April 2012 Round Up
0 Comments
We don’t know about you but we can’t quite believe it’s May already! Lots of fab things happened in April to look back on though – here’s our recap in case you missed any of it. :)
The finals of the Simply Be sponsored Ms Curvaceous UK 2012 model competition took place – take a look at our Facebook photo album to see all the gorgeous finalists working Simply Be fashion on the catwalk.
The winner was the stunning Simone Charles – congratulations Simone from the team at Simply Be!
Hanna and Allie both rocked our PU sleeve trench in preparation for all the April showers – a very wise fashion buy we’d say! Don’t they look amazing?
We were also bowled over by Em’s ‘Smouldering Love Letter to Simply Be‘ – it left us blushing!
April saw us officially christen our shiny new Leicester store, with a VIP store event plus guest appearance and ribbon cutting by none-other than Gemma Collins from The Only Way Is Essex.
Get Gemma’s leopard print dress>>
The fabulous Cynthia wrote a great blog post about the event, well worth a read. And here is the lovely Rosie’s post.
Here’s Cynthia and fellow blogger Rosie with our model competition winner Abi Hill. Such fab ladies!
Gemma Collins was also spotted wearing Simply Be on episodes of TOWIE. Here she is wearing our Frock and Frill embellished shrug.
What were the highlights of your April? x
Jeans to suit your genes!
0 Comments
We held a plus size fashion Twitter chat a little back, and if we didn’t know it already, it definitely confirmed that people find jeans the hardest item of clothing to shop for.
A less-than perfect fit simply won’t do when it comes to jeans, it’s got to be just right! Yet people come in all different shapes and sizes (it really is a matter of genes!) making finding that perfect fit an often frustrating experience.
So at Simply Be, as well as offering jeans in sizes 14-32 and a huge choice of lengths and colours, we’ve developed some unique lines designed to tackle specific fitting issues. We want every woman to be able to find their perfect pair of jeans!
Fit Your Calf Jeans
Our boots in a choice of wider calf fittings are very popular, so it made perfect sense to offer jeans that are a little more generous in the calf for ladies who are fuller in that part of the leg. No need to restrict yourself to bootcut or wide leg styles any more – go for a slim leg style that shows off your shapely pins to perfection!
Available in 2 colours and 3 lengths.
Fit Your Thigh Jeans
Likewise, many people find it hard to get jeans to fit well at their upper leg – be it because they find standard jeans too tight, or too baggy at the thigh. Enter our Fit Your Thigh Jeans! They’re available in slim fit, regular fit or fuller fit to get a flawless fit for your figure.
Available in 2 colours and 2 lengths.
Wow Jeans
Many ladies wish their jeans would do more than just fit though – they’d like a little extra help in certain areas. Our range of Wow jeans has something to suit everyone.
Our Wow Thigh Slimmer Jeans have cleverly curved seams and shading to make your legs looks leaner.
Our Wow Tummy Tamer Jeans have a special panel to gently hold in your tummy a touch.
And our Classic Wow Jeans have a host of special features include a non-stretch front panel to flatten your tummy, adjustable hidden elastic to pull in your back waistband and specially shaped back pockets, yoke and darts to create a perkier looking bottom.
What’s more, our classic Wow jeans are now only £20!
Wendy and Candice love our Wow jeans too:
February Round Up!
0 Comments
It seemed like a long dark February but now it feels like spring has finally sprung!
Let’s take a look back at some of things that brightened our February…
The gorgeous Em wore our Joe Browns Flattering Retro Dress:
The ever so popular Adele cleaned up at both the Grammys and the Brits.
Blogger Joanna rocked an Adele-esque dress from Simply Be too!
Octavia Spencer won an Oscar for her performance in ‘The Help’. How gorgeous was her Oscar night dress?
We also offered our own selection of red carpet inspired looks:
Our Spring Summer TV ad hit screens across the UK too – have you seen it yet?
And if you think it looks like a whole of of fun recording a Simply Be ad – well, you’d be right! Here’s Wendy, Candice and Geo behind the scenes:
Win 1 of 5 tickets to our Teesside Store Launch VIP Event!
16 Comments
Well we gave away tickets to our Doncaster store launch – and our winners are off to the VIP event this Thursday.
Our next store launch is Teesside – and to celebrate we’re having a VIP store event on 20th March!
For your chance to WIN a pair of tickets to the event, simply leave us a comment under this blog post.
We’ll pick 5 winners at random on 05/03/2012.
Make sure you’re a fan of ours on Facebook as that’s where we’ll announce the winner next week!
