I’ve wanted a full on leopard print dress for ages now, but –and this might shock long time readers– I’m just a teensy bit particular.

I LOVED this on Queen Latifah on whom I have an unabashed girlcrush way back in 2007.

This from the last Dior couture collection pushed me right to the edge:

while the coat from the Dior Resort 2010 show pushed me right over:

Good gravy Marie, that’s a hell of a coat. Is freelance organ harvesting still illegal? If not, does anyone have a bathtub and an ice machine? (uh, this was written before those folks in Jersey got arrested for trafficking in illegal organs. So, uh. Yeah.  –ed.)

Anyway, I wanted to avoid the sheath because  it’s one of my less successful shapes. The Queen is pretty much straight up and down for a big girl. Your pal Plummy, however, is shaped not unlike the butternut squash which makes sheaths a bit more difficult to style.

I wanted something with movement and volume, but no stretch and for the love of Gaultier, NO SHINE.

Thankfully, Speigel heard my plea and provided this delightful silk leopard print dress on sale for comfortably under a hundred dollars.

Love this so much; it’s an excellent silhouette for pears, especially for those of us with the travel-sized busoms. I’d guess that half of my dresses are some variation of this shape. If you want more va in you voom, take one of those super-wide elastic belts that were so popular a few seasons ago and wear it UNDER a dress like this. I call it –for absolutely no reason in particular– my “Well you should’ve thought about that before you left me for an East German amnesiac, now shouldn’t've you?” look.

The sheath isn’t bad, either.

I’d wear it under a fitted blazer, or with an alpaca net cardi and my enormous YSL belt.

There are lots of other leopard goodies on the Speigel site, so take your pick and happy hunting!

These are the Cezannes by Pour la Victoire, a little shoe house I like very much because they make the most comfortable heels I’ve ever owned, and I would buy these in a heartbeat EXCEPT these $130 shoes:

look juuuust a bit more like these $1300 shoes than I find strictly seemly:

(the Dior Anniversary pumps, perched atop Stella, my Cadillac)

Or am I only seeing things?

Bluefly is having a huge sale, ending tomorrow, with deep markdowns on designer items. Click here for handbags and accessories, or here for shoes. Stuart Weitzman, Charles David, Rafe New York, Kenneth Cole, all under $100. The satin peep-toes by Kenneth Cole with criss-cross leather trim, pictured,  are under $63 (also in black).

Old Navy will give you free shipping on any order of $75 or more, through tomorrow, with code FREE75. Click here to go straight to Plus Size women’s apparel(and, again, pay no attention to the creepy mannequins. The point is the clothes).

Soma Intimates is having a sale.

Igigi does something very smart. They roll out their collection one item at a time, so that there is always something new to look at . . . and announce at Manolo for the Big Girl. Today we tell you about the new Fortuna dress, available in turquoise or orange (pictured).

Evans has a nice line of faux-Macintosh raincoats (not true Macs because they are not made of rubber, but still, Francesca says: it is always a good idea to buy one’s raincoats from England).

Always for Me has a large selection of newly-marked-down items.

Happy shopping! xoxo

Inspiration:

The beyond genius complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books. SUCH a seminal anthology, totally worth every penny. If jazz really is the only truly American art form then this is our answer to the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Realization:

The Christelle dress from Igigi. They sell it as a wedding dress, but it would be perfect for a summer orchestra concert, a yacht party (not that there are any damn yachts around here, which makes it REALLY difficult to figure out who you’re going to sleep with at a party. Grrr.) or, if jauntily accessorized with a scarf in the hair to bring the formality down, a fun croquet party. BYOFlamingo.

Electric blue! (and here’s the Icehouse video, unmissable hot mullet action)

On sale and available in emerald, fuchsia and black.

It is a scientifically proven fact that your pal Plumcake cannot resist a pseudo-dipsomaniacal lunatic in a good hat, particularly if he looks like he could fix my car AND talk to me about Bach’s early contrapuntal conceits at the same time. In my circle of rock n’ roll guy friends, Tom Waits is a fashion god, and the guy does have a whole steaming pile of personal style, which just goes to further my theory that the most interestingly stylish people on earth are rarely the ones blessed with an excess of natural good looks.

Yeah.

If you’re new to the train track genius that is Tom Waits, enjoy his classic 1985 hit “Downtown Train” (no, it’s not a Rod Stewart original)

and he’s got GREAT comedic timing as an actor. If you haven’t seen Jim Jarmusch’s “Coffee and Cigarettes” check out this scene where Iggy Pop and Tom Waits meet for coffee and have an awkward conversation about nothing.

ANYWAY he brings the all-round crazy genius hotness, click on each picture for a link to a must-have Tom Waits album.

Hello to all! Francesca hopes you indeed had a happy weekend.

Francesca wishes to remind you that, as the summer season winds down and vendors are making room for their fall collections, NOW is the time to buy fun or fancy frocks for NEXT summer. Remember, the warm weather, it will return next year! Be ready on the cheap!

La Grande Dame was having a HUGE HUGE 70% off sale on designer items (Tadashi, Betsey Johnson, Gayla Bentley, etc), to make room for the new collection yesterday. When the wonderful owner, Catherine, came to understand that last week Francesca was functioning at only 80% and hadn’t had a chance to tell you, SHE EXTENDED THE SALE THROUGH TODAY JUST FOR US! THANK YOU, LA GRANDE DAME! Quantities limited but VERY marked-down. Francesca’s pick.

MonifC has been having a mid-summer sale, and it ends tonight. Check it out here. Francesca likes the Elaine ruffle dress (pictured), available in red or white.

Silhouettes will provide free shipping on orders of $100 or more with code S9PEF.  OR, take 15% off any order of 2 or more items with code S9PE15R (ends tomorrow). Also, a sale on their new dresses for the fall. Francesca’s pick.

Avenue has issued sale code AV91093, which will take 20% off your online purchase, or 25% off an order of $100 or more. Francesca does not know when this code ends. For extra savings, click here to go to items that are already on sale.

Size Appeal will take 30% off your order and give you free shipping if you buy $39.99 of stuff and use code sjv5km6 today.

JCPenney has issued code VIP26, good at their website today, which entitles you to 30% off regularly-priced items, 40% off red tag items, or 15% off sale items. Click here to go to plus-size women’s apparel.

Sealed With A Kiss (SWAK) Designs has added new items to their Bargain Basement. Francesca’s pick (pictured).

Coldwater Creek will take 25% off your online purchase today, with code WKH6141.

Lane Bryant has this crazy thing starting today, a sweepstakes whose prize includes a “dream date experience” in the style of the new reality TV show “More to Love” (about which Francesca really should blog): get “all the glitz and glam of being a reality TV star – without setting foot in front of the camera,” they say. Francesca’s first reaction was “eh,” because a dream date experience is any date with the fantastic guy who is smart and funny and gentlemanly, and no glitz or glam is necessary, cameras or no cameras. HOWEVER, the prize also involves 3 free nights and spa services in a resort in Santa Barbara (for winner and a companion), round-trip airfare, a $500 American Express gift card, and a $500 Lane Bryant gift card. Now this is more like it! Also, if you like the Lane Bryant style, Francesca notes that at their website you can now join their brand-new social networking side, Inside Curve; joining will help you connect with other fatshionistas and get you sales news ahead of time.

Happy shopping!

xoxo