Easter

You can never go wrong with a great dress for Easter. I can give you several reasons for such. First, the ease. Dresses are an instant outfit maker, and when you are trying to get dressed quickly so that you can beat the church rush for your favorite seat, a good dress has your back. Another reason why dresses are great, there is a type for everyone. Depending on what you want to highlight or conceal- there is a dress out there. My all time favorite dress types is the fit & flare followed by bodycon. I know two ends on the spectrum, but I will explain why. The fit & flare is what I call my ladylike dress. It can cinch your waist to create a hourglass (regardless if you are or not), and you don’t feel constricted on your lower half (esp for those that have wide hips or a bit of a tummy). On the other end a good bodycon brings the sexy. It hugs in all places and believe it or not this can be slimming. 

When it comes to my fit & flares I look for materials that are no fuss. Now I don’t have an issue with ironing, but if I can throw on an outfit and walk out the door I’m happy. Fabrics such as ponte and scuba are great because they barely wrinkle. Everyone wants to look bomb in their Easter’s finest and wrinkles just take away from the whole look.  

I received this cutie from my latest Dia & Co box. It’s the quintessential Easter dress. It’s colorful, has florals and the best feature of all - pockets. Dresses loose cool points with me if they don’t have pockets. The love of pockets is real in these streets. To play with some print mixing, I added a striped belt. Also I wanted to snatch my waist a bit, and adding a belt is the easiest way to create a smaller waist. Dia & Co is a great resource when you are looking for something new to add to your wardrobe. These days sometime you are either too busy to shop, or just overwhelmed with what is on sites. Having a Dia stylist curate items based on your style/call outs really makes shopping a breeze. It comes to your doorstep, try it on, and keep what you like, return the rest. Quick & painless. 

When I am wearing cutesy dresses, I always like to toughen up the look with a moto. My collection of moto’s continues to grow and this metallic one from Who What Wear has been in heavy rotation. I believe everyone should have at least 2 moto’s in their collection. The classic black and a fun color. I have motos in all colors of the rainbow, but jackets are my thing so I will always check out what is out there. hat can I say, I just want to live my life in technicolor. This metallic version is sold out in plus, but there is a pink version available as well as a floral one. Target has been cranking out some hits, and with their wallet friendly prices it’s more than enough reason to add everything to your cart.

 

 

 

At first I was going to wear a necklace with this look, but changed my mind when I decided to add a belt. Since the belt was sitting up higher than my natural waist, I felt adding a necklace would make me look shorter than what I already am. My go to accessory for the last several months has been a fun colorful earring. I found these online at Baublebar during the holiday season for less than $15. These are sold out but I found two other similar styles - the Coretta and the Canary. Both come in this bold pink hue and they are on sale.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are loving this dress make sure to ask your Dia stylist for it. Not signed up for Dia, then you are in luck cause you can sign up by clicking the link below!

Do you have your Easter outfit ready? Let me know what you are wearing in the comments below!!

 

Holy Curves

I could not let Women's month go by without shouting out dope women that are doing some things. Over the last several months, I have made it my mission to incorporate more black owned, and women owned businesses on my blog. There are so many people doing dope things that it is enough room at the table for all of us. One brand that I want to share with my lovers is Kay Dupree. I first met her online on twitter and became hella cool tweeting every Thursday about Scandal. From there we met IRL and just hit it off. She is fellow Bronx gal, smart, funny, and has a cool line for plus size gals. 

For example, this sweatshirt. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love graphic tee's. On any good day you will catch me in a tee, blazer and jeans. So when I checked out Kay's website, and saw this cutie of a sweatshirt I had to get it. I'm always buying tee's, if you can see my drawer you would shake your head, so I decided to get a sweatshirt. With Spring slowly creeping into these NYC streets, I feel this a great layer to wear as we transition into warmer weather. It's soft, warm, and of course it let's these people know, these curves out here are not to be played with. They should be praised. I am wearing a 1X (I wear 18/20 in tops) and its still roomy, so you can definitely stick your size. 

