How to look like a celeb - Kate Middleton edition

Kate Middleton or, as she is now officially known as, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; has become a fashion icon.  She keeps everything classy and chic.  Her looks are very easy to achieve without the need to break the bank and which are all available for us plus-size girls.

1. Kate wore a green silk Diane von Furstenberg dress during her California visit.  The only dress I found which looked very similar is this ASOS CURVE Ruched Waist Shift Dress.  Unfortunately it doesn't come in the same amazing green colour, but it does have the same exact style.  Another similar dress, is the Next Teal Jersey Wrap Dress (do not have a pic sorry), it is closer to the dress's original color, but ,unlike the original, it is a v-neck dress.

 

 

2.   Kate clearly loves Jenny Pachkam's dresses as she has been seen wearing many of her desings. The most similar in pattern and colour palette I could find is this Evans Floral Prom Dress. It is also quiet similar in style, but it doesn't have the slight freely sleeves as the original.

3.  This Malene Birger dress was worn by Kate during her Canada visit.  I couldn't find an exact match, but this Eucalyptus Shift Dress from Debenhams is very similar.  It doesn't come with sleeves and there is slight difference in colour.

4.   Kate's royal blue engagement dress, has became a hit worldwide and I think it is now one of the most memorable looks of this decade.  At Yours one can find the same exact dress at a fraction of the original price -> Blue Cross Over Dress.

5.  The Joseph Dress Kate wore, is ideal for a special occassions during the summer.  This ASOS CURVE Midi Dress is the closest I could find, it comes in the same exact style but the color isn't the same as the original.  However, it is on sale so it makes up for not being in Cream ;P

6. For a more casual look I decided to find a similar dress to the Issa bird-print dress Kate wore recently in Canada.  The New Look Inspire Range have two very similar dresses to Kate's, however none of them come in the bird print.  These are the Inspire Floral Tea Dress & the  Inspire Spotty Jersey Dress.

I hope you enjoyed my finds, feel free to post similar plus-size dresses to the one's shown.  You can also post pictures of outfits you would like me to find for you.

Are You Kidding me Cher Lloyd?

If there was a Razzie for worst songs, this would definately get the top honour for the Biggest Mess!

I never personally liked Cher Lloyd from the X-factor.  She does have talent, but I find her over-rated, since there are better singers out there.  She is a mediocore rapper, especially when one compares her to Missy Elliot and Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj.  The girl's voice is ideal for pop music and sings better than her X-factor mentor Cheryl Cole.  However, this song is an utter mess, she tried to combine rap, pop and dance music all into one and the final mix didn't work at all, as they say less is more; too much is just bloody awful.   

Hopefully she comes up with better material for her sake, as her 15-minutes might be up soon.

P.S. Great freeze frame youtube, you were able to capture her beauty.

How to look like a celeb - Prada Multi-colored Stripe dress edition

The Prada Multicolored striped 2011 spring dress, has been making a number of rounds in a number of magazines and red-carpets.  Now us plus-size girls can also achieve achieve a similar look without spending our whole savings with this brand new ASOS CURVE Exclusive Stripe Fishtail Dress

This dress has the same colour scheme and design, but the stripes are narrower than the actual design, but they practically look identical.  From the material description and the video, one would need shapewear if they have a few bumps otherwise it will not flatter the said person.  I wouldn't suggest this dress for special occasions, it is more of a day dress in my opinion.  However, if one adds a nice belt + a black blazer, the dress would be ideal for a night out.

Here are some of the celebs who have worn this gorgeous Prada Dress and who might also help in inspiring you how to accessorize and do your make-up to achieve a certain look.

Blake Lively please learn how to cry! - Green Lantern Review

I just saw the new Green Lantern movie and I came out with mixed feelings about this movie, apart from the fact that I cannot understand the fuss about Blake Lively.

Story

The story line is easy to follow not too complicated, but personally I didn't find it gripping enough, i.e. it doesn't make you want to know more  about the story and keeps you guessing.  I personally like complicated movies and movies with unexpected twists, so this is probably why I didn't find the story that interesting. 

Acting and Characters in the movie

Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan; As always I find Ryan Reynolds doing a great job, although I was expecting more from him after seeing him in movies like Smokin Aces and Definately, Maybe.  But, over-all he did a good job and made the character likable and so he achieved the aim perfectly and I also found him to look a lot a like how Hal Jordan is portrayed in the comics, so looks-wise they were spot on.  On a different note, I would have looked more shirtless scenes from him :p

 

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris;  I have never seen Gossip Girl, but I did see the Sister Hood of the Travelling pants movies and didn't find her that bad, average when it comes to acting.  In this movie she was again average, which personally I felt a character like Carol Ferris required a stellar performance not an average performance.  In fact I don't know how she bet Eva Green, who is a fabulous actress!  She cannot even cry properly!  I laughed at the two instances where her character was supposed to cry. 

Peter Sarsgaard as Dr Hammond; I was disappointed with Peter's performance, as I found the villain he portrayed as extremely annoying and imo villains aren't supposed to be boring, but interesting.  I'm not sure if it was the directors who required him to act like this, but he left me disappointed especially after seeing such performances in An Education, Jarhead and Garden State.

Mark Strong as Sinestro; I wished that his character had more screen-time.  I felt Strong was under-used in the movie.  P.S. For those who don't remember him he was in Kick-ass, The Young Victoria and Sherlock Holmes.

Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clarke Duncan as Tomar-Re and Kilowog; they did the voice-over and I cannot complaining, their voices fit perfectly their characters.

