A Ray Of Sunshine On A Blustery Autumn Day

What I Wore

High Neck Black T-Shirt - Simply Be

Floral Scarf - Isle At Edinburgh Woollen Mill - EWM

Black Converse Ox Low Tops

Dorothy Perkins - DP Curve - Yellow Elastic Back Ankle Grazer Trousers 

I don't post a lot of outfit posts but when I do I try to always take something away from the experience, and this particular one, although quite boring and insignificant to some ties together a couple of recent blog posts, one which was about taking your summer wardrobe into Autumn, and the other which all about ways in which to boost confidence and self belief (read my posts here and here)

These trousers were really a summer buy from Dorothy Perkins Curve line, when I bought them back in April / May time, and whilst I've worn them a couple of times with both a white top, and a white shirt, and a chunky yellow necklace, I can honestly say that I've never felt completely comfortable in them, I don't mean fit wise, I mean more mentally comfortable, and confident.

I've seen so many people look amazing in similar coloured pants, but on me they were just too much, they were too bright and they drew too much attention to the worst parts of my body. So like a lot of items lately I put them back in the wardrobe and reverted back to my "safer", more conventional, darker pants.

When I was putting together that post on Autumn fashion though, these trousers immediately came to mind. Drawing on the colours of the Autumn leaves, yellows and mustard's are pretty much staple shades at this time of year, and whilst I'd originally just seen the trousers as a summer season wonder, there was no reason why I couldn't try wearing them again in the colder months.

So instead of teaming them with lighter, more summery tops, I switched it up a bit and teamed them up with a real wardrobe staple, a plain black t-shirt, some black and white low top Converse, and just to soften the look, and to get a bit more wear out of it, a very summery floral scarf, that contained similar mustard yellow tones.

Not only that but I ditched the mirror selfie and I persuaded Mummy Lou to take a few outfit pictures for me. As much as I love clothes and I love fashion I've never been comfortable with having my photo taken, I don't know whether it's down to my facial paralysis but I've always needed to be in control of how people see me, but sometimes you need to face your fears and do it anyway - after all she's my mam - she's there to love and support me, and to lift my confidence.

So we went outside, dodged the rain showers and found a great place to shoot that was full of character, and looked positively dreary next the sunshine yellow of my trousers, and we shot a few pics, and do you know what? I don't hate them, and I certainly don't hate the trousers.

Obviously there are things that I would change about myself, and my appearance, but hey this is me at the moment, curves and all, and I think I need to try and love what I see in the mirror a little bit more. Do you know what though? I do think I'm rocking those trousers, so much so in fact that I ended up wearing them for an appointment and a shopping trip.

I don't think that I'm ever going to have the supermodel esq confidence that a lot of bloggers, You Tubers and Instagrammers seem to have when it comes to posing and posting outfits, but we aren't all the same, and hopefully in time I will become more comfortable posting pictures, and sharing my style with you, and at the same I hope that with every picture I'll learn to love and accept myself just that little bit more x  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this - how do you learn to love yourself, and how can you improve your own body image? Let me know in the comments x

The Colours Of Autumn - Outfit Of The Day / Night

As much as I love fashion, clothes, accessories and shoes, unlike a lot of bloggers I don't really post that many outfits of the day. There are many reasons I guess why I don't do that many ranging from a lack of confidence in front of the camera, to poor body image, and a not very skilled principal photographer (sorry Mummy Lou) but with a big birthday approaching I'm trying to be a bit more accepting of myself and a bit braver all round.

So just before I headed off to Monday night's Intu Eldon Square Fashion Spooktacular, the mother ship kindly shot a few pictures so I could cobble together a very rare outfit of the day post and this was the result...

What I Wore

Joe Browns At Simply Be - Autumn Leaf Wrap Dress

80 Denier Black Opaques - George At Asda 

Madia Tan Buckle Ankle Boots - Dorothy Perkins

Lola Rose Sloane Square Beaded Bracelet - Fire Agate

Olive Wood Wooden Bracelet - Somewhere In Cyprus 

I ordered this dress a few weeks ago now after seeing it on the Simply Be website. Joe Browns don't carry the plus size line on their own website (Why not though? How weird is that??) so I think that this dress is a Simply Be exclusive. It's not hard to see why I ordered it, it's just perfect for this time of year.

In a faux (essential if you're on the curvy side) wrap style, it's made from a stretchy jersey fabric. The dress has a black base which is a perfect foil for the flower and leaf print. Thanks to the brown, yellow, orange, tan, and grey tones, this dress fits perfectly into the traditional Autumnal colour palette, that gets its influence from the changing colours of the leaves and foliage, and those fabulous Autumn sunrises and sunsets.

