Moving Update

Hey ladies, sorry for the lack of posting... I am moving! I hit the road tomorrow morning so I have been very busy packing. Do you see all those hangers?! I didn't realize I had quite that many in use...and all of my things weren't even hung up. Oh man. Anyway, posting will remain a little slow until I settle back in, but the "My Outfit" posts will be so much better, I will finally have my tripod. It has been waiting for me patiently at my mom's house.

In case you were wondering... this was my makeshift tripod, with height adjustment! (Less or more pillows stacked haha)

So, please be patient with me! Posting will be back to normal soon. Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

My Outfit: Yellow Plaid

 What I Was Wearing:

1. Black T Shirt - ($0.80) - Thrifted
2. Yellow Plaid High Waist Skirt ($35) - Arks Endeavors on Etsy (Wore the shirt over the high waist)
3. Black Belt ($10) - Fashion Bug
4. Black Flats ($13) - Payless

My plan was to wear this shopping today, but the weather took a terrible turn on me! So I had to change. In other news, I went to Old Navy and got some GREAT  finds! I am pretty excited and I can't wait to feature an outfit here. I hope you all are having a great weekend :)

My Outfit: The Zebra Returns

What I Was Wearing:
1. Teal and Lace Vintage Top - Thrifted, gift from BFF
2. Zebra Cardigan ($39)- Lane Bryant
3. Skinny Jeans ($52) - Torrid
4. Classified Sandals ($19) - Shoe Carnival
5. Sequin Headband ($5.80)- For Love 21

I love that lace like collar on the shirt! It ended up getting really warm later in the day and I had to ditch the cardigan. Looks like I am going to start transitioning my wardrobe. I have reached the point where cardigans are a no go. Sad. They are my favorite.

What do you guys think is a good "staple" item for our summer wardrobe?

Designer Feature: JIBRI

Happy Wednesday Ladies! Here is the designer feature I promised you! I interviewed the lovely lady, Jasmine of JIBRI. She has been a favorite shop of mine on Etsy for a long time. Everything in her shop is so glamorous, I hope to have one of her items in my closet soon. Her shop is the perfect place to go to find the perfect piece for a party, wedding, work, or that day when you just want to feel extra special!

How would you describe the style of your clothing line? Where do you get your inspiration?

I would describe JIBRI as a strong yet feminine, sophisticated and glamorous line for the fashion savvy curvy woman.

I'm inspired heavily by vintage cinema (as those were my favorite portraits of women and femininity), all kinds of music, art, ARTISTS, an  array of cultures and attitude. :)

How long have you been designing plus size fashion? How did you get your start?

I’ve been designing and making clothes since I was a young girl, but decided to actually start a line about 4 years ago when I realized that the type of clothes I wanted weren't’t available off the rack. I’d made my own clothes for so long, I really never shopped for clothes, only accessories. When I started working full time, I didn't’t have time to make everything. When I went shopping I was disappointed big time. After a few years of that, I decided to start my line.

Ruffle Front Halter Dress

Where do you see yourself in relation to your clothing design in the future?
I hope to be able to solidify JIBRI as a recognizable boutique brand for the young glamorous, sophisticated and highly fashionable woman.

What is your favorite article of clothing? Why?
Hmmm...my favorite? I don't have one specific favorite piece but my favorite category at least are dresses. I LOVE dresses. With one slip over the head, I'm completely transformed. Dresses provide instant glam. Gotta love that.

What is one thing every plus size woman should have in their closet?

At least one piece that makes them smile just by looking at it....A fabulous pair of stilettos, a vintage broach, a snazzy hat, a perfectly fitted dress...whatever that piece is...Every woman needs to know that there is a piece in her closet that will help her set any room ablaze. I love basics, but I think we all need something stunning that transforms basics to spectacular.

 Where are your favorite places to shop? On etsy and/or elsewhere.

