30 Dresses in 30 Days

Breaking All the Fat Girl Rules: Bikinis AND Crop Tops

2011-09-19T22:31:00.005-04:00

I went to the beach and didn't end up wearing a dress (it's hard to wear the necessary chub rub protection at the beach) but my bikini has a skirt bottom so it kinda counts, right?

I got my bikini from Evans and it has been my go to bathing suit all summer long, I absolutely adore it. Not to mention that I'm a sucker for a bikini actually made for fat people, not ones that me and my small breasts can merely stuff myself into. When I first ordered the bathing suit I was hesitant that a skirted bottom would be too Grandma-esque, but my lovely friends convinced me that it looked more like a tutu and paired with a bikini top it wouldn't look matronly. As an added bonus when I'm late into my waxing cycle the skirt is a godsend. I was chilly so I borrowed the button down from a friend.

Not to mention I can't resist a polka dot. For serious.

Since I know I'll get questions about this I'll point you to a few other posts about fat girls in bikinis. I've posted pictures of various bikinis before and the magnificent Frances over at Corpulent wrote an amazing manifesto about it. Simply put, I find wearing a bikini empowering and I love feeling the sun on my belly.

But it was Labor Day weekend and the day was not yet over. Next on the agenda was celebrating my dear friend Ateqah's birthday and for that I had a perfect post-beach outfit - a crop top and shorts.

It was the first time I had worn a crop top (I only bought it the day before) and to be honest I was kinda petrified of wearing it. Being on the beach in a bikini doesn't make me bat an eye, but a crop top on the street really tested my comfort zone. I was nervous about wearing it and wondered if I'd get nasty comments but it turns out I loved the hell out of it and not a comment to be had.

And I now give you what will probably be the most high fashion shot of me ever to be seen on the blog, I mean I'm not even smiling. For this we can thank the blue lights in my friends entryway which I have lovingly dubbed Melrose Place and the photo direction of my friend Suzanne.

Top - Random Brooklyn boutique (straight sized I might add)

Shorts - City Chic

Sunglasses - Rayban and sadly don't belong to me.

Shoes - Crocs - another pair! Are y'all still gonna read my blog?

Photo credit goes to Suzanne and Ateqah.

My Deep, Dark, Shoe Secret

2011-09-16T00:01:00.003-04:00

Before I jump into my outfit details I want to thank you for all of your kind comments to my first posts from last week. It is so heartwarming that even after my extended absence I still have readers. Also you should know that while I'm fairly delayed with posting photos I have been taking them every single day and will post them eventually. And now, on to the outfit.

This dress is a hand me down from my work wife Nicole and I think she may not have ever even worn it. It's a silk dress from BCBG and is actually fancier than it appears in the photo. The dress is a regular sized large (that old adage of always try it on comes to mind).

I picked up the necklace and earrings at 2 different fairs (one craft, one street). Please excuse the droopy boob shot, but my weekend wardrobe goal is basically to not wear a bra and it was Saturday so I was not wearing bra. Plus I wanted to do something different and show you a sitting spot. Never say my blog isn't exciting.

Finally I'm going to admit a deep dark secret to you. Look at my shoes (and ignore my chipping pedicure) and guess who makes them.

Have you guessed yet?

Deep breath. They're crocs. GASP. It's ok, judge me, lord knows I judge myself. But these shoes are SO comfortable, which is something severely lacking from my summer shoe wardrobe that I just could not resist them. I take solace in the fact that at least they don't look like the original crocs and most people guess that they're Melissa's. Who would you have guessed makes them?

Photo credit to my friend Kate who was helping me apartment hunt.

Dare to Bare

2011-09-03T23:56:00.005-04:00

I've been on the hunt for a denim dress ever since I saw my friend Mr. Kate rocking an awesome one at her birthday last year. Finding a fitted dress that fits my large ass and smaller chest is difficult so I didn't have much luck until City Chic (the Australian equivalent of Torrid) launched in the U.S. this year. They were kind enough to give me a gift card and after some buying and returning (yay for 2 way free shipping!) I ended up with this awesome dress.

There are pockets! Which makes me love any dress at least 50% more.

And a fun zipper down the back. Back fat realness.

Even though my office is casual I feel strapless is a bit much (apparently even I have boundaries) so I added this orange cardigan so to make it office appropriate. It also would have been perfect had I been headed to a Mets game (which I wasn't).

Aren't my earrings fun? My sister laughed so hard at me when I picked them up earlier in the summer but I have been wearing the hell out of them the past few months. They go with everything!

Dress - City Chic
Cardigan - Hand-me-down from Jamie, originally Bendel's
Shoes - Office
Earrings - Aldo

Photos courtesy of Ateqah whose birthday it also happens to be today. Happy birthday babe, I love you!

Take 5

2011-09-01T23:46:00.005-04:00

Hi there, remember me? It's bloomie the fatshion blogger. I know it's been five months since I last blogged. I'm no longer a lapsed blogger, I think I qualify as a non-blogger.

But September has arrived and due to some pushing and prodding by my beloved Jamie I am going to attempt a fifth incarnation of 30 Dresses in 30 Days.

I'm not making any promises this go around. I forewarn you that I may not finish the month, I may spend a day in my pajamas and most notably I may/will likely end up wearing dresses that I've worn before. At this point in my endeavor I can't quite keep track of what I have and haven't worn in previous years and going through 120 outfit photos every morning just doesn't seem feasible or realistic. So I'm going to aim to wear things I think you haven't seen before, but it may not always work out that way.

Dress - Ebay
Leggings - Danskin
Sandals - India

Earrings - Topshop
Fascinator - Street Fair

Photo courtesy of Ateqah, who also suggested the tongue.

Fat Girl Flea Market - Purchases Over the Years

2011-04-27T00:17:00.005-04:00

This Saturday is the FAT GIRL FLEA MARKET aka the best day for NYC fatshionistas. The Fat Girl Flea Market (FGFM) is a once a year, day long, giant flea market, where for once everything comes in our size. If you are in town you cannot miss it.

There's a $10 entrance fee to get in and then there are prices for types of clothing. There will be some new clothing for sale that has been donated by fabulous plus size designers and there will be TONS of donations. If you have clothing to donate (and let's be real, most of us do) you can drop off donations on Friday night or bring them Saturday when you come to shop.

I'll be working as a stylist on Saturday afternoon. Come find me so I can find you a fabulous outfit!

Wonder what you can get at the FGFM? Here are some snapshots of me in stuff that I've scored over the years.

I picked up this cropped jean jacket at the flea several years ago and I sometimes wonder how I lived without it in my wardrobe. It is an absolute go to piece for me. This was probably $5 or so.

I got this top at the FGFM a few years ago and looking at this photo I think I should wear it more frequently than I do. It's cute.

Sadly this isn't the best photo to show off my top, but take my word that it is this great turquoise sweater with a cowl neck that I picked up in the communal dressing room after someone else decided she wasn't interested in it. Fatty sisterhood!

Here are some great tips about hunting at the flea and I'm gonna add a few more of my own.

1) Come unencumbered. Wear as little clothing as possible and if you have a messenger bag, now is the time to wear it. You want your hands as free as possible.

2) Water. Shopping is hard work and hydration is important.

3) Cash. The FGFM is all cash and while everything is a massive bargain, it's not free. You'll need cash to pay for your goodies.

4) Have a good attitude. The flea is a great community day. It's going to be a great time, for your closet, pocketbook and your heart.

5) TRY IT ON! You never know what will fit.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be done cleaning out my closet and will be able to show off some of the things I'm donating.

Hope to see you there!

Country Chic

2011-04-21T23:14:00.002-04:00

Sometimes life is amazing. You tweet "I really need a weekend away" and all of a sudden a friend texts you "wanna go to the Catskills tomorrow?" and you have your weekend away. Life is magical that way.

Off we went for a lovely weekend of sleeping, cooking, drinking, game playing, dancing and general merriment. It was wonderful.

When planning my outfits for the weekend away I wanted to get into the country mood, look decent and be incredibly comfortable and I think I did a good job of it. Honestly I think in the right context throwing a furry vest on anything can make it a bit fabulous in the country.

Outfit sourcing:

Top - Evans

Leggings - Danskin via Ebay

Vest - Target

Boots - Duo

Sunglasses - Swiped from the coffee table, not entirely sure who they belong to. I think they're Ray-Bans.

My photographer for the day is a photo stylist for fancy shoots, can you tell? Also the view from the deck we took photos on is this. Can you imagine how gorgeous this must be in full spring bloom? Apparently spring comes even later to the Catskills than it does to Brooklyn.

New Hair and Office Sequins

2011-04-14T23:52:00.008-04:00

Ta dah! Check it out, I have new, all natural hair.

Last spotted in 1998 and a two-year work in progress, it's my all natural hair color. I was more than a bit shocked when I discovered just how dark my hair really is and to be honest I wasn't all that pleased. But it's been a few weeks now (I'm quite the delayed blogger) and it's really starting to grow on me. The cut was inspired by a curly haired Maggie Gyllenhaal and while not quite as dramatic as I was hoping for it did re-dedicate myself to my stylist who I was thinking about breaking up with after a very long relationship.

You like?

I've also got on a very cute, new to me dress. I picked this up on my trip to Portland this past fall on Hawthorne Boulevard in the Southeast. Portland was glorious and I can't believe I never told y'all about it. When I finally wear the dress I got from Fat Fancy I'll give you an update.

It's just a simple black sweater dress that has the most AMAZING 80's shoulder pads and sequins. It's a continuation of my desire to bring sequins to the office, not just the weekend. I've paired my sequined sweater dress with some Duo boots and a headband from a Brooklyn street fair.

Photo credit to my beloved Ateqah.

I'm the Fat Cruella de Vil

2011-04-10T14:39:00.006-04:00

A week or two ago the Fat Heffalump asked me if I'd be willing to contribute to a blog post about what fatshion meant to me. I was super touched to be included and quickly sent her a few lines and included the above photo of me. Amongst the things I said I wrote

"Sometimes I get on the subway in the morning, look around at everyone on the train and think about how in a sea of black, I am the fat woman wearing multiple fluorescent colors and a faux fur jacket. And then I laugh to myself and think about how far I’ve come from the days when I didn’t even know where to buy jeans that fit me."

And today's outfit is just an example of how far I've come. Not just in being comfortable in my body enough to show it off and bring attention to it, but also in the array of places I have to shop.

Also before winter finally ends in New York I wanted to show you what I have found to be the best part of my winter. My amazing, vintage faux fur that I purchased at Re/Dress a few months ago. I'd been coveting a faux fur all season and after a few ordering misses I picked this up at Re/Dress in the midst of one of the many blizzards we had. Every time I wear it, it puts a huge smile on my face. I think it makes me the fat Cruella de Vil!

Underneath my coat I had on those multiple shades of fluorescent I referenced. This dress was also picked up at Re/Dress and it was one of their new pieces that they carry. For some reason I don't wear this dress that often, even though I do like it. It often feels like a lot, even for me. The one other time I wore it I met Morgan Freeman.

There are batwing sleeves - fun! The dress comes with a belt that threads underneath the sleeves, but in the most un-bloomie fashion I chose not to wear it. I'm also wearing tights from Target, shoes from Payless and earrings from Primark.

As an added bonus the dress does some nice stuff for my booty. My ass and I are happy.

Photo credit goes to Amy and Ateqah.

My Vest is Bananas

2011-03-21T23:26:00.005-04:00

As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes I watch the Rachel Zoe Project. Half the time I think she looks like a crazy lady (cause let's be real she is) and the other half of the time I love her look. I die, do you die?

When Rachel Zoe first started wearing a furry vest a few years ago I thought she looked ridiculous. I swore I would never, ever wear such a thing. And then, slowly but surely as time progressed I warmed to the look until finally I wanted one of my own. Lesson of the day, don't doubt Rachel Zoe's fashion foresight.

So one night I was shopping at the Atlantic Center Target, aka the Target that never, ever has anything in stock when I came across this vest from their newish juniors plus line Pure Energy and threw it in my cart. I wasn't sure how to wear it, but my wise friend Ateqah just told me to keep everything else simple and I would be ok. As usual, she was right.

I chose a simple black dress as my base. It's a straight sized piece from one of Bloomingdale's in house brands and I got it from a Friday fats sale. I'm wearing some crocheted tights from Target and boots from Evans. My necklace is from the Bust craftacular. Unflattering lighting thanks to the MTA, photo thanks to Ats.

Twitter

2011-03-17T15:29:00.005-04:00

I joined Twitter and if you're so inclined you should follow me there. Bloomie was taken so I'm @DressWhore . I talk about a lot more than fatshion, but there's plenty of that as well. I haven't yet decided what I think of Twitter, the amount of information coming at me kinda stresses me out. Also it is super not good for my wallet as I keep seeing pretty articles of clothing being posted in tandem with discount codes. In the past week I've bought stuff from Asos, City Chic, and I'm about to purchase a new bikini from Evans. Even with sales and coupons it turns out that the price adds up. This is dangerous land I tell you.

Do you love Twitter and if so why?

"People Dress Up"

2011-03-16T12:09:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I had to go to Las Vegas for work. Las Vegas is a terrible, terrible, terrible place that I hope none of you ever have to visit (unless of course you like it and then by all means have fun). The upside of Vegas was my proximity to the West Coast. Taking only a few days off of work I was able to sneak in a far too brief visit to some of my favorite people in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, including this one.

