Full Circle - Skirts for Fun and Frolics and Flattery

I was asked months ago by a friend to have a look at circle skirts, but I confess I forgot.  Still, she has reminded me, and so here we are.  Circle skirts flatter most hourglass and pearshaped women, but actually give the impression of curves to anyone with boobs bigger than their waist - and they're forgiving of bums, hips and thighs, and tummies too, if like me you bulge out primarily below your natural waist.  They're a fun, lighthearted sort of shape, often - but not always - evocative of a retro 1950s look, and as the Autumn Winter collections reassured us, they're going to be around more and more over the coming months.

The retro look of the circle skirt is fairly obvious - they're much beloved for giving incomparable swirl and movement when dancing, and you need a lot of skirt to top a net petticoat.  The skirts above and top are by Hellbunny, cost less than £20, but come in a terribly limited range of sizes: only going up to a 14.  I include them because they're fun, but for similar skirts you could also try Wagtails Dancewear, who have a good range of sizes and patterns in a slightly longer length.

Length then.  Most circle skirts fall between 'just above the knee' to 'tea length' (upper calf), and certainly it's worth bearing in mind that most retro petticoats are designed to fall just below the knee if you're average height.  But the full circle skirt has many incarnations. Taken shorter it becomes a skater skirt, and these are huge fun if you're confident showing your legs (be aware that circle skirts of any length have a tendency to get caught by the slightest gust of wind and expose more leg than you'd planned) - ASOS have a good range of these up to a size 22.  Taken longer than calf length, and without a petticoat to create the shape, all that extra volume becomes quite blowsy.  They are around - the example above is by fashion brand American Apparel, and you'll find a lot of them in 'hippy' shops, but it's not a flattering look.  As a rule of thumb, the longer a skirt is, the stronger silhouette it needs.

What about a modern look? Well, a circle skirt doesn't need to be dressed up in retro trappings to be a flattering option.  The skirt above is by catalogue company Very, and with its net overlayer looks very contemporary and clean-lined.  It's available up to a size 24 and costs a reasonable £32.  To avoid echoes of the fifties, don't overplay the waist with a cinched belt, and whereas you would wear a more retro look with ballet pumps, wedge heeled espadrilles or curvy high heels, here you'd keep things modern with some more modern lines as above, or perhaps a tomboyish pair of flat, heavy-soled boots.

In most cases, circle skirts look best with a close fitted top, to give definition to the waist, but of course if you opt for a dress you don't have to think about what to wear with it. Obviously purveyors of fine retro frocks Vivien of Holloway and Collectif, amongst others, will cater perfectly to your vintage-look needs, but contemporary fashion also provides.  The dress above is silk, by Great Plains at Oli, and it breaks my heart to say it only goes up to a size sixteen, because it truly is gorgeous. £59 reduced from £85.  For other full skirted frocks, look for anything called a 'prom dress'.  Odd terminology (have you seen what is generally worn to proms?), but the silhouette is usually right.

Lastly, an apology and a request. My friend did ask me to find a particular skirt that she saw, once upon a time in some long-lost corner of the internet. I couldn't track it down, but maybe the swelegencia can? We're looking for a circle skirt with flames appliques or embroidered around the hem. Please pass the information on via the comments box or email if you happen across it on your travels.

Edit - one suggestion from the lovely people at Biscuit Boutique: This gauzy number from Mode Merr - handmade and with a breathtaking price to reflect all the work involved.

Short-and-Sweet and Super Slim Summer Smarts - A Mission

I received a plea for help from a lady known to me only as Hellsbells:


Can I ask for some urgent advice please?

I have an interview on Friday for a PGCE and don't know what to wear. It's been years since I had an interview of any kind and don't own any smart trousers or skirts. I was hoping to get away with wearing smart black jeans, but not sure this is a good idea. Plus, in this heat, I'd probably be stupidly uncomfortable.

I find buying trousers that fit properly REALLY hard. Practically impossible actually.
I'm petite - about 5 foot 1. And very slim. So for anything to look decent on me, it has to be pretty fitted. Don't know what's going on with sizes in shops, but trousers in Next (for eg), in a size 6 in the petite range - they just fall off me or look utterly ridiculous.
Should I wear a skirt instead? And if so, what kind of length/style etc?

