Blog love: Messy Carla

Ohhh, I can’t tell you how much I LOVE Miss Carla. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just literally haven’t got enough words to describe her fabulousity. I’ve never met her - although I really, really want to - yet we’ve been internet budz for over 5 years and now she’s gone and created my new favourite internet destination - Messy Carla: A Fashion Blog in A Size 16. Not only do both Carla and I get mistaken for Kimmie dolls on a daily basis, we both work our curves in a dangerous way - come meet her, you’ll fall in heart with her too!

Describe Miss Carla in 5 words…
Voluptous, colourful, dorky, creative, awkward.

Your blog is AMAZING. Fact. What’s it about and what made you set it up?
Awww thank you very much. MessyCarla is really a blog to log my own style, and also to comment on current fashions, and style outfits based on them. I was inspired by the other amazing fashion blogs I’d been following, but a bit put-off as the girls behind them all seemed to be these beautiful, doe-eyed, slender hipsters – whereas I’m a bit too awkward to fit in to that clique! I want girls who are also size 16 and over to embrace their figure, not hide it under unflattering, baggy clothes!

What does the term ‘fashion’ mean to you?
Fashion gives me a chance to constantly change and evolve– clothes to me are expressionate to how I’m feeling, which is why I put the ‘point’ behind the look on every outfit post.

If you could return to a specific era, which would it be and why?
I am so excited that the 1980s pastiche look is coming back – bring on the big shoulder pads, big jewerelly and big hair! I couldn’t really get away with the twee 1970s look that all the indie kids are wearing, as the little dresses and shirts aren’t designed for boobs and big bums! But the 1980s look of massive on top, then slinky at the waist fits my body shape perfectly!

What do you love most about being a girl in the world?
Being curvalicious, feisty and the sheer amount of chocolate we can consume!

What 5 tunes would be essential to a Carla’s life soundtrack?
Fabulous, Baby! from Sister Act: The Musical.
Shifty Disco Girl by Helen Love.
Synthesized by The Epoxies.
That’s How You Know from Enchanted.
Anything by Zombina And The Skeletones.

What are your three favourite shopping destinations, incl. online? Care to share?
Dorothy Perkins is my favourite chain on the high street – their dresses especially fit my shape really well.
I simply adore Rose & Co in Leeds – the girls are all dressed in 1940s uniforms with victory curls in their hair and are adoreable. They sell kitch, beautiful things from vintage-inspired prom dresses and petticoats, to lipsticks and soaps shaped like handbags!
My favourite online store is Heidi Seeker, because you can get really unique items that are very fair prices. They’re also based in Tyne & Wear, which I didn’t know until recently – hoorah for the Geordie love!

What are your five must-have, can’t live without beauty items?
MAC Shadestick in ‘Beige-ing’ – looks amazing by itself for a shimmery nautral look, but I mostly use it as a base.
MAC Pigment pots – you only need a little bit for every use so they last practically FOREVER, so grab a good few colours. Amazing staying power too.
MAC foundation – feather light foundation that you can build up to your own personal coverage, which is good for me because I have a mild form of rosacea, a skin condition that means I have very rosy cheeks.
B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful’s ‘Dirty Face Protector’ – I have sensitive skin, so I use this instead of moisturiser in the wintertime to have extra protection against dry, sore skin – which is also essential when I need to apply plenty of cover-up when my skin flares up. This is also unisex, so you’ll have the boys sneaking it when you aren’t looking!
Chanel Inimitatable mascara – the only mascara I’ve tried that doesn’t clump or give me panda eyes.

What’s your motto for life?
Treat everyday like a new adventure.

These are a few of Carla’s favourite things…
Book: Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite.
Movie: A Clockwork Orange.
Make-up brand: MAC.
Shop: Ebay – so I can buy EVERYTHING!
Website: YouTube – I’ve learnt so much from watching YouTube videos, from how to use chopsticks to how to apply a ‘cats eye’ eyeliner flick properly.
City: Newcastle! Full of fabulous, fashionable people who know how to party hard! I also visited Cambridge last year and fell in love – it’s so craggy and quirky, and everybody dresses so quirkily – I saw a gang of students wandering around during the day in capes and kilts! Amazing!
Activity: Apart from shopping? Chilling in front of a DVD box-set with a massive bag of crisps.

The colour pink, discuss.
There’s some people over at the Pink-Stinks campaign who reckon that the colour pink encourages sexism, and makes girls narrow-minded and shallow in later life. To target a specific colour is frankly ridiculous – girls will always like pink because it’s a bright, sunny colour that evokes feelings of happiness (just the same as colours such as yellow and green do). To disourage ‘girliness’ at all is a very outdated idea – we are now living in an age where women can gain what they want out of life, without the sacrifice of their feminimity. We should embrace our gender differences, as well as demand equality!

Go visit Miss Carla right now at: Messy Carla