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Join the Fatshionista Twitterati

Posted by Positive Sarah on May 3rd, 2013

Fatshionistas are big news at the moment, with the most recent photo shoot for the new Clements Ribiero capsule collection for Evans making it into the Daily Mail (where it attracted the usual ill-informed rants) and beautiful plus size model Justine Legault gracing the front cover of ELLE Quebec this month.

Personally, I think that the Clements Ribiero collection leaves a LOT to be desired – I don’t know any plus size woman who wants to wear dresses with such cheap-looking garish patterns, and I much prefer the gorgeous plus size maxi-dresses here at FatPhrocks. That’ however, isn’t the point, the point is that plus size fashion is definitely big news in 2013.

If you’re looking for inspiration, photos, fashion advice and links to interesting blogs, fashion sales, blog posts and new collections, keep an eye on these Fatshionistas and stay on-trend.

The gorgeous, talented Velvet d’Amour @VOLUP2 is one of my favourite plus size icons. Velvet is an artist, dancer, model and total plus size diva who pushes self-esteem and rocking your curves to the plus size world. She also posts fabulous pictures!

Bets, or @myarchedeyebrow is Bethany Rutter, one of the models featured in the article, an outspoken, fashion-loving curvy heroine. She describes herself as “Fat, sweet, nonmonogamous, queer, intersectional femme-inist” and her tweets are always entertaining. When it comes to fashion, she told the Mail, “All UK fashion journalism is written by slim people for slim people, so there’s almost no point reading magazines if you’re fat. That’s why the internet’s become such an important place for plus-size fashion.”

If you want ideas, and to see how the clothes you see on websites will maybe, actually look on a plus-size woman, follow Hanna @fattyschallenge. Hanna is a Finnish plus size fashion blogger who tweets lots of pictures of herself in really fab clothes. Hanna is reassuringly fashion-obsessed and her blog is brilliant too.

Anyone with an inkling about plus size fashion will have heard of Nicolette Mason. She’s a fashion writer for Marie Claire (they let fat people write in fashion magazines in America) and she tweets about fashion, feminism and food; three of my pet subjects! Catch Nicolette at: @nicolettemason

Brides to be should keep an eye out for updates from CURVES & COUTURE @curvyessex . This is one bridal boutique where the staff won’t look down their noses at you for requesting a dress that’s not a sample size 10! These guys support plus size brides and have collections for all budgets, so well worth a follow if you or someone you know is planning a wedding.

GorgeouslyFullFat @GorgeousFullFat dares all plus size people to live a ‘gorgeously full fat life’ and tweets about fashion, plus size issues and links to a very honest blog following (among other things) her life story and how she went from a size 12 to a 22 over the years via this diet and that diet. Oh, and she LOVES fashion.

The great thing about Twitter is that you can actually interact with the people you admire, and chat to them about fashion, get advice and generally get to know them. I know that I feel like I’m seeing a friend when I see Bets pop up in another online fashion feature, or read a quote from Nicolette Mason somewhere that I’ve seen on her blog. So sign up and join in, and let’s all get waving the flag for fat fashion!

(Follow FatPhrocks at @FatPhRocks)

Spring has sprung!

Posted by Positive Sarah on April 12th, 2013

How good does it feel to see the sun again? Weather forecasters are predicting temperatures not just in double figures but actually around 20 degrees next week. That’s right, 20 degrees. If that doesn’t tempt you out of hibernation, nothing will!

But what’s a girl to wear when she’s been hiding under big jumpers and coats since about September last year? A cursory rummage in the wardrobe would reveal that many of us are ill-prepared for the emergence of summer (at last) and we need to get to work quickly on being ready to get out there and feel the rays.

Obviously, FatPhrocks are racing to the rescue of plus size fashionistas everywhere. If you’re not quite ready to reveal your arms to the world yet, or it’s not quite as warm as predicted, you could tentatively step out with one of our gorgeous selection of Wingz? Perfect for spring when you want to be able to go out without a coat but there’s still a chill in the air…or evenings out when the temperature dips and you don’t want to be sitting outside shivering!

I adore the Green Fleurs Brilliantes Wingz – they are spot on for spring afternoons and evenings and they fit in beautifully with the bright pattern trends that are all over the high street at the moment. If monochrome is more your thing, you could opt for any of the plain black or white Wingz, in many different styles, and fabrics like lace, cotton and chiffon.

