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Last Friday, the highly-anticipated second collection from Beth Ditto for Evans launched online. Like I do with most major events, I logged into Twitter to chat about it with everyone. What originally started as simple tweets about the collection soon turned into a full-on fatshion frenzy that also spawned its very own Twitter hashtag – #dittowatch.

It was interesting to see how the launch of this particular collection brought together so many people, irregardless of size and age. Cute clothes are simply that, cute clothes. While this collection isn’t as sparkly as the previous collection, I still think its just as good. You have your basics like the leggings, which were a hit last year, and more playful pieces like the heart skirt and top. What I love more about this year’s collection is that a lot of the pieces are quite versatile. Florals and polka dots aren’t my thing but I can see them working for lot of other people.

After all the madness of the launch, I only ended up purchasing one item – the hanky hem top. I originally bought the velvet dress and the black ruched dress too but there was an issue with my order and I had to cancel it. When I went to re-order, I decided on just the top at the last minute. I may be placing an another order soon (if stuff is still available).

So what, if anything, did you all buy from the collection? And if you’ve received it already, how do you like it?

FOR MORE ON THE BETH DITTO X EVANS COLLECTION, CHECK THESE LINKS:

* The Pocket Rocket’s Ditto Mania! (includes fitting room photos)
* Em from Boombands reviews the collection!
* Sakina & Nicolette interview Beth for Vogue Curvy!

FOR MORE ON #DITTOWATCH, CHECK OUT THESE LINKS:

* Definatalie: I’m Officially on #DittoWatch
* The Rotund: The Birth of a Hashtag; Beth Ditto, Evans, #dittowatch, and International Fatshion Frenzy
* Two Whole Cakes FatCast: Rampant Consumerism

I’ve done countless posts featuring the super fierce Beth Ditto but I especially wanted to post her this week because there’s been a lot of talk recently about dressing for your body type/shape and such. Now one of the things that I love the most about Beth is her fearlessness. She will wear (or not wear) anything you could think of and make it look so amazing. Bodycon? check. Sleeveless? check. Horizontal stripes? check. Oversized? check. Shapeless? check. There is really no limit to her fashion arsenal and it makes me smile because she is unashamed about her body, how it looks in certain clothes and it instantly deads all those myths about what looks good on plus size women. Its absolutely inspiring and I love it! The thing that looks good on all women (plus or not) is confidence so continued kudos to you Beth (and uh, send over your stylist’s contact info. I need both black and white dresses)!

(images from madisonplus, the curvy fashionista and zimbio)

Yesterday, Arcadia Group (which include Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and more) has their press day for the Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collections. I was really excited to see what Evans did for fall because 1) their Spring collection is so good and 2) fall is my favorite season! I saw a few sneak peek images posted on Twitter throughout the day but now that I’ve seen the much larger, clearer images, I am so excited!

One thing that I know I always complain about is the lack of cute, on-trend clothing available for plus sizes. With the past two collections, not only have they jumped to the top of my favorite plus retailers but they’ve managed to successfully walk the fine line of being trend-conscious without being trend-driven. There’s definitely a difference between the two! The funny thing is, there’s very little black in the preview images but yet I was still looking through them going ‘OMG. WANT. NEED. MUST-HAVE!’ There’s everything from shearling, velvet (including a FIERCE pair of over-the-knee red velvet boots that almost made me fall out), a bit of military, boho/tribal and more! Check out the pics below and let me know what you think!

oh and ps. BETH IS BACK AT EVANS! Coming this September, a new collection will be arriving at Evans! Below is a small paragraph about what we can expect!

“Beth’s exciting new collection reflects fashion styles from the decades of the last century.  She has spent the past year travelling the World gathering inspiration for this iconic second collection.  In true Ditto style, Beth invites you to step into her fashion wardrobe, where unconventional challenges the norm.  There’s Victorian mixed with 80s punk, through to 40s vintage with a noughties modern edge, all of which create a range of eclectic hybrid designs.”

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There’s way more photos under the cut!

(images from niwde)

(spotted at Madison Plus)

First, before I say anything else, please everyone take a look at those drool-worthy Louboutins that Beth is wearing. Oh my god, they are so marvelous! They have that signature Louboutin fetish quality that I am loving. *sigh* Too bad they are out of my budget.

