petite plus size

Valentines Outfit Inspirations

Soooo has Cupid’s arrow struck you this year? Are you gearing up for a big romantic Valentine’s Day with your beau?

Or rounding up your squad for a fabulous Galentine’s together?

Regardless of what you’re up to this weekend-o-love, you will surely need a fabulous outfit! 😉

So that’s what this post is dedicated to: Valentine’s Day Outfit Inspirations!!!

I’ve come up with 3 different looks, pulling items (both old and newish) from my closet to come up with looks that could take you from romantic reservations, to a mystery date out n’ about, or to a no-boys-allowed party! ❤

1. Lady in Red

You can’t really go wrong with wearing Red for Valentine’s Day!

I picked up this great “perfect red” dress during a Black Friday Sale from Kiyonna …. the sheer sleeves, scooped neckline and perfect length made this a must buy.

**Outfit Deets:** Mohair purse, *NineWest;* Shoes, *Christian S. for Payless*; Earrings and necklace, *Reitmans;* Dress from Kiyonna

Alternatively, if you wanted a more romantic Lady-in-Red vibe maybe ditch the flats for leopard pumps and add a fur collar…and BOOM!

You’ve kicked up the glam to this outfit!

**Outfit Deets:** Shoes, *Calvin Klein;* Fur collar, *Cabaret Vintage;* Dress from *Kiyonna*

2. Fuzz n’ Fuchsia

If you’re looking to keep it more casual and cozy, why not pull out your favourite dress like this hot pinky/fuchsia number I picked up from the opening of AdditionElle’s Stockyard location, and pair it with a fuzzy sweater!

Add some bling and pumps and …. Boom! Instant Valentine’s Day magic! ❤

**Outfit Deets:** Dress, *AdditionElle*; Sweater, *H&M*; Shoes, *Aldo;* Jewellery, *LOFT*

Oooo I’m digging this combo of colours and textures and hardware with the jewels!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

You likee? 🙂

3. Rockabilly Pink

If you want to go all-out girly girl, a flirty-ruffle-y- skirt is the way to go!

Now, I personally never got onto the tutu-skirt trend that seemed to be everywhere for the last little while in plus size fashion.

But this full circle skirt from Tatyana Boutique has an overlay of tulle, which kinda gives you a tutu-vibe. Plus the bold gold flower details on the overlay certainly adds that romantic, flirty, girlie-girl outfit feeling.

**Outfit Deets:** Blouse & Skirt, *Tatyana Boutique;* Shoes, *Naturalizer;* Purse, *Kate Spade;* Jewellery set (old)

Since the skirt has a lot of drama, I tried to keep the rest of the look simple with blacks and whites.

I was bold with mixing patterns here – stripes and dots – but since they’re all black and white colours, they seem to work nicely, don’t you think? 🙂

This collared tie-up polka-dotted blouse with this peachy pink jewellery set in gold totally compliments the skirt and its details.

I think this set is kind of perfect for this outfit. ❤

So there you have it friends!!! 3 very different Valentine’s inspired outfits that I’m hoping will help you create the best look for your special evening.

Which is YOUR favourite – 1, 2 or 3 … and why? Tell me about your choice in the comments section below!

Hoping that these outfit inspirations earn you a few smooches this Valentine’s Weekend friends, xo 😉

Ever been curious about why kissing is so craved and important? Me too! Find out more about the Science of Kissing here.

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

LIKE. Share. Comment.

Neon & Stripes

Hello friends!!! Sorry it’s been such a long while since I’ve done a proper blogpost.

Summer days lead to summer nights…and I’ve been making the most of both so far this July.

Hope you are doing the same. 🙂

Guess what I’ve managed to do? I finally introduced some NEON into my summer wardrobe!

It’s everywhere. You’ve seen it. I just didn’t know how to pull it off myself. But then I found this body con dress from Rainbow Shops on my last cross-boarder shopping trip earlier this Spring for a super steal of a price. And it’s been hanging in my closet with tags on ever since.

I finally had the nerve to wear it while I was in Ottawa over Canada Day Long Weekend. (Stay tuned to the blog for a recap of my trip…coming soon!)
The centre colour block of neon with the bold black and white strips down the sides of this body hugging midi length frock, make this a very loud and vibrant look. Especially when worn at night … So I made sure to keep accessories, shoes and purse solid black and simple, to avoid adding any more noise to this outfit.

During the hot summer months, neon is quickly becoming something I want to wear more of. I’ve been looking for the perfect chartreuse pieces to introduce into my wardrobe next. Preferably in a pump 😉

How I Got The Look: Neon & Stripes dress from Rainbow Shops; Jelly shoes from my AsianAdventure

Have you jumped on the neon bandwagon this summer? If you’re nervous about it, start small. Go for a piece of jewelry with neon stones, neon nails, or a neon belt.