The best thing about the plain Wingz is that you can dress them up or down depending on the occasion, and they’re so versatile they can go with just about anything, a definite bonus considering our Great British Weather!

Have a great week – and enjoy the sunshine!

Plus Size Brides

Posted by Positive Sarah on April 5th, 2013

One thing that crops up a lot for plus sized women (and yes, that would be me) is what on earth do you do when the lovely man of your dreams pops that big question? Of course, because he’s a lovely man, you say yes. You squeal with unbridled excitement. You tell your family and change your Facebook status to ‘engaged’.

Then you panic.

You’re going to be the centre of attention in a posh frock and EVERYONE will be looking at you and taking photos. This is the stuff of nightmares for even a reasonably confident plus size bride-to-be.

These days, we’re lucky in that there is a lot more choice for plus size bridal wear. Simply Google the words ‘plus size wedding’ and you’ll get over 94 million results; that’s an awful lot of websites to plough through in search of your perfect gown.

I was a bridesmaid in 2002, and to be honest, shopping for a dress was a humiliating experience. Even the bride, who was only a size 14-16 struggled to get any of the beautiful gowns in the upmarket bridal stores. They only stocked ‘sample sizes’ which means that if you were bigger than a size 10 (and wedding dresses always seem to come up smaller than everyday dresses) you had to try and get the too small dress on and get someone in the shop to hold the fastening at the back; there was no way you were going to get that beauty done up this side of the wedding.

As the bridesmaid, I was expected to pay more because the dress I needed at the time was a size 18. Anything over a 16 was ‘non-standard’ and clearly involved so much extra work that they justified about £100 extra for altering it to fit me. Ridiculous and a complete rip off. There wasn’t a lot of choice ten years ago, either. The majority of dresses for brides and bridesmaids seemed to only be available in standard sizes unless you were prepared to pay over the odds to get something altered. Off the peg wasn’t an option, you could always get your dress made professionally but then the cost went up even more!

These days, high street stores like BHS and well-known brands like Simply Be have reasonably-priced bridal collections BHS stretches to a 26 in some styles and you can find gorgeous dresses up to a size 32 ar Simply Be. If you don’t have the budget to buy an expensive, overpriced dress and get it altered, at least there’s now the option to buy a pretty, budget dress off the peg. That’s got to be good.

With more plus-sized brides and bridesmaids to cater for, it seems that the industry is waking up to the fact we curvy women want to look gorgeous on our big day too. What do you think?

Dress by http://www.daisylovebridal.co.uk

Happy Easter from Fatphrocks!

Posted by Positive Sarah on March 29th, 2013

Happy Easter!

With the odds of a white Easter being slashed further than they were for a white Christmas last year, we’re all feeling the cold at the moment. Just as well we have lovely things like Wingz to keep our poor, hard-done-by arms out of the cold for a little while longer. Perfect for Easter get-togethers, the Wingz range is there for those awkward not quite warm enough to go bare-armed events that we all thought we’d be in our short-sleeves for by now. Well, at least coat-free.

Cheer yourself up if you’re like me and craving the feel of sunshine on your skin after all these months, and take a look at this gorgeous spring top. How can you not feel as if the summer is on its way once you’ve dressed up in this lilac satin long line tunic? It’s perfect to wear with jeans, leggings or dressed up with a smart pencil skirt for an event. You could even get away with it for a wedding – although I think you might need your Wingz if you wear it this weekend!

You could team it with the White Chiffon Mega Volume Wingz for a contrasting effect; or just keep it in your wardrobe until you can showcase it properly! At just £20, it will last you much longer than a luxury chocolate egg, and let’s face it, it looks much prettier too.

Happy Easter from FatPhrocks …and wrap up warm!

The rise of the fatshion blogger

Posted by Positive Sarah on March 1st, 2013

Image from fashion blog (details below)

Have you heard of the ‘Fatosphere’ or ‘Fatshion’? It’s where bloggers, a bit like me, get to talk about fashion and issues that matter to us. And it’s expanded so much that there’s something for everyone, and some of the positive and plus size blogs are just amazing.

I’d encourage as many of you as possible to write your own blogs. Fashion, food and life in general, anything goes in the blog world now, and the more plus-sized women out there blogging and showing the world just how freaking sassy we are, the better, in my opinion.

