How I Became Confident

One of my most frequently asked questions is how I became confident and after months of promises I finally have a video done. It's a little bit long, but I hope you guys like it. Share your confidence journeys as a video response or in the comments here or on the video. 

What is Clown Fashion?

The internet can be a source of information that educates, provides opportunities, and changes the lives of many. But it can also be the source of ridicule; I have experienced that ridicule first hand. I have been told by many people, both online and in real life, that I need to go on "What Not to Wear" or that I look like a clown. It can be a struggle to be live as your authentic self when you are picked on by others, so rather then assimilate I choose to embrace looking like clown and wear whatever I like. 

I came up with the phrase clown fashion to describe my style and embrace looking unique, but I hope that clown fashion can encourage you to. Clown fashion is about embracing print, pattern, textures and color in anyway you see fit.  

Amanda Whitelaw of Hungry Designs was nice enough to create the image above of me( I know I'm not that small) dressed like a clown with the phrase, "Clown Fashion means being who you are no matter how crazy you look".  So you guys that have been asking know what I mean when I say clown fashion. Yay!  

I have set up a Spread Shirt store  here and you can buy clown fashion shirts in women's sizes small to 3x for now.  Let me know what you think.  Thanks for supporting this blog! :-) 

Topic of Discussion: How far does the notion of body acceptance reach?

 Sometimes I feel like the message being sent by people's actions is that your fat body is ok as long as your eyebrows are arched, your legs and pits are shaved, and you dress "nice". It makes me wonder why it is that we can manage to accept something as radical as a fat body, but we have trouble letting go of other social norms. I get message after message about the state of my eye brows and I don't understand why. If our fat bodies are no one else's concern why are my eyebrows? I see people on tumblr making comments about people's hairy legs or arm pits and I wonder the same thing. I find it all to be very hypocritical when people make such bold statements about how every body deserves to be treated fairly and not be criticized, but then they make comments about other aspects of people's bodies not pertaining to weight.

These are my eye brows a few weeks ago.

This also makes me feel like if you're fat and you aren't dressed "nice" then you're invisible. When I see statements made about me on Tumblr like, "Wow, a big girl that can dress", I feel happy because that is meant as a compliment, but at the same time I wonder would my being fat be as accepted if I just had on jeans and a T - Shirt? What about if you could see my hanging stomach through my clothes? Or if you could see the bulges on my back? I just wonder how people (online and on the street) would react to me if I my clothing choices were uneventful.

Some times when I look at blog a blogger may where a outfit where their book rolls or stomach are showing and that is discussed negatively in the comments. In this post I was told my pants were unflattering because it looked like I had a camel toe, but in reality what you were really looking at was my stomach. The message I get from this is that its ok to be fat as long as you camouflage your body and make it look as much like larger version of an ideal (to some) straight size body as you can. This means no large bulges, no hanging stomach, and no large back rolls. The fact is I am fat and while not every fat body is the same I happen to have one where my stomach hangs. I don't wear body shapers of any kind and a lot of time my stomach will show through my clothes. That is my reality.

In this outfit you see my stomach through my clothes.

I  guess my basic questions are
Is every body a good body or are only certain kinds of bodies good bodies?
Is there an acceptable way to be fat?
How far does the notion of body acceptance reach?
Why is weight often not up for discussion but other aspects of the body are?

Topic of Discussion: How Do You Look Unique?

Blogging is a great platform to allow people express themselves and inspire others, but things can seem a little crowded. There are only so many things, people, and clothing to discuss. As beautiful as everyone is sometimes it can be a little annoying to see other people wearing clothing that you own. Granted it's not nearly as bad as having it happen in public, but it's still a little off putting when you want to be unique. You can't really blame anyone in particular for this because while plus size options grow and expand everyday there are still fewer fashion forward plus size clothing options then there are straight size. If you talk in terms of main stream companies like Torrid, Lane Bryant, and Evans the numbers shrink, so that means a lot of the time we end up owning a lot of the same things.

I like looking unique and wearing clothing that I feel like really says me. Since I've started blogging the amount of shopping I do at main stream stores has decreased considerably. I have been doing more thrift store shopping now then ever before because not only is it a great way to find good clothes for cheap, but you likely won't see anyone else with them on. I also love shopping indie brands because this is a great way to support independent business and look unique. Trying things on at straight size stores and making them work can be a great way to find things you won't see a lot of plus size women wearing. I try not to buy the really popular items from main stream lines as well and when I do I try to style them in my own way thats not typical of how it would otherwise be wore.

