Happy Friday my loyal blog family and to all my followers here in Canada, Happy Canada Day!Not only is today Canada Day but it is a special day for me personally because it marks the one year anniversary of the launch of Mustangsallytwo!
I can’t believe how fast the last year has gone by and I am thankful to each and everyone one of you for taking the time to read my posts, like my posts, comment on my posts and send me the most wonderful uplifting and motivating emails. Hearing from you is truly what has inspired me on this journey and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings!
I think most of you are aware that I recently attended Full Figured Fashion Week in NYC for the very first time. I have so many amazing memories from that week and I was blessed to meet so many fabulous women in the industry. Thank you Gwen DeVoe for creating and hosting this event that provides the plus size community this opportunity to come together, you are the consummate host and it was a pleasure to get to know you.
One of the premier events during FFF week is the Curves at Sea All White Cruise. This is our opportunity to show how we can rock our all white looks. I knew based on talking to people who had attended this event in the past and seeing pictures from prior years that this was an opportunity to really showcase something special. And let me tell you, they were certainly right – everyone came with their A game and the outfits were absolutely fantastic.
When I was planning what I wanted to wear I knew it was going to be a dress and I wanted it to be unique and make a statement. After all, I was coming to represent for us Canadian gals and the last thing I wanted was to walk on the boat and have someone wearing the same thing as me.
So finding something white in my size is definitely a challenge and while I found some cute options nothing really spoke to me. And then it hit me that I needed to just go custom and the first person I contacted was AJ Jones, the designer behind the Canadian label Pheline Couture.
Here in Canada Pheline Couture designs are well known and much sought after in the plus size community. AJ’s vision and style are fashion forward and designed with the fuller figure women in mind. She like’s to refer to her designs as “Class, Sex-Appeal, Elegance – Couture for the Fuller Figure” . In my opinion, it sums things up perfectly. Working on this dress with AJ was an absolute dream. I loved her ideas and it was a very collaborative approach. The final product far surpassed any expectations I originally had.
The dress definitely has a Grecian feel with its full skirt, the subtle geometric pattern in the fabric with just the right amount of sheen, the crystal button accents at the shoulders and the waist and last but certainly not least the amazing rope detail that was prevalent throughout the bodice and the tie at the waist. We also added a touch of organza in the front panel to allow the sun on the water to bounce light off of it. It even has pockets! There were so many little things that you get from a custom piece, everything was very intentional and deliberate and detail oriented – the marks of a great designer.
In my Grease inspired series, I introduced you to the fabulous hand made clutches of Cameo de Bore. After that first clutch she made for me it is safe to say that I am officially hooked and a definite member of her “Lady Like Movement”.
I follow her Instagram page religiously and every once in a while you will find she will post sneak peeks of what new pieces or collections she is working on. It was through one of these posts that this AH-MAZING clutch was born. Cameo just recently released her bridal line and when I saw the bags I was instantly in love. So I thought to myself well I am not getting married anytime soon but one of these would be perfect to wear with my dress for the white party.
Now sticking with my theme for this day of custom, I asked her to take ideas from several designs and combine them into a custom one just for me. Because you know what this colour loving girl had to do right? That’s right, I wanted to bring a pop of colour to my look.
I will never forget when I asked her to you know basically design a completely different clutch because I was a little nervous about asking and being so picky but she told me she felt “inspired”. From there we collaborated and she brought my vision to life.
Having only seen the fabric through a picture I patiently waited for this bag to arrive in the mail. Every piece is hand crafted so you need to make sure if you want something special that you give her the appropriate lead time. When I opened the package and saw the clutch for the first time I was completely in awe. The amount of work that went into this piece of art was insane.
The fabric was gorgeous, the feathers perfectly placed and the crystals were painstakingly laid out in a stunning pattern. Even the lining of the bag is gorgeous and coordinates with the outside. And that final special touch? Having the bag monogrammed with my initials!
So I had the perfect dress and the perfect clutch and now came what to do with the rest of my accessories. I wanted to continue with the idea of adding that pop of colour so I knew that the final finishing touch was my Swarovski purple and turquoise necklace, a gift from my hunny. I loved how this piece bounced off the white of the dress and the richness of the colours in the jewels shined.
When I wore the dress to the actual cruise it was a warm summer day so I went the practical route and wore my hair up and the necklace as a necklace. When I came home and shot the look for the blog I decided I wanted to try the idea of wearing the necklace as a headpiece and letting my hair be long and free. Wearing the necklace as a headpiece was great for pictures but to be honest it would be a little heavy to wear for a night out.
So there you have it, a completely custom look. I absolutely adore this look and was incredibly honoured to be included in the The Curvy Fashionista’s “Our 10 Favorite Plus Size Looks from FFFWeek’s Curves at Sea All White Cruise!“.
I would love to hear from you! If you have specific topics or questions that you would like me to cover as I embark on Year 2 of the blog please don’t be shy, send me a message. I promise that I already have some amazing things planned so stay tuned!
Thank you to Robert of Robert Skuja Photography for the photos and making the ones from my phone look pretty too!
Custom dress by PHELINE COUTURE (contact here) | Custom clutch by CAMEO DE BORE (contact here) | Necklace/Headpiece by SWAROVSKI (similar here) |