Thanks for your help

Sometimes, we all need to look smart. Some jobs require an everyday level of spit-and-polish, while others - like teaching - are a little more relaxed day to day.  Some jobs are T shirt and jeans territory... but almost all of us need to look tailored and groomed for interviews, and although this is for a course (post-graduate teacher training, for the uninitiated), it's the sort of thing that demands a professional-looking appearance.  But then - wow, but it was meltingly hot today.  Looking the part may be important but if you're too flushed and flustered to answer your interviewer with your customary charm and sparkle...? Well, you may as well be dressed in your pyjamas. So we need to find a balance - on the one hand, smart; on the other hand we need to keep it cool.

The answer, my swelegant lovelies, lies in dresses.  If you weren't going for elegance and poise you could be cool and comfy in a loose linen trouser, but linen is too soft and crumply to give a super-professional impression.  The two dresses above will both allow cooling breezes to circulate around your bits and pieces, and while they are superficially similar, not all Little Black(ish) Dresses are created equal. The dress on the left is from Marks and Spencers' petite range.  It's £29.50 and available in sizes 6 to 18.  The dress on the right is also from the petite range, is £35 and available in sizes 6-18. So which is better?  It's the latter.  Hellsbells is a teeny size 6, so we can safely assume she doesn't need to worry about that high neckline making her boobs look matronly, as a more buxom girl would, and the benefit of that is the fabulous retro styling that the neckline gives (along with that perfect little belt). Think Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy - the slightly pointed low-heeled pumps add to the early-sixties look. Also, it's not black, but rather charcoal grey: an entirely more flattering colour for almost everyone. Dark grey also manages too look more expensive than black, even in a budget-friendly man-made fibre like this. Lastly, the lack of sleeve will help keep Hellsbells cool as air can get to the underarms too.  We can't all look smart when sleeveless - those of us with flabby arms can't help making the place look untidy if we let them wobble around freely - but a size six has no such problem.  Cover shoulders and decolletage, of course - but the arms can be exposed without compromising your smartness.

Both those dresses are very plain, though.  It is possible to look more 'fashion forward' (to use a revoltingly fashionista phrase) while still communicating grown-up intelligence. My least favourite high-street shop seems to be having a little moment of style.  The navy dress above (available in a size 6, petite length - but also in regular and tall length and sizes up to 22) is rather fabulous.  The matte, businesslike fabric is enhanced by feature seaming and silver buttons to create a suitably subtle but unmistakably stylish military feel.  It's £28.

So far all the dresses have been super-sober, but this is an interview for a potential teacher, and teaching is all about personality - so how about some colour? Also from Next (I know...!) and available in the same range of sizes and lengths is this soft raspberry pink dress - a colour muted enough to be sensible but bright enough to fit the season (£38).  In terms of cut, this dress is in the same family as the charcoal Marks and Spencers dress above - more contemporary (with the draped skirt) but also not quite as smart at the waist.  For that reason it's not a clear winner: you'd have to decide whether fabulous tailoring or gorgeous colour is more 'you'.

Regarding the rest of your outfit - I'd accessorise with black: even with the navy dress as matching blues can be hellishly hard.  A low 1 - 2 inch court shoe or mary-jane would be ideal, but a well polished ballet pump would do (no sandals or peeptoes, though), and a plain black bag or slim briefcase. Keep jewellery minimal, and probably silver for all of these outfits. If you want to take a warmer layer, a black, lightweight fitted cardigan in the twinset style would be better than a jacket.  Despite ettiquette I think, in extremely hot weather, that you needn't wear tights: so long as you aren't self conscious of your legs being blotchy or some other such thing.  If you do choose hosiery, go to the locale bare legged and take two pairs of 10 denier, non-shiny, skintone (not tan) tights in your handbag.  Put one on in a cafe loo just before you arrive - the second pair is in case you ladder the first through nerves or plain old cack-handedness... or is that just me?

And good luck! Teaching, eh? Why anyone'd d want to do a thing like that I'll never know...

Bravissimo - ish.

Before I begin - remember: Friday Frocks is tomorrow.  Keep the fabulousness flowing, and send me your pictures!

