Allison McGevna of Inside Allie’s World on Easy, Breezy Summer Style

Allison McGevna, 31, is our resident curvy-girl style blogger, and she contributes her thoughts on finding the perfect outfit to the site each week. This week, she dishes on how to put together easy, comfortable, summery looks—that won’t leave you sweating. (And if her items are sold out, we’ve linked to similar styles below — happy shopping!)

Courtesy Allison McGevna

Like everyone else, I tend to wear a ton of light, flowy pieces during the summer. This blue look was an attempt for me to try out those culotte pants that everyone’s been wearing, which I’ve been eyeing for a while now (they look so airy and comfortable!). Trying out culottes was taking a bit of a risk, because I thought they wouldn’t work on me since I’m a bit hippy. I definitely thought it was going to be a problem, but I found this really great pair at Charlotte Russe — they’re doing really great stuff with their plus sized line. I actually bought them a size up, but that was just because I wanted them to be a bit of a looser fit, and I didn’t want them to be too tight in the hip. That’s something I always suggest for plus sized shoppers: Don’t get too bogged down by sizes! I always hear women say, “I don’t want to go above a size 14, or 16” (or whatever your size is). A lot of women get fixated on sizing and don’t really understand that depending on the fit (or how you want it to fit), you can play around with sizes.

Anyway, this wasn’t an outfit I was trying to look slimmer in; I think it was more about taking a fashion risk and having fun and playing with trends. Even if you think you can’t wear them, it never hurts to experiment. You might be pleasantly surprised! I paired these culottes with this jeweled halter top (similar style here!), which is also from Charlotte Russe. I didn’t want to go heavy on the accessories because the silhouettes were really bold and the colors were a rich jewel tone, plus the halter has a built-in necklace. It was a really great summery outfit; it was one of those outfits that I wore to dinner and felt super comfortable all night. I would definitely encourage plus-size shoppers to try out the culottes and play around with the sizing until you get the right fit. These are great because they have pleats in the front, so they don’t call too much attention to your midsection if that’s what you’re self conscious about; pleats are a great way to disguise that. I paired the look with these rose gold pumps (similar style here!). Those have a mixed media feel because obviously the halter neck is silver, but I don’t really worry about wearing silver and gold together—that’s one of those fashion rules that everyone still seems to abide by, but I think you can mix and match, especially for summer if you’ve got a little tan.

The white dress I’m wearing is also from Charlotte Russe; I obviously walked out of there with a great haul. This is a really fun, easy summer dress. It’s one of those dresses you can put on and not really have to think about anything else. It has the little metallic bar on the top that you see a lot in belts, but this was an interesting detail I thought to have it on the neckline. It’s a really simple breezy silhouette. When I’m wearing white I don’t usually go for bodycon, because white is one of those colors that really calls attention to whatever little lumps and bumps you have on your body. I do wear white a lot, but I tend to wear it in things like jackets or A-line skirts. Or, like this one, which has that breezy, flowy feeling. It’s great for a summer night out and would make a great party dress. You can wear it with flat sandals or dress it up with heels and big earrings (similar style here!) as I chose to do. I wore it with my Nicholas Kirkwood pumps (similar style here!) — again, one of my favorite ways of mixing highs and lows. These pumps have a little bit of white on the toe so it brought the outfit together, and the rose gold strap on the shoes paired well with my earrings. When I was in my teens I used to love wearing huge earrings, and now that I have a 9-to-5 job I don’t get to do that as much, so it’s really fun when you’re going out and get to put on a really bold earring. I feel like by adding the earrings to this look, it dressed it up a bit and gave it a fun feel. I loved putting together both of these looks and I think they’re just perfect for summer. Both were flowy and light enough to keep the heat from getting to me, and the colors I chose look great with a tan. Until next time, fellow shopaholics!

What are your go-to summer looks? Would you be daring enough to try the culotte trend? Sound off below!

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