Outside I teamed it with a black PU bomber jacket, and a black Michael Kors tote bag to tone in with both my holy grail black George opaque tights, and with the background of the dress.

Instead of going for a black boot or shoe though, I teamed this outfit up with one of my favourite pairs of boots, a pair of past season, tan, brown, buckle detail ankle boots from Dorothy Perkins, that coordinate perfectly with the colours on the dress They don't have a huge heel and they aren't too flat either so they're really comfortable which is great when to you need to walk around a bit, as I did on Monday night thanks to a fire alarm. They're quite a classic style so it shouldn't be too hard to find something similar in stores this season. Sticking with the tan theme and thinking of how I can wear the dress in the future I could also potentially wear it with my Clarks Hamble Oak Brogues (see my post here) for a different look.

Because the dress had such a busy and I didn't want to accent my cleavage too much, I decided not to wear a necklace and instead I wore, a bracelet on each wrist. On one wrist I wore a slightly, chunkier stretch bracelet which I got on holiday in Cyprus a few years ago, which is made from a varnished, golden brown toned olive wood, and on the other wrist I wore a Lola Rose bracelet, which I received as a Christmas present a few years ago now. I don''t think it's the easiest one to find anymore but it's the Lola Rose Sloane Square Beaded Bracelet, which originally came from QVC UK and mine is made from Fire Agate,  which with orange and brown tones, again perfectly with the print on the dress.

I know lot of bloggers let their pictures do the talking but you know me I love to talk and I thought it might be nice for you to find out a little bit about the pieces that I wore and why I chose them, even though in most cases here it is down to colour coordination ha ha. I'm really going to try and do more outfits of the day to try and be brave and boost my confidence a bit. Why shouldn't I ? After all human beings do come in all ages, shapes and sizes and we all clothes so if we love clothes we shouldn't we have the confidence to show ourselves off and put ourselves out there. Are you a fan of autumnal tones in clothing, jewellery and accessories? Let me know your thoughts in the comments x 

Breaking Fashion Rules And Accepting Yourself The Way You Are - OOTD

Like most people I have pretty much a love / hate relationship with Facebook, at times it irritates the hell out of me so I probably don't spend as much time on it as I used but it's still a valuable tool for helping me keep in touch with my friends and family, and every now and then, in between the memes and the cat videos, I do see the odd article that really makes me think.

I recently say something on Facebook, about a plus size, curvy lady who was posting pictures of her outfits online. Nothing unusual about that I hear you say, well no but in this case this women was told that she shouldn't wear a bikini because of her size, so to get back at the haters and prove that women can wear whatever the hell they want, she posted pictures of herself on social media breaking every plus size, fashion taboo out there and wearing everything from bikinis, to leggings and cropped tops,

My immediate reaction was that she was brave, but when I sat and thought about it, I came to the realisation that she's not brave at all, she's not doing anything scary she's just living her best life and accepting every inch of her beautiful and functional body for what it is. If she's happy in herself and with what she's wearing then good for her, what business is it of anybody else's what she wears and what she looks like!

The only opinion that matters when you look in the mirror should be your own, but thanks to the images of the perfect face and body that we faced with everyday, more and more people are suffering from a distorted view of themselves. Instead of looking at the positives when they look in the mirror, some people can only see their faults.

Whilst I would safely say that I'm more comfortable in my own skin now then I have been in a long time, some days I look in the mirror and I hate the girl that's staring back at me. I'm not even sure most of the time why I feel that way - I know my facial palsy can play a part but I also know that I've felt the same at times when I've been a size 8 and a size 20 so although my weight is playing a part at the moment it's not the only thing that causes me to feel so down on myself.

Quote Found On Facebook No Source Given

What can I do about it? well at the moment I'm focusing on self care, like I said in my last post I'm trying to find the positives in life, and I'm looking in the mirror everyday and trying to find something about myself that I like, today is a bad day so it's just my ears, hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling more positive and it will be something larger and a bit more noticeable.

In what seems like a contradiction I'm also spending a bit of time on social media, I'm spending my time looking at a lot of plus sized fashion bloggers, and I've also been watching this fabulous BBC Three piece from one of my favourite, fellow North East bloggers Katie Meehan. All of these lovely ladies just ooze confidence and self belief and I'm hoping that a little bit of that might rub off on me.

As the saying goes if you can't beat them join and that's exactly what i intend to do. Despite my current curvier, silhouette I still love clothes and fashion as much as I ever did, and although you seem to see a lot of clothes that I buy you never seem to see me wearing them. From now on though that is going to change I can't guarantee it's going to be a weekly thing but I'm going to bring the outfit of the day posts back to LouLouLand. Even if I don't always like what I see in the mirror, I'm going to be getting myself out there and trying to accept myself for what I am.

