All In Black

Get the look: Jacket and top: Express, leggings: Target, Boots, Joyce Leslie (similar)

A year ago, if you asked my to describe my style, I probably would have said feminine with a retro twist. I was big into fit and flair dresses with cute cardigans and tights. Lately though, I've been drawn to edgier looks, like this all black ensemble I wore out with some friends recently. This moto jacket from Express has been an almost everyday wear for me these last few weeks. It looks good over everything! A pair of leggings, a tunic, and boots, and that's been my general look lately. I got these boots from Joyce Leslie, they were inexpensive, but their quality reflects that. I've been browsing around Cataluna, they have a nice selection of wide calf boots, as well as tons of plus size clothing. I've never bought purchased from them, can anyone speak for the quality?

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Crisp and clean

I'm feeling a little déjà vu in this printed top with black bottoms and a white jacket - it's almost identical to an outfit I wore in early June of last year, but I like the proportions of this version much better!

Old Navy treated me very, very well this week. On Tuesday Jennifer and I went to browse around the mall, and this white denim jacket and pair of black Rockstar Jeggings are two of the pieces I picked up. I love them alone, I love them together! The pants are going to be my go-to pair this spring and summer, now that my black Michael Kors ankle pants are too big. And the white jacket is the perfect topper for so many outfits! I picked up a gorgeous maxi dress as well that's going to look so cute with it :) For reference, I'm wearing a Large as I like a snug fit.

Whoever said that curvy girls shouldn't wear skinny jeans is absolutely out of their goddamn mind. To be quite frank, I love the way my legs and curves look in the very skinniest of skinnies, these especially! If you haven't tried the Rockstar Jeggings yet, you most definitely should. Many of the washes are sold out online but I had a lot of luck finding them in stores so be sure to pop in to your local Old Navy - I picked up second dark wash pair for good measure as well, since I love my first pair so much! These jeggings are so soft and super stretchy, comfort to the max! Size up as they run small - I'm wearing a 16 here.  Be aware though, the regular (denim-colored) Rockstars are a different fabric (77% cotton, 21% polyester, 2% Spandex) than the colored ones (98% cotton, 2% spandex) making the fit different. I've found that the colored version are not as stretchy and more snug.

Jacket and jeggings: Old Navy
Top and Watch: Michael Kors
Shoes: Bandolino

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)

Utility blues

Top: NY&Co Outlet (here on the regular site). Skirt: NY&Co, thrifted. Tights: c/o We Love Colors. Booties: ASOS. Jacket: Macy's. Necklace: gifted. Bangles: Syms. Ring: NY&Co. Polish: Orly Galaxy Girl.

I have this problem. It starts with an innocent, selfless shopping trip to pick up a birthday gift for my sister at the local outlets, and it ends with me in a dressing room in a frenzy, trying on about 20 pieces while my sister's pile sadly stays at about two. But at a New York & Company outlet store where everything is on additional sale, how can you help but try on half the place?! This blue utility shirt is one of the pieces I picked up that day, it came out to about $14 if I'm not mistaken.This one's a hit for me not only because of the modest V-neck, waist-cinching tie belt and fantastic color (thanks, BF, for steering me away from the gray), but because the XL buttons over the girls with nary a gape! Unheard of!

Don't worry, I did manage to purchase bunch of awesome pieces for my little sister as well - between the NY&Co, Banana Republic, and J. Crew outlets and H&M, I got her a few flowy chiffon tops, a red bodycon skirt, as well as a few choice pieces of jewelry :) I love shopping for other people almost as much as I love shopping for myself!

Skirt remixed:

Bronze glow

Jacket: eShakti. Tank: Lane Bryant. Jeggings: Old Navy. Pumps & Ring: Nordstrom Rack. Necklace: H&M. Bracelets (from left): Brooklyn Flea, Mom's, a Brooklyn street fair, Forever21, purchased in Greece.

Do you like this jacket I picked up from eShakti?? I've been eyeing it up for a while and finally took the plunge a few weeks ago! The fabric is different than what I expected, I thought it'd be a thick cotton, but it's quite thin and almost a swishy sort of fabric...the sleeves hit below the elbows but I like my shorter so I rolled them for now; I'm planning to shorten the and perhaps take them in a bit as they're slightly baggy on me. All in all though, a really cute jacket - It'll be great as a dress topper!

