Author: PetitePlusMeow

Social Media Enthusiast. Learning Designer. Curvy Fashionista. I'm a 30-something Canadian born Bengali (parents are from Kolkata, India...for those of you who need to know that type of thing). I've been chubby-curvy-plus-sized my entire life. Standing at a height of 5'2 and with a darker complexion, it has always been a challenge finding outfits or "looks" that really suit me. Living in the fashionable city of Toronto since birth, with a solid career has finally allowed me to embrace my love of pretty fashions in clothing, shoes and everything in between.

Studio Blue Yoga

Since my BollyFuze classes ended in Fall, I’ve been missing group exercise. And with spring around the corner, I wanted to try something new. So when I came across another GroupOn deal for yoga classes in my hood, thought I’d check it out.

Studio Blue Yoga (located on Dundas St. West, just before Duffrin) conveniently has a their class schedule and descriptions available online, where you can BOOK your session. And they offer their first class for FREE! So before I cash in my GroupOn voucher, I could check them out before committing.

I personally haven’t practiced yoga in nearly two years. At one point I got pretty good with my breathing and balance work, and even got to be a pretty flexible girl. But, two years is a looooong time and this chick ain’t as bendy as she used to be. I was super nervous to go back into the classroom with a bunch of wafer thin bun-headed girls, wearing nothing but LuLuLemon pants and sport bras that matched with zero sweat on their perfectly manicured eyebrows and likely full make-up faces. Meanwhile, I would be drenched in sweat gasping for air in the corner, whist doing my rendition of downward dog pose, or worse… I imagined.

I started to do some digging for reviews on this place. Wanted to know what other people thought of the studio, the instructors, the clientele. And I discovered that this studio was brand spankin’ new… 5-weeks old in fact. Their website is simple and friendly. There I found the little helpful reminders section (see image above) that helped me shake that scardy-cat voice in the back of my head. The location is amazing, walking distance from my place. The classes offered variety and options on various days of the week. And I didn’t have to commit cash until I tried it out first. SOLD! I searched my storage unit for my lime green yoga mat and I booked my first class!

The complimentary class I chose was a Tuesday evening class called: Foundations Flow — A beginner friendly and comprehensive class with a focus on anatomy. Includes Sun Salutations, Downward Dog flows and other fundamental postures. Suitable for all levels. I got to the studio a bit early in hopes to chat with the owner and checkout the space for this blog review. The bright, welcoming logo painted directly onto their walls can be seen from across Dundas St West, which was much appreciated for this first-timer looking for the location. I was greeted by Jess, a yoga instructor and the owner of Studio Blue and she gave me a tour of the facilities and how everything worked … plus a mug of ginger tea.

Once you’ve checked in and signed their health & safety waiver, there is a long hallway filled with original artwork that was all photographed in their fancy space. Sliding pocket-doors lead you into a lovely large space that is toasty warm.

The entire yoga studio space has been fitted with ceiling heaters that warm up the objects in the room, so much so that I mistakenly thought the floors were heated. Patrons need to bring their own yoga mats, towels and bottles of water as none of that is provided there. However, there are yoga blocks available to help support you if you need them – they came in super handy for me as I relearn how to perform all the yoga poses. There’s even a raised stage area at the front of the room for the instructor of the class, which I thought was a brilliant idea.

Towards the back of the studio there are separate change rooms for men and women, complete with benches, cubbies for your stuff and showers within each. Unisex washrooms and a water-fountain station to refill bottles are back there too. Super handy and convenient for those of us rushing to class after work.

The 75-min Tuesday night class was a mixed group of 6 people, where we focused on breathing and balance in our movements and poses. Since we were a small, but mighty few we got to do some exercises against the wall that really allowed the body to stretch completely by way of a half-moon pose. My balance and breathing needs a lot of work. But by the end of the class I found myself seriously relaxed, my whole body felt like butta and I floated home in a peaceful yoga bubble. I had the most sound sleep that night that I’ve had in a long time. I think there’s something to this yoga thang!

