Fed up with the same black and gold dresses with a touch or more of sparkle and glitz? Want to stand out from the crowd and wow the party? Why not add a rainbow of colour this season and choose block coloured dresses in on trend oranges, greens, pinks, and reds. Team with bold accessories to make a bold statement this Christmas. Plus Size and Tall takes a look at some block coloured options.

From New Look Inspire [site: www.newlook.com] the bright pink Ponte Pleat Front Tunic at £17.99 will bring colour to the Christmas or New Year party. Available in sizes 18 to 26 this on trend block colour dress will definitely make you ‘pretty in pink’ with short slightly puffed sleeves and in a loose fit. Team with leggings and heels for the perfect party look.

Ponte Pleat Front Tunic £17.99

From Marks and Spencer [site: www.marksandspencer.com], the vibrant Autograph One Shoulder Pleated Satin Dress at £75.00 will brighten up any party room! This dress is ultra feminine with one shoulder detailing, a pencil styled skirt with back slit, and in a gorgeous burnt orange satin material. This dress is available in sizes 14 to 22.

One Shoulder Pleated Satin Dress £75

Make everyone green with envy with the stunning Midi Dress with Peter Pan Collar from ASOS Curve [site: www.asos.com]. This delightful dress is in floating green chiffon with a three tiered hem. Feel for ever young with the Peter Pan collar and fine pin tuck pleating on the bodice.  This dress is £50.00 and available in sizes 20 to 26.

Midi Dress with Peter Pan Collar £50

Finally, for this season collection of block coloured dresses, the Cowl front maxi dress from M&Co [site: www.mandco.com] which has been reduced from £69.00 to just £34.50. This elegant red dress is available in sizes 14 to 22 and is sooo flattering with a cowl neck and flowing skirt.

Cowl front maxi dress £34.50

If you feel bold this season then view these bright block coloured dresses at New Look Inspire [site: www.newlook.com],  Marks and Spencer [site: www.marksandspencer.com], ASOS Curve [site: www.asos.com], and M&Co [site: www.mandco.com].

It may seem like tall BBW have all the luck with their long legs looking amazing in skinny jeans and short dresses, but finding clothes which cover everything they should can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare! With the party season in mind, we’ve found a few of our favourite items for long limbed lovelies everywhere to give you a bit of festive inspiration.

New Look Tall Magenta Satin Hitch Hem Dress (£17.50).

Our first pick for the tall BBW is this stunning Tall Magenta Satin Hitch Hem Dress (£17.50 – was £34.99) from New Look’s Tall section (www.plus-size-tall.com/new-look-tall). An on sale festive bargain, this statement dress is both elegant and eye-catching. Featuring a pleated bodice and cummerbund waist with a softly hitched double hem, it runs up to a UK size 18, and is especially designed for those who are 5ft 7 and taller. Team with black tights and black stilettos and you are ready to go!

Long Tall Sally Embellished Stretch Satin Dress (£75).

Our next tall BBW pick is this beautiful Long Tall Sally (www.plus-size-tall.com/longtallsally-com) Embellished Stretch Satin Dress (£75 – was £100). Another Winter sale bargain, this seductive matt satin evening dress goes up to a UK size 22 and has a beautifully embellished waist panel on one side, flattering wide scooped neckline and a soft side pleating which drapes across the body like a dream. This is the sort of stunning dress which speaks volumes, so keep the focus on the frock and by keeping accessories to a minimum.

Dorothy Perkins Tall Black Chiffon Dress (£26.60).

Our final choice for the tall BBW is from Dorothy Perkins (www.plus-size-tall.com/dorothyperkins-tall) and is a Tall Black Chiffon Dress (£26.60 – originally £38) which also goes up to a size 22. Very Adele in style, the pencil dress has a floaty chiffon sleeve cape detail. Brighten the look up with bright tights, statement jewellery and a bold coloured clutch bag.

Curvy French women everywhere can rejoice and look fabulous! We are happy to announce that both New Look and Dorothy Perkins have  launched French versions of their websites and are presenting more fashion forward options for curvy French women everywhere.

