Fat Rant of the Day: Where's Kate Mulleavy's Plus Line ?

Looks like someone's a self-hating oppressor.

Boo on you, Kate. Booooo.......

Fat Rant of the Day: Too Much Sleevelessness !

Note to Designers: Kindly, make more dresses with 3/4 length sleeves.

We don't want to wear a shirt under your dress or a shrug over it. We just wanna put on a cute dress and hit the streets like everyone else. We don't deserve the burden of having to coordinate multiple layers over your gorgeous design just so we can cover our flabby arms, which also, incidentally, covers your DRESS!

Designers who make more sleeveless plus size clothes than sleeved must admit to their laziness and/or ineptitude. They obviously must not know how to design flattering sleeves that complement all/most sizes and shapes, so they simply rip them off the dress maiden and fashion them as legwarmers for their junior line.

Fact is, many of us with fat arms don't wish to expose them, and most people (fat or thin) don't want to see fat arms exposed.

Fix it!

Shop NOW: ASOS CURVE

You like fashion? You GOT FASHION!

ASOS is the U.K.'s "hottest online fashion store" and it's finally made its way to the U.S.! Now we can rock London's edgy street style and Britain's most sought-after trends with FREE SHIPPING, both ways!

ASOS CURVE offers a collection of plus size pieces ranges from size 16 to 22. And you certainly won't have to worry about having the same clothes as all the other fat chicks, like you do when you shop at some other places.

Here are just four pieces from the website to give you a taste:

HURRY & BUY!

What else would a vest be, but SLEEVELESS?

FAIL

j i b r i

It's official: Plus size fashion is here to stay!

I just stumbled upon Atlanta designer Jasmine Elder's website and label, JIBRI. Her designs are modern, chic, and urban with the right amount of coverage and silhouettes that accentuate plus size assets.

It's too bad none of her clothes are sold in NYC. Her Fall 2010 collection embodies the very aesthetic city fatshionistas like me are looking for. Fortunately, JIBRI is sold at other boutiques throughout the U.S. and online. You should check it out!

Look @ LOOKVILLE.COM

Shout out to Daphne @ Lookville.com for putting me on! It's basically the Twitter of fashion. It's not primarily fatty-oriented, but such is life. Besides, it's about time we all join forces to create one united fashion galaxy, especially as more and more prominent fashion designers continue to reach out to the plus market.

I just joined. You should too.

Dear Google-Stalker, Who Exactly Do You Think You Are???!?!??

Really, Google-Stalker?

(i.e. "Sponsored Links")

REALLY?

I mean, I appreciate your concern and interest in my fashion needs, but if you're going to track my trends, could they at least be... I don't know, trendy?

Apparently, this is who you think I am.

Some stalker you are, Google.

*Note: I neither condemn nor condone this site or its use of fabric, which is why I have neglected to provide a link or mention its name. If you really want it, I'm sure you can figure it out yourself.

My morning with Nolé

After a swim and OA meeting, I was probably looking a hot mess when I ran into fashion editor and stylist Nolé Marin at Gristedes this morning. But since stumbling across a friendly neighbor / fashionisto in the UES isn't a regular occurrence for me, I ballsed up and asked him his thoughts on the plus market and whether or not he believed it was ever going to get its fair shake of real coverage in the fashion industry.

"It's not," he told me, plainly. "I wish I could lie to you and tell you it's going to change."

What can I say? Homeboy was honest. That is, until he graciously "guessed" I was a size 20. You just have to love a man who knows how and when to give a girl a compliment.

"It's unfortunate," Nolé said as a fellow shopper passed us in the produce aisle. He nodded at her, adding, "See, she's a size 16. The average woman is nowhere near a size 2 or 4. She's a 14, 16, 18. Even 20, 22, 24 is the standard now, but [the industry] isn't going to change... They're selling the fantasy."

In all honesty, I love the fantasy. I only recently took down the pictures on my wall from Versace's last ad campaign featuring Kate and Giselle. My concern, which I shared with Marin, isn't that I necessarily want to see overweight women on the runway or in the magazines. What matters more to me is having equal accessibility to the same high quality, high fashion as women who are half my size.