I’ve always had a hard time spending money on ‘name brand’ gym clothes – so most of what I wear when working out are tops that have been demoted from my regular wardrobe and yoga pants when on sale from various retailers. Usually a Target or Wamart and occasionally a Reitmans or Old Navy. Here’s what I wore to my first yoga class at Studio Blue:

Tops: demoted pink button-up Tee from Old Navy, long-sleeve activewear from Puma (on sale at Winners)

Bottoms: Yogalife black capri pants from Reitmans

In hindsight, wearing a top with buttons for anything exercise related is a total no-no for me. With all the different poses involved, twists and body movements those buttons did not want to say buttoned. The ‘girls’ got in the way of some of the poses done while on the mat, to be expected. Next time, I will have to consider wearing a tight-fitting tank underneath instead, to avoid “t-shirt creep”.

I loved the class! I’m definitely cashing in my voucher and going again! This time I might try one of their more high-energy classes…soooo many to choose from…excited! If only there was a Cuddle Pose + nap time to end every class with…hummmm. I’ll make that suggestion at my next class and see what I can do friends 😉

How many of y’all practice Yoga? How many of you have thought about it, but feel a little intimidated to try? Share your thoughts and experiences with me in the ‘comments’…let’s start a discussion!

St. Paddy’s Day!

O’ St. Paddy’s Day! An excuse to drink in excess and claim you’re Irish! It’s great! I’m a big fan of any excuse to drink beers in the afternoon or all day among friends, whilst the bar spontaneously breaks out into song and the occasional jig with fiddle solo. In previous years, the shenanigans would begin by getting ourselves down to an Irish Pub for breakfast-brunch around 11am to secure fantastic seats/section for the rest of the day to comfortably letting the beers flow, as groups of friends and friends-of-friends joined our table-o-fun throughout the day. See pics below of all previous shenanigans of St. Paddy’s of my past.

So I was seriously bummed that St. Paddy’s Day fell on a Monday this year. Plus, with nearly all my peeps coupled off, moved far, far away from the city, start having babies…trying to round-up the troops for early celebrations on the weekend wasn’t working out. 😦

But then a Facebook invite lifted my hopes: Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It: Retro Road Show’s St. Patty’s Bash @ The Dovercourt House! 80s/90s music with nominal cover charge and in my neighbourhood. Perrrrfect!

Now…what to wear?

I picked up this fabulous dress at an event in Guelph last summer called Consign Your Curves. Where curvy women opened up their closets and sell their never/barely worn garments before hauling it all away to Goodwill or storage lockers abyss. Sadly, in all the time I’ve owned this piece I haven’t found an opportunity to wear it….until THIS weekend, I thought!

But that evening I didn’t feel it was GREEN enough. In fact, I realized how little items of green I own. Instead I ended up wearing 2-piece illusion dress (sheer green/black skirt) from Forever21+. With a few green pre-cocktails at a friends place we headed to Dovercourt House where we danced between two floors of video dance party goodness. There was even a photobooth with props…which we clearly enjoyed!

Now, since Monday is really St. Paddy’s Day…I couldn’t attend meetings in the office without bringing a touch of the Irish with me 🙂 Originally I put together the below for an office appropriate St. Paddy’s approved Outfit of the Day.

Buuuuut, over the weekend when I was killing time before the Mirvish show: Arrabal at The Panasonic Theatre (a surprisingly good show told all in dance!), I found myself in The Hudson Bay Company poking around the Dorothy Perkins section (my fav)… I discovered their UK clothing line called Billie & Blossom. Typically UK sizes are about two sizes smaller than stated, i.e. a UK 16 is really a size 12/14 in Canadian sizes. But this delightful butterfly patterned pleated coral dress seemed to fit as it should on moi at a UK18! Plus, the sleeves were just right and I love the neckline. And this morning I had-had-had to wear it instead… with my Kelly Green blazer, of course to give it a touch of the Irish! 🙂

I had hoped to convince a bunch for Folleauges (friends who are colleagues) out for a few green beers after work today and maximize my outfit to double duty – nobody likes wasting a good outfit on an insignificant day. But the afternoon had got away from me, and when I next looked up it was already after 5pm, Irish pubs near the office had line-ups growing since before 3pm and my office was a ghost-town. Sigh..

