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Liz McClarnon Swimwear Collection Event & Interview for Fashion World


One thing which always daunts me is swimwear. I see lots of super cute swimming costumes and bikinis in regular stores but can never seem to find something cute but comfortable in my size that I'd actually like to wear when heading to the pool - until now! Fashion World have come up with another amazing celebrity collection this time with the absolutely lovely Liz McClarnon of Atomic Kitten fame, who has designed a gorgeous and fun range of swimwear.


Naturally, I just adore the prints - so bold and bright and kitschy cute with cherries, flamingos and daisies some of the stalwarts of 50's pin up clothing. I was lucky enough to be invited by Fashion World to head to London to interview Liz about the collection and any other topics I could think of! I headed to London on a sunny Wednesday afternoon and headed to 45 Park Lane (with a quick pit stop to Selfridges beauty room to grab a new MAC lippy and an OCC Lip Tar) - it was really warm in the sun and I complete misjudged how far down Park Lane the hotel was so I arrived a bit of a shiny faced mess, but hey what can you do. I arrived to find lovely Sally, Hollie and Lucie sitting in the reception area (Anna-Lise joined us later too) and sat having a lovely chat before I headed upstairs to see Liz in her suite.

The hotel 45 Park Lane was stunning and full of contemporary art!

It was just lovely to see how excited Liz was about the collection - she is amazingly fun, warm and friendly by the way - her favourites from the collection are the cherry swimsuit and the daisy bikini. When I mentioned how much I loved the cute prints Liz said she had been really nervous when pitching them to the design team as they are pretty bold and out there compared with what you usually see on plus size swimwear, but thankfully (for me and her!) they loved them and gave the go ahead straight away.

Liz had clearly considered how well the designs would suit us plus size gals when putting the collection together - she told me that the ruched sides to the bikini bottoms can be adjusted so they can either be high rise to cover a little more tummy or adjusted so they aren't as wide and look more like a regular bikini bottom. I like the swim dresses the best as they cover up my tum and are flattering to my back area and I was so pleased to see that the dress was available in all three prints - keep your eyes peeled as I'll be reviewing two of them very soon!

I asked Liz if she had been nervous shooting in the swimwear, I had read interviews with her previously when she said she had always hated those kind of shoots when she was with the Kittens and she told me that although she had been nervous because this collection was her baby so to speak and she was so proud of it, she felt more confident and knew that she had to look comfortable and happy in the photos to make people believe in and want to purchase from the collection. Liz was so honest and lovely about everything, she's a peach!

My last question about the range was why did she choose to do it with Fashion World? It turns out that Liz and her family had all been buying from Fashion World for a few years now as you could find pretty, affordable pieces to suit all the shapes and figures of her family so when they approached her about the line she was ecstatic. I think it really is truly wonderful that now there are shops offering the same styles in both regular and plus sizes rather than offering both size options but with completely different clothes. Liz's collection starts at a size 12 and goes up to a 32 so gives a really wide range of ladies the chance to grab a cute piece for the beach!


I also took the opportunity to ask Liz a few non-swimwear related questions! Naturally I asked a few food related questions as I'd seen Liz on Masterchef, she says that her friends always request beef wellington when they come for dinner and she's made it so many times she's a pro at it, but one of her favourite things to eat is her Mum's cheese and broccoli soup - we both said how strange it is that neither of us can make soups quite as well as our Mums!

When asked if there is a beauty product she just can't live without Liz told me about a lady called Jenny Harding and her Dynasty Clinic which offers skincare solutions for eczema and acne prone skin. Liz had such trouble with eczema on her face for years before she was recommended Jenny and her appointment there was a revelation - after just one facial session her skin had improved dramatically and after using some of her products at home fr a few days her eczema was nearly all gone. I have trouble with acne and Liz recommended the same cream she uses which is called Pink Heaven which can be applied at night time and also worn under make up - I'll definitely be giving it a go!


I had an absolute blast on my short trip to London meeting Liz and some of my PS blogger babe friends, thank you so much Fashion World for inviting me to take part! Keep your eyes peeled on Lucie's blog as she'll be posting a video of us all discussing the collection soon.