The basic USP of lingerie retailers Bravissimo is to sell pretty bras to women who have big boobs but who aren't especially fat. They have a young, friendly image, their stores are staffed by bright and lovely bra fitters, and excellent customer service for their online retail business. I'm right at the top of their sizing range: massive rack (K cup) but weirdly slim back (34 inches - despite being roughly a UK dress size 22 (US 18)) and this tends to mean that the pickings are very slim. Not only are there fewer people buying in my size, but it's mechanically much harder to make supportive undergarments for my dimensions... so I was excited to see in the summer catalogue, a new style in my size.

The Boudoir Beau is by Panache, available in the peachy coral colour shown, or a more subtle minky silver.  The bra is available in back sizes 28 to 38, cups D to K (in the 28 back the cups are only DD-J).  It costs £29 and there are matching shorts / thongs available. You might justifiably be thinking "so what?" - it's pretty but nothing particularly special, and most, more normally-sized women will be able to find more fabulous and swelegant lingerie elsewhere.  Well, I have two reasons for mentioning it: firstly, there's news for those of us who rely on Panache bras for their size range, but end up wounded under the arms because of their brutally high-cut underwires - you can give a cheer, because this style is pretty comfy and low-rise. It also gives a fairly natural shape - not sit-up-and-beg balconette to be fair, but nice and perky.  The other reason for featuring this style is that Bravissimo are donating a quid for every bra sold to Coppafeel - a charity (launched by a twenty-something breast cancer survivor) which wants young women to be more breast-aware and examine their boobs for lumps and bumps regularly. You can't say fairer than that.

The other notable thing about the summer catalogue is lots of new clothing. Bravissimo manufacture their own line of clothing which, as well as being sold in traditional dress sizes (8-18) is also sized by the enormity or otherwise of your boobs, allowing you to buy clothes which fit all over. They're not especially cheap, and not especially funky (if you're into more unusual looks, go to Get Cutie for the same boob-size fitting), but they do a marvellous job of providing smart, tailored, well-fitting work / wedding-guest clothes to boobalicious types. It's not all good though - some of the designs look cheap and nasty, and some is bizarrely unflattering, so what is worth a look? Let's start with the red dress above it's an easy-wear shade, and quite retro / Mad Men in influence - sexy but reserved, it's £59.

More flattering to tummies and bums is this almost-wrap-dress (£50).  The asymmetric hem and feature seaming detail at the waist are flattering as hell, as is that deep V neckline.  I'm not so keen on the colour - though it will suit pale skins, and not all khaki tones do - so I'd want some seriously gorgeous accessorising (red, turquoise, lapis blue...).

Lastly, a more casual frock. I don't wear maxi dresses (you need to see feet at the bottom otherwise you look like you're dressing up in your Mum's clothes - I'm just too short) - but I know lots of you love them for their ability to hide a multitude of sins.  I love this bold zebra print, and imagine a sun dress built to wear a bra with and cut so you weren't 'busting out all over'... but £59 is a lot of money for a sun dress.  I'm not entirely convinced.

As a post script: I like Bravissimo as a company - despite their hit-and-miss clothing collection - and I'm happy to support them on these pages. But I don't know if I'll bother again. They've made every image on their site really hard to copy or save, unless you go through the palaver of using print screen, as I have here.  I don't see what that achieves - other than to put off bloggers like myself, who are essentially providing free advertising... grr.

Get Cutie - frocks with style and substance.

Right - I've been quiet again, for which I apologise. Imagine personal matters daring to take precedence over matters sartorial! I have, in fact, received a mission from a reader, but I suspect I'm too late to help her. However, it's a common request, and the shop I've found to solve her problem is so fabulous that I can't possibly not share it with you.

Hi

I just found your blog tonight and I'm loving it!
Looking at the pics of your frocks and the advice you've given to others has inspired me and I was hoping you might be able to help me find a fab dress for a wedding at the end of May. I'm singing at the wedding so all eyes will be on me at some point and I would like to look good! (well amazing if possible!). So far all my searches for the right dress have ended with me hitting a brick wall and I am getting a bit desperate!