Back to business, today is the day that I have been waiting SO long for. Beth’s collection for Evans is launched and I just know that I’m going to be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the next week lol. While I know we’ve seen things like the domino dress and the prom dress over and over again, what I wanted to highlight in this post are the accessories. Elisah, on behalf of the marketing team behind the collection, was so kind to send over some hi-res promo photos of Beth and the jewelry is so good. As mentioned before, I am usually one to buy s from the regular places – f21, h&m, random cheapy mall stores. So when I saw the sequined necklace, I actually did a double-take and said ‘oh this is GOOD!’ The Spectator Brogues are also on my list of purchases. They are such a mash of different styles and I love that they can add a bit of an edge to any outfit. From following Evans on twitter, I’ve heard that the Gem Belt is actually sold out so if you haven’t snatched it up already, you’ll have to wait until its restocked online.

If you’re wondering about the US to UK conversion, I usually wear a 22/24 on the bottom and always order either a 24 or 26 and have never had an fit issue with my Evans order. For a much better review (with pictures!) head on over to Deena’s blog, Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too! I’ll be doing a review as well but it will probably be sometime next week or so, depending on when my order arrives.

I know a lot of people are apprehensive about the fact that now a lot of people will undoubtedly be dressed alike because of the popularity of the line. Don’t fret, I’m sure you won’t see tons of OOTDs on the fat fashion blogs that look exactly alike. My style is different from Gabi’s, which is different than Natalie’s, which is different from Deena’s, Stephanie’s etc. So rest assured you will not see an over saturation of Beth look-a-likes all over the internet.

Gem Beret

Sequin Necklace (and Gold Bracelet)

Gem Necklace

Studded Hobo Spectator Brogues

Lips Clutch

Gem Belt

Spectator Flats

What do you think of the accessories part of the collection? Do you see anything that you like?

I know a lot of people are tired of the Beth for Evans hoopla but sorry, we still have 2 weeks to go! Once again, credit goes to Deena of Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too! for the heads up!

Here are exclusive pictures of Beth Ditto tearing up the design rooms at London’s Arcadia Group, where she’s come over all Kate Moss to design her own collection. In a bold move by Sir Philip Green - no doubt with encouragement from la Moss herself, who is great mates with Beth – he has hired The Gossip’s front-woman for his plus-size chain, Evans! So when we first heard about the collaboration, we were straight on the phone securing these pictures of Beth hard at work. And then we bumped into her at Paris fashion week, where she told us she was “totally into it” and loving the whole process, saying, “Designing this line is a dream come true.” So what was she like to work with? We grilled Lisa Marie Peacock, head of design at Evans, on the whole Beth Ditto experience…

How involved did Beth get with the design process?
She totally owned it. It wasn’t really collaboration, as it was Beth’s ideas that really drove this project.

So how did it all start?
Well, Beth came to a brain-storming meeting last November and we expected her to have some great ideas, as she has often spoken out about how hard it is for her to find designer fashion for her size. But what amazed us was that she already had an amazing sketch book full of ideas.

Ooh, and what was in the sketch book?
She had pictures of Blondie, Grace Jones, The Slits, and examples of the Bauhaus art movement – a punky and eclectic set of influences. And then after the initial meeting she came back with “the suitcase”.

The suitcase?
Yeah. It was full of clothes that totally became the template for the collection. She had swatches of amazing 1980’s prints, 1980’s knitwear – one sweater with a domino print that we used; another with a kitten print. There were art deco prints and mod photographs as well as photos of Mama Cass of the Mamas and the Papas. Beth also had shoes, belts, knitwear – it was all there!

So are you all pleased with the final product?
Beth has made a 22-piece collection with us, and we love it because it has a bit of everything. Beth really wanted to get a good selection of coloured leggings in there, and there are great wider-fitting shoes, sweater dresses, cocktail dresses. Beth kept saying that it’s all about making must-haves for a night out.

Was Beth the fittings model?
Officially, no. But Beth was there for the majority of the fittings. She doesn’t mind stripping off so she didn’t mind getting her kit off to try things on!

- Melanie Rickey

(interview and images taken from graziadaily.co.uk)