I thought I'd start off with one of those breaking plus size, fashion rules posts. Apparently if your curvy horizontal stripes are a big no no. Guess what though? I love them and I always have, from when I was a child, to when I was a size 8 I've always loved wearing horizontal stripes, and even though it's supposedly a fashion no, no for curvy girls, I'm going to carry on wearing them regardless of what anyone else thinks.

I wore this outfit to the recent Intu Metrocentre Spring / Summer Fashion VIP Event and I loved it. The dress is made of a super soft, comfortable, stretchy jersey, and I love the way the up and down, shark bite hem swished around my legs. The weather on the night wasn't very spring like so I teamed it with tights and chunky ankle boots, but I also think that this dress would look great with bare legs and sandals or short white or black converse. I finished the look with a long line statement necklace, and a faux leather black biker style, bomber jacket also from Simply Be that isn't pictured.

What I Wore

Black / Ivory Stripe Asymmetric Hanky Hem Dress - Simply Be 

Black Opaque Tights - Primark

Black Chunky Heel Chelsea Boots - Studio

Heart Charm Necklace - Ebay Seller - mandymax1971

Mummy Lou's photography skills are definitely improving, I just need to work out on my posing skills. I like the idea of shooting outside but you can tell I'm dealing with the elements it was windy, and thanks to the glare on my lenses I'm squinting slightly! So you've got a squinting grimace, and a resting bitch face. I'm never happy but the fact that I'm actually putting the pictures out there speaks volumes. I've got things to work but this is all about positivity and accepting myself the way I am, it's a work in progress and hopefully it will be one that I will share with you, with more outfit posts in the future x 

A Rare Outfit Of The Day (And Night)

Hey Guys x I hope you've all had a lovely Sunday, I definitely have, because today is my birthday! I've spent a lovely but quiet day with some family members, I've eaten cake till it's about to come out of my ears, and as per usual I've been thoroughly spoilt! Although I got quite a lot of money I also got lots of lovely pressies which I'm hopefully going to show you in a video next week but in the meantime I thought I'd treat you to a very rare outfit of the day post.

What I Wore

Textured Print Jersey Skater Dress - Simply Be 

Black Opaque Tights - Primark 

Black Jelly Bow Pumps - Mel By Melissa

Assorted Stretch Bracelets - Various

Okay I can't pose to save my life, the flashback on my glasses is super annoying and the lovely Mummy Lou needs a few photography lessons but I do love this dress. I've never bought anything from Simply Be before but I saw this dress in an advert on Facebook, and the print just called to me. One of my friends once said that it it's a gaudy floral and psychedelic print you'll buy it and that is so true, I love the textured fabric, and the bold and bright floral print, that perfectly matched yesterday's sunshine, yellow manicure.

Although this dress has taken me out of my comfort zone, you can tell that this dress is designed for women with curves because the cut and the seams just seem to pull you in and highlight your best bits. I hate my tummy and my bum and dresses normally make me feel self conscious but this one not so much. I'm still very curvy around the middle and whilst this dress doesn't hide it it doesn't draw attention to it, and it makes my boobs look fab which is also a bonus, and the length definitely highlights my best feature - my legs!

Throw in the fact that it's machine washable and made of a very easy to wear, and comfortable fabric, then it's no surprise that I've worn this dress both today and on Friday when I've over indulged calorie wise. It moves with you and there is nothing pulling and tugging around the middle just a comfy pull on, pretty dress, perfect for now with a pair of tights and perfect for the warmer months with bare legs. This dress was also in the sale and because I was a first time customer I also get free postage and packing and a further discount taking this dress down to just £13.86 - even if I'd hated it it would be worth at least trying it for that but thankfully I love it!  All in all I'm pretty pleased with my first Simply Be experience so if you've shopped with them before and have any recommendations I'd love to hear them x 

A Blast From The Past Rediscovering Clarks Shoes And A Bonus Outfit Of The Day*

My name is Louise and I've been addicted to shoes for as long as I can remember. At one point in my life I owned more than 150 pairs, although I "probably" own way less than that now. I love shoes, you can never really have a fat day in shoes and they can change an outfit in moments. If you were to ask me where my shoe addiction comes from then I can most definitely tell you. There are two shoe related incidents that stand out from my childhood - one is sitting on the floor among racks of shoes at the Tommy Balls discount shoe factory in Blackburn and the other one is getting my feet measured in Clarks.

