I'm the Fat Cruella de Vil

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.

Happy Holidays

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.

Day 16, Dress 106: Sisterhood of the Travelling Dress

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.

Day 4, Dress 94: Cowgirl Chic

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 2, Dress 92: Sun Kissed

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?

Striped Sundresses and Care Packages

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.

Rainy Day Simplicity

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

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

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.

Remixing at its Best

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

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.

Grecian Goddess

Wow that title makes me sound really self centered, doesn't it? I'm referencing my outfit inspiration, not saying I'm a Grecian goddess, although I did think I looked awfully cute.

With the pop-ups of warm weather we've been having I've been going a bit mad with spring shopping and today I bring you one of my new purchases. I got it from ebay seller Red Dot Boutique and I couldn't recommend them any higher. Their products are well priced, good quality and the service is outstanding. My only issue is that so many of their dresses are hand-wash only and I hate hand washing. I have more than a dozen dresses (possibly even 20 or so) sitting on the floor of my closet just waiting for me to get up the energy to hand-wash them. They have been waiting a very long time.

I love wearing white in the warmer months and this top/tunic/dress (what would you call it?) is one of my new favorites. It is easy and comfortable to wear and the embellishment on the sleeves kicks it up a notch.


I've paired my top/tunic/dress with a pair of American Apparel leggings (great color, crap quality), my evil stepmother "mirror, mirror on the wall" necklace from Forever 21 and sandals from Primark that I had to bin later that evening as they literally fell apart on me. I was grateful that they stayed in one piece long enough for me to make it home. They were awfully cute and I'm sad I had to get rid of them, but they were 6 pounds and sometimes you get what you pay for.

Also don't judge my toes, I haven't gotten a new pedi since February. The unexpected sandal weather took me by surprise.



Photo credit and banh mi sandwich belongs my lovely friend and colleague Amy. Although it looked so good that I went and got one myself 5 minutes later. Sandwich that is, not photo credit.


Finally I just wanted to share this photo I took on Saturday - little kids selling limeade on the sidewalk. I have a strict policy to never pass by a kids lemonade or (in this case limeade) stand without purchasing a glass. Not to mention fifty cents in Brooklyn ain't half bad.