of my fb groups had warned me it was imminent, I'd been perusing the site for a while, mentally filling my basket. I was a canny shopper and had been hoarding my Christmas monies to spend there and so I filled my boots. I've only worn a few of the things, so I'll be reviewing my pieces here and there.

First up, the wonderful Pippa dungarees and Chrissie Fair Isle sweater.

So  the waist of these is just like a normal pair of jeans, except with the zip at the side, so you can flop the pinafore down and tuck the straps in if you like. I'm a UK 18/20 waist and have always sized up to the 22 for my boobs. As there is no back, and the straps adjust, I probably could have stuck to a 20, but I'm not a fan of tight denim, and this is a good solid weight denim, so these are perfect for me. The button is a bit stiff, but I'm pretty sure it will loosen up with usage. The sweater is divine. Double knit, so super warm, and just the right length for me in the body too. The sleeves have enough give to be comfortable and hit my elbow just right. It's washed like a dream, making me very glad I bought it in both green and blue!

Next up is the red check Caterina dress

I ADORE THIS DRESS. Oh my goodness it's such a delight! The fabric has a similar feel to a brushed cotton, so I think it will work all year round. The sleeves are generous, which is often something companies forget when sizing up for us larger lovelies. I get so frustrated when I buy a dress that fits beautifully everywhere but cuts me off above the elbow. These have a bit of give, but don't look baggy. My only complaint is the belt. There is no prong/notch fastening, it just slides, and every time I bend or sit it loosens and dangles when you stand back up. I'm toying with trying to order this in the green/blue check too. 

I'm not much of a trouser person, but I did buy the Bonnie cigarette pants.

I loved the feel of these, and the size 20 was the right choice. It was pretty big in the waist, but comfortable around my tummy, and I loved how they looked, however within an hour of this photo being taken, the seam in the right leg had ripped open all down the tummy, and the left was starting to rip.

Now the customer service people are usually fantastic, so I have no doubts that they will sort it out for me once business hours start again tomorrow, but I was so disappointed as I really loved these. 

Today's ensemble is the Elsa skirt and Alma cardigan

No issue with this belt, and I like how the waist sits higher and has a wee arch detail to the front. The fabric is a little thin, but feels nice and looks like it will hold its shape well. The pleats are in a nice position, and though the skirt is a little long, I'm happy with it. The cardigan is deliciously thick and toasty and the cabling pops really well. The sleeves are very long, coming all the way to my finger tips, but the cuff is strong and holds up easily enough. It is true to size, and generally gorgeous all round, so again, I'm glad I bought it in green too. 

So far, apart from the hiccup with cigarette trousers, I am loving my haul! Collectif remain one of the few companies who do decent plus size items, particularly in tops/blouses and these guys in particular have a lot of feeding friendly items. 

Keep your eyes peeled for part two and the rest of the haul 😉

A mama's work is never done!

I was delighted when my pal Naelany asked me to guest on her blog  as I've really enjoyed resurrecting my own. As this weekend is a busy one, I decided to cross post my article here too, especially as parts of it fit pretty well with yesterday's Body Positivity Day. 

I'm not getting a huge amount of knitting done these days, which is how I met the lovely Naelany, but despite being deep in the new mama trenches, I am still crafting hard. Harder than ever before, in fact!

Let me tell you a little about myself. At 39, the lovely, kind,  National Health Service refer to me as a geriatric first time mama, and there are days when I most definitely feel it! I've been told many, many, times that I was born in the wrong era, preferring vintage styled clothes and I've always had an old-fashioned attitude to life, loving all the crafts I've come across. I began by teaching myself to crochet around age 16, and to use a sewing machine soon after. Twenty odd years down the line, I added knitting to the repertoire and culminated in (after a little help from the NHS) crafting my own little miracle last year.

Since my Little Bird arrived 4.5 months ago, I've found that my body confidence has soared. Unlike many new mums, I am so proud and confident in this new body of mine! I decided to embrace my love of all things vintage, and in particular the fashions of the 30's,40's 50's & 60's. As a plus size mama who has chosen to breastfeed, finding these styles can be difficult, so I resurrected my blog to share my finds with other plus-size pin-up mamas.

When I discovered that I was finally pregnant, like all mums-to-be, I had day dreams of dressing my little one in my favourite styles, however, the reality hasn't quite lived up to those dreams. There are tons of vintage-style baby clothes for little girls, but hardly any for the boys unless you've got little Prince George's wardrobe budget. Since I can't find the style of clothes I'd like, I've decided to put my sewing skills to use and start my own small business making reproduction & vintage styled children's clothes, as well as accessories such as car seat blankets to keep those tiny toes toasty for the UK's cooler months.

Getting crafty as a mama isn't easy. I hoard every spare minute of free time, and I have to have my lists, of course. Sometimes I can convince the wee dude to join me in my craft lair for a time, and sometimes I count the minutes until daddy comes home to take him for some man time. Still, by maintaining my style and getting my craft on, I help myself to retain a sense of 'me' in a time of constant flux.

On the slate this weekend was getting my first 'line' of clothes up and running. After browsing tons of vintage children's photos and several different sewing patterns, under the watchful eye of my little guy, I carefully drafted out my chosen styles, hunted down the right fabrics and began to cut out the various pieces I needed.

I'm praying that the boy co-operates this week and lets me get to the actual sewing portion! Not sure how that will work out when even as I type, and in his sleep, a wee hand has crept onto my leg and is holding on tight....and I wouldn't have it any other way. Perhaps I'll spend this nap time reading  my other pal S.M Lumetta's book 'You Are Here' instead of cutting more pattern pieces.

 

ETA- this was written last weekend...and what a week it has been. Little Bird got a tummy bug, but I still manages to sew a little. One little romper, ready to roll!

Jump!

I'm always seeing the beautiful items from Miss Candyfloss on Instagram and I've been lusting after so many pieces from the new Librarian Girl collection, however very little looks BF friendly, so I've held fire. I couldn't resist getting a few things, one of which was their gorgeous 40's style jumpsuits.

Dear God but it is lovely! It's incredibly comfortable to wear as the fabric feels lovely against the skin & the cut makes moving around simple. The handy dandy zip up front makes feeding a breeze, in fact I'd say its one of my easiest and most discreet items to feed in. there is one working button and a wee pop fastener at the top to keep things closed and the gorgeous cut of the V-neck means that your boobs look incredible, but not indecent.

My only downside is that the length of the trousers is rather long for my 5'5 frame, even with heels. I'm going to have to take them up a touch when I can get back to my sewing machine.

I wore this to take my little boy in to visit my school for the MacMillan coffee morning on Friday, as well as running a few errands in town and I had nothing but compliments and double takes wherever I went. I even has one of the lady employees in the Apple store stop me to say how stylish I looked! Enough to turn a girls head ;-)

My suit is the wine colour in 3XL, I'm 5'5, a UK size 22 top, 20 waist and 38 HH boobs. I styled it with some retro heeled sandals from Gianni Bernini, a mustard cardigan from Dunnes stores and one of my own hand knitted hair snoods. How do you wear yours?

Www.miss-candyfloss.com