Founded in 1825 Clarks are probably the quintessentially British shoe brand. For many of us one of our first shoe experiences is putting our feet in to some weird gadget and getting our feet measured for our school shoes. That's traditionally what Clarks do best - they produce shoes that are comfortable, quality driven and practical. I have to be honest and say that as an adult I drifted away from Clarks as a brand, they were just too frumpy and too practical for my trendy teenage and young adult self. My mum still shopped in Clarks, as did my dad, gran and my godparents but not me.

Over the last few years though Clarks as a brand have tried to change their image a bit and appeal towards the younger generation Their shoes and accessories now feature regularly at London Fashion Week, and in the past they've collaborated with the likes of Liberty and Mary Portas to produce shoes which retain the traditional qualities and values of the brand but have a funkier, younger edge. Their latest collaboration which is released in a week or so is with the legendary print designer Orla Kiely. Although none of the shoes appear to be in a Kiely print they do have the retro feel that we've come to associate with her designs.

Despite their seemingly slight change in direction though up until recently I still wouldn't class myself as a Clarks shopper, but a week or so ago I was given the opportunity to rediscover Clarks, and I was very kindly sent a voucher to use in store.

After several aborted attempts my and Mummy Lou finally made it to their Metro Centre store. The store to put it politely was heaving! It was full unsurprisingly enough of little people getting fitted for their first school shoes, ah the memories. Never the less the assistants were very polite and helpful despite being so busy. I'd had a little look online before I went into store so I had a bit of an idea what I wanted. Some of their block heels, ankle boots and flatforms were to die for but instead I went for something that's still relatively on trend and something that I'd wanted to try for a while - brogues.

Clarks have a huge selection in all different colours, and leather types but the one I'd set my heart on were the Hamble Oak Brogues in Dark Tan Leather. Unfortunately they were out of stock in my size, the shoes come in two width fittings and in all full sizes between 2 and 9 and in several half sizes. The lovely assistant though brought out the same shoes in a different colour in a 7.5 and in an 8, in the D (Standard) width fitting for me to try anyway.  The 8's were perfect so what she said they could do, is order them in the store for free home delivery in 3-5 days so that's what did. I paid for my shoes then and there (Friday)  and gave them my details and then I waited. To my surprise, despite the bank holiday they came first thing Tuesday morning and I have to say it was love at first sight.

They are in the basic, lace up brogue style and have a slightly block heel so they aren't completely flat.

As you would expect from Clarks you're getting a excellently qualify of shoe, they have the softest smoothest, leather uppers, and the tooling and detailing is perfection.

So what about fit? Well they are a true size 8 and the fit is perfect for me. The insole is lightly padded to give the shoes a more comfortable feel. The leather itself at the moment feels a little bit stiff around the tongue  but leather shoes only get better with age as the leather warms and softens. The colour is beautiful a rich, warm, dark tan that will compliment so many of my accessories and handbags, and they will give any outfit a real classic vintage look.

I was always a bit scared of trying Brogues because of my large feel. I always thought that they would make my feet look a little bit too big and masculine and whilst I do think they make my feel look a little bit bigger than normal the masculine aspect can be tempered by what you wear them with.

At the moment I'm just thinking how to style them, I've seen a lot of people wear them with frilly dresses etc. but I'm not sure that's really me. I'm fancying a sort of a smarter look with say an black skirt say, a white shirt and frilly socks peeping out the top - who knows? I love how something as simple as shoes can give you so many outfit options. I decided to do a little Outfit Of The Day (OOTD) for you, just to show you how I wore them today. The shoes, jeans and white vest give the look a more androgynous feel but the femininity comes roaring back with the floral jacket and bright necklace x I wore the shoes with bare feet here but you could easily wear them with socks for a different look.

What I Wore

Skinny Stonewash Blue Jeggings - H&M

White Vest - H&M +

Floral Kimono / Jacket - Atmosphere At Primark

Chunky Bright Bead Necklace  Dasiy and Eve At Evans 

Hamble Oak Dark Tan Leather Brogues - Clarks*

I quite like this look, throw a tan handbag over your shoulder and your good to go. I also think Mummy Lou deserves a bit of credit for her first attempt at fashion photography with an SLR ;) .I love new shoes and especially ones as practical and versatile as these, and these will definitely make my look at Clarks in a different light, and I'll definitely put Clarks back on the map when it comes to buying shoes. Yes you pay a little bit more than in some places, but the shoes, and materials are first class and they're made to last - exactly what you would expect from a company that's over 150 years old. The Clarks Hamble Oak Dark Tan Leather Brogues retail at £54.99 from Clarks stores, concessions and online .They also come in several other colours and finishes, that retail between £54.99 and £59.99.

 I can't wait to see what else I can wear them with so if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment and let me know x

*Press Sample