Direction and Location

 

The great majority of the location is CGI, the CGI effects in regards to scenery were pretty good, but sometimes they did feel cheesy, but were still good.  How the movie was filmed and lightning etc... it was good and as colours go it fit well with the movie's tone.

Soundtrack

The movie didn't have much of a soundtrack, which could be noticed, so cannot comment on this.

Who should watch this?

According to a friend of mine, unlike other superhero movies it follows the comics well and so comic lovers would probably like this.  Also I think it is ideal for teens, as there is no nudity and if I recall no swearing either, just some action scenes, which weren't too bloody either.   

Conclusion

I wouldn't watch it again, as I expected it to be better.   It was an ok movie, but would have been better if I rented it rather than watched it at the cinema. It felt like as if the movie was missing something, I don't know what it is but I think who saw this movie also felt this.  I would rate it 3 out of 5.  Btw, when the movie ends, I suggest you sit through the credits as you might miss something out (although I doubt they will be making a sequel as it happened to The Golden Compass).  If they make a sequel I hope they replace Blake Lively as she clearly needs to take more acting/crying lessons. 

Feel free to add your thoughts and I hope you enjoyed this review.

New Look Inspire Review

So recently I purchased from New Look some tops and wasn't 100% satisfied as I usually am with my New Look purchases, which is why it prompted me to write not long  ago a post complaining about New Look's lack of models for their Inspire range.

1. Inspire Sequin Ethnic Kaftan

I bought this at the original price and have been eyeing this for ages since it first appeared in the catalog.  In fact, when it appeared on the Inspire Range pick of the week banner, it sold out within a few days.  Fortunately, enough it was brought back in stock and so I decided that since I had the chance I should buy it and so I did.  Well, I ended up disappointed.

It is exactly as seen on their site, with the very beautiful vivid summer colours.  

The bust area is very low cut, so one would need to wear another top underneath the kaftan.  I tried to align the stretchy band under the bust to look straight and when I aligned it, I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame and so I had to lower the band in order to remove this 'hunch', which made the top look awkward and feel weird around the sleeves when I raised my hands.  

Also the kaftan made my belly look bigger than it does. Probably this top might look better on girls with bigger chests and smaller bellies, but on me it looked awful.  Also I have got quiet large hips and the top made them look larger as well, which I didn't like.  

When it comes to length it is quiet long and I think it would look nice with leggings or/and some shorts.

In regards to the fabric/material; at first it felt quiet itchy, probably because the gold detail is made from a different material and it kind of pokes out underneath, but probably after a wash this might soften and feel less itchy.  The good news is that it is very light and flowy and ideal for those hot summer days.  

My conclusion would be is that this kaftan is not flattering on girls with bodyshapes like mine, i.e. small chest and a larger belly.  The colours are beautiful and the length is great.  The fabric feels itchy, but it may eventually soften after some washes ( I personally didn't try it as I am returning it).  

2. Animal Burnout Top

On the site, the top looks like it has a shimmery effect and looks quiet elegant.  When it came in the post, it was of a more casual style and I wouldn't recommend this top for formal events.  The top is slightly see-though, so I suggest that one wears a tank top underneath it.  The neckline is very low but still sexy and tasteful and the sleeves are adorable.  It is very comfortable and hides my bumps.  My only complaint, as I said in the beginning, the picture doesn't show clearly the top's material, one would think it is elegant, rather than being casual.  I still kept this top, even though I wanted a more elegant looking one.

3.Burnout Pocket Top

This t-shirt, is also see-through, so one would also require a tank top underneath it.  The material isn't as light as normal summer t-shirts, but it is still very comfortable and quiet chic, especially when one considers the price.  The t-shirt's length is normal.  I do recommend this.

I hope you enjoyed this review, feel free to ask me any questions about these purchases or add your thoughts on these items :D

Thought of the day

So, lately I was thinking to myself about how on many shows, movies and stories, you have a magical being, such as a genie, fairy, witch, etc... who'll grant you 3 wishes.  How come no one ever wished to have an unlimited number of wishes?!

Dear New Look Inspire,

I was checking out your website, as I do so on a weekly-basis to check for new stock from your inspire range and decided to check out what there is in the normal range and well I realised that for the normal range all clothes are modelled, i.e. instead of shown on a "mannequin" like the Inspire, Tall and Teens range, the clothes are worn on a model and can be properly viewed.  

This led to feeling very disappointed with New Look, as I always thought that none of their clothes are modelled, except for those shown in their ads.  When I shop on the New Look site I find it extremely hard to decide on whether or not to buy something since I am always not sure of how it would look on me and whether they are sheer in a certain area, etc... especially when they photoshop the mannequin out which makes it more difficult to make a proper decision before purchasing.  In the case of dresses I never know the proper length of such dresses as the description usually doesn't say how long or short the dress is and so I never buy dresses from New Look.  Sometimes when it comes to tops and shirts, I don't know how long they are or how long their sleeves are.  So I end up spending weeks deciding on whether or not to buy as I am not always sure.

One may tell me, to go in store and try them on, well there is one problem we do have two large New Look stores but they only provide the normal range!  This is very disappointing especially when in Malta the choice of decent, affordable and fashionable plus size clothing for young woman my age is practically inexistant and in stores like Evans to buy just one decent outfit you need to spend more than 70 Euros, apart from the fact that they barely bring 1/4th of the range!  

So please New Look if you aren't planning to bring the Inspire range in my country, at least use proper plus size models to model the clothes and provide a better description of your products and stop photoshopping the mannequin out as sometimes white or sheer details aren't always seen!  Please consider my opinions, as the more surveys I do for you for free, the more I feel that I am wasting my time as you don't seem to take notice!

Love

Dysnomia