A Whole New bloomie

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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.

I Love Dorothy Perkins

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.