SIMPLY BE'S SPRING 2011 Lookbook

Hey curvy girls all over the world,

The lovely people at Simply Be just hooked SC up with their new Spring 2011 lookbook. The pieces the model is wearing are very bohemian chic. Bold prints, maxi dresses, and a few classic pieces like tie waist shorts and a classic trench makes SC ready for spring to come. Simply Be has a US site so you can all grab up these pieces now.

Checkout the Simply Be 2011 Lookbook

To purchase checkout Simply Be

CURVY CELEB WATCH

Hey curvy girls all over the world,
This weekend brought out some of our favorite curvy celebrites who were out embracing their curves like a curvy girl should be.

Let's take a look at who was out and about

Christina Hendricks looks super chic in a double breasted wool coat and red tote. She looks just as good without makeup and I'm loving the messy red hair.

Yup, that's Marsha Ambrosius from the group Floetry. She recently lost a few pounds and will be releasing a solo album. SC is loving that colorful sequin dress Marsha is wearing. It's fun and perfect for a Spring night partying. Next to Marsha is one of my fave curvy girls, Trina. She is one of the women (besides family) that helped me embrace my curves. Trina is looking ultra sexy in a gold knotted waist draped dress.

And last but not least, Miss Serena Williams is working her curves out in a burgundy one shoulder draped dress and bold necklace. It's good to see she's not letting that cast get her down.

What do you think of these curvy celebs weekend looks?

APPLE BOTTOM'S FIRST PLUS SIZE SPOKES MODEL

Apple Bottoms has a gorgeous fierce plus size spokes model and it's Lisa Raye's 23 year old daughter Kai Morae. The news of the new plus size model is a few weeks old, but, I wanted to share it with you anyway. I first saw Kai on Lisa Raye's reality show on TV One. You would be crazy not to recognize her beauty at first glance. What you also recognized on the show was Kai's voluptuous shapely body. I kept thinking to myself, why isn't this girl modeling for plus sizes. Well, now she is and I'm quite sure her mom, former model Lisa Raye is giving her all the tips and pointers she needs to have a successful career.

Kai is modeling pieces from the Spring 2011 Apple Bottoms collection and her photos were shot by famed photographer Derek Blanks.

What do you guys think of Kai's look for Apple Bottoms and does she have a strong career in plus size modeling?

Original Story from Bossip
Photos: Sandra Rose

7 SPRING PIECES FROM HSN UNDER $100

Hey curvy girls all over the world,
Are you still in the process of building up that spring wardrobe? Then get your budgets ready to include some super cute spring pieces from HSN, all under $100. I'm a crazy big fan of home network shopping programs and here's why:

1) They are a great source for plus size women to find designer inspired pieces and even some designer bridge lines that go up to a size 3X.

2) Designers and of course celebrities sell exclusive not sold in store pieces on shopping networks.

3) The shopping networks offer easy payments on a variety of items. I just love when they say, you can get this baby home for $24.99 plus s&h. If you're on a budget the easy pay is extremely helpful.

I love these 7 pieces because they remind me of spring. They're soft, feminine, and give off an easy breezy look for those warm spring days when you just feel like throwing on something light and airy. All the pieces are not available yet (I know, I'm such a tease). Below are the dates when each piece will be available.
However, you can get the Liz Lange striped cascading cardigan now which goes up to a size 3X and it is being offered in an array of colors.

Although everything isn't available now, at least you'll have time to add one of these pieces into that spring wardrobe budget.

Checkout HSN for more great pieces in plus sizes.

Animal Print Trench-available 3/18
Chiffon tie Neck Blouse-available 2/25
Denim Fringe 2-tone jacket-available 3/14
Embellished shoulder caftan-available 3/18
Eyelit Pant-available 3/1
Libby Edelman Dress- available 3/1
Liz Lange Cascading Cardigan-available now

LEOPARD LIKE

I haven't worn this leopard print faux fur coat in awhile. I think I'm still deciding if I like it or not. However, I put it on this weekend because I wanted to add a little spice to an all black outfit that I wore to an event.

I wore a pair of my favorite black trouser pants that was gifted to me from Sejour. They are straight leg trousers that hit at the waist to keep my little hero from looking like a muffin top. I've put on a little weight so they are a little more fitted (tight) than when I first got them. Nevertheless, they still fit. I was in an all black mood this weekend due to the stresses of my life. I now understand why celebs wear shades indoors. I was not in the mood for eye contact with anyone and kept my shades on. After a few minutes, I felt kind of silly with shades on inside. I wanted to get out of my funky mood and thought that wearing bright red would make me feel better, so I'm wearing my red suede shoes again and my red belt with a heart shape buckle.

