MelodyMae.co.uk

26th August 2019

A Week of Outfits — Plus Size OOTW

Happy Bank Holiday Monday!

So it’s a bank holiday here in England (national day off spent drinking) and whilst you bastards are off basking in the sunshine, I’m at work. I mean, it’s not really the worst — I’ll be off tomorrow for The Boyfriend®’s birthday — but working in retail sucks sometimes, haha! Anyway, since it’s Monday it’s time for a plus size OOTW roundup!

Necklace; Handmade
Top; Primark
Skirt; Old Collectif
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

Well, hello to bitchface! Can you tell I was in a mood this day? Wearing something casual for work as we’re getting new stock in and I had to clean and organise practically everything in the shops. I love striped tops, but I can’t look at them or else I get a bit nauseous, which is difficult when your own boobs start making you feel sick… Anyone else get the same?

Dress; eShakti
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

So basically I forgot to take my anti-depressants for a few days, which meant I ended up completely manic over the last weekend. I’m very practical when in mania — I ironed literally all my clothes in a few hours. So now my clothes are readily available to wear for once, I’m actually wearing more than three outfits a week now!

Plus Size OOTW

Dress; eShakti
Brooch; Pink Bungaloo
Bag; Vendula London (Personalised)
Shoes; Melissa

I went to a meeting at The Shangri-La Hotel, which is up on the 35th floor of The Shard. So. That was pretty cool! I had to dress up for the occasion, though, so I decided to change up the ol’ hair style roster with this poodle ‘do! This dress is pretty old now, but it’s possibly my favourite dress ever. It’s just bloody gorgeous! Even if it’s basically yesterday’s dress in navy.

Dress; Handmade
Bolero; Banned Apparel
Brooch; Pink Bungaloo
Bag; Vendula London
Shoes; Swedish Hasbeens

I realised I hadn’t worn this dress this year! However, it came out especially to be seen from space

Dress; Lindy Bop
Bolero; Banned Apparel
Brooch; Luxulite
Shoes; M&S

Day three of the poodle! I finally understand why people in the vintage scene love them so much — it’s the only hairstyle that actually survives a night sleeping! Keeping on the yellow theme to get it in before summer leaves us for good.

What do you think?

I’m loving doing these weekly posts, honestly. Feeling like I have to be accountable for outfit photos each day has actually pushed me to get up earlier each day. And whilst waking up earlier, I’ve even managed to squeeze time for a yoga session, too. So hi guys, thanks for making me feel better each day.

21st August 2019

Wednesday Wishlist — Plus Size Pinup Basic Tops

Happy Humpday, friends!

How are you doing dolls? I had a relaxing few days off, where I practically did nothing. I rarely allow myself ‘nothing’ days as I get really anxious that I’m not doing things, however it’s been wonderful. In my last Outfits of The Week post, I mentioned I needed some basics. So today’s Wishlist is all about plus size pinup basic tops! Over the next few weeks I’ll be putting together lots of basics wish lists — feel free to let me know your favourites in the comments!

Plus Size Pinup Basic Tops

Vivien Of Holloway

Vivien of Holloway doesn’t make too many appearances on the blog, since I find their sizes to be too small to really be plus-sized. However, from their size guide it looks like that’s changed, which is great! They now reach a rough UK20-22, but these tops looks like they have enough stretch for larger sizes to work with.

Lindy Bop

We all know I love Lindy Bop. The quality is so great, given the price! So if you want some more affordable basics for your wardrobe, I can’t recommend them enough. I do wish they’d bring out more colours in their shrugs, though!

Emmy Designs

When it comes to knitwear, Emmy Designs is THE ONE. I’m not joking here, they have the greatest cardigans on the scene. Truly vintage-inspired and of incredible quality. I’ve not had the pleasure of owning one of their pieces yet, but I’ve tried a few on from Revival Retro and there’s nothing like them.

They officially go up to a UK20, but as they’re knitwear with stretch, you can often size down. I think I’ve worn a UK16 from them comfortably. And you can find them in almost any colour!

