Biz Review: Auto Chic

Auto Chic

www.autochic.com.au was created to allow girls to understand and actually enjoy automotive as much as boys! Forget the standard industry lingo, the AutoChic website is easy to understand with car reviews written by girls for girls, along with great advice and fabulous competitions to boot! Become a member and show your support in feminising the male dominated world of automotive!

Body Love Maternity Jeans by Natalie Wakeling for Embody Denim

Designer Jeans, Designed to Fit – Regardless of Shape or Size

The change room experience when shopping for jeans is traumatic for most women – and those with curves could be forgiven for claiming it a human rights violation.

Natalie Wakeling, an Australian plus-size model and now owner of Embody Denim says ‘I don’t understand why a woman doesn’t have the right to own a pair of stylish jeans just because she has curves. I just don’t get it’.

Wakeling has designed a range of jeans which are available in a size 8 to 26. She has cleverly designed them to fit different body shapes, from hourglass to noodle, apple to pear and love heart.
Even expectant mums to be have not been left out of the ultra hip designs .
Natalie’s aim for her range is that every woman, regardless of size or shape will be able to find a pair of jeans to not only fit but to feel wonderful in. ‘Jeans are something every woman needs. It’s a staple. No matter what size or shape you are, you have to have a pair’.

As a plus-size model in Australia, Wakeling, 28, has had to wear her fair share of unflattering jeans. She knows all about having to resort to buying the jeans you hate because they were the only ones that were made in your size. ‘At the height of my modelling career I was a good size 14 to 16 and I used to cringe when they said we were shooting jeans. It was all muffin tops and long crutches’.

So when a visit to New York City introduced Natalie to the wide range of denims available, she knew she had to start a business offering flattering jeans for all shapes and sizes. ‘I desperately wished I could fit into the beautiful designer jeans I saw around so I decided to make them instead but as well as being designer, my jeans are designed to fit’.

Wakeling wants to be clear, however that hers is not purely a plus-size label, ‘I’ve had a lot of demand for jeans from smaller sizes including size 8. All the PR specialists I spoke to before starting my business told me there was no way I could market a range that caters up to a size 26 as a mainstream fashion item, but it looks like I’ve proved them wrong. The jeans are meant to be fashionable after all’ explains Wakeling.

‘I’ve got ten styles and I have started selling denim skirts I’m coming up with new designs all the time’ she laughs ‘I can’t stop now, I’m addicted’.

Sweet Lilly Maternity is the only online maternity stockist in Australia for the fabulous Body Love Bootleg Maternity Jean by Embody Denim. "It is the Rolls Royce of maternity jeans and I just love the cute signature logo on the front change pocket" says manager Sally Hainey. Maternity jeans are a pregnant gals best friend when looking for a new yet practical maternity wardrobe, so invest in a really good pair that will last all through your 9 months in comfort and style.

Yummy Mummy Fashion

the hottest new accessories in Hollywood are babies ...

