how important are the right shapewear garments.....

To create smooth body lines it's important to have the right foundation garments.

Whether it’s a formal gown or your favorite pair of trousers find shapers that make the most of all your gorgeous curves

Finding the right full figure shapewear garment will provide the “foundation” for every item in your wardrobe and give you the opportunity to improve the way your clothes fit and feel!

Shapewear gives you the option to wear your garments in the most flattering way possible! After all, it’s not about what size you wear it’s how you wear your size!

Full figure shapewear can complete your look from that special party dress to your favorite pencil skirt to your jeans. Today’s technological advances make for a perfect compliment for plus size women when it comes to choosing and wearing their shapewear.

Gone are those bulging seams and heavy boning with yesterday’s shape wear garments that can produce unnatural contours as well as thick nylon and power mesh layers that move unflattering inches to other parts of the body. Seamless, heat sealed technologies along with fabrics that feature feather light, breathable control panels that move with your body and feels like a second skin, is a welcome addition to any outfit.

It is possible to find full figure plus size Shapewear garments to flatter and show off your curves. After all, it is no one’s business but your own what parts of your body you don’t want to advertise! There are a variety of plus size Shapewear garments that look and feel wonderful and go with your curves providing a flattering silhouette underneath dresses, skirts and jeans!

Pictures from Simply yours

screen siren platforms, flat summer sandals, super-sexy heels and wow wedges...

It’s used to say that “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, but I don’t think so.

I think shoes, yes SHOES are a girl’s best friend. And if you want to step into the new season’s most wanted shoes you must start spring in your shoes.

Eye-popping colour, cool flats, glamorous platforms, burnished metals, global touches, new nudes and wow wedges are the coolest new styles in this spring.

You want all this but it’s hard to find, because you’ve wide feet? Don’t skimp on style just because they’re wide fitting.

Viva La Diva wide fitting shoes come in comfortable, fashionable styles. From ballerina pumps to T-bar shoes, casual shoes, sandals, wedges and boots the Viva La Diva collection has a fantastic variety of shoe styles covered with over 180 brands. Plus their fashionable wide fitting footwear comes in a great choice of colours including fiery red and smart black shades for work wear.

Viva La Diva footwear has fantastic attention to detail from fashionable contrast stitching to cute button detail, plaiting, layering and leather embellishments. But the detail doesn’t end there. Viva La Diva shoes and boots are made to be comfortable enough to wear regularly.

They have fabulous extra features including padded heels, comfortable insoles and ensuring your feet can breathe, perfect for keeping your feet healthy, happy and stylish.

If that wasn’t enough the gorgeous shoes, boots and sandals from Viva La Diva come in a fabulous range of wide fittings, from E fit to EE fit and EEE width shoes you’re sure to find your perfect size in their comfortable, fashionable shoes range.

So, don’t worry wide fitting footwear from viva la diva has you covered.

Pictures from Viva La Diva

guest post - The Bia: Every Woman’s Must-Have Swimsuit

I’m so pleased to have Susan Bodack, an expert on all things swimwear as a guest blogger here at Searching the Inner Me…. Read below as she demystifies about selecting a swimsuit like The Bia.

The Seeker

Without a doubt, there’s one swimsuit that has become a real favorite among celebrities, industry insiders and women all around the world.  From the very beginning, the Bia Tube bikini (also known as “The Bia”) by ViX Swimwear was an instant classic and it continues to be one of the most coveted bikini styles around.  Regardless of your size, body shape or skin tone, the Bia bikini from ViX Swimwear is every woman’s must-have swimsuit.

When it first made its debut into the swimwear scene, the Bia bikini was simple, sleek and sexy, always featuring rich solid hues with stylish gold hardware details.  But every year since, designer Paula Hermanny of ViX Swimwear has been reinventing the classic bikini style in new and improved ways.  Today, the Bia bikini has been done in seemingly every color under the sun, as well as a variety of chic prints and patterns.  Furthermore, the gold hardware is constantly being updated in subtle yet unique ways.  Whether you prefer classic gold square details or chic tortoiseshell embellishments, ViX Swimwear has thought of it all.

But it’s the design that really makes the Bia bikini from ViX Swimwear so versatile for women of all different shapes.  The halter top has adjustable hardware on the straps that slide up and down to create custom-fit coverage for the wearer.  Slide the details down to create smaller triangle-shaped cups (perfect for women with smaller busts) or slide the details up to create a classic halter top look with fuller bust coverage (perfect for larger busts).  Furthermore, all D cup Bia bikini tops now feature a double-string underband for added support.  For 2012, ViX Swimwear has even included removable padding into all of the tops!  Like the tops, the Bia bikini bottoms also feature matching adjustable details that slide outward and inward to create more or less front coverage.  The low-rise scoop bottom is low, but not too low, and features fixed foldover detail that is so flattering against the hips.  Furthermore, the bottom comes in the classic full back coverage style or a skimpier Brazilian-cut style.  ViX Swimwear has even converted the classic Bia bikini style into a one-piece for those who shy away from two-piece bikinis.

Over the years, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Tyra Banks, Halle Berry, Brooklyn Decker, Alicia Keys, Kelly Brook, Ashley Tisdale, Kristin Cavallari and more have all been spotted in the coveted Bia bikini from ViX Swimwear.  Will you be next?

