OOTD with Lana

My friend Lana is considering doing an outfit of the day (OOTD) post or vlog for you once a month (or perhaps more often if we can talk her into it). Lana is on the lower end of the plus size scale coming in at a 14/16 depending on the clothing brand. She always looks polished like today when we went for lunch (and a little shopping).

Lana Davison OOTD

Watch the video to find out where Lana did her shopping for this outfit:

Outfit breakdown:

Jacket – Danier Leather (washable)
Jeans – Lane Bryant (petite)
Shoes – Winners
Top – Touch of Class
Handbag – Coach Outlet

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Topic Links
* Find plus size petite and tall jeans and pants at Lane Bryant

Just As You Are Outerwear

Plus size women have a new option for outerwear, Just As You Are opened their online doors this week offering custom fit outwear with wool, and faux leather/fur options. With the color variations there are almost thirty to choose from. She ship to Canada for $15 per item.

Here are five of my favorites:

plus size outerwear for women

Left to Right:

  • Aberdeen Coat ($229), comes in the camel shown as well as cranberry and black.
  • Arkansas Jacket ($289), comes in the carbon shown or whiskey with ivory details.
  • Arizona Jacket ($179), comes in the tobacco shown.
  • Angola Wrap ($219), comes in the zebra shown.
  • Albany Coat ($169), comes in the graphite shown as well as blackberry and black.

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Topic Links
* Update: They’ve closed up shop. Check out these other sources for plus size outerwear.

It’s a Maxi Mac Spring

I love this Print Jersey Pleat Maxi Dress from Anna Scholz and I love this Frill Mac also from Anna Scholz. They scream “SPRING!” at me when I see them. You can’t a hotter color than the “lumo” yellow along with the frills, bell sleeves and a-line take this trench from boring to exciting. I’m not a huge print legging fan but this jacket makes me want to wear them. It’s practically a trench dress, except nicer.

plus size jersey maxi dress and yellow frill mac from Anna Scholz

The maxi dress (£185) and mac (£229) are both from her black label and are available in sizes 16 to 28 for .

Happy (almost) Spring!

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Topic Links
* Get your own Print Jersey Pleat Maxi Dress from Anna Scholz
* Get your own Lumo Yellow Frill Mack from Anna Scholz

Canadian Outerwear

If you live in the Vancouver, BC area you have the option of visiting Babs Studio Boutique. Occasionally they get to Toronto to participate in hand-craft shows; unfortunately, there is no option to shop online. But if you fall in love with something on their website it wouldn’t hurt to email them to find out if they would accommodate you shipments. At the very least, sign up for their newsletter to keep abreast of events. They are one of the few stores that caters to sizes 2 to 26. It is a small boutique with a nice offering of clothing including these original coats from their 2010/11 Fall/Winter collection. I especially love the lavender waterproof linen coat and the sky blue raincoat.

plus size outerwear

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size outerwear from Babs Studio Boutique

New Arrivals from Kiyonna

Kiyonna has always been one of my favorite online shopping sources for career wear but I haven’t spent much time there recently (so many shops so little time). I popped over today and fell in love with three items from their new arrivals.

plus size dresses from kiyonna

  1. The Amelie Peacoat, $196
  2. The Richelle Ruffle Dress, $112
  3. The Charlotte Cocktail Dress, $112

All items are made in the United States and Kiyonna ships internationally.

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size clothing from Kiyonna

My Evans Order

I made my first Evans order on September 28th. It arrived today! That’s 22 days (14 days longer than ordering from ASOS). I paid £7.50 which is about $12 Canadian for shipping. As I mentioned with my ASOS order shipping costs are a big peeve of mind. $12, I can definitely handle.

I have always loved Evans’ fashions but I chose to order at this time because of the release of the new Beth Ditto line and because I wanted a red winter coat. I’m not a crazy shopper. I put a lot of thought into what I’m buying and how it will fit with what I have. But mostly, I have to love something before I buy. Lack of sleep may lead to an impulse buy (read on).