New Look's French Website

The websites are both exact replicas of their UK counterparts, but there are many reasons as to why the brands have gone down this route. In addition to bringing a wider range of fashion to curvy French women, having this option is very much a way to generate growth despite the current recession. People are more likely to shop from a website which is in their language, and presents a viable, stress-free alternative to translation led pages.

Both brands have been shipping internationally for years, but with their own separate sites, New Look and Dorothy Perkins are both able to offer the prices in Euros rather than pounds, and as such make shopping for the curvy French woman much easier. New Look‘s French website even goes so far as to offer free returns, which is an added bonus for our French speaking counterparts.

Interestingly, the Dorothy Perkins has a specific tab on it’s website for “larger sizes”, something which the UK site has yet to implement. You will also be happy to know that New Look are also offering their Inspire line in Euro sizes 46 – 54.

The French version of the Dorothy Perkins website.

Both websites are now online, and you can visit the New Look French website at www.ma-grande-taille.com/new-look-fr and the Dorothy Perkins French site at www.ma-grandetaille.com/dorothy-perkins-fr.

What ever is popular in the US always seems to travel the Atlantic back to the UK. And Black Friday is no exception. However, the UK seem to have developed the idea more into their own, abandoning the Black Friday tag which was popular last year in favour of discount codes and Autumn/Winter collection sales.  Originally Black Friday was a major sales day in stores in the US which marked the start of Christmas, following Thanks Giving. But…what can we Brits expect from Black Friday UK 2011?

Black Friday UK 2011 plus size fashion  deals
Marks and Spencer are offering 25% off all Per Una and Classic fashions until Monday 28^th November great for those of us after original and fun fashions and fashion designed with the slightly older woman in mind.

Urban Outfitters not only offer on trend fashions but they are also offering 20% OFF EVERYTHING for this weekend only if you use code JINGLE. What a great early Christmas present!! Even better Style 369 are offering 30% OFF EVERYTHING.

New Look has always represented young fashions at great prices so it is good news that New Look is offering an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE with 20% off everything using the special code 20NOVTREAT and they have another amazing seasonal offer with up to 50% off selected items.

An English favourite plus size store, Evans, is offering up to 30% off selected autumn/winter fashions both online and in store.

Want to shop for plus size brands online and want to know you are getting them at the best price? One Stop Plus are offering 20% off winter knitwear with code 6172 AND they have a great sale with up to 50% selected items including new season favourites.

Love French styled trends? Well, now is your chance to grab some French Chic fashion at amazing prices with La Redoute who have a fantastic autumn and winter sale offering up to 50% off selected lines AND an opportunity to win an iPad 2.

Check out the Black Friday UK 2011 deals at Marks and Spencer [site: www.marksandspencer.com], Urban Outfitters [site: www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk], Style 369 [site: www.style369.com], New Look [site: www.newlook.com], Evans [site: www.evans.co.uk], One Stop Plus [site: www.onestopplus.co.uk], and La Redoute [site: www.laredoute.co.uk]. Happy Savings!

We often look at the long legged beauties and go green with envy at their never ending pins! However, spare a thought for our taller sisters, as outside of the internet, finding clothes which fit can sometimes be a bit of a mission. Tall girls shop online to find the perfect length in both arms and legs, but where are the best places to visit to get fashion focused as well as fabulous fits?

Long Tall Sally

Long Tall Sally (www.plus-size-tall.com/longtallsally-com) has always been one of the first destinations for where tall girls shop online. With over 30 years of experience, Long Tall Sally specialise in clothes for women 5’8″ (173cm) and above. They also run across a range of sizes, from a UK 8 through to a UK 24. Their range of footwear is carefully designed for larger sized feet, and they work with an array of brands to bring you a series of fashion forward capsual collections which are straight from the catwalk to your wardrobe. They also cater for even the longest of legs, with a variety of trouser and jeans in a 34″ – 38″ length.

