Poll Time

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

...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!

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

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

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

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

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.