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

Torrid CrossBack Dress Review

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

Getting Ready for an Urban Art Festival

As most of you know I volunteer for the Burning Man Project, so yesterday my husband and I went to Oakland to help prep the ArtIsMobilUs, a school bus turned mobile art gallery. They removed the previous mural and put up new wood so a collaborative mural can be created on the first night of the Central Market Arts Festival, located at 6th Street and Market on Friday September 28. I took photos and as usual, he did the hard work.

This t-shirt is so me. I love the theme of peace and change and I did not even realize it had little studs and rhinestones when I bought it on line.

T-shirt: Lane Bryant size 26-28 purchased on FatToo
Jeans: Torrid Tripp NYC size 28
Bracelets: Torrid
Shoes: Lane Bryant, worn with ruffled anklets

Close up of the t-shirt pattern

Lane Bryant Socks aka Anklets – A Review

Well I don’t know about you but I am always looking for something sockish to wear with flats and a skirt or jeans, that are not trouser socks or knee highs, which I can barely find in my size and do not stay up anyway.  You know, kind of the new take on bobby socks and sneakers.  Today my “anklets” arrived from Lane Bryant, on sale for $3.99 for 2 pair and fun and quirky, and guess what, they are a great fit.  I wear a 10WW so finding fun socks is difficult and I am thrilled with these.  Lane Bryant also carries standard but fun printed socks that I expect may fit similarly, but I cannot guarantee that.  I love the pink houndstooth, a couple of leopard choices and some polka dots.  But I am in love with my new anklets and I bet you will be seeing them around. So if you are feeling sockish check them out.  Ciao Bellas…affinity

Update: 9/12/2012  Did you see this video with Beyonce wearing high heels and  socks, all the cool girls are doing it?

Update November 13, 2012:  Love this photo, it made my day.

 

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

Wear Black – Be Brilliant

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I went to a fundraising event for The Bay Lights recently.  I was invited to attend not as a donor (our Mayor, Ed Lee, donated $5,000), but as an advocate of the arts. Watch this space for more from me about this amazing art installation. They asked us to wear black and be brilliant, so I wore a black skirt and top, with a rhinestone necklace and belt.  I have a matching rhinestone bracelet but it kept snagging on the skirt.

Necklace: Ron’s Rhinestones – Plus Sized Collection
Top: Ebay (5 years old), one of my favorites.  It has mesh on top when that mesh look was not nearly as popular
Skirt: Torrid – Black Sequin Splice Mini (December 2011) size 5X but it runs large and a 4X would have been sufficient
Rhinestone Belt: Affinity – Custom made on Ebay $20
Shoes: Lane Bryant Size 10W (December 2011)

BayLightsIMG1240-150x150Here is a small photo that they took of me at the event overlooking the Bay on a fabulous evening in San Francisco.