Writing for Kiki and Tea

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm now a regular writer on the website Kiki & Tea.

I've got two posts up about fatshion, one on where to shop for plus size fashion, and one about winter coats. 

I've got some other posts there too, I encourage you to have a read, and if you're a writer contact them- we're always looking for new writers, either as guest posters or regulars.

Multi-Coloured Stripes

My 7 year old photographer has lost his steady hand. In desperation I put the camera on top of the tv unit (I don't have a tripod) and took some self-timed photos. It was night time, so please excuse the bad lighting. I'm loving my new tunic top from Autograph (you'll be seeing a bit of Autograph in upcoming posts, they had a sale and I found some nice stuff). It was on the $20 sales rack, they only had a size 20 (I probably would have gone a size 22) but it still fits ok.

I love the cheerful colours, and the criss-cross style bodice. A versatile top I can wear in all seasons, thanks to layering. 

The colour didn't come out in the photos, but my trousers are these ones in the photo below. They were a cheap $25 buy from Big W, and I've been wearing them a lot. They are comfy, and the colour goes with a lot of my outfits.

Outfit Details
Stripey tunic top: Autograph (20)
Black top (underneath): Big W (22)
Purple jeans: Big W (26)
Shoes: Payless (men's 10)
Hair bow: The Olive Tree Markets

Wedding Blues

I found an old outfit pic and thought I'd share it with you. I wore this dress to a friend's evening wedding.
I loved the colour and the style. The material was lined, swishy and comfortable. The downsides were that I felt the straps were too thin (though they are adjustable, which is great) and showed way too much boobage that I was comfortable with. I wore a very uncomfortable strapless bra (have yet to find one that is comfortable) and felt like I was going to fall out. I also brought a purple wrap to wear but can't find a pic.

My little now Mr4, looking mournful that I was leaving him for the night.

Outfit Details
Dress: Crossroads (22)
Necklace & Bracelet: borrowed from a friend

Blues and Cream

I've had this Asos Curve blouse for ages, but have never figured out an outfit to wear it with until now.

I've tried the blouse with jeans and shorts, but nothing was high-rise enough for the short length. Finally I tried a new skirt from Autograph with it. I think it works the best.

I teamed it with a cream cardigan that I thrifted. Sorry about the slightly blurry photos, my 7 year old didn't quite get it right today. He did a great shot of my blouse further down though.

I have a few issues with this blouse, came close to culling it from my wardrobe many times. I love the colour and the pattern, but have issues with the shape. I love the material, it's a cool light cotton, but the shape of the blouse is annoying. I don't like how it hangs around the bottom. It has a tie at the front, but it doesn't make a shape like a tied at the front shirt. 

My hair dye has been in a week of washes and it holding up well. It's a dark colour with a dark wine tint, I'm quite happy with it. Not as fun as the purple, but it's more low maintenance.

Outfit Details


Top: Asos Curve (24)
Cardigan: Thrifted
Skirt: Autograph (22)
Sandals: Grosby for Big W (11)
Earrings: Can't remember

Cocktail Party

A friend was having a cocktail party for her 30th and somehow the stars aligned and I procured a babysitter. What's more, my babysitter were a husband and wife team and they agreed to have one of them drive me to the party and pick me up later, so I actually got to drink the cocktails. Woohoo!

I took a while to choose what to wear. I had a cocktail friendly black dress (seen in this post) but I had another dress that was begging to be worn. 

Photos aren't great, I was in a rush to get my 7 year old to take them before he went to bed and I hadn't done my hair and make-up.

This lovely dress is from Chicstar. I love their range of clothing, but their sizing can be strange. I have a jacket from them sized as 28, but it barely does up on me, and I tend to be 24 on bottom, 22 on top. So this dress was a risk. I ordered a 24, and it fits perfectly around my hips, but is too big on the top. The top tends to ride down. Also I don't have any strapless bras, so I wore a bra with straps, and then pinned a shrug over the top to hide it. The same pins also hold the top of my dress to my bra so there's no wardrobe malfunctions. It sounds more uncomfortable than it is! Once I knew nothing was going to come loose or fall down I was very relaxed.

This silly pose is trying to show you the shape of the dress- it looks a bit flat front-on but it's not! I feel curvy and sexy in this dress. I love swishy skirt, the lace trimmings, the colour, the lace-up detail. The advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages for me.

Here's me at the end of the night, having enjoyed many cocktails (3). I'm trying to show you my hair and make-up, though there's not a lot of it left. It was fun to talk to other adults about non-kid things! I chatted with some guys about Dungeons and Dragons and computer games, which is a fun night for me.

Outfit Details


Dress: Chicstar (24)
Shrug: Crossroads (XXL)
Earrings: Diva
Shoes: Payless (11)
(Underneath) Bike pants: Autograph (L)
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Turquoise & Purple

Finally a nice cool autumn day! I was able to get out my new Asos Curve dress that I bought last year during the sales. It's a very comfortable knit fabric, with long sleeves and lovely colour. I teamed it up with some lavender tights and turquoise accessories.

 My trusty purple trenchcoat. I bought it from Autograph years ago, and it has been worn to death. Autograph please bring out some more in different colours!

 My hair was dirty and blegh so I put a scarf on- it went perfectly with my dress.

My d20 earrings make another appearance.

