I'm sorry this is going to be a bit of a round up post but it's mega picture heavy so you can have a good old peruse rather than a read if you so choose (read the words though eh, they took me a while to write. It's only nice)
You may remember that earlier in the year, Simply Be sent Steph and me to London for a London Fashion Week Tall Girl Takeover. For some unbeknown reason, they asked us again which was very lucky because we love them and also we love each other so it worked out beautifully.
Leather Biker Jacket - Simply Be Velour Dress - Simply Be |
As an added bonus, for London Fashion Week, Simply Be hosted a special catwalk show. With models from size 10-26, The Curve Catwalk was a real celebration of size diversity. Model and diversity campaigner Kelly Knox, summed the event up perfectly in saying “Fashion should not be defined by ability, size, age, colour or gender choice. Fashion is for everybody.”
Let me lay down for you my top three points of the Curve Catwalk:
1. The Models - Hayley Hasslehoff, Callie Thorpe, Tess Holliday, Sonny Turner - The catwalk was a smorgasbord of beauty. Everybody was different, every body was different, it was truly excellent how the clothes moved on different figures and heights and personality really does go a long way.
2. The Fashion - Simply Be are one of the more fashion forward plus size brands I could name and they definitely had their fingers on the pulse here. Every look they showed was chic, up to date and, most importantly, incredibly wearable.
3. The Show Itself - Now I have to clarify here, I've been to very few catwalk shows. They're just a thing I've never really been fortunate enough to be invited to, so I don't have masses of experience for comparison. This said, the curve catwalk was a professional catwalk show. The lighting, the venue, the music, the whole setup was stunning.
I hope that this will become a regular occurrence for Simply Be, I left with a shopping list longer than my legs but, more vitally, the knowledge that fashion inclusivity seems to be on the turn.
SO we'd had the fashion - What was next...? The food obviously. And what food it was! I've never been to Sketch before but I'd seen/heard about it on numerous occasions and was desperate to go - Queue Simply Be being absolute babes and making my life by taking us for an utterly incredible afternoon tea. I EVEN DRANK TEA which is unmitigated for me (It was decaf - I've not completely lost my senses). It was a gorgeous experience with gorgeous people and I can't wait to go again - I thoroughly recommend it.
Following a million sandwiches and small cake type things, it was time to hit the street and check out what LFW had to offer. I can honestly say that this was the most diverse I've seen LFW presenting in terms of size; Pictures coming from the shows suggested that the models represented more than just one body type and if the fashionistas we managed to catch on camera are anything to go off, I'm excited by what I would class a very clear shift. If you were there I'd be interested to know if you thought the same...
I make no secret of the fact that Autumn/Winter is my favourite time of the year and it was fab to see statement knits, slogan jackets and bold layering all making appearances. I was head to (very almost) toe in Simply Be as you'll see from my first picture and I felt utterly fabulous - They really are very much on the fashion ball right now.
I had a fab few days down in London with huge thanks to Simply Be and my babe Steph - Occasionally events like LFW can take me very much out of my comfort zone (I'm just SO Northern...) but I left with very much a renewed love for all things fashion and a real gratitude for the opportunities this blog brings.
Em x