For a second chance to win, why not enter our Twitter competition? We’re giving away another 5 tickets on Twitter!
Simply follow Simply Be and tweet the entry message:
Want to WIN tickets to our Teesside store launch event on 20th March? Follow us & RT #SimplyBeTeesside 5 winners drawn 05/03/12!
Good luck!
Beat the January Blues – with Joe Browns!
0 Comments
Our Joe Browns range is one of our best-loved collections at Simply Be. All those bright colours, gorgeous prints and quirky shapes – there really is nothing else quite like it.
We think it’s the perfect antidote to the January blues – wearing something bright and beautiful really is a mood-booster. Try it!
Yellow is a warm colour – like a ray of sunshine! There’s no cheerier shade so this wrap tunic is sure to give you a sunny disposition, even on the greyest January morning.
Red is the colour of passion and excitement! It’s the colour of confidence, shouting ‘look at me!’ With skinny jeans and a shrug this Joe Browns tunic can be adapted to lift your spirits all year round – so why wait for summer?
Blue is the colour of serenity and calm – just the thing if you’re battling back to work stress! This crinkle dress is gorgeous with tights and boots now then bare legs and sandals when the weather hots up.
And if those sumptuous shades don’t boost your mood, we’re sure this little fella will. Twit twoo!
December Round Up!
0 Comments
So we’re almost at the end of the year – time for a look back on the month’s goings on!
Mhairi rocked our fab Grazia dress. Read her review.
And our green Zandra Rhodes dress. Review here.
Georgina wore our Rise Dorothy dress and made it look even more adorable than it already is! Read her review.
The stunning model Teer Wayde did a photoshoot for us and braved pleather pants in the Australian sunshine for us.
Becky reviewed our Simply Voluptuous Denim Dress…
and our Chloe super stretch skinny jeans. How cute? Read her reviews here and here.
Sara wore our bird print tunic, accessorising with fab red lippy! Read her review here.
It’s been a very busy month! So if we’ve missed you and you’d like to be featured just tweet us @SimplyBeUK x
Our Top 6 Winter Warmers
0 Comments
With this morning’s sprinkling of snow our thoughts have turned away from party dresses and towards all things to keep you warm, cosy – and dry! And stylish of course, but surely that goes without saying.
1) The Festive Jumper
A soft and cosy jumper in festive red is super snuggly. The dipped hem shape is perfect with leggings and Ugg-type boots.
2) The Cardigan Coat
If it’s cold but dry out, or you just want to wrap up in an extra layer indoors, this Joe Browns cardigan coat (or coatigan) will keep you toasty.
3) Thermal Socks
Nobody likes cold feet! If you’re out on a wintry walk, line those wellies with some heat-retaining thermal socks and crunching over icy puddles will be a walk in the park.
4) The Faux Fur Scarf
Faux fur has been a big trend this season and what simpler way to work the trend than with a vintage style fur stole. Warning: people may try to stroke you.
5) The Knitted Beret
Team your fur scarf with a cute soft beret - after all, you lose the most heat through your head! If you think you don’t suit hats you’ll find this style surprisingly flattering.
6) The Fleece Gown
Whether curled up on the sofa watching a Christmas movie or gathered around the tree with your family on Christmas morning, you’ll need to keep out the chill. Slip into this super soft long sleeved fleece gown and get that fire going!
If all else fails, we find that a nice mug of hot chocolate or mulled wine warms the cockles nicely!
Your Perfect Christmas Weekend Wardrobe
0 Comments
It’s not just your Christmas party that requires a fabulous outfit – Christmas weekend means spending lots of time with family and friends – some of whom you only see once in a blue moon, so we all want to look our best. Then of course there are all the photo opportunities. And let’s not forget that any occasion is lots more fun when you look and feel fabulous!
Christmas is a very busy time, so the last thing you want to be worrying about is what you look like. Get your Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day outfits all planned out and then you can just relax – as much as you can!
Here are our suggestions – but of course everybody does everything differently over the festive period, so adapt these outfits to suit Christmas your way.
Christmas Eve
Many people like to get together or go out for drinks on Christmas Eve, so this glam look is just the thing. You can’t get more Christmassy than festive red while the leather-look trousers add a daring dose of rock’n'roll – but you could always swap these for plain leggings or tights.
Christmas Day
The day itself is usually a time for family get-togethers so choose an outfit that will keep everybody happy. This chic blouse from our Lauren’s Way collection gives a bold colour pop that’s perfect for Christmas Day whilst palazzo pants are both comfy and on trend. Add a touch of sparkle with a hair accessory plus some fab shoes. If you’re doing the cooking or lots of running around after people then simply switch the heels for some fab flats. Effortless!
