Hello luvs. It's time for the 3rd installment of Blog Spotlight. For the new readers to this blog I started the blog spotlight because being a full time English student, managing this blog, and writing for a online magazine(not yet but soon) I can not give you all the “skinny” on fat fashion. There are many, many blogs out there, many of which that I read, that cover a lot of things that I do not. As oppose to just featuring bloggers on my blog roll I thought it would be a good thing to not only link you to the blog but give you a glimpse into the person behind the blog.
So meet Ragini the 24 year old, happily unemployed student behind the fat fashion blog Forays in Fatshion.
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Tiffany - Hello, Thank you for agreeing to answer some questions. How are you doing today?
Ragini - I'm great thanks! And its my pleasure.
Tiffany - What was the “light bulb” that went off or the situation that made you start you blog, Forays in Fatshion?
Ragini - I think my very first post on my blog mentions this 'magic moment'. You see, I have always loved dressing up and before I had this blog, I would post OOTDs on the fatshionista LJ comm. I would receive very positive feedback there but with time I began to feel the need to have my own space to showcase my sense of style. Oftentimes I would (and still do!) spend my spare time dreaming up outfits and finding the pieces which would make said outfits become a reality. The black velvet military jacket was really the spark which started it all - I was lusting after this black velvet military jacket a few months ago and had spent some time dreaming up the perfect and slightly outrageous (in the sense of being totally kawaii) outfit to go with it. But I knew that at that point of time I did not have sufficient bravado to go out anywhere wearing it. Which is when I decided that I would get up the guts to do it someday and would even document it - on a blog! So, that's how it started.
Tiffany - What I like most about the outfits you post to your blog is your ability to take basic pieces and make them look chic. Like, none for your outfits seem overly done up or accessorized. How do you achieve that?
Ragini - There are a few reasons behind it. The first being that I have to work on a limited clothing budget. So, most of the time, clothing pieces take precedence over accessories as a result of which I don't own many accessories, yet. (I'm remedying that, bit by bit.) As a result of this, I haven't yet perfected the art of piling on accessories like I see so many people doing (and envy!) The second being that I have this rule about accessories - not more than two per outfit and I stick to that. When it comes to accessories I prefer to have one bold piece that sticks out and does its work - like a cute scarf, or a hat or a statement belt or neckpiece (you'll be seeing more of this stuff on my blog soon!)
Tiffany - What or who are your fashion inspirations? How do you incorporate those inspirations into your wardrobe?
Ragini - Since I don't read fashion magazines, my inspiration comes mostly from my fellow bloggers. Some blogs I find to be extremely inspiring are Musings of a Fatshionista, Fatshionable and among straight size fashion blogs, Calivintage and Garbage Dress. I also find inspiration in old children's book illustrations which may seem surprising to some. But I do find vintage children's clothing to be a huge source of inspiration - especially Victorian children's clothing. I look I like to term "Victorian Nursery" is one of my favourites and I'm always looking for pieces to go with it. In the end, though, a lot of my inspiration comes from my own head, which might seem strange. Sometimes I get a particular idea (probably stemming from the collective unconscious) and won't rest until I have managed to make it manifest in the flesh. So rather than relying on clothing lines from big stores to provide me with the pieces to do so, I usually spend a lot of time searching through ebay and etsy for exactly what I want. That is how stuff gets incorporated into my wardrobe.
Tiffany - There are plenty of people that have blogs that dress “nice” but, I have only seen a few with a distinct personal style. What to you makes a real, distinct personal style?
Ragini - I think that there are quite a few factors behind the development of a distinct personal style. The first is a genuine love of clothes and dressing up and another is time. An unique sense of style only comes, I believe, with time. This is why, some of the best and most uniquely dressed people I have seen have been on the Advanced Style blog. Another factor is comfort with one's own body. Only when one is entirely comfortable with one's body can one dress it in the way it deserves to be. Fashion risks need to be taken for the development of an unique sense of style to happen. This comes, I think, of treating the body as text and making clothes a way of engaging with both it and the world around. Some of the best dressed people I have seen are also some of the people who seem to possess a very high level of body confidence.
Tiffany - Quite a few of your outfits feature pieces that you purchased online at places like, the fatshionista sales post, ebay, and etsy. Why do you enjoy online shopping? Are there more plus size options online then in stores in your opinion?
Ragini - Not only do I love online shopping, it's also the only way I can get to the clothes that fit in with my sense of style and fit my body. Plus size fashion in India is non existent, so all my clothes have to be from online stores/sellers.
Tiffany - Does having a fashion blog where you post outfits of the day(ootd) make you shop more? How often do you shop? Do you identify with being a shopaholic?
Ragini - Yes, I do think that doing this has made me shop more. Posting up an outfitpost is always a great incentive for me to invest in pieces. Like I said, I work with a limited shopping budget which I end up spending at the beginning of every month (I have no patience and I always have a long list of things that I am coveting.) So, in that sense I am a shopaholic.
Tiffany - I know you are from India but I am not sure if you live there. So if you can, could you describe the market for plus size clothing options there? Are there wide arrays of options available?
Ragini - I do live in India. The market for plus size clothing here, as I mentioned, is non existent. It's only been in the past year that I have been able to go to brick and mortar stores and find maybe a couple of cute things in my size (which is the largest size available until now.) So if you are in India and any larger than me, it's likely you'll have to live in mumus or salwar kameezes which you have got a tailor to sew for you. Or men's clothing (which I used to as a teenager). And even then, the plus (read - mumu) lines of stores (and there are only two of these) only go upto a 20 (That's a US 18). So yeah, being fat and fashionable in India- not an option unless you're willing to shop online like me.
Tiffany - There seem to be plus size fashion blogs popping up every where. Do you think it is possible for every person to have a unique perspective on plus size clothing? Do you find some plus size fashion blogs redundant?
Ragini - So far, from what I have seen, (and I don't claim to have seen every single fat fashion blog out there - infact there are many, I believe, that I don't know of) everyone who has been blogging has something new to offer - be it in terms of personal style or other content. Till date, I have not found any blog which seems redundant to me. I don't think it has come to the point yet where you'll find a lot of people doing exactly the same thing.
Tiffany - Staying on the subject of blogging. The fatshopaholic blog has only been up and running a few months and I already get people asking to be featured my blog roll.I only feature relevant blogs that I am in love with. How do you determine what blogs get added to your blog roll?
Ragini - Since I haven't had anyone requesting to be on my blog list yet, I can't really comment on that. However, the blogs that are on my blogroll are blogs I read regularly (which is why you'll find a lot of non fat fashion blogs there as well) and I actually use my blogroll as a place to keep track of the blogs I want to follow.
Tiffany - Finally What do you enjoy about the fatshopaholic blog? What made you agree to do this interview?
Ragini - What I love most about your blog is the fact that you do all these features like blog spotlights and shopaholic trends and get other people involved. I also find the discussions you promote about certain aspects of fat fashion (like with your post on heels and the one where you talk about fat people only being 'allowed' to wear dark colours) to be very very interesting.
Your last two interviews were very different from most interviews I see on blogs in that the questions you asked are not run of the mill and are thought provoking - which is why I agreed to participate.
If you have any suggestions or if you would like to be featured on Blog Spotlight please send a email to fatshopaholic@yahoo.com
Missed a blog spotlight? Well check out one featuring Christina of Musings of a Fatshionista here and one with Jai of the Fat and Skinny on Fashion here.
3 comments:
I LOVE her!!!!! She is an amazing girl with amazing taste :)
That's mah girl, Ragini!
She's so awesome. Seriously!
Hope you guys enjoyed the interview!
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