Zaggora Hot Pants

I was sent these hot pants to review from Zaggora. I thought at first they had mistaken me for someone that does exercise. But I guess they saw someone who has a loud voice and likes to share good things! Anyway, not one to pass up a freebie, I decided to turn this good fortune into something positive. I've decided to use them for the purpose they are intended for - EXERCISE!

Over to the scientific stuff and what they are made of and why they work better than the sports clothes we are used to.  Celu-Lite Technology™ is a patent pending, multi-layer fabric technology harnessing the body’s natural heat during exercise to help you burn more calories.

The fabric is similar to that of a child's wet suit. The 'hot pants' I have are quite thick and I wondered if I might drown in my own sweat when wearing them! I put them on and they worked a bit like spanx, I immediately stood up taller and sucked myself in - this is good!

Inside the package I received was a '2 week challenge' leaflet. The idea is to wear the pants for 30 mins per day whilst exercising.  So I got dressed and ready to run (I don't do running) and low and behold as good luck would have it the heavens opened and it PELTED down with rain - hoorah, run cancelled! So I decided to do a pilates DVD I borrowed from a friend instead! It's perfect for me. Each pilates section is broken down into 10 mins slots so I did the abs section (only, I didn't want to push myself to fast and too hard on day 1!).

The 2 week challenge leaflet encourages to take your weight and some body measurements so I did that. In 2 weeks I shall aim to exercise in the hot pants every day and re-measure myself. I don't need to lose weight, I do need to tone and I do need to move more. I very rarely get off my ass as I work from the PC. I don't do any physical exercise at all because I make all the lame excuses one can make, the biggest being 'I don't have time' - the truth is I HATE EXERCISE!

What have I done so far:

Sunday - 10 min abs pilates

Monday - nothing because I could barely move because of said 10 mins above

Tuesday - 10 mins abs, 10 mins bums and 10 mins arms pilates

I am predicting that Wednesday I will be in bed unable to move!

I should be ashamed at how crap I am at exercise but these hot pants are making me think about doing more some - this is good!

Do you exercise? How often? What do you do? What do you think about this 'technology' for sportswear? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I'll update you all in 2 weeks when I look like Elle Mcphereson the same.

Fiona

xoxo

Playsuits for grown ups

With all the lovely weather we've been having this past month I've realised there is a gap in my wardrobe! I need more playsuits in my life. I have one that I like and I want more. I even want to venture down one for the evening and to wear with heels - but am I in danger of looking a tad mutton?

Here is me in the one I own already. This is a definite day time only playsuit I think.

Here is one from AX Paris that I think might look nice for a night out if dressed up correctly. The key to the more 'evening' looking playsuits is the tailored structure (and heels of course!)

So what other grown up playsuits are there around today?

Heavenly cream - I love this so much - good old Topshop never fail to deliver (also available in red)

I love the colour of this one from ASOS

This is from Warehouse via ASOS, the detail is just gorgeous front and back

How about a cute playsuit with rabbits on it! Oasis have one just for me and you!

John Lewis have a great selection too, this one caught my eye particularly. So feminine.

So it seems cute little playsuits are 'in' - which is your favourite and would you ever wear one?

Am I brave enough to order and wear one for a big girls night out to celebrate my 40th in September?

Fiona

xoxo

The Great Beach Cover Up

Regardless of your age/shape or size we all need a good beach cover up. From when we leave our hotel/apartment or villa, we all need a simple layer to throw on that will cover the bikini/costume underneath. I wear a single item only during the day on hols. I can always often be found sneaking off for a cold beer around 3ish and when on the beach I don't want to be sat there in my bikini, so a simple top or dress that covers all it needs to is a staple item in my suitcase. Lightweight items like the ones below are also good for putting on if you are burnt in places (that's me every holiday!).

First things first - the accessories - hat and sandals - MUST MUST MUST! I love a bit of daytime glitz (these are from Next, they are current and they're £25 - they have not left my feet this past month!). Hat is Matalan but it's not online.

Fortunately, I have a few items that are perfect for the holiday season ahead in the shop right now and I am so in love with them all. If only I were going on a beach holiday this year to make good use of them!

