Category Archives: Categories

Plus Size Team Shirts from the NFL Shop

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tealer NFL Team ShirtHere comes the Super Bowl and my friend Lisa Tealer is just in time to show you her fully customizable San Francisco 49ers Team Shirt from the NFL Shop, size 4X. You can also order this one in a size 4X but I am not clear you could receive it for the game this weekend.

Lisa Tealer is a former aerobics instructor and health club owner. If she looks familiar, you may have seen her posing as a plus size clothing model and she is a board member and director of programs for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.  An amazing woman to know.

Thanks for the tip from our friend Cinder Ernst.

Peace…affinity

Fractured Friday V. 01/25/13

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Love this video of British plus sized actor Lisa Riley & Robin Windsor jiving to ‘Hanky Panky’ on Strictly Come Dancing, and yes I love the dress.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce9HoAmL11I?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

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Did you know there is a term for the distance between your socks and your skirt in Japanese fashion?

Zettai Ryouiki 01

‘Zettai ryouiki’ is a term for a japanese fashion that translates roughly into ‘Absolute Territory’ or ‘Absolute Region’, which are catchall terms for any exposed legflesh between the tops of your socks and a skirt. Zettai ryouiki are excellent for cosplay, lolita, and just about everything. Even keeping (most) of your legs warm.

To see more photos

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beth ditto 2013-01-20 at 7.32.10 PM

Beth Ditto’s Craziest Outfits

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Last week I told you about the Edwardian Ball. I thought you might like to see my favorite photo so far.  45505_475594882478463_422759669_n

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Happy is a good vibe for peace_o

Peace…affinity

Fatty Affair 2013 or, Should I Wear my Beth Ditto Domino Dress?

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Screen Shot 2013-01-23 at 5.39.52 AMI am going to a fat positive event called Fatty Affair in San Jose this weekend. There are lots of reasons to go.  Some of my oldest friends, Cinder Ernst and Deb Burgard, are going to speak and there is going to be a clothing swap.

I have never been to a clothing swap. I really cannot believe that. I have been involved in the fat community since 1982, and I have never been to a clothing swap.  So my husband and I cleaned out my closets of all the Dana Buchman etc. that I wore to years for work, plus dozens of turtleneck shirts that were part of my work uniform and you know, the pieces I have purchased from Fattoo Grand or ebay, or even retailer clothing that I never returned and that do not fit.  I have so much I cannot take it all.  I am going to pick out the fun, best pieces to take to the swap and give the rest to the Goodwill, because there is no way I could manage all of this.

beth in domino dressSo what to wear?  I have a new “vintage” Beth Ditto dress, but it is a pretty snug bodycon dress and not very comfortable, and I have a Burning Man staff meeting in the morning, so it is going to be a long day. The dress has matching leggings, but that seems like a little much. Then I have some “go-to” outfits that are easy and comfy, and are always complimented.  But you can’t wear a Beth Ditto, too tight, dress just anywhere, this is a fashion opportunity.  I will surely let you know what I decide, and you should feel free to express an opinion in the comments. ;D

A special shout-out to Elaine Lee for driving.  I really am not driving very far at night these days and I probably would not go if I had to drive myself.  Thanks Elaine.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blBo6wUuIeo?rel=0]

Peace…affinity

Online Auction for Plus Size Clothing

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74896_403257693091835_1785167079_nNext Monday, at 6:30 pm EST I am going to tune into my first online plus size clothing auction through Urban Thick.  I have not tried this before but you can take a look on their site to see if you might be interested. Urban Thick is a plus size consignment store. They are calling it a $1 auction. . I do not know if that is the starting bid or exactly what it means, but I love an adventure I can try from my living room.  I am not crazy about sites of any kind that play music, but I am curious enough to overlook that for now.  This is what they had to say.

We want to you to have fun and save money! Join us this Monday, January 28th at 6:30 pm to bid on fabulous items (shipping cost not included). To see the item up for auction as well as to register for you bid number our website. http://www.urbanthick.com/

I would of course love to hear what you think if you check it out.  We may find it to be a little sparse since the auction is new.  It will be fun to find out.

1/25/13 Update:  I looked at the clothes they are going to be auctioning and found most of them to be size 3X or smaller.  That is too small for me, but if you decide to check them out I would love to hear about your experience.

