Sundresses and Snowstorms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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!!!

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

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