So, what do you think? Do you care if someone wears the same thing as you? If you want to look unique how do you achieve that?

Topic of Discussion: Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow...

Most of you know I shaved the left side of my head last week. Generally speaking the response was great or maybe the people who hated it just choose to keep their opinions to themselves. Who knows? In the mist of the “It looks so great” praise there were a few “You’re so brave; I could never cut my hair” comments peppered in. This made me think, Why are girls so emotionally attached to their hair? Because the truth is I didn’t feel very brave at all. My stylist snipped the length off and cut it low, the next day I had a barber cut designs into it and well..that was it. 

I kind of wish I had a Make Over Episode of America’s Next Top Model type story to tell you about my hair cut. It would be much more interesting to read. You know the kind I mean. Like maybe I sat down in my stylist’s chair and before I could even form an opinion I was being told by my stylist what hair style worked best for my hair in relation to my face. I disagreed..she kept persisting. I cried a million tears while simultaneously embarrassing myself in front of the salons other inhabitants. She cut the length of the side off before I could protest. My heart rose to the middle of throat and kept beating there forming nervousness and eventually manifesting into a nervous break down.

Although it didn’t happen that way I still can’t help but wonder again why girls are so attached to their hair? I can tell you that in the past no matter what hair style I had I always needed my hair around my face. I’ve worn everything from micro braids to weaves to my natural hair and no matter what the state of the hair I would never wear it in a  ponytail or anything similar. I was convinced I had a large, fat face. My family weren’t helpful in this regard in fact they encouraged the theory. It was up to me to find the confidence to make changes to my hair. 

I just realized my face is fat and large! It will most likely look that way no matter what I do to my hair, so when I was 17 I cut my hair super short and dyed it a brownish blonde. Everyone at school kept asking me, “Are you ok?” They thought I had lost my mind. I hadn’t, but I did feel so much freer not hiding behind my thick hair. A year later I started getting weaves again, grew my hair out, wore it long for a while, and now I’m bald on one side. Guess I don’t have much to lose now!

I asked the same hair question I’m asking here on twitter and many people spoke of pressure from society. I can’t say I’ve ever felt that. My Pocahontas dreams where completely internal and encouraged by my family, but I can’t say I felt like I needed to keep my hair long to conform to any sort of standard. My grandmother hates short hair, but she asked me to keep it long; she never pressured me. Now that part of my hair is short no one is acting weird about it; my family is just as ok with it as they were my long hair. So, can some one tell me where this pressure comes from? I mean Rihanna, Keri Hilson, Beth Ditto and Janet Jackson just to name a few have or have had short hair, so I don’t think it’s because of celebrities. 

Let me know in the comments why are you attached to your hair or alternatively why don’t you care? Oh what crazy hair styles have you tried? 

Topic of Discussion: Are Affiliate and Blog Partnership Programs a Good Idea?

Running a blog is certainly a labor of love. As a blog author you take on many roles that other major websites delegate to different people. For example, picking a host, creating a layout, taking photographs, writing, and editing are all your responsibility. Even after you have all those ducks in a row so to speak how to do you inform people that you exist? I have always been of the school of thought that while there are little things you can do like posting on Flickr pools and leaving your link when you comment on other blogs having good content attracts the most people. 

Although I feel good content is the best approach for blog exposure it appears that  companies are capitalizing on this need by forming affiliate and blog partnership programs.  So, now the question is are these programs a good idea? Do the ends Justify the means? Well, here is what I have found. 

Affiliate Programs - Affiliate programs, like the one offered by Eshakti,usually require you to post a banner or advertisement of some kind for the company offering the program. On the ad or banner in many cases there is a coupon code for your readers use. The coupon then offers you a percentage (usually no more the 10%) of what your readers purchase using the code. So that you can gain more readers the company usually alerts their customers through some form of social media ( Twitter, Facebook, Etc) to visit your blog to get a coupon code. I have two problems with this.

1.)  Free Advertisement - I can’t help but feel like these companies are taking advantage of bloggers because they do not want to pay for advertisement space. Most of the ads these companies ask you to put up include pictures and take up quite a bit of room. We all know the bigger the ad, the higher price...a price these companies do not want to pay. I also feel like these same companies would not offer the same program to say the New York Magazine blog, so why do they feel like our standards should be lower? The fact of the matter is even if you are offered a 10% kick back from sales made using your coupon code your readers would have to purchase $1,000 worth of products for you to even see $100 for the advertisement space you are providing.  How do we ever expect companies to make legitimate advertising inquires if we give away ads for free?

