Immediate Apologies

In my head I decided that I'd really get this blog up and running as soon as I started college again..... Probably should've taken In to fact that this course is MENTAL with homework.

Little update in what I do with my free time..... - Oh wait, What free time?

I'm drawing designs for glasswork and designing/making a pillow, purse and scarf for textiles, Making sample books of woven materials, trying desperately to find a book/magazine that speaks 'Luciie' to be a sketchbook without having to ruin one of my precious Vogue's and planning a million and one different DIY projects to add to my college work :)

At least that means you'll get A few ( hopefully good) DIY posts on the way in my DIY blog ^__^

For now I'm rushing off to make dinner, finish up some homework, have a shower and go to bed but tomorrow I'll find time to actually sit down and write something that ISN'T a pathetic excuse for a blog :P

Love Always,
Luciie Panda
xXx
P.s. I just bought myself a hand-held sewing machine and completely boggled about how to use it.... Now that's a tell-tale of someone who REALLY hasn't been doing enough DIY recently :'(

Plus-Size Models

Continuing on from my earlier blog, I had a Loooooong think about the plus-size predicament and what it meant for models and the fashion industry.  I promise after this I'll shut-up about this...for a while ;P

 What immediately comes to mind when you think of 'plus size model'? 

fat? ugly? I certainly hope not.

Wikipedia states:- 

 'The plus size modelling industry has received general criticism on the premise that acceptance of plus-size models sets a poor health example regarding weight management. ( you have to be kidding. Normal sized models at a size 0-4 aren't exactly setting healthy example in most BMI cases.) Consumer-based criticism regarding the lower sizes of plus-size models is also becoming commonplace and wide-spread. While the reputed 'average' dress size of an American women is size 14, the majority of models represented as plus size are between a US size 6-12; therefore the models do not reflect the average consumer size ( Where exactly is the sense is that ?). Critics have also mentioned the widespread use of padding used to make smaller models appear larger and help smaller models fit the clothing ( Yes, you read correctly! Curves are WANTED!). German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and other fashion designers have deferred on the use of plus-size models through a lack of interest in the consumers associated with the term plus size. Lagerfeld in particular has been vocal on the matter of his preferred clientele ""What I designed was fashion for slender and slim people" and received criticism for demanding that mass retailer H&M not produce their collaboration designs to size 16. ( Well.... Karl Lagerfield isn't exactly known for his love of the larger sized lady. Just look at the 2012 scandal involving him and Adele)'

The most interesting part of the above, to me, is obviously the fact that the plus size does NOT reflect the average consumer size, or to put it simply, MY SIZE! Not that I think in any universe that I'd ever be a model :P Throughout the years as I've hoped of being in the fashion industry I've often pondered making the use of plus-sized models one of my trade-marks. Plus-sized models are gorgeous women with gorgeous bodies and if a size UK 12 is considered plus size although in stores plus-sizes start at 14 then why exactly does plus-size modelling start lower then that? and in-fact many models get TURNED DOWN for being a plus sized model even though their sizes are perfectly plus-sized and still not considered obese ( which I understand would cause a huge influential health debate).

In my opinion, plus size models ARE the models who's sizes that normal, average sized woman can look up to. Gorgeous women with gorgeous curves :) Although, even being plus-sized you still need to have your curves in all the right places. hour-glass figures are best, nice bust and waist with orange-peel free thighs and skinny army and shoulder frame.

Take Robyn Lawley for instance; She told Fabulous magazine in 2011 about her struggle to be thinner- ‘I stumbled across pro-anorexia websites and scoured them for tips,' 'I began starving myself and making myself sick after meals' yet now she's embraced her curves and is absolutely gorgeous, the new face of Theo Paphitis's Lingerie line for Curvy Girls and is a role model for curvy women everywhere.

These first three Images were taken for French Elle in 2011 By the photographer Lee Bromfield and the last monochrome image is photographed by Max Doyle for Australia Vogue

In contrast many professional models are extremely tall, smaller busted and with certain very strong features such as bone structure or large eyes etc that, without make-up seem far from what many would consider traditionally beautiful yet their fatures allow them to be moulded and shaped into a strange, alluring piece of art.