How did you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day? What did you wear? Share in the comments section…or better yet, post pictures on the Facebook page. I’m dying to see what y’all got up to 🙂

xo, Irene

How I got The Look:

Saturday Night: Blue-green dress from Asos + Rocker-chick buckle&zlip booties from Aldo

Monday March 17 – Office Day: White-Pink-Orange dress from DressBarn (original choice); Butterfly patterned pleated coral dress by Billie&Blossom (Hudsons Bay Co). + Kelly Green blazer from INC, Hundson Bay Co. + Black leather pumps from Guess

Accessories: Earrings & necklace were both gifts from wayyy back & St. Paddy’s Day headband from Old Navy many many moons ago

#TVS: Rock-A-Billy Shake-Up!

Last year upon finally jumping on the Mad Men bandwagon, discovering and falling in love with the Rockabilly/Vintage scene Toronto has to offer, the Toronto Vintage Society organized a meetup event last night’s one-night-only live music: “Sweet 16th” installment of the Rock-A-Billy Shake-Up, at the Junction’s – 3030 (3030 Dundas St. West).

My friend Liz, a fellow TVS member and blogger of The Vintage Inn, has done a fabulous post about the bands of this event, click here to read all about it 🙂

Some of you may remember this cherry-bomb pin-up dress from a previous post. I love this dress! It was meant for an event like this! I wore it with my rocker-chick buckle & zip booties (as winter does not want to leave Toronto yet), in hopes it would yield better results with the men-folk than it did the last time. Uggh!

The plan was to meet grab dinner at 3030 with a few TVS members prior to the show. The menu looked fantastic….plus it would give us a chance to giggle & catchup, whilst securing us a solid spot to enjoy the music for the rest of the night, winter coats and all. 😉

Although the food items were all pretty delicious, the ordering system is very interesting. Patrons must first acquire a seat, then go up to the crowded bar to try and nab a bartender’s attention, only then is a menu of food offerings shared with you (no menus at the table). If you’re successful at this point you are given an order number on a stand, to put on your table and someone will search the venue for your little number and bring you your food. Popcorn chicken, Blue cheese MacN’Cheese, Tostada of sorts and a plate of Bacon, were just a few of the items various people from our little possy ordered.

Also interesting is that their offerings of beers is different at both of the bars in this venue. Soooo say you’re a fan of Mill St. Organic — and you happen to be sitting in the backroom where all the performances are, what you must do is order your appies at bar one, pay, and then walk yourself over to bar two through crowds of people to order your pint of choice. Annoying? Yes..buuuuut it does allow a girl to strut all over the venue at least once to check out the crowd and for the crowd to admire your outfit 😉

First up was a London, ON band called The Hi-Tones (above) – I totally fell in love with the lead singer’s sailor inspired dress! I’m totally crushing on the nautical look these days – anchors away crazy!

Since this was a #TVS event, I got to catchup with a bunch of members I haven’t seen since the Vintage Holiday Party, and even got to meet a few new members who recently joined this fabulous group. I also got to meet a fan of Petite Plus, Meow! She came up and introduced herself and sang prasies of my wee blog! In fact, my post about shoes inspired her to run out and buy the exact same ones 🙂 My heart smiled all night with her compliments – thank you, thank you, thank you, lovely girl!

There were a ton of folks from Toronto Lindy Hop in attendance, many of whom tore up the dance floor with fancy swing-spin and twirls and whirls. Very impressive! Think I’ve found my next ‘fun’ to fill the void that the lack of BollyFuze classes have left in my heart……stay tuned for more on that. 🙂

I’ve been bombarded with work commitments this week and haven’t been able to blog as regularly as I like. I’ve been so busy that I was considering working late instead of going out Friday night. I’m soooo glad I attended – what a fantastic way to end the work week! A big Thank You to Toronto Vintage Society to introducing me to such a fun scene…can’t wait for the next event! xo

Stella & Dot Giveaway + Top 10 Spring Must Haves (Part 2 of 3)

Reblogging this one especially for my WordPress followers – don’t want y’all to miss out on this Thank You contest I’m hosting. Just reached 100 Facebook LIKES! Would hate for you to miss out —- sooooo we’re keeping the contest open until Sunday, March 16th at NOON! You can’t win it you don’t play. Follow. Like. Share. Request. Win?! 🙂

PPMeow!