Don’t know how to blog? Google WordPress, pick a template (this bit will take you ages as there are some gorgeous free ones) and off you go. Choose a few widgets (do you want to have your Facebook page and Twitter account linked? Add them! And don’t forget to give people an opportunity to follow your blog too). You could also try Blogger.com or Blog.co.uk, all free and easy to manage.

So, what about your inspiration? Are you a fashionista? Do you prefer talking about celebrity style? Plus size news? Food and diet? Even body politics? Choose your subject and off you go. Then send us the link to your blog in the comments page so that we can mention you!
Here’s some inspiration for you to get you started. Have fun!

If you’re looking for a bit of US-style sass, The Curvy Fashionista, Marie Denee knows what makes curvy girls look sensational. Even though it’s an American blog, it’s a fabulous read and there are sections on body image, reviews, plus size designers and celebrity style. Marie – she’s GORGEOUS.

If you love your fashion curvy and with a hefty sprinkle of individuality, you’ll love Hanna, who describes herself as a ‘Thirty Something Finnish Fat Girl’. She’s in charge of The Wardrobe Challenge, where she models the contents of her wardrobe as part of her challenge to wear everything in said wardrobe at least once. This challenge has been compounded by the fact that she keeps getting sent extra clothes to wear because her blog is so cool. I really love this one and I especially love her ‘Shop the Look’ at the end of every outfit post.

What Patty Difusa Loves is a fairly new blog but I’m keeping my eye on it because I think Patty is lovely, and because of her fabulous selection of plus size, on-trend, beautiful leggings and tights for non-standard sized backsides very, very soon.

Finally, what’s not to love about Lauren, the Pocket Rocket? She’s a well established plus size fashion blogger and I really love her style. Her blog is packed with photos of Lauren wearing the latest looks and she’s ‘Fat but patently NOT unfashionable’. She’s an advocate of Health at Every Size, but the blog is fun and fashion-focused so there’s no political ranty stuff on there if that turns you off.

That’ll do for starters…There are so many great blogs that I couldn’t possibly mention them all, but these are some of the main blogs I keep up with…if you’ve got any recommendations for any more, let me know. Enjoy…and once you’ve started your own, post the link here too.

Image from http://fuckyeahchubbyfashion.tumblr.com

Plus Size Fashion Weekend

Posted by Positive Sarah on February 22nd, 2013

Model Square patterned dress Anna Scholz (2)

Model Square patterned dress Anna Scholz - SL Expressions

So, after all the excitement of the build-up, the first ever London Plus Size Fashion Weekend took place last week. The responses to the event have been mainly been very positive, well, unless you count the Daily Mail commentators, but even old sourpuss herself, Liz Jones, who wrote a very unflattering description of some rather lovely plus size bloggers a few weeks ago, managed to find something positive to say about the weekend, even if she couldn’t quite find it in her heart to mention any of the designers who busted a gut to appear at the show!

The models were apparently “all gorgeous but they all had boobs, hips and, in some cases, big wobbling tummies, too.” Charming…but from Liz Jones that’s probably high praise!

According to the organisers, Remi Ray and Rianne Ward;

“We want to see London Fashion Week embracing larger women on the catwalk. There’s a community of big ladies who love fashion and want to be represented. Just five years ago this event couldn’t have happened but now there’s a groundswell of recognition that a huge demographic of women are not represented in fashion.”

It’s getting easier for bigger women to find decent fashion, with independent sites like FatPhrocks selling amazing maxi dresses as well as the innovative and quite frankly indispensable Wingz. There are fantastic plus size lingerie sellers and places selling fabulously funky tights and leggings in bright colours that ensure no plus size woman has to make do with black ever again if she wants to rock out on pink heart or bright green fashion tights.

The Guardian said that, “The catwalk designs were as diverse and vibrant as the models who wore them,” and reported that, “A recent upswing in plus-size blogs, the launch of specialist magazines such as Slink and the success of plus size ranges – some of which have seen a 155% lift in sales in just the last year, suggest that larger women are no longer willing to be sidelined by the fashion industry.”

Amen to that! No, we’re not!

It’s fabulous to see plus sizes represented as part of London Fashion Week, even if they are still separated off into a corner all on their own. I’m not too hopeful that plus size models will ever be incorporated into the super-skinny high fashion world, but you never know, stranger things have happened. And as a last word, Jo Swinson, Minister for Women and equalities, who opened the event, said, “The British fashion industry has been a pioneer for centuries. We should be at the forefront of change.”

