I'm boring but overcompensate with headlines and flash, flash, flash photography

Apart from a car ride home from my sister's on Tuesday morning, this past week has been spent hibernating in bed.

At first I was advised to rest to allow my toe to recover, but thankfully that's eased considerably over the last few days- although it still hurts to move it, or if anything so much as grazes against it, but it's not a bother. As per usual, my back has been the hand manipulating the strings. It didn't cope well with a two hour hospital appointment, and has been searing hot agony ever since. The worst it's been in a while. I've struggled to move, and even sit up in bed, so have spent most of the week fan-girling over Fall Out Boy horizontally in bed. I'm so excited that one of my all time favourite bands has reunited with new material! And yes, I know I'm twenty-seven!

Yesterday was much of the same, but I had to leave my bed on a quest to find Easter eggs for my sisters; which means I threw an outfit together, and stood up long enough to snap a few photos to bring you this outfit post today!

I bought this lovely red shirt dress from ASOS Curve last Summer, but until yesterday had only worn it once.  I've been itching to wear it this week, so I popped it over black leggings, and wore it with a black cardigan to pop to the shops.

 The dress has buttons from collar to hem, which are hidden by a panel down the centre for a neater look, which is a little different to other shirt dresses I've seen and owned. I like that. I personally love the shape of the dress, and how the skirt flares out from the waist to give a great A-line shape. The fabric isn't quite opaque, so it does show a little of my shape through the fabric, but not enough to cause offence... I hope! My favourite feature is the sweet Peter Pan collar, buy more on that below.

I accessorised with ribbon, a green brooch, lip earrings, and a pair of pink Havaianas. I would have preferred to wear this dress with tights, and a pretty pair of shoes, but I can't wear anything which touches my toe right now... which, with this Arctic weather we've been having lately, has been absolute torture. Having bare feet in freezing temperatures is painful, and not advised!

When I posed for these photos, it was trying to snow, and it was bitterly cold. So cold I managed no more than two minutes of shivering before I dashed back inside with my camera. Winter seems to have gone on unusually long this season. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever have warmth and sunshine ever again...

And just to mix things up a bit, here's a rare shot of me wearing glasses! This may actually be a Polka Spots and Freckle Dots first! I hate people seeing me wearing glasses, even though I've been wearing them since I was a year old. I prefer to wear contact lenses but Specsavers won't give me any more until I've had a check up, which just isn't possible right now. So, glasses it is!

I tied a piece of burgundy ribbon in to a bow in the centre of the collar, which I was inspired to do after seeing somebody in a street style section of a magazine do so with a thin piece of black ribbon. I really love the way the ribbon instantly changed the look of the dress, and how pretty this little touch is. I know I will be trying this idea again under other collars with different coloured ribbons!

 I guess if I was really trying to impress you, I would have ironed the collar first, but hey, that's not me.

Outfit Details

Dress-ASOS Curve // Leggings-New Look Inspire // Cardigan-Matalan // Flip Flops-Havaianas (Fuchsia) // 

Brooch-Camden Lock Market // Ribbon-local haberdashers // Glasses-Roxy

Polka Spotted, Freckle Dotted Friday #3

Good morning guys and a Happy Good Friday to you all, as well.

For today's Polka Spotted, Freckle Dotted Friday, I have a little bit of inspiration for you. I've compiled ten images I've collected on Pinterest which give you a little peek at ten polka dot outfits. Enjoy!

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Navy polka dots are my favourite, and this a-line skirt is so beautiful. It looks perfect with that lovely lacy blouse and bow waist belt.

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Spots or stripes? Who cares, wear both! Polka dots look fantastic with stripes!

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Another great example of how well stripes and spots work together.

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Such a cute collar.

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A pair of Converse add a quirky, laid back edge to a pretty dress.

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This lovely yellow skirt looks so cute with a white and navy striped motif tee. I'll be remembering this one for future reference.

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This green polka dot skirt is gorgeous. 

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And this pink polka dot skirt is quite sweet, as well.

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I love the delicate polka dots on this pale salmon Peter Pan collared dress.

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And this one proves polka dots don't have to be just navy or red. I really like the warm Autumn shades to this outfit.

Which photo is your favourite?

How to Wear Colour Post Three

The selection of colours available to us in the fashion world these days is incredible, but it can be overwhelming if you're not sure where to start.

My best piece of advice would be to ignore those colour rules that tell you which colours you should wear and which ones you should avoid, and wear the colours which feel right to you.