It was somewhat of a nice weather weekend because there was no snow and the temperature wasn't freezing below.

Hope you guys had a great weekend.

What I'm Wearing

Leopard Print Coat-Torrid

Lace Top-Old Navy

Trousers-Sejour(gifted)

Shoes-Guess

Belt-Torrid

Sunglasses-Forever21

ENTER H&M'S VALENTINE'S DAY TWITTER CONTEST

Hey curvy girls,

I just got wind of a great contest from my peeps at H&M.

Read on for more details:
On February 11, H&M will send one lucky re-tweeter and a guest on an all expenses paid Valentine’s Day weekend trip to visit the fabulous new flagship store in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is so easy to enter with a simply tweet and then every time you re-tweet you increase your chance to win.

Join H&M’s “Love Fashion Twitter” sweepstakes until Sunday, February 6 for a chance to win the ultimate Valentine’s Day weekend getaway. The grand prize includes:

Here's what you win:

-Tw roundtrip tickets to Las Vegas from (Feb. 11-13th)
-Transportation in Las Vegas to and from airport
-2 night stay at Ceasars Palace (Feb. 11-13th)
-2 tickets to the Beatles Love Show by Cirque Du Soleil (Feb.12th)
-2 $250 gifrcards to outfit yourselves at H&M forum shops

Contest Rules
1. To enter the contest Follow @HMUSA on Twitter

2. Retweet the latest tweet (text) posted at www.twitter.com/hmusa containing the hash tag #HM_LoveFashion

3. Consent to H&M’s privacy policy and terms of use (link)

4. Retweet as many times as you want to increase your chances of winning.

5. H&M will select a random retweet on Febuary 7th and reward an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas, 2 tickets to The Beatles Love show by Cirque du Soleil and 2 $250 H&M gift cards.

Go HERE for offical rules

CURVY GIRL STYLE BATTLE: JORDIN SPARKS VS HAYLEY HASSELHOFF

Today's curvy girl style battle is between Jordin Sparks and Hayley Hasselhoff. Both girls look super cute in dressy casual looks for day.

Who's look are you feeling?

VOTE!

 JORDIN SPARKS

VS

HAYLEY HASSELHOFF

Photo Credit-Zimbio & Essence

SUPPORT HEART HEALTH

Okay ladies, it's time to put on your red dresses, tops, shoes, jackets, whatever you have red in support of the Heart Truth Campaign. Today is National Wear Red Day. A day when Americans wear red in support of women's heart disease awareness. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), heart disease is the #1 killer of women.

The NHLBI needs your support in helping to spread the word about heart disease. Please support the Heart Truth campaign by getting involved in the following ways

1. Join in the Twitter Party – Follow @TheHeartTruth for heart healthy tips, resources, and action steps for heart health. To celebrate National Wear Red Day, join the Twitter Party on Feb. 4, 3-4 p.m. Go here for more details.


2. Join The Heart Truth’s Rally to Wear Red and Protect Your Heart on Facebook –Wear your favorite red tie, dress, or Red Dress Pin on Friday Feb. 4, 2011. Your friends want to see you! Snap a picture of yourself or group, and upload your photos to The Heart Truth Facebook wall and tell us what you are doing to support heart health. We will feature a photo and personal testament to living a heart healthy life on our campaign Web site: http://www.hearttruth.gov/.

3. Share your experience, post your story, be a role model– Heart disease affects many women. If you have a story, share it. Whether you post your story to your blog, The Heart Truth Facebook wall, or The Heart Truth Activity Registry, let others know how you are taking action to reduce your risks.

4. Share the excitement of the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show – The Heart Truthcreated the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness. The annual Red Dress Collection Fashion Show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will showcase the power of the Red Dress and encourage all women to take action to protect their heart health. Watch the show LIVE on February 9th: http://www.cbsnews.com/hearttruth

AMBER RILEY SPARKLES IN ESSENCE MARCH 2011 ISSUE

Hey curvy girls all over the world,

Miss Amber Riley kills it in another fab photo shoot. This time she is working her curves in the March issue of Essence magazine, where she is channeling her icon the fabulous Chaka Khan. Amber always does the curvy girls proud and SC is loving both looks. We also love the fierce faces she's giving.

Also for all you Glee fans join Essence.com and Amber Riley in a campaign to see a “Glee” episode devoted to the legendary Chaka Khan. You can join the FB page HERE.

Also checkout the behind the scenes footage of Amber at the photo shoot.