Vive la difference!

Exciting Times for Plus Size Fashion

Posted by Positive Sarah on February 15th, 2013

Remember when plus size fashion was something slightly shameful? When all you could expect to find on the high street in a size 16 or above was Evans Outsize, and you wouldn’t be seen dead venturing in there because that was where fat women went?

Times are certainly changing.

Today is the first day of London Plus Size Fashion Weekend, an event staged by the biggest and brightest in plus size fashion, including designer Anna Scholz, and which promises to attract a great deal of media attention, even if it is mainly so that the Daily Mail can have a go at fat women again. I can’t see reportage appearing in Grazia or Vogue just yet, but the mere fact that there is enough interest and enough decent fashion to be able to justify an event dedicated to curvaceous women over a size 16 has to be something worth celebrating.

The rise of plus size fashion is also being documented by the better quality newspapers. The Times Magazine featured some absolutely drop dead gorgeous plus size fashion bloggers recently, and the accompanying photo shoot was glamorous and a poke in the eye for anyone who doesn’t believe that fat can be sexy. I’m also pleased that all the ‘fatshion’ bloggers were totally anti the ‘skinny-bashing’ culture that some fatter people seem to endorse, and preferred to just get on with their blogging about pretty clothes and fashion without the need to put any other body size down.

The word ‘fat’ is no longer something women are shying away from. If you’re fat, you’re fat but it’s no more a judgement on you as a person as describing you as ‘brunette’ or ‘short’. Fat is just a description, and the more we embrace it and stand up to those who use it as an insult, the stronger and more confident we become.

Meanwhile, watch this space for more details about London Plus Size Fashion Weekend – and if you’re going, enjoy the show!

Think Pink

Posted by Positive Sarah on January 25th, 2013

When it’s cold, wet and icy outside, my default winter setting seems to be hibernation. I’m quite happy to sit indoors in the warm with a mug of Green and Black’s hot chocolate, watching ‘My Mad Fat Diary’ or a nice drama with pretty costumes, and avoid all the ‘Embarrassing Fat Bodies’ style rubbish that they tend to plaster our TV screens with at this time of year.

The thing is, despite the average person’s social life dwindling away to plans for ‘when it warms up a bit’ in January, there are going to be occasions that call for a bit of glamour, a bit of sass, and a bit of …pink! That’s why I am in love with the pink pointe shift dress from FatPhrocks. One of our day dresses that can easily be worn to the office and then dressed up if an after work down-the-pub session calls for it, this dress is likely to brighten up any dull wintry evening.

It’s perfect for teaming with some chunky accessories and heels for a casual night out, or if you just want to wear it to the office and break up the sea of grey and black that dominates this time of the year, it’s great under a cardi or with some thick tights and boots too. It’s totally on trend with the slash neckline, flattering ruching at the front to enhance your figure, and a short side split to add an extra bit of interest.

A dress like this does beg to be seen though – so if you treat yourself to it (oh go on, it’s payday) you’re going to have to make sure you’ve got lots of occasions liked up to wear it…unless you just want to wear it to cheer yourself up as you sit around the house, drinking hot chocolate and watching the Downton Abbey box set. Come to think of it, that’s not such a bad idea…

Suck it up!

Posted by Positive Sarah on January 11th, 2013

Air Shorts

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read about the latest slimming sensation. If you’re looking for the perfect excuse to be able to eat anything you like and still lose weight, and if you’re classified as morbidly obese, your wait may be over. They’ve been trialling it for a while, and now the man behind the Segway, the rather pointless little machine that grown men zoom around on and fall off of on ‘Experience Days’ has turned his inventor’s hand to a revolution in bariatric treatment.

Inventor Dean Kamen has got to work with a team from ‘Aspire Bariatrics’ in the US to get his dream machine patented. The idea is so simple. You eat anything you fancy, you swallow it, and then you suck it right on out of your stomach before it can add any inches to your waistline. Yes, really.

My immediate concern was about whether you have to do this in public. I mean, surely if you wait until you’ve finished your meal, or if you’ve been out to eat and have to wait until you get home, you’ll have started digesting whatever you’ve eaten before you can catch it?

