Now…..the final installment on our top party pieces for the season. Marisota have come up with some fantastic partywear collections to suit you. The Marisota cocktail partywear range is perfect for evening wear somewhere in between glamour partywear and our value range. Cocktail partywear is perfect for office Christmas parties, nights out with your friends and (especially) anywhere cocktails are involved.

To me, cocktail party clothing is all about selection. Choosing one key piece and accessorising accordingly, for example a signature dress teamed with subtle but coordinating shoes, bag and underwear is far better than lots of key pieces that clash. For example, this stunning lace dress with wrap front detail.

This dress would look fabulous with these platform heels

they’re discreet enough, and well coordinated enough to add to the look without overpowering the stunning dress. Plus they’re great if you need wide fitting shoes as they’re available in E fit and EEE fit. Perfect for women who find that “standard” fit shoes pinch.

Many women forget that the secret to perfect partywear is supportive and comfortable underwear. A good bodyshaper is the perfect base on which to build your party wear look.

It will give you great support whilst smoothing your curves and defining your waist. Plus, it even has handy suspenders for keeping those stockings in place!

Now you’ve only to add the finishing touches, like this Crystal pendant necklace and Crystal elasticated cuff, perfect for adding a little sparkle!

So…. those are my top tips for the party season, and enjoying the festivities in style!

Sophie

I don’t know about you, but with Christmas coming I can already feel my purse getting lighter, with food and drink to buy, as well as presents it’s not the most budget friendly time of year.

Fashion can be a snagging point, how do you save money but still look goodduring the parties and general festivities to come?

Marisota has come up with a fantastic partywear collection, with a great price tag. Every item in their value party range is £60.00 or less, and it includes everything from dresses to shoes, skirt and trousers (in a range of lengths) as well as party underwear and more.

This dress is one of my favourites!

It comes in black and peacock (blue) and with it’s sweetheart neckline, waterfall cut and draping fabric it looks fantastic with curves and sparkly shoes. Plus prices start at just £40, a total bargain for an evening wear maxi dress!

To create a smooth line under such a stunning dress, shapewear is fantastic, it smooths you out and slims your shape. For example, this bodyshaper:

A bodyshaper like this one would look fabulous under a party dress. It’s not too high cut so shouldn’t be a problem when it comes to lower cut styles, smooths out your bum and tum and gives you great lift! Plus it’s fabulous value at just £30 – £34.

But no party outfit would be complete without stunning heels! These strappy evening sandals would go perfectly with the waterfall dress, they’re available in E and EEE fit , a choice of black, silver or gold and in a great range of sizes.

Plus they’re an absolute bargain at just £20.  As you can see the Marisota value partywear range is perfect for looking fabulous this festive season without breaking the bank!

Bye for now,

Jane x

If you want to make a style statement this spring then the colour blocking trend is for you. Go for the most vivid shades you can find – and don’t be afraid to clash contrasting colours together. Marisota‘s got an amazing collection of bright and beautiful pieces for spring.

A bit of festive fun for you now… what kind of shoes are you?

I came out as wedge shoes (‘cool and casual attitude’)

And Soph came out as ‘classic pumps’, though I would describe them more as court shoes:

Jane hasn’t done the test yet, but I’d bet my bottom dollar she comes out as the funky ‘architectural heels’ – the more outrageous the better for her, she loves her shoes!

And the best news is that at Marisota, whatever style of shoes you love they are all available in a wide fitting. Thank goodness for wide fitting shoes!

I stumbled across this article today on the history of high-heeled shoes. It seems Christian Laboutin’s next creation is going to be a pair of 8-inch high heels (that’s over 20 centimetres to the metric minded – about two thirds of one of those long rulers you had in school that didn’t fit in your pencil case).

Good grief. Now while I admit I’ve got a bit of an addiction when it comes to high-heeled shoes I think 8 inches is just a tad too far. I mean, how are you supposed to walk in those things? Although it could be worse, apparently the first high-heeled shoes ever invented were anything up to 20 inches high!

