zara | Frocks & Frou Frou

Cardigan: Zara

Skirt: Asos

Sorry for the long absence – it’s been a busy few weeks, and so dark in the mornings and evenings that I haven’t been happy enough with any of the outfit shots that I’ve taken to want to post them on the blog.

I’ve been spending a lot of my free time sewing (it’s addictive!) so I’ve got lots of homemade pieces to show you, but today I’m wearing some old favourites from my wardrobe. I hope you guys don’t mind me wearing and re-wearing the same things over and over again. It doesn’t make for the most exciting fashion blog (and I know how annoying it is when you fall in love with something only to find out it’s six years old and you can’t buy one for yourself) but I guess it’s called an OOTD (outfit of the day) not BNOOTD (brand-new, etc etc).

Anyhoo. Every winter I go on the hunt for a pair of knitted-style tights that will fit. There don’t seem to be many plus-size brands who do them – and when they do they’re usually plain black. I had some luck a couple of years ago with (of all things!) Big W, but I think it was a fluke production, because I went back and bought heaps more pairs only to discover that were smaller & didn’t fit properly. Marks & Spencer did some in their ‘heat-tech’ range, but they got holey within a week, and they don’t look like they’re available anymore anyway.

I think I hit the jackpot this winter, though. I bought these marled grey tights off eBay a few weeks ago, and they arrived earlier this week. They’re apparently 80% cashmere…. I don’t know, maybe? They ARE warm though, and they fit comfortably around the waist without cutting in. The thighs are a bit snug, and I’ve been wearing them with plain knickers over the top to help keep them aloft, but I’m pretty happy with them overall. (I wish all tights could fit like Sonsee tights)

Meanwhile, last weekend I signed up for my first yoga class in, umn, far too long. And not just any yoga: AERIAL yoga!

Yoga teacher, and body positivity activist, Sarah Harry, runs a resource called Fat Yoga to help create inclusive and supportive classes for plus-size people to practice yoga without fear of judgement. Over the long weekend Sarah hosted a special aerial yoga class at Body Flow Yoga Studio, which is a lovely space not too far from me. It looked like fun, and something new, so I signed up to give it a try.

The ‘silks’ are basically little hammocks suspended from the roof and they give the yoga practice a lovely liquidity. I found them a little uncomfortable in some of the poses – when your body weight is resting on the strip there’s a fair bit of pressure there, but some of the poses were fully suspended in a kind of cocoon, and that was nothing short of divine. (I’ve pinched a couple of photos from the Fat Yoga Class facebook page to give you a bit of an idea).

I had a ball, and I’ve already booked a second class; just a regular beginners class, not a body-positive one (though I’ll be joining another member from Sarah’s Fat Yoga group). If you’ve got the opportunity to give it a try, I’d definitely recommend it!

Top: Princess Highway

Blazer: Zara (no longer available similar here)

Jeans: Levi’s 512 Skinny

Scarf: H&M (no longer available – similar here)

Shoes: Naturaliser

I was reading an interesting article in the paper a few days ago about how Levi’s was trying to evolve to keep pace with a changing market that put a lot of value in comfort. The “Yoga Pants Effect” is a bit of a pat way to draw a parallel between the fall of profits at Levi’s with the rise and rise of Lululemon (no link, because of their history of disrespecting plus-size consumers), but it certainly holds water for me. I like to be comfortable, and jeans (let’s be honest) aren’t comfortable.

I’ve been wearing my Rockstar jeans since coming back from the US the last time, but as with a lot of Old Navy‘s product the quality reflects the price, and they’re becoming a bit saggy and a bit baggy and rubbing thin between the ol’ thighs.

Anyhoo, the gist of the article is that Levi’s has been working on a new kind of denim to appeal to the “athleisure” market: comfortable, forgiving stretch denim that accommodates a variety of body types, but has a high recovery rate so that the stretch doesn’t result in saggy knees and rumps. So, jeans that feel like leggings, but look – you know – like jeans (And no, I don’t mean these).

So have they succeeded? I’d have to say “yes”! I bought these jeans – they’re the 512 Skinny style – in the post-Christmas sales, and since then I’ve retired every other pair of jeans in my wardrobe.

They’re soft as soft and stretchy, but don’t feel at all syntheticky or unpleasant. They fit beautifully and don’t stretch out at all – I’m not constantly hoiking them up, but they definitely don’t cut in or muffin-top me. They’re comfortable to sit in for long stretches (I’ve flown to and from Perth in them a couple of times) and even though there’s supposedly a “tummy shaping panel” I don’t feel constricted or squeezed at all.

I teamed it with a stripey top and blazer. I think I’ve decided that the secret to blazers is not to necessarily try and find one that does up, and rather to look for one that fits snugly around the shoulders. In the past I’ve always bought blazers that fastened around my bust, which invariably meant that they were boxy and shapeless around the rest of my body.

Also, the rare appearance of a scarf! I’ve never really been able to grasp the art of scarf-wearing, despite being inspired every time I see my scarf-master friend, Adele. I think probably my boobs are too big and my neck too short, but this one seems to work fine so maybe it’s all in my head!

Frocks & Frou Frou

Tag Archives: zara

Chilly Cherry

Stars & Stripes