From the Ditto collection I ordered the heart print hanki hem top, £39.50 (I didn’t fall in love with this tunic length top until I saw it worn by another blogger — can’t for the life of me find the blog or else I’d link to it) and the black extra high waist leggings, £20.00. I also ordered a hooded duffle coat, £49.50, in an awesome bright red and a black jersey jumpsuit, £35.00, (something I thought I would never do and will now blame on the before mentioned lack of sleep. As I’m sitting here I remembered another reason why I don’t like jumpsuits — you have to completely undress to pee). I found a coupon online for 15% off so I saved almost $22. So basically I got free shipping and a bonus.

It was super easy to shop at Evans. Their website is well laid out and since they only sell plus size there were no disappointments as they have a huge size range (14 to 32), great product images and the shopping cart is easy to use. I had no problems what-so-ever placing my order. I paid for my order using Paypal; again with no problem. After my order was placed, I received an email receipt for my order and another email the next day letting me know my order was “dispatched”.

As I said in the intro my parcel arrived today. I was surprised that it wasn’t in a box but a large opaque grey bag. Each item was individually packaged in plastic and the coat and jumpsuit came with hangers. Along with the package came duty, taxes, and a handling fee. Most likely because it was over $100. My parcel contents cost £122.40. Before they can charge the duty they have to convert my parcel contents total to Canadian. On the day of processing the exchange was 1.604900 which brought my total up to $196.44 Canadian (about $50 more than what I had worked out when I made my purchase three weeks ago — the joy of fluctuating dollars). An 18 % duty was applied = $35.35 + HST of $30.13 and a $5 handling fee. To pick up my package from the post office it cost $70.49. I was expecting to pay around $50. And I had to sign for the parcel.

I pretty much love everything. The jacket isn’t bulky, is super soft and has a silky lining. One of the things I liked about it was the fact that it had both the buttons and a zipper; although I’m a bit concerned about the zipper which is plastic and didn’t give me the impression it will hold up to daily use — time will tell. The heart print hanki top is so cute, even the man said he liked it. It’s super soft jersey on top. I thought the arms would be tight but they are super comfortable. I could use a little more room in the chest area where it connects with the patterned material which isn’t stretchy at all. I bought the extra high waist leggings to go with the hanki top. They don’t have a lot of give but I love the high waist and there the added option of folding them over. Now for the jumpsuit. I think it’s really cute but I would never wear it out in public. It will definitely be I’m home for the day outfit — it’s that whole having to undress from top to bottom thing when I have to use the washroom and is not really appropriate for this time of year; too cold.

Overall, it was a good shopping experience. Next time I order I will try to keep my order total under $100 to hopefully considerably reduce expected duty/tax charges. If you are looking for some where new to shop I recommend giving them a try. Sign up for their newsletter to get the latest sale and promotion information. If you have tried them already please share your experience in the comments.

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size clothing from Evans
* Read my ASOS shopping experience
* Figuring out the exchange between United Kingdom Pounds and Canadian dollars

Eye Spy Wool Coat

Monif C is expanding beyond the sexy convertible dress and swimsuits to include one of my favorite outerwear options for this coming season — The Eye Spy Wool coat in camel. My only disappointment is that it is only available in sizes 1x and 2x. This is such a unique looking style for plus size outerwear. A lot of the options I’ve been seeing, especially locally are pretty boring. It’s fashionable (wings) and functional (belt and cuffs to keep the chill out). The coat is on pre-order for shipment October 15th.

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Topic Link
* Get your own plus size camel coat from Monif C
* Enter Black Cat Plus $100 giveaway and PlusShe.com

Purple Trench Coat

La Grande Dame added a few new arrivals from plus designers, Melissa Masse, Marina Rinaldi, and Anna Scholz just in time for fall. Three pieces really stood out for me though. The Calogera two piece suit by Marina Rinaldi ($799), the Jersey Wrap Dress by Melissa Masse ($325), and the Acchille Purple Rain Coat by Marina Rinaldi ($546). That Calogera suit would look awesome with the “wisteria” rain coat.