There’s some pretty interesting info in that article (not sure I agree with all of it mind) including the effect that high-heeled shoes have the wearer – and the watcher. That bit is definitely true. I always feel so much more confident (and more sexy) in a nice pair of high heels. You can’t just slouch along in high-heeled shoes. They make you walk tall – literally!

I know a lot of people find high heels painful to walk in but I’ve always found them quite comfy – especially after discovering Marisota’s wide fitting shoes. I’m convinced that once you find shoes in your correct width fitting you’ll find them so much comfier.

I think I’ll be giving those 8 inch heeled shoes a miss – Laboutin’s a little out of my league anyway! And who needs designer shoes when you’ve got Marisota’s fab footwear range? I’ve got my eyes on these wide fitting peep-toe shoes for the office Christmas party. They’re such a snip at £25 I might just get them in both colours!

I adore shopping for holiday clothes. However, one of my pet hates has got to be deciding what to wear for the airport. Some women over dress for the occasion, remember what Victoria Beckham wore on her flight to Los Angeles? She couldn’t even walk in that black dress, let alone sit down! Not that you shouldn’t make some effort. You wouldn’t catch me in one of those tracksuits Madonna has taken to wearing whenever she travels. I know she’s fabulous, but she has a team of stylists and make up artists at her beck and call. Surely they could have come up with something better? But for us mere civilians finding the perfect mix of casual, comfortable and stylish plus size clothes for a flight is quite a tall order.

For our ‘girls’ break to Barcelona I wanted an outfit to travel in that looked fresh when I arrived, ready to hit the shops. I decided to go for white linen trousers with a little added stretch and elasticated waistband (in anticipation of tapas and cava later!)  and a cool cotton gypsy top with pretty embroidery in my favourite colour – attention seeking red! It can get pretty chilly in the cabin so we all made sure we wore our dressy cardigans. Perfect for popping into my handbag when we stepped out into the Spanish sunshine. I’m convinced I’ve hit on the perfect look for the plane – but email me if you have any better suggestions!

Going strapless

Friday nights are made for dancing as far as I’m concerned, but in this heat I don’t want to be wearing anything with sleeves. I’ve recently bought a new strappy top that looks fabulous with my pencil skirt; problem is wearing it with a plus size bra. I don’t want bulky straps spoiling the line, and as a curvy lady to go without just isn’t an option! But this plus size strapless bra from Marisota is an absolute godsend. Their plus size lingerie is structured enough to give you support but pretty enough to feel special. And after an entire evening of strutting my stuff, my bra didn’t budge an inch!

The sights

Can there be anything worse than a days’ sightseeing in shoes that pinch? Well luckily for me that will never happen again thanks to these little beauties! They really are the perfect holiday pump, comfortable, pretty and they come in lots of different colours. But the best thing? They are part of Marisota’s wide fitting shoes collection. They start at a D and go right up to EEE, so even after climbing all the way up La Sagrada Familia there wasn’t a blister in sight. My friend Anne wasn’t quite so lucky though. I get the feeling she will be shopping at www.marisota.co.uk soon too!

Our last night

I used to think glamorous clothes for large ladies just didn’t exist. I’d had years of trying to squeeze into tiny frocks in snooty dress shops and I’ve had enough. That was before I started homeshopping with Marisota. Curvy girls love women’s fashion too, and finally I found a plus size catalogue that lets me indulge my passion for fashion!

On Saturday night we put on our best eveningwear and headed down to Las Ramblas for dinner. I wore my black beaded dress with beautiful detailing, it’s one outfit guaranteed to make me feel a million dollars. And what can I say? When you feel confident on the inside, other people notice it too, and a romantic dance was the perfect way to end a wonderful holiday (just don’t tell Ian!) Plus in my wide fitting high heels I didn’t even need to wear gel pads to tackle the cobbles!