Are you following me on INSTAGRAM? If so, you’ve likely seen a few more pics and video clips as I took them during my trip. Search for the hashtag: PPMeowTravels to see more of my adventures and outfits there.

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

LIKE. Comment. Share. 🙂

Seafoam Nautical

A few weeks ago I pieced together an outfit on Instagram – follow me 😉 – for an upcoming date night outfit … with pieces in my current closet (as I’m totally broke a$$ since returning from my magical PPMeowAsianAdvenure)

Let me give you a run down of the items I selected.

How I Got The Look:

Seaform hi-low sheer top (Your Big Sister’s Closet) ; High-waisted stripped black n’ white pencil skirt (Winners); Peep-toed black pumps (Nine West); Multi-strand necklace (Stella & Dot); Anchor clutch (Aldo Accessories)

This sheer seafoam hi-low top I picked up last year from Your Big Sister’s Closet, it’s a piece that has worn well and continues to get tons of compliments and comments every time I don it.

First dates are always tricky when it comes to ‘the girls’ – you want to look alluring and highlight certain ‘assets’ without giving it all away. A difficult fine line when you’re a busty gal like moi.

This top works perfectly to give that allure … being sheer, giving you the illusion you can see everything….but having a high-enough neckline to let you have a sit-down dinner without having ‘the girls’ take over the meal.

Love the black lace detail down the front of this to too. Really just ties in all the other pieces of my outfit and helps dress-up this otherwise simple outfit.

It seems I’m a big fan of Nautical Inspired looks – click here, here, here and here to see what i mean 😉

What do you think of this as a first date outfit? Do you approve? What would you do differently? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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

LIKE. Comment. Follow. Share.

“Ugly” Christmas Sweater

Ok, so Ugly Xmas Sweaters are everywhere!!

Truth is, I prefer ‘cute’ over ‘ugly’ …. so, I picked up this Giant Rudolph sweater from Ardene ($20) to meet this need in my life 🙂

Kinda perfect for just throwing over a dress, and viola! Instantly you’re festive ready outfit is complete.

This is one of my favourite dresses I picked up from Forever21+ earlier this year. It’s perfect for swing dancing too …keeping the ‘girls’ locked n’ loaded AND covered up for close dancing … plus the criss-cross back cutouts are helpful for cooling down between dances. To see it in other looks, click here.

Wore these cute silver bow earrings I recently picked up at a vintage sale

colin-firth_2740666a — Colin Firth **swoon** as Mark Darcy in Love Actually, in his classic xmas jumper

When I saw this sweater … it totally made me think of the handsome and adorable Colin Firth, in my favourite holiday movie: Love Actually…

The hope was to wear this sweater and attend The Gladstone Hotel’s 12 BEERS of Christmas! Sadly, tickets were soldout at the door…so a few of us ended up drinking and dining elsewhere in the area before returning for live music and swing dancing.

If you’re looking for an excuse to wear an ‘ugly xmas sweater’ yourself, click here to see a listing of fun ideas of how to incorporate this fun theme into your holiday plans!

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

LIKE. Comment. Share. 🙂

Birthday Blues in Newsprint Navy

I picked up this navy Jax Leatherette newsprint dress from SexyPlus Clothing last month at the Fall Preview Blogger Exclusive.

As you saw last week during my Fall Double Feature collaboration series, both Leather and Blue Hues are trending this season. This dress combines them both perfectly.

I’m loving the leather details on the shoulders and above the hems of both sides of this dress.

This Zebra clutch is my new favourite piece right now, I try to bring it along with me whenever I can 🙂It was my birthday last week and I got to unveil this dress over that weekend.

Another year older – uggh – and not at all wiser. Or maybe not as wise as I hoped to be at this point. But in these pics I don’t look a day over 28 😉

Must be magical camera tricks of LawrenceKerrPhotography – I’m loving the images from this shoot!

I’ve been having mixed emotions about turning older this year.

Not really being up to organizing & celebrating a non-milestone born-day, I took the day off instead and spent some quality time with me, myself and Irene 😉

The lovely Elmwood Spa – a true urban oasis – treated me for a birthday lunch, which I ate in my plush robe & slippers. After that I was rubbed down by a giant man, whom I’ve decided to remember as spectacularly handsome ;), for an 80-min Hot Stone Massage followed by Water Therapies which included pool, steam room and the hot tub. I was determine not to leave until I looked like a raisin!!

PPMeow at Elmwood Spa — Lunching in fluffy robes and drinking in the afternoon ….Happy Birthday indeed!