If you want to snag it for yourself, you can still use code FFF0811 for $20 off until October 31st!

Did I tell you I have the best boyfriend ever?? How can you not love a man who surprises you at work with flowers and the like :D

If I had a million dollars..One Stop Plus outerwear edition

It's been a chilly, rainy week here in New Jersey, and I know I'm not alone in yearning for Fall fashion! I'm looking forward to tights, boots, sweaters, and especially cute jackets and blazers!

If you haven't heard of it, OneStopPlus touts itself as "the world's first fashion mall for plus sizes." They carry items from plus size retailers all over the world, including a great selection of jackets, blazers, and coats!

I love that there is such a wide selection of different styles at OneStopPlus. You can find your classics, like a great demin jacket or a trench, as well as edgier pieces, like that awesome studded bomber and the leopard blazer!

For my UK readers, don't feel left out! You can shop online at OnesStopPlus.co.uk; check out their selection of plus size coats here!

Which is your favorite piece?

Disclaimer: This post is in partnership with OneStopPlus, however all opinions are my own; I do not promote brands or products that I wouldn't/haven't already written about of my own accord.

Feeling Patriotic

Apparently it's the Fourth of July in Ariana world! Hey, I'm patriotic, what can I say? I got this red cropped jacket at Syms a few years back, and I completely forgot I owned it until today! It's perfect for spring though, isn't it? I plan to wear it much more often now.

This navy V-neck tee is from my Gap order last week; these tees were about $7 and change on sale, so I got two for me and one for boyfriend. They're super soft and so comfortable. Nothing looks sharper than navy blue or black with white in my mind, so I pulled out my white Not Your Daughter's Jeans again and added my new striped wedges and a brown leather belt for a nautical feel. The red jacket topped the whole look off perfectly!

If you get a chance to pick up these striped wedges from Payless, do not hesitate! They're very comfortable to walk in and look so cute on. And they're only $24.99!

I liked the brown theme for my accessories so I added this studded wooden bangle I got in Greece ages ago, and layered two gold and bronze necklaces to create one large statement piece.

Top: Gap
Jacket: Anne Klein via Syms
Jeans: Not Your Daughter's Jeans via Ideeli
Wedges: Payless
Belt: Target
Bangle: An open market in Greece
Necklaces:
   Large circle: NY&Co
   Coin necklace: Vintage

As you can see it was quite damp when I took these photos yesterday; earlier that afternoon we got the torrential leftovers of the storm system that ravaged Alabama and several other states with tornadoes on Wednesday night. I couldn't believe the damage I saw on the news in those states; my heart and prayers go out to all those who were affected!

If I had a Million Dollars...Dorothy Perkins Edition

As my office job often leaves me bored to tears, you can usually find me doing one of two things: browsing through my Google Reader to catch up on my favorite blogs, or online window shopping. As much as I would love to be able to buy every adorable piece I see (I know you would, too), my bank account is not quite up to par with my wishlist. BUT, if I can't have these things, I at least want to share my favorites with you guys! In short, my online shopping obsession has lead me to create this new, reoccurring item that I will be calling "If I had a million dollars..."

I haven't yet decided if I'll be doing this post on a schedule, or just whenever inspiration strikes, but I will be doing it by retailer. Today's shopping experience? Dorothy Perkins!

Dorothy Perkins can be a hit or miss for us plus gals as they don't have every style in the larger sizes, and they also don't have a specific plus line. I do like, however, that you can search through their stock by size, which makes it easy for us to narrow down which items will work for us. Here's what I would buy, if I had a million dollars to blow that is:

 

1. Grey Tab Pocket Blouse. $46.02 (£29.50) 2. Oatmeal Fur Trim Toggle Coat $70.20 (£45.00)

 

3. Grey Flannel Button Blazer. $31.20 (£20.00) 4. Mocha Pintuck Satin Blouse. $26.52 (£17.00)

5. Camel Belted Hip Coat $62.40 (£40.00) 6. Cream Spot Border Twist Dress $54.60 (£35.00)

Eh? Eh?? It's so unfair, I want all of this!! Most especially, I want polka dotted dress (6.)!!! Give me a cute, casual dress with sleeves, my heart melts. Add the gorgeous pleating detail, and I explode with lust!! This dress is slowwwlllllyyyy sneaking its way off my "want" list, and onto my "must" list! 