The best thing to do is experiment with colour. Try as many different colours and shades on and against your skin as possible. I'd recommend doing this in natural daylight where possible. By doing this you should notice what looks good and what doesn't, and what you like and what you don't. Certain colours will look better on you than others, as different skin tones and complexions are flattered by different colours, but it's up to you to decide if you care about "flattering", or if you just want to wear what you like!

My advice? Just experiment with colour. Try on every colour you find, and have fun learning what colours are right for you!

However, if you want to know which colours are said to be the most flattering for your skin tone, read on...

The best colours for your complexion are not only dictated by your skin colour, but more importantly by the under tone of your skin- whether you have a warm or cool complexion.

An easy way to find out if you're warm or cool coloured, is this:

Stand in front of a mirror in a room well lit with natural day light. Hold some white fabric, and then some cream fabric against your face while you look in to the mirror.

If you're warm toned, the cream fabric will give you a warm glow, but the white fabric will make you look drawn.

If you're cool toned, then the white fabric will give you the glow, and the cream fabric is likely to make you look drawn.

A warm complexion means that you have a yellow undertone to your skin. Your complexion may be yellow-beige, golden-brown, peach, or ivory, for instance. Warm complexions suit greens, teals, golds, oranges, reds, browns, and tans.

A cool complexion is a colouring with a blue under tone. Your complexion may be pale, fair, rosy, olive, or black. Cool complexions suit pinks, purples, lilacs, grey, burgundy, blacks, and blues. 

I found a great image which shows the best colours for your skin tone.

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I'm cool toned, and through years of trial and error, I've discovered that I look best in peacock colours, and brighter shades like cobalt blue, apple green, and turquoise, so in my opinion, the above images are spot on! Although, I don't ever restrict myself to cool colours, as I like wearing warm colours like red and yellow, too.

These are some of the shades and hues you're likely to come across in the fashion world.

Pastel colours are soft, pale shades such as lemon, mint, and lilac, which are typically best worn in Spring time. Pastels are the most subtle way to wear colour, but they can be tricky to pull off if you're very pale like me. I usually find pastel colours wash my very fair skin out. However, pastels are a great way to begin wearing colour and they look fantastic on so many people!

These are the typical colours you would find in Autumn foliage. Think rich shades of gold, orange-brown, khaki, burnt red, camel, and beige- colours with a yellow undertone. These colours suit people with warm complexions best, but I know very fair red heads with cool complexions who look amazing in these colours, too.

Cool colours are those with a blue undertone. For example, burgundy, purple, fuchsia, pink, blue, ice grey, to black and white. The darker shades like burgundy, forest green, and teal are most commonly worn in the Winter months, and the bolder colours such as cobalt blue, fuchsia, and turquoise in the summer. Cool colours are my favourite to wear, but I regularly hear how afraid other people are of wearing the bolder shades as they do take a lot of confidence when you're not used to them.

Neon colours are well... neon. The fluorescent hues most commonly seen are orange, pink, yellow, green, and blue; the colours seen on nineties ravers, and highlighter pens. As neon colours are so bright they aren't to every one's taste- and they're definitely not for the colour shy- but they are such a fun way of adding colour to an outfit! If you're new to wearing neon, I'd recommend beginning with accessories before dressing in it from head to toe. Perhaps start with a bag, belt, or bracelet, and go from there.

And on that note, I'm going to stop here for today. I hope this post has been helpful and perhaps given you some ideas about which colours to add to your wardrobes this season.

I'm planning to post some outfit ideas for a variety of colours, shades, and hues in upcoming posts, to show you how you could wear colour, and how I would personally wear them.

If you like to read my previous two posts about How to Wear Colour, you can see Where to Start here, and How to Build Up Your Colour Confidence here.

If there's anything you like me to focus on in regards to wearing colour, please feel free to leave me a message below, or get in touch with me via email at polkaspotsandfreckledots@gmail.com.

Wednesday Wish List

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another Wednesday Wish List...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 

This week I've been lusting after...

1. A cute denim ASOS bomber jacket that is making me feel nostalgic each time I look at it.

2. and 3. A couple of pretty chiffon dresses from Matalan in sweet sugary shades.

4. A floaty red angel sleeved gypsy top from Dorothy Perkins that would look great with jeans and printed trousers, or tucked in to a skirt.

5. A lovely floral print a-line skirt from New Look I'd wear with all kinds of fitted tops, a denim jacket, and sandals for Summer.

6. and 7. Studded Evans wide fit sandals that would finish my Summer outfits perfectly.

8. The Models Own Fruit Pastel Box Set which consists of five fruity scented pastel nail polishes. These remind me a set of ice cream coloured, scented nail polishes I had from New Look when I was about twelve or thirteen. I can't wait to try them!