My tights are from We Love Colors, lavender shade. I have some C/D size tights but they were a little tight around my thighs. These tights are size E, and are footless. They fit with lots of fabric to spare. The only thing I didn't like was that the elastic at the bottom of the tights felt too tight around my ankles, and bunched up there because of the extra fabric. I think next time I will stick with the size E, but order tights with feet.

My turquoise flower ring from my local artisan market. I have huge fingers and can never find rings that fit. These adjustable rings just open up wide enough to get on.

Outfit Details

Dress: Asos Curve (24)
Trenchcoat: Autograph (22)
Tights: We Love Colors (E)
Socks: Target (8-11)
Ring: The Olive Tree Markets
Shoes: Target (11)
Scarf: Gifted
Earrings: Etsy

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Purple and Green

Unless otherwise specified, my 7 year old son is my regular photographer. He's very excited about it. :-)

Today I'm wearing a dress from Crossroads as a skirt, as it's too low cut at the front- I have no bras that would work. I love the stretchy comfortable fabric and the bright green print, I think it has a retro vibe. Cross roads have great clothes, but I'm disappointed they only go up to size 22, and it's a small size 22 compared to say, Autograph. Their clothes are reasonably priced and funky, Crossroads please start making up to at least size 26 please.

My purple top is a comfy cotton from Big W, I could have worn a belt to give it more shape, but I couldn't be bothered. Being comfortable was the order of the day.

My necklace and bracelet are both thrifted. The necklace tends to get tangled up with itself, but I like the cool green and silver combination. My bracelet is a simple thing of beads and elastic.

My earrings were hard to photograph, sorry. They are pink flowers mixed with sparkly green stones.

Outfit Details

Dress worn as skirt: Crossroads (22)
Top: Big W (24)
Earrings: Gifted
Necklace & Bracelet: Thrifted

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Turquoise & Mauve

My 7 year old took the photos for today's outfit- I think he did a better job than my self-timing efforts. I'm finding it so hard to take photos of myself, maybe I'll make Mr 7 my regular photographer! ;-)

Today's photos are taken in our front sunroom/playroom. My wonderful Dad made shadecloth windows and mounted them to make our front verandah insect-free.

Top half is all from Big W today. Big W have brought out a new plus-size brand Avella and there are some decent pieces in there. My black top and short sleeve cardy are both Avella. They're both made of a lovely soft cotton which is great in this humid weather. I needed to go up to a size 26 in the black top to make it fit right around my hips, so fitting and shape is something they need to work on. 

Once again I'm wearing my trusty Autograph denim shorts- I went back and bought another pair once I realised how much of a staple they would be. I always take my shoes off when I get home, but I was wearing my turquoise sneakers seen in this post here.

Earrings and necklace are from Kmart, I bought them to go with my aqua dress from the wedding post. My little owl brooch is from my local artisan markets.

Outfit Details

Top: Avella for Big W (26)
Striped cardy: Avella for Big W (24)
Denim shorts: Autograph (22)
Earrings & Necklace: Kmart
Brooch: Olive Tree Markets

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Blue Florals

So hot in my hometown at the moment! Humid and still, just moving creates sweating!
My outfit today needed to be cool and comfy.

Apologies for shiny face, my oily skin just sweats off makeup in this weather.
My top is from Autograph, I picked it up for $10 in the 50% off sales. I like the elasticised bit under my bust, it gives the top a bit of shape. The straps are adjustable which is great, though the strap tends to get tangled up a bit and not lie flat. At least they don't fall off my shoulders. I'm a fan of blue, so I picked up the blue colour in my earrings and hair clip.

I love my d20 earrings, I purchased them from Etsy.

My denim shorts are also from Autograph, they're such a staple for me in this weather. Usually I'm more a 24 on the bottom, but denim gets loose after you wear it a little while, so I found the 22 to be a better fit. I like how this hot weather is helping me be less self-conscious about wearing sleeveless tops. I'm really at the point now where I don't care if you have to look at my arms, I want to be cool. :-)

Pretty flower clip from the $2 shop.

Outfit Details

Top: Autograph (24)
Shorts: Autograph (22)
Earrings: Etsy
Hair Clip: $2 shop

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I'm back!

Hi everyone, apologies for the long absence.
I've been looking for a new place to live (the rent at my old house got too high) and it has taken ages to find somewhere. I'm all moved now, and mostly unpacked, and as a result am feeling less stressed, and my blogging mojo is creeping back.

I'll leave you with a couple of photos from my brother's wedding- I wore an Asos Curve dress. You'll also see my little boys here too, don't they look gorgeous? I borrowed the bow ties from a friend and they look so cute!

My new sister-in-law had a vintage theme to her wedding so I wore my mother's pearls, and my grandma's pearl earrings. I would have worn some white gloves too but it was just too hot. My bracelet is from Yours clothing. The Asos Curve dress was lovely and swishy, and so comfortable. Also I bought it on clearance so it was under $40. The colour of the dress in the second photo is closer to its real colour. They're not in the photo, but I wore comfy white sandals with the dress. I wanted put my hair in a vintage style but had no skills. I ended up putting it half up, using some hair combs that I think gave my hair a little height.

Outfit Details

Dress: Asos Curve (24)
Sandals: Grosby for Big W (11)
Bracelet: Yours Clothing
Necklace: Gifted from my Mum
Earrings: Gifted from my Grandma

Another post coming soon. :-)

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