Meet the clothes!

dresses, skirts, store news, t-shirts -

Meet the clothes!

Today I'd like to give you a guided tour of the House of Boom clothing range that will go on sale at the pop-up on December 15 & 16, and online from December 16.

This is the first range of clothing I have ever designed, so it's pretty scary to share my babies with the world. I hope there's something in there that you like. 

The BOOM t-shirt

There were a number of reasons why I was motivated to do a t-shirt, and some grand plans that didn't work out. But the design of this shirt is definitely a winner.  

three babes in plus-size grey cotton t-shirts with "HOUSE OF BOOM" screenprinted on them

Kris, Alex and Eli wear the shirts with their Fanny Adams knickers

The t-shirt comes in standard Boom sizing 1-4 (which is a 16/18, 20/22, 24/26 and 28/30), with spacious sleeves down near to the elbow and a lower neck than your standard T. It's 100% cotton, of course.

joanna in a plus-size t-shirt

I contemplate my BOOM shirt

This season I've done it in a grey marle, and because it's launch time, HOUSE OF BOOM is printed across most of the shirts. You might also find a couple of shirts without the printing, and a couple in other fabrics leftover from samples, if you're lucky! Shirts are $65 printed, $60 blank. 

The TIARE skirt

When I decided to design my idea of a perfect skirt, it had to be in cotton, with pockets, of course. It had to come in bright colours. It had to be long enough that I didn't need to worry about showing off my undies in a gust of that notorious Wellington wind. When I tried on the sample Iona at Umsiko made for me, I liked it so much I decided to name it after me. For season one, In The Beginning There Was Boom, I was absolutely thrilled when I found this rainbow fabric, and by the reactions of others, I suspect this is a skirt that will stay in stock. I added in a gorgeous turquoise and a luscious green as well, plus a purple hexagon pattern. For good measure, there's also some blush ones too. 

Carma in a rainbow cotton skirt with pockets

Here's Carma in the rainbow

Short girl in bright turquoise skirt

Anna is fricking adorable in turquoise

Tall Maori woman in bright green skirt

Eli is relaxed in green

Woman in a purple plus-size skirt

Kris is bold in purple pattern

Woman in a blush skirt

Florence is sweet in blush

Now, full disclosure - the TIARE skirt is bigger than it should be. I think the 1, which should be a 16/18 is definitely more on the 18+ side. In fact, just between you and me, Florence, above, is wearing a peg on the back of her skirt because she's more of a 14/16. For season 2, I hope to get a size 0 cut that will be better for those of you who are 16s. For now though, as soon as the skirts are available online I will have their measurements posted as well. 

Shorties - these skirts are cut long on purpose, in order for them to accommodate as many people as possible BUT they are also very deliberately made with very simple bottoms so they can be easily hemmed. Or you can choose to wear the skirt long if you prefer it.  TIARE is $145

The DEMELZA knit dress

I named the Demelza after a good friend of mine who has had more than her share of misfortune but who nevertheless persists, kicks butt and triumphs. So it's fitting that with a dress this comfortable, you’re going to GET SHIT DONE. You can achieve things that may seem impossible to others. You can conquer whatever dumb stuff the world throws at you and look cute doing it too.

Pockets can hide your weapons of choice, and you can dress it up or down, depending on what challenges you’re going to crush today. The Demelza is of course cotton too, with elastine or lycra in the mix depending on the colour. 

three babes in all cotton plus-size dress in purple

Florence, Alex and Eli in eggplant/purple

Carma and Kris in red dresses

Carma and Kris in the DEMELZA in red

Laura and Sara in lilac plus-size cotton dress with pockets

Laura and Sara in lilac

Joanna and Anna in the blue plus-size cotton dress with pockets

Me and Anna in the blue

As you can see in the picture above comparing Anna and I, the DEMELZA is also cut to be long enough to hit the knees on a tall person, but once again, if you're shorter, you can wear it long, or it has a simple bottom so it can be easily hemmed too. DEMELZA is $155.

The KINI sack dress

Before I designed the clothes, I did a survey of 100 people in Wellington about what they wanted in plus-size clothing. A lot of people said they hated shapeless sacks. Meanwhile, a lot of other people said they wanted a sack dress. And having worn them before, I totally understand why. Sack dresses are sooooooo comfortable. Especially these ones, which are, of COURSE cotton (or cotton/silk) and of course have pockets. These ones aren't for hiding away in though, because as you know, that's so not what Boom is about. They're loose not to hide away your body but instead to say "I will shape myself however I damn well please".  

So, Kini (mostly lowercase letters) is an exceptionally generous friend of mine who I first met when she sent me a scan of her bra back in 1999 (of course). She lives in Sydney but spends most of her time travelling. Fittingly, KINI (the dress, capital letters) is a wanderer. You’ll find her in the South of France, or on Akumal beach in Mexico - anywhere it’s hot and she can accumulate air points.

100% cotton keeps her cool, and she can be thrown on over togs (or bathers as the original Kini would call them, being Aussie) and she looks just as good with jandals as she would with tights and boots.purple corduroy plus-size dress

Laura and Kris show off the purple corduroy version of the KINI in 100% cotton.

Carma in a cat-print plus size dress

Carma is a cool cat in this navy KINI with gold cat print

Eli in blue waffle plus-size cotton dress

Eli wears a blue cotton waffle version of the KINI which is even more comfy than you can imagine

Joanna in a zig zag cotton plus-size sack dress with pockets

This black & white zig-zag print I'm wearing actually has little magenta stripes too if you examine it up close

Sara is jumping for joy in this cotton/silk blend KINI which is tiny black & white stripes that appear grey

Alex in see-through raspberry cotton silk KINI dress

Alex is cool-as in this raspberry cotton/silk blend KINI. You could wear a slip underneath it if you wanted to, or wear it over pants, but you don't have to!

The KINI is $165. Which one is your favourite?