9. A pair of beautiful floral printed peg leg trousers by ASOS. I'm loving the printed trouser trend at the moment.

10. A navy New Look Inspire maxi skirt... I'm dying to add some maxi skirts in to my wardrobe to wear throughout the year.

11. A pair of ASOS Curve leggings with Aztec panels to the front... I think they'd be an easy way to brighten up a plain black outfit.

12. A swan print vanity case from Fossil which I found in an outlet village and fell in love with it. I hope it's still available when I can afford it!

13. An amazing flamingo print Zatchels satchel my lovely friend Carol alerted me to! Flamingo prints and motifs are a weakness of mine!

14. A gorgeous red polka dot Zatchels satchel... It's a satchel, and it's covered in polka dots! In case you haven't noticed, those are two of my favourite things... This bag would never go out of style.

15. And finally, a great Aztec belt by ASOS Curve, which would look great with a few of my dresses!

Which one is your favourite?

What's on your wish list right now?

Pretty Green Eyes So Full of Wonder

I love colourful eye make up. I always have done and I probably always will. I love experimenting with different colours, shades, and hues, and different colour combinations, but you're most likely to find me wearing green eyeshadow in some shape or form.

I'm not sure why green is my favourite, or exactly when it became my signature look, but I enjoy wearing it, and think it's a colour palette which works best with my brown eyes.

I used to wear make up almost every day, but since injuring my back and spending most of my time at home in bed, I've got a bit lazy and not worn make up so often. I genuinely miss wearing make up, so I'm trying to make a habit of putting my face on on the 'good' days. Last week, I created a simple green eye look, and finished with a coat of black mascara.

In these photos, the only make up I'm wearing is on my eyes and eyelashes. I just couldn't be bothered to apply a base for lounging around the house. I apologize for the appearance of my face!

 I used three shades of apple green eye shadow. I applied a medium shade over each lid, and then blended a lighter shade to the inner sockets, and a darker shade to the last third of the lids, and blended it all together. I then applied a coat of black mascara to both sets of lashes. Simple as that. 

This look is very simple, and not at all perfect, but I wanted to share it as it's been a while since I last posted a make up look here on my blog.

For this look, I used my Inglot Freedom palette, and used the three green shadows in the centre of the green row. (Light, Med, Dark). I don't want to damage the eyeshadows by lifting them out of the palette to check their shades, but if any of you want to know the number of a particular shade leave me a comment and I'll happily look for you.

I ADORE my Inglot eye make up. They're some of the best make up I have ever owned. The colours are highly pigmented and long lasting, and work well wet or dry. Inglot have an extensive selection of colours, and they look so striking. The thing I love most about Inglot is that each palette and eyeshadow is sold separately, so you can customise a palette to suit your budget and taste. You don't have to fill every square straight away; so you're able to add new colours as and when you have the money to treat yourself, or when a new colour catches your eye. I think they're reasonably priced, too. I highly recommend their eyeshadows (I currently own 3 palettes/22 shadows and love them!),  and I'm confident they won't disappoint you, so why not check Inglot out here? I've not been asked or paid to promote Inglot, I'm just genuinely passionate about their make up!

Have you tried Inglot make up yet?

Do you enjoy wearing colourful eye make up?

Polka Spots and Freckle Dots is One Today!

A year ago today, I created my little blog Polka Spots and Freckle Dots, and published my first post with a thundering heart. I had no idea where this blog was going to take me when I sent that first post out in to the void, but one year later I'm still going strong and am thrilled to be celebrating my blog's first birthday!

I just can't believe it's been an entire year already; where has the time gone?

My first post was a quick introductory post, which included a grainy, headless mirror shot of me in my favourite polka dot dress, and a few words about how fatshion and body positivity blogs had helped me during the first six months of my injuries. Of course, I didn't get a single comment, and the quality of the photos was much worse than they are today, but that was how my blog began.

 You can read my first blog post in full here, if you'd like to see it.

I cannot express just how much joy my little blog has given me this past year; nor can I describe how much of a life line it has been for me during one of the hardest years I've ever had to face. My blog has provided me with an outlet, a place to express myself, a distraction, and a purpose during a year of physical pain, limited mobility, and far too many hours confined to bed. I genuinely love and look forward to blogging every day, and I'm beginning to regard it as a life style and not just a hobby; it's never far from my thoughts.