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That's me with my best friend Karen. Adorable right? Today is her 31st birthday and I think we have now reached the tipping point where we've been best friends half of our lives. I love her beyond words even if every single thing I wear brings mockery and derision on her part.

While I was out in the Bay Area my friends Tom & Billy suggested a visit to the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. It's this amazing antique market with hundreds of vendors on an old air force landing strip in the middle of the Bay. What is there not to leave about this activity, I was so down. To make it even more enticing Tom told me that "people dress up" for the antique market so if I wanted to I should wear something fun. I had a packed a few crazy dresses that I never got to wear in Las Vegas so Alameda was sounding even better by the minute.

I may have been a bit more dressed up than other folks.

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I was wearing a new dress from Forever 21 with luvees peeking out from underneath. I thought I kind of dressed down the purple lame with some Minnetonka moccasins. Let me just say, they did not dress down the outfit nearly enough.

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I borrowed a necklace from Karen and am wearing Betsey Johnson sunglasses. My frizzy hair is thanks to the wind.

I was beyond overdressed for the market, but it was all good fun because I got to take photos like this.

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Finally here's a group photo of my the 3 lovely hosts who wined me and dined me and successfully made me not hate the Bay Area. Note how they are dressed, including the two men who passed on the advice that "people dress up."

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All photos are courtesy of my beloved, brilliant, beautiful, brainy, birthday bestie Karen. I am a lucky lady indeed.

Sometimes I Wear Pants

2011-03-13T22:30:00.003-04:00

Not often, not a lot, but sometimes I wear pants. A fact which can take people by surprise. This afternoon I ran into a friend while running errands who commented "I didn't even know you owned jeans." Ha. In fact I own plenty of pants and plenty of jeans. I am after all, a woman who loves options and large wardrobes.

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The jeans are Not Your Daughter Jeans, purchased for a fraction of their retail price at a Ross in Orlando, Florida. They were this magical, amazing lone pair of jeans in an 18 petite that were just waiting for me to take them home. I've paired the jeans with my beloved purple cowboy boots but it may have been a bad idea. I'm afraid they give me just enough height to make my jeans look an inch too short. Next time I'll stick to flats.

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Almost everything else I'm wearing was a hand-me-down. The t-shirt was from my friend Lauren and the cardigan was from my friend Jamie and both originally came from Anthropologie.

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The crazy necklace once belonged to my Grandmother and I can't quite imagine her ever wearing it. The fascinator was purchased at a Brooklyn street fair.

Jeans are comfortable and keep you warm in the winter, but to me their most fabulous function is that they showcase my ass better than any other article of clothing.

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Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-17T13:56:00.006-05:00

A bit belated, but happy Valentine's Day!

Whether single or in a relationship I always get a kick out of Valentine's Day. I think of it as an opportunity to wear bright colors, eat pastel candy and tell friends, lovers and family how much I adore them. What's not to love?

Getting dressed Tuesday morning I was struck at how little red and pink are to be found in my wardrobe, particularly my winter wardrobe. But I was determined to put together a Valentine's Day outfit and I think I succeeded. Granted I may have succeeded in dressing how a 6 year old would dress on Valentine's Day (especially when you see my nails) but that's often my aesthetic and I've learned to embrace it.

Head to toe, here's how I put together my outfit.

My base is a tank dress from Brooklyn Industries, that I've worn before. Over that I'm wearing a top from Old Navy that I don't really wear very often, topped with a cardigan that I'm betting is about 10 years old from the Gap. The gingham top is long and if I let it hang down, it wouldn't give me the look I wanted so I belted it with a white belt that I got in a Fatshionista sale.

I'm not sure where I got these tights from and my shoes are from Payless.

My necklace says love in Hebrew and it was my sister's present to her bridesmaids over a decade ago. It's a sculpture in Israel that she was married in front of you.

Finally, I give you my nails. It's a good thing I've already admitted that I'm 6. This confirms it.

I used a hot pink base, sparkly pink over it and then a heart nail polish over that.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Photo credit to my work wife Nicole.

Ugly Boots, Cute Scarf

2011-01-25T23:39:00.005-05:00

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We've been having a rough. snowy winter in New York which means that I've been stuck wearing ugly shoes fairly often. I bought these hiking boots a decade ago when my family went on a cruise to Alaska and since then they've basically functioned as ugly, but sufficient winter boots. On the upside they keep my feet nice and dry so I try and focus on that and make the best out of a bad shoe situation. After all I'm wearing a purple scarf with elephants on it, how bad can the outfit be?

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Skirt - Torrid, seen before several times.
T-Shirt - Dorothy Perkins
Cardi - Banana Republic
Tights - Old Navy
Earrings - Mexico
Hiking boots -EMS
Socks - Dad
Scarf - In the pound bin at Spittlefields Market

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And finally I have to give you a close-up of my eyeliner, which is the first time in my life I saw a makeup product reviewed in a magazine and then actually went out and bought it. I don't normally wear eye makeup because I'm too blind to apply it unless I'm wearing contacts and I don't normally wear contacts. I do however wear contacts in snow or rain because those make my glasses fog up making it impossible to see. It was snowing, so I wore contacts and was able to wear my new liquid gold eyeliner from Bobbi Brown. How fun is it!

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Photo credit goes to Miss. A.

Sequins Aren't Just for Saturday

2011-01-12T22:33:00.005-05:00

I'm trying not to reserve sparkly clothes just for special occasions so yesterday I wore both sequins and feathers to the office and (at least in my mind) felt like I was still understated, restrained and office appropriate. I think it's because the vast majority of my outfit was black and though the urge to add more color was huge, I managed to resist. What do you think?

A lot of what I'm wearing was brand new. I love when I'm getting dressed and I cut off a clothing tag. Yesterday I got to do that twice.

Top - Evans

Skirt - Forever 21

Tights - Old Navy

Booties - Marks and Spencer

Earrings - Primark

Necklace - Spittlefields Market

Even though I hadn't thought I had a reason to dress up, turns out that I did. Illinois' state Senate voted to repeal the death penalty! It was a big day of celebration in my office and it turns out we had a reason for sparkles after all!

Photo credit goes to the delightful Miss A.

Goodbye 2010, Don Draper is Here to Kick You Out the Door

2011-01-08T13:13:00.011-05:00

I hate New Year's. Actually I think despise is a more accurate term. A fact I find fairly ironic since I'm always happy to dress up, and yet New Years Eve - a night made for sequins and dancing and drunken kissing (three of my favorite things) has never been my cup of tea.

But 2010 was a terrible year for me. I mean it was really, really not good, perhaps the worst year of my adult life and I was ready to say goodbye, slam the door on 2010 and start 2011 surrounded by people I love. So I sucked it up, put on an outfit and headed to Manhattan for a party. And in the end I'm really glad I did.

My friends threw a Mad Men party and we were instructed to dress the part. I have never seen a single episode, but I live in the United States so I'm well aware of the characters and the fashion and the clothes. I had a million things to choose from, but in the end I decided to channel Peggy (in full disclosure I kept forgetting her name and calling her the dowdy one). This was a wise move since everyone else used Joan or Betty as inspiration. I was the lone Peggy inspired lady.

I think I did a pretty good job channeling Peggy.

I'm wearing a polka dot dress that I got at Fat Fancy on my recent trip to Portland, with a red DKNY pencil skirt over it. The skirt was a hand-me-down from JLR and I think when I don't have a dress underneath it fits better. The scarf around my neck and my fur shrug are courtesy of my Grandmother. My tights are from Old Navy, my shoes are Sam Edelman and my glasses are an old pair from college which are of course way hipper now than they were when I wore them a decade ago. Candy cigarettes are courtesy of Economy Candy, a store definitely worth checking out the next time you are on the Lower East Side.

Our hosts for the evening went all out with amazing details and almost everyone in attendance was dressed in some amazing outfit. Here is A working the bar. Funnily enough his normal hair worked out just fine for a Mad Men themed party.

Others worked very hard to get their Mad Men hair just right.

I hope 2011 is a wonderful, magical, happy year for all of us. Also I hope all of you had as lovely a night as I did and that you also didn't suffer a 2 day hangover as a result. This is the last shot of the night as I stumbled my way home.

All the amazing, higher quality photos are courtesy of Dr. B and Miss. A. Thank you!

Sundresses and Snowstorms

2010-12-27T21:23:00.005-05:00

This is what it looks like outside of my apartment today. We've had 20 inches of snow fall and it's insanity outside.

But I want to take you to a different place, where you don't have to wear ugly shoes and trudge through waist high snow. After London I headed over to Israel for a few days to visit my sister. The temperature rose by 50 degrees and I spent my days either playing with my niece and nephews or lying in the sun, reading trashy magazines. Good times.

It also meant that I got to wear a new dress that I had picked up on the Evans sales rack the week before in London.

Can we have a moment of silence where we appreciate how little clothing I am wearing and how sunny it is. Ok, thank you.

The best part of the dress is the crocheted back. I love details like this and yes, next time I'll wear a black bra.

I have little on, but as for details my dress is from Evans, my flip-flops are Havianna's, my bag is Botkier and I picked up these sunglasses at a market in Turkey.

My hair piece was purchased at the Bust craftacular a few years ago and I think I got these earrings at a NYC street fair. My wonderful sister was both my tour guide and photographer for the day.

And just because I am a woman obsessed, here's a photo of my sister's "baby." It's official, my nephew is cuter than yours.

Layering at London Markets

2010-12-26T20:28:00.005-05:00

My first full day in London I headed to East London to hit up some markets and do a bit of shopping. I attempted to dress like an East London hipster but I'm afraid that my smile and hair bow gave me away as a fake.

Because I was packing for an over 50 degree temperature variance on my trip my theory was to layer, layer, layer. I've got on a tank top dress from Brooklyn Industries which you've seen before here, a button down from Debs that I got in Fatshionista sales swap, a cashmere cardigan from Bloomingdales, tights from Target, my new Duo boots that I am beyond obsessed with and a Botkier bag.

I'm also sporting a hair bow from H&M, gloves from Uniqlo and a necklace from the Bust Craftacular.

A hallmark of London is its markets. London is absolutely filled with them and they all have a different feel to them. Some sell antiques, some food, some handmade crafts and while I was visiting last month I tried to hit up as many markets as I could in my limited time.

The first market I visited was Spitalfields on a Sunday (vendors and size of markets vary by the day) where it was in full swing for the holiday season. Spitalfields has a ton of handmade clothes, jewelry and accessories so I was in heaven. Also unlike many markets it is covered, which in the weather we were having is a blessing.

I quickly got sucked into a table which had beautiful, fluffy and feathery winter accessories. I think I tried on every single hat they had on their table.

But it was worth it because in the end I walked away with this beauty. I'm kind of obsessed with it even if I do look creepily like my mother.

Some of the other things that caught my eye at the market were these gorgeous necklaces. I ended up getting a headphone necklace from them. I also purchased a necklace that had a mini set of utensils on it that I've already worn about a dozen times. I'll be sure and show off the both of them to you sometime soon.

I was also taken with this vintage suitcase filled with bits and baubles for only 2 pounds a piece. Sometimes I get a bit taken away with things like that.

I also picked up some scarves for a pound a pop and some of the tastiest tea I've had in ages. While there was a ton of adorable clothes at the market none of it came in my size which was a bit aggravating but also good for my wallet.

Photo credit goes to my friend Elsa.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-22T15:19:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was my office's annual holiday party. Mind you this was the 4th work holiday party I had attended over the previous seven days, but it was also the "official one." I hadn't really planned on wearing anything special until a friend gchatted me the night before to ask what I was planning on wearing. Oh my, I needed an outfit. I scoured my closet and was so excited when I realized I'd finally have an opportunity to wear this dress that had been sitting in my closet for the past year.

I picked this black, velvet, sparkle dress up in a charity shop in Charleston last year for less than $10. In a completely un-shocking twist of fate I was drawn to it by the sparkles. I picked it up, held it up and thought to myself, this looks like it'll fit. And then I looked at the size tag and though uhh...maybe it won't. Why? Well take a guess what size this dress is. Have you guessed yet? It's marked a size 6 and as my colleague said last night I may be many things, but a size 6 I am not.

But I grabbed the dress, took it into the fitting room and lo and behold it fit! It's a stretchy dress to begin with and I'm sure it has stretched considerably over the years. I'm guessing this dress dates to the Working Girl fashion era. It just shows that you should always, always, always try stuff on so you don't suffer from fashion remorse.

I paired the dress with my new hair fascinator from Primark that I picked up last month and my necklace is also Primark, albeit several years old.

I'm wearing my beloved and fairly banged up first ever pair of Duo boots.

And here's a close-up of the dress so you can appreciate the pattern. I like it so much that it's worth the trail of glitter that follows me everywhere I go when I wear it.

My friend kept saying I was wearing a diamond dress. I was a bit confused until she sent me this clip. NPH give me a call and we can be matching diamond twins.

