I Want A Plus Size 4x Crop Top!!!

Domino Dollhouse My personal favorite, my color and a generous 4X and cut a little looser than some.

Domino Dollhouse
My personal favorite, my color and a generous 4X and cut a little looser than some.

I have been seeing crop tops everywhere lately and loving them, and now I have to have one. But I carry a lot of weight in my torso, I am 65 and not very many crop tops come in a generous size 4X plus size crop top. So I went on a search to see what is out there and I was happily surprised.

Candy Strike You can choose most of these tops in a 4x crop top or longer version, Very Fun and Edgy.
Candy Strike
You can choose most of these tops in a 4x crop top or longer version, Very Fun and Edgy.
Custom Plus They have 15 crop tops, some graphic and some basic colors.

REBDOLLS
They have 15 crop tops, some graphic tees and some basic colors.

ASOS Curve They only have a couple in stock at the moment.

ASOS Curve
They only have a couple of crop tops in stock at the moment. Their U.S. Size 22 is equivalent to a generous 4X in my opinion.

JIBRI on Etsy Luxurious

JIBRI
Luxurious

ReadytoStare up to 5X Custom Made

ReadytoStare on Etsy
up to 5X Custom Made

And Torrid has added some crop tops for 2015, in a size 4 (which is what I wear Size 26/26) size 5 and size 6.

How Do I Wear a Crop Top?

Several pieces of advice popped up over and over again when I was reading about how to wear a crop top!

  • Wear with high waisted clothing, perhaps a pencil skirt
  • Wear a t-shirt of some sort or something sheer if the crop top is just TOO revealing for your comfort.
And here is a well written post on How to Wear a Crop Top!
 Peace…affinity

2nd Blogiversary Giveaway $50 from Domino Dollhouse

By now you know it is Affatshionista’s 2nd Blogiversary, And guess what, Domino Dollhouse was kind enough to give us a $50 gift card to give you. How cool is that?

I may have to have one on those Bat Hoodies myself, they are so FABULOUS!

I love Domino Dollhouse and you can see a couple of my posts HERE and HERE.

Here are the rules:

    • No purchase necessary
    • The winner chosen at random by the giveaway software Rafflecopter, with one entry for each point
    • This giveaway is sponsored by Domino Dollhouse
    • Giveaway ends Monday, February 24th at Midnight 2014, Eastern Time

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Peace…affinity

Plus Size Bracelets

Victoria Emerson Wrap Bracelet
Victoria Emerson Wrap Bracelet

You have probably noticed I love bracelets, especially bangle or wrap bracelets. I wear them most every day and have purchased them everywhere. I have big hands, like my Dad’s, and my wrist is 7 1/2 inches, so I have rarely purchased a bracelet at an accessory store or at a regular retail site. So what do I do? The bracelet above is two Victoria Emerson’s wrap bracelets that I connected together, and I love that they alternate black and crystals. The two of them go around my wrist about 8 times, rather that 10 times as they are expected to do, and I love wearing them. I have had them a couple of months, we will see how they hold up. You could certainly make something like this for even less than the sale price that I paid. HERE are some YouTube tutorials of varying difficulty. There are over 2,000 plus size bracelets on ETSY.

FROM THE TOP DOWN Fine Jewelry purchased in Ireland Torrid Bangle - Hollow Old Bangle - Lane Bryant Variety of necklaces and small bracelets attached together and wrapped Torrid Solid and Hollow Bracelets

FROM THE TOP DOWN
Fine Jewelry purchased in Ireland
Torrid Bangle – Hollow
Old Bangle – Lane Bryant
Variety of necklaces and small bracelets attached together and wrapped
Torrid Solid and Hollow Bracelets

DIY Bracelets: For “gold days” I have taken my mother-in-law’s, as well as my own costume and fine necklaces and tiny bracelets and connected them together to use as a wrap bracelet. It makes me SO happy to be using jewelry that was sitting in my drawer and I love the look.

Torrid Bangles

Torrid Bangles

Since I am retired and I can wear whatever I want, my standard everyday look has been rhinestone bangles for the last couple of years and I have been buying them at Torrid. But sometimes a rhinestone will fall out the first day, the bracelets have fallen apart after everyday use or occasionally one of them will not fit. But I do love them and I keep trying.

green bracelet LGWhen we went to Europe last year I wanted a memento so I bought this sweet stretch bracelet in Cannes, and it does not even turn my wrist black when I wear it. LOL. I occasionally buy a regular bracelet with stretch. I really wanted some vintage bakelite bracelets but all the bangles were WAY too small so I settled for a stretch version on EBAY.

