The Compression Sports Bra is designed specifically for the fuller bust from Pure Lime – its designed allows for High impact Sports in people with a fuller figure. All good so far because I can vouch it does exactly what it claims. It has excellent padding in all the right places – On the shoulder straps and around the breasts. Its straps are comfortable on the whole and never dig in or leave red ugly marks (even when engaging in high impact bouncy sports).  Its a well designed  compression bra with seamless moulded cups offering encapsulated support to each breast. They are made of moisture-wicking and breathable fabric, keeps you drier longer.

Here´s the drawback – Fastens at the back and has adjustable padded straps. The theory is these straps can be adjusted to cross over at the back for extra support. This means at the back there is a small hook which can be slipped out and adapted to fit traditionally or crossed over. Great in theory. In practicality these wonderful little adjustable straps have a habit of pinging open unexpectedly every now and again – usually at the most inopportune moments – jogging up the road for example. The wearer thus finds themselves with a boob free of support! Its incredibly annoying when this occurs.

So, on the whole, I am incredibly happy with the bras. They allow me to engage in high impact sports despite my full figure and generous boobies but every now and again I have to refasten the damn bra strap because they have a horrendous habit of coming undone. Sorry Pure Lime, the idea of adjustable straps was great in theory, but I have found in practice it can lead to some minor issues with free boobs! The adjustable straps do not work for me at all!

Price: A highly reasonable £39.99

Colour Range: Limited – Black, White & Nude

Size Range: A limited range of bust sizes (34 – 40) despite the fact they go up to a G Cup. If you have a larger chest size check out the other sports bras available from Natural Curves! They have a superb range, represent good value for money and provide excellent service. I have purchased plus size lingerie and swimwear from them and have always been exceptionally happy with the service received.

Great value for money and one of the better sports bras. Would do better to improve / remove the adjustable straps!

These tights are far from boring. Check out most stores online who boast a plus size range and you will soon see they are limited to plain and boring. But this company have a far wider collection – featuring some really beautiful designs for those curvy ladies, like myself, who prefer something a bit different.

Check out their range of plus sized tights now MyTights – including, something I personally found useful, their collection of shaping tights on page 5. Really comfort but with a smoothing effect which gives a nice finish under a slightly clinging dress!

Someone needs to remind the designers of Evans Clothing that we plus size ladies need not look frumpy in poorly designed badly hanging clothes anymore. Either that or they seriously need to find a new way of displaying their range to advantage!

The only decent thing I have found on their site I have found are some wonderful and comfy jogging pants, and their jeans are as good as ever. The rest of their range was easily passable and not worth a second look.

Rant concluded.

28 November 2011

I have been holding off writing a review for a while now on an experience I have had with Yours Clothing but I am afraid the issue has simply gone on too long and they have failed to respond to the last four emails I have sent querying the order situation. The only person who consistently responds is the person who manages their twitter account – and they have always been helpful and interested in my increasingly disillusioned tweets about my order! The same cannot be said for Customer Services who have failed to respond on numerous occasions.

I placed an order on the 29th September 2011 for three items totalling just over €100 to be shipped to my address in Spain. Their site states that deliveries take between 7 and 15 days. The item was despatched in a very timely fashion and so I waited for their delivery on the understanding that no other company has issues sending items to us at our current address. No information was provided about the delivery as items to Spain, at that time anyway, were sent untracked. It appears this has now changed on their website for orders over €75.

3 weeks / 15 working days passed and I was still waiting. I contacted Yours Clothing via their customer service form and, at length, they responded. After some brief exchanges they finally launched an investigation which they advised would take a further 7 days to complete. I waited once more. 9 days later I emailed querying the results of their investigation because I had not heard anything. They did not respond to my question with any details about the original delivery but offered to resend the order – with the exception of one item which was now out of stock. They offered a partial store credit or refund for this item and, since I wanted more items from their site, I opted for the former.

I waited again for a response and, finally, on the 4 November 2011 they resent the order and supplied a store credit. I ordered some more items from the store but had them sent to a family members address who then sent them on. Even baring in mind this they were received within 7 days by me.