London is Calling

2010-11-19T12:37:00.002-05:00

Blargh, I've been a failure of a blogger as of late. I could give you all sorts of reasons, but suffice it to say I have sucked at blogging and keep abandoning my readers. I'm so sorry about that. I know I hate it when bloggers I like appear, disappear, appear, disappear and now I'm stuck in that cycle myself.

But tonight I leave for two weeks of much needed vacation so I'm hoping there will be lots of time to blog. My first stop is a week in my beloved London. A city that I adore for many reasons, but of most interest to you is the shopping that I plan to do there. It's been a year and a half since I've visited (my longest time away in years) and I cannot wait to hit up the high street. Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Monsoon...oh my!

I'm pretty good with London inbetweenie/fatty shopping but if any of you have must not miss suggestions please send them my way. If there's a new vendor at a market or a small boutique I can't miss or some shoe store that you think I'll love, I want to hear about it. Also I always skip the department stores but is that a mistake?

And I know some of you have asked to meet up the next time I came to town. I don't know if there's still any interest in that but if there is email me or let me know in the comments.

See you on Oxford Street!

Fuck You Maura Kelly, Stare at this Fat

2010-10-27T00:19:00.011-04:00

By now I'm sure you have all heard that "writer" Maura Kelly has written an incredibly hateful article about fat people on MarieClaire.com. Apparently the fat actors on Mike & Molly are so fat that the idea of watching them kiss one another makes her ill. To quote Maura Kelly, because lord knows I won't do justice to her words

"I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room."

It astounds me that Marie Claire or Maura Kelly didn't anticipate the shit storm that the post engendered. Seriously, this shit is bananas and everyone is talking about it. Eventually Maura felt the need to offer up what has to be amongst the worst apology I've ever heard where she basically says I'm sorry, except that these people are really fat so I'm not actually that sorry. Don't believe me? Here are her words

"In my post, I was talking about a TV show that features people who are not simply a little overweight, but appear to be morbidly obese."

Oh ok, so you're sorry for hating on people who are fat, but folks who are really, really Fat don't actually deserve an apology. On a personal level I find it amusing that what she hates the most about the show (the uber fatties) is to me the only redeeming thing about the show. I watch the insipid show just to watch death fatties getting it on.

Reading her words I felt as though someone had slapped me in my face. But in a way I have to thank Maura for being so bold about her hate in a way few people are. She didn't pretend to hate fat people because of concern for our health or attempt to couch it some paternalistic, I know better than you belief. She simply hates us because we're "gross" which I imagine is something that a lot of people feel, but most wouldn't say out loud. On the upside, Maura's hatred is so extreme that it has really brought attention to the issue of fat acceptance and folks all across the county are calling her out for her bullshit.

One of t

he saddest things for me about this is that it appeared on Marie Claire's website. I've been a subscriber for years, it seemed to me to be the only fashion magazine with good, progressive politics. Their editor-in-chief Joanna Coles isn't apologizing so I'll be putting my money where my mouth is and cancelling my subscription.

Yesterday I posted on Facebook that I wish that I knew where Maura Kelly vacationed so a group of me and my fatty friends could put on the smallest, string bikinis we could find and make out in front of her. Since I can't imagine she'll be getting many writing jobs anytime soon and money will be tight, perhaps I'll stage a kiss-in outside her Brooklyn apartment. Until then Maura here are some shots of me and my rolls. In a bikini. In public. Smiling. I hope I make you violently ill.

Until we meet at beach, all I have to say to you is

Day 16, Dress 106: Sisterhood of the Travelling Dress

2010-10-20T16:26:00.007-04:00

I have dubbed this dress the sisterhood of the traveling dress, after the movie Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I named it that after this straight sized medium dress magically fit me and two other friends with two very different bodies and still managed to look good on all of us.

I doubt you could tell it from these photos, but I was not having the best day. I had just signed my lease the day before and was having a nervous breakdown about the enormity of all of it. In typical bloomie fashion I broke down in tears in front of my friend/work wife/colleague/regular photographer Nicole and she was so worried about my well-being that she insisted that I hop on a train to Westchester for a pre-Yom Kippur fast meal. (Is it completely terrible that ate a big meal and proceeded to not fast?)

So here we are at the train station in Westchester doing our photo shoot. It wasn't however my first shoot of the day. Early in the day I headed over to Governor's Island where I was lucky enough to model for one of my very favoritest websites Adipositivity (warning, it's NSFW). All of my photos haven't been posted yet, but you'll be able to spot at least one of them very, very easily. I was hoping to get more naked than I was able to, but even just wearing my Mermaid Parade costume we got questioned by the staff and so we scurried off the island before we really ruffled any feathers. It was a wonderful experience and I hope I get to pose for the lovely Substantia Jones again sometime soon. I'm envisioning a winter photo shoot where I wear boots, hat, an open coat and nothing else. Wouldn't that be cute?

As I mentioned the dress is a medium dress from Macy's in-house brand INC that I got via my friend Mirka. My red peek-a-boo bra is from Lane Bryant (which if nothing else has cute bras), my necklace is from Peacock's, earrings are from a street fair and sunnies are from Primark. Big smile is due to the insane conversation I had with my girlfriends on the train up to Irvington. I really do believe that you're never fully dressed without a smile.

And I'm wearing my summer staple Dansko sandals, replete with my pedicure that would be more in place on an 8 year old than a 31 year old.

Photo credit goes to my friend Caitlin.

Portland Here I Come

2010-10-12T17:47:00.003-04:00

This Thursday night I am off for a 4 day get-away to Portland, Oregon. And even though my apartment is still in total disarray and I should be unpacking, I am in desperate need for a little vacation so off to Portland I go. I went to Portland once years ago for Fat Girl Speaks and because I was considering moving there, but it has been almost 7 years since my visit, so my memories are hazy.

I know there's a lot to do and see and that there are a lot of rad fatties there and I was hoping some of you might have some suggestions for me. Obviously I plan to hit up Fat Fancy, but other than that I'm a bit of an open book.

So if you have any suggestions for me of the food, eating, drinking, shopping, sightseeing, coffee drinking, rad fatties, cute heterosexual bear watching variety please let me know what they are so I can put them on my list.

Also I'm having a bit of a packing conundrum. It's going to be a high of 59 while I'm there. It hasn't been that cold yet in NY, so I'm not sure what that means clothing wise. Would a jean jacket suffice? Is it a cashmere cardi weather? I've forgotten what 59 feels like. If it's that cold where you are please let me know how you've been dressing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Day 15, Dress 105: Fall Colors Professionalized

2010-10-09T12:34:00.002-04:00

As you are most likely well aware of, I have a very relaxed office and for the most part am able to wear whatever I like. But when I interact with folks who aren't my work family I take pains to present myself professionally. It's the still the world of non-profit so it's not as if I have to wear a suit, but when I go out to the rest of the world it's important to me to show-up on time, cover up a bit more than I do normally and slightly restrain myself pattern wise. Sometimes when I do that I end up feeling a bit fake and un-bloomie, but not this iteration. I think part of that is because I really liked the color palette, which was inspired by the first hint of fall we were having that day.

The base of my outfit is a purple dress that I picked up at Loehmann's last year. It's exactly the sort of thing I did not need to add to my wardrobe - a fairly simple, straightforward dress that I have several of. But it was purple and I had a birthday discount, so I found it a bit hard to resist. Here's a taste of the dress sans jacket. There's some interesting ruffles below the scarf.

To professionalize the outfit a bit I put on a cropped jacket that comes from Target that I got in a Friday fats sale. I was just at another conference the last few days and noticed how almost every woman had on a blazer or jacket of some sort. Is that the secret to professionalizing an outfit - a jacket. What say you?

I wore my new Minnetonka moccasins that I can't seem to get enough of, and as you can see in the photo above my black Luvees are peeking out a bit.

For the accessories I grabbed a scarf that my friend Mirka got for me on a trip to India and I've paired it with some earrings that I picked up in the old city in Jerusalem on a trip to visit my sister. Is it completely narcissistic to tell you that I really like this photo below?

Photo credit goes to my co-worker Selene. And after we took pictures we went and got cookies at my second favorite cookie bakery in New York City. I have to work hard to maintain my girlish figure.

Day 14, Dress 104: I'm Alive

2010-09-27T18:12:00.005-04:00

I'm alive dear readers! Sorry for the complete radio silence the last few weeks - but at least this time I gave you some forewarning. Apparently a complete lack of blogging is what happens when I have to pack up a massive apartment I've lived in for 4 years, purge many of my belongings, move what is left to a much smaller apartment, deal with movers who cancel 5 minutes before they show up, have a lot going at work, travel (work and fun) and OMG unpack. It turns out no one let me in on the dirty little secret that unpacking is even worse than packing. Blargh. Who wants to come over and help me unpack...anyone??? It'd been so long since I'd moved that I'd forgotten how exhausting and tiring - on an emotional and physical level - the whole moving experience is.

But I'm having what my dad would say is diarrhea of the mouth because I know you don't all come here to read about my adventures in moving and what you, but rather to look at my bright and crazy clothing. So I shall indulge you.

After such a long hiatus I wish I had a more exciting outfit to showcase for you, because unfortunately you saw me wear this outfit not very long ago in a very similar manner. Sorry I didn't really remix it...at all.

This is a vintage dress that picked up at Re/Dress that I paired with a Torrid belt and scarily matching Topshop earrings.

On my feet I have my shoe of the summer, my Dansko platforms and amazingly I think this may be the first time they've popped up on the blog. Not remotely clear how they haven't shown up in a million, billion photos yet especially since buying these shoes was a big step for me. For the first time in my life I went into a store and told the saleswoman I needed supportive shoes and comfort was more important than cute. I thought those words would never come out of my mouth and I'm none too pleased that they did. Unfortunately for me 30 turned out to be the age where flip-flops actually start to hurt after awhile.

On an exciting to absolutely nobody but me note, it was also Primary Day in New York City and for the first time ever we had new voting machines. Considering I'm a voting advocate, this is a very big deal in my world.

Scantron ballots

And machines where you have to feed your ballot in face-up. I don't know what dummy designed this machine, which makes it impossible to vote in secret. Another fail by NYC Board of Elections, I am not at all surprised. At least my machines worked, plenty of others did not.

I'm going to try and be better about blogging. I promise. That I'll try. We shall see about the follow through.

New Apartment, Delayed Posting, A Stressed Out Bloomie

2010-09-20T10:56:00.002-04:00

So as I mentioned yesterday I am moving. On numerous occasions during my crying binges and moments of ripping out my hair I thought about blogging about this and asking for your help in making decision, asking for input, etc...but then I thought better about harassing you about non-fatshion related posts and showcasing how crazy I can sometimes be. I am really not good with big life changes.

But...I have to talk about it, if for no other reason than it may mess up my 30 Dresses in 30 Days and I want to be honest with you. I'll be packing and moving so I may have to skip the last few days of the month and continue into October. Also, my posts may take longer to get up than I would like because I've got SO MUCH PACKING to do. I've been in my current apartment for 4 years and everything in it belongs to me and my new place is half the size, so there's a lot to sort through.

And now that I've broken down and told you all about this, I guess I'll talk a bit more since some of you have already asked questions and really it's absolutely all I can think/talk/obsess/cry over these days. I'm still in Brooklyn - 2 blocks and 2 avenues from my current apartment, but since it's NYC, it feels like a whole new neighborhood. I'm going to an apartment that is half the size of my current one and it has NO CLOSETS, but I'm going to be living there all on my own. I am leaving behind the world of roommates and becoming a grown-up. Solo living is an exciting (and expensive thing) in New York City.

If any of you are good with design and space and organizing let me know because I will post more information if you're interested in giving me suggestions. The basic layout is a 12x18 kitchen/living area, a 10x11 bedroom and a 6x8 room off the bedroom that I'm thinking will either be a walk in closet or a sleeping nook. Not quite sure what the "bedroom" will become if I have a sleeping nook (perhaps a really big dressing room) but I am open to suggestions if you have them.

Feel free to make me want to move by telling me all about the large, cheap apartments with plentiful closet space I could have in your city. Torturing myself in this way is kinda my new favorite/least favorite activity.

Thanks for listening.

Day 13. Apartment Hunting is Exhausting

2010-09-19T21:35:00.002-04:00

Apartment hunting in New York is exhausting and depressing and overwhelming in a way that I cannot quite explain. Seriously people, it is the worst and it's been driving me crazy. I've now found a place (and will likely write about it more soon) but the stress has been driving me to want to put on sweats and not get out of bed. However since it's September I have to rally and put on a dress. I should probably be thanking you all for that.

I wore this tunic a few weeks ago so I wanted to showcase it in a different way. In that end I paired it with some jeggings from Faith 21, a cropped cardigan from Banana Republic and my new favorite moccasins.

I added a headband from some crappy accessory store on 14th street and my pink, sparkly moustache necklace that I got at the Bust Winter Craftacular. One of the fun things about this necklace (aside from the fact that it's a pink, sparkly moustache) is that it's reversible and is black on the other side. Yeah for utility!

Photo credit goes to my co-worker Ben who helped a girl out very late at night.

Day 12, Dress 102: Western Mode

2010-09-18T11:42:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday was such a busy day that the thought of writing about it just made me breathless. And then I realized I didn't need to get into the 800 things I did last Sunday, I could just write about my clothes. In one sentence my day consisted of apartment hunting, date at the Brooklyn Flea and brunch, birthday party in Brooklyn, birthday party in Manhattan and the True Blood finale with Ashwini. I had to look cute because I had a date and it was raining. It was a long day people.