Even though I'm usually more partial to bright colors, this season's neutral palette of camels, greys and taupes has really been appealing to me as of late (can you tell by the pieces I pulled?). I think these colors are so sophisticated! Are you loving the neutral trend? What's on your Dorothy Perkins wishlist?

Whenever I order online I always do a few google searches to see if I can find a blogger who's wearing the item I'm coveting. If you own one of the items I feature, let me know! I'd like to post your photos here (and link back to you of course!) so we can all see what the item looks like in real life! I would love to be able to do a follow up for each of these "If I had a million dollars..." posts, but that's up to you, my dear readers, to send me your links/pics :)

Also, hello to some new faces! The lovely Carla of MessyCarla, missj0hnnyr0tten, Rai of Blarge Fargle, Jazmine of Fluffy Fashion Cents, doris castro, Lazy Madonna, Katie of Katie W. - Embracing Life, Dee, Amanda of Manda's Opinions, and lynn_w!

Murphy's Law

If there is one person in the world who continuously gets screwed by Murphy's Law, it's my sister. Sometimes, the things that happen to her are just so ridiculous that you have to laugh.

Case in point: This weekend's Michigan adventure. A 9 hour road trip, Four Loko, an open container citation, and one crazy football game later, Kali (that's my sister), Demetri (her BF) and I were back in the car, packed and ready to go. She drives an old VW Passat (which was a heap) that my dad bought and had fixed up. When we finally arrived in Michigan at 6am on Friday morning, the VW sounded ROUGH, so we stopped at a gas station to check the oil and make sure everything was ship shape before we hit the road again for the drive home. It looked fine - until she tried to start the car again...and got nothing. Poor girl! She was too scared of my dad's wrath to call him herself so she got my brother to do it for her. Fortunately for her, it turned out the problem was one she couldn't have prevented, so we turned out attention to the little problem of getting home. Me having work on Monday, I thought I was screwed. My dad's a smart cookie though and told us to take my brother's car home and have him take the VW when he comes for Thanksgiving. Dad saves the day!

Anyway, that was my weekend adventure and it sure was worth the 18 hour round ride.

If you haven't checked it out, visit me on Twitter @FataleFashion to see a few impromtu outfit photos I did during the trip :)

Back to business! I'm a little behind so here's my outfit from Thursday. I snapped these in a rush before leaving on our mini vacation.

This jacket has been in my closet for a while. I always got frustrated trying to wear it because these flaps of fabric behind the lapels would always poke out and look funny. Between that and long sleeves, I felt like it just looked very unflattering. I finally got around to sewing down those fabric flaps and decided to give it a go with rolled sleeves. Ta da! I actually quite like the way it fits after my alterations. Looking at the pics now, I wish that I'd gone with a big statement necklace to break up the high neckline of this top - that, or a top with a lower neckline. I love the print on this top though and I liked the colors together so I went with it.

I'd like to take a moment to say a word about these jeans. These are Calvin Klein Boyfriend fit jeans - they are hands down the most comfortable and best fitting jeans I own. No DIY necessary! Also, they're made of the most luxuriously soft denim. These are worth every penny! (FYI - The link above is a different wash than mine, but the fit is the same.) In my book, CK has the best plus size jeans...I'm planning to try out their jeggings as well :)

I love these shoes I picked up a Target a few years ago! The almond toe is so classy and they have such a cute little wedge. These are so easy to dress up or down!

Jacket: NY & Co (no longer available)
Top: I THINK it's Alfani - I need to double check. Anyway, via Macy's, and no longer available.
Jeans: Calvin Klein via Macy's
Shoes: Target (no longer available)
Bracelet: Kali's
Earrings: Target
Ring: H&M
Polish: OPI You Don't Know Jacques