Miss Candyfloss

Miss Candyfloss is one of those brands you can tell from a mile off. They have a really wonderful style that is so distinctive. I was surprised that they have so many pinup basic tops options, actually!

Hell Bunny

Ooooh, Hell Bunny’s colour palettes at the moment are making me want pumpkin spiced everything and falling leaves! I have some Hell Bunny cardigans that I ADORE, and the quality is wonderful. Do I need a teal cardigan in my wardrobe? I think so!

Banned Apparel

Banned Apparel have great knitwear in general, and a great selection of colours and styles in all sizes. The April Love cardigan is just dreamy — I want one in every colour! The same with the Raven cardigan, though, that’s my perfect style of cardigan.

Where is your favourite place/s to get pinup basics?

I want to know if there’s anyone I’ve forgotten! And remember, you can see my Pinup Basics Pinterest board to see what new things I find!

19th August 2019

A Week in Outfits — Plus Size Fashion

Merry Monday, all!

I’ve never before said this; But thank god it’s Monday! I’ve been working a lot recently (I mention this at least once a week, I know), and for the first time in a while I get two whole days off! I’m quite excited to mostly do nothing, if I’m honest. But regardless, it’s Monday and it’s time to roundup last week’s outfits for some plus size fashion for you all! Right after I catch up on Stranger Things, that is…

Dress; Handmade
Cardigan; Banned Apparel
Coat; Elements Rainwear
Shoes; Melissa

Remember the other week when I mentioned it was boiling hot? It’s still warm-ish, but it’s also raining a hell of a lot. I don’t always mind rain however, especially when I get the chance to wear my Elements Raincoat! It’s funny that I live in England and I don’t seem to wear

Necklace; Handmade
Dress; Joanie Clothing
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

Plus Size Fashion

Sassy motherfucker alert! I’ve been doing a middle parting more often, and it’s funny how it seems to make me look older? Anyone agree? I got a hell of a lot of comments on this outfit — and I thought it was quite boring originally!

Necklace; Handmade
Dress; Handmade
Cardigan; Voodoo Vixen
Shoes; Swedish Hasbeens

My colleague has been complaining that he hasn’t seen the dress I made the other week, so I wore it in a more casual way. The cardigan wasn’t the best idea, in hindsight. The print is certainly too busy for any other patterns! Reminds me to grab some plain cardigans on my next shopping trip.

Cardigan; Collectif
Dress; Boohoo Plus
Shoes; Primark

This is real life folks! Most of the time I actually look like this, to be honest with you. I’ve mentioned a few times I struggle a bit with my mental health, and often it’s so difficult to get my arse out of bed and get dressed. Funnily enough, before I started doing these weekly outfit posts, this was practically all I ever wore. Most of the time I didn’t even put my eyebrows on, to be honest. It’s refreshing to see now that this is an off day for me.

17th August 2019

Boyfriend Bi-Monthly — Plus Size Pinup

Hey friends! How are we doing?

Anyone else tired as hell? Raise your hands, sleepy friends! So work, as always, is hard and I’m exhausted. Turns out working six days a week minimum isn’t good for someone with possible CFS. But I digress! Today we’re trying a new thing out, which is that I actually made my boyfriend dress me! So it’s plus size pinup style with a twist today.

Turns out that living with a person doesn’t necessarily mean you spend a lot of time with them. Joe (The Boyfriend®) has been working nights a lot recently. So we only really see each other for a bit in the mornings. It sucks, frankly, but we decided to head over to Shoreditch and spend the day together doing a little exploring.

It wasn’t really a planned idea — as I was getting ready, Joe was giving me some ideas. So we had the idea that he’d rifle through my wardrobes (yes, plural) and see what he could put together. It wasn’t easy for him. At all. Actually, it wasn’t easy for me either because it turns out he has no idea and I don’t like being told what to do. Somehow we managed to get to this banger of an outfit though, so it turns out we’re a bloody good team.

Plus Size Pinup

As it stands, Joe likes a bit of a rock chic style, and his ideas were along the lines of 60s Sweater Girls VS Cherie Currie from The Runaways. And so, we basically ended up with me looking like a Ryan Heshka Mean Girls Club reject. I. Fucking. Love. It.