It’s basically a pump that connects to your stomach through a valve in your abdominal wall. I think the idea of pumping out your food after you’ve eaten it is quite possibly one of the most revolting things I’ve ever heard, but it did make me think about weight loss miracles from the past.

How about the oh-so sexy Sauna Exercise Suit, which looks like something out of Star Trek and is designed to ‘seal in body heat like a sauna bath’. Euw, sweaty!

Or the Air Shorts – these were actually inflatable shorts which could be worn by men or women and looked utterly bizarre. You had to inflate them with a tube, and they also claimed to give you a massage while you were wearing them.

Then there was the ‘Inches Away’ reducing belt, which you had to wear under your clothes. It also came with a ‘Sealer Lotion’ which sounds highly dubious to me, and promised that once you slipped on your belt; the slimming action would start right away!

It’s not just the 70s that brought us dodgy weight loss gadgets though. Weight loss shorts? I was getting emails about slimming hot pants at the end of last year. Apparently the Zaggora shorts enhance your body temperature around your bum, legs and hips as you exercise and that magically evaporates the pounds. Really? So we’re still falling for it, then?

We still have reducing belts – we just call them ‘cinchers’ and ‘shape wear’ now and don’t actually kid ourselves that the slimming effect is permanent.

At least we haven’t seen a return of the Tapeworm Diet recently…

Plus size fashion wish list

Posted by Positive Sarah on December 14th, 2012

Women want smart business clothes

I’ve been doing a bit of research into what plus sized women really want (with the launch of Viva Forever this week, maybe I should add ‘What we really, really want?)

It’s not about anything out of the ordinary. Although one frustrated plus size woman complained that there just aren’t enough places to buy fashionable clothes that have a bit of a punk style or even a bit of a hippy vibe (some of the maxi dresses on FatPhrocks could possibly be described as hippy, don’t you think?)

Alternative fashion is one thing we clearly need to be able to get our hands on in over a size 16, but the same can be said for smart work-type clothes that would be suitable for business meetings. Although our Best Fitting Wrap Dress is easy to wear to work, “Suit jackets and pant suits” were on the wish list of one lovely larger lady. She also mentioned loving the cute tees that are available these days in a plus size, but that it would be really nice if the people who made them could just make the sleeves a teensy bit longer?

It’s no secret that my pet hate is matching underwear sets…or the lack of them. Yep, you can buy knickers in my size and you can finds bras in my size but do you think they’ll match? If I find a bra I adore and that fits beautifully, the chances are that the bottoms will stubbornly stop at a size 16 and I’ll either have to buy the bra and wear it with un-matching knickers, or try and find something vaguely similar to go with it. Certain lingerie retailers that specialise in big cup sizes often don’t think big busted girlies have a bum to match…or if they do pretty matching sets you can almost guarantee they will have sold out as soon as they are available.

Along the underwear lines – how many of you hope, wish and pray for a bra that fits really well and doesn’t cost a fortune? I’m forever hoisting my straps back up as I walk, then of course there’s the dreaded ‘four boobs effect’ that some bras tend to create. I can honestly say that very few of my bras are anything like comfortable, and that the ones I wear most are just the bras that are less uncomfortable than the others!

For those of us blessed with a heaving cleavage, we don’t necessarily want to show everyone what’s underneath our clothes, so it’s a big YES PLEASE to button up blouses and tops that don’t gape and share our underwear decisions with anyone who looks. If they fit on the bust, it seems that they are quite often too tight on the hips too…so the consensus seems to be that as plus size woman aren’t all one shape, perhaps manufacturers could look at designing ranges for different types of woman. We already have jeans that suit pear shapes, boyish figures, the boot cut jeans on the FatPhrocks pages which balance out bigger legs, high-waisted jeans for women who want to cover their tummies and jeans for skinny girls, so why not adapt tops and blouses to suit hourglass or apple-shaped women too?

There’s a few ideas for those in the know to ponder over…do you have any? What would you REALLY love to get your hands on, fashion-wise, in 2013?

Archive for the ‘Fashion News’ Category

Join the Fatshionista Twitterati

Related Posts:

Spring has sprung!

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Plus Size Brides

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Happy Easter from Fatphrocks!

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The rise of the fatshion blogger

Image from http://fuckyeahchubbyfashion.tumblr.com

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Plus Size Fashion Weekend

Related Posts:

Exciting Times for Plus Size Fashion

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Think Pink

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Suck it up!

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Plus size fashion wish list

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