definatalie.com

Nick and I went to Ikea in search of containers for our kitchen cupboards and I felt like wearing something comfortable and loose. I am a big fan of Susie from Style Bubble and the way she wears oversized clothes with longer proportions, but I also thought it was fun to change my silhouette. I’m an apple shape, but in this skirt I have extra padding on my hips and I quite like it!

This brooch is by Peta Pledger and I bought it from Meet Me at Mikes! I’ve been wearing it constantly since getting back from Melbourne, it’s so cute.

T-shirt: Sara by Ezibuy
Long vest: Moda by Target
Skirt: Target (obtained by clothing swap)
Shoes: Crocs
Sunglasses: Giant Vintage
Brooch: Peta Pledger

My art was shown at the opening of the Tribal Theatre (the old Dendy on George Street) on Thursday night and I thought it was a good opportunity to show Brisbane the cute City Chic dress I also bought in Melbourne. If you’re ever at a loss for something to do, make sure you check out what’s playing at the Tribal Theatre because they’re going to show awesome old movies as well as local films.

Top: ebay
Dress: City Chic
Tights: Kmart
Shoes: Crocs
Bag: Dangerfield

Last week was pretty overwhelming and I’m still coming to terms with the death of my Uncle Pete, so I feel like I have just been putting on clothes in the dark. It’s made me think though, personal styling isn’t always about presenting the most fashionable or on-trend you at any particular time. It’s more about presenting the most you you at that moment. It’s been raining every day for a week, and I have craved comfort and simplicity, so the first thing I wanted to do on Friday night was put on one of my husband’s shirts. It felt good, but more importantly it satisfied my need for solace. So the next morning I woke up at butts o’ clock to attend TEDxBrisbane, and I thought I’d do it again except I wore a lighter coloured shirt of Nick’s. My grief had found a uniform, a consistency I was sorely lacking.

Shirt: Husband’s
Vest: Target
Skirt: Yours Clothing
Leggings: Kmart
Shoes: Crocs
Bag: Dangerfield

Dress: City Chic
Boots: Torrid
Sunglasses: Giant Vintage

I went out for lunch with my family at their soon-to-be local pub on the weekend and decided to break out the paisley dress. Everyone usually has a giggle when they see me wearing this!

When I can afford new clothes I’ll be buying more floral dresses and brown boots that aren’t so slouchy so I can rock my bad 90s self through winter 2010. It’s just a thing I feel I need to do!

You’ll also note my new hair style – I had to cut a bunch of length off because it was so wrecked (if you DIY dye you’ve got to remember to DIY condition too!) I went to the Brisbane School of Hairdressing where the lovely Yoko cut my hair. I was a bit nervous because of my shaved side, and rightly so, because pretty much all the supervising hairdressers were aghast at it. Whatever I do what I want! Yoko was fantastic about it though, and did a great job on a challenging asymmetrical cut.

I have since dyed it a medium brown with a flash of blonde at my fringe. I can’t break my DIY habit!

I came across naKIMuli via the fabulously talented Nikki of Decadent Industries. NaKIMuli’s designer Tennille is a wonderful bright spark, designing crazy awesome clothing for people who don’t mind showing off their bodies in fabulous body con garments. The most refreshing part? She does a plus size line as well! HORAH!

I’m expecