I recently was approached by 10dollarmall, they sent me a free item in exchange for an honest review. I have to say I was really excited, I haven't been approached to review anything on my blog so I was like "WEE!." I hadn't previously heard of 10dollarmall but I have to say I am impressed. I ordered a bow print scarf, a black sheer short sleeve top, and a pair of cross earrings. The first pair of cross earrings came broken but they quickly sent an exchange pair and they are fabulous.

Now I love me a bow print and this one is perfect, the scarf is long and soft. The top is also a soft material and easily wearable, I get a bit worried with my bust trying clothing from new places but this fits spot on. The earrings are probably not everyones style but I like them, I like crosses, what can I say I've watched 'The Craft' about 39403 times.

It's a bit hard to tell but I'm wearing the top from 10dollarmall in this picture and it's really become one of my favorites, it is so comfortable and easy to wear with just about everything.

The customer service I found to be speedy and kind and these prices are amazing! Pop on over to 10dollarmall and browse, tell me what you find!

When I was younger and first starting to grow into my lady business (boobs, hips, butt, all those sort of thangs) I was really uncomfortable with it. I honestly felt like a freak for having such large boobs and hips, I'm not actually sure what bra size I wore back then because I without a doubt wore the wrong sizes. I forced myself into sizes that were too small because I didn't want to accept how large my boobs were. Not only did I feel like a freak for being "shapely" I felt masculine for being tall and large. I wore all baggy clothing for years, I was so uncomfortable showing off my freakish curves. Most of the popular girls in school or the images of women in the media that were seen as "beautiful" were tiny/small/petite/athletic/tan. I was none of those things. The popular girls were between a size 0-4. I was already a size 10. I hated my body, I hated when people commented on my boobs or my "hourglass shape" because in my mind they were just nicely saying I was fat. I would get remarks from adults like "you should embrace your hourglass shape, men love it and most people would kill for that shape" but it didn't seem that way to me! It didn't seem that way in the real world and I was still really young and not comfortable with the attention my curves would get me. As I got a little older I started to embrace it, I wore tight clothing and got looks and remarks and I dug it. I didn't dig people in school telling me "you think you look good, but you are ugly" or "why are you so big?" or "no one wants to see you wearing that" when I was wearing a mini skirt and tight sweater. I wore a size 10/12/14 through all of high school and was called fat and unattractive more times than I can recall by the school bullies. Any self confidence I had in my shape seemed to piss some people off. On the opposite end of the spectrum I was flirted with often by my guy friends or older men but in general I just seemed to scare boys. I really let it get to me but I kept dressing the way I liked, I became a bit obsessed with dressing nicely to be honest. I would spend so much time and money wanting new outfits and wanting to look lovely every day, even if I was cold or uncomfortable. I rarely if ever wore pants, I don't even think I owned a pair of pants for yearrrss. It was all skirts and dresses. I started slowly opening up to wearing pants, buying pants that fit regardless of what the size on the label read, and be comfortable enough to wear comfortable clothing in public without feeling ashamed or gross or what have you. 

Now I think I've found a good balance. I don't always love my body, we all have our good days and bad days. I dress up when I feel like it and dress more casually when I feel like it. I find comfort important and don't think that being comfortable means having to sacrifice "style". I try not to wear revealing clothing in inappropriate places like work but it is a bit hard to hide my curves and cleavage, they kind of show in everything. I'm even comfortable enough to show up to work and go out in public with *gasp* NO MAKEUP.

I still spend a lot of money on clothes, I still really love shopping, I still struggle with loving my body but I think that is a struggle (that last part anyway) that we all have during our lives. I'm more interested in being kind to myself and others, trying to embrace the body I was born with, and always trying to improve.

Hey there, so has anyone else heard of these Me-Ality booths? Basically it is a booth that you step into and in 10 seconds it takes your measurements and gives you fit/size advice based on your predetermined measurements at different stores. I first heard about it on facebook and after finding out that they had one in my local mall I decided to head over there to try it out. It was a super easy process, you just register with your email and then step inside to get measured and afterwards it prints out a little receipt with a barcode that the attendant scans and then it gives you a list of suggestions of clothing from different brands within your mall. 