I have been experimenting more these days with mixing different prints or different color combo's. One print I have been incorporating more these days is camo. These pants are oldies from goodies from Lane Bryant, but they do have a newer version out now. I love how the ease of joggers and these are great for gals on the go. 

So for all the sneakerheads out there, they know that today is Air Max Day. It's a celebration of all things Air Max, and I am sharing my favorite, the Air Max 95. I have own these in soo many colors since they dropped 23 years ago, With all the different colors I have own over the years I will always come back to the original colorways- especially the neons. I am wearing a 6.5 in kids since I wear 8-8.5 in womens. That is the great thing when you wear shoes smaller than a woman's 9, you can wear kids sneaker and save you some money. 

I love the mix of color and print with this look. Adding the metallic bomber added just the right finishing touches to this look. The bomber I'm wearing is sold out, but there are some great options from Simply Be, and the upcoming Hunter for Target collection that definitely fit into the athleisure aesthetic. Lovers, let me know what you think??? 

Hey Girl

Hey Allie?!?!? You done changed up on me....lol

Last year, Lane Bryant debut the Allie pant. Allie was universal pant that worked for a myriad of women. Though I loved the fit, I wasn't the big on bootcut pants. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with bootcuts, I just love a skinny pant. So when Lane Bryant sent me the Allie now in a skinny pull on version I was excited to give them a try.

Things that you need to know about Allie- it is made from a smart stretch material that holds it shape throughout the day, its a pull on pant (easy on, easy off), and it comes in petites!!! I am wearing a 18, and I cuffed them since I wanted to show off my booties, but I wonder if the 18P would have given me the perfect amount of ankle without any cuff. 

For an afternoon out and about, I went with my Tracee Ellis Ross turtleneck (old and sold out). Its oversized, warm, grey goodness is great for these chilly NYC days. With the weather being so bi-polar, having warm and cozy sweaters like this are necessary. I threw on my trusty Levi trucker jacket, and my new snakeskin booties from Violeta by Mango. I have been loving the new items that I found while I was on Fullbeauty's website. 

With all the new pink goodies I have been adding to my closet, it was a no-brainer for me to get a pair of pink booties and a crossbody in pink snakeskin. I love Mango's accessories, they are made a good quality materials. These are the perfect height for walking around. The crossbody holds all my essentials, and I can wear it across, or tuck in the strap and rock it as a clutch. These are both sold out unfortunately, but they do have some great items at Fullbeauty.

I have been on the hunt for great walls around the city. One of them just so happens to be in a train station. Yup in NYC you get to see some art while walking to your train to go to work. With all the cool walls I have been seeing and shooting at, I am now going to share their magnificence in a new section on the blog. Not sure what I am going to call it, but stay tuned.  

Making It Werk

Plus size workwear in my eyes was never fashionable. It was there to serve a purpose- and by purpose I mean boring, and drab. When I first started working, wearing jeans was relegated to Friday's. Monday-Thursday was filled with slacks, cardigans and button ups. Now don't get me wrong, I love me a good button up, but 10 years ago things were just for me to put on so I can look appropriate. Looking good and getting dressed for work was not a concept that I felt happened at the same time. 

To see how much plus size fashion has changed makes my heart skip a beat. Plus size fashion is not at the finish line when it comes to size, quality, and options, but it has improved such that there is something for everyone. So if you are plus size and you want good quality pieces to wear to work where would you go? Straight sized women have Everlane and Theory, but where does a big girl go for upscale classics? Two words- Universal Standard. 