New Look Tall

New Look (www.plus-size-tall.com/new-look-tall) expanded with their well received Tall range several years ago, and introduced with it a a selection of wide fitting shoes and boots. Known for their stylish flair at affordable prices, the range is designed for those who are 5’7 and above, ensuring that wrists and ankles aren’t left out of the fashion fun. This is another key destination for when the tall girls shop online, with much of their staple range sized up for taller limbs.

Dorothy Perkins Tall

Our third and final recommendation for where tall girls shop online is the tall range at Dorothy Perkins (www.plus-size-tall.com/dorothyperkins-tall). From magenta skinny jeans, to sparkly party dresses, the Dorothy Perkins tall collection is a sartorial wonderland of bright colours and effortless chic, and goes up to a UK size 22.

With so much on offer for tall girls shopping online, what are your favourite recommendations for where tall girls shop online?

Where do tall girls shop? Plus Size and Tall has a directory with a great selection of online retailers who sell clothes designed specifically with the taller woman in mind. Tall women need clothes that are not only longer in the leg but also in the body and in the arm. Some tall women want clothes that will accentuate their height whilst others prefer clothes that provide the impression of less height. What ever style the tall women is after; here are a few online stores that Plus Size and Tall love.

Where do tall girls shop? Long Tall Sally

Long Tall Sally is one of my favourite retailers selling wonderful and original designs exclusively for the tall woman. It is their mission to be the first choice for tall women’s fashion worldwide. All of their clothing is designed in house, carefully proportioned to flatter tall women of 5’8″ and above. As a store dedicated to tall fashion only, they have the best selection of anyone with elegant evening dresses, stylish jeans and trousers, stylish coats and jackets, and on trend tops to name but a few of the clothes they have to offer. Visit Long Tall Sally at www.longtallsally.co.uk to browse their extensive collection.

Where do tall girls shop? Long Tall Sally Fur Trimmed Coat £150 - Twist - front Maxi Dress £80

Where do tall girls shop? New Look

New Look is well known for their great value and style. They have a tall shop dedicated to designing fashionable clothes that sophisticated and hip for women of 5’7” and over. Their selection of dresses, tops, knitwear, and trousers is far from disappointing. The extensive collections provides on trend choices for the office, casual wear, and the festive season. For affordable tall fashion visit www.newlook.com.

Where do tall girls shop? New Look Tall Lattice Backed Sheer Blouse £24.99 – Tall 35in Skinny Flare Jeans £19.99

Where do tall girls shop? Dorothy Perkins

Dorothy Perkins is a well known fashion retailer found both on the high street and online. They have a limited selection of clothes designed for the taller woman of 5’7” and over. The have elegant party dresses, stylish winter coats, and on trend jeans to choose from this season. Visit Dorothy Perkins at www.dorothyperkins.com.

Where do tall girls shop? Dorothy Perkins Tall Glitter Grecian Dress £39.50 - Tall Black Velvet Dress £35

Where do tall girls shop? Boden

Boden are a London based company who truly love fashion which is reflected in their original design. The original collection of skirts, dresses, trousers, and tops are mostly tailored in petite, regular, and long. Long sizes are designed to fit women of 5’8″. Visit Boden at www.boden.co.uk for an inspiring collection for your winter wardrobe.

Where do tall girls shop? Boden Jersey Maxi Dress £88 - Flower Hem Mini £69

Take a closer look at where tall girls shop by visiting Long Tall Sally www.longtallsally.co.uk, New Look www.newlook.com, Dorothy Perkins www.dorothyperkins.com, and Boden www.boden.co.uk

Jeans have to be every ones favourite must have piece of clothing. They can be smart or casual, dressed up or down. They are comfortable and always on trend! However, for taller women, buying jeans that are proportioned correctly and with a long enough leg can be difficult. Luckily, the New Look tall collection [site: www.newlook.com]
has a great selection of different styled jeans specifically designed for women of 5ft 7 and taller. Plus Size and Tall pick out some fave styles.

Tall 35in Cuffed Jeans have a very continental look about them with the cuff detail which adds shape to the rest of the jean. Great with pumps or trainers. These jeans are in a faded blue and are proportioned to fit all those who are 5ft7 and above. They are available in sizes 8 to 18 for just £25.99.