The Wisteria Purple Rain coat will probably be a hot item thanks to Christina Hendrick’s bringing attention to an alternate shade of purple at the Emmy’s this past weekend. We’ve been so focused on deep purple we’ve forgotten about the deep pastels. It’s not an exact match but it’s pretty close and it’s a little more versatile than an evening gown.

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size designer clothing from La Grande Dame

Jessica Biffi — Plus Size Clothing Designer

Additional Elle and MXM are celebrating their latest line designed by plus size designer and plus size woman Jessica Biffi. The 26 year old recently made waves on the television show Project Runway Canada by becoming a finalist. Not only is she talented and has a keen fashion sense, the girl is smoking hot — I absolutely love that hair. Here is a recent video of her introducing a few pieces from the Addition-Elle line along with some of her inspiration:

From the Addition-Elle, Jessica’s line is called The Collection. I absolutely love the red pieces: The red trench coat is $120 and the red tube dress (especially with a wide black belt) is $90:

Plus Size Short Trench by Jessica BiffiPlus Size Tube Dress by Jessica Biffi

From the MXM, her line is called Bold Biffi. I’m loving the purple or sparkling grape. The halter is $49.99 and the tunic is $59.99:

Plus Size Pleated Halter by Jessica BiffiPlus Size Tunic with Gold Accent by Jessica Biffi

Biffi’s lines are available is sizes x to 5x, not all styles are in all sizes. Jessica Biffi’s designs will only be available in select stores but you can always get them online.

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Topic Links
* Get your own Jennifer Biffi pieces from Addition-Elle

Military Jacket for Spring

One of my favorite jackets in high school was a military jacket I picked up at the second hand store. I literally wore the shit out of it. Ah, fond memories. Why can’t all pieces of clothing be so blessed… Plus Size Military Jacket in Brushed Cotton

As you may have guessed, military is back; and with a fierce vengeance, so if you have some packed away dig it out, if you saw something you here hedging on at the second hand store run back and get it. You can now wear it and actually be hip or as my nephew says “pro”.

In the new realm I found this cute military jacket at eShakti. I love the lines on this baby. This deep olive khaki is reasonably priced at $59.95. It is offered in regular and plus sizes up to 3x. Bigger than a 3x? eShakti offers custom sizing for an additional fee.

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size military jacket from eshakti

Plus Size Short Jackets

One of the hottest trends for jackets this spring is the short jacket. At the moment, in some parts of Canada it may not be too functional but in others it’s getting closer (it was +13°C here today).

Over at Forever 21 they have quite a few short jackets unfortunately there isn’t much variety in color (which is pretty much the same everywhere at the moment). Here are some of my favorites which range in price from $29.80 to $45.80 and go up to size 3x:

Plus Size Casual Short Jackets from Forever 21

In theory, I like the way they look on models but I’m not completely sold on having one myself. What about you, do you love the short jackets or prefer something a little longer?

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size short jackets from Forever21/Faith21

Outerwear Where?

In some parts of Canada, like say Eastern Ontario, it is still winter. I woke up to 10cm of freshly fallen snow. That isn’t a complaint. I’ve been waiting for the real white stuff for months. Better now then say, April? Plus Size Plaid Suka Winter Coat

If you are still looking for plus size outerwear for the remaining months of the season (if you are in B.C. I really don’t want to hear about what you’re wearing), Maximum Woman has some great prices at their site. Like this Suka belted wool coat for $59.99 (reg. $150). They currently have sizes 1x and 3x in this style. There a few other nice styles in sizes 1x and 2x.

In the mean time, keep warm spring will be here before you know it!

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size outerwear from Maximum Woman

The Boyfriend Blazer

Plus size girls can take advantage of the latest hot fashion trend — the boyfriend blazer — whether they have a boyfriend or not. Forever21’s plus size line Faith21 has an affordable black one for $40 in xl and 1x.

The boyfriend blazer is a necessary versatile piece for this season. Wear it with tee/tank and motorcycle boots; or with a sleeveless cocktail dress and dressy booties; or with a flowing skirt, cami, and flats.

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Topic Links
* Get your own plus size boyfriend blazer from Forever 21
* More of my favorite Plus Size Boyfriend Blazers