But I was still waiting for the replacement items from the original order to Spain. Last week I emailed to state the items had still not been received. The last three emails to Customer Services, Sophie W of Size Up, and Victoria W of Size Up have gone unanswered. The only person who has been consistently helpful is the individual who operates their twitter.

Today I checked their site and delivery to Spain now has the additional message.

When you spend over €75 before delivery your order will be sent fully tracked using DPD.
Orders below €75 will be sent by Royal Mail and then through the country postal service but untracked (here)

In the interim period, whilst waiting for the two parcels from Yours Clothing, I have consistently received my post from other companies and family/friends back in the UK without issue – whether sent via regular post or via a courier. We live in a town with relatively good postal service compared to anywhere else we have lived in Spain.

I am still waiting for my order and a response from the staff of Yours Clothing and Size Up. I have tried to remain patient and do appreciate that sometimes parcels go missing between the UK and Spain but even I find it difficult to believe two parcels have mysteriously not arrived at their destination when we have no issues receiving items at this address from anyone else.

It is now 2 months since I placed my order and I still do not have the items I ordered.

Update 28 November 2011: 12:30

I have just finished a live chat with Victoria of Yours Clothing who notified me she was unable to do anything further until 4 December 2011 because they had already resent the items on 4 November 2011. Not only were there large delays in her response but once I requested the complaints address she abandoned the live chat altogether and proceeded to say nothing further. If I was disapointed before I am infuriated now by the lack of quality customer service received from Yours Clothing over this order. I have always loved their clothes but I am afraid this experience has been extremely upsetting. I´ve taken a copy of the live chat transcript. The ignored emails requesting updates and the totally abandoned live chat just demonstrate that their customer services have a lot to be desired.

Update: 29 November 2011

I finally posted feedback on the missing transaction on feefo. Yours Clothing responded with the following:

We received your message on the 28.11.2011 which we replied to on the 29.11.2011, we are still waiting for a reply. We have also emailed you asking if you wanted a refund as the items are now out of stock, however we have received no response.

So they finally received my last email on the 28th and responded on the 29th by offering a refund via email. Sad thing is I have received no emails from Yours Clothing offering any such thing – and, before anyone asks, I did in fact check my spam folders. I have emailed them once more and accepted their offer of a refund for the items not received. I could cry I am so disapointed as the items were for wearing on a special occasion. Whilst I can appreciate parcels go missing the worst thing of all was having to nag endlessly for responses from Customer Services at Yours Clothing and being made to feel like a nuisance for doing so. Many emails went unanswered, and if they were answered then I clearly did not receive the responses. Although I love their clothes I doubt I will ever shop with them again after the treatment I have had over this order. I am trying to be fair and realise that occasionally parcels go missing. They´ve fulfilled every other order to me provided it was sent via a UK address and then forwarded on to me in Spain. Maybe when I have simmered down I can be a little more philosophical but its not the missing items which anger me as much as the communications issue and the experience of having a Rep completely abandon a live chat because I dared to ask for a complaints address and complained that waiting two months for delivery was just a tad too long…

Update 2 December 2011

After much contemplation I decided to go for a store credit. I still love most of the clothes on Yours Clothing and the top I DESPERATELY wanted was now on sale.  I received my store credit today and made a new order of the items I wanted. A few hours later I received the despatch notification.

Although this order was a nightmare on balance Yours Clothing have more often than not delivered. There are issues with the Spanish postal service and, just maybe, this order fell victim of this. Yes, the customer service experience was frustrating but they came through in the end.

Two new additions to my wardrobe this Christmas came from Bonmarche (quickly becoming one of my favourite stores – largely, I have to admit, because of the superb David Emanuel designs!!). Both of the above are classic David Emanuel´s and, as I have become accustomed to his work, are exceptionally flattering to even the most plus size curvy lady!

The strappy maxi dress is long and luxurious. It hangs beautifully and is very flattering over the curves – and has a wonderful way of lifting up my boobs so they look fabulous. Problem is I now cannot decide whether to wear this dress or my beaded evening dress on New Years Eve. Decisions decisions!