My basic dress of the day is a black tank shift from Brooklyn Industries that I also own in pink and wore last year. Brooklyn Industries can work for inbetweenies but they're overpriced for what they are and I only buy their stuff on sale. I put a very old Torrid button-down over it - in fact I think it may be the very first thing I ever bought from Torrid. I've worn this top before.

I paired the outfit with a necklace that I got at the Bust Craftacular, my purple cowboy boots
and at the Flea I got myself a new ring - B for Bloomie!

I really liked the days outfit and think I'll be repeating it once the month is over.

Photo credit to my darling, darling Dobs, one of the days birthday girls and Adam her lovely husband.

Day 11 - I Learn to Ride a Bike!!!

2010-09-15T22:45:00.002-04:00

Ok so there isn't dress today but I have something so much better than a dress - at least to me. After almost 31 years I have FINALLY learned to ride a bike. My original goal was to learn to ride a bike before I turned 30, but at least now I can say I learned while I was 30.

Apparently learning to ride a bike while wearing a dress isn't recommended so I put on my plainest outfit of the summer. Some shorts that I've worn before in a very different way, a t-shirt that reads "just a small town girl, living in a lonely world" which my friend Jared laughs over every time I wear it telling me that he loves it but that I'm about as far from lonely and small town you can get. And on my feet I have some boring sneakers. Not an exciting outfit by any stretch of the imagination, but very practical.

In just 2 hours, the amazing folk from Bike New York taught this bloomie how to ride a bike. Granted I can't go more than about 20 feet at a time (if that) and I have no idea how to turn, but it's a start and I'm really proud of myself.

Note the look on my face. It's of the "holy shit is this really happening...I'm gonna fall...this is so scary...and exciting" variety.

They say it gets easier once I move to a bike with a higher seat (they keep you low to the ground so you don't worry about falling) and I'm holding out hope that that's the truth. I also hope that once I become a better biker and am riding a bike that fits it won't hurt that much. The following day I felt like I'd had about 10 hours of rough sex.

Photo credit belongs to one of the lovely Bike New York volunteers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You were all wonderful!

Day 10, Dress 100!!!

2010-09-14T23:43:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness, today is dress 100!!! (Well that may not technically be the most accurate statement I've ever made because I've missed a day or two over the years but that can be our little secret right?) I feel like there should be cake and champagne (or at least Prosecco), but instead I'm sitting on my couch with a beer and leftover Mexican. Let's close our eyes for a minute and imagine the cake and champagne. Ok, open them back up and feast your eyes on this crazy ass dress.

I've worn this dress before and I wanted to make it different from the last time you saw it. In that end I belted the dress (nothing new) and then "bloused" the dress so that it was above the knee and you couldn't see the belt. I added my pink cowboy boots and some tiny turquoise studs in my ears. There was so much going on with the dress that this was my attempt at understated. I mean my hair is in a ponytail - what's more understated than that?

The dress is vintage Chadwicks, purchased in Charleston, the earrings are from a long ago trip to Paris and the cowboy boots are from Dorothy Perkins. I think the dress may be a bit much for me and it may make its way over to Re/Dress. What say you?

The photo was taken by my sister-in-law outside my mother's house on Rosh Hashana. Shhh, don't tell her, she doesn't like us to use electricity on the holidays.

Day 9, Dress 99: Starting the New Year Off Sexy

2010-09-12T23:12:00.006-04:00

A few months ago I asked for your input as to which dress I should keep of 2 very different dresses that a friend was offering up to me. I ended up getting one dress as a present and buying the other off of T-Pops but when I wasn't sure if I could do that I had already decided on today's dress as the keeper. It was the overwhelming favorite of y'all and as many of you pointed out, I didn't have anything like it in my closet.

When I first posted the dress to vote on several of you commented that while you liked the idea of the dress, you thought it was too tight on my lower half. Some of you suggested shapewear as a solution, but aside from being uncomfortable, bodies - mine perhaps more than others - have lumps and rolls and I'm ok with that.

Thursday was the first day of Rosh Hashannah, aka the Jewish New Year and I decided that I was going to start the new year off right - loving and embracing my body and looking fierce while doing so. In that end me and my lumps and bumps wore my sexy secretary dress from Torrid for the very first time.

The dress had so much going on that I kept the accessories simple. Silver wedges from Office and the earrings are from a Brooklyn street fair.

I'm not one for services, but my sister-in-law was leading services which made everything very special. We even had a celebrity spotting at services! NY is fun that way.

Photo credit goes to Nicole, my dear friend that I am so glad I got to start the new year with for the third year in a row. This past year wasn't what I would call my best ever and I'm hoping this coming one is a better.

On the Jewish New Year we eat a lot of sweet food and dip everything in honey in the hopes of having a sweet new year. Dear readers I hope you all have a sweet and happy new year filled with joy and happiness and of course some pretty clothes.

xoxo

~bloomie

Day 8, Dress 98: Remixing a Dress Is Hard

2010-09-10T19:36:00.004-04:00

When I decided to continue this blog after September 2009 I said that I wasn't sure what I would do come next September. Could I blog a dress in September 2010 if I had already blogged about it earlier that year? I realized that I would never be able to do 30 Dresses again if I didn't use some dresses I had previously worn and blogged (albeit not in September 07, 08 or 09).

Some dresses are easier to remix than others. I had worn and blogged today's dress a few months ago so I wanted to do wear it in a different way than I had before. I discovered that today's dress, a Target dress via Ross is not a dress that is very easy to remix.

With a busy pattern I figured all I could do was change up the accessories. I went with a silver palette. I'm wearing a mirrored necklace and a flower in my hair that both came from Forever 21.

Paired with some silver shoes from Office.

If you have other remixing suggestions for this dress I would love to hear them.

Photo credit goes to JoJo.

Day 7, Dress 97: My Blue Phase

2010-09-08T14:15:00.009-04:00

I never realized it until folks kept making comments yesterday, but I don't wear that much blue. Perhaps I should rectify this because it turns out I like the way I look in blue.

I picked up this dress at Ross and I was super excited to find it because lately I've really been into chambray. Figuring out how to wear chambray without looking like an 80's castoff can be a bit tricky but the stitching under the bust of this dress took away any of my concerns. I've paired it with a light cotton sweater from Old Navy that is an absolute necessity in my icebox office, but not so much outside in the sunshine.

I'm wearing some accessories you've never seen before on the blog. The blue necklace I picked up in Iguazu Falls in Argentina, the long silver necklace I just discovered in my closet (I literally don't remember ever seeing it before) and the earrings I picked up in Mexico.

The shoes are on their virgin outing. They're Minnetonka moccasins and they are incredibly comfortable. It's also exciting to me because these were popular when I was a kid and I wanted them so badly. I never got them as an 8 year old, but I have them now!

But I came back from lunch with much more exciting shoe news. Look what was awaiting me in my office upon my return.

DUO BOOTS!!!!

Since last fall/winter I have been obsessing over getting another pair of Duo Boots (just about the only boots that fit my calves). I wanted an everyday, flat, black boot. I hemmed and I hawwed and I obsessed over price and the thought of having to return boots to London and finally I bullied my Dad into buying them for me as a birthday present for the last 2 years.

I picked the Oristano (stock image below).

And here they are on me. Front view.

Back view

I think I'm going to keep them. They fit, they're purty, there's room in the toes and they're wide enough that I should be able to wear them over jeans. My one concern is that the sole of the shoe is very hard but I'm hoping some inserts will be able to solve that problem. The boots aren't uncomfortable, but I'm not so sure that they're comfortable if that makes sense. I promise to give a much more thorough review when I've walked more than 25 feet in them.

Photographer of the day is Nicole.

Long Labor Day Weekend: Days 5+6, Dresses 95+96

2010-09-07T18:39:00.006-04:00

I had lovely long weekend, but I spent most of my time frolicking outdoors and stayed far away from my computer. Thus I'm a backlogged blogger so this is going to be a double post.

I spent my Sunday in Prospect Park with some of my very good friends who have just moved to Brooklyn from Paris. Yay! Everyone I love should move to Brooklyn! I spent the afternoon showing them my beloved park and soaking up the beautiful weather. My dress is from Ross and I've paired it with some earrings that were a birthday present years ago from my friend Mirka.

Sadly beaches close after Labor Day so I headed out Monday for the last beach day with lifeguards of the summer. To advance my personal goal of fattie bathing suit visibility here's me in my cute bathing suit that I got at Accessorize several years ago. I think this bathing suit may be on its last legs - the under wire began poking out of the suit on Monday.

And I couldn't not wear a dress, so here's what I wore over my cute bathing suit. This dress you have seen before and it is a hand-me-down from Jamie and she got it at Loehmann's. The hat was picked up on a trip to Israel several years ago. It took me all the way to the final beach day of the summer to finally remember to pack a hat when I head to the beach.

Day 4, Dress 94: Cowgirl Chic

2010-09-06T23:35:00.005-04:00

Saturday was the start of a long, lovely and very busy Labor Day weekend. The weather was perfect and for the first time all summer you actually needed a layer to keep warm once the sun went down. As my friend said "I'm cold and it's not because of air conditioning." After the summer we've had, music to most New Yorkers ears.

The cool(ish) weather also meant I could wear boots and some denim for the first time in a very long time. Yay! I haven't worn boots in months and I desperately missed them. Not to mention that fall shoe wear is so much more supportive than summer shoes, so on Saturday I was able to wear cute shoes and not have an aching foot at the end of the night. Have I mentioned to you yet how much I cannot wait for my tendinitis to be gone?

I adore this dress, which is some random brand that I picked up in Loehmann's last year. Paired with cowboy boots and a bit of denim, I love it even more. Last year when I wore this outfit a friend of mine told me I looked "hyper sexualized" in it. I am not even going to get into how angry that comment of hers made me, but suffice it to say I think she's wrong. What do you think?

I added some dangly earrings from Primark for a bit of bling.

And finally I wanted to share with you the heart shaped, blueberry birthday torte I made for my wonderful, fabulous, awesome, amazing friend Ateqah. I figure since her name comes up in the photo credits so often, I was allowed to wish her a very public happy birthday on my blog. Ats I love you and am so happy you and your hearts came into my life 2 years ago.

Photo credit goes to Amy.

Day 3, Dress 93 - Comfort and Coney Island

2010-09-05T13:31:00.007-04:00

Day 3 and it is hot and sticky and all I could think of when I was getting dressed was comfort. To achieve that end I grabbed what I am aware is a not very exciting dress from my closet and decided to try and spice it up a bit with some accessories. That's not a stain on my dress, just a bit of water. In case you don't believe me, here's a picture from later on at night, sans water stain.

The dress is Splendid, a line I have raved about to you several times before. Like many dresses in my closet, it is a hand-me-down. This one is from my lovely sister-in-law to be and I believe she inherited it from someone else as well. The cycle of dresses!

The dress is simple, so I decided to add some pop with accessories. I've never really paired brown and yellow before, but Friday morning it was calling my name. I put on a big chunky necklace that I got in India.

And on of my favorite hair pins that I got last year at Atlantic Antic - a huge street fair in Brooklyn. I love how versatile this clip is.

And even though I shouldn't have, after looking at pictures from the day before and seeing how my tevas ruined my outfit, I wore different shoes and ended up paying for it with a very sore foot. Note how my friends shoes compare to mine.

The shoes ended up being a bit of an issue because some friends and I headed to Coney Island Friday night to see some fireworks. The fireworks ended up being cancelled (which we didn't know about until we already schlepped all the way out there) because of Hurricane Earl. Considering that the "hurricane" didn't even bring us a drop of rain in Brooklyn, we were none too pleased. However we decided to make the best of it and eat some fried food

play some games

go on a few rides.

and have a drink
It was a fun time, but we walked a lot and my tendinitis was really hurting by the end of the night.

Day 2, Dress 92: Sun Kissed

2010-09-02T17:42:00.005-04:00

I am doing my very best attempt at a sun kissed look today. Can you sense my California girl vibe through the computer? The Beach Boys California Girl vibe that is, not Katy Perry's California Gurl.

After my day in the sun yesterday I was a bit darker and wanted to highlight my hard won tan and there is no better way to highlight a tan than by wearing white. I picked up this white dress at Ross and it's Speed Control in a 1x. {Shh, can you tell that I'm bra less in the office?}

I've paired my dress with 2 necklaces. The silver one is from Primark and the pink/yellow one is from Peacocks.

My fun hoop, within a hoop, within a hoop earrings were purchased at a Brooklyn street fair.

And finally the shoes. I warned you about them yesterday. I am indeed wearing tevas. I know they're ugly and ruin the look of the outfit but my tendinitis was acting up after my day at the beach and I was in too much pain to wear anything else.

Photo credit goes to Farrin.

And here's a bonus photo of me from work today at a big exhibit some of my friends have been working on. The right to vote is totally my favorite right. What's yours?

Bloggiversary

2010-09-01T21:34:00.006-04:00

One year ago today I wrote my very first blog post. Wow. When I started I was just giving in to my friends suggestions that I write a bit about my love of dresses. I never imagined that people I didn't know, people from all over the world would read my ramblings and care about what I said or what I wore. I never imagined that you would find inspiration - of the fatshion or body acceptance variety - from me.