I am a size 22/24 on top (and an F cup so large bust) and a 24/26 on the bottom. I have a long upper body and tend to wear dresses that are more empire line style and usually with a v-neck front.  I don't mind my upper arms showing too much but would rather have a bit of a sleeve or something to cover at some point.

I usually shop at evans, simplybe etc and ocassionally Monsoon depending on the style of the dress (i.e. if there is a bit of give then I can get into their size 22) but there is nothing inspiring me at the moment. I have had a look at some of the sites on your blog such as collectif but none of them seem to go above a size 20.

I have ordered this dress in purple as a possibility but I feel a bit meh about it:
http://www.simplybe.co.uk/shop/product/details/show.action?pdLpUid=QB203&pdBoUid=1985&lpgUid=11148613#colour:0,size:

I'm blonde with fairly pale skin (at the moment!) and love the retro/pinup look although sometimes the tailoring doesn't work well with my bust. I love bright colours and patterns too.

Can you help a lady in distress please?!

Thanks!

Amy

One of the best parts of writing this blog is that it leads me to discover new purveyors of stylish schmutter for my own wardrobe, and rarely have I been more excited than when I discovered Brighton boutique Get Cutie.  Their pitch is this: limited range of well-designed styles (four skirts, nine dresses, two men's shirts and a small range of assorted sundries), available in a large range of sizes (up to a 24) and critically, an unbeatably chic range of almost 100 print fabrics.

click for larger

For Amy, I recommend two styles.  First is the long, cap-sleeved dress (above). The shape is so flattering to Amy: draws attention to her great boobs (she can easily add a camisole or vest top underneath if the effect is too boobalicious for a wedding), but the diagonal lines actually help to make them look less bulky. The bodice does the same job as Amy's generally favoured empire-line - on a long body it helps to accentuate the difference between boobs and waist - here, though it is tailored for a more pronounced effect.  I'd wear some high-waisted control undies with this to aid the slimming effect.  Finally, the A-line skirt will flare out over heavier hips, thighs and bums.  The length is spot on for our girl, too - although there is a shorter version (top), more suited to less tall bodies.  Unlike the photos, though, I'd wear a summery style like this with a lightweight wedge sandal or espadrille, tied elegantly at the ankle.  The dress is £99.50 - which considering the dress will be made to order if they don't have it in stock is excellent value.

The second option (the half-sleeve dress) is perhaps less summery, and offers more arm coverage. The shape is more or less the same, but those longer-than-normal short sleeves are flattering, drawing the horizontal line at a thinner part of the arm.  This dress also feels more formal (I think it's the turned-back cuffs) and is therefore possibly more suitable for a formal 'do', as well as being more wearable year-round.  This one is £105.

I really recommend having a look through the Get Cutie site no matter what body shape you are.  There are halternecks and strapless numbers, pencil silhouettes...  frocks for all.

A new one on me: Joules.

My big sister sent me a link yesterday to a site with such seriously pretty things that I couldn't wait to bring them to you.

Joules declare themselves to be "inspired by ... the love of all things equestrian and country" - and you'd be forgiven for thinking that that doesn't sound very swelegant.  And, in fact, I did find most of their collection to be a bit 'Henley Regatta': upper middle class, tastefully bland, desexualised, sporty, casual wear.  But then... Oh my! Such gorgeous, gorgeous frocks.  Such beautiful bags.  Such reasonable prices. The frock above, for example has a timeless cut, and beautiful teeny polka dots.  It's streets beyond the largely shapeless output of Boden, for example - but at only £65, far cheaper.

The frock above was the one that inspired my sister to contact me. The oversized gingham is fun and retro, the full skirt and fitted waist are flattering, and that crossover V neckline is perfect for bigger boobs.  I love the way, too, that the waist tie can be fastened behind or with a cute bow in front, as in the second picture.  I got rather excited about this dress, but then discovered that nothing on the site goes beyond an 18.  That's such a missed opportunity for them.  It's £55 - which is Dorothy Perkins kind of prices, for heaven's sake.

It's the attention to design detail that gets me excited about this store. Look at the lightweight jumper dress above.  Such a pretty colour, but look at those cuffs on the elbow length sleeves, or the flattering waistband panel, and then notice that each of the three buttons is a different colour. At £69 it's a little pricey, but this would be such a great, easy, throw-on frock for work.

