Just call me Ariel

A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a beautiful swimsuit from Forluna swimwear, on an Instagram competition held by the gorgeous Atomic Amber  I've wanted this suit for so long that I've lost count, but could never justify buying it for myself when I never went near water. Well, things change. I refuse to inflict my fears of water on my kid, so he started swimming lessons at 12 weeks old, and this lead to that most horrifying of tasks...buying a swimsuit. 

We've all been there, standing in the oh so slightly yellow light of a grotty changing room, trying to squeeze your wobbly bits into what feels more like a sausage casing than a piece of clothing. We know the futility of peering through the racks of gorgeous kinis and suits for that elusive bigger size before admitting defeat and picking up that bland skirted monstrosity that you saw an elderly lady try on earlier. I don't think I know a single woman who hasn't had at least one experience like this in their lifetime. 

It shouldn't be like this. I do know one kickass lady in NYC who works in swimwear and they have some great stuff, but I've struggled to find anything in the UK so I was beyond ecstatic to find I'd won a suit, and the suit of my choice, no less. There was no indecision. I may not have the stunning Atomic Amber's figure, but I wanted the gorgeous green Esther Williams suit she had featured in her giveaway. I'd coveted it for years and now was my chance!

I've been holding off on reviewing, convinced that I'd find time to get some decent photos taken of me in the suit, but who am I kidding? I'm a mama to a 5 month old baby...finding time for things is almost impossible! So here we are. I got the husbeast to snap a few pics after our class and of course there is the selfie stick "it's here" photo from months back. I'm not disappointed. Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact! The fabric quality is fantastic, thick and stretchy and it's held it's colour well. Sizing seems fairly accurate too. I'm currently a U.K. 22 for the boobs (HH/J cups) and the size 22 fits ok. You may want to size up a little, but I'm happy with mine as it is. The elastane content seems to be pretty good, as I regularly pop a boob over the top to feed the lil dude...swimming is thirsty work! It goes through the machine each week and washes like a dream. But more importantly, I feel like a frigging mermaid in it. I know I am not, but I feel tall and lithe and sparkling, and I have gone from dreading going near water, to looking forward to our weekly lesson. Obviously, the good instructor has a lot to do with this, but feeling confident in my fabulous suit sure as hell doesn't hurt 😉 

Now I've got my eye on their retro two pieces...maybe in a pretty print this time? Anchors? Polka dots? Who knows...but I'm surely feeling brave enough to rock a bikini these days! 

 

 

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

30 and flirty and fabulous....well ok, nearly 33 - spoilsport!

I'm hugely into my history. I do victorian re-enactments and I love vintage styles. Being rather voluputous (yes that would be fat to the layman) I find that the styles of the 40's and 50's suit me far more than the modern 'fashions' of today and so I stick to them where I can.

I have always wanted to get some professional photo's taken of myself and back in April I decided to just go for it. I mean, I'm not getting any thinner, younger or perkier, so I figured it was now or never. I asked my vintage pals for their recommendations and booked a shoot. I booked it for the end of August, just before I went back to school and it seemed eons away. I thought I had loads of time to get my clothes and props together, but as life always does, it crept up on me faster than expected and before I knew it the big day had arrived.

So last wednesday at the ungodly hour of 4.45am, I dragged my half dead ass out of bed and into the shower. By 5.40 I had put petrol in the car and picked up my pal Jo, 30 mins later I had collected my sister and set the SatNav for Southend on Sea. Google maps had estimated a 2 hour travel time, but we managed it in an hour and a half and even had time to pop into Asda for a hot brekkie before arriving at the studio.

Thanks to both the SatNav and good directions from Terry Mendoza (the photographer) we found the studio easily and started unloading the car. By 8.30 am I was perched on my chair being ministered to by the hugely talented Hair & make-up artist I had booked. A mere two and a half hours later, I had completed my transformation from frumpy to fabulous and was ready for my close-up ;)

Now Terry had warned me that he doesn't like to bring friends into the studio itself, as he feels it makes his subjects more self-conscious. Despite this, I arrived with my entourage of my sister and my friend Jo. I needed my sister to help me in and out of my corsets and Jo was interested in having a shoot done herself and had come along to see how it went before making her final decision.

I went into the studio in my first (of about 6 or 7) outfits and Terry grudgingly (which is understandable) said that they could come in for one or two pics. He suggested a few warm-ups shots to loosen me up, but after all the pampering from the make-up artist and with the fabulous forties music playing in the background I was ready to pose for Britain. I danced and whirled and posed and played and within a few short minutes he stopped to ask me had I been practising for weeks as I was doing great. Funnily enough there was no more mention of making the girls leave the studio ;)

It really was the best experience and I urge everyone to give it a go. I came away hugely liberated and full of confidence. I (will) finally have good pictures of myself that I actually like and want to look at, as opposed to the usual 'Dear God, do I look like that?' photo's of the usual night out.

What can I say guys? I finally feel 30 and flirty and fabulous, so what if it's 3 years too late ;)

You can book your own exhilarating experience with Terry or just ogle the gorgeous pics on his website

http://www.retrophotostudio.co.uk/