Blogging has had its ups and downs, but overall it has been a great experience. The other day a good friend of mine was writing on her blog and she said that I had challenged her to "critically examine societal standards of beauty and sexual attraction." That was pretty great.

I want to thank all of you dear readers. For reading, for commenting, for supporting me when I things were going awry in my non-fatshion world, for writing me some of the kindest emails I've ever received, for being there for me. Writing and hearing back from you, sharing stories and tips - it has truly been a pleasure getting to know all of you this past year.

There are so many amazing bloggers in the fat-o-sphere that are changing our lives for the better. I don't dare classify myself in their company, but I like to think that I've filled my little corner of the fat-o-sphere with some bright colors, fabulous accessories and a whole lot of whimsy.

I love you all.

xx

~bloomie

Day 1, Dress 91: We're Off to the Beach

2010-09-01T21:08:00.004-04:00

Day 1 is here and I'm starting the month with the ugliest dress in my closet, but I've got something very cute on underneath so I think y'all will forgive me.

It was 95+ degrees today so I took a beach day. The perfect day at the beach, although the waves were definitely too big for my taste. I mostly wore my adorable new Monif C. bathing suit, but I threw on this cover-up so I had a dress to show you. I got the cover-up at some random cheapie store near my house and can't tell you anything about it. I can however tell you about my bathing suit.

Isn't it pretty? If you've never checked out Monif C's bathing suits I recommend doing so. They're pretty pricey but I was able to get mine using a whole lot of store credit at Re/Dress NYC - yay! They've got a lot of support, lining and are well made. I do however have a major problem with it that I'm hoping one of you has a suggestion for.

The bathing suit is lined and there is now a ton of sand trapped in the lining of my suit. Like I mentioned, the waves were really big so I just sort of sat on the sand and let the waves crash over me. I know I'm a baby, so let's move on back to my problem at hand of sand stuck in my suit. There are no openings in the lining and I don't want to cut one, but I also don't want to put on a suit with a cup of sand in it. What to do dear readers, what to do? I'm sure I can't be the first person this has happened to.

I'm also wearing Betsey Johnson sunglasses and a cute little flower pin in my hair courtesy of today's photographer/stylist Veronica.

24 Hours and Counting

2010-08-30T11:08:00.002-04:00

Till September 1, 2010 and the 4th incarnation of 30 Dresses in 30 Days.

For those of you who aren't quite sure how my blog happened, you can read the backstory here. The long and the short of it is that in 2007 I realized I had a lot of dresses so I tried to see if I could wear a different one every day for a month. Well, it turned out it wasn't a problem at all. So I tried again in 2008 and 2009 as well. 3 Septembers, 90 dresses, no repeats.

It shocks me to say this, but I'm giving it another go. I'm not sure if I'll have enough dresses this time around (although I think I do) and some of them will have never been worn during a September challenge, but have been worn on the blog, so I will try my best to remix them so they look a little different. Also, I have tendonitis in my right foot so I'm stuck wearing tevas a lot these days so you have to promise not to judge me for that. Please dear readers, please don't judge.

Until tomorrow here's a quick little outfit that I wore last week. I hadn't worn jeans in months, but with September coming round the corner I knew I should wear pants again at least once before I couldn't for a whole month.

I'm wearing an all Ross outfit. The jeans are Z Cavaricci and the top is some brand that I've never heard of. I purchased the top back in May but I haven't managed to wear it yet. I kept thinking it was a bit much for the office, but then I thought if sequins were ok for the office, why aren't other sparkles.

I kept the accessories simple with some earrings I picked up in India

And my Bottega Veneta inspired (but actually came from Daffy's) shoes

Cashmere, Cashmere Everywhere

2010-08-25T16:01:00.004-04:00

Even thought just yesterday I was complaining about the heat, we're having a bit of a cold spell in NYC (it's going to be in the 80's and rising as of tomorrow) and it got me thinking about fall. Lovely, colorful, beautiful fall.

Fall clothing is filled with tights and boots and my favorite type of clothing - cashmere. I only started investing in cashmere cardigans in the last year or two and I am a convert. Wrapping yourself up in a cashmere cardigan is one of life's pleasures. I always seem to hem and haw over spending the money on a new cardigan before giving in halfway through the season and splurging. This year I'm determined to purchase my cashmere early and wear it for 6 months straight.

I'm a fan of Bloomingdale's in-house line of cashmere cardigans. I love the styles, price point and they have both a straight and plus size line - yay! Here are my 3 favorites. If I can only buy one, which one should I go for?

Option 1 is the ruffle trim duster. I don't have any cardigans with ruffles like this and it comes in 4 different colors. Yet I can't decide if I like the ruffles or hate them. What say you?

Option 2 is a poncho. I like the idea behind it and it seems like the perfect piece to leave at my office if I'm cold, but I'm not too sure that it's very practical. In my long history of poncho's they usually work better in theory than practice.

Ruana Poncho">

Option 3 is a simple duster. It's simple and straightforward but I'm afraid the lack of buttons might drive me crazy. On the plus side, it comes in purple and there is a big gaping hole in my closet where some purple cashmere should live.

So what say you? And please if you have any suggestions for other places to buy myself some long, cozy, cashmere cardigans for less than $250 please let me know. Bloomingdale's has been my go to for the past few seasons but I have no problem stepping out on them.

Flowers and Freezing Cold Offices

2010-08-24T12:42:00.004-04:00

This has been one of the worst summers in NYC. It has been H-O-T hot. Sticky, humid, 90+ degree, constant heat waves. It has been, in a word, disgusting.

The unrelenting heat outside, combined with the crazy air conditioning in my office and the 110 degree heat in the subway station while I'm waiting for the train makes dressing a complicated affair. I'm shvitzing up until I get to the office at which point I begin to freeze at which point I pull on the same, old Alaska hoodie I've kept at my desk for the past year which is in desperate need of a good washing.

But I digress, back to the outfit at hand. This was a good combination because my legs were covered. As you know I've been wearing a lot of short, summer dresses and since my office is perpetually 55 degrees I'm freezing once I've made it to the office. After I've thrown on my dirty hoodie to warm up my top half I take the other ugly layer I keep at my office - an old Delia's cable cardigan - and use it as a blanket on my bare legs. With this outfit I was able to be be sweater/blanket free (although not hoodie free).

Writing this post makes it abundantly clear that I really need to get it together and bring some nicer layers to keep at my desk.

My leggings are from Danskin and the top is from New Look, a British store that I don't shop at too frequently but that I do have a few great pieces from. I love this top because I can very comfortably wear it without a bra on the weekend and...

it has pockets! And I think I've already blogged plenty on my love of pockets.

The rest of my outfit consists of yellow sandals from Old Navy.

And these cute earrings that Karen got me one year for my birthday.

The Best Black Skirt

2010-08-16T22:11:00.003-04:00

As is very apparent to even the most casual of readers, I am dress lady. Sometimes I stray and cheat and wear leggings, skirts and even {gasp} pants but I am most loyal to dresses. There is however a huge exception to that rule and it is the American Apparel Interlock Pencil Skirt. Its' versatility is huge - you can dress it up, dress it down, tuck your top in, pull it out, wear it high-waisted or down low, miniskirt or to the knee. Plus it is SO COMFORTABLE! Can you tell that I'm a woman obsessed?

Here is one version of my beloved black skirt. I'm wearing my skirt (in an xl) with a Torrid cherry boob tube tucked in and my favoritest red belt from Ross and wedges from Office. Sorry for the lack of close-ups but my friend Raren was a blog photo taking virgin and didn't quite take all the close-up shots I like to have. I think part of that may have to do with the fact that we were in Bloomingdales (attempting to find me the perfect new pair of sunglasses to make prescription - I think we failed) so we didn't want to be taking too many photos and get kicked out by security.

I really liked this combination. To me it looks like a retro, slightly special dress, when in reality it's all a bunch of very simple, cotton separates.

My second version of my beloved skirt is a much simpler version of the outfit. Here I've paired it with the best ACLU t-shirt ever which reads "Safe, Free and LGBT" which is also American Apparel (women 2xl). I'm wearing a green belt that I got in a Friday fats sale and slip on plimsoles from Dorothy Perkins that I loved to death. I really need another pair of slip-on sneakers. Anyone have any suggestions?

I paired my low key look with a vintage green and white check jacket that I got in San Francisco. Photo credit here goes to Selene.

Looking at these pictures I'm realizing that at least in the first outfit my skirt really looks like a dress. Is maybe that why I love it so much, because it can pass as a dress? God, I may need to reevaluate my love.

Human Grass

2010-08-10T22:15:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone, sorry I've been so MIA as of late. Work has been crazy and at night I'm always off to a fun summer event so I haven't been keeping up with my blogging. I really should be getting better considering September will soon be upon us and I'll have to be posting daily.

Hopefully I'll make it up to you with today's slightly ridiculous outfit. It's my closest approximation to a human version of grass. You've actually seen some of these pieces before, but never in this combination. Remixing at its best!

The top is Splendid and is a hand-me-down from Jamie. Splendid makes the loveliest, softest (and expensive) cotton and jersey basics. Take my word, their products are worth the splurge. The skirt is from New York & Company which if you've never checked it out is a great store for inbetweenies.

The piece de resistance of the outfit is my headband. I got it several months ago and could never figure out how to wear it, which is sad because I love it so much. I just decided to embrace the grass feeling of it and go for it.

And finally I'm wearing sandals that I picked up when I was in India at a market in the Bandra section of Mumbai. I have to say they've held up a lot better than the other sandals I bought that night which ironically cost 6 times the amount of money.

Striped Sundresses and Care Packages

2010-07-26T23:10:00.007-04:00

I have passions outside of fatshion. Many in fact, but for this post we'll focus on just three of them. Baking, care packages and Jamie.

Jamie, like many of my beloved friends lives far away from Brooklyn in a land called Los Angeles. The distance is difficult, but we try and stay as close as if we lived down the street from one another. One of the ways is our baking tin. Basically Jamie and I bake and then pack it up in the same tin that we cover with stickers and then we ship it cross country. There's always little love notes and sometimes we pack in little presents and then, once in a blue moon I open my box to discover crazy surprises like this. Blondies, a dress and a gorgeous, metallic purple handbag - an early birthday present. Jamie (and Yoni and JuJu spoil me terribly). I do love them so.

As long time readers may remember, I have been the recipient of many wonderful Jamie hand-me-downs over the years, although this wasn't so much a hand-me-down. She said she bought it at Loehmann's, tried it on repeatedly and then finally decided that it really was just calling my name so off to New York she sent it.

I have to say I absolutely LOVE it! It's great and summery and it can stand alone without many accessories, however as you all know I have trouble saying no to accessories. Note the yellow sandals from Old Navy.

My office is so freezing that even though it's 100 degrees outside I always have to have a layer close by. My cute cropped cardi is from Banana Republic and it kills me that they haven't re-issued it as I have loved it to pieces.

My favorite part of the dress is the pockets! Dresses with pockets always make me smile.

And since I can't resist accessories, even though the dress doesn't need them, here you have a closeup of my headband from Dorothy Perkins and my necklace from Primark. Oh dear London (and your shops), I can't wait for my next trip, I've missed you so.

Jamie I hope the dress is just as you imagined it would be on me. I love you and miss you terribly.

My New Favorite Summer Dress

2010-07-22T23:51:00.004-04:00

Some days an outfit just comes together in a magical sort of way. Today was one of those days.

I picked up this dress at Re/Dress NYC in a mega sale they were having for next to nothing - something like $5. I think it was so marked down because the dress was originally a maxidress, and when I say maxi I mean it was so long it was dragging on the floor when I put it on my 5'4 self. So I took it to my local dry cleaner to get it shortened and ended up spending triple what I spent on the dress getting it shortened. Joy of joys.

I have a not so great history of getting dresses shortened (or really most anything) and getting them an inch or two shorter than I really wanted. I have to thank the lovely folks at my local tailor for reminding me that if I was planning on belting it I needed an extra inch or two. The length ended up being perfect.

I added a pink belt that I got ages ago from Torrid to give the dress some more definition. I tried to restrain my other accessories, but it was difficult when I had the most perfect shoes to go with the outfit.

See these are just absolutely perfect. They're from Topshop and a billion years old but doesn't look it because I rarely have the patience to wear 4 inch wedges. And even though I knew I shouldn't, I threw on some green hoop earrings.

And finally I had to show how my nails matched my outfit perfectly! I promise this was totally unplanned as I painted my nails several days ago. Btw I am obsessed with this tumblr dedicated to nail art.

All in all, the perfect summer dress for the perfect summer day.

Will I See You Tonight?

2010-07-09T00:41:00.003-04:00

As most fastshion readers are likely aware, this weekend Gabi from Young, Fat and Fabulous is hosting a "conference" for fatshion bloggers. I say "conference because she only invited 9 bloggers to participate which doesn't quite make something a conference in my mind, but that's semantics. There are less than a dozen bloggers and folks are coming from all over the world for it, so the fact that I'm not invited is really not a big deal. I do wish though that the conference had at least one blogger who was larger than a size 24 and more varied styles, but I obviously do not make these decisions.