It’s actually really refreshing to have a different sort of style put together for you. I’ve mentioned in my Outfits of the Week posts recently that I can get a bit bored with my style. So I really enjoyed working on something slightly different with Joe. So much so that we’ll be doing it more often!

So on this particular day we hung out around Shoreditch looking for some badass graffiti to pose by. If you don’t know London, you might not know that Shoreditch is where all the hipster dicks live, which means it’s also where the cool street art is. And I also got spotted by a local photographer, Raf Huggins, who had me pull ugly faces whilst looking badass. As it turns out, Shoreditch really is the place to be.

So tell me guys, how did The Boyfriend® do?

Earrings; Bow and Crossbones
Top & Belt; Old Collectif
Skirt; Boohoo Plus
Shoes; Banned Apparel

12th August 2019

A Week In Outfits – Plus Size Pinup Style

Hey friends! It’s Monday again.

I hope you’re all doing well this Monday morning (or afternoon. Or evening)! It’s time to roundup my outfits from this week! So have some plus size pinup style from the past week for your entertainment.

I’m the most boring person at the moment, which is getting me down a little bit. I locked myself out of my flat at the beginning of the month, and the £300 it cost to break the door has screwed me up financially. And so I’m living the life of a pauper in the first week of the month! But hey, it’s all real life, is it not? I may only be going from home to work, however I can still look cute, right?

Crop Top; Primark
Skirt; Collectif (second hand)
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

Casual as hell in my new-to-me cactus skirt. I bloody love cacti. This skirt? Honestly it’s not the best thing I’ve ever worn. There’s a reason I don’t buy Collectif unless I can really help it — but guys, cacti!!

Top; Collectif
Skirt; Handmade
Shoes; Melissa

Plus Size Pinup Style

This is a bangin’ outfit, if I do say so myself. Literally the only issue with it is that I’d forgotten how horrendous the Collectif Dolores tops are. Honestly, I had marks on my arms from those sleeves for days!

Top; Old Primark
Skirt; Rosie DIY Couture
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

This outfit is really boring, but in a comfortable way! This is a skirt made by Rosie from DIY Couture for her book No Patterns Needed. I happened to model in the book, and keep most of the clothing. The only thing that stops me wearing this more often is the lack of waistband — it doesn’t do anything for me!

Top; Old Primark
Skirt & Necklace; Handmade
Shoes; Melissa

It’s funny how hair makes an outfit — I’d look really put-together here if my hair was curled! But honestly, I need to give my locks a break at the moment, so that’s not happening for a while.

I’m quite liking this feature, you know. Getting up and photographing myself has been a great exercise in being more organised in the mornings. And as a result, I’m wearing more of my clothes than I was before. A result, I think! I don’t just want to wear the same thing every day.

10th August 2019

Chrysanthemum Flight — A Japanese Print Dress

As I mentioned the other week in my Wednesday Wishlist post, I went to a wedding! My boyfriend’s friend/ex-bandmate married the love of his life in the gorgeous Wilton’s Music Hall in East London. And the couple were kind enough to invite me alongside my other half. It was a gorgeous wedding, and I got to sit on the party table (Read; The loud annoying table) and drink my weight in prosecco. I also happened to make my dress, so here’s my Japanese print dress!

I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was to be back at my sewing machine. It had been so long since I’d last sewn I honestly forgot to use the damn machine! But we got over my clunkiness, and this dress came together easily within a day and a half.

Anyone that read my blog back when I was sewing a lot might recognised this dress. Back in 2012 I drafted my own pattern to make a dress I dubbed the No Cock Nor Tails dress. Fairly simple, it was a sweetheart-necked bodice and a full circle skirt black dress for a black tie event. In the years to come, I also made the Check Please dress, P-P-P-Polkadots dress, the Big Ol’ Black Dress and Sunshine Through The Clouds dress from the same pattern.