You can buy Plus Size Bracelets from these sites: ASOS Curve, Lane Bryant, Torrid, avenue, Sonsi, OneStopPlus, debshops, Domino Dollhouse. I would love to hear where you are buying plus size bracelets and how they are holding up for you.

Peace…affinity

Some photos: Leori Gill

Plus Size Necklace Reviews and Neckline Cheat Sheet

neckline cheat sheet I came across this fabulous Neckline Cheat Sheet from Charming Charlie.  Seems like I am always struggling with “what is a good look for this neckline?” I have some special plus size favorites for some of these:

domino dollhouse spiked collarcollar etsyCollars: Separate collars are all over the fashion magazines this season. I love the Domino Dollhouse Spiked Collar. I have not tried it on but since it is on their site I assume it will fit a plus size neck. I do not wear much in the way of crewnecks or I would have already bought it.  Etsy Lace Collars tend to be hand made and could be tied with a ribbon to make them fit, and you can get a lot of visual impact for a nominal price and dress up some of your less interesting clothing.  This lace collar is less than $10 with shipping (which may have been sold by the time you read this) and would look fabulous on black.  Do you think you can wear a collar with a turtleneck?  I may have to try that.

D.I.Y. Cyber Goddess

D.I.Y. Cyber Goddess

sonsi plus size necklaceNecklaces: I tend to wear necklaces that I have made or have been made by my friends that are artists but if you are looking for an edgy look Domino Dollhouse is once again my first choice.  I love Torrid, I wear their bracelets everyday, and Torrid necklaces run about 17 inches and often come with a 5 inch extender.  Sonsi costume jewelry necklaces come in a wide variety of prices and styles. The photo above is of a set on this page that I am seeing everywhere. Sonsi also has a fine jewelry necklace line.

faux pearlsFaux Pearls: Etsy has over 5,000 Faux Pearl Necklaces listed right now.  If this is the look you are looking for you cannot help but find it here.  I love this Vintage Triple Strand necklace (which may have been sold by the time you read this). The smallest strand is 22″ and the longest is 28″, for less than $20 shipped. That would work for me even with a turtleneck.

Facebook: If you use Facebook, FatToo Accessora has lots of jewelry.  But buyer beware, there are no returns and carefully view what you are buying.  I find I have about a 50% success rate on this site for receiving items that work for me.  But when I get what I am looking for, often I cannot find it any place else and I love that.

And it goes without saying that Goodwill and other thrift stores are a great place to shop if you are out and about.  Goodwill is often the most inexpensive because they have not been curated or handmade as they might have been in on Etsy or a smaller thrift store.

Shop carefully, check that the necklaces are long enough or that you are willing to wear a necklace extender, but they are out there for a good price, and currently I am loving the vintage or edgy look as you can tell from this post.

Peace…affinity

Matchie Matchie in my Domino Dollhouse, asos Curve and We Love Colors Outfit

Domino Dollhouse, asos curve, we love color I showed up at a staff meeting yesterday (although I am a volunteer) at the Burning Man Project and there was my friend Jennifer Raiser (who is an amazing blogger and writer) and we each had on our matchie matchie outfits including a black bubble skirt, flats, and a patterned red blazer.  It was so fun I just had to tell you about it.

Sweater: Domino Dollhouse – Size 4X – (out of stock)
Dress: ASOS Curve – Size 22 U.S.
Tights: We Love Color – One Size
Shoes: Facebook FatToo Accessora

We Love Colors striped tights in both the black striped tights and the white striped tight are one plus size tights.  I am a size 26-28, weigh 275 lbs., height 5’5″ and these tights just fit me and I love them.  I have included the weight and height chart below.

we love color plus sized one size tights chart

On the other hand We Love Colors has a solid color tight that runs up to 375 lbs., (and maybe even a little higher if you extrapolate from my weight in the prior chart).

Screen Shot 2013-02-08 at 1.09.04 PM

we love color plus size tights chart

Peace…affinity

photo: Ben Thompson

The Camera Skirt and the Domino Dollhouse Jean Jacket

IMG_2668IMG_2667I fell in love with this custom designed Camera skirt on one of the Facebook plus size thrift stores. The designer has a store on Etsy, Lilipops Designs.  She designs childrens clothes but will take custom orders for skirts that reflect her children’s dresses. I was interested in the camera skirt because I take a lot of photos for this blog and the Burning Man Blog and I was the blogger for the Black Rock Arts Foundation blog until April 2012, so I just had to have it.  The cropped size 4x Jacket is from Domino Dollhouse.