White Smock Top - £12 (comes in navy too)

Yellow Linen Dress - £15

White Top with Beading - £18

Long Shirt Cover Up - £20 (this is my absolute favourite item ever - it's so good with the sequins and a really good light weight crinkle material). Also comes in white.

For the rest of July, I am offering FREE 1st CLASS P&P! If you order today, you will have your goodies tomorrow!

I also have other tops, dresses, scarves, jewellery - it's so much fun owning a shop (must remember not to take 1 of each for myself!)

What do you typically wear to go to the beach/pool when on holiday?

Fiona
xoxo

New Look Sale is NOW ON!

Sat here minding my own business at work (day job) and I get an email telling me the New Look sale is now on - WHOOP! I have a gift card (£15) and I wonder what I could buy?

Regardless of the gift card, here are some things I would like to buy .... (30 minutes later) ....I went to see what little gems NL had on offer and I struggled. Did I grow up and out of New Look? Is the ONLY thing I am attracted to from there is the best bra in the world for small chests? I then looked at shoes and this is where I think I've settled in terms of what NL has to offer me today. That said there were a FEW items in the clothes out of the hundreds on offer.

Top Left - Blue and White Chambray Jacquard Skater Skirt - £10
Top Right - Navy and White Stripe Textured Tube Skirt - £6
Bottom Left - Cream Zip Pocket Skinny Trousers - £7
Bottom Right - Ruched Front Bandeau Top - £2 (purple only), other colours £2.99 (perfect for adding as a modesty panel instead of another layer (ie vest top)

You cannot miss out on this Mink Real Leather Biker Jacket - £30

And now on to the best bit - SHOES!

Nude and Gold Embellished Zip Back Sandals - £12
Black Crochet Wedge Sandals - £17
Steve Madden Tan Leather Lace Up Boots - £47
Limited Coral Ankle Strap Sandals - £10
Moda In Pelle Brown Chain T-Bar Pilate Wedges - £33
Moda In Pelle Nude Patent Caleen Court Shoes - £30
Head Over Heels White Silver Stud Lace Up Trainers - £17
Black Patent Court Shoes - £14

Oh and it's been a while - WTF?

Blue Aztec Pocket and Panel Sleeveless Denim Jacket - £11 - really?
White Floral Tapestry Cross Back Top - £6 - How old fashioned is the front of this?
Cameo Rose Blue Psychedelic Dungaree T-Shirt - £5 - LOL this is a tshirt pretending to be dungarees
Babycham Yellow Retro Print Alana Peeptoe Wedges - £27 - WTAF?

Here I am today looking slightly over dressed for a day at the office (yawn)

Top and Necklace - Matalan

Jeans - Sainsburys

Shoes - TK Maxx

Fiona
xoxo

PS sorry this is so dull (ie the post) but I felt guilty I hadn't written since last week! I have seriously lost my mojo - anyone find it for me?

How to make a pair of shorts

I've seen so many great denim shorts posted on Avenue 57 this past week that it made me realise I have a hole in my wardrobe .. but as I am on a spending ban and as the ones I've seen previously on the high street are all too short for my long legs I was inspired to dig out the numerous pairs of old bootcut jeans I have and cut them!

My choices were

I tried them all on and actually fell in love with 2 pairs so I didn't cut them! Instead I cut the cerise pink pair (what made me buy these in Sainsbury's last summer? They are foul as trousers/chinos but I do love the colour) and then a pair from Zara that were too long, even for me and even with a high heel.

So I took a favourite pair of too short shorts (only ever wear on hols/the beach) and used them as a template - I knew I'd be cutting longer than these but it helped as a guide. Once I cut one leg I folded over to match with the other leg to cut. 

Voila - 2 pairs of new shorts from old jeans/trousers I would not have worn ever again!  Please excuse the bed head - off to the outside pool with the children.

What do you think? Have you ever made your own clothes? I have NO DIY skills whatsoever and to make these denim shorts I've shown you don't need any!

Fiona

xoxo

How to dress in this heat

I have decided that the only way for me to keep cool is to wear a dress - one piece, with shoes, perhaps a necklace, job done.