Peace…affinity

Plus Size 4X Edwardian or Steampunk Costumes

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Edwardian Ball 2011My friend Amber Clisura is back this week with How to Dress for the Edwardian Ball.  I think she provides great costume advice even if you do not happen to be going to the Edwardian Ball. I have a couple of cheap tips and plus size suggestions.

dare to wear corset topThe obvious is a corset top. Dare to Wear has this style and other styles in a 5X, and I hear they run a little small. You can read my review and readers comments HERE.

Screen Shot 2013-01-18 at 8.40.22 AMYou can find small headbands and “fascinators” everywhere now, but I love the breadth at Amazon, for figuring out how to make your own or buying one inexpensively.  The one above as only $10 plus shipping and would dress up any outfit (second page of the Amazon link). As you may know I live in a costume sort of world so I am always looking for tricks to make it easy.  In the photos in her post some women are wearing bustiers over their clothing, or over a bra, rather than alone.  You get the effect without being so exposed.

Screen Shot 2013-01-18 at 8.09.32 AMI also find that most stretch or fishnet fingerless gloves fit me just fine, even inexpensive ones (at 275 lbs).  I have not tried these velvet stretch fingerless gloves and they are a little more expensive, but I would be surprised if they did not fit.  In very worst case, if they did not fit you could sew a little piece of black eleastic into one of the seams, easy and effective.

red gloveThese little fishnet gloves I own in many colors, they are very inexpensive and have never found a pair that does not fit.

tie on bustle MIn addition, a Tie-On Bustle, which will make any skirt you own a costume. It says it is one size, but I have worn these before by just replacing the ribbon. If you want to spend more I would check out Etsy.  Steampunk is kind of “Around the World in 80 Daysish” and not unlike Edwardian in the costume world.

So with a pair of gloves, a fascinator, a ribbon around your neck and a tie-on bustle, you could make almost anything in your closet into a Steampunk or Edwardian Costume.  If you want to stretch a little and try a bustier it would make the costume even more authentic.

And a video with lots of ideas that are not size related, make-up, masks, big fun: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO4eIRpIZ1k?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Hips and Curves has a Steampunk Section on their site. A lot of the collection only runs to a waist measurement of 50″ so that may not be helpful, but they have some cute accessories.

Bustiers: Here is a great bog post, Plus Size and Proud, about Corset Boulevard Global and how they fit and how they look. Great information, and there are a couple of great photos.

In addition, Clockwork Couture has a variety of accessories.

Or you could do a little DIY steampunk, it is all over the web, last year I did a vacuum tube hat and necklace made out of computer and old doll parts.

Peace…affinity

Fractured Friday v.01/18/2013

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Fractured Friday includes items that may not be FATSHION but are a variety of things that have caught my eye that I want to share with you.

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Screen Shot 2013-01-13 at 10.30.57 AM  OMG! A fabulous men’s fashion blog: Highsnobiety  Thanks for the tip Jenny Strauss.

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letters  Woman Within Fashion Glossary

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I am the Social Media Coordinator for Cool Neon.  They created this electroluminescent wire peacock costume for Katy Perry in 2010.  I had never seen the video before and I  liked it so much that I thought you might enjoy it too.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZEBNioAMxU?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

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dior_hc_aw07_0220_a1On CBS News Sunday Morning, a TV show I have been watching as long as I can remember, they did a review of Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones, an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.  It was amazing and I want to share this hat in particular that Stephen Jones designed for Dior.  Each little “paint dab” is made up of 2,000 sequins.

Here is a must see video which was made when the exhibit was in New York:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yl4CeQVLo8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

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541746_10200420858110902_139194032_nLOVE is 20 feet high and the installation was created by my friends Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg.

 …affinity

Torrid CrossBack Dress Review

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18083_10151330547716280_1498661911_nI went to my fabulous tailor this week, Barbra Hume, who is also a designer. She was altering a dress for me to wear to the Hot Couture: A Fusion of Fashion and Fire, fashion show I was going to and we discussed why I feel like I need to wear one dress or another for a particular occasion!  That turned out to be very interesting because that afternoon this Torrid dress arrived in the mail and I knew I had to wear it rather than the fabulous Simply Be dress that I am going to save for The Bay Lights Opening Ceremony on March 5th.  Why, because I could not wear this strappy, too revealing, form fitting and short for an old fat lady, to an event the Mayor of San Francisco and the Lt. Governor of California are going to attend. But I love it, so I wore it to an evening of boundary stretching fashion.