It wasn't a complete bitchfest though. While cruising the meats section, Nolé did share one little interesting tidbit with me: Apparently he's been working with a team on a super secret new shopping website due to launch in upcoming months. And according to Marin, us fationistas are "going to love it."

I'm already giddy in my girdle with anticipation! Stay tuned...


P.S. Looking for a model workshop? Check out: www.nolemarin.com

Reality Programming like MTV's The City are changing the magazine business

MTV's The City (starring The Hills' Whitney Port) is an extremely important reality show that changes the face of fashion, fashion magazines, television, and advertising. The show is essentially placing advertisements/endorsements right on the screen.

Magazines run by their ad sales. Magazines have been in the toilet, losing more and more money each year. They don't get the ads, they don't get the money - and if they don't get the right ads, they lose their demographic and the magazine merges into something completely different from its original premise and following. There's a reason Vogue is Vogue. There's a reason we find D&G ads in Vogue and Skecher ads in InTouch magazine. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Why are advertisers backing away from what used to be their bread and butter? Because no body's reading magazines anymore, subscriptions are down. People are on the computer reading blogs and visiting direct websites. And what else are these people doing? Watching TV.

So in The City we see Elle accessories editor and socialite Olivia Palermo searching for styling options for a trends segment for the TODAY show. She dashes into an uber-stylish chain boutique in Soho called MANGO. And how do I know this? Because the information is provided on the screen: MANGO. SOHO.

Now I know everything for a proper Google search, don't I?
fashion mango soho = www.mangoshop.com


Lo and behold, the storefront from the show! It really is real and now I must stop by because it was on MTV and TODAY and it's even been featured in Elle Magazine! It's cool, it's chic, and most importantly, if I go to the store I'll be living the show!

But wait. We're getting ahead of ourselves. Aren't reality shows fake?




Yes, reality shows are fake; especially if it's created by Liz Gateley. Ms. Liz brought us Laguna Beach, The Hills, and now The City. Each show uses its geographic landscape as the through line of the show. Laguna Beach wasn't about teens; it was about these teens in Laguna Beach. Luckily most of the series was shot on beaches and in people's homes. It wasn't until The Hills that location became an issue. Remember, it isn't about young women trying to make a name for themselves (right?), it's about young women in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, deliberately and diabolically making names for themselves. That means they have to go to clubs, clubs, more clubs! And that means getting permits, permits, more permits. And that requires planning. And staging.

And, The City isn't just about women in their twenties, it's about women in New York City who love and live fashion. If I know anything about New York, it's that location is everything but it won't get you everywhere. So if I were a 'lil chain boutique in SOHO/NYC, I'd realize it's in my best interest to allow someone to use my store as a location for their hit MTV reality show so long as they reference the name and its awesome location. Then magically, a conversation that would normally have never been seen or recorded by anyone is seen by millions, and MANGO/SOHO has it all: 1) a daytime segment (TODAY), 2) a shout out on prime time reaching your exact demographic, and 3) featured in Elle Magazine.


Advertising and publicizing aren't the only ones making deals. Fashion icon Kelly Cutrone gets free press for her PR/Branding agency People's Revolution. Meanwhile, aspiring designers Port and Lauren Conrad got support and publicity behind their collections.

For some reason, reality programming remains a largely disrespected genre. Yet The City has all but replaced the fashion magazine with our TV monitors and it's redefining how we get our fashion. Stay Tuned.

My Review of Lace Patterned Tights

Originally submitted at Avenue.com

• Lace details on inside and outside legs.
• Nylon.
• Machine wash.
• USA.
• Sizes: 1X-6X.

Lace Patterned Tights

Snags galore!

By mindycare from New York, NY on 11/24/2009

 

1out of 5

Sizing: Feels too large

Cons: Runs/Snags Easily, Tears Easily, Don't Stay In Place, Wears Quickly

Best Uses: Everyday, Cool Weather, Office, Formal Occasions

Describe Yourself: Style Driven

When tights, leggings, or stocking tear too easily, I automatically wonder if I got them too small. This was not the case with these tights. If anything, they were too large but they still snagged and tore, particularly in the crotch - all in the first wear! I take great care of my tights and can usually hold on to them for quite a while. I can only assume these particular tights were of very poor quality.

(legalese)