Anyways, while most of the conference is hidden away from the public, tonight at Re/Dress NYC there will be a meet and greet from 6-9 where you can meet all of the participating bloggers and me - I'm going to be there too! I'm really excited to meet Sakina from Saks in the City as she's one of my absolute favorite bloggers.

Are any of you planning on attending? If so, please be sure to introduce yourself to me. I love, love, love meeting readers.

Hopefully I'll be seeing some of you tomorrow. I'll be the girl in...uh...god, I still need to figure out what to wear. I'll be in clothes, likely bright ones.

Sparkles, Feathers and Public Nudity

2010-07-08T00:25:00.007-04:00

Almost all of my favorite holidays take place in the fall - Election Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Sukkot. However the big exception to this rule is the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade which is a huge homegrown, homemade, very Brooklyn parade that is held the first weekend of the summer. Ostensibly the theme of the parade is mermaids, sea creatures, the ocean and a celebration of summer - all of which I love. It's also an excuse to get naked in public, which is also something I love. You can read more about it on wikipedia.

I've been going for years and I've marched for the past two years, but I've never been 100% happy with my costume until this year. This year I marched with a group of friends and our theme was Red Tide. Our cohesive aspect was that all of our costumes would be red, other than that we could wear/be anything we wanted. I freaked out a little over this because I don't own very much red and I couldn't come up with a costume idea. Two days before the parade my friend suggested I be a devil mermaid and I finally started to get behind my idea.

I quickly realized that while I don't own much red outerwear, it's a fairly prevalent color in lingerie drawer, and really I didn't need much more than that for my costume.

The base of my outfit - the matching bra and panties are from Lane Bryant and I've had them for years and I love them. I don't have enough matching bra and panties in my life, a true tragedy dear readers. I realize you can barely see my underwear because I wrapped a red feather boa (a long ago present) around my waste to liven up the outfit.

But a bra and underwear do not a mermaid or a devil make and most definitely not a devil mermaid, so I began to get crafty.

I made my mermaid tail from cellophane wrapping paper and a red plastic table cloth. I added some plastic sea kelp-esque plants to the tail so it looked a bit more underwater and I tacked on my store bought devil tail on top.

I made the devil ears myself using some foam from the local crafts store and I made the trident/pitchfork using some pipe cleaners. I hadn't used pipe cleaners in years - lord they're amazing.

My makeup and rhinestones were a group affair and for that I thank the fabulous members of the Red Tide. I never would have looked so good without ample amounts of assistance from them. Thanks for one of my favorite days of the summer.

The unseen hero of the day and perhaps the most important component of my outfit was copious amounts of Body Glide. Now I know when I first blogged about it I said I didn't know how it would fare for long periods of time and/or on a very hot day. Well the Mermaid Parade was both a loooong day and a hot day and I danced down the parade route with nothing between my legs and had zero chub rub at the end of the day. Body Glide is so my new best friend.

If interested, you can check out my large and (forewarning) completely unedited set of photos from the Mermaid Parade right here. I think this may be my very favorite one of the bunch.

Yay for mermaids, fun and fat body visibility all at once!

Thanks for Voting

2010-07-07T00:56:00.003-04:00

Oh my dear, darling readers thank you for all of your feedback on last weeks dress poll. The first, sexy secretary dress appears to be a clear favorite and that's the one that I am going to take as a present from my lovely friend T. Right now it's too hot to wear much of anything, particularly anything that tight but when I do wear it out properly I promise to post it the same day.

I hope I didn't bore you with voting because on Friday is the Young Fat and Fabulous Conference blogger meet and greet at Re/Dress NYC and I have absolutely no idea what to wear. Suggestions anyone? Do you have a favorite outfit of mine that I've worn in the past that you think I should wear? If I don't hear from you, forewarning that I'll probably end up posting 8 different outfits on Thursday and make you all vote all over again.

Sorry it's been so long since a proper post, but tomorrow I promise to post my Mermaid Parade Costume. I was away in the country this weekend with friends and while I thought I would have lots of time to post, the only time I touched my computer was to look up recipes and get directions. There was a lot of sunning, reading, cooking, laughing, game playing, swimming, baking and chatting, but not much time for posting. Oh and there was poolside karaoke - my personal highlight was singing Mika's Big Girl You are Beautiful in my bathing suit while my friends cheered from the pool. Tee hee hee. Long weekends away with good friends are much needed. I hope all of you had weekends as lovely as mine.

Poll Time

2010-06-30T12:32:00.006-04:00

I consider myself lucky for a whole lot of reasons that I won't get into at the moment, save for one. Hand-me-downs. Oh, I love hand-me-downs and I'm lucky that so many of my friends like to dress me in their cast-offs. I'm even more lucky that I have friends who are my size or close enough to it that I can rock their hand-me-downs.

My friend T has recently changed clothing sizes. She has to sell most of her clothing in order to buy some new stuff that fits, but she has generously offered to give me one of her dresses, but I'm having trouble figuring out which one to take. Help me please.

Option 1

The first dress has a naughty secretary edge to it. It's from Torrid and it's a size 18. T thinks I should choose this dress because I don't have my pencil dresses, nor do I have many animal print articles of clothing.

Now with flash

It looks really good from behind. Highlights my assets dontchya think?

Option 2

The second dress is a little Dorothy Perkins number in a UK20. It's polka dots which I love and I think I may get some more use out of it, but as T points out, I have a lot of things like this already in my wardrobe.

Without flash

This dress however does not do much for me from the back. In fact I think it hurts in the back. No bootylicious tightness, in fact it's a bit bunchy up top.

Lord I am indecisive, which is why I always end up with 8 dresses every time I go to Ross. So help a girl out. Am I naughty secretary or am I sweet polka dots?

Photo credit goes to T.

It's Getting Hot in Here

2010-06-25T13:51:00.007-04:00

...so take off all your clothes.

Honestly it has been so damn hot and sticky in NY this past week that if I could come to the office in a bikini I would. But we're a non-profit, not the beach so sometimes you have to wear clothing even when you don't want to. I know my life is so difficult isn't it.

So instead I turned to my new favorite thing - shorts. I can't begin to tell you how shocking it is for me to type those words as I spent YEARS of my life running and screaming in the opposite direction of shorts. But you know what, when it's 90+ degrees outside they're really comfortable. My name is bloomie, I am wearing shorts and I love them. It's official. Hell has frozen, pigs are flying and they're purple.

You've seen these shorts before in the outfit where I was trying to look like someone else, but I wanted to show you what they look like on bloomie when I'm not not trying to look like anyone but myself. Not bad right? I told you, Ross is a magical place.

I've paired my shorts with a hand me down top for my beloved Mirka. Who says sequins should be relegated to the weekend? Not I.

I wanted to wear some gorgeous necklace that dipped into my cleavage in just the right spot, but it was too hot for something on my neck so instead I threw on some earrings that I got in India.

And topped the outfit off with some sandals I got in India as well.

Limited clothing while still work appropriate. Not bad at all I say.

Photo credit goes to Pamie.

Ross Love!

2010-06-23T23:13:00.002-04:00

I know I owe all of you a post and I can't wait to show you my mermaid parade costume but I've been sick for over a week now and haven't had the energy to post.

However, a friend sent me this video and since I am regularly teased about my love for Ross I had to share it with all of you. Hope it makes you laugh as much as it makes me laugh.

And on a completely unrelated note, GO TEAM USA!!!

All Black Again

2010-06-16T12:59:00.012-04:00

I know you're all wondering "what is going on?" But this is an all black bloomie outfit. You see me in this outfit, it's not like the last all black outfit I posted where I looked like a totally different person.

I was headed to Greenpoint for the Spring Bustcrafacular and I figured if I was going to hang with hipsters, I might as well play the part. Plus, since as you all know I'm conflicted about the appropriateness of lace leggings in the office, I look for as many weekend opportunities to wear them as I can.

I have to say the Spring Craftacular (which I was reminded of by JG - thanks darling!) was a bit of a bust. There were only 40 or so vendors and save for 2 or 3 of them, I'd seen all of them a million times before. I only ended up buying one thing if you can believe it - a moustache necklace. I promise to show it to all of you soon.

Tunic is Dorothy Perkins

Leggings are Lane Bryant

Bag is Botkier

Headband is from a Brooklyn street fair

I love the back of this tunic, it's what makes it special and takes it up a notch from just a plain black top.

Bejewelled sandals are from New Look

And finally in something that has nothing to do with fatshion at all, I need to show you a picture of what I ate in Greenpoint.

What's that you ask? Why it's a red velvet doughnut, ice cream sandwich. Are you dying yet?

Photo credit goes to my beloved Mirka who was also the searcher out of this amazing doughnut shop that not only had incredible doughnuts, but was also straight out of the 50's in the most amazing way possible. They had a rotary phone people, a rotary phone!

Garden Party

2010-06-07T23:54:00.003-04:00

I feel like I should be heading off to a garden party. Instead I wore this outfit to the office for a 14 hour work day on one of the ridonkulously hot and humid days we had last week. Some days summer in NY is wonderful and other days the weather makes you want to slit your wrists. This was a wrist slitting day.

I fell in love with this dress as soon as I saw it hanging on a very crowded rack at Ross in North Carolina last month. I mean how can you not smile when you see this dress? It's about as close to summer in a dress as you can get.
With a dress as busy as this you have to be restrained with accessories. So even though there was this beautiful neckline and exposed chest just begging for a necklace, I held back for once and just threw on some earrings that were a perfect match to the green in my dress. I got them in a random store in Mexico, so there's no link.

I did save a teensy bit of bling for my feet though. I honestly cannot believe these sandals are still in one piece. I got them a few summers ago from Payless and I'm shocked they haven't disintegrated into nothingness. Of course now that I've said that they'll probably break the next time I wear them.

Photo credit goes to Nicole.

Vintage Nightie

2010-06-03T11:58:00.003-04:00

I was going to post another all black outfit, but I figured I needed to even out the last outfit with a fun and colorful post, otherwise you'd all start to think I went goth. While I may be slightly vampire obsessed these days, I am most definitely not goth.

I'm actually wearing 2 "dresses" in this outfit. The under layer is an elongated tank top dress (seen here in pink) and the top is a vintage nightie. Yes, a ruffled, fluorescent coral vintage nightie. Jealous much?

Unsurprisingly I got this nightie at Re/Dress NYC over a year ago. I was lured by the color and and ruffles but was worried that I would never have anywhere to wear it. It turned out to be a reasonable worry as it ended up sitting in a bag for a year. My friend and I still laugh at how the Re/Dress shopgirls tried to convince me that it would be the perfect outfit for brunch. I didn't quite agree with that statement, but I did purchase it and then it sat in a bag in my room for ages until I finally pulled it out a few weeks ago and hung it up in my closet. I still didn't know where or how I would wear it, but at least now I saw it every time I opened my closet and was tempted and reminded to wear it.

Then Re/Dress threw a butch fashion show and I decided to wear my nightie to it - woo hoo! As you can see I layered the nightie over a Brooklyn Industries tank dress and paired it with my favorite silver wedges from Office. In what I thought was a funny moment a girl ran up to me, gushing how much she loved my dress and how I needed to purchase, to which I responded "I already did, I own this." Tee hee hee.

I ended up loving the outfit and have decided I need more occasions to get dressed up in my crazy, coral nightie. So dear readers send me party invitations, or if you don't mind the amused stares, just invite me to brunch. After all it is my most favorite meal of the week, no reason I shouldn't dress up for it, right?

Photo credit to T-Pops.

A Whole New bloomie

2010-05-28T13:08:00.009-04:00

Don't worry, you didn't accidentally end up on the wrong blog. I promise it's me, bloomie, just with a different look today.

Last Friday was my friend A's last day at the office and in her honor a bunch of us decided to dress like her. I've written about A before and her love of the color black, so this was indeed going to be a difficult undertaking. But I love nothing more than a themed outfit and I have a strong (some might say unattractive) competitive streak and I was determined to be crowned "dressed most like A."

It was an unusual day, people just did not know what to do with me. My co-workers were freaked out by my new look. Amongst the many comments I received I was told, "I don't recognize you" that I looked "sexy" and "Middle Eastern." Since I am Middle Eastern, that was one of the weirdest comments of the day. I think it had to do with the eye makeup, which A handily sent us a tutorial on.

It wasn't just the black and the eye makeup that had folks in a tizzy, it was the fact that there were so many different things going on all at once. My hair was back, my eye makeup was very different, I was wearing heels and black and my first pair of shorts not intended solely for travel/working out/doing something involving dirt, in about 10 years. It was a crazy day, but a fun one.

The experience reminded me why it's a good idea to step out of our fashion comfort zones every once in awhile. Turns out I liked how I looked with cat eye makeup and I learned that shorts are really comfortable when it's hot out. Sadly, it continues to be true that if I wear heels I still want to cry from pain at the end of the day, no matter how cute they are.

The lesson of today's post? Go outside of your comfort zone, dress out of the norm every once in awhile You could end up having a great time and have a new look that you might even like. Have any of you had an experience like that?

Shorts - Ross

Tank top - Banana Republic

Vest - Target

Shoes - Aerosoles

Oh and it should go without saying, but I won the contest.