The next frock is available in two perfect fabrics. As you can see on the model, it's less full-skirted and feminine than the first two frocks... but you know my feelings about polka dots, and how lovely is that summery Cath Kidston-style chintzy floral?  This dress is retro-flavoured, but without going the whole hog, and perfect for less curvy girls. It's £55.

Lastly a couple of gorgeous bags. The first one is a retro leather daytime handbag that costs a fairly serious £130, but it makes me wish with all my heart that I'd held off buying my car for a month so that I could afford it.  Aqua leather.  For summer.  *sigh*  And I'm not even a particular fan of handbags.  The second is also fabulously retro in wicker, and as pretty as candy hanging off your arm all summer long.  A more reasonable £39, I already have a very similar vintage bag, but if you don't...  Both these bags come in other colours, by the way.

Swelegencia Spotting at the People's Republic of Disco

I was out and about a couple of weeks ago at the People's Republic of Disco (my very favourite club night) and I spotted some very stylish boys and girls who I thought I'd like to share with you lovely lot.  Thanks to all these people for agreeing to my using their photos: you're all utter stars.

First up is this fabulous combination of spots and stripes. Combining patterns is a minefield, but a good rule of thumb, exemplified here with absolute aplomb, is that if you keep the patterns simple, and wear them boldly, then you won't go far wrong.  This also works because the scale of the patterns are similar. Imagine tiny dots with those tights, or thinner stripes with that frock and you can see that it wouldn't work.  It also helps that the white dots tie in to the white stripes and give the outfit cohesion.

Two ladies now both working a similar look, and since it's a versatile, easy-to-wear and flattering look, I'm going to explain how and why it works.  This is a shirt-fronted dress with a fullish skirt and short sleeves, worn with a contrasting belt.  It looks curvy and feminine on everyone, even those who have no curves.  The fuller skirt makes the waist look small in comparison, as well as skimming over larger thighs and tummies and bums - then, above the waist the sleeves help to balance out that width, making everything look in proportion no matter how small or otherwise your boobs.  Then, having created the wide points, the belt is an essential focal point to make the waist look different and narrow.  A buckle on the belt is important, it breaks up the horizontal line which, as we know, gives an impression of width.  Also helping to detract from the horizontal lines created by the wide hem, sleeves and belt is that flattering V neckline.  The buttons also mean that more boobalicious girls can still get a good fit without gaping and straining.  Undo the buttons to below the fullest part of your boobs and wear a matching or contrasting vest underneath, or simply show a flash of bra!  Want one?  The lovely UK site Pin Up Parade have the beauty below available for preorder from their 'Forthcoming Attractions' page. It's £90, available in sizes XS to XXXL.  I'm waiting for the sizing guide, but if it fits, I think it might be a good investment for work.  Red belt, though.

The next fabulous lady couldn't have been working a more different look.

Man, this girl looks fabulous!  It's a little bit Tura Satana, but smarter and more fun.  The boots are no-nonsense and fierce, but their length and tightness combine with those skintight jeans to look sexy and feminine.  The black jeans blend into the black vest, making the waist look tidy and tiny - and then the knotted shirt adds a little retro 'Calamity Jane' character to the look, meanwhile its comparative fullness and contrasting colour makes the waist look smaller and the boobs look a little larger.  I love her glasses too.

Next up, a couple of boys in bowling shirts (and with added smoke machine effect). I love bowling shirts - they sit open at the neck to just the right depth, and they often have vertical lines as here, which we know are flattering.  It's an easy-wear retro look for men, and an effortlessly chic one.  Try TenPinShop.com for a good selection if you're in the UK.

By the way, have you noticed all the red and black?  It's a People's Republic of Disco thing... not compulsory, but much loved...

A gorgeous gal next, in a lovely dress, but that's not why she's here.  This dress shows masses of her upper chest, and because of the contrast with her skintone, it creates an uncompromising horizontal line.  The solution, as here, is a statement necklace with diagonal lines - almost creating a V neck.  I should point out, a long pendant or long string of beads would draw the eye down too far, and give the impression of droopy boobs.  This necklace is just about perfect.