The Jumper Dress was a last minute purchase and is something I would not have considered buying before I saw it – but love at first sight is hard to resist during a sale! It hugs my figure a little more than the image suggests – highly possible unless you go a size bigger than normal this will be the same for other plus size ladies with curves! But, personally speaking, I like it. It clings in the right places and shows my hour-glass curves to perfection.

Both dresses are currently on sale – Strappy Maxi Dress is just  £17.00 and the Jumper Dress is £ 19.00. Both far exceed their price tag in terms of quality.

I´ve been given a free delivery code for myself and my readers.

Code – FREEDEL
Valid- 22nd Dec till 7th Jan
Vouchercode – Free standard delivery with all orders over £50 including sale – upto 75% off and items from £2

Go to Yours Clothing to take advantage of this offer.

I am not disapointed. It looked fabulous on and flattered my curvy figure in all the right places – showing off my waist whilst not drawing attention to my tummy!

This will be the dress I will wear New Years Eve with a pair of strappy high heels – when that time comes I will update the photograph here which is dressed down, not remotely glamarous and does the dress (or me for that matter!) no justice at all.

This is a fabulous evening dress and at just £22.00 how can you go wrong? Check out other clothes by the fabulous David Emanuel who designs for women with curves too!

The Cowl Neck Jumper

Generally speaking I have to avoid anything knitted like the plague because of my sensitive skin so when my sister mentioned to my daughter she had bought me a cowl necked knitted jumper for my daughter I was a little wary. But Marks and Spencers have done a wonderful job of creating a beautiful (and flattering) plus sized jumper which I can, surprisingly, wear with no problems at all.

The neckline is very flattering and I find the fit comfortable. Its a nice sized 22, plenty of room.

The jumper is available in most stores and is available up to a size 24. It does not appear to be available online.

Plus Flat Front Velour Wide Leg Trousers

Velour trousers are usually a safe bet for me as I can wear them with no issues at all, but these are especially nice. They hang beautifully and are very fluid and feminine. Clearly they are cut to flatter even the fullest figure.

Currently on sale online at just £15.00! Available up to a size 28!

H&M has defended their actions, saying that they use CGI models “to show off the clothes,” but we know that these are no mannequins: they’re idealized, impossible bodies designed to look “real,” with the implication that it’s possible and desirable for their customers’ bodies to look the same way. We agree with the Norweigan Broadcasting Corporation, who said “This illustrates very well the sky-high aesthetic demands placed on the female body. The demands are so great that H&M, among the poor photo models, cannot find someone with both body and face that can sell their bikinis.”

It’s like SPARK’s Bailey Shoemaker Richards says: “Wouldn’t it have been a better idea to make (or, I don’t know, hire) a group of models with diverse body shapes and sizes to give girls a real idea of how their clothes will fit?”

The technology that H&M uses has the potential to improve an online shopping experience, not limit it. Why not let customers create CGI bodies based on their own measurements, allowing them to get an idea of what the clothing might look like on their own frames? It’s time to get honest, H&M: drop the fake bodies or expand their sizes and shapes.

Help the cause and sign the petition:-

Lovely as they the quality of the material seems to vary tremedously. The Navy Blue pair is soft and wearable from the first time, as are the black ones. But the grey yoga trousers have frequently been of a courser blend and have had to be washed several times prior to wearing to make it so I can wear them for any length of time without wanting to scratch all my skin off. I assumed given that they are all so strikingly similar they were the same material – turns out I was wrong.

Navy Yoga Trousers: 95% Cotton,5% Elastane

Grey Yoga Trousers: 62% Polyester,33% Cotton,5% Elastane

Black Yoga Trousers: 95% Cotton,5% Viscose.

Fabulous though these trousers are I would recommend anyone with sensitive skin give the grey version a wide birth. I have pretty durable skin and can wear pretty much anything – but these trousers were unbearable until they had been washed six or seven times. In fact they are only becoming really comfortable three months down the line. Moe, my co-blogger, has particularly sensitive skin and cannot abide the material anywhere near her!

The trousers are durable though and are good value at just £19.50 – but, honestly, check Curvissa for some truly gorgeous sweat pants which are durable and comfortable from the off at just £14 (sizes 18-20 available). The evans yoga pants are available from sizes 14 to 32