YUMMY MUMMY Fashion

Written by Nicola Hyland

Baby fever is in the air! Fashionistas are now becoming Mama-nistas! Thank Goodness the fashion world is pulling up its socks for the fabulous Yummy Mummy! Posh Spice, Ginger Spcice, Baby Spice and Scare Spice! Mummyhood is spicy and we like it. Nicole’s doing it. Naomi just did it. Now the pitter patter of little feet is no longer just the sound of the tiny handbag dog. The hottest new accessories in Hollywood are babies and your favourite Celebrities are clamouring for the greatest roles of their career: motherhood. While many of these gals have not proven to be the greatest role-models, there is something that we mere mortals can thank the likes of Kate Moss, Gwen Stefani and Ange Jolie for- the rise of the ‘yummy mummy.’For centuries across the globe, pregnancy has been treated as some sort of unfortunate nine-month illness. Throughout history, women were often bed-bound and kept out of the public eye during the final months of pregnancy. Fashion was often designed to disguise the ‘offending’ bump; a practice still adhered to at least until the 1970s by the fashion world. Unflattering tent dresses and hillbilly-style dungarees were expected to be a staple of the expecting mother – no wonder they wanted to remain incognito!One of the pioneers of the ‘Yummy Mummy’ Celebrities was probably Demi Moore. In 1991, Demi posed nude on the cover of Vanity Fair while seven months pregnant with her second child. Provoking a bit of a scandal, Demi also managed to break through Hollywood preconceptions and affirm that pregnancy only makes a woman more beautiful. Now married to a mere boy - Ashton Kutcher - Demi still manages to prove that motherhood (and age) only makes a woman more attractive!Nowadays, Demi’s naked ambition seems pretty normal – Kate Moss posed naked for a life-sized painting for Lucien Freud while heavily pregnant (which later sold for more than $7 million!). Britney did it for Harper’s Bazaar, while pregnant with her second son and Jordan… let’s not even talk about her naked photo shoot…Younger celebrity mothers really embraced the idea of pregnancy as sexy and not a means to hibernate around the late 1990s. Both Scary and Posh Spice continued to tour late into their pregnancies during the Spice Girl heyday, showing off their bare midriff bellies to the world. Being pregnant was no longer the end of careers, with Yummy Mummy celebs like Catherine Zeta Jones continuing to work late into their third trimester. Sarah Jessica Parker managed to reclaim high fashion for the expecting by filming Sex and the City ‘around’ her baby bump. Amazing what a bouquet of flowers or constant head shots can do…While you may not want to wander around in nothing at all, the modern yummy Mummy can make fashion her friend. In Australia, trendy stores like Egg Maternity, Ripe and Mother 2B cater for the fashion-savvy mother-to-be. Other great local retailers include Barefoot Maternity, Soon Melbourne and Mamalicious, which caters specifically for the breast-feeding mother. Trendy babywear outlets like Pumpkin Patch are aware that Mums don’t just want their kiddies to look funky and generally cater accordingly. Designer Fiona Korvemaa from Belly Bulge Maternity writes how she designs Maternity wear to “create envy in the eyes of the non-pregnant.” High end fashion designers are starting to market for the trendy upcoming Mum, with labels like Trelise Cooper, Isabella Oliver, Tocca, L’Atessa and Anna Sui offering lines for those with growing bellies and healthy wallets. Fashion for Yummy Mummies combines comfort with style. As we are continually saying, the boho-inspired maxi dress and the empire line pinafores are flattering for almost everyone! We expect that YM’s will be following in Nicole’s footsteps and wearing the gorgeous tailored A-line smocks she has been seen in her early months. Form-fitting fabrics accentuate the best new bit of your body, with stretchy dresses and sweater tops made to fit all sizes. There is something about that ‘rosy glow’ of my pregnant friends that no amount of bronze or blusher can emulate – hey, pregnant women are gorgeous whatever they wear! Recent prizes for the best Yummy Mummies go to Heidi Klum, Gwen Stefani and that uber Earth mother, Angelina Jolie. Katie Holmes has definitely benefited from motherhood [and Posh’s stylist] in the fashion stakes, while Kate Hudson is a pretty hot Mamma - now allegedly back on the market again. Also a hot single Mum, Reese Witherspoon manages to match her outfits to her cutie-pied daughter Ava, which is just a little creepy… Apparently Kate Moss’s daughter Lila-Grace has become a true fashion addict – a much healthier addiction then some of the vices her Mum has had! Congratulations to Nicole and Isla Fisher on their newly revealed joys – who predicts will be the next to join the Yummy Mummy Crew? The booby prize for Faux-pas Ma’s inevitably goes to the troublesome Britney, while the less publicity Jordan gets for motherly advice the better! When you are thinking of naming your trendy new bundle, PLEASE don’t follow the lead of Demi, Geri or Gwyneth and name your child something ridiculous like Button or Moonflower. Not even famous Yummy Mummies get away with doing that to their children! Unfortunately, while fashion and babies might go together in most circumstances, you can’t exchange a baby for another pair of shoes. And nobody tells your wee one not to burp up on your brand new silk dress… I’m just enjoying everyone else’s babies for the time being! Need more advice on how to be a sexy Mum-to-be – just Ask Bronny! http://www.askbronny.com/

Shop at Sweet Lilly Maternity for a fantastic range of maternity clothing and maternity wear sourced from around the globe at affordable prices with FREE shipping Australia wide. Maternity jeans, maternity tops, maternity evening wear, maternity lingerie, maternity party dresses, maternity swimwear and maternity breastfeeding tops and dresses are all available with a huge selection of great maternity designs. You will find Australia's top maternity designers and labels as well as some fantastic edgy overseas maternity labels. Maternity wear has never looked so good!