Hi friends!!!

It’s been officially three months since I began this wee curvy fashion & lifestyle blog. I’m thrilled at how much action and traction it has been getting. In fact, I’m nearly at the big 100 LIKES mark!!! Thank you so much for your support, for reading, liking, commenting and following me … it means a lot! ❤

And to celebrate —- once I’ve reached 100 followers, one lucky person is gonna WIN a fabulous piece of jewellery from Stella & Dot’s new Lookbook!!!

Now if you’re already been following, you’ve likely already read the previous Stella & Dot post (Part 1 of 3) and requested a fabulous Spring/Summer Lookbook from the stylish Amy Lazar Kleiman via all the built-in links from that post. If that’s the case, she already has your mailing address and it’ll be uber easy to send you your prize, if you happen to be the lucky winner 🙂

For those of…

View original post 623 more words

Stella & Dot Giveaway + Top 10 Spring Must Haves (Part 2 of 3)

Hi friends!!!

And to celebrate —- once I’ve reached 100 followers, one lucky person is gonna WIN a fabulous piece of jewellery from Stella & Dot’s new Lookbook!!!

For those of you who missed that post, not to fear it’s not too late to get yourself your very own FREE LOOKBOOK!

To be entered to Win the Stella & Dot Giveaway Prize…

Follow Petite Plus, Meow!
LIKE this post
SHARE this post OR a previous post from the blog you enjoyed reading
Request a FREE Stella & Dot Lookbook (how else are we going to get your mailing address to send you your PRIZE?) 🙂

We’ve been alerted to some site interruptions. To be safe, email Amy your Lookbook request at: Amylazar@gmail.com

The lucky winner will be announced here and on Facebook (with the winner’s permission, of course)…once Petite Plus, Meow! has reached/surpassed 100 LIKES!

Of all the Stella & Dot pieces I personally own and wear, the one that constantly gets me compliments without fail is the Medina Bib. I’ve worn it in a few posts, as you can see from my photos below – this necklace is a fantastic statement piece dressing up just around any outfit you pair it with. Each of the images below are linked to the specific blog post about each outfit, if you’re interested 🙂

Amy & I have tons of thoughts on what fabulous piece should be given away … so many great things to choose from this season! Take a looksee at Amy’s Top 10 Spring Must Haves below.

Remember….LIKE, SHARE, and Request a Lookbook…..for your chance to WIN!

Trend Report by Stella & Dot Stylist Amy Lazar Kleiman

Can you say, Hello Yellow! I say, if spring is going to take its sweet time, then we should just wear some sunshine instead! Grab and wrap a bright yellow scarf around ya or put on a pair of yellow earrings – like you’ll find in the Norah collection – to perk you up after this dreary winter.

Really, adding colour to any outfit will do and that’s one thing about Stella & Dot, there’s lots of colour to choose from!

The stunning Spring 2014 collection debuted in January, and I’m already loving the Elodie necklace – which I wear with a simple black top and it looks like I’m super stylish! I have also fallen hard for the gorgeous green Linden necklace, which looks AMAZING over a hot new colour for spring – MINT!

One of my favourite things about Stella &Dot, and it’s why I was first attracted to this boutique line of jewelry when I was invited to a trunk show three years ago, is its versatility.

Most of the pieces can be worn more than one way and you’ll find many of the pieces can be worn layered to give you an entirely new look.

For example, the newly-released Rory necklace (similar look to the Elodie) can be layered with the Somervell necklace and you can finish the look with a pair of Nancy studs. Easy peasy and pretty too!

I know I’ve talked a lot of about our necklaces, but when you check out the entire line, you’ll see that there are bold and beautiful earrings and bracelets too!

If there’s one last trend I’m noticing for spring, it’s in the BAGS! Grab yourself a cute bag for spring – like the Avalon Tote in geranium! Treat yo’self, cause you know you’re going to need those emergency flip flops soon for a fresh summer-ready pedicure (I promise, any day now girls!).