Well, it didn't really work for me (it literally did not have a single suggestion for me) because the stores they worked with at my mall, such as Banana Republic and Levi Jeans (which oddly enough is not at my mall) don't carry my size since I wear over a size 16. I wasn't really bothered by it at the time but as I've let it marinate it does sort of bug me because I mean more stores should cater to more clientele and also there was a part of me that missed my size 16 and smaller days. Even when I did wear a size 14/16 I had trouble with jeans/pants/button up tops because I am larger in my bust and hip/thigh area. I think it is a super cool idea, I just think we plus sized ladies could not only use more stores/brands to choose from but also are consistently faced with size differences from brand to brand, I literally have things in my wardrobe that are 5 different sizes which makes shopping more of a chore then it need be.

It took a good day (no clue why) for my email with a link to my profile (which you need to then set up your password) to come over for me-ality.com but from there it gave me some actual suggestions but again, because of my size, only linked me to a few suggestions from Torrid and Lane Bryant. I like shopping at Torrid and Lane Bryant, Torrid more so than Lane Bryant, however I wasn't really impressed by their sizing suggestions... I have been shopping at Torrid long enough to know my size by now and all of their suggestions were way bigger than I wear and when I have tried on the size they suggested to me it was not flattering and hung very loosely. Not only that but in terms of their suggestions, I had one jean suggestion from Torrid and no suggestions for pants or dresses (or intimates but I figured as much since I am currently a 40H) which are usually the things that are the toughest for me to find the ideal fit. 

What I had hoped to see by honeysuckelle featuring plus size dresses

I need a little rant time, so please bare (BEARS?! I love adding bear jokes to everything, its a habit) with me. Okay, so my local Forever 21 carries the Forever 21 + line in the store which when I first discovered made me squee with delight but since then I've grown a bit frustrated with it. First off the selection sucks, I don't expect to see everything they offer online for instance but I'd like to see more of it or more variety! While shopping in the store yesterday I did not see a single one of these things above available in any size or at all. I did however come across some things that have been stocked or were extremely similar since my last visit which was months prior. I really wish we were offered more cute dresses, skirts, belts, cute prints, better shapes, etc. Call me crazy but I like to have the option of trying on clothes before I buy them too and it's hard to do that when most of the stores that carry plus sized clothing don't offer them in their physical stores. I know this might not be the case but why do I feel like we are the hidden sister? Are we shameful or just not profitable enough? Why is the plus sized section always hidden in a corner and filled with a lot of redundant clothing or we are stuck with the tiniest selection ever? I've heard part of the reason this happens is because the store doesn't make enough profit off the plus sized clothing and I don't know if that is true or not but it is so frustrating. One thing I have noticed is that certain sizes are almost never available so either people are buying them or they aren't stocking enough of them. Now I don't necessarily mind being set off in a corner because then I have more time to shop without being bothered and try on blazers and stuff without having to stand under the harsh dressing room lights but it still bugs me. A lot of stores showed so much promise when their plus size lines first started coming out and then as time has gone on our pickings have become slimmer and slimmer and more basic. I'm tired of feeling left out, I want to wear cute clothes and spend money I don't have just as much as someone who wears a size 6. I still have a body that needs to be clothed. I'm not just talking about Forever 21+, I'm also looking at you Old Navy, Target, etc. I know there are a ton of fabulous online options but I want to feel the fabrics in person, see how it lays on my body, gauge the quality, get out of the house and away from the computer screen, etc. For instance, if you go to Forever 21+ online right now you'll see a pretty decent amount of stuff but in the store I saw maybe 3 to 4 of the items offered online and of that it was mostly pants, basic tops, and blazers. Now don't get me wrong the Forever 21 + section in my local Forever 21 is decent enough but I'm not satisfied with the offerings. I'm sick of feeling left out because of my size, include me, I want to look cute too! I know some of you must feel the same way. Isn't my money as good as the next persons? I'm sick of feeling like "be happy you are finally offered anything and shut up" but no, it's not enough and I'm not satisfied. *sigh* We have a long way to go until we are treated even half as equal as our average size/smaller counterparts my fellow plus sized stylish ladies.