Boxing Day
Whether you’re out for some fresh air to walk off a bit of that Christmas pud or simply snuggling and snoozing, a soft knitted jumper dress and thick tights will keep you warm and cosy. Shearling lined boots and bag add to the cosy feel and a scarf will add extra warmth. Royal purple is just the colour to keep that festive feeling going.
Fitting rooms getting fabber: Retail chain installs luxury fitting room area
0 Comments
Fitting rooms getting fabber: Retail chain installs luxury fitting room area for the ultimate shopping experience
Plus-sized retailer Simply Be opened its first stores in Liverpool and Bury this month, with the aim of giving customers the ultimate shopping experience. Simply Be has made sure that their fitting room area is extra spacious – and extra fabulous, as one of the least fun parts of clothes shopping for customers of all sizes is having to struggle in cramped and crowded changing rooms. Luxurious velvet sofas give friends and partners a restful place to wait, while the spacious changing rooms and boudoir feel make for a much more relaxed and enjoyable shopping experience. Mini blackboards on each changing room door can be chalked up with the name of the customer, adding a personalised touch.
Simply Be undertook some research that revealed that shoppers don’t want to have to leave the changing rooms and then queue all over again at the tills, so they have installed a till in the changing room area. This means that shoppers can pop straight from the changing room to the till, making for a smoother shopping experience.
One of the most exciting features of the changing room area is the Magic Mirror. This allows shoppers to take photos of themselves in their outfits, which they can then share to Facebook and Twitter to show their friends how fab they look, or email to themselves if they want to keep a copy their favourite pic. When you look good – you want to share it with as many people as possible!
Fuller figure mannequins in store reflect the average size of a UK woman – a size 16, whilst the curvy store staff have been trained to be experts in fitting and truly enhance the shopping experience with their friendly approach.
There is currently extremely little choice for fashionable plus size women on the high street – but Simply Be are out to change this. Parent company JD Williams/ N Brown had until now sold its clothing through catalogues and the internet because, like any number of home shopping companies, that was its business model. In fact, in 1882 Mr James David Williams was the very first person to make use of the UK’s parcel post service, to send his company’s products direct to his customers, in what could well have been the invention of home shopping.
Chief executive Alan White said yesterday: ‘In the last few days we have opened Simple Be stores in Liverpool One and at The Rock in Bury. These stores are aiming to give Simply Be’s current and potential customers a better shopping experience.
‘We will be monitoring the results with a keen interest. Initial responses from customers have been very positive but it is early days.’
White tells how one of his online customers actually burst into tears after visiting the Bury store because it had been so long since she was able to have a positive experience shopping for fashion on the high street.
According to initial findings by independent market research company RDSI, 97% of visitors would recommend the store to a friend, 98% thought the changing rooms better than other stores, and 90% thought the store was better than their current favourite clothing/footwear store.
Simply Be is all about loving your curves and being proud of who you are. Now Simply Be are proud to be on the high street – and their customers are definitely proud to be seen in their glamorous new stores. There are plans for five more stores in 2012.
Our 25 Model Finalists have been selected!
0 Comments
We kept everybody waiting, and whole new Facebook friendships were formed during the tense wait for the announcement – but on Friday we finally revealed our 25 ladies who will participating in our plus size model competition final.
With 750 gorgeous entrants to choose from, picking our finalists was a near-impossible task, but after much careful consideration, we got there in the end. Our finalists are:
Abi Hill
Abi Tweedle
Amy Morris
Anastacia Manning
Becky Holmes
Claire Bloomfield
Donna Preston
Ema Goudge
Emma McGrath
Gemma Duffy
Grace McAlonan
Janine Hillman
Jo Copeland
Kay Marsh
Kayleigh Smith
Keri Patterson
Lizzie Watts
Louise Singh
Marie Fletcher
Natasha Lawless
Sharlene Denys
Sophie U-Ming
Stephanie Hogan
Susan Norris
Toni Jennings
The ladies will be heading to Manchester for the final, where they’ll strut their stuff for our panel of judges. And they don’t just have to walk the walk – they have to talk the talk too, because we want a woman who will embody the Simply Be spirit as well as look fab.
We’d like to sincerely thank all those that entered – we wish we could have chosen all of you.
And well done to the finalists – watch this space for coverage of the final event! Who knows who will be the next to model for Simply Be alongside the likes of Candice, Justine and Wendy?