So, I hope this has inspired you to add some sparkle to your spring wardrobe – and a BIG thank you to Irene for her blog AND for inspiring all of us to take our fashion up a notch every day!

I’m happy to help with all of your styling needs – so don’t be afraid to reach out and visit my site: www.stelladot.com/amylazarkleiman

Kiyonna’s Black Lace

Lace is maybe the loveliest of all fabrics! It’s just so pretty and feminine and when it comes in black…uber sexy!

Last year, I discovered this fabulous plus clothing line called Kiyonna. This line seems to have a ton of lace offerings to the plus population…and their sizing is nearly perfect for those in the petite category when it comes to arm & shoulder lengths too! Often their website has deals for online purchasers…which helps, as their items tend to be on the pricey end. I personally am still a bit wary about online shopping. Simply relying on pictures of items on photo-shopped models on a computer screen without being able to ACTUALLY try something on first, isn’t my favourite way to shop for clothes. (I did manage to get brave…and buy a Hot-Mama Kiyonna dress…THE Valentina Illusion Dress..Meow indeed!)

To my surprise I found that Stefanie, owner of SexyPlusClothing carried a few fab Kiyonna pieces in her shop… and I quickly snapped up this lovely black lace 3/4 sleeved wrap top! It really is a lovely versatile piece that goes great with a skirt or pants….for office, special occasion, date night…huh huh 😉

Take a look at how I’ve worn it in the past and recently to the office with a black cami underneath, gotta keep ‘the girls’ in check among co-workers ya know.

Want to save 20% off on Kiyonna order – click here friends!!!! 🙂

How I got The Look:

Black lace wrap top by Kiyonna, from SexyPlus Clothing – when they were located at Rosedale/Yonge Sts…so sad they’ve moved out to Mississauga 😦

Berry pencil skirt by Dorothy Perkins, The Hudson Bay Co. (Yonge & Bloor location)

The Shoes: Hi-glossy black pumps from Payless; Beige peep-toed booties from NineWest; and Black snake-skinned ponty-toed booties from Madeline

Navy tuxedo stripped pant from Old Navy, yup…the Diva line – Best. Pants. Ever!

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

#OOTD: Nautically Inspired

It’s been a while since I’ve done an Outfit of the Day post….with all the recent excitement of being a Bridesmaid, The Oscars and modeling for Dragons’ Den Auditions. So I’m excited to be sharing an #ootd with you all again 🙂

I picked up this fab lightweight cream crewneck sweater from Old Navy Boxing Day! These red anchors are the cutiest. I really love the nautical theme … Black, Navy, Red & White in combination with stripes and anchors are just the greatest things ever.

I’ve worn this sweater a ton over the last few months …but I never remembered to take pics for the blog. Monday this sweater made another appearance to the office and I finally snapped a few for this post, combining them with random selfies I’ve taken whist wearing it elsewhere. 🙂 This great red blazer is part of a skirt suit from Sears a few years ago…also scored during Boxing Day sales. The pants are those Diva Old Navy ones you may remember them from my previous post – and I stand by my statement: Best.Pants. Ever!

Here are two distinct nautical themed looks – both totally do-able for “9-5 office” and super perfect for post-office-day fun too!

Mixing Patterns
A huge trend right now, but for me doing it right is difficult. I think I made it work here with the red anchor sweater + black n’ white polka dot pant. The look was a bit more on the casual side, so adding the red blazer helped me feel more confident to bring this outfit to the office all day. Sigh…If the weather in Toronto will ever become spring like, I can finally stop pairing up all outfits with my winter boots – blah…sooo sick of winter!

Stripes + Solids
Keeping with my nautical themed post, I’ve often worn this red blazer with a simple black pencil skirt, rather than the red skirt from the suit set…in an effort not to be “too loud” at the office (remember folks…financial-institution-corporate-types don’t appreciate “loud” amongst them in cubical/open-office living…or so I’ve noticed). In an effort to still keep the look interesting, like moi … introducing a sharp pattern or print like this striped strapless peplum really helps me create some noise, without being too “loud” for the office 😉

So, which nautical inspired look do you like best?

