Posts with tag plus-size

Ladies, just because a size eight better describes your shoe size than your dress size, there's no reason you shouldn't be just as fashionable as those lucky enough to have a super high metabolism. Style exists for women of all shapes and sizes, although, admittedly, it is tougher for those who wear plus sizes.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

We're pleased to introduce you to designer Jane Collins, who specializes in beautiful handmade plus-size fashion. While Jane's online shop, JaneBonbon, is filled with dresses and skirts for voluptuous vixens, she also accepts custom orders and creates beautiful garments for all shapes and sizes.

If you have a curvy figure, it's entirely likely that there are some days you wake up wishing you had a skinny, straight body. We can guarantee you that there's another girl somewhere with the opposite body type wishing she had some more curves -- the grass is always greener in somebody else's closet. However, we think it's really important to appreciate what you have, and that means learning to make the most of it.

Sometimes making the most of it will mean pulling attention away from a certain body part, and sometimes it means bringing the eye to a particular body part. These tips will help you figure out how to do both, with style.

One of the most talked about portions of Rip the Runway is always Size Sexy -- a collaboration by designers who are committed to dressing women who don't fit in standard sizes. Plus size and really tall women need clothes, too! And, the women modeling these designs were truly the women for which they were made. There weren't a bunch of size 14 models with big boobs -- we had some women with some size out there, and they were working it just as well as their size 6 counterparts.

Three collections were shown, each with its own draw:

Qristyl Designs are from a woman with real curves, so she knows what curvy women want. For the most part, she was right on -- the sexy, flowing fabrics were exquisite, and while I might not have agreed with the choice of the hotpants, I'm sure there are women who have searched high and low for them in a plus size cut. However, I have to draw the line at the tapered legs -- bigger ladies aren't generally trying to make their thighs look bigger.

Monif C. was a little shinier, but the designs were really beautifully done for plus size women. You don't have to be a size 10 to wear a hot little dress, you know!

Six Foota is for really tall women who want to embrace their height and feel empowered through fashion, and I think they did it really well. The designs were gorgeous, with some high fashion touches, but were still totally wearable for the fashionable six foot female.

Be sure to check out the gallery of these designs and others from Rip the Runway!

After a recent post on how to flatter various figures, I received comments from two girls with the same issues -- they're quite tall (about six feet tall), and curvy, but not overweight.

At about 5'8" with broad shoulders, I run into issues with fit, often having to find long lengths in pants or letting hems out when long lengths aren't offered, and sometimes having to go up a size in jackets to accommodate my shoulders. These girls have it worse because they'll run into problems like that nearly every time they go shopping.


For girls in this predicament, I offer the following advice:

Where do you turn when you need products that not only look nice, but can also support some extra weight? LivingXL, a new home furnishings catalog, hopes to be the answer -- providing products such as lawn chairs that can support "up to 800lbs," and and toilet seats that are "larger than any other toilet seat in the world."

While these considerations are often overlooked by mainstream retailers, for some people, it's a serious concern.

Take Peggy Howell, for instance, a 300-pound woman interviewed by Forbes in connection to LivingXL's recent launch. Whenever she and her sister go to a party or event, they have to "take [their] own special collapsible lawn chairs," in order to "feel secure in them, and comfortable."

With the US population becoming increasingly obese (over 2/3 of Americans are now thought to be overweight or obese, compared with half in the 1970s), the plus-sized market is growing, and, at the moment, there's very little competition. In fact, while there's a few clothing manufacturers, LivingXL is the first catalog devoted entirely to home furnishings for overweight and obese people.

The current version is very straightforward, with little marketing flare. However, analysts suspect that, as this trend catches hold, it will only become more sophisticated. I suspect this may be like the organic food industry, which -- as recently as 15 years ago -- was almost completely unheard of, but is now so prevalent in everyday life, it's hard to imagine what life would be like without it.

Plus size and the catwalk don't always go together so it's exciting whenever bigger girls get to walk the runway. Recently at the Mandarin Oriental in New York, Queen Latifah presented the prize for the Curvation's Project Confidence to Shelly Thomas, the founder of the InnerBeauty Foundation. Thomas's foundation helps women suffering from drug abuse, homelessness, violence and disease with access to programs and services to restore their lives.

The presentation also included a runway show of plus-sized fashion. Curvation sells intimate apparel and they also have a whole line of clothing which is inspired by Queen Latifah as a plus-size icon. I looked through the pictures of the fashion show and picked some of the prettiest outfits; check them out after the jump.

If ironing isn't your thing, you'll be happy to hear that the newest generation of wrinkle-free dress shirts manage to look and feel just like regular shirts. Foxcroft blouses, available at Nordstroms are made from 100% cotton that has been specially treated to go from your washing machine to your drying rack to your body without the extra step of an iron and a can of starch.

Foxcroft blouses come in a variety of patterns and styles, including plus-sizes. Even though wrinkle-free may not have the same crisp feel of a freshly laundered shirt, Foxcroft's tops certainly beat the alternative of looking like you just slept in your blouse. And really, the only thing better than being wrinkle-free is getting to live iron-free!

It's Fall, the time of year when leaves turn various shades of orange and red, and the crisp air prepares itself for the oncoming Winter. What better time to talk about bikinis? All right, so it's not really swimming weather, but the prices of bikinis are getting slashed like mad! Take advantage of the out-of-season merchandise and buy your dream bikini, complete with the comfort of knowing that you have almost ten months to hit the gym and chisel your body. Here's a list of some of the hottest bikinis to help you on your way...

1. The Classic String Bikini: This baby is like swimwear's version of the little black dress... the very, very, very little black dress. It brings immediate Sports Illustrated sexiness (when not obscenely itty-bitty), but it does have a few downfalls... A) It doesn't offer much support and B) America's Funniest Home Videos has far too many accounts of these things flying away from water slides. If you don't have a rebellious bust and/or plans to take a 200 ft plunge into a pool of tourists, a string bikini will probably be the easiest choice. Victoria's Secret has a lovely and simple triangle string bikini for $24.