Tight, Bright & Short. Plus Chub Rub Solution 3

2010-05-23T23:09:00.009-04:00

On the list of "fat girl no no's", I think this outfit probably hits them all. It is short, it is tight and it is bright and that's just the way I like to rock my outfits.

When I first put this outfit on and accessorized it I thought i was being very original with my color choices and accessories. And then I thought back to this post and realized that I was basically wearing the spring version of that outfit. Seriously I'm just wearing a t-shirt instead of a sweater and different shoes, otherwise it is exactly the same. Originally I had on all of the same accessories until I realized what I was doing and decided I had to be more inventive. So off came the necklace and earrings and on went some different earrings and a scarf.

Skirt - Torrid

Top - Dorothy Perkins

P.S. I am well aware of and embarrassed by the hanger hooks hanging out of my top. Please forgive me.

Scarf - Old Navy

Earrings - Top Shop

Shoes - Office

What will likely be of more interest to all of you however is what is beneath my skirt. Or rather....

What isn't.

Yup, this was the day that I tried out a much discussed but new to me chub-rub-solution. What pray tell? The answer my dear readers is Body Glide.

Body Glide was originally created to help runners with chafing. As I understand it (because I am currently the slowest of the slow in my running class) when you run really long distances chafing becomes an issue for even the thinnest of runners and so Body Glide, which looks and is applied much like stick deodorant, was conceived.

I tried Body Glide a few times before reviewing it and I have to say so far so good, but it has its limitations.

On the positive side, I particularly like that you're not wearing any sort of added layer which is lovely. This is particularly useful if you favor short skirts or dresses (as I tend to do). Some of the other solutions I've already reviewed would just be far too long and would peak out from under a skirt this length and that is not a look I embrace.

On the negative side, this stuff definitely wears off by the end of the day and I haven't even road tested it in any really hot or sticky weather yet. On a humid day in New York in August I would not trust the sanctity of my inner thighs with just a layer of Body Glide.

Do any of you have any other chub rub solutions I should try out?

Photo credit goes to friend, colleague and blog fan T-Pops.

What a Wonderful Night

2010-05-21T00:17:00.008-04:00

After a few days of rain and cold and May dreariness, we had a beautiful day today. The 80 degree weather was an excuse to break out one of my new Ross purchases - yay, yay, yay!

When people ask about me why I'm so obsessed with Ross, today's dress is a great example. I find it terribly adorable - I love the pattern, the pockets, the shape of the cap sleeves and all for the bargain price of $8.99. How can you not love that?

Of course with me, I'm also obsessed with accessories and today I finally get to showcase the sandals that I purchased in India. Ooh, I'm in love. In a funny twist of fate they cost more than twice as much as the dress. And I bought them in INDIA. The dress was purchased in North Carolina. Crazy people.

I kept the other accessories very simple. A little headband that I purchased at a different Ross visit and the earrings are a hand-me-down, but I'm not sure which of my lovely friends gave them to me. Speak up if it's you. Can you see the pattern on my nails? Each week I'm getting a little bit better at nail art.

But wait bloomie, this photos look like they were taken in the daytime and your title is about having a wonderful night. Well that's because tonight I attended the wonderful panel Fat Politics and Sexuality in the Face of Hate at the McNally Jackson bookstore and ohmygoodness was it wonderful!

The panel was hosted by Marilyn Wann, the author of Fat?So! which was the first fat acceptance...anything I ever picked up and it changed my life. Next up on the panel was Substansia Jones from the Adipositivity Project and she recognized me!!! I was going up to talk to her to tell her how much I love her work and would she please photograph me naked when she told me she recognized me as the 30 Dresses Girl and was a fan. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I don't get recognized from my blog and we had a bit of a mutual love fest for a minute. She told me she loved my smile and wanted to set me up with someone. We're best friends already.

The most exciting panelist for me to hear and meet was Lesley Kinzel, of Fatshionista fame. I've "known" Lesley online for awhile and tonight I finally got to meet her. I can't begin to describe how much Lesley's activism (not to mention fatshion sense) has meant to me and how much she has helped me come to truly love myself just as I am. To say I was excited to meet her was a bit of an understatement. Honestly if I was allowed to have a dinner and invite anyone in the world Lesley would be high on my list. Here she is talking about two whole cakes.

Overall it was just lovely to be in a room with so many happy, satisfied, gorgeous fat women and men. Look at that crowd. Who wouldn't have a wonderful night hanging out with all of them?

This is How I Shop

2010-05-16T22:31:00.005-04:00

I'm lucky for a lot of reasons most of which have nothing to do with this blog, so I'm not going to get into them. However one way in which I am lucky that does have to do with my blog is the plethora of opportunities and places I have to shop. Brooklyn (not to mention Manhattan) is full of boutiques, independent stores, artists and street fairs. Today was the 5th Avenue Fair and I thought I'd show you some of my fun purchases.

The 5th Avenue Fair is huge, stretching 20 blocks, with every type of clothing, jewelry and food vendor imaginable. I love it! And today was a particularly beautiful day for a street fair. Since I'd just gone a bit wild at Ross I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money but I usually can't say no to at least some of the crazy accessories I find at Brooklyn street fairs. I mean when there are at least 50 vendors with shiny, pretty stands like the one below can you really blame me?

Amazingly I ended up purchasing only three things - 2 headbands and one pair of earrings. Food doesn't count, right?

My first headband was from a vendor who told me that they sold his headbands in Barney's. I don't quite believe him, but I did believe him when he told me that he and his wife make all their headbands themselves - they were all quite different. This is my "fun" headband of the day. It reminds me of grass and I can't wait to pair it with this adorable new sundress I have that has leaves and flowers all over it. Someone invite me to a garden party please!

My other headband purchase was my "adult" one - so far as headbands can ever be considered "adult." The vendor I bought it from had beautiful stuff but everything was just slightly more than I wanted to pay/thought their stuff was worth and one thing I hate to do is bargain. I don't have any metal headbands so I'm excited to wear it. In my head I'm already pairing it with these amazing sandals that I got in India that I haven't yet had a chance to wear.

And for those of you wondering about my outfit in general, here it is in full, replete with a Mr. Slurpee man. This poor teenager was not so excited to a) be wearing a slurpee costume and b) have some random lady ask to take a photo with him, which is probably why he has such a strong "I wish I was anywhere but here" look to him. His bad mood notwithstanding I was pretty jonesed as I love slurpees and even have slurpee inspired art hanging in my living room.

Top - New Look

Jeans (cuffed cause of the heat, I know it's not so stylish) - Old Navy

Sneakers - Keds, I think from high school

Sunglasses are Primark

Earrings I have no idea, probably a street fair

Even though it's a weekend photo credit still goes to Nicole.

Can you Wear Lace Leggings to Work?

2010-05-14T18:42:00.001-04:00

I got these lace leggings recently at Lane Bryant when I was having my random night at a suburban mall. I was shocked that they carried lace leggings, it's pretty fashion forward for LB. I hemmed and hawed a bit about whether or not they were a practical purchase and then realized that half my wardrobe isn't practical and that's what makes it fun so I bit the bullet and added them to my pile.

Once I bought them though I couldn't figure out how to wear them. Monday through Friday I kept trying them on but something about lace leggings at the office (even mine) just seemed a bit wrong. My general feeling is if I think something is office inappropriate it probably really is. What's your feeling on the matter? Do you think I could wear this outfit to the office? How long does a dress have to be in order to rock it with lace leggings at work or is the simple answer it's never quite right?

Since I wasn't so clear on where I could and could not wear lace leggings I wore them on a Sunday morning after birthday brunch with Josh, my dearest and oldest friend in the world. When I say we've been friends forever, I mean we've known each other since we were in-utero. It's kinda amazing. So happy birthday Josh and thanks for taking my photo!

Leggings - Lane Bryant

Dress - Anthropologie

Sneakers - Dorothy Perkins

Necklaces - Primark

Jacket Seen Below - Torrid

I'm Back

2010-05-11T22:40:00.004-04:00

My dear readers,

I have to apologize for my disappearance the last few weeks. It was unplanned and unexpected - if I had known I would have said something in advance.

Nothing terrible has happened in my life, rather I began a new position at my office and work just became overwhelming and I found myself working 10, 12, even 14 hour days. The thought of turning on my computer when I got home from work would make me cry.

I was working so hard for a series of strategic planning meetings that I finished today - woo hoo!!! Now that the madness of the meetings are over, I'm hoping the blog will get back in order soon.

In exciting news I'm in North Carolina for work and tonight I went to Ross and scored BIG TIME. I got 6 or 7 new dresses, my first pair of shorts in years and a bunch of random kitchen supplies which while very cute will not be featured on this blog. So if the weather in NY is nice when I get back, there's a lot of new and exciting things to be featured in the coming weeks.

I hope you don't all hate me for disappearing off the face of the interwebs and will forgive my absence. I've really missed all of you.

xoxo,

~bloomie

Rainy Day Simplicity

2010-04-25T23:12:00.004-04:00

Rain can present a bit of a problem if you have curls or wear glasses or have an inability to walk in the rain without kicking it up all over yourself. I have the great honor of having all three of these traits. The first two are fairly easy to fix - wear contacts and pull back your hair, but the third one presents a bit of a problem. I lack the ability to walk around in the rain without kicking water all over myself. It's really kind of amazing. Rain boots help, but they don't completely solve the problem. Why? Because I'm three.

For the rainy weather I decided to go simple. I'm wearing one of my favorite purchases of the past year - a simple denim skirt from Target that I've topped with a black t-shirt from H&M and a cropped jacket from Torrid. I needed something to spice up the outfit so I opted for some bright tights from Dorothy Perkins that perfectly matched my boots from Laila Rowe. I hate flash, but it does help you see the true color of the tights in the photo below.

For a little bit of personality I've added my pearl necklace with a bow that I got from Primark. I saw a ton of multi-strand necklaces with bows attached when I was last in London and I'm surprised that the look never crossed the pond to become as popular here as it did there. Last but not least, I have a black, sequined leaf in my hair that I got at the 2009 Bust Craftacular.

It's Electric

2010-04-24T11:10:00.003-04:00

Who doesn't just love the electric slide? But that's a discussion for another time.

This is my third outfit in a row featuring an item from my recent Dorothy Perkins order. Had I tried on this shirt in the store I wouldn't have ended up purchasing it because I don't love the fit, but it would have cost more to send back than it did to order so I just kept it and tried to see how I could make it work.

I didn't know what I was going to wear when I woke up the morning I put together this outfit, but I felt like a skirt so I grabbed a grey corduroy skirt from Old Navy that I've had for ages. Right next to it I saw this cropped jacket from Target that I got in a Friday fat sales that I never wear and thought "ooh now I've got an outfit idea."

The accessories really help make this outfit pop. The tights are also from Dorothy Perkins, which I have gleefully discovered a bit late in the tights wearing season, makes affordable tights that fit my hips and ass in a variety of colors. The earrings and necklace are from the Gabi D showroom in NYC, the shoes are from Nine West and the headband is from Primark.

Photo credit goes to Nicole, even though it was my co-worker Ateqah who inspired the color palette of the outfit.

Romper Time

2010-04-19T01:21:00.005-04:00

I've discovered that people tend to have very visceral reactions to rompers. You either love them or you really, and I mean really hate them. I'm prepared for the backlash dear readers. Personally I've never been much for shorts - to me they're reserved for tourists and travel in the non-continental US, but I've been seduced of late by all the rompers I've been seeing folks rocking. So while I was placing my Dorothy Perkins order last month I threw this romper into my cart.

Rompers provide a bit of a sizing conundrum so I ended up ordering a bigger size to fit my ass and I just accepted that it'd be a bit big up top, but I don't think it was too bad.

Last Saturday night I had 3 parties to attend in 3 different neighborhoods and in honor of the occasion I decided to whip out my new romper. I figured at least one person out of the many that I would see that evening would like it. I was very prepared for a lot of snarky remarks, but I was happily surprised by my friends reaction - a bunch of them liked it, even if they did think I was totally nutso.

It was a bit chilly so I added some green tights from Old Navy and a cropped green jacket that is from the Luella for Target collection, my polka dot pumps from Office and a necklace from Primark. I recently wore the black version of this jacket with these same shoes which makes me fear ever so slightly that I'm getting into a fashion rut.

Here's a peek-a-boo photo of what the romper looks like underneath the jacket.

It was a long night but my romper held up well and in a surprise to everyone I not only made it to all 3 parties, I also made it to my 9am running class the next morning. Sometimes I impress myself dear readers.

Bright photo credit goes to my lovely roommate who I am currently looking to replace if anyone knows anyone looking for a room in Brooklyn. Darker photos were taken by my friend Mitra at the first party of the night.

Additionally I apologize for the radio silence and lack of response to comments and questions. Work and the hunt for a roommate are subsuming most of my waking hours these days. So sorry.

I Love Dorothy Perkins

2010-04-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

In case I haven't already told y'all, I love Dorothy Perkins. It's a British high street retailer with great, affordable, stylish pieces that carries clothing up to a UK 22 which is the equivalent of a US 18. A godsend for fatshionable inbetweenies, I am a big fan of their clothes. One of the things I love about their pieces is that there are always surprises like puffed sleeves or a bow in the back that aren't always visible upon first glance.