My absolute favorite place to shop is Neiman Marcus Last Call (The Outlet). I love Neiman Marcus, but can't always afford all the pieces I love there AND I love random value shopping (like Thrifting, TJ Maxx, Marshall etc) so Neiman Marcus Last Call is the best of both worlds. They have the opulence that makes my toes curl AND the value shopping setup that I like. I love to dig a bit for the hidden treasure.
               
                                                                                                                High Waist Pencil Skirt
Oddly enough...I haven't quite gotten the swing of SHOPPING on Etsy as I like to shop very randomly. I can never say.."today I'm looking for earrings!" I do however find tons of goodies via all the beautiful treasuries that I've recently discovered.

 Lastly, any advice or final words you would like to share with the readers?

As cliche as it is....Live life with no limits. Only one life to live...might as well enjoy it to the fullest! :)

 Ruffled Cardigan                                                                   Aviator Sleeved Wrap Dress                                                     Flapping Grace Dress

Alright ladies, if you like what you see you HAVE to go check out the rest in her Etsy shop! Make sure to visit her personal website, you can sign up for her mailing list, look at all of her collections, or even see where you can see her clothes in person. I know I will be visiting the Milwaukee, WI location!

UPDATE: She is currently having a 36 hour sale on select items, 40% off! (including that beautiful orange skirt). So make sure to head over there ASAP! :)

Just some info...

I had a lovely lady send me a link through formspring last night. She sent me a video explaining a body confidence workshop being hosted in the UK. I don't think any of my readers are in the UK, but the video still had a great message of the importance of confidence, and of course I don't mind spreading news about that! So go ahead and check out her video, and if you have anything you want to share or ask, don't forget about the formspring account :)

Also, another reader sent me an email with an invite to fashion website. It is a place to discuss outfits, ask for advice, and offer advice. I started my account today and I am still getting the feel for things, so no feedback to offer yet. The website is called LOOKVILLE, and membership is by invite only. It is a free website. I have 5 invites I can share, so if you are interested just leave your email in a comment below.

That is all for the updates. I hope all of you are having a fabulous Tuesday.

Inspiration: Beth Ditto

Beth Ditto is a musician from the band Gossip. She is talented. She is fashionable. She is plus size.

I have been thinking about how the media puts a huge emphasis on body image and the desire of being skinny. So I have decided to do some inspiration posts of beautiful successful plus size women in the media.

You can check out their wiki page for some factoids.

I love Beth Ditto's style, confidence, and especially her music.

via

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She has developed a clothing line , but for some reason I am having trouble accessing it.

I hope you ladies have found some inspiration here, if you have anyone in mind you would like me to post on the blog, let me know!

Wardrobe Wishlist

 These shoes are the Whyred Creati-Brilliant Green heels, and I am in love.

I want these shoes so bad. Sadly, they are $455.00. GASP. As a recent college grad (2009) I do not work on a salary yet, so that kind of money for shoes doesn't even exist, and if that money did exist I still don't know if I could justify spending that much on shoes. I honestly can't even justify spending more than $40 on any pair for shoes, ever. However, if I found a cheaper alternative to these I would probably be willing to spend $100, that is how much I love them. Then I would have to wear them every single day to make the guilt of spending $100 dollars on shoes diminish.

So, I am on a mission. Keep your eyes out ladies. Size 10 please! :)

Update: We are officially one week into this blog, and we have 11 followers! Thank you so much to everyone who has joined us! The blog will only get better with time and your participation. So thank you again, and if you enjoy the blog feel free to share it with friends! I have another Designer Feature for you this week, so watch for that!

A Giveaway @ Shimp Salad Circus Your Hair Will Love

Ladies! As I mentioned in my introduction post, I am going to discuss more than clothes here. So, when I saw that Lindsey at Shrimp Salad was hosting a giveaway I knew I had to share it with you.

The giveaway is for a  Professional Flat Iron 1" in the Pink Edition from Misikko.

You will love it and your hair will love you. And, really, who doesn't want a pink flat iron?! It is a great opportunity to win such a high quality item, for free! So hop on over to her blog and try your chances.

Contact Update.

To further be at your service I created a formspring account. After talking with a reader in much needed fashion advice today I realized she is probably not the only one with questions.

Formspring allows you to ask me questions anonymously or not. It will be a great tool to have if you have a special event coming up and you don't know what to wear. Or you need adivice on color combination. Shoes? Life? Anything.

Questions you ask I will share here, with an answer. If you wish for me not to share your name I will leave it out.

So, in the side bar you will find a button to formspring me
.

Or you can contact me the old fashion way, through email.

Whatever you decide, I will make sure I check it and answer everyday! I hope all of you lovely ladies are having a fantastic weekend.

My Outfit: Purple Skirt

What I am Wearing:
1. Fight Club T-Shirt (gift) -Originally from Alloy.
2.Purple Wool Skirt ($4) - Thrifted
3. Grey Cardigan ($23)- Torrid
4. Converse Shoes ($32)- Journey's
5. Multi-strand Necklace ($9) - For Love 21 (the accessory store for Forever 21)
6. Thick Metal Necklace ($3) - Flee Market

Why I was Wearing it:
1. Contrasting color to the skirt, fun and playful
2. The item I started with, just wanted to wear it! Nice weather today.
3. Adds a neutral contrast to the fun colors. Also, the t-shirt is short on me. (I have a long torso) so the cardigan hides that.
4. Makes the outfit less dressy and more fun!
5 & 6. Nothing wrong with some accessories. Glam'ed it up a bit.

I was in a playful mood today, so I showed it through my clothes!

On a side note, I need more navy (the color) in my closet. I really want a navy dress. Any suggestions??

Style Council: Sizes and Numbers

I figured I should tell you guys that I am a size 22 in pants and 5'11" tall. This is just a reference for when you see the "My Outfit" posts. Every body is different and everything looks different on everyone's body. It is important to keep that fact in mind when reading fashion blogs and fashion articles. Read fashion tips for inspiration not for imitation.

Ok, now that I have said that here is my point/advice for the day. It is important to try everything on when you are shopping. I rarely find an item that looks the same way on me that it did on the hanger. Watch where the seams fall, where is the hem line? Is it laying on your widest part?? Then don't buy it!

Part of the reason shopping for plus size clothing is so difficult is because the people doing the designing are not plus size (some stores excluded). They are making clothes they think we want to wear. So either the clothes are frumpy because they think we want to hide our curves, or they are "skinny" clothes that have just been blown up, clothes that are not flattering to our body types. This is why I recommend trying everything on.

Also, your clothing size is just a reference number. Every store seems to have a different number guide for their clothing.  In reality it seems you are a different size for every store. I know at Lane Bryant I am between a 18/20 22/24 in tops, and at Torrid I am between a 2 or a 3 and it still depends on the style of the top. But then if I go to Old Navy or Target, I feel like I wear a bigger size. So don't be afraid to go a size up, it is just a number, your actual size has not changed.

I feel bad for the girls that are too worried about numbers and they end up looking worse because they squeezed into something that did not fit them. No one knows your numbers except you. Unless you are me and share it on a blog on the internet for the whole world to know :P

So ladies, keep this is mind when you are shopping! Also, if you have any experiences with sizing issues feel free to share them! I am sure everyone can relate and you probably now have new found advice to share.

Lastly, thank you everyone who came from Plats. I appreciate you joining us!

Designer Feature: Platipuses

Good Morning! I need to tell you guys something, I am on a mission. I want this to be the best blog ever. So I have been hard at work trying to figure out ways to make that happen. I have a whole list of ideas to bring here, so there shouldn't be a shortage of posts. I just need to find some readers! Hopefully, they will come with time. :)

Some of my planning is already paying off and I am super excited to feature a plus size clothing designer today!

Her name is Christi, but she is known as Plats at Platipuses on Etsy. I first found out about her on Ebay a few years back and even purchased a skirt from her! I will make sure to feature it sometime. One thing I love about her, she makes clothes that fit from a size large all the way to 4x!  I am so excited she agreed to answer a few questions and  share them here. So, here we go!

How would you describe the style of your clothing line? Where do you get your inspiration?
I would describe my clothing to be badass loveliness for fat girls. It's punk/rockabilly/nerd. anything that will make curvy ladies feel awesome. I just get my inspiration from what fabric I have/like.


How long have you been designing plus size fashion? How did you get your start?
I've been designing for about 5 years I think. I started just by being sick of there never being any cool looking stuff in the 'Plus Size' areas in stores. It was all for old ladies.

summer lovin dress.

  Where do you see yourself in relation to your clothing design in the future?
I want to keep doing the same thing, designing, modeling, and making all the stuff myself.

What is your favorite article of clothing? Why?
I have a Conan O'Brien hoodie that I just got at his show here in Seattle a few weeks back. It's not the best looking thing, but I love the memories it brings back!

What is one thing every plus size woman should have in their closet?
A killer hoodie.


Where are your favorite places to shop? On etsy and/or elsewhere.
I like going to Thrift stores, that's where I get most of my clothing.

Lastly, any advice or final words you would like to share with the readers?
Well, if you want to start sewing, do it! It's fun and pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Also, there is no reason to dress like a frump just because you are plus size, dressing adorably will make you feel adorable. And that's all that matters.


                                                                                                                    the comfy hoodie.
                                                                                                             

Christi's clothes are so fun and playful, and a little bit hardcore. If you want to make a statement, these are the things to wear. I am going to be honest, I was a little hesitant adding the first dress, I want it for myself! What I have pictured here is only a small portion of what is in her shop, so make sure to stop over at Platipuses and do a little shopping for yourself!

Other Places you can find Plats: twitter, flickr, facebook.

My Outfit: Little Black Dress

What I am Wearing:
1. Black Dress ($7.50): ReThreads, a resale shop in Milwaukee, WI. With a great plus size section! Originally from Old Navy.
2. Zebra Print Cardigan($39.50): Lane Bryant
3. 3 Strand Pearls($.50?): Rummage Sale
4. Teal Nail Polish($1.50): Walgreens
5. Polka-Dot Sunglasses ($4) : Ragstock


Why I am Wearing It:
1. I love the dress. It has two long straps that tie in the back but I wrap them around to the front and tie it in a bow. Adds more definition under the bust.
2. Who doesn't love a little animal print? Also, too chilly not to wear a cardigan.
3. Adds a little class, and with such a large neck line it looks less bare with a necklace.
4. Pop of color!
5. It's fun! It is always important to have fun when planning your outfit.

Not Pictured (UGH) Shoes! I wore peep toe black, suede like heels from Payless! ($20)

I am working on the picture situation, sorry I forgot to show the shoes. I am SURE they will show up in another post, they are my favorite.

Style Council: Confidence

Throughout this blog you are going to hear a lot of "this is a must have" or "every closet needs one of these" or "how can you live life with out this?" I am going to totally mean these phrases when I say them, but there is one thing that EVERYONE needs, one thing that makes the rest useless if you don't have it.

Confidence.

As cheesy as it sounds, I am dead serious. If you are unwilling to take risks because you are uncomfortable, then it is time to focus on confidence, not fashion. Confidence is number one. Sometimes, confidence can come through fashion by understanding how your wardrobe works for you. All of my advice is here to make you feel good about yourself. I don't dress up for other people, I dress up for myself.

Of course people have insecurities, and that is okay. We will work around them and make you feel more comfortable about yourself with time.

So, confidence is key. You know, not like your apartment key, but like your building managers key. It is the key that opens every door.

My Outfit: It started with the boots.

Well, here it goes! The first outfit post! These will only get better, especially once I have a tripod...not a picture frame, on top of a pillow, on top of a chair, on top of another chair.... and also being limited to under the balcony because of the rain we have had here for the past week.  haha

Alright, down to business!

