On Saturday I headed along to Freeport Talke to take part in a #FallFashionChallenge with fellow fabulous fashion bloggers Terri and Lilly.  Freeport Talke offers a variety of stores under one roof – essentially a shopping centre  which showcases some of the much loved high street brands…. but at outlet prices.  It was using these shops that we were challenged to come up with a fall outfit for party time…. But that’s not very challenging is it? How about having a budget thrown into the mix?

The three of us we were challenged to style an outfit inline with our own budget, £50, £100 or £150. I (of course) drew the £50 gift card and I was packed off to find a fall fabulous outfit coming on at under the fifty.

Doable?

Let me tell you what my reservations were, not just from a budget point of view but from a plus size fashion point of view. I was worried I wouldn’t find something that would fit me.  Coming in at a size 18 I’m faced with the problem that not all high street stores cater for my extra jelly, so how would I fair at outlets which predominantly feature end of line stock and a select amount of stores? Would my #FallFashionChallenge result in me hiding my modesty with a handful of leaves from the car park?

Not on your jelly, nelly.

My #FallFashionChallenge outfit came in at a bargainous £35.98 

Floral Devore Kimono* | Cut Out Shoulder Dress* | Glamorous Black Buckle Boots*

Black Cut Out Shoulder Crepe Dress – this dress is something I’ve been looking for for a while. A simple LBD with a twist. I love my dresses, but being self conscious about my upper arms means that I usually have to throw something over the top. This dress has arms that come to the elbow with shoulder cut out detailing. Cos sometimes showing a little shoulder flesh can be sexy.

Floral Devore Kimono – who said kimonos were purely summer attire? After hanging up my floral and neon kimonos of the summer, I’ve missed the quick cover up and boho styling that a fringed kimono can bring to an outfit. With a flash of plum and a flicker of velour, this Floral Devore one is the perfect fall transition from our summer favourite and is one that I’m looking forward to layering with crew tops, skinny jeans and all the black opaques I can find.

Even on a budget a gal has to accessorise and with the high neck of the dress this double triangle long line pendant was not only a sneaky snip at £2.00 in the sale, it also elongates the torso by drawing attention down the body.

… All from Select Fashion which is never a store I would be inclined to frequent, if I’m completely honest.  Since my teenage days I’ve tended to associate the word “tacky” with the wrongly accused high street store and assumed I’d never be able to fit so much as a thigh inside their miniscule sizings. Well wasn’t I an incorrect ginger?  Surprisingly, Select offer a wide range of on trend pieces at prices low enough to rival the likes of Primark – think of it as the love child of Primark and New Look. Of course there a few dud pieces or some that wouldn’t look out of place on a line up of “what not to wear” but isn’t that true of many places? As for my thought that I’d wind up posing for photographs in front of the shoppers of Freeport like an autumnal themed Eve, my size 18 ass was happily provided for.

I was also pleasantly surprised in that other than Select (where I fell in love with these pieces as soon as I perused the rails) Freeport Talke had quite a few shops where I’d easily have been able to pick myself out an outfit (or at least a key piece) in line with my £50 budget.

The M&S Outlet had some hidden gems including a sparkly skater skirt, some PU panel leggings and a whole host of cut price lingerie. Pilot had the most to die for burgundy velour skater dress and PU pencil skirt (there’s a theme here right?) and Just Elegance was the place that fur coats teamed up to tempt me into investing in some strokeable and plush glamour. Not to mention a Claire’s Accessories 5 for £3 bonanza and more Yankee Candles than you could shake a bloggers cat at – oh how I wish I had bagged that £150 gift card.

I also managed to pick up another dress (also from Select), an old favourite for the makeup bag and a much recommended blusher from one of my favourite bloggers – there’s a blog post coming up soon featuring those goodies!