Since I haven't been to London since last June and won't be back till November 2010 - a tragedy of epic proportions - I've been relegated to ordering online from my beloved Dotty P. Shipping is an affordable 1o pounds and you can usually find a code for some amount off if you spend a minute or two searching online. Sometimes an order is a huge success and sometimes it is a huge failure and by the time you've paid for return shipping you've lost half your money. I'm getting better at learning what my sizes are with them - 20UK up top, 22UK on the bottom - and thankfully ordering more successfully.

I recently received a big order so in the coming weeks you'll see a bunch of new pieces from my most recent, generally successful order.

Save for the necklace, this entire outfit is from British stores. I am an unabashed anglophile in every way.

My tunic is from Dorothy Perkins and while fairly simple from the front, the back has an adorable bow.

I've paired my outfit with some Beth Ditto for Evans leggings (amazing!) and my polka dot shoes from Office. I'm wearing a Betsy Johnson necklace that you can see much more clearly in this post and the headband is from Dorothy Perkins as well. As you all know I love hair accessories, but cute as it may be, this headband seems to be too small for my head. Sadness.

Photo credit is a blur. Sorry JLR.

Remixing at its Best

2010-04-14T12:07:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of places to find fashion and clothing inspiration, especially on Flickr. One of my favorite groups on Flickr is the Wardrobe Remix group where you can find anyone wearing anything and inspiration galore. Remixing is when you something in a different than you have before or use it in a way different from its original purpose. Today's outfit is remixing at its best.

My "dress" is actually a skirt in a size medium, that I snagged from a friend at her stoop sale (in Brooklyn we have stoop sales instead of garage sales cause we don't have garages). D is only a few inches taller than me so I'm not sure how she ever wore this as a skirt, but apparently it was one of her favorite middle school wardrobe staples.

I took the skirt, hiked it up and belted it with a belt that I got from a Friday fats sale. The cardigan that I love and need to get rid of cause it has a small hole is from Banana Republic. The shoes are from Primark and the earrings are from Topshop.

Photo credit goes to my very handsome co-worker Mel who I ran into en route to enjoy some lunchtime sunshine.

I Cannot be Trusted at a Sample Sale

2010-04-13T15:54:00.000-04:00

For realzy. I walk into a sample sale and it's as if I've forgotten how to say no to shopping. Well, I'm not so good at saying no when shopping in general, but I am really bad at sample sales. I think it's the combination of discounted designer goods, compounded by the frenzied feeling of "if you don't buy this right now you someone else will snatch it up and it will be lost forever" and the fat girl feeling of excitement when something fits.

What's that last one you ask? It's something I think we've all fallen victim to over the years - if it fits, we must buy it. We've all been there right? We go shopping with a friend and they drag us into a store where nothing even comes close to fitting us and then there's some stretchy dress or top which fits and you're so excited that it fits that you buy it. You like it because it fits, not really considering whether or not it's something you actually want. I can shop here too you think as the cashier rings up your purchase, I also belong. And then you go home and hang up the dress and it sits in your closet.

I've gotten over that "if it fits you must buy it" mentality. ..for the most part. Sometimes at sample sales I slip. Today's outfit is a perfect example of that.

I was walking in the West Village and saw a sample sign in the window and I unwittingly walked into the Rag & Bone sample sale, a line that I have only even heard of because my very fabulous co-worker dated someone who worked there. I walked in, did a brief loop around the store and picked up this gorgeous, cashmere capelet. Only $100, down from $595. And it fit. And it was gorgeous. And the material felt like heaven. And the buttons were burnished. But...it wasn't very practical. You can't wear a coat over it, meaning there's a very brief weather period where you can wear it. Not to mention it's hard to carry a bag while wearing it, all of which makes it not so useful in New York. But it's puuuurty.

So I bought it and in my closet it sat for months untill last week when we hit that perfect temperature where I could wear it without a coat, but wouldn't be too hot in it. I will say that once I finally wore it I got an awful lot of compliments and I think it's going to just live at the office so I don't have to worry about a coat...or carrying a bag. Isn't it gorgeous, if not at all practical?

I paired my capelet with some Z. Cavarichi jeans which you've seen before and a brown top that I got at Ross which you've also seen before. I kept the accessories simple, just some purple flats from Old Navy and gold, dangly earrings from Primark.

Photo credit goes to my co-worker Lena.

I'm Not Afraid of Color or Patterns

2010-04-11T20:33:00.001-04:00

I know there's a lot going on in this dress and I didn't help the situation that much with my hair band and earrings, but when I have accessories that work so well with a dress I can't resist, even when I know that I should. When I get dressed I always think of the famous Coco Chanel quote "always remove the last accessory you put on" and I try and take something off, but I'm not always so good at actually doing so. I'm trying dear readers, I promise but I just love accessories.

This dress, like many others is from Ross and while I wasn't so sure about it when I purchased it and really went for it because it had long sleeves, I've come to really appreciate it. You really don't have to do anything other than throw it on and you've got a complete outfit. I of course never do just that, but one could.

The boots I'm wearing are from Evans and the tights are from Target. I've added a headband from Dorothy Perkins and some hand-me-down earrings from the darling Ateqah.

This is a pre-haircut photo and it was taken long enough ago that I can't recall who gets photo credit. Sorry JLR.

I'm a Sucker for Pockets

2010-04-09T15:38:00.000-04:00

I love dresses with pockets. Seriously love. I wish more companies made dresses with pockets. Men's clothing is both rarely without pockets and their pockets are usually double the size of ours. This is not fair ladies, not fair at all.

The pattern of this dress always makes me smile which is good because every time I wear it I think of the unpleasant circumstances under which I bought it. I was crying hysterically after a doctor's appointment, convinced that the lump in my breast was cancer. I needed to calm down before heading back to work so I decided to shop. I did not have cancer or anything even close to approximating cancer, so really I should start looking at this dress as the "I don't have breast cancer" dress. That'd be a much better association.

The dress is from Forever 21 and it's a regular size large - their stuff can be very stretchy, I recommend always trying their stuff on, and the cardigan is from Banana Republic. The necklace is from H&M and the shoes I picked up on the street in Bandra, which is a hip neighborhood in Mumbai. I can't wait to show you the other pair of shoes I bought that night - they're so cool!

Photo credit goes to Nicole...or maybe Tiffany. I can't quite remember.

If You Shop Spring it Will Come & Chub-Rub Solution Part 2

2010-04-07T11:48:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I found myself at a suburban mall. I do not spend much time at suburban malls so this was an odd experience in many ways. What I quickly discovered (or remembered since it was the mall of my youth) is just how easy it is to spend large amounts of money in a small amount of time. Fun!

It was a cold day after a few days of warmth and I was enamoured with the possibility of spring. So I shopped for spring, with the thought in the back of my mind if shop it, it will come. Turns out I was right and I was able to showcase my favorite purchase the following week on a day when the weather topped out in the mid-70's. Note the drinking of beer outside. Sometimes global warming isn't half bad.

I absolutely love this skirt and I picked it up last week at NY & Company. I have to say my visit to this shop was much nicer than the last time I went there. The skirt is so busy that I went for pretty minimal look otherwise. The top is a hand-me-down from Banana Republic and the jean jacket is from the Fat Girl Flea. The necklace is from a sample sale, the earrings were purchased at a street fair and the shoes are from Office. I didn't have time to wash my hair and attempted my very first bouffant which was only semi-successful - tips are most welcome. The flower in my hair is from Forever 21, which is a great place to shop for inexpensive hair accessories.

Finally we arrive at chub-rub solution part 2. I want to thank everyone for all of their comments of support and suggestions the other day. It's funny the problems that so many women can have, that so few of us are willing to publicly discuss. Thighs rub people, there is nothing shameful about that. And guess what, even thin women suffer from chub-rub.

This all brings us to peek-a-boo photo of what is underneath bloomie's skirt #2. Are we enjoying these? My friend took this in a crowded beer garden with the statement that it'd probably be smarter to do so in a bar than outside my office building which is where I originally planned to take it. Pamie is smart like that.

So I know I said that I used to love Evan's comfort shorts and then last summer the new design didn't seem to work for me. Well I decided to give 'em another try and I dug a pair out of my drawer and suddenly they started to work well again. Last year they would always ride up when I wore them, which kinda makes a chub-rub solution a big, fat failure. This time they didn't do that. I don't know if it was because they seemed tighter so they didn't ride up or maybe it was a pair of the old design. Either way I think I'm going to order some new ones from Evans and give 'em a go again.

I had historically been a fan of these because they're very light and comfortable and are made for the express purpose of stopping chub-rub. Unlike Spanx they don't suck you in and unlike bike shorts they're not heavy and they don't add any bulk or lines to your outfit all which appeal to me. Not to mention that at 5 pounds a pop, it's a fairly inexpensive solution. I would say that if you're planning an order from Evans, throw a pair of these into your cart and see how they work out for you.

Photo credit goes to both Nicole and Pamie. Thanks my darlings!

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T12:59:00.000-04:00

I know I'm Jewish and Easter was yesterday but give me a break. It's really just an excuse to paint my nails in an utterly ridiculous manner which really has more to do with the fact that the weather is beautiful and the sunshine is making me delirious than Easter.

Sunshine, Friends and the Elusive Hunt for a Chub-Rub Solution

2010-04-04T21:49:00.000-04:00

I hope all of you had a weekend that was as utterly lovely as mine. The sun was shining, I saw a lot of friends including some from far away, I danced, I picniced, I was rejuvenated. I had a really tough time last week so it was good that the weekend was so nice, but I need another day of it to just relax.

I wore this dress on Saturday and I got it a few years ago at a Ross. The cropped denim jacket was purchased at the Fat Girl Flea and the purple cowboy boots you've seen a million times before. The sole accessory is my hammer and shovel necklace which I in my head I think of as my feminist necklace (although if I'm being honest with you I am not very talented with a hammer or a shovel and often use my feminine wiles to get folks to do things for me that involve hammers and shovels. Bad bloomie, bad). Oh and for those of you wondering, my sunglasses are prescription, which is why they're so unexciting. I'll be upgrading to some new and much cuter prescription ones in the next month or two.

Saturday was the first day of the year that I went out with bare legs. No tights, no leggings, just boots. So of course I had to consider the chub-rub factor. For those of you who don't know what chub-rub is, it's the unpleasant sensation of your inner thighs rubbing against one another. In the summer time it is no fun at all. I used to live in Evans comfort shorts, but last year they changed the design and I didn't like the new ones. So this year I'm on a mission to try as many chub-rub solutions as possible, which brings us to the next photo.

This little peek-a-boo photo is to show you my Luvees. I'd seen them around mentioned in various places and then when I saw a mention on Lilli's blog I decided to finally bite the bullet and order them. I'd known about them for ages, but had hesitated because I thought they were horribly overpriced.

I bought both versions that they sell and I have to say I'm not impressed at all. The first style I tried was the thigh coverall and it gets a big, fat NO from me. They're supposed to stay up and all they did was fall down. I liked that they were airy, but it felt very weird going to the bathroom with them on. The fuller coverage ones weren't bad, but they were too stretchy in the waist and they were just too long. As you know I like short skirts and dresses and these kept peeking out and I was not happy. The hunt continues. Please tell me what your favorite solutions are so I can add them to the list.

I had a very special guest photographer who was in from California. Jamie is one of my first readers, best friends and a woman whose clothing often pops up on this blog since I am the lucky beneficiary of many of her hand-me-downs. Aren't we adorable?

P.S. We passed by my version of Mecca. I had to take a photo. I am a New Yorker obsessed.

Cherry Time

2010-04-02T16:58:00.000-04:00

Spring has arrived in glorious fashion in New York over the last few days and today I am celebrating its arrival in one of my very favorite dresses from the wonderful Jane BonBon. Some cherry trees have sprouted, I have a rooftop party tonight and I'm wearing my cherry dress. Viva la spring!

For those of you who don't know her, Jane BonBon has an etsy store where she custom makes plus-size dresses based on your personal measurements. I have thing for cherries and I lusted after this dress for ages, before finally splurging on it as my 29th birthday dress. For a hand-made dress $89 is not bad at all. I wish I had taken a photo of the tag, under size it says "bloomie." I am dying from the love.

The one negative is that since it's cotton and custom fitted there's not much give and this morning I couldn't zip the dress myself if the straps were up. So instead I had to zip it with the straps down, cover it with my cardi and wait till I got to the office for some girlfriend assistance.

The "belt" is actually a part of the dress, not something I added. Isn't that great?

To keep myself warm I added a cropped cardi that is from Anthropologie, although it was a hand-me-down from my beloved JLR. I've added seamed fishnets from Torrid and some pointy-toed kitten heels that I got at the Fat Girl Flea a few years ago and earrings from Accessorize. I love fishnets with a back seam. I think they're retro and sexy and just utterly fabulous.

Also, you may have noticed that my hair is a lot shorter. I'm gonna write about that really soon. Warning, I have a bunch of outfit photos stockpiled so you'll see some photos where my hair is long and then short and then long again. I was going to post everything in order, but I'm wearing this dress today and wanted to share it with all of you cause it's such a glorious spring day.

Photo credit goes to the lovely Ateqah, who also helped me dress myself this morning. Whatever would I do without her?