I've poured all my energy, heart, and soul in to this blog, and I've loved every minute of it! I may not have achieved as much as many bloggers; I've not gained a huge following, become 'famous' in the blogging world, attended numerous events, or been approached for a never ending stream of collaborations, but I'm proud of what I've created. I'm proud that I've been able to add my story to the fatshion community for plus size girls everywhere, for those self-conscious, body-conscious ladies who've been shamed in to hating their bodies, and told they can't be fashionable or look pretty because they're not skinny. If I can help or inspire one person the way other fatshion bloggers have inspired me to accept myself for who I am, then every second I've put in to my blog has been worth it!

I'd also like to say a big thank you to each and every one of you for reading, commenting, and supporting me this year! I'm still surprised that anybody would ever want to read my blog, so every reader and every comment means the world to me. I've been lucky to have made some lovely blogger friends, whom I never would have 'met' had I not began this blog, and it's been a pleasure conversing with like-minded ladies. So, thanks, guys!

So, looking back... in twelve months I have written over three hundred and twenty posts, blogging daily as often as possible. That's an awful lot of dresses, colour, cardigans, prints, wish lists, inspiration posts, and musings!

How about a little summary of my favourites?

Some of my favourite posts of the year include...

// How to Wear Colour: Where to Start
// How to Wear Colour: How to Build Up Your Confidence
 // My Tips For Living with Disc Injuries
// How to Create Beauty Boxes 
// My Dressing Table
// My Make Up Collection
 // My Christmas Shopping Tips

Some of my favourite outfits of the year are...

Hmm, anybody would think I favour a certain style...

Dress? Check!
Cardigan? Check!
Skinny belt? Check!
Leggings or tights? Check!

And some of my favourite nail looks of the past twelve months are...

I think it's obvious that I like a bit of colour, and change my nail polish almost as often as my underwear.

I don't know what the future holds for Polka Spots and Freckle Dots; who knows where the next twelve months might take me, but I'm looking forward to finding out! I certainly haven't finished this journey yet! I have many ideas for future posts up my sleeves!

So, again, I just wanted to say a very big thank you for all your support over the last twelve months. Thanks for reading, following, commenting, and supporting me! It means the world to me, and I hope you'll all stop by from time to time over the next twelve months!

Have a great day, guys.

Polka Dots and Flamingos

I go through phases of wearing a particular piece of clothing on a regular basis, and at the moment that's my blue AX Paris polka dot dress. I love everything about it; the shape, the fit, the colour, the length, and the design. It has everything I love in a dress, and I feel great when I'm wearing it- so it's pretty much perfect.

On Tuesday, the sun was shining for the first time in what felt like a fortnight, and it was reasonably mild outside. I managed a short intermission from confinement which resulted in a purchase of some banana scented Body Shop conditioner that smells amazing! I wore the dress with black leggings and a cardigan, but when I returned home (to my Sister's), the house was so warm I spent the rest of the day with my legs out.

I wore the dress with my cream flamingo print cardigan which I bought from George at Asda last Summer, but hadn't worn. I think I purchased it when the weather was much too hot for long sleeved knitwear, and late in the season when the design had started to look out of place. It still had the tags on and everything when I packed it to take to my sister's. It cost me just £15, and for the price it's a pretty decent cardigan. It's quite thick and warm, and the coral flamingo print is lovely.

I accessorised with my Abilu Creations charm necklace which I bought in Camden several years ago, and clipped my new Fossil View Master charm on to it, which I think goes so well with the other charms. The Abilu charms are red, pink, and silver and include flowers, strawberries, leaves, a guitar, shoes, a key, a poodle... and lots of other quirky little things. Their jewellery is all handmade, and many contain vintage charms, and I love 'em. They used to only be accessible for me on trips in to London, but they now have a website, so you can find them online here.

And I finished with a couple of faux pearl Matalan bracelets, and my rose Cath Kidston bracelet which I'm kinda obsessed with.

Outfit Details

Dress-AX Paris // Cardigan-George at Asda // Necklace-Abilu Creations // View Master Charm-Fossil // Pearl bracelets (part of a set)-Matalan // Rose bracelet-Cath Kidston //

I was hoping to be able to bring you more outfit posts whilst I've been staying with my sister, but unfortunately, I had surgery on one of my big toes on Wednesday, and the recovery is going to be a little tougher than I was anticipating. The hospital appointment was tough on my back, and I'm advised to keep off my feet with my foot elevated as much as possible over the next week, which means bed rest for me. The pain is pretty much making me immobile, anyway, but I've got a big stack of magazines to read, and lots of ideas planned for the blog to keep me occupied!

I'm not allowed to get my foot wet, but if I manage to wash my hair (somehow), I'll at least attempt to dress and shoot a few photos, but we'll see.

I hope you all have a great weekend. What have you all got planned?