Because I’ve been missing wearing shoes with my OOTDs, I’ve included a few fab shots taken by the artsy eye of Rebecca Northcott – a few in black peep-toed heels and others in red wedged heels 🙂

How I got The Looks:

Red blazer by Jessica skirt-suit set from Sears

Diva pants + Anchor crewneck sweater from Old Navy

Black n’ White stripped peplum top from AdditionElle

Large tear drop earrings in both Gold and Silver are from Payless

Peep-toe black platform pumps from Diesel, Winners AND Red Georgen pointed wedge heels from Aldo

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

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Oscars Red Carpet

Who stayed up late and watched the Oscars last night?

The 86th Academy Awards was a star-studded event where the dresses were as impressive as the nominees, and at the centre was Ellen DeGeneres, repeating her 2007 triumph as host of the Oscars. I thought she was an excellent host and was surprised at how much she pushed the envelope with her jokes….poor Liza. 🙂

Here’s the run down on MY personal top 5 favourite looks on the red carpet last night:

#5: Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab Haute Couture

Naomi Watts

#4: Olga Kurylenko in Alice Elia

Olga Kurylenko

#3: Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace

Naomi Watts

#2: Julia Roberts in Givenchy Couture

Lupita Nyong`o

#1: Amy Adams in Gucci Prèmiere

Amy Adams

There you have it! My top 5 list from last night’s red carpet. If you’ve been following PetitePlus, Meow’s FB Page (if you haven’t – START!) …you know that my heart’s true #1 spot for best dress still remains with the Original Glamour Curvy Queen: Missy Piggy wearing Vivianne Westwood Couture on E!

Lou Lou magazine put out their Ultimate 2014 Oscars red carpet looks – from which I leveraged their images for the above post.

Until the next post friends, xo

Dragons’ Den Auditions: Your Big Sister’s Closet

My friend and fellow blogger, Karen Ward aka The Curvy Canadian, is also the shop owner of Your Big Sister’s Closet – a lovely little plus sized botique in The Junction (Dundas/Keele area of Toronto). She and her husband, Peter, are hoping to meet The Dragons in The Den!

Dragons Den is a CBC TV show where where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts and products to a panel of Canadian business moguls who have the cash and the know-how to make it happen. Launching a business is no small task. No matter how big an idea you think you have, it still takes a lot of work and a ton of cash. It takes more than passion to convince these boardroom giants that your idea is worth their attention. The Dragons are ruthless and rightly so – it’s their own personal money on the line.

Your Big Sister’s Closet’s first audition was this past Saturday – March 1st. This audition is preliminary – meaning it was with the show’s producers – these are the people who determine if we are a good fit for the show and pitching to the Dragons. Karen and Peter auditioned last year, but were not selected for the show. This time around they were prepared to blow this audition out of the water by bringing them a gorgeous fashion show – something really visual that will translate well for TV and will really WOW them! That’s where ME, along with several other plus sized beauties come in 😉

Karen & Peter needed models to show off their botique’s lovely clothes and walk in a runway-style show for the audition. We each needed to come into the store once before the audition for a fitting to determine what we’d be wearing. A simple request right? Right. Now, how could I visit this lovely botique ofnunique-pieces-of-fabulous and not do a bit of shopping? C’mon…ya’ll know I didn’t leave that shop empty handed!

Here’s my mini-haul from Your Big Sister’s Closet:

I fell in love with this purse and giant pearl necklace immediately upon seeing it in the Curvy Canadian’s recent blog post! I lost a night’s sleep knowing I wouldn’t be able to visit the shop until later that week…so I left a blog comment and FB messaged Karen & Peter demanding that they hold these pieces for me STAT! And today…they’ve come home with me! Yaya!

