Everyone likes to look nice on Christmas Day. Seeing friends and family, hand celebrating the day, you want to look your best.

But then it comes to the favourite part of the day, Christmas dinner.

Suddenly trousers are too tight, belts are in need of loosening and everyone wants to pull on a pair of pyjamas to get comfy.

So why not try a pair of leggings instead of jeans or trousers? They have elastic waistbands, which will expand right along with you. Pair these with a dressier dress or longer top, which is slightly baggy, and no one will know how many helpings you’ve had.

Dress them up with some jewellery or heels, or keep the comfort theme going with a pair of cute flats or ballet pumps. Either way, you’ll be comfy and chic for Christmas.

X-Factor Fashion

For anyone who watched this series of the X-Factor, they will know there has been many a fashion faux-pas this year.

From Cheryl’s elaborate dresses,

to Dannii’s weird and wonderful hair-do’s.

Cheryl Cole couldn’t sit down properly in most of her dresses, dodgy ties were handed out to the likes of Olly Murs and Louis Walsh, and Simon’s chest rug was peeking out of his shirts most nights.

There were also Olly’s too tight trousers, that were always about an inch too short.

And the worst culprit’s of all, were a serious joke, one word sums them up...Jedward.

Neon suits, PVC suits, dodgy trainers, and let’s not forget the matching quiffs reminiscent of Cameron Diaz in ‘There’s Something About Mary’.

By far I think this year’s line up have been an the most oddly dressed bunch in the final run.
What were the stylists thinking this year?

Birthday Blast

Birthdays are fab. Spending time with family and friends, eating cake, celebrating another year passing (or cringing in my case) and if you’re lucky, a few nice presents. And usually, for those interested in fashion, this means clothes.

So for my upcoming 20th (gah), my gran couldn’t find anything nice to get me, so took me shopping. We wandered around the town with my mum, enjoyed dinner in Union Square and eventually ended up in Fat Face. This is a shop I usually like, the clothing is comfortable and looks effortless but trendy at the same time. A lot of their tops are quite flattering for fuller figured ladies like myself, I haven’t had much luck with anything for the bottom half in the past though.

So when I spotted a cute, red denim mini skirt, I initially thought ‘I like it, but will it like me?’. With encouragement from my mum and gran, I decided to try it on. However, when I went to get my size off the rail, there was no size 14 in sight. I reluctantly lifted the size 12 and dragged myself to the changing rooms. As I began to try it on, I expected it to get to my thighs, and J.Lo-esque booty, and go no further.

But as the denim slipped over the curves and the button fastened with no strain (with room to spare I might add) light descended from the heavens and the hallelujah chorus sounded.

I managed to get into a size 12! That sold it for me, the skirt was bought and taken to be wrapped up as birthday gift.

After this pleasing experience, I tried on another skirt in the store that I liked. This also fit in the size 12. Granted it was a wool skirt and stretched, but it was still a 12, and I was still on the high from the denim size 12 fitting.

So with a big smile on my face, I treated myself to the wool skirt and waited patiently until my birthday for my red one.
One positive aspect of reaching the big two-oh, becoming a size 12.

Bah Humbug

Christmas nights out. Sparkly outfits, yummy meals, a few drinks and a lot of laughs. That’s what the Lingerie team from Debenhams, plus myself, were expecting.

Firstly, if you’re wondering why I went on the Lingerie night out, it’s because it was my old department, and all my mates work there. Secondly, it’s was not the best day of my life.

The day started off like any other Friday. I woke up and began trying to fix yet another of the problems arising within my student accommodation hellhole. My door, no longer locking or unlocking, for the hundredth time.

Of course, the office doesn’t open until 3pm and, of course, I can’t get hold of anyone at any of the other locations scattered throughout Aberdeen. So, I make the most of the time I have until the office opens, while not being able to leave the flat for fear of the insurance company, and what they would say, heaven forbid, something went missing.

Eventually, I got someone to look at the door, only to make it worse, then give me a temporary fix until the weekend is over. Oi.

Anyhoo, to add to the misery, by the time all of this had occurred, I had exactly 45 minutes to get ready for said night out. So, I primped and preened, donned my uniform for the night, my glitziest heels and bejewelled dress, and headed out.

Now when I say glitziest heels, you probably can’t comprehend how much glitz I mean. I’m talking shoes practically made of glitter. Picture these Nine West beauties, only all purple. Fabulous if I say so myself.

My cotton jersey, Julien MacDonald dress looked nice enough and the sparkly purple heels looked amazing, but they certainly aren’t designed for warmth.

And damn, was it cold!

But I expected the well needed merriment to warm me up.

In the end, we all sat in our glad rags, filling ourselves up with festive fancies, planning where to head for our Christmas cocktails. Kareoke was ruled out, with the majority of the group being tone deaf, and the clubs such as Liquid also bit the dust as a few of our number were over 35. So we headed out of the restaurant, and stood at the crossing deliberating the plan of the evening, when all but four of us, WENT HOME!

Feeling slightly disgruntled and less festive, the four of us remaining headed to a university bar to drown our sorrows, before calling it a night at 1am. Poor show.

Ah well, at least we looked fabulous and my door worked when I got home.

Was it the cold? Was my bad day jinxing the evening? Were my heels just too damn fabulous for everyone to handle? Or has everyone suddenly turned Scrooge on us?
Oh Bah Humbug!

Size Matters

I don’t know whether this can be counted as a proper entry, it’s more of a rant to be perfectly honest.

Why is it that every shop you go to seems to have a different opinion on sizes? A size 12 in Topshop is more like a size 8 in River Island, for example. Trying to find clothes can be a nightmare because of this.