2.)  There is Not a Lot of Exposure- I am not apart of any affiliate programs similar to the ones I described above, but I have never heard any blogger rave about the amount of traffic they have received from being apart of one these programs, so it appears the ends do not justify the means. 

Blog Partnership Programs - Some blog partner ship programs like the one run by the Skorch Magazine Blog require you to post a banner saying you are a Skorch blogger and in exchange you are added to their blog roll and they repost your blog content with a link to your blog. I have 3 problems with this. 

1.) Free Advertisement - Pretty much the same as what I mentioned above. A blog partnership banner is pretty much a free advertisement for that companies blog or website that you should be getting paid for.

2.)  There is not a lot of exposure-  Again I have not seen anyone raving about the amount of exposure they receive from being apart of a blog partnership program. I might be wrong though; please let me know if you do receive a significant amount of traffic from being in a partnership program.

3.) Your Content is Yours and Yours Alone - You have to purchase clothes, a camera, come up with ideas, and produce your blogs content. Why would you give all of your hard work away for free? I do write for Manik Magazine and Plus Model Magazine for free, but I believe in the direction of both magazines and they do not repost my blogs content. I usually am assigned an event to cover which I attend for free with a press badge to write a piece for the magazine which also helps generate content for my blog. For Example, I received free admission to Full Figure Fashion Week through Manik Magazine with a press badge. I wrote a piece or two for them and also did post for my own blog, so we both been benefited from the situation. 

Now someone is saying, “Aren’t you a Evans Clothing blog partner?” Yes, but it is a partnership I am rethinking because while my readers and I do benefit from 10% discounts and I am added to there blog roll I do feel like the ends are not justifying the means. In the pitch I was sent by Evans it was stated that I would receive clothing to review at some point. I have been a Evans blog partner for months and have not received any. Also, I have requested to guess post on the Evans blog via email and my inquires have yet to be answered.  Over all I love the clothing from Evans and hope that their blog partner program improves very soon! 

So, let me know what you think! Do you participate in any of these programs? Do you receive good exposure from them? Why wouldn’t you participate? Readers how do you feel when bloggers participate in these programs?


I have noticed people are commenting via google. I don't know how or why that is happening, but I can't see those comments. Please make sure you comment via Disqus! - Thanks, Tiff. 

Tiffany and the City: Adventures of a Fat Shopaholic. Oh No, Not I. I Will Survive!

On April 29th I took more hits then Muhammad Ali when he fought George Forman. I didn’t succumb to defeat though. No, I didn’t become heavy weight campion of the world but, I made it through the day. I didn’t cry and I didn’t weep. I didn’t stop in my tracks, blow up balloons, and hang streamers for a pity party for one. 

The days shenanigans started at college. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a couple  that is enrolled in both my humanities and Biology classes. Every single time I walk into my first class (Humanities) they start laughing and looking in my direction. Usually I don’t pay it any attention; I just go on about doing the homework thats due or going to sleep (that class is boring and I can’t sleep at night). On April 29th I didn’t got to Humanities so, they didn’t get the chance to see me until I showed up late to biology. When I entered the class everyone was silently staring at there test and twiddling there pencils like just looking alone would inspire the answers to jump into there head. Even with the silence filling the room the couple couldn't making me their private spectacle. They laughed but, I didn’t bother confronting them; I set down and took my test.

I didn’t torture myself. I answered the questions I knew and guessed on ones I didn't. I turned in my test and left to go on break. The couple must have done the same because they left before I did. I stood outside the door waiting on my friends. While waiting I heard the voices of the couple. “Every time I see her I can’t help but laugh”, I heard the guy say. Then his girlfriend chimed in, “Yea, did u see her daisy dukes. Oh my God”. They were both laughing the whole time. Again I didn’t let it get to me. It was hard. I could have walked over there and asked them what their problem was but I didn’t.

When my friends came out of the classroom I told them about the incident and they immediately said things like, “Fuck em”, and “that bitch be bright red every day. she can’t tan”. I appreciated that they were willing to defend me but, I couldn’t bring myself to join in. This was college right? Even in high school I was not the type of person to respond to that kind of negativity. Ignorance is deeply rooted; nothing I could say in a short amount of time could reverse or erase that. 