In the evening a gf and I met up for dinner (tap pas and sangrias at Carmen – delicious!), followed by tickets to see HEDWIG and the Angry Inch at the Lower Ossington Theatre where we were entertained by talented rock bands, drinking and great singing by an interesting transsexual with lots of stories and rock songs. The performance was fantastic! Buuuuut the story, which I found sad, went over my head. I had to come home and google exactly what I just spend the last 90-mins sitting through.

I got a lovely birthday card that read:

In this world where things move so fast and change before our eyes, I take comfort in the precious and few things that are constant and true…your friendship is one thing I can count on; one thing I keep safe inside my heart. I celebrate you on your birthday and I honour the friendship we share day after day, year after year.

Between this card, invitations to dinners, brunches and drinks, and the numerous phone calls, voicemails, texts and the 101+ Facebook messages of Birthday Wishes – I felt pretty damn’d loved all day. I’m a very blessed and lucky girl! 🙂

Overall, a pretty freakin’ fantastic birthday weekend!!!

And now, let the next 365 days of this new year in the life & times of Irene be awesome! Cheers!

How I Got The Look:

Blue suede platform shoes from Payless; Zebra clutch from AlterEgo Clothing; Newsprint Jax Dress from SexyPlus Clothing; Leaf earrings from …yikes, I don’t remember friends, they are super old.

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

LIKE. Share. Tell A Friend, friend 🙂

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

Fall Double Feature: Blooms on Black

Happy Hump Day!!! I hope you’ve been enjoying and following my Fall Fashion series in collaboration with Cassie from Style Cassentials.

We’re discussing fall trends this week – if you missed any of my previous posts, you can check them out here, here and here.

Today we are talking about Blooms on Black!

I haven’t always been a big fan of florals, but this Fall, I’m starting to re-think this….considering we’re only at Hump Day Wednesday with this special blog series, and I’ve already worn blooms-on-black twice! (Click here to see how I incorporated florals with leather earlier this week.)

This Dorothy Perkins metallic floral top is adorable and feminine…perfect for evening or date night.

I’m really feeling gold this Fall … in accessories like watches, bangles, necklaces, earrings. Get yourself some GOLD friends!

In an effort to really play up the gold elements of this top, I paired it with a simple black pencil skirt and my giant pearl necklace…

…keeping my purse and shoes simple matte black.

The back of this top is really the showstopper – don’t you think? 🙂 Dorothy Perkins – A UK company that sells some really beautiful, classic plus size pieces that are high quality and that you are sure to have in your wardrobe for years to come. Many of the items are wardrobe staples. Excellent quality and they sell Canadian sizes 14-18, as well as straight sizes. Lucky for me The Hudson Bay Co. carry her line and I got to scoop up this fab top without online hassles!

How I Got The Look:

Floral ivory & metallic toned top from Dorothy Perkins; black pencil skirt from Old Navy; open toed pumps from Diesel; Giant pearls from Your Big Sister’s Closet; vintage bracelets from Toronto Vintage Clothing Show; black purse gifted

How cute is Cassie in this terrific felt hat!? The blue hues with yellow blooms on black in this dress is just lovely. Plus those amazing gold earrings….Love. It!

Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on how Cassie has styled the trends.

What are your thoughts around wearing florals in Fall? How would you incorporate this trend into your wardrobe this season? Use the comments section and tell me all about it…

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

LIKE. Share. Tell A Friend, friend 🙂

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

Have you missed a few from the special Fall Double Feature? Not to fear…

Loving Leather click here

Sweater Glamour click here

Modern Monochrome click here

Dog Days of Summer

I’m a total city girl. Growing up cottage-less, I’ve never really got to enjoy “the great outdoors” much as a kid…and have only really started to appreciate being out in nature as an adult.

Before moving into a shoe-box sized condo, I owned a house in the East York/Upper Beaches area of Toronto with a standard mini-backyard with just the right amount of grass and greenery to lounge and laze about a summer afternoon, with the pup.

Sigh … I miss that lil’ green space. Nowadays, I’ve taken to keeping a picnic blanket, book and bottle of water pre-packed in a beach bag at my door so that when the mood strikes, me and The Bertso (that’s the pup) can re-create that zen-like lazy feeling in Trinity Bellwoods Park instead. Here’s what I wore on a recent lazy weekend afternoon:

How I Got The Look:

Orange Italian Leather sandals from Hudson Bay Co.; Lime floral tank from Lane Bryant; Jean skirt (with built-in shorts) from Reitmans; and a ridiculously large floppy sunhat from The Public Butter (vintage shop on West Queen W/Duffrin)

Moi, looking a lil’ dopey after 5-hours of sun worshiping

These Orange Italian Leather sandal’s life came to an end…sigh

Have you LIKE’d the Facebook Page yet? You should!!!! 😉

#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