24 Hours and Counting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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.