The fabric is really the big thing about this dress. The same as my Blossoms skirt from last year, and the Tanuki skirt from the year before, I bought this fabric whilst I was in Japan. I always end up at this place called Okadaya in Shinjuku when I’m in Tokyo, as they have 2 metre bundles outside for the measly sum of ¥990, which is about £8. It’s the most gorgeous fabric, not only in it’s kimono-inspired print, but since it’s a soft, textured cotton with a good weight to it. Japanese fabric, guys, it does not fuck around.

This fabric is based off kimono prints and embroideries, featuring peonies, chrysanthemums and cranes. We all know I have an affinity for Japanese dress and culture, so it seemed the perfect fabric for me! And the black backing with all the colours was just bloody gorgeous. Not so sure if it’s easy to see, but there is gold running through the print, too.

Japanese Print Dress

This dress went together pretty easily, so there’s not much I can say about the construction! It’s an unlined dress, since the cotton is weighty enough that I felt like I didn’t need it. It’s also unlined because I made it on the hottest day in a decade whilst in my knickers. Lining just felt a little unnecessary at that point.

It does have the best thing possible through; GODDAMN POCKETS. Once upon a time — when I only really blogged about sewing projects — I was planning on calling my blog “Thanks, It’s Got Pockets” because that’s how committed I am to pockets in my life. This dress in particular needed in-seam pockets, which I was surprised I remember how to do.

There’s no pattern-matching, as you can see, but that straight up doesn’t bother me. Pattern matching is for people who have their life together, not me!

As I was making this dress, I worried that the print was too busy for me. That was the main reason for choosing a simplistic-styled pattern, since there’s a lot going on. But I was so happy to catch myself in the mirror that day and realise that it’s a gorgeous dress, if I do say so myself.

What do you guys think?

Hair Flower; Lady Luck’s Boutique
Dress; Handmade
Shoes; Old Yours Clothing
Bag; Vendula London (Disclaimer)

5th August 2019

Plus Size Style – Outfits of The Week

Happy Monday! If you can ever call a Monday happy…

Hope you’re all doing well, friends! As I write this I’m nursing a hangover from the weekend (Fun.) where I drank my weight in prosecco at a wedding. More on that outfit at the weekend! But today I wanted to share with you a new little segment, which literally just shows off my day-to-day plus size style. Because as much as it’s nice to show you perfectly polished style photos, sometimes it’s nice to see daily style in photos that look like they’re taken on a potato.

Dress; Handmade
Belt; Old Primark
Shoes; M&S with Lady Lucks Boutique Flowers

Top; Old Primark
Necklace & Earrings; Luxulite
Skirt; Handmade
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

I’m finding more recently that I actually enjoy dressing a bit more simply than I used to. Sometimes, this gal’s plus size style is a plain top and patterned skirt with espadrilles. Just what I need to wear to look nice at work and still get out of the house on time. Not that it often works, of course. I will late for my own funeral, seriously!

Hair Flowers; Lady Lucks Boutique
Dress; Tara Starlet
Bag; Vendula London
Shoes; M&S and Lady Lucks Boutique Flowers

Hair Flower; Lady Lucks Boutique
Top; Old Primark
Skirt; Handmade
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

It’s also been incredibly warm recently, which is affecting how much clothing I actually want to wear outside. When you live in London, you always have to factor in the goddamn tube when dressing. I haven’t worn a cardigan on the tube in months, simply because it is far too fucking hot.

Dress; Handmade
Shoes; Everything 5 Pounds

It’s funny, until putting these images together, I’d actually not realised how much of my handmade items I wear on a regular basis!

So guys, what’s your day-to-day style like?

Let me know in the comments!

31st July 2019

Wednesday Wishlist — Plus Size Wedding Guest

Happy Wednesday beautiful people!

So I realised last week that I have a wedding this weekend. I know, I’m an awful person for forgetting — but now is the time to work out the outfit, right? If I’m honest, I cheated and made my dress which I’ll be posting up next week. But it didn’t stop me trawling my favourite sites and brands to inspire me! So for this week, we have some plus size wedding guest inspiration.

Chi Chi London

Chi Chi London is the place I think of first when I think of wedding guest dresses. They have such beautifully feminine designs that just fit right at home at a wedding. Navy lace is a great all-rounder — pair with metallics for a luxe night-time venue, or add pale pinks or bright yellows and reds for a fun daytime twist! And the Ariyah dress is just screaming for a gorgeous hat, right?