Bio: Susan Bodack is an expert on all things swimwear.  She is a blogger at Beauty and the Beach, a swimwear and fashion blog by InStyleSwimwear.com.  For more information on the Bia bikini, ViX Swimwear or other swimwear-related news, check them out!

take a bite of the Big Apple with a holiday to New York with Bank.....

Summer is fast approaching, and what better way to kick-start the season with an escape to even sunnier climes than you'll get in the UK? At Bank Fashion, they're excited to announce that they will be taking two people to New York City for three nights of stunning skyscrapers, brilliant bars, relaxing restaurants and amazing activities. All you need to do is add your name to their very special new list! They want to provide you with a great opportunity to hit the streets at your own leisure and experience American fashion at its finest, first-hand. As an organisation constantly looking for the best street styles, Bank have always admired the Big Apple for leading the way with global fashion trends, and they're always looking across the Atlantic to the city-going American neighbours for great inspiration to deliver effortlessly cool and stylish looks, whatever the season is.

What better chance to experience this than with a three-night stay in the heart of this cosmopolitan hotspot?

You could just stick to world-famous department stores like Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue or FAO Schwarz and you'd be sure to fly through your 72-hour stay in shops alone - there's just so much to do! Of course, it's not just about the shopping - there's no shortage of things to do in New York City. You could hit the usual sights such as the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building or Times Square, though they're just the tip of the iceberg. Why not take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, take the ferry around New York Harbor or spend a day meandering around Central Park?For the winner, the easiest thing about the trip is taking part!

If you're interested, all you have to do is head to the sign-up page and give your name, email address and gender. They'll organise flights and accommodation for the lucky selection at a three-star hotel in the heart of the city, and all they need to do is sort out their travel insurance, spending money and choose that all-important partner to join them on their adventure!

The winner will be drawn from the hat on March 30th, so get your name down as soon as you can!

To register, and to see terms and conditions for the trip, please visit the competition page at the website here: http://www.bankfashion.co.uk/page/ny-competition/

And good luck!!!!!

random thoughts about the “new” Fashion Blogland….. personal style and my new challenges….

My dear readers and blogging friends, so much time has passed since I last wrote that it feels a bit weird and I really don’t know where to start. But let’s just the mind flow…

I have been thinking daily of my blog and weekly I think of two or three topics that I could write about and then don’t. The longer I don’t write the more I feel a lot of pressure which then stops me from posting.

During my absence some “important” events have happened. I had my Birthday, now I’m a FOF – Fabulous over Fifty, can you imagine that….?

I have been very busy at work with three trips to other islands, each one of a week and also felling very tired and also have been sick.

Meanwhile I made “a journey through the desert” thinking about Fashion Blogland, how it was when I started blogging and how it is now, if I really wanted to stop blogging or if this somehow forced break was “just” a break.

Something is off now, I can feel it. People no longer blog because they have the desire to share their unique perspectives with the world. Every single fashion blog is starting to look the same. The most famous and visited are young fashionistas and big brands sponsored. And why is that?

It pains me to say this, but the vast majority of fashion blogs have become little more than glorified advertisements for online shops and products. Some bloggers are out there chasing sponsors, treating their blogs like a full-time job.

Me, well these days, I must admit, I never solicit advertising, but whenever I get an e-mail and feel like having a little extra cash in my pocket I don’t refuse. But it kind of distresses me that I have not learned to compete in this market.

However I don’t know if I care about it. I am not an entrepreneur, just a regular person with a savant-like fascination with fashion, who will never be able to afford some brands and that’s totally okay. But I can’t compete with that because it’s just not my field. The looks I create are for everyday, for a woman of my age that works and despite not having a strict dress code I have to look presentable. But I would like to diversify and step outside of my comfort zone. Because when I started to align with the mainstream I fell in a fashion route.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still interested in sharing my writing, my style and ultimately myself with the world. I’m still searching for my personal style. But I don’t want it to be just another Fashion Blog.

Because your personal style is your identity. As you create it, as you discover the things that enhance your view of the world and figure out how to bring them into your life, your personal style transforms into a autograph, something distinguishable as belonging to no one else but fabulous you. It’s your personal style amplified, flourished and complete.

Taking personal style into the signature territory is about a lot of things. Analyzing your life and understanding the many elements of it – from how you behave to what you wear, read, watch and eat – can give you more insight into who you are and what best describes your style. Do you have a signature scent? A signature lipstick? A signature film? Things that not only your friends recognize as being very “you”, but things that you instantly recognize as being favorites; deeply-important-to-you favorites.

As I’m challenging myself to cultivate my signature style, I’m also trying to change my posts form, keeping the content and I’ll invite you to make this path with me.

Hope to see you soon….

Namasté

a New Year's prayer.......

 I expect that 2012 will be for us and to all my dear readers and blogging friends a......

 

Happy New Year!!!!

key looks from the spring H&M collection.......

I guess it's always good to know what will it be some trends for next season, in this case Spring 2012, so you might find some pieces and take advantage of the sales that are upon us.

Here, Ann-Sofie Johansson, head designer at H&M, chooses her key looks from the spring collection.