It's sad and annoying that designers keep trying to push their clothing off to UK 4-8 sizes when it is FAR more common to see a size 14/16 then a 4/6! Look, excuse-me but if I have to spend another ten minutes struggling to pull a dress off that REFUSES to come over my ample-sized cleavage in a changing room, taking 2 minute breaks to get my breath back. Or try squeeze my bum into a skirt that really would be more comfortable on ONE of my legs then I might start taking scissors with me on my shopping trips. I could, perhaps, be over exaggerating the difficulties I go through when shopping but I DID spend rather a long time trying to pull a bodycon dress off again after accidentally putting it on the wrong way round ( whoops!).

These days, what is even more important is that even plus-sized clothing seems to be designed wrongly for the larger shape. For one thing , high collared dresses, blouses etc seem to be on trend this year yet for a fuller bust these really aren't flattering in the slightest. If I wear a dress which starts at almost-just-below my neck then it cuts off my whole body and makes me seem even shorter then I already am at a 5"2. Not good! There's a line between dinky, adorable and cuddly and short&fat and I very much would prefer to stay on the dinky side of the line!

I certainly understand why, in modelling terms, a size US 12 would be considered plus-size though. A 'sample size' collection of clothing is a US 0-4 to fit the average model build and with the 0-4 being the 'norm' for model sizes it means that you only have to make 1 piece for the collection and know that it will fit a large collection of models and the models' who only-just don't fit that size often have to work HARD to get down to the right size or has to choose different modelling paths to take ( which is, of course, completely unfair).

Even more horribly is the fact that the poor women inbetween the norm for models and plus-sized are in a bit of a sticky-situation then as they're told to either bulk up or slim down. Which to do? starve yourself thin or eat yourself fat? I know which choice sounds more appealing but becoming BIGGER isn't a thing that you hear coming from most women's' mouths.

The even stranger thing is that, in the debate of plus-sized modelling, males never come in to it. What would we say if suddenly males were pushing for 'plus-sized' males to be used in ad campaigns etc?

basically to sum it up brands really need to be directing their attentions to what the average consumer wants, not the models' needs. We are an average size 16 in the uk and we need the brands and clothing to understand this and addess this and make us more clothes  too, or at least let us in on the clothes that our 'skinny' friends squeeze themselves in to!

Love Always,

Luciie Panda

xXx

Tesco F&F Wishlist!

So, surprisingly there are actually a few things I like in Tesco F&F clothing - probably swayed by the cheap prices and necessity for some casual blouses for my casual-dress days :P

To get taken through to the clothing site for each item just click any of the text in the captions ^__^

I almost wasn't sure about this one. The shirt collar isn't very 'me' especially with the fact that high collars completely cut off  and shorten my body because of my fuller bust.

I've got a few similar tops to this but I love this colour , with a black  bodycon skirt and some chunky wedges <3

This lace panelling is gorgeous and the simplicity with a fuller-bust flattering v-shaped neckline  in a floaty chiffon shirt with a dropped hem. Lovely!

I wasn't sure about this at first. Heavy patterns aren't really my thing and the  high  neckline isn't particularly flattering for my size. As well as the fact that I see this going perfectly with a pair of skinnies and black wedges and I haven't worn jeans in so long that I don't actually own a pair that are wearable. Hmmmm

Rather simple but the 3rd shirt in particular I'm YEARNING for!

Anyone else like anything from Tesco?

Cheap and Cheerful ^__^

Love Always

Luciie Panda

xXx

The Painful Predicament of the Plus-size!!

Time for some frankness here to you all. Sometimes being a curvy woman just sucks-balls to put it perfectly simply! 

How is it that in the UK the average sized woman in 2012 is a size 16 and yet in many shops the 'large' is to a size 14 frame with an XL not always being available ( most often not). Even with many stores on-line, the sizing only goes up to a size 14 and on the occasion when 16 is available the measurements seem to be slightly smaller then they should. with plus-sized websites selling clothes from size 14+ although that is actually BELOW the average. what is that telling girls out there?!

In fact, If size 16 is the average then wouldn't that make clothing stores selling size 14's as their largest size ridiculous as then many women are having difficulties finding clothes. In fact it would be really nice if next time I go shopping there aren't only clothes on the wrack that would take 3 people to get over my cleavage then never come off again... or  skirts big enough for ONE of my legs to fit in ( okay so maybe I'm over-exaggerating my size by RATHER a lot but that is how you're left to feel sometimes and that much is very true!)