I love roughed up jeans…do you? If so, the Tall 35in Ripped Straight Jeans create the perfect look with designed rips on each knee in worn look denim. The straight legs end with turn up cuffs. Again, great with pumps and trainers, or add glam with a pair of heels. Proportioned to fit all those who are 5ft7 and above. They are available in sizes 8 to 18 for just £25.99.

As we get our boots on, boot leg jeans become order of the day! The New Look tall collection has a great selection of boot cut jeans. And the on trend Tall 35in Belted Bootcut Jeans are a great choice in dark blue denim and studded detail around the pockets and embroidered back pockets. Plus, they come complete with belt! So now you can wear your boots with style! Proportioned to fit all those who are 5ft7 and above. They are available in sizes 8 to 18 for just £25.99.

Fed up with traditional blue or black denim jeans? Add some colour to your jean collection with the Tall 35in Coloured Denim Jeans. These skinny styled jeans in stretch denim are available in dark red and camel in limited sizes for just £16.99.

New Look tall collection: Cuffed Jeans £25.99 - Ripped Straight Jeans £25.99 - Belted Bootcut Jeans £25.99 - Coloured Denim Jeans £16.99

If you want to see more jeans from the New Look tall collection,  visit their site at www.newlook.com.

New Look Inspire (www.plus-size-tall.com/inspire-new-look)  have launched their Autumn collection, and although we’re not quite ready to give up our sundresses and flipflops just yet, the selection of coloured denim and dotty delights has us thinking wistfully ahead to the cooler months.  With so many wonderful items to choose from in the New Look Inspire Autumn range, we’ve pulled out a few of our favourites to help ease the transition back from sandals to boots.

(l-r) Inspire Floral Tea Dress, £34.99. Inspire High Waist Jeans, £27.99. Inspire Spotty Jersey Dress, £25.99. Inspire Coloured Skinny Jeans, £19.99.

First up in our range of New Look Inspire Autumn goodies is this lovely Floral Tea Dress (£34.99).  Designed with a floaty 70s feel, this floral print tea dress features a V neck with a self tie detail and ditzy short sleeves. The fabric is sheer in style, and comes with a self-tie belt to define the waist and skim your curves. Continuing the 70s trend are these awesome High Waist Jeans (£27.99) featuring a quadruple button and fly fasten in front, and a flattering bootcut fit on the leg. Totally far out!

The New Look Inspire Spotty Jersey Dress (£25.99) has a real retro feel to it. Super-cute in polka dot, the jersey features a wrap over front with a flared skirt and cute short flutter sleeves. And working the block colour trend, we have these Coloured Skinny Jeans (£19.99) which come in both red and brown, and perfect to tuck into your kneee high boots.

At the beginning of July Plus Size and Tall took a look at where to buy plus size school uniform for girls ‘Plus size school uniforms for girls UK: Where to buy online’ so today we are going to look at where to buy school uniforms for sturdy kids.

It is not easy to find many retailers offering a good selection of school uniform for sturdy kids. With 1 in 5 school children being labeled obese, this is very disappointing. Whilst we want our children to be healthy, not meeting the demand for sturdy kids is disappointing. Every child has the right to clothes that fit and this is especially true for children who may feel self conscious about the way they look. Retailers tend to sell school uniform by size and whilst the sizing used by manufacturers uses statistics gathered from children, this does not reflect the true size of many children, bigger or smaller than the national average. Luckily Marks and Spencer [site: www.marksandspencer.com] offer a limited selection of plus size school uniforms. But is this enough? Do you know of any other retailers?

Where to buy school uniform

As school uniform, as well as the majority of kids’ fashion, is sold by age, it is easy to buy up or down ages depending on the best fit. Retailers offering school uniform include:

• Debenhams [site: www.debenhams.com] who offer for boys and girls aged 3 to 16.
• New Look [site: www.newlook.com] who offer teen school uniform for girls aged 8 to 15.
• ISME [site: www.isme.com] who offer school uniform for boys and girls aged 7 to 16.
• Tesco [site: www.clothingattesco.com] who offer school uniform for boys and girls aged 6 to 16.
• Asda [site: http://direct.asda.com] who offer school uniform for boys and girls aged 3 to 15. Although, I did get excited when I saw in their school uniform filter ‘larger sizes’… However, the larger clothes they are offering are in fact men’s clothes!
• John Lewis [site: www.johnlewis.com] offer school uniform for children aged 3 to 16 however they have the added bonus of also stocking school specific uniform for schools in the UK.

