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

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.

Well, the weather certainly doesn’t look like it’s going to cheer up any time soon. So it makes the next big fashion trend for spring a particularly appealing one just now - Brights! The brighter and bolder the better. From fiery red, to sunshine yellow and rich magenta these Marisota plus size clothes are sure to lift any mood - whatever the weather.

It’s impossible to feel neutral over this fashion trend - I love it! Usually I go for big and bold colours but there is something so pretty and feminine about these muted colours, and just perfect for warmer spring days. Don’t forget nude coloured underwear to wear underneath -it’s a much better bet than white lingerie which can show through pale colours.

If you fancy putting a little sparkle in your style then this is the spring fashion trend for you! Metallic and glitter-knit fashion used to be the realm of eveningwear, but this season it’s all about the day-time dazzle, from tops and accessories to wide fitting shoes. You can get lots of gorgeous metallic looks in a plus size fashion range from Marisota - check these out:

The next top trend for spring is GEOMETRIC.

Think bold graphic prints in vivid colours or a classic monochrome colour palette.

It’s hip to be square!

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!

Marisota’s having a fabulous sale at the moment - you can pick up some real plus size fashion bargains!

How about this little outfit - you can buy the whole lot from as little as £37.50 + P&P.

This pretty plus size black beaded top would be so useful as you can dress it up or down and it’s from only £10.

These wide leg plus size jeans have a glitter finish making them gorgeous for going out in. They are from £17.50.

Finish your outfit with some fashionable wide fitting shoes like these black patent court shoes from only £10. Again these are great all-round shoes, perfect for day or night.

So there you have it - a complete plus size outfit including shoes for less than £40!

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 got a stressed out phone call from my sister last week. She works for a big bank in the city and they have made hundreds of people redundant, including her. I wanted to do something to cheer her up and it had to be shoes. She loves shoes! I got straight online and looked at the range of Marisota wide fitting shoes. She won’t mind me telling you that she has really wide feet, if her shoes don’t fit just right they really hurt her. I found just the pair of fashionable shoe boots and took them round to hers with a box of cookies for good measure. She loved them and it really cheered her up. She even registered for a Marisota catalogue herself, now she can buy her own shoes and wide fitting boots in the future.

This credit crunch, it’s affecting all of us. Thank goodness for good value and Marisota!