I'm making a little more of an effort to get to grips with man-style, and I'm starting by identifying what I like.  Two very different looks here, but both very stylish.  The chap on the left is more obviously 'on trend' (horrible phrase).  There are lots of those flannel-style checks around for men and women, but it's the fitted cut that makes it chic.  Also, these checks would be much less flattering if our man wasn't so slim. But the shirt on it's own is just fashionable, it's the horn-rimmed glasses (my grandad had a pair) and extremely sharp hat that make this look totally swelegant.  I'll say it again... everyone can suit a hat if they try.  The look on the right I love because of the juxtaposition of floral Hawaiian shirt with the leather jacket.  But because the shirt is black, the look is again, cohesive.  Rock and Roll.

My last style direction might not be on everyone's map, but I hereby declare Swelegant Style Shopping's support for the 'tache.  I think the reason that moustaches are more resistant to popular acceptability than the increasingly ubiquitous beard, is that moustaches are more of a statement.  It's less possible to blend into the crowd when you have a 'tache, but I'm not about blending in.  I also love the adaptability and transience of face fuzz: here today, gone tomorrow.  And my lovely late dad had a 'tache, which means they have a very fond place in my heart.

Lastly, as is customary, my outfit for the night.  The hat wasn't mine, someone plonked it on my head just before this pic was taken, and then all of a sudden it's a bit Annie Oakley.  Sorry about that...

A-mer-i-cano...americano...

A mission from my fabulous New York-based performance artist friend Davi:

Hey Ms. Charlotte,
 
If you fancy a swelegant style project, here's one for ya!
 
I'm looking for a cocktail dress and some shoes to go with it.
 
I've got a bat mitzvah PARTY (not the service) to attend.  And I have  
no idea what happened to my favorite heels, which also happen to be  
green so they're limited in terms of what I can pair 'em with in my  
wardrobe).
 
Here's the scoop; after 7 months of injury, I've gained a little  
weight and the dress I'd probably be most inclined to wear to this  
party feels a little tight on me.
 
I'd love to treat myself to a new dress.
 
I've got big boobs, big thighs, a reasonably small waist (but not an  
hourglass figure), and I'm short.  (you know all this)
 
I like dresses that show off my shoulders; halters work well,  
especially with structured support for the boobies.
 
I don't really like pencil skirts/dresses because they  make it hard  
to dance.
 
I have a really great pair of gold wedge sandals (but, um, it'll be  
mid-march) and I will try to figure out what happened to these (my  
green heels):

 

I'd love to spend under $150 on the dress.
 
Ideas? I just ordered the Nanette Lepore Evermore dress off ebay and  
was looking at some DVF wrap dresses (though I own one and I know that  
it's pretty hard to find one that covers my boobs adequately).
 
Something sassy!

My knowledge of American-based shops is limited (although bigger girls in the Big Apple should visit Re/dress NYC - a fun and friendly boutique selling vintage and new plus-size gems... who knows if I'll make it myself, but were I to visit New York it'd be the first place I visited... but anyway, I digress...)   but I have found some great frocks at Pinup Girl Clothing - purveyors of punky, retro and rockabilly fashions to the American Swelegencia.

 

We're looking for some boob support (and preferably the coverage to allow for a bra), but low enough cut to flatter bigger boobs, and ideally showing some shoulder-enhancing skin.  All the dresses I've chosen have A-line or full skirts; Davi feels restricted in anything tighter, and it also makes it hard to accommodate a good fit if your thighs are proportionately larger than your waist.  The first dress ($68) is a fun cherry-print on black or white. The black is more eveningy, but the white is irresistibly reminiscent of Monroe's frock in The Misfits. Both are edged in green piping which, although it isn't the same shade as her green shoes, is tonally in the same family, and will tie the frock to the shoes.

More conventional on first look is this gorgeous black frock with blue swallow embroidery on the bodice and hip and  matching belt ($110). It's not too conventional, though: the swallows suggest sailor tattoos, and the full skirt is crying out for a net underskirt in peacock blue - or perhaps a more shocking contrast - raspberry pink, violet or emerald green. It won't show Davi's toned shoulders, but this dress is an absolute classic.