The photos of me in this dress are not very good.  I promise to reshoot and post them soon.  It is the best fitting strappy dress I have ever tried on. The straps fit perfectly, the waist is long enough and it is just fun. I was sure it would be too small but just that little bit of spandex made it work in the waist and yet not tug anywhere. But, I cannot seem to get a great photo of me in it to share with you. I am so happy I took a chance on it after looking at it for a couple of weeks before I took the risk, rarely does anything this fun last that long on Fattoo Grand, the Facebook online resale page.  I love it.

Here are the deets:

Dress: Torrid – Size 5X – purchased thru Fattoo Grand

Coat: Lane Bryant – Size 24 – Double Breasted and pulls a little if I try to button all the buttons  Here is a similar version  I cannot tell you how many compliments I got on this coat!   Purchased from Jessica Kane on Fattoo. How fun is that?  Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time.

Tights with studs (glued on): Lane Bryant – Size 26-28 – Way too large – purchased through Fattoo

Regarding Leggings: I tried on some Avenue Size E leggings that I had but I could not even get them up my skinny legs.  Since I am 5’5″ and weigh 275 lbs. I was very disappointed when they did not fit. I guess I will buy some Size EE while they are on sale.

Avenue Size Chart

Avenue Size Chart

Shoes: Lane Bryant – Size 10W – my most comfortable flat

photo: Gary J. Wilson

photo: Gary J. Wilson

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I thought you might like to see some photos of the show:

This was my favorite dress of the evening with the windowpane design

This was my favorite dress of the evening with the windowpane design

photo: Brittany Schell

photo: Brittany Schell

photo: Will Bucquoy WB Photography

photo: Will Bucquoy WB Photography

Screen Shot 2013-01-12 at 3.28.59 PM

photo: Ed Jay

photo: Ed Jay

photo: Will Bucquoy WB Photography

photo: Will Bucquoy WB Photography

A stained glass gown and a dress bejeweled with images displayed in LED lights are just a few of the pieces of evening wear made from steel, wire, leather and other industrial materials that will be paraded down the runway this weekend at The Crucible in West Oakland for the Hot Couture fashion show.  Brittany Schell

And Rose Nisker Aerialist did a beautiful performance with a live violin accompaniment

740999_10151337756677591_1596841012_oAll in all a very exciting evening.

01/18/2013 Update: An Oakland Local Blog review of the event.

Peace…affinity

Enrich Your Life, Make a Contribution

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jacmel_artistsAs most of you know I am an avid Burner (one who goes to Burning Man).  I volunteer, I blog and most of my community stems from these amazing artists and people who make things and get things done. I volunteer because Burning Man and its culture and ethos have enriched my life.

I don’t usually write about much that isn’t fashion related here, but this project in Haiti is a chance for me to give to a group of artists that need skills that are more practical so they can make a living.   Please help if you can, even if only a little.

Currently I am volunteering for Burners Without Borders and what I am asking is that if you also have found Burning Man to have enriched your life, or you would like to enrich another person’s life, that you consider helping Burners Without Borders in its partnership with Haiti’s Jakmel Ekspresyon Art Center, a unique community arts center for an important segment of Haiti’s artistic community. As the people of Haiti recover and rebuild from the 2010 earthquake, this center for creativity and self-expression is a vital part of its future. With the support of the Burning Man community, we can make a real and lasting difference in transforming this paradigm. This screen printing project will be the first of its kind in Haiti. Burners Without Borders will send ten artists to Jacmel to teach skills in design, screen printing and professional development. There are currently no screen printing services available in Jacmel to create post-cards and t-shirts for the tourism industry or for the various international organizations who work there. This project is sure to be a success and we need your participation to make it happen. Please help Burners Without Borders and Jakmel Ekspresyon launch a new arts/artists-in-residence program that will benefit the local economy for the long term! Please spread the word.

Donate Here!

In Full Swing is Having a Sale

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My friends at In Full Swing are having their Winter sale until January 31, 2013 in Oakland, CA, so stop on by and check out the variety of sale items.jenny

In addition, In Full Swing just received a big shipment of Sympli which our friend Jenny Srauss is modeling, and I love this look.

jenny shawlAnd I love how she dresses up this “go from work to evening” look.  The Purse/Briefcase she is carrying is a Coach bag, the shoes are Fluevog Mini Zazas and the coat is Calvin Klein from Nordstrom (last year).  A fabulous look.

Peace…affinity