Then during my sytle appointment, I found this Pin Up Perfection Hi-Waisted Pencil Skirt — I wore the bow in the front, but I think it would look great off to the side or even buttoned up in the back – super cute! I’ve been coveting this skirt for many moons… it was actually one of the first things in pinned in my Pintrest closet, and now it’s in my ACTUAL closet! Below pics are just me trying it on in the change room … I think when I do wear it out-out it’ll be with a loud-splash-of-colour top, like hot pink or fire engine red. Huh…thoughts?

Ok…back to Saturday and the Dragons’ Den Auditions! We – the curvy models – were each styled by the lovely Karen at her boutique prior to Saturday. My outfit choice was narrowed down to two lovely looks:

1. Professional Business Woman – this black and white houndstooth peplum dress with a lovely black tweet blazer with a single silver studded accent down the shoulders (a safe look I often create myself for the office with a bit of an edge),

2. This Lady-Like Purple Lace …. with a ton of girlie girl accessories including the lovely giant pearls and giant pink facinator!

On the actual audition day, we met bright and early in the atrium of the CBC building downtown (250 Front Street West, at John Street) for 9am with our hair and make-up done as we usually do it. They brought our planned outfits and we changed there via a clever pop-up changing tent they brought along. (Brilliant!) Part of the WOW-factor to keep this audition memorable to the producers was that we were going to carry body positive picket signs that said things like “Plus Size and Proud”, “Curvy and Confident”, etc. Similar to the #BoPo Art Installation I was apart of in February for the store’s 1st year Anniversary Party.

I arrived at the CBC Studio a little before 9am, half-asleep with a Starbucks and post-wedding hair (was a bridesmaid in a gf’s wedding the night before – stay tuned for blog post about that fabulous night), to find Karen and Peter just unloading their car with all our lovely outfits. They gave me the important task: Sign them in for the auditions and report back! We were lucky #21 on the list. As you can see (above pic)…there were a ton of entrepreneurial hopefuls who got there hella early all with the same wish: to be selected to pitch to The Dragons on the show.

This was my first time “cat-walking”. I mean, I strut down the street all the time, buuuut I was terrified with a fear of falling onto my face whilst a giant #BoPo picket sign fell on top of my head. Dun dun dunnnnn… Happily, we all strutted our stuff to perfection once in front of the producers.

The camera crew really seemed to LOVE our little possy of plus-sized lovelies! They got tons of footage of us practice our strutting choreography as directed by Peter, whist Karen rehearsed her pitch for the Dragons. They even asked us to do several cheering clips – so much so that I can still faintly hear us chanting “Dragons’ Den! Dragons’ Den!” for much of the afternoon.

What a fantastic way to kick of the month of March! The morning was spent with such a great group of women – some of whom I’ve met before and others, meeting for the first time. Shout outs to my new blogger sistas: Alex of Not Afraid To Wear Heels and fellow WordPress-er Hanna of Classically Curvy.

Fingers crossed Your Big Sister’s Closet gets selected for the show….weee! You can count on a follow-up blog post from moi if we do! 🙂

How I got The Look:

EVERYTHING is from Your Big Sister’s Closet – 3126 Dundas Street West in Toronto

My watch is Michael Kors and the ponty-toed nude pumps with mint toe are from The Hudson Bay Company (Queen & Yonge Sts)

Stella & Dot: Spring/Summer Lookbook (Part 1 of 3)

Did you get your FREE Stella&Dot Lookbook from Petite Plus, Meow yet? Hurry up already – let me know what we should GIVEAWAY to one lucky person hummmmm?

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook Page yet?

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PPMeow!

Friends – about three weeks ago, as you can see from my Instagram pic below, I went to my mailbox and squeeled with delight to find the 2014 Spring/Summer Stella & Dot Lookbook had arrived!!! Even my pup, Bert seemed excited 🙂

I dunno about y’all … but I might love jewellery and accessories a little more than I love clothes. Why? Because they ALWAYS fit!!! If you’re like me, you’re used to going up and down in weight constantly. Which often means money spent on fab pieces of clothing only getting worn once or twice before it’s too big or too small to look “good” on you anymore. Buuuuut when you buy a lovely piece of jewellery or a fab pair of shoes or an amazing purse/scarf/hat…typically, no matter when you wear it again, it’s gonna look as fantastic on you, as the day you bought it!