Dressing For Your Body Shape - Maxi edition

Hi honeys! Blooming horrible wet monday here in the middlands (what's new though really?!) so I'm all cosied up inside working on the blog and scoffing a mars-bar (feel super sick now urgh!) whilst hiding from the elements ha-ha. But anyway I hope you are all alright and not having too much of the Monday blues and hopefully this little post will inspire some better weather and give you something pretty to look at ha-ha (no no it's not my face don't get too excited!)

Today I have another installment of  my 'Dressing for your body shape' posts, you can check out the originial post here if you'd like or just settle down for this next chapter. As we all should know finding the right clothes to suit your body and more precisely your body shape can make an absolutely massive difference to how you look and more importantly feel about yourself! A clever trick here and there can make all the difference and with this set of posts I aim to teach you all the little things you can tweak.

Todays Dressing for your body shape post is focusing on assisting you in finding the perfect style of a really great Summer staple that I'm sure most of you already have in your wardrobes :

The Maxi Dress
Maxi Dresses are ridiculously versatile and chic, they can be casual, dressy or all out show-stopping and everything in between. Super simple to style they're definitely one piece that I'd always want in my wardrobe and in the warm Summer months they become a real neccessity - who wants to have to panic about considering what to wear when it's boiling hot and you have a BBQ waiting?

So now, here is an example of the kind of Maxi dress that would suit your particular body-shape :

 

Pear Shaped

For our Pear-shaped example I have gone with this gorgeous rich berry coloured dress. Cinced in at the waist to high-light a pears best feature - a teeny middle, this dress is super flattering for pear shaped ladies. The slight V shaped strap detail would widen shoulders a little helping to balance out your larger bottomed proportions. The gorgeous material is close fitting on the top half which would show a small waist and delicate upper body to perfection, but then skims larger hips softly allowing for a little camoflauge of the area you may be more conscious of.
Miss Selfridge £50.00

Apple Shaped

For our lovely Apple shaped lovelies we have this absolutely beauty of a dress which I would quite love for myself please?! As Apples tend to struggle with their stomach area this dress with it's flattering draping material would be the perfect antidote. Hiding a larger stomach with it's elegant folds it's still very fitted which would allow you to keep an elegant sillhoutte and avoid the temptation to hide yourself in an unflatteringly loose dress. Then we have the incredible colour and I really don't think I need to say any more on that - it's just >gorgeous<
Dorothy Perkins £35.00

 Hour Glass

 For all you hour-glass babes (lucky things!) we have this beautiful black number which I think we'd all agree is a complete show-stopper! The gorgeous fit would pull you in at the waist and show off your fabulous curves whilst the large straps would allow you some upper body support - important if you're a bustier lady (I can only imagine me and my A's envy you ha-ha) a little bit of plunge allows the glam stakes but the classic black colour and length keeps it classy - overall an amazing dress and a complete bargain at...
Peacocks £20.00

Rectangle / Petite

Lastly we have this gorgeous dress for our petite ladies who don't have the curviest bods. The one shouldered design of this dress would again widen shoulders and give the look of a more broad body. The nipped in elasticated waist would create the effect of a narrower part on a less curvy torse giving the illusion of more of an hour-glass figure and creating shape. Then the beautiful pattern would again broaden the body a little (and come on it's absolutely beautiful!)
Topshop £68.00

So there we are my loves! I truly hope that this is useful to you and you like my selections ha-ha! If you want any other particular item of clothing features on the 'dressing for your body shape' series leave a comment here or drop me a tweet or an email - fashionismyh2o@hotmail.co.uk

<3

Friday Feature - Versatility

Hello loves! Happy Friday! Hope you're all well and looking forward to the weekend! This week seems to have gone super fast last time I looked it was Monday and now I'm facing the weekend - lovely! I've begun the much publicised '30 day shred' this week so I'll be keeping you updated on how it goes and getting you checking out my new body lol!

But anyway, today I have a really interesting topic to discuss with you and that is 'Versatility' - the ability to wear one item of clothing in multiple different ways. Now as a girl on a budget I absolutely adore versatile pieces as they meen you can spend less but wear just as much and today I have a great example to show you all, here we are:

The item that I've chosen to show an example of versatility with is:

 This beautiful red dress from Peacocks which at just £12.00 is an absolute bargain and reminds me of the gorgeous Halston Herritage dresses rocked by Sarah Jessica Parker.


Here are some ways I've styled this dress:

Outfit One

 

This outfit has a definite bohemian feel to it and I feel like it'd be perfect for hot summer days or (if you live in England) your summer holidays. The dress would look divine with a tan and the warm neutral colours and gold jewellery would look perfect in the sun. The lovely light material would keep you cool and the lovely bright colour would be perfect for a summery wardrobe.