Searching for a pair of grey skinny jeans, I tried the likes of Oasis, New Look, Topshop and Miss Selfridge. Only to find that not even one of the thunder-thighs would fit. In the end I managed to find a pair which fitted perfectly, but I had to spend so much more to get them. Not very fair, I say.

The same can be said of one Personal Shopper customer, since I can’t exactly use real names, let’s call her Jones. Jones came in with the desire to look fashionable and sexy for Christmas. She was looking for a fabulous top and, of course, skinny jeans. But by being of the curvy girl mould, she, like me, was struggling. Everywhere she tried, the jeans all fitted poorly. Especially New Look, according to Jones, even though they used to be rather good for jeans. They were either too tight, too baggy, too short or too long (even when labelled as regular length). Eventually, I managed to find some classic black skinnies which fitted Jones, with minimal bulge or gape, and although they were slightly longer, were better than anything else she had tried.
Debenhams Red Herring collection kicks New Look’s butt!

Really, who can tell which comes from where?

This process could have been made so much simpler if only stores/manufacturers/designers, whoever is to blame for this gross misconduct, would use a UNIVERSAL size guide. One set of measurements that equals each size! How hard would it be? Really?! Rant Over :)

New Trend Rising?

Vampires. Werwolves. And a danger magnet named Bella. What do these three things mean to you? To a normal person, probably nothing. But to me, a self confessed TwiHard, they mean one thing. Twilight.

Or to be more specific, the sequel to Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon. With my ticket booked, and my shift at work finished, my excitement couldn’t be contained. Not only was I finally getting to see the movie I had so desperately been waiting for, but I was going to a midnight viewing, one of the first screenings of New Moon to be watched in the U.K. I could literally have howled with glee. My mind couldn’t have been further from fashion on this particular night. I was intently focused on the glorious Twilight hunks, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. As an avid member of Team Edward, I was shocked to find I was leaning towards the territory of Team Switzerland when I saw the newly buff and brooding Jacob Black. They really have ruined it for all mortal men.
Bella Swan is a lucky, lucky girl. Two gorgeous, mythical men fighting over her. Swoon.

Anyhoo, enough talking about them or I’ll be back at the cinema drooling in 10 seconds flat.

But all of this got me thinking. Is fantasy the newest trend?

You can see people sitting on the bus, at the bus stop, in cafes or even in lectures, reading the books, but it goes much further than that.

Franchises such as Twilight and Trueblood, which stem from the books, movies and television, based on myths, legends and scary stories, have launched huge fan bases. These fan bases have clothing, home wear, accessories and much more, all dedicated to what they love. I mean, they even have Christmas decorations! (mental note: buy Twilight Christmas decorations).

It’s not hard to walk down the street and see just how big fantasy is becoming. You see the posters and advertisements in bus stops, shop windows, and even on the clothes people wear. Lion and Lamb hoodies, Mrs Edward Cullen t-shirts, or bags which simply say ‘Bite me’ followed by the name of a fictional vampire are widely sported amongst the teens of the world. And not just teens! There is also items for older women, maternity wear, menswear.

Is this a trend for everyone? Will we soon see mothers and daughters wearing matching or opposing Team Edward/Jacob t-shirts?

If fantasy really is the newest must have, then all I want for Christmas is a bronze haired, sparkly vampire and a russet brown werewolf. Oh and Santa? If I’m really good, would you throw in Eric Northman from Trueblood as well?

Mega Winter Warmers

Up to 25% off everything in store. Stores open late, and I mean late, try 2am. For the shopping addict in all of us it sounds perfect, especially in the run up to Christmas. Less queuing, less hassle, less stress.

At least for those doing the shopping.

For the staff at Debenhams, Mega Week represents long hours, huge numbers of customers, running around like a headless chicken and pressure to succeed. But in all honesty, we do love it. The week is busy, but it goes faster and we have fun with each other as the nights go on.
This includes the Personal Shoppers. We have to help out on the tills, and with tidying, on top of the countless appointments made by people in the hopes of finding the perfect outfit (with money off of course), for parties, a winter wedding, or simply to keep them warm and in style this Christmas.

Keeping warm in winter is always easy, but looking good at the same time can be that little bit harder. With all the bulky knits and dark colours, your shape is disguised and distorted, and your mood begins to match the colours you wear. So try finding a classic style of coat, one which wont date and you can continue to wear again and again. Take for example, a black wool trench coat. It is simple and elegant, black is always in fashion, and it is fitted at the waist. This gives a nipped in silhouette, and the illusion of curves, or the enhancement those of curvier girls. With it being wool, it won’t be the most waterproof of coats, this however gives you an excuse to buy a cute and colourful umbrella.

We all know Uggs are some of the warmest and comfiest footwear going around, but they sure won’t keep your feet dry in the winter rain and snow. So why not opt for a pair of riding boots? They’re comfy and stylish, plus keep your toes warm and dry. Perfect for trailing the high street and the Christmas sales, for example the hellish, I mean exhilarating Mega Week!

I know what you’re thinking, this outerwear may show off my figure, but it’s still as dark like the winter sky. Add some of your favourite, bright colours to your outfit, by choosing a colourful bag, or scarves and gloves. They aren’t just a fashion statement people, they keep you cosy too!

This is what I’ve been telling those customers who come in, looking for an outfit to brighten up their winter, while keeping out the chill.
So splash some colour into your outfit, without splashing the cash. Simply add some colourful accessories to warm up your winter.

Head to the shops and the sales, the late night variety, to save yourself the stress and the hassle. Save some money and your winter wardrobe. But do take pity on the poor sales assistants who are happily serving away until the wee hours, we take on the stress to save your sanity.