I wore it for the first time last weekend when we went to a lecture by Sean Orlando, a friend of ours who is on an Artist’s Fellowship at the De Young Museum.

The Project he is working on with other artists is the Urbanauts, described as:

Urbanauts is a speculative exploration of urban infrastructure and its relationship to the everyday experience of the contemporary city. Through a series of interwoven conversations, urban expeditions, design charettes, and conjectural artworks based at the de Young, Orlando will collaborate with Rebar to examine and explore the ways in which urban inhabitants relate (or don’t relate) to the largely unseen mechanical systems, societal constructs, and cultural imperatives that mediate and structure life in the built environment.

Then I was browsing Sex + Design Magazine, which I love and there was an article title “The Instagram Becomes a Reality” and there was my camera from my skirt (kinda).

It makes me really happy when I can wear something a little artier or homemade rather than thrifted or bought from a retail plus size store, so wearing this skirt amuses me, as I hope it does you.

Peace…affinity

Domino Dollhouse Redux

In celebration of Domino Dollhouse getting a tune-up on the TV show on the Sundance Channel, Joe Zee – All on the Line I want to show you my favorites in their line because I want Domino Dollhouse to succeed because I LOVE their edge.  I have been watching Joe Zee since the beginning of the series and although I would not want him to criticize me personally I think he has a great eye for making a designer’s work more commercial and often helps improve the quality.

Everytime I wear the Size 4 striped sweater above I get compliments on it.  They still have it but only in a size 1X, but I will certainly be looking for the next one and will buy it when I see it.  Just fun and comfy.

This black size 26 jeans jacket is fun also.  They still have this jacket but in limited sizes. I love the cropping and it think it is similar in cut and size to the black and white heart denim jacket.

And the sheer shirt I just posted about a few weeks ago is the size 4X Lana Blouse, which I would love to have in lavender, but I do not have a lot of opportunity to wear it.

And a special shout out goes to Domino Dollhouse’s owner Tracy Broxterman’s Blog Post about her Betsey Johnson find, an oversize sweater.  Just thinking I could own a Betsey Johnson made me happy, and LOVE is just so me.

Thanks to Joe Zee, Domino Dollhouse is now working with Lane Bryant to bring some of her look to their stores and it seems that she is continuing to design her own line, so I am pleased.  Good luck in the transition Domino Dollhouse, but we can always say “we knew you when”.  Ciao Bellas…affinity 

Domino Dollhouse – After a Swim

I have been waiting for a chance to wear my sheer shirt from Domino Dollhouse as a cover up.  I am sure there are other uses for it but that has been my vision since it is cut very generously.  Sometimes I cannot wear their 4x because I have such a large waist and many of their clothes have more of an hourglass shape (which I love).

Well last weekend we went to a fabulous party in Healdsburg and it was 100°, so I waited for the shade to come over the pool (I hate the sun) and spent several hours in the water. It was fabulous.  And then I was able to make my exit in my coverup.  Ciao Bellas…affinity

Coverup: Domino Dollhouse – Size 4
Bathing Suit: Size 24 – 10 years old, my first ever Bedazzler project

Our Guest – Jenny Strauss

I love featuring people on Affatshionista who love clothes so here is Jenny Strauss.  Love this look and the mixed prints, and I hope you do too. Enjoy!

Top – In Full Swing, maybe 4 years ago
Skirt – Lane Bryant – 2 or 3 years old
Socks – Domino Dollhouse (online)
Shoes – Fluevogs
Scarf – 2001 – got it to wear for my son’s pirate themed birthday. Probably Target.
Thanks for visiting us Jenny.  Ciao Bellas…affinity

Cropped Jeans Jacket – Does It Fit?

 Jacket: Domino Dollhouse Size 4X

Red Cami: Avenue and DIY (Do It Yourself) Size 26-28

Bracelets: Torrid

I am showing this short jacket with the red t-shirt so that you can see how short this cute jeans jacket is.  The t-shirt is a plain red cami, that I have altered by sewing on the design from my Burning Man camp. I have about 100 shirts made each summer for my camp but since they do not carry my size I find a cami the same color and I sew on my camp logo. I love this jacket but the 4X will not button so I will not be keeping it, but isn’t it precious.  My order arrived with this sweet little button and I just had to show you…affinity

photo: Carol Squires