What I am wearing:
1. Tweed Fedora($7) -Thrifted
2. Yellow Wooden Earrings($12) - Francesca's Collections
3. White Button Up - Hand me down from my Aunt, originally from Avenue.
4. Grey Button Up Sweater Vest - Thrifted, gift from BFF
5. Brown Woven Belt - Hand me down from my mom.
6. Skinny Jeans ($56? Quite a few years ago) - Torrid
7. Red/Brown Leather Boots($8) - Thrifted

Why I am wearing it:
1. A hat to match my sweater vest and assist with the rain.
2. A pop of color.
3. A good foundation piece, but too big for me.
4. A vest to add dimension and shape, and length to my torso.
5. A belt to match my boots and give me a waist.
6. Jeans to show off my leg shape and off set the baggy top.
7. A cute boot!

And there you have it! I rarely am able to wear this many thrifted items at once, must have been my lucky day! This is not the outfit I had planned in the morning, it morphed into this, but I think you always get the best outfits that way. All of my outfits start out with the one thing I want to wear that day, and I build from there. All I knew this particular day was that I wanted to wear those boots!

So what do you think? What would you have done differently? Or what may you try out yourself?

Clothing Store Reference Guide

This will be our shopping reference post. I am going to list all the clothing stores that sell plus size clothing with initial reactions/thoughts about the store. The list will never be complete, so as we shop more places - even if they are only regional- we will add them here. So, if you have any new stores be sure to share!

Lane Bryant - Great professional clothes and occasionally you can find a great "piece" for your wardrobe. Usually high quality and will last a while.

Torrid - Probably the most modern plus size store. Their seasonal collections can be unpredictable, and quality clothing is not always up to par. This is wear I buy all of my skinny jeans. Also, you can sign up for a free Dive Style card which give you 5% off every purchase.

Avenue - Very similar to Lane Bryant, but less variety - may be directed at an older demographic.

Fashion Bug - Basically a "bargain" Lane Bryant. I believe they are sister companies. Lower quality, but still variety.

Deb - They now have a plus size section. Their sizing runs small and quality is low - but great for low cost items and plus size teens. This is where I bought my formal dresses in high school. It is not easy to find a low cost prom dress in plus size.

Dress Barn - I have never found something to buy here as I feel it is not very modern but I always look because their clothes seem to have quality and sometimes you can get lucky!

Old Navy - Love their style, and affordable! Sometimes the clothes run small.

Catherine's - I have never shopped here, but it is a sister store to Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug.

Target - (Submitted by reader Lauren)  Target is a store I'd like to add. Depending on your local store, the plus section can be a loaded with goodies or sparse- for me its the latter. Either way, target.com has been a great resource for a even bigger selection of plus items if you don’t mind paying a little extra for shipping. I totally agree. I checked out target the other day, fashionable items at a great cost.  

Don't be afraid to go into stores that seem 'too old" or "too young" or "too whatever", because style and fashion is about creativity, what an article of clothing may look like on a hanger can transform into something completely different on you and if paired with accessories.

Okay - that is all I have for now. Make sure to share, so we can see this list grow.

An Introduction.

This is a blog to focus on fashion for the curvy plus size lady.

I am going to start by saying that I am in no way a fashion expert.

Now, with that being said I will say that I have been plus size my whole life (23 years) with a constant passion for fashion. So... you could consider me an expert in relevance to my experience.

This blog will not be a place to tell you how you need to dress or how you should dress, or how you are doing it wrong.

This blog will be a place for ideas, inspiration, and helpful tips that I have come across over the years.

I want to spark confidence and creativity within everyone.

Learning how to dress for your body type is a skill everyone should posses and once you get the basics down it is a free for all.

Things to look forward to (hopefully) are tips for clothes, make up, and accessorizing. Maybe interviews from plus size clothing designers, product reviews, and who knows what else.

One thing I can guarantee is complete honesty. I will share shopping woes and successes. Problems and solutions. And affordable fashion.

This blog will be an adventure with constant improvement, all I ask of you is to enjoy the ride.