AN OLD FAVORITE:THE TIE NECK BLOUSE

Yesterday I pulled out an old favorite, my tie neck blouse I bought last fall. I had an event to go to yesterday evening and I wanted to wear a top that was sheer and light enough to go under my sequin waiter jacket that was gifted to me from Nordstrom's new plus collection Sejour. I also wore my pink lipstick from MAC, "Girl About Town" which I just love. I normally only put a dab on because I'm afraid of the brightness, but, after reading Coco and Creme's article A New Era for the Darker Girl about dark skin women wearing bright makeup, I decided to put on a little more than usual so the color would show. What do you guys think, too much?

I had such a long day yesterday that I was glad I wore light pieces that were comfortable.  This snow is driving me crazy. I have to keep my heels in my bag for indoors and stomp around in my big old Timberland snow boots when traveling to and from. Hope you guys are hanging in there. I heard the groundhog saw his shadow and spring is coming early or is it the other way around? I don't really believe in that, but after the weekly snow storms we've been having, I sure am hoping spring comes early and stays for awhile.

What I'm wearing

Sequin Jacket-Sejour

Skirt-Faith21Plus

Blouse-NY&CO

Shoes-Vince Camuto

Earrings-Forever21

Watch-Michael Kors

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WARDROBE: 1 DRESS 3 WAYS

How many times have you purchased an item that you just had to have and as the months go by you realize that you've only worn it once? I have to raise my hand and say, I've been an offender of this myself. As I said in a previous post, one of my New Year's resolutions was to get more out of my wardrobe by mixing and matching what I already own.

I scored this cobalt blue ruffled sleeve dress from ASOS and challenged myself to make it work in at least three ways. I'm a big believer in making your wardrobe work double duty and I feel like I've become sort of a pro at doing that. One of the best ways to get mileage out of your wardrobe is with accessories. Belts, earrings, bracelets, and statement necklaces can make a world of difference in an outfit.

Below are three ways that I'm utilizing accessories to get the most out of my LBD (Little Blue Dress).

Dressy Casual

For this look a statement belt and earrings are all I needed to punch up this simple yet chic dress.

Belt-NY&CO, watch-MK, Earrings-Forever21, Boots-Steve Madden 

 An Evening Out

A swap of a belt makes a difference.

A great way to get mileage out your dresses is to start wearing them as tops. For this look, I didn't just want to choose a plain old black belt, I wanted to play with a light color to contrast against the blues. I chose this natural colored wide belt and a pencil sequin skirt for a nighttime look.  I finished the look off with black chandelier earrings, and a multi crystal bracelet to make this look work for evening,

Skirt-Calvin Klein (plus), Belt-NY&CO

At The Office

It's no secret that a blazer is a transforming piece. I chose this natural color blazer, a tassel necklace, and a pair of men's style lace up pumps to wear this dress to work.

Blazer-Calvin Klein (Plus), Shoes-Zara, Necklace-Ann Taylor (gifted)

BEAUTY TALK: AMBER RILEY AT THE SAG AWARDS

We are all in agreement that Amber Riley looked smoking hot in a black gown at the SAG Awards last night. What SC also loved about Amber's look was her makeup. Bright lips and golden eyes seem to be a popular trend amongst celebrities. Amber's makeup is great for a date night or when you need to punch up an all black ensemble. You can never go wrong with bright lips, a golden face, rosy cheeks.

Get Amber's look:

MAC- Girl About Town

Almay- Liquid Liner in Black

Iman- Luxury Eyeshadow in WHite Gold

Lancome -Carat Mascara

Nars Blush-Desire

ANN TAYLOR'S 2011 SUMMER COLLECTION

Step up your summer work wardrobe with Ann Taylor's summer 2011 collection.

Last week SC was invited to checkout Ann Taylor's summer 2011 collection. Every year Ann Taylor has been stepping up their style game with classic styles and trendy details. For 2011 the summer collection takes us on a Mexican safari with colors like warm browns, golds, and deep oranges and reds. The safari feel didn't stop wit the colors, AT's hefty concentration on animal and watercolor  prints gave us even more of a safari vacation feel. We loved how AT is starting to play with shapes. Gone are the days of bland shift dresses. AT  has added ruffled hems, tulip cuts, and knotted waists dresses to spice things up.

Fabrics were light and stretchy offering a comfortable feel and the jewelry was bold and gaudy enough to add flair to any of the simple flowy maxi dresses and structured suits. Three of our favorite pieces were the tulip style watercolor dress, an all white short suit, and a red one shoulder ruffled skirt dress. This collection's is perfect for the end of summer especially for those August getaways.

Checkout Ann Taylor's 2011 Summer Collection

SC's Favorite's

SC's Favorite's