After break I walked back in the class room. The teacher was holding a discussion on immune systems and mentioned the medication that was aiding Magic Johnson in not contracting the AIDS disease. After the teacher made his comment one member the couple said, “He got AIDS cause he gay”. That moment reaffirmed for me that it’s not just me. I’m fat but, I’m not ugly; I’m beautiful. It just so happens that I encountered ignorance and that I can continue with my life contently. 

What outfit caused all these problems? Well here it is in all it's plain, uneventful glory.

Hat - Urban Outfitters

Shirt - Asos

Black tank,shorts, brown cuff - Torrid

Earrings - naKiMuli

Leggings - Lane Bryant

Boots - Evans via Ebay

Bag - Urban Outfitters via The Ark Thrift Store

Watch, Bracelet, Bangles - All over the universe

After class I headed to the Ark Thrift Store for some much needed shopping therapy. The Ark received raved reviews from my best friend so, I decided to check it out. I hopped on the train and got off at the right stop. From there I used my iphone to lead down the right way on the six street intercetion. I navigate based on landmarks so, north, south, east, and west don’t mean anything to me. Which means I still went the wrong way. While walking down wrong street the high speed winds were blowing my hair all around my head and pushed my body forward. Then my foot hit a dislodged piece of sidewalk and that coupled with the wind sent me tumbling over.

Two women rushed out of a resturant to make sure I was ok while the homeless people on the corner laughed at me. One women said, “That wind ain’t no mutha fuckin joke” and a homeless man said, “Damn that wind knocked yo ass down”. Embrassment helped me make a quick recovery and despite my bleeding knee and finger I got up, walked pass the same people that watched me fall and continued hunting for the store. I found the store and while one thing bought didn’t fit when I got it home here are my finds.

Urban Outfitters! $8

Eddie Bauer $1.50

Oxfords! $8!

After the thrift store I walked back to the train and it was there I realized that I lost my Upass (Free transportation for college students). I looked for it  for 15 minutes before the train attendant just let me on for free. That was nice but I still needed to take one more train and a bus to get home. So, I had to get off the train, dip into my savings and get money for transportation. Also, my sister put regular batteries in my battery charger so they busted and ruined my charger which meant I had to buy another one of those to. I'm trying to move so, every small unaccounted for purchase is a huge blow to my savings.

I did it. I dealt with everything that came my way, ignorance, falling on my face, and a unexpected financial situation. When things come your way how do deal with it? Do you shut down, cry and feel sorry for yourself or do pick yourself up and keep going?


While you ponder those question heres a playlist about combating with the haters.

Tiffany and the City: Adventures of a Fat Shopaholic. Am I more then just my Weight?

March 20, 2010 was my bestest friend, Chris’, 20th birthday. On the agenda for celebrating was going to Outback Steak House and meeting up with a friend of his at a bowling alley later that night. To simply say that March 20th was not my day would be a mass understatement. Clearly all of the fairies responsible for my good luck went on an impromptu holiday and forgot to inform me. 

For starters, people that claimed they would help fund my New York Workcation (yes I made that up) were slowly reducing the amount of help they would be willing to offer which left me endanger of canceling my trip all together.  I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but, when it comes to family members and friends mistreating me I am extremely sensitive so, of course I cried all day long. Chris didn’t show up until around nine o’clock p.m. to go to dinner and by then I’d finally pulled my self together. Well, not exactly; I was still quite broken internally but, I put on a believable facade. 

On the way out of my front door I was tipping (walking) in my new favorite boots. When I hit the first snow and rain covered step my right foot gave out from under me and sent me flying backward until I fell on my ass. The shorts that I’d paired over a pair of black leggings were completely ruined. Chris walked me back in the house so that I could change into a pair of denim colored leggings with his head cocked back laughing the whole time.

Dinner was rather uneventful. I enjoyed my medium well steak and the waitress didn’t charge me for my shrimp or my desert. I gleamed and radiated a bright smile when I saw the bill; maybe the evening was picking up after all. After dinner we navigated our way through the poorly lit chicago suburbs and found the bowling alley. I must say for it to be twelve o’clock in the morning the place was filled to the brim. At first glance you would have sworn it was gay night. The crowd was mostly gay men with straight men sprinkled here and there like the secret ingredient in your favorite meal. 