I didn't realise how easy dresses are to wear and just how darn comfortable they are. I'm favouring the smock style ones as they let the air circulate, hide the wine belly and there is really no thought at all when putting them on. I'm a convert and over the past week I've been wearing all that I own - here I am today
Dress Oasis (via the charity shop 3 years ago)
Bag - local boutique years ago
Shoes - Deichmann 

And here I am over the past week

So I took a quick look around this morning to see what other simple dresses there are to wear on the high street today and how easy they can be to put on and keep cool (and look it!) in the 30 degree temps we've been experiencing lately.

Left to Right

Dress 1 - Boden CASUAL WEEKEND DRESS - £36.00 (25% off)

Dress 2 - Boden HARBOUR ISLAND DRESS - £27.60 (50% off)

Dress 3 - Boden LEDBURY DRESS - £39.50 (50% off)

Left to Right

Dress 1 - Dorothy Perkins Carnation Shift Dress - £32

Dress 2 - ME+EM Grecian Drape Dress - £44 (50% off)

Dress 3 - F&F Linen Blend Shift Dress - £14.00

Left to Right

Dress 1 - Matalan Linen Dress - £16

Dress 2 - F&F T-Shirt Dress - £12.00

Dress 3 - F&F Limited Edition Shimmer Stripe Dress - £25.00

Left to Right

Dress 1 - Matalan Paisley Tunic - £14.00

Dress 2 - Dorothy Perkins Floral cap sleeve dress - £20

Dress 3 - Dorothy Perkins Lemon Prom Dress - £35

I reckon just 3 pairs of shoes will make ALL of the above work for any occasion - please tell me you love the tan shoe boot as much as I do?!

Shoes

Left to Right

Shoeboot 1 - Dorothy Perkins Tan cutout shoeboots - £45

Sandals 2 - Next - Silver Sandals - £25

Heels 3 - Moda in Pelle Patent court shoes - £59.95

So what have you been wearing to keep cool in the heat? Looking for inspiration? Then head on over to Avenue 57 where LOTS of women have been posting their super hot looks.

Fiona

xoxo

Swimming costumes for small boobs

Is it called a swimming costume or a swimsuit? Either way, I do not want a bikini or tankini - I want an all in one swim 'thing' that makes me look as if I have boobs and not two backs.

I have a bikini with padded top, I can get a bikini with padded top - I am happy with the choices that Debenhams, Matalan and Marks & Spencer have on offer:

Matalan
Tops - £8
Bottoms - £5
This is what I call a good price (and they're not even in the sale!)

Debenhams

Tops - £14

Bottoms - £8

(these are currently in a 20% promo)

Marks & Spencer

Tops - £14

Bottoms - £10

(these are in the sale at the moment)

WHAT I WANT IS A COSTUME WITH VA VA VOOM BOOB BITS THAT DOESN'T COST THE EARTH.

I can find 14 million that give tummy control but what about boob enhancement swimwear?

20 minutes later and having searched for:

• swimming costumes for small boobs - results: Max Cleavage
• swimsuit for small boobs - results: Max Cleavage
• swimming costume for flat chested women - just a bunch of articles
• swimsuit for flat chested women - results: Max Cleavage
• swimming costume with padding - results: ASOS, Next, Marks & Spencer (but upon further inspection with ALL the results, it's just a costume with LIGHT padding - not proper boob enhancing padding).

In addition to VERY FEW RESULTS, I got a lot of articles telling me what style of swimsuit or bikini I need to wear to make my boobs look bigger - I don't want to read this, I want to read where to buy a swimming costume with built in scaffolding style padding.

Really, there is a HUGE gap in the market for a swimming costume (NOT BIKINI) that is for small chested women - where do I go to make one? I could retire in 2 years as I know a lot would buy it! I can't be the only woman on this planet that hates going swimming in a 'normal' costume? 2 weeks ago I went and I felt VILE. I felt everyone was staring at my non boobs/2backs/boybody/whatever - I don't want to feel like that again! This week I took the boys to the local outside pool and I felt a complete idiot in my push up bikini. For some reason being on holiday in one is ok but being in the middle of the countryside in one makes you feel stupid!