Outfit Two

 

Then we have this outfit which is far more 'classic' I feel like as long as you don't work in a super formal enviroment this would be a perfect Summer outfit to wear to work. The blazer and simple black ballet flats formalize the dress and help tone it down although the dresses gorgeous colour and material keep it summery and pretty.  

Outfit Three

 

Next we have this outfit which is much more 'glam' the dress would look absolutely gorgeous dressed up for a night on the town with your friends or a hot summer date night! The glamourous accessories help dress it up and that clutch just tops it all off. Also I'm absolutely desperate to own those shoes!

Outfit Four

 

Lastly we have outfit number four which is a much more 'edgy' and rock n roll look. I think this is potentually my favourite as it fits in with my personal style. The elegant dress teamed with the tough jacket and the spikey heels would look amazing for a night out or a glamourous shopping trip (if you can face walking in heels ha-ha) then the funky watch just adds a little more edge to finish the look off.

So there we are - sometimes one item can work for you in many many different ways depending on what you team it with. What do you lovelies think? Do you love versatile pieces or do you prefer to buy different items? Let me know :)

OOTD Vintage Print

Hey beauties - woah what a gorgeous day we're having here in England! (Definitely feels alien writing that sentance) currently I'm sitting out in the garden with the family with my legs in the sun and my head in the shade - something tells me I'm about to be rocking a whole new type of two tone colour blocking ;).

Anyway, whilst im still relatively normal looking I have a new OOTD to show you all curtesy of a great shopping trip with the awesome boyfriend yesterday. I picked up a few bits and bobs (and got thouroughly spoiled <3) and one of the items I purchased was this :

 I absolutely had to get this dress when I saw it the vintage print reminded me of Gwen Stefani's infamous Tea-Dress in the 'Don't Speak' Video which I've always adored and so I just had to snap it up, especially because it was a bargain at just £24.99 from Republic!

My shoes are from Debenhams and my jewellery as always is curtesy of the other half <3

Hope you like lovelies! Enjoy your Sunday!

Friday Focus : Vintage Print

Vintage inspired printed clothes seem to be all over the place at the moment and I actually couldn't be happier. I think a beautiful printed dress, skirt or even top can be used in so many different ways within your wardrobe and give you so many options to work with. I've had a little browse this morning (dangerous for someone trying to avoid shopping - this blog is like masochism) and come up with some pretty gems from the high-street to show you all. 

Here we are: 

Firstly this skirt is absolutely divine - the colour is classic yet interesting and it would look amazing paired with anything from a simple vest top tucked in to an ornate or sheer blouse.
Topshop £32.00

This adorable dress puts a new spin on Vintage print with a gorgeous quirky pattern - also the super flattering silhouette would work on most if not all figures - win win

Topshop £36.00

These gorgeous shorts give a modern day twist to traditional vintage floral. Perfect with tanned pins in the summer or over some pretty tights in the cold.

Miss Selfridge £28.00

This classy beauty can be dressed up or down - imagine it with patent T-bar heels -whimpers- and would carry you through from season to season seamlessly. Gorgeous.
Dorothy Perkins £32.00

Finally we have a rather Carrie Bradshaw esque dress that just screams summer cocktails to me
Dorothy Perkins £38.00

In my own wardrobe I'm lucky enough to have many many vintage inspired printed items - I think I'm quite an addict ha-ha one of my personal favourites is this dress from New Look that I've had about a year now:

 I love the print and how easily it can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. I also love the colour and the fact it makes me feel a bit like a doll ha-ha. 

Additionally as I'm such a vintage print addict I've come to the point where my wardrobe is slightly over-run so I'll be selling a few on E-bay over the next few months, there's a couple on at the moment and more will follow. Feel free to have a browse : http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/sarahmstyle2011 + there is a perma-link to my ebay on the side of my blog :).

What do you ladies think of vintage prints? Should we all be embracing their beauty or is it time to condemn them to the past? 

Feel good Friday :)

So it's finally Friday A.K.A party time! In honour of the start of weekend celebrations and also (seeing as we're officially in October now) the start (sort of, kind of, maybe) of the official party season - get those heels ready - I've hunted down some of the best party dresses that the high-street currently has to offer :) here we go bloggers : 

Asos £38.00

I love the jewelled waist makes a simple LBD much more interesting

Asos £60.00

Lots of sparkle for the festive season :)

Lipsy £55.00

I love pink and black combinations and even though you can't see too well on here this has gorgeous little studs on the pink skirt :) 

Miss Selfridge £45.00

I love the nude/champagne colour of this one :)

And here's one of my favourite party dresses :) 

A little OTT for a normal Friday night but for a special occasion I love it :) it was £30.00 from New Look 

What do you love to wear on a Friday night?

                                                       Have a good weekend bloggers <3