polkadots – Petite Plus, Meow!

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

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 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

#OOTD + Scarborough Town Center

Only two more weekends before my gf ties the knot with her lovely fiancée! Weeee! This weekend we – the Bridesmaids – are taking the Bride out for some special girlie time, followed by a joint evening-o-fun with friends of both the Bride & Groom.

I needed to make an outfit that’ll be lady-like appropriate for High Tea, yet able to go straight into an evening of Off-Key Karaoke Singing at their Stag & Doe. All the while keeping in mind that all of these shenanigans are taking place in the depths of Scarborough … which is a huge factor when considering shoe options in the cold winter weather of February…(I’m soooo sick of boots…sigh.)

This was the first time I was travelling into Scarborough via TTC since moving to the Queen West hood. It was a journey and a half! But upon arriving at Scarborough Town Center – I was dazzled by all the renos. This mall has really stepped it up since my highschool days of being a mallrat. Since my ride was running late, I had ample time to explore both levels of this mall and even took advantage of some of the winter clearance sales and beginning of Spring deals too.

My mini-kill-time-in-the-mall-haul consisted of:

Laura Petite – where I scored fabulous deep green leather gloves for $19, a silver chain for $9 and earrings for $7; and
Old Navy – picked up ANOTHER pair of my fav Diva pants are back in this great floral black with white pipping $25 plus this cute Navy skirt with red anchors $17

Some of you may remember this dress from a previous post [see Making Old, New Again]. Well, I finally got the hem of this dress shortened and now it’s perfect!

So for my Outfit of the Day (OOTD), here’s what I’ve come up with:

Prior to getting this dress hemmed, I’ve often worn it with a longer open cardi…either my cream long-sleeved knitted one from Winners OR my brown short-sleeved one from Reitmans.

But this time around, I decided to change the look slightly pairing it with a short grey cardi to hide the peekaboo cutouts on the back of this dress. Saving them for the evening look instead 🙂

Curious about what peekaboo cutouts I’m speaking of….and want to see how great this dress can look when you’re not limited to winter salt-stained covered boots? Scroll to the bottom of this post to see some of the lovely shots of JUST this dress from the creative eye of Rebecca Northcott. (Oh blue suede platforms, how I’ve missed you old friends…sigh.)

How I got The Look:
Groovy polka dot dress from Forever21+, Toronto Eaton Center
Tall grey boots from Payless
Grey v-neck cardigan from Old Navy, Toronto Eaton Center
Carmel/beige floral fascinator from Your Big Sister’s Closet (Dundas W/Keele Sts)
Odette Cuff + Odette Earrings from Stella & Dot

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

Fashion Forward Polka-Dot Blazer

After what feels like many moons since I’ve woken up at 6am , I get myself dressed for a day at the office. As promised, I found the following two pieces in my closet…wayyyy in the back which I paired together today for a fantastic little office outfit perfect for a breakfast networking meeting with fellow CSTD (Canadian Society of Training & Development) members, followed by a busy day of project deliverables and deadline submissions, before I head off on my EXTRA long weekend! [Toronto is about to have it’s the first long-weekend (Family Day) since the Xmas holidays. I’ve taken the Friday and Tuesday off too…for a little Irene-time – woot! woot!]

This 2-piece illusion dress – sheer green long-sleeved top attached to a simple black pencil bottom – might be the very first Forever21 piece I ever bought, ever! Prior to this purchase, I’ve always shyed away from going into that shop – the name alone scared me. Always felt I’d be roaming through the racks when some official shop security-type person would approach me saying “Excuse me Ma’am, You’re clearly NOT 21…let me escort your old a** outta here to a more age-appropriate store. Thank you Ma’am….” (Yup…I’m sure I’d get double-‘ma’am’d’). As you can see from some of my previous posts, this irrational fear has not stopped me from shopping at Forever21 – in fact, I’ve actually had tons of luck with fabulous finds there. My only issue is that because items are SO affordable, that every plus size girl in town is gonna have my outfit. And I’m not down with that.

So I try my hardest to shop all the time and EVERYWHERE to ensure that I can create Looks that are unique and interesting without being too easily attainable. Don’t get me wrong – I love knowing my outfit choices has inspired someone else’s fashion-juju, after all immitation is the highest form of flattery. Buuuuut…it is nice knowing that’s the pieces I own are somewhat exclusive and just mine 😉

I’ve only worn this dress a few times, mostly around the holidays for those impromptu cocktail socials that seem to pop up at a moments notice as everyone tries to maximize their Xmas cheer and host get-to-gethers. Bringing a sheer top to the office is always a challenge and daring act – especially if you’re a big-boobie girl working in a more conservative work environment, like me. My love of blazers seem to really help me take pieces that at, first glance, are not entirely office-appropriate into chic and fun office wear. Now blazers don’t have to be boring and boxy. I’m very particular when it comes to my blazer finds too! Looking through my collection, I’ve noticed many of mine are not the ‘standard’ solid coloured type at all. Most…nearly all of mine hanging in my closet are loud – bright coloured or patterned.

Like this fashion forward polka-dot blazer I picked up likely 5-years ago from Winners while on a lunch-break. As soon as I saw it on the hanger it made me nostalgic for Madonna’s Lucky Star-Searching for Susan-big hair-and-shoulder pads era! I remember my co-worker, who was shopping with me, saying how old-fashioned it was…like that was a bad thing. By that time I absolutely fell in love with it regardless of her commentary, and bought it immediately! What’s nice about this piece is that it has zero collar or lapel, taking away extra bulk around ‘the girls’ …which I certianly don’t need. And it has the tiniest hook-and-eye clasp to keep the blazer closed, creating a nice long/slim look for me I think …always a nice feature 🙂

So this is what I wore to work today. You likee? (Sorry about the crapy bathroom selfies…sigh. No time or motivation to take proper timer-app pics at 6am. Also, sorry about my terrible hair. Winter toque static…blah!)

How I got The Look:

2-piece illusion dress (sheer green/black skirt) from Forever21+, Yorkdale Mall

Black n’ white polka-dot blazer from Classic Trenz by T.Renz, Winners

Large silver tear-drop earrings and grey tall boots from Payless

Michael Kors white ceramic watch

Making Old, New Again

I take pretty good care of my clothes, steaming and sending items for dry cleaning regularly. So when pieces no longer fit right or get too big/small for me, I have a hard time simply donating them to Goodwill. As they are usually quality, expensive items which have often only been worn once!

In the past, I’d store them in Rubbermaid containers taking up valuable real estate in my storage unit. Occasionally I’d swap a few pieces with a gf or two who, like me, go up-and-down in weight regularly. Last summer, I discovered a fantastic first-time-event called BigDealToronto where various plus sized bloggers join forces and throw a pop-up sale where we get to shop their closets! But since I wasn’t a blogger nor in-the-know about these things, I simply shopped their racks and picked me up a few new-to-me gems for crazy low prices!

Then later that year I attended an event called Consign Your Curves, similar idea where 22 plus size fashionistas, including blogger/model Karyn aka KillerKurves and fashion designer Jessica Biffi rented clothing racks in a warehouse to sell their gently used or never been worn plus size clothing. This time I could actually participate and sell my items! This was a huge undertaking as I ended up pricing, tagging and carting 6 containers full of fab barely worn clothes for an entire afternoon resulting in a total sales of upwards of $200! Pretty damn good return on a Saturday spent in Guelph…considering these clothes were going to new homes to be loved, rather than just sitting taking up space in my storage unit.

This year, I’m trying to keep a promise I made to myself – repurpose and refresh as much as I can from my current closet without buying more stuff. So I began with taking inventory of my closet, pulling out the pieces in the back that I haven’t seen in a while and I noticed that much of what was back there was either too long, needed repair (loose buttons, torn seam, fallen hem, etc.) and to my delight, too big!

There were a number of pieces that upon second look, I’d like to have altered/fixed/adjusted and reintroduce them into my wardrobe. Here’s a list of the items (sadly, it only occurred to me to take ‘before’ pics now, so I do not have any to share for all the items on my Fix-it List below):

2 dresses I picked up from ConsignYourCurves event – one needs a seam re-stichted, the other needs the arms & neckline taken in which means a whole new zipper moved
1 long dress from Reitmans I swapped a gf for many moons ago – it’s kinda of frumpy on me with its current length, so I’m shortening it significantly….dun dun dunnn
1 lace-illusion skirt from Lane Bryant – this needs to be taken in nearly 4 inches (yay!)
1 hi-low new-ish dresses from Forever21+… but being petite the entire hi-lo needs to begin higher.
And lastly…the below Groovy Polka Dot dress, also from Forever21+

This is what its suppose to look like…stopping mid-thigh. Isn’t it cute?

And here’s what it looks like on me: The front is wayyyy too long. The back is super cute with the cutouts…buuut not so easy to wear a bra. I love-love-loved this dress! So much that I have already worn it to the office a few times with the lenght as is, wearing a long open sweater cardi with it. But it def needs adjustments.

Since moving to Queen West, I’m yet to find new VIPs I need in my life: a Vet, a Dog Groomer, a Nail Salon , a Dry Cleaner and a Tailor/Seamstress. I’ve recently found a combination Dry Cleaner/Alterations spot on Duffrin @ King West Sts. They’ve promised to work their magic and have all my above items ready for pick-up by Monday.

Stay tuned for the results and for my review of their shop & sewing skills friends. Fingers crossed they make me love these pieces again! 🙂