I searched through the blue and white lights bouncing off the bowling lanes and found our party at the far end of the building. Chris and I settled into the off white, slightly tarnished seats behind the bowling lane because we hadn’t planned to bowl. After he took his turn bowling a man of average height clad in fashions marketed to consumers half age sauntered over to us to have a seat. His brown tee shirt was a short, tight fit to allow space for his sagging blue jeans to expose the half of his ass covered in bright red underwear and his hair was covered with a du rag and red fitted cap.

Chris and I introduced ourselves first. The man greeted Chris and informed him that his name was Tony. When Tony turned to greet me he said, “Hey Precious”. Both Chris and I’s mouths flew open, we were stunned. Hearing those words was like having an outer body experience, the kind where not only can you not believe something is happening but, you wonder how sheer human common sense and discretion could allow something so dubious to enter someones mind, roll of their tongue and slide out of their mouth. I have absolutely nothing against Gabourey Sidibe or the fictional character Precious  but, look at this face

  now look at this face

 Do we look a like? I certainly don’t think so and chris didn’t either.

Had this Tony Character compared me to the beautiful actress Gabourey Sidibe then I  would have still been a bit thrown off but, I would have accepted the compliment none the less. I mean who would shy away from being compared to a beautiful actress but, there was something in the way he said it. It felt almost like he was dismissing me because of my weight because truly that is all me and “Precious” have in common. That made me think about a couple of things. For starters, no matter how good I look is that what it comes down to, my weight? Are people really looking at my pretty face? Are they admiring my personal style ? Or are they searching for the quickest lazy comparison so they know what box to put me in? I can’t answer any of those questions. So, let me know what you think or if you can relate.

Oh, here are some pictures from my evening out. 

Me and Chris posing together. 

Me letting that Tony fool have it.

Head band and Necklace: Forever 21

Earrings: Naki Muli 

Lace shirt: Thrifted 

Tank underneath: Lane Bryant 

Leggings: Torrid 

Jacket: Torrid 

Boots: Evans via Ebay 

Tiffany and the City: Adventures of a Fat Shopaholic. Too Fat to Fly?

Hello, thanks to an idea brought to me by Cid of Chunky Curlz here is the first  installment of Tiffany and the City: Adventures of a Fat Shopaholic. I find often find myself stuck in a lot of sticky situations and although these may not always be about fashion I hope you guys can relate.

If you follow me on twitter you know that for spring break at the end of March I will be in New York for a little over a week. I was extremely excited. By excited I mean that I had already planned some activities to do while I was there; I had even planned what I was going wear on the plane. Then a big fat snag was put in my plans. If you don’t know, film maker Kevin Smith was recently thrown off a Southwest airlines plane for being too fat. After the story was released it had been discovered that Kevin Smith was unjustly thrown off the plane because he in fact could fit in his assigned seat fine and in addition neither of the women sitting beside him complained about him invading their personal space.

For some reason though I was still horrified. My heart felt like in was in my feet. I almost might have felt it thumping down there but, I was to consumed by the prickly nervous feeling that was traveling through my body and the salty tears that were about to fall from my eyes and on to my cheeks. 

At that moment I was realizing that I weigh well over 300 pounds and that when I ride public transit my arm does go over into the next seat a bit. My mother had only allotted $600 for the trip or about $200 for airfare and $400 for me to spend while I was in New York City. Being the shopaholic that I am I did not want to cut into my spending money and I definitely didn’t want to be anywhere for eight days with only $200 dollars because two seats would have been about $400. So, instead of getting practical and researching a better and cheaper way to fly I went into my moms room and cried. When I say cried I mean like a loud cry fully equipped with sniffles, moans, and whining.

I have been called fat a countless amount of times but, the most embarrassing  thing is being told you are to fat to do something. Once at Disney Quest I was told I was to fat for the virtual roller coaster but, the young woman who informed me was super nice. She did her best to try and get me into the ride and when I didn’t fit she handed me a ticket to pass the line at another ride accompanied with a huge endearing smile. Maybe the girl at Disney Quest was really nice or maybe that was a well applied lesson from the Disney World boot camp about tolerance.

I didn’t have the same hopes for the folks at Southwest though because if they were throwing fat people off their aircrafts just for being fat and for no other reason then I knew they would be ruthless when it came to me.