Even more ridiculous then that is how in some shops you can be a size 12 whilst you then go straight to another shop and you're suddenly a size 18... well that certainly is brilliant for the womens' dwindling self esteem.. not so much.

To me this really doesn't make much sense! Even in a financial way!

I'm a size 16/18 from a modest size 12 after putting on FAR TOO MUCH weight after a stressful last couple of years ( I won't go into my own personal sob story of a life for you though :P). Ouch! 

Now my life is finally starting to get back on track and my brand-new cross-trainer is getting a lot of use but I've not yet gotten to a size-dropping stage yet and in some serious need, and want, of new clothes with my very dated wardrobe.

I've never been one to completely follow trends, stealing bits and pieces here and there and making it my own but I've found SO MANY items on-line recently that I've fallen in love with and so many of them are just ever so slightly not in my reach! To be honest I don't mind buying clothes now then losing weight and them being too big because I like loose fitting blouses and cardi's and tops that can then double as 'dresses' etc but right now I don't even want to buy the items yet with my just-in-case attitude that my weight might not come off as easily as I hope.

 Boohoo.com, for instance, is a very popular online clothing site which sells clothing to size 16 and sometimes these are a loose fit and so fit my frame too but sometimes they don't and, with 16 being the average size I would think that a size 18 would naturally be available too.

Perhaps this is all coming from a woman scorned- not able to shop and lots of people think just shut-up and lose some weight but it's not just me I'm thinking of here too.

I'm on my way to a new healthier me and fairly confident that in a month or two I will have lost a dress size and be a 14/16 but that doesn't stop me feeling upset for other girls out there made to feel against the norm when shopping, even though they are the average size.

Luckily shoe's aren't so discriminating and perhaps that's why I've started to fall in love with them ( although barely able to afford any). Platform, chunky wedges are definitely my new love for 2012 and one that, it think, is going to stick with me for a very long time. but I can't curb my shopping desires through shoes alone!

It's strange that I've never been one to LOVE shopping and I'm certainly not much of a trend-follower. Finding that so often I'll wear something for years then just as I move onto something new then my old item ( whether it be the style, colour etc) is suddenly' trendy'. 

Now I just create my own trends and hope that some people out there enjoy them too!

For now though

Love Always,

Luciie Panda

xXx

First Memories

So I saw my little Niece yesterday and she is such a sleepy head that she wouldn't even wake up for a feed. On the other hand though I'm so happy to have taken my first couple of pictures of her, documenting her first few memories and can't wait for all the happy times ahead <3

It's just a shame the little one still hasn't gotten a name yet 

Love Always,

Luciie Panda

xxx

Big news for my family; After ten days of waiting impatiently after the due date , followed by a day of failed inducement, last night it was finally decided that my sister would get a cesarean and at around 1-ish  last night a lovely baby girl was brought into this world.
Now I'm sitting impatiently at home waiting for this evenings visiting hours so I can set my eyes on the baby and her tired mother and take my first picture of my niece in her mothers arms <3

Love Always,
Luciie Panda
xXx

Romwe

This Dress Doesn't look particularly impressive as such in the picture below... but when I came across a few pictures on-line of actual PEOPLE wearing it. I've fallen in love. It's the perfect mix of feminine dress-up with casual day-style. You could dress it up or down and I'd definitely wear it to college and nights out :)

I adore the high-low style and the turquoise colour, I may have to shorten the front slightly though for my 5"2 size :P

I've just bought it from Romwe and I'd link you to the SPECIFIC page but for some reason my internet is now telling me the site doesn't exist for some reason ( don't you just hate your internet some times!)

Love Always,

Luciie Panda

xXx

Grimes!

I've only experienced the weirdness that is Grimes recently and yet found their music video's to be something worth a mention here and there. So, I'm not going to spend hours a day playing their music on replay but the aesthetics certainly catch my eye :)

So very weird and yet so very, extremely wonderful. Something about this Grimes music video is extremely inspiring. Perhaps its the ethereal dancing? or even the snakes and swords? No matter what.. This video has put me in the mood for a photo-shoot. Take a gander,
What do you think?




Love Always,
Luciie Panda
xXx