Universal Standard is not new to the blog. I featured their collab with actress Danielle Brooks. Now a sweater dress is definitely an item that you can wear to work, but this post is dedicated to workwear staples. As a pant and tee type of gal, I was going to feature only the pants, but then I saw the Unity Cut Out Skirt. I love a good pencil skirt, but the cut out took the skirt to the next level. As of late, finding a good pencil skirt that hits me at the right spot on my leg has been hard. This skirt is perfect for those that are inbetweenies. Now I am 5'5", so I am technically not petite, but my inseam is not the standard of 29-30 inches, so skirts have hit in a weird place. This skirt fit me like a dream. I wear a M in their clothes which is equivalent to a 18/20. Size M definitely fits well across these hips. This comes in Eggshell as well as Black. 

When it comes to work basics, a turtleneck is definitely in my arsenal. With the weather being so bipolar here in NYC, I need to stay warm no matter what. I came across 32 Degrees and their Heat Tech clothes use your body heat to keep you warm, but wisks away sweat to keep you from overheating. I have these tops and leggings in all of their colors. They have been the saving grace for me this season. These lightweight tee's are great for layering without all the extra bulk.

With this look, I was inspired by the 60's beatnik fashion. Beatnik's wardrobe consisted of black and white classics. Turtlenecks, stripes, and pants and skirts in slim silhouettes were a must. Also, you can't forget their main accessory, the beret. In order to create my look, all that I needed was in my closet. I wore my favorite coat from Modamix, my Rebecca Minkoff crossbody, Sam Edelman pumps, Eloquii belt and a beret. Of course I had to break out Stunna by Fenty Beauty. 

I work in a casual environment these days, so my days of dressing up are far and few between. Even though I am in a casual environment, there are still women out there that need great pieces that not only look good, but fit well and can last. If you are in the need for pieces that can have you werking it while at work, then definitely check Universal Standard out. 

Candy Land

Ok so my first board game was Candy Land. I lovvvvveeeedddd that game. I asked my Grammy & Mommy to play all the time. To keep the tradition going, I played with niece when she was little. It is the perfect game for little kids. It teaches little kids color and you can actually get through the game in less than an hour (cause kids attention spans these days are short). The game was my first foray with color, and it has stayed with me ever since.  

While scrolling on the gram, I saw these amazing steps. It was the perfect set up for any cool pastel look you want to do. To be honest the steps inspired this look as well as me doing a whole month of pink looks. 

Sugarfix Earrings

So you may or may not know that I love all things athleisure- sweatshirts, sneakers, and cool leggings. I love how the traditional sweatshirt nowadays comes cropped, with cool embellishments (the fur trimmed ones are my new favs), or in the form of fun dresses.

Reasons to get a sweatshirt dress

  1. They are comfy af- they are just soo soft & cozy
  2. Instant outfit maker- put it on and you are done
  3. Hella, hella cute

I first bought this Eloquii sweatshirt dress in the fall in black. Loved it soo much that when the pink one came out, I bought it immediately. I was going to get the grey one, but waited too long, and it sold out. I hope they bring it back in more colors. This dress is the best. Yes it is cozy, yes it is cute, but it has pockets, so that makes it hands down the best dress ever. It is a little on the stretchy side, so I ordered this in a 16, and it fit perfectly. If you want it more oversized, then size up. 

I decided to show the versatility of the dress by dressing it up with booties. I have been obsessed with my Halogen Anita white booties, and wear them every chance I get. The boot is currently on sale, but the white is sold out. If you are looking for a cute white pair, Eloquii just launched their Spring shoes with a white bootie. Theirs is a kitten heel, so if you are not about that 3 inch life, you can rock the Abba. 

When it comes to accessories, I have been gravitating towards statement earrings. My earring collection these days has exploded. My favorite are tassels, and these Sugarfix by Baublebar earrings are soo cute. These are a multicolored pair that go with soo much of the pastels that are in my closet. For $13, you can buy as many as you like and not feel bad at all. Target stay with the goodies, and this is why they are one of my favs. 

I have really embraced all things pastel. Are you all about it, staying away from it, or slowly giving it a chance? Let me know in the comments!!