Lindy Bop

Retro is always king at a wedding, don’t you think? You really can’t go wrong with a vintage-styled dress, and Lindy Bop is always incredible value — so it’s definitely worth trying, even just for the day! The Harlow is a great way of wearing darker colours without looking somber, and what summer wedding wouldn’t enjoy a lemon print print Audrey? (You can read my post on the Lemon Audrey here)

ASOS Curve

Of course ASOS Curve needs a mention when talking about plus size wedding guest style! I decided to only show items from their own ranges this time, too. But these all would be amazing at a wedding. The maxi dress is just incredible, isn’t it? And I really don’t prescribe to the idea that wearing black is a bad idea at a wedding, hence the middle dress. It can be incredibly chic with minimal jewellery and shoes, or go crazy with statement pieces! The fallen shoulder dress is just beautiful, too. And it comes in black, emerald green and a white-backed print if you want another colour!

Loud Bodies

Okay, shit guys. I’m utterly in LOVE with Loud Bodies at the moment. Everything is beautiful, flouncy, ethereal and gorgeous. And everything goes up to a 5XL, with FREE custom sizes. Plus they use actual plus-sized models and models with disabilities, which just makes me so happy. Visibility at its best, here! And pretty much everything will work for a wedding guest, don’t you think? You wouldn’t even need to accessorise these garments and you’d still look incredible.

Boohoo Plus

It’s not a Wednesday Wishlist without Boohoo Plus, right? I can’t sing Boohoo’s praises enough, since their stuff is crazy affordable and the fit is 95% excellent on their Plus items. And there’s a damn jumpsuit! Nothing says “I’m so happy you’re getting married” like having to get naked to pee, right? Right?! But you’d look awesome doing so. You can of course go the easy route with a flowery number that would look great with plain accessories, or the blush pink dress which calls for some statement shoes or bag!

Will you be a plus size wedding guest this year?

Let me know what you’re planning on wearing in the comments, you guys know I love looking at clothes!

28th July 2019

Plus Size Summer Retro Style

Bloody hell guys, it’s been hot.

How the devil are you guys? Unless you’ve been under a rock the last week, you’d know that the UK has been a bit warm recently. It’s the hottest year for sixteen years, and the second hottest since records began. Guys, I’m dying. So here’s some plus size summer retro style!

So it’s been hot as balls, and I’ve been overtired recently which has been kicking my arse. Some of it is my own doing, of course, since I’ve been trying to be more social recently. Most of it, as always, is thanks to work. We’re down a member of staff so I’ve been working harder than usual. Handbags, guys. Handbags are serious business, haha!

So since moving into the new place, I’ve given myself a few goals. The first is to be more social, since the last few years have seen a decline in my social life, and I’m the type of person that needs friends to survive (shout out to my extrovert ENFJ peeps!). So this particular weekend saw 10 hour days, big deliveries and two very late nights at a gig on Friday and record hop on Saturday.

I’m a little too dressed up for a river walk, I realise, but the whole plan was to maximise my social weekend by heading to Swing East. And then I fell asleep. In full hair and makeup — the body wants what it wants, I suppose!

So instead the boy and I decided to go for a wander along New River and explore the area a bit. And I tried to talk to baby Coots. One day I’ll live my Disney Princess dreams, I swear.

Plus Size Summer Retro Style

So onto the outfit, right? Since it’s been hot, this little bumper bang hairstyle has been a go-to for keeping cooler. It’s funny that I get more comments on this ten minute style than a full set and brush out. Must be the flowers.

I’ll be uploading a video of how to achieve this style, since it’s so stupidly easy! Head over to my Instagram stories to see how I do it — and click on the “Hair” highlight for other videos!

I’m trying to wear more of the clothes I actually have in my wardrobe rather than constantly buying and reviewing new stuff. This is a Banned dress from last year (review here) that I still adore so much, since it’s so bright and happy! Bright blues are my favourite colours to wear in summer. This dress in particular is easy to pull together a great look, even without doing hair and makeup I think it looks amazing.

