Vintage Fashion with Curves

Style is not a reward for just the skinny. 

Style is a tool to showcase our beautiful bodies. 

There is no size requirement to rock style and class. 

    

     As a lover of fashion and all things vintage I was stoked 

when I discovered The Curvy Elle Shop & Blog. 

     This addictive store targets "curvy" or plus sized (starts at size 12) women that have a love for vintage fashions. Meet Laurel, the woman behind the store and the blog. She is a twenty something gal living in the San Fransico Bay area who lives and breaths fashion. She spent time living in New York working as a fashion designer. Laurel loves fashion, vintage, and bringing style to women everywhere.

  
  I ask Laurel what inspired her to create "The Curvy Elle": 

     "What inspired me to start a plus size vintage store is that it was an idea I had for a very long time in my head, but I never knew if it would actually work. I kept seeing "regular size" vintage shops and blogs out there and loved the idea, but there really wasn't anything out there for plus size. Add to that, the fact that I wanted to work in fashion, but I wasn't happy working in the New York fashion industry for someone else. I also wanted a way to inspire other plus size women to empower their fashion and self worth. Ultimately, it was a multitude of reasons."
   
  Laurel is a young lady with a dream that she is determined to accomplish. She stood out to me when I read the following from her bio on her blog; "Working in an industry that is so focused on appearance, it has definitely made it extra hard for me being plus sized. It takes guts of steal and strong self worth to make it. It may sound cliche, but I really want to make a difference in such a superficial industry. I want to show that there is substance out there and a large market for the “Curvy” woman." A strong, empowered woman with a mission to help women rock their bodies with style...I like her!

     I look forward to her posts in my newsfeed. She regularly posts new finds. She specializes in sizes 12+.  She is a treasure hunter on behalf of curves everywhere! 

Find her on Facebook  for fashion finds, style ideas, and a boost of figure confidence. 

New Body. New Style...Eventually.

     As a fat kid in the 90's I didn't have many options in fashion and style.  I shopped at two stores; Lane Bryant and the XXL department of JcPenney. I didn't have the luxury to think about my personal style or what image I wanted to project - I just walked in and grabbed what I could tolerate and what would fit. When the time came for me to start caring about my style, my style had been already chosen for me - outdated grandma look. 

5th and 6th grade. Not my fondest years. 

     Thankfully as I got older the clothing options for the overweight expanded and I no longer had to sport flowers and cats. High school was a battle to dress myself.  I hated shopping with my friends because I couldn't fit into even the largest size in the store. Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe where not stretching over any part of me.  I learned to cry at home and show my big girl pride face in public.  I tried several different styles to disguise my lack of personal style. I tried goth but my mom just about killed me. Hippie worked. Long skirts and flip flops, easy enough. By the time I graduated high school I had no style as my style. I wore anything including a sparkly red cowboy hat with matching red fringe boots (thankfully there is no photographic evidence).  In college it evolved into a punk look, black hair and piercings. By the time I was 21 I didn't like my look. I didn't like standing out because I looked hard, angry, AND fat.

     I started over. Gone where the days of chains on my pants and a bolt in my tongue.  Now I had glamorized myself.  My hair got bigger and my make-up got thicker. Lane Bryant kept me fashionable AND in debt. The make-up girls at Macy's knew they could sell me just about anything because someday I was going to find the magic powder that, when applied to my face, would make my butt look smaller. 

     This is the "look" that evolved with me as my weight dropped down until I was no longer able to shop at Lane Bryant and Torrid. Now I could shop ANYWHERE!! This was a dream come true for me, the ability to walk into any store and know something is going to fit. About this time is also when I had my very own life crisis. I wanted to live the glory days I never had as the cute high school girl. I wanted the cute dresses, the adorable shirts, and graphic tee's that, as a fat girl, I couldn't wear.  At 27 I probably should have just let that dream go but I walked into Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe and I bought those cute (way too short for me) dresses, and those adorable (look like I'm in denial about my age) shirts, and I rocked the graphic tee (with a blazer, it really was cute). With my make-up caked on and the most uncomfortable shoes I could find, I was ready to make memories. 

     I dressed like I was 16 until I hit 30 and I suddenly felt out of place in my Buffy the Vampire Slayer t-shirt. Recapturing youth and too much makeup was not talked about in Weight Watchers meetings. I wasn't prepared to not know how to dress myself. I  looked to women in my life that inspired me and realized none of these ladies where shopping in the juniors department and it might be time to embrace the 30 year old woman I had become. I struggle to make fashion choices that compliment me, I fight my inner fat teenager who wants the short low cut dress. 

To help combat these choices I have a set of rules I follow when I'm shopping:    

           

                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I'm learning to love my body and showcase it as it is.  I dress my best now because that super model body I keep waiting for isn't going to get here and in the meantime I need to rock what I have with style and class.  I may not have been able to be the teenager I wanted to be but I will be the woman I hoped I'd grow up to be. 

Everything Sounds Better with an Accent

 

Ladies, if you have never heard of Gok Wan, I am thrilled to be the first to introduce you!! He is adorable, British, and all about making women radiate self confidence.

"Fashion expert, award-winning TV presenter, author and all round national treasure, Gok Wan has taken the fashion and TV world by storm and has become one of the UK’s most sought-after entertainers.  He made his mark by giving women the confidence to appreciate their bodies, whatever their size and encouraged women whatever their shape and size to strip for the nation!"

     As women we are our own worst enemy. We judge our bodies harshly. Our inner monologues of “I hate this” and “I hate that” are devastating to our mental health.  It is time we take back our bodies and our minds. Regardless of your size you have every right to love yourself and be loved in return.  

     When I openly point out the flaws I see on my body, my husband looks at me like I am insane. He does not look at my body and judge it. He is not making mental notes of everything I should be fixing. Love does not see size. Did you see that? LOVE DOES NOT SEE SIZE!! So please love yourself!!!