Next to website Baby Girl Boutique. A green dress here - cherries again, but this time less sexy and more girly.  I see it with those quite schoolish shoes.  The empire line is flattering to Davi's shape, and the A line will skim the thighs ($78.50). Ignore the wholesome model - this dress is funky and punky and lots of fun.

Lastly, it's back to Pin Up Girl Clothing for the Dolly Dress by Paperdoll clothing ($84).  Paperdoll make this style frock in lots of colourways - but I'm struggling to find the brighter ones in stock anywhere.  It's no good for shoulder flattery, but the length is perfect for someone petite, and again, the empire line is flattering. The one on the left has a cutesy cupcake trim, while the other has a design of retro movie monsters. I really see Davi in this dress, if all the black isn't too sober for her.

Ooh la ladybird!

Tonight I need cheering up, so I'm going to indulge myself by wallowing in some of my favourite clothes.

Polka dots have been a passion for me since childhood.  The young Miss Charlotte was enamoured of the aesthetic chosen by gothy Scottish popstrels Strawberry Switchblade (and the music, but that's a different story).  Then as a teenager my first true love was a young man who modelled himself on the singers Iain McCulloch and Robert Smith, and had a signature look involving polka dot shirts and skintight jeans.  I taught myself to sew with two polka dot skirts and a pair of baby-pink polka dot dungaree shorts... fast forward to more recent times and even my wedding dress had an overlay of cream polka dots.  But in the last year or so, I've accumulated three polka dot purchases which are all, inescapably, in the crimson and black hues of the lovely ladybird.

Click for larger pics.

It started with this dress from Rockabilly/Punk online boutique Collectif (although they don't sell it now - or indeed much else in the same size). I bought it because of the polka dots, but also because I wanted something new to wear for the late lamented regular People's Republic of Disco club night, where red and black was the non-compulsory dress code.  I know it looks short - remember: not only am I short myself, but it's also very wide.  And look - there I am on the right, in the clubbing section of Time Out - proving that it's an excellent party frock!  It's a great standby, this: my version of the 'little black dress'.  I can wear it over trousers if I'm feeling self-conscious about my legs, it doesn't show too much boob and it isn't too dressy... but it still looks like I've put on something a bit special.

Then, as I mentioned in one of my first blog posts (here), I found a pair of super-cheap spotty low-heel shoes, meant to appeal to the kids' souvenir market in Barcelona. As I mention in my earlier post: they appealed to me immediately as 'ladybird shoes' - it wasn't until later that I realised that they match the frock.  These lovely low heels are comfy enough to be worn all night.  Around then I began to consider what it was about this particular permutation of polka dots that appealed so strongly.  The crimson tone is deep, richer than a more firey scarlet hue, and this more bluey red flatters my dark hair and pale skin (orangey reds are better for fair hair or for tanned complexions).  This red, then is juxtaposed with black - a powerful combination of mischief and strength.  Minnie Mouse sports a red dress with white polka dots, and that's a far more innocent look.  But for me, there's also something cool and cute about ladybirds themselves.  The female identity, the bright colours, the childlike pattern... ladybirds rock.

Then, last summer, when I was searching for something special to wear for my hen night, I went back to the ladybird pattern for a third time. I'd already decided on plain pink dresses from Vivien of Holloway for my bridesmaids, and now I went all out one of their showstopping frocks for myself, in what else but red with big black dots.  It's still available now - £59 for the dress and the matching bolero is £25.  The dresses are boned in the bodice and very full in the skirt - they look great on their own or even better with a full petticoat.

As you can see, it's quite a show-stopping look... you need to carry it off with some confidence.  Why do I love it?  The slightly larger size of the polka dots make it more flattering for my large build - more so than the first dress, and it's so flattering to this over-inflated hourglass body. The dress only comes in halterneck though, and although I customised a bra to fit under the halter, very big boobs make for a very painful neck by the end of the night - when I next wear it (on Saturday, for my birthday), I'll convert it to shoulder straps. Finally, a gratuitous closeup.  Photos like this make me love my body just the way it is - and what better reason could there be to have a passion for great clothes?.