School uniforms for sturdy kids

Marks and Spencer [site: www.marksandspencer.com] offer their Plus Fit collection for sturdy kids. This collection comprises of a pack of 3 shirts, a pair of trousers, and a blazer for boys. Girls have a little more choice with a pack of 3 shirts, a skirt, a blazer, and a pair of trousers to choose from. The collection also includes a summer dress for younger girls. The Plus Fit collection is offered to children from 3 to 16 yeas of age and is reasonable priced.

Ahh, the dreaded chub rub. Once the initial woohooo! of the sunshine is over and the sweltering heat kicks in, we all know that horrible feeling of having to walk with that sore, burning feeling between our thighs. But fear not ladies, there is no need for the evil chub rub to ruin your Summer, or indeed, restrict your wardrobe choices! We have found a list of solutions to ensure that you enjoy yourself in the heat, and help get you through the higher temperatures pain free.

What is Chub Rub?

Quite simply, chub rub is an affectionate term for chafing. It’s a skin irritation caused by repeated rubbing, where either skin against skin or tight clothes against skin cause friction and burning, leaving you in a lot of pain. If you don’t stop whatever is rubbing you the wrong way, the inflamed skin can literally get rubbed away leading to an even more painful, oozing mess. Moisture caused by sweat can also worsen the infection, and people with dehydrated skin will often fall to chub run quicker than those who are well hydrated.

That sounds awful. What Can I do to prevent Chub Rub?

Luckily, there are ways to prepare and avoid getting a case of chub rub, and also items of clothing which can be brought specifically to tackle the matter at hand.

Nude Comfort Shorts from Evans (£6)

Plus Size retailer Evans (www.plus-size-tall.com/evansuk) have their own range of “comfort shorts” which are designed to be worn under dresses and skirts to avoid the tops of your thighs rubbing together. Available in both nude and black, they are as lightweight as tights, and create that perfect protecting barrier for your skin.

If you are caught out and can feel the burn starting to rub, remember that you can always buy a cheap pair of tights and cut the bulk of the leg off to make a temporary pair of shorts to wear under your skirt or dress.

Rose Denim Shorts from Inspire at New Look (£22.99)

Another alternative is to opt for pretty shorts or cotton / linen trousers when you know that you’re going to be walking a lot on a particularly hot day. There’s no need to hold back on the style stakes though – we are so in love with these beautiful Rose Denim Shorts from Inspire at New Look (www.plus-size-tall.com/inspire-new-look) , and their length is perfect for avoiding any irritating chub rub situations!

Too late. I already have it. What can I do?

For those of you out there who have found this article after searching for solutions to chub rub, don’t worry – there are things you can do to ease the pain.

There are a whole load of different gels and creams out there specifically designed to help with chafing but Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel is a particular gem. This cream provides a protective barrier with anti-friction, and also helps to aid the healing of the inflamed skin. It’s easy to get from most larger chemists and supermarkets too, so worth grabbing to throw in your suitcase before you jet off on holiday.

If possible, try to take a little time out to give your skin a chance to heal. To cut down on friction, you can dust on some powder such as baby or talcum powder, or even roll on some deodorant to help absorb excess sweat (note that the powder option will sting a lot less if you’re already suffering from chub rub!).

Loose fitting clothes, especially those made from natural fibres like cotton will be your best friend as they absorb swear and carry it away from the skin.

If you are still experiencing problems after two days, go and see your GP as you might find that the chub rub has developed into a fungal infection. This is nothing to worry about and can be treated quickly with an anti-fungal cream.

Sweating less is also key – the perfect excuse to lay down on the beach, or get in that pool!