Do you guys have any style go-tos in summer?

Maybe you have some plus size summer retro you’d like to share? Links, photos and tips in the comments below!

Hair Flowers; Lady Lucks Boutique
Dress; Banned Retro
Bolero; Collectif

15th July 2019

Getting Edgy With It — Plus Size Alternative Style

Happy Monday, friends!

Hope we’re all doing well! Mercury is in retrograde and things are a bit weird, don’t you think? I’m not a massive believer of those such things, but hey — any excuse to blame something else, right? Anyhow, today I’m switching things up with some plus size alternative style!

Now, I’m not suddenly turning all alternative on you guys, don’t worry. I love my vintage and pin up style a lot, and it’s not a style I’ll grow out of any time soon. But I’m also a massive emo kid inside that loves heavy rock music, getting drunk in fields at pop punk festivals and spending her birthday at post-punk gigs. And sometimes I just want to show that side of me off!

What I will say is that plus size vintage/retro/pin up style has it’s privileges, it really does. As much as being plus size can allow, honestly. Because at least if you’re in the UK18-UK26 bracket, it’s fairly easy to find vintage styled clothes that fit. If that’s not a style you go for — lord, it’s a difficult one. Recently I’ve been to a few gigs and festivals in which I’ve been my emo self outside as well as in. And my basic outfit really is just a band shirt and a midi tube skirt, since that’s all I can really find that fits.

Finding Plus Size Alternative Style

I recently spent an entire day trying to find a denim skirt, or a dungaree dress on the high street. Fairly easy, right? There’s an array of these in fashion right now, so surely I’d find something on the high street that would work? Wrong. Oh. So. Wrong. In my years of wearing vintage-styled clothing, I’d completely forgotten how horrendous shopping as a fat woman was. I’d forgotten the pain of trying every item in every size, just to be disappointed when it doesn’t go up past your knees. And I’d forgotten how frustrating, flustering and frankly gross, trying on clothes is. My plus sized friends wearing non-vintage styles — my heart goes out to you, my friend.

So I never found a denim skirt or a dungaree dress. Even in a plus-sized-specific store — I’m looking at you, Yours Clothing — the cuts were just awful. Where the fuck are the waists? I know some bodies aren’t as hourglassed as mine, but when the waists are clearly bigger than the hips, who on earth are you catering for? Having to size up for my hips whilst having fistfuls of fabric at the waist is just not the one.

So here I am in my trusty midi tube skirt — I have a few, but all of them are from Boohoo Plus, since you can’t beat the price, sizing and quality really. Wearing an Alexisonfire t-shirt that was a birthday present from myself at their show last month. And of course, my trusty Alice Brown’s Cupboard turban. I wear this thing constantly and I LOVE IT. Makes me feel fancy even if I haven’t bothered doing anything with my hair that day.

So guys — what do you think about this style on me? Are you also into plus size alternative style?

Tell me your go-to brands and style in the comments!

Top; Alexisonfire
Turban; C/O Alice Browns Cupboard (Disclaimer)
Skirt; Boohoo Plus
Boots / Belt; Old Primark
Bag; Vendula London

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Happy Bank Holiday Monday!

Plus Size OOTW

What do you think?

Happy Humpday, friends!

Plus Size Pinup Basic Tops

Where is your favourite place/s to get pinup basics?

Merry Monday, all!

Plus Size Fashion

Hey friends! How are we doing?

Plus Size Pinup

So tell me guys, how did The Boyfriend® do?

Hey friends! It’s Monday again.

Plus Size Pinup Style

Japanese Print Dress

What do you guys think?

Happy Monday! If you can ever call a Monday happy…

So guys, what’s your day-to-day style like?

Happy Wednesday beautiful people!

Will you be a plus size wedding guest this year?

Bloody hell guys, it’s been hot.

Plus Size Summer Retro Style

Do you guys have any style go-tos in summer?

Happy Monday, friends!

Finding Plus Size Alternative Style

So guys — what do you think about this style on me? Are you also into plus size alternative style?

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