So to the pathetic results and really the only player in the market today:

Max Cleavage ( I swear I am not making the company name up) but they cost in excess of £50 in the sale (£70+ out of the sale) and from experience they (and other bikinis I've had) will only last 2 summers maximum.  AND you need around 2 so £100 on swimwear when I hate swimming, no thanks!

Max Cleavage - was £70, now £55 (why do I not think £55 is a bargain for a swimsuit?). Also they have VERY few sizes available - I would buy a 34 B (habit, I'm bet I'm really a 34 AA!) and they don't have anything in my size.

And whilst I'm moaning, can I just say that bog standard swimming costumes are too short in the body for me - I have a long body (I don't appreciate the DIY thong at the back and the DIY camel toe at the front).

So, if I made a swimming costume for me it would have nice built in foam scaffolding inside the boob area and it would come in different sizes (8/10/12/14 etc) and also petite/standard/long.

All joking aside, where does one go to design something and have it made for the whole world because there is this serious gap that needs filling.

What swimwear to do you wear and am I on the right scent with my need for this kind of item at high street prices?

If you are better at searching than I am please show and tell, I am desperate.

Fiona
xoxo

Next sale starts 13th July...

That's tomorrow folks but the nice people at Next have allowed a sneaky peak at what's going to be on offer tonight.

I have a £40 gift card burning a hole in my wallet and I'm so pleased I couldn't find anything yesterday at full price to spend it on - which means I can choose any of these:

  

What I don't get is the people that either get to the store at 6am or actually freaking camp through the night - WHY? Genuinely I don't get it.

Have you queued through the night for a clothes sale? I mean really?

Tomorrow I will report back with what I actually bought (if there is anything left that is after the midnight shoppers have had their way!) if I can arsed to get to the shops on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far - I might instead sip wine in the garden on the lounger!

Have you looked at the preview - what item would you like? The links aren't working on the site so you'll have to describe it to me - I've looked at ALL sale items (took a long time!!)

Fiona
xoxo

Take 1 little black skater skirt ..

Do you remember I won the Matalan Style Challenge the other month? My prize was £50 worth of vouchers - thank you very much! It's also super handy right now because I'm on the 100 day spending ban (which I've broken twice over, more on that another day!). I was at our local retail park taking some things back and I couldn't resist a sneaky look in Matalan. I thought I was safe because I had my two boys with me (aged 6 and 9). But then I got out my handy phone and told them to sit in the corner in one place and play - that kept them busy for over 30 mins which was just enough time for me to whip around the store finding the gems that are there if you look hard enough!

I have been after a little black skirt for a VERY long time. I have seen so many over the years but all too short for me. So when I held this one against me it was borderline too short so I upsized so it hung lower and on my hips (I much prefer this way of wearing bottom half of clothes anyway).

Here it is online - flat in the picture - looks a bit like a school skirt right?!

Here are all the ways that I could think of in the 20 mins window I had between my two fighting and me supposedly doing day work!

School Run

Skirt - Matalan - £14

Simple white T

Scarf - School Gate Style Shop

Shoes - Converse

A day in the office

Skirt - Matalan - £14

Cardigan - H&M (current and in the sale £4)

Necklace - Avenue 57 Shop (current)

Simple black vest top - unknown (old)

Shoes - TK Maxx (old)

Dinner out with the husband

Skirt - Matalan - £14

Top - Mint Velvet (current)

Shoes - TK Maxx (old)

Bag - H&M (6 months ago and £5 in the last sale!)

Over-sized pearls - Zara

Lunch with the girls

Skirt - Matalan - £14

Simple black vest top - unknown (old)

Necklace - Avenue 57 Shop (current)

Shoes - LK Bennet (old)

Which look do you prefer? Do you have an staple item that you can wear 14 times over? I am going to TREASURE this skirt - be warned, you will see this again and again on Avenue 57.

Fiona

xoxo

PS this is not a sponsored post. This item was not gifted. I do not work for Matalan. I JUST LOVE FINDING GEMS THERE!