My favorite piece this week is so absolutely basic, I can barely stand it. The last time I walked into this store, I was probably 13 years old and looking for some fluro/cropped/mesh/layered ensemble. Sadly, when I walked in this time, there was still a lot of cropped and mesh going on (we have moved on from fluro, thank gosh). If you haven’t guessed already, the store that I am referring to is SUPRÉ. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with SUPRÉ and their style, but let’s just say I feel a little old and a little plus size to be walking into a store like that. However, surrounded by dresses with the midriff cut out, and shorts so short they could of been belts; I found the beauty of a skirt.

I used to own a skirt similar to this manyyy years ago, so let’s just say I was pretty pumped to rediscover this style. The Super Soft Gather Mini Skirt – now something with the word ‘mini skirt’ puts me on high alert straight away, however I find this particular style long enough to even wear up at my belly button (where I like to wear my skirts) without being too offensively short. Plus it has my my extra favourite feature – the ruching. I’m a secret addict of the TV show ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ and the moment a curvy lady walks in they all start raving about ruching. The thing is, ruching is a seamstresses gifts to curvy ladies, so I’m going to rave about it too! Ruching is the sewing or gathering of material along the sides of a skirt (or dress) which creates soft folds in the fabric. It’s a little like smoke and mirrors, it’s a magic trick. It makes it very hard to tell what are fabric folds and what are lumps and bumps in your gorgeous womanly figure! Ta da!  This style on this skirt actually allows it to drape and flow with my body and around my hips to actually compliment my shape, hide those love handles, and make me feel pretty damn sexy!

As well as being perfect for my curvy shape, it’s also super comfortable and really versatile! A skirt like this is something that is so easy to dress up or down. Here I have styled it with a simple River Island Cross Back Cami and Target Lily Loves Denim Jacket perfect for a trip to the movies or an outing during the day. You could also dress it up with a sparkly top and heels to wear on a night out!  For an extra dress down pair it with with a trusty pair of Converse or similar skater style sneakers. You could ever throw on a band t-shirt or graphic tee to wear is even more casually! I’ve added some custom statement earrings (one of a kind sorry!) to dress it up a little extra and I’m obsessed with Kenzie Collective at the moment (I’m a little late on board that train I know), whose just released something similar and stunning!

Particularly for bottoms, I generally stick to plus branded stores as I feel my child birthing hips (as my mother likes to call them) are better accommodated for in those stores when it comes to jeans, pants and skirts. However it can definitely be worth rummaging through a few more mainstream stores to find little treats like this one. Other stores like Glassons, H&M and Decjuba are a few of my mainstream stores that I like to venture into. I find Decjuba also has some really great tops and blouses that seem more forgiving in the size department.

You can pick up my skirt here or see a similar Midi (YAS!) version that SUPRÉ is also stocking here. And check out (my awesome photographer) David’s stunning photography on his Insta! 

Embrace those curves, watch their jaws drop and show the nay-sayers just why you are #prettyforplussize