However, a couple days later I had sucked it up and prepared to buy my two tickets. When I went to my computer the Southwest website wouldn’t let me order two tickets under the same name. When I called Southwest I was informed that because the last time I flew I could fit in the seat and seat belt that I would be fine with one seat. I was so excited because one ticket means more money for clothes but to be honest I’m still a tad nervous about my take off date because you never know until you get there how things will turn out but, it will certainly make for another adventure.  Do you have a similar experience? Can you relate? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading! :-)

Incase anyone wants to take a look here is the statement on Southwest airlines website about "customers of size".

Topic of Discussion: Personal Style?

Personal style is always hard to define. What do you compare yourself to when being asked about your personal style? If you don't always have the same look every day how do you describe your personal style when put on the spot? Usually I can only manage to say that I like bright colors and head pieces and reference a few people I admire. I have never been able to give an accurate, in depth description.  Sometimes I even question whether I have a personal style. I mean I certainly do know what I will not wear but, I can never manage to get a good handle on exactly what I will wear when being asked.


My possible reasons for being stumped about my personal style are:


1.) Maybe there are not enough options. We all know that plus size clothing options are limited so, how can you accurately express your personal style when you don't feel like you have all the right resources?


2.) Impulse buying. Sometimes you can find your self just buying things because at the time they look cute but, later on you think,"why did I buy this?" Still though, you're stuck with it and since you brought it you feel obligated to wear it. The problem is when you do you may not feel like you're expressing your self accurately.


3.) Somethings are just simply undefinable. If you're rocking a bright pink dress with leather studded wedges one day and then a peach t-shirt dress with a pair of flats the next how do you define your personal style them? Does this sometimes make you feel like you have no personal style?


4.) A lack of prominent plus size fashion Icons. While there are many straight size fashion icons that we all take queues from,  that inspire us, and that we rate as fashion icons wouldn't it be great to be able to compare your self to a plus size icon other then the obvious choice of Beth Ditto. There are a few more plus size ladies out there with iconic style but, how many of them are know as well as Beth Ditto? I mean don't get me wrong I love her and she is certainly on my list of icons but, I'm just saying wouldn't it be a lot easier to reference your personal style if you had more people that looked like you to reference? Maybe, maybe not. I'm just tossing out ideas here.


So this weeks topic of discussion is: How do you define your personal style when you are asked? Is it hard because you are plus size or just hard in general?

Topic of Discussion: The Oversized Trend?

(Example of a oversized look. It can be purchased here.)

Oversized clothes can sometimes be impossible to style on fat women. They hang off your body, are often long and are baggy which some people (namely professional stylist) think that the look makes fat women look bigger. I love the oversized look; done right and it can be comfortable and stylish. By right I mean keep the proportion right; everything can’t be baggy. Usually with a baggy shirt or sweater I go for leggings or skinny jeans on the bottom. A good pair of heels can punch up the oversized look as well. Those big waist belts can also come in handy here as well.

My example is here: 

Similarly how do you feel about oversized, all over patterns? I love them if you couldn’t tell. They are truly one of my favorite things in the world. But, again professional stylist advise against it; they say we look larger. If I have a dress with all over bright pattern I mute it a little bit by making everything else in my outfit dark.

My example is here:

If the patterned piece is a separate I try to go for solids everywhere else. I also will mix same color textures like lace and ruffles or lace and mesh.

Here are some plus size fashion rules that relate to this topic from www.plusclothingapperal.com.

Avoid Shapeless Plus Size Clothing Styles.
Don't settle for shapeless oversize clothes every again. Shapeless clothing hides all of your body good and bad. Choose clothing styles that accentuate your favorite fuller figure features and hide the ones you don't like. Clothes without the proper tailoring are almost always going to make your body appear larger than it really is.

Plus Size Petites Should Avoid Tops,
Jackets and Sweaters that Go Below the Hip.
A shorter body frame can look even short with overly long plus size tops, jackets and sweaters. Tops that go below the hip level on a petite figure will start to shorten the look of your legs even more. A top or jacket that shops just at the hip bone will elongate your shorter legs to their longest potential. Sorry ladies, but the long sweaters and jackets really only flatter a taller plus size frame. Stores that carry tall and petite plus sizes are Lane Bryant, Chadwicks of Boston, and Newport News.

Avoid All Over, Oversized Patterns
in Your Clothing Fabric.
I have noticed a scary trend in some department store plus size apparel sections - dresses and other outfits with HUGE all over patterns and designs. First of all, I wouldn't recommend an entire outfit of all one pattern with no solid color to break it up (unless it is a dress of course). Secondly, make sure the pattern you do choose to incorporate in your wardrobe, doesn't overwhelm your height. The size of the print should match the size of the gal. If you are tall, you call pull off a larger print. If you are petite, stick to smaller prints to avoid overwhelming your outfit with pattern. If you want to include patterned fabrics into your wardrobe, my best advice would be to pick ONE clothing item per outfit to have a pattern (for example, a skirt, top or jacket not all three). For elegantly patterned plus size outfits my favorite plus size store is Coldwater Creek.

How do I feel about these rules? I am 5’9 so, I’m pretty tall which means I do where longer sweaters and such but, I don’t feel that they should be limited to a certain height. I think that fashion is sometimes on a case by case basis meaning that you just have to wear what works and looks good on you. So, any fashion trend is case by case. I just don’t feel that anyone should be given a big fat NO before even getting to try it.

So how do you ladies feel? Do rock the oversized trend wether it be oversized clothing or oversized prints and patterns?  Do like it or dislike it? How do u make it work for you? How do you feel about the 3 fashion rules?

Topic of Discussion: Shape Wear?

One of the most unfortunate things about being fat is that sometimes we are plagued with unwanted back or stomach bulges. I go back and fourth about the way I feel about shape wear. Of course I want to look smooth in my clothes but, another part of me just wants to let it all hang it out. Usually though, I try and go for the smooth route. For my back bulges I have acquired countless cardigans, jackets, and vest to cover my back but, for my stomach I really don’t have anything. I don’t really have any control top tights because I have yet to find a pair that I enjoy ( I plan get some from we love colors soon). So, for me apart from the pieces I have to cover my back I’m all natural. 

Recently I received some interesting comments for wearing this dress with no shape wear.

Now ladies I’m leaving it to you. Do you have back or stomach bulges? Do you wear shape wear or do let it all hang out? Why or why not? What shape wear works best for you?

Topic of Discussion: Can Blogs Get Redundant ?

Some of the questions I ask some of the participants of The Blog spotlight pertain to the amount of plus size fashion blogs that are being created. Generally the questions ask things like “with so many fat fashion blogs popping up why do you think people continue to come to your blog?” or “with so many fat fashion blogs popping up do you think it’s possible for everyone to have a unique perspective?”  So far the answers to these questions have been pretty neutral. I also have asked, “Do you think that because we are all fat we are obligated to help each other?” Those questions aren’t limited to just fat fashion blogs. The same questions can be applied to straight size fashion blogs or even music blogs.

My thoughts on the subject are as follows. This blog is a fairly new blog and is in fact one of those new blogs that just popped up out of no where. This blog has not been up and running for a very long time. I try to keep this blog as fresh as possible by offering great weekly features like the Blog Spotlight, the item of the week, the topic of discussion, shopaholic trends and soon the 4 part designer interview series. I think that those things keep people coming back and make this blog unique.  I usual don’t post editorials and such because there are plenty of blogs that do that all ready. As far as other blogs are concerned I feel like there is bound to be some over lapping in stories so that certainly shouldn’t be an issue. A persons perspective on that story is what makes it unique.  So far I have come across mostly great blogs with very unique perspectives and women with great personal styles. There have been a few that are not my taste but, everything isn’t for everybody.

In addition I don’t feel obligated to help anyone for any specific reason and try not to make people feel like they should help me for any bias reason. I think anything of good quality with good content deserves shine. Over all though I am happy that there arw great fat fashion blogs helping and inspiring women like me everyday

So now I’m leaving it to you. Bloggers, what do you do to set your blog apart and keep and it fresh and relevant? Readers do you feel that fat fashion blogs are becoming redundant?  Do you have a response to any of the questions in the first paragraph? You can even comment on this blog. Do you like it? Why or why not?


Edited to say: I just wanted to say that I hope that everyone understands that this post is to promote discussion and not to offend anyone. I hope in this post it is clear that I love the fat fashion community and love to help and to be helped.

Here are links to the first four Topic of discussions incase you missed one

Topic of Discussion: High Heels
Topic of Discussion: Plus Sizes confined to Only Dark Colors?
Topic of Discussion: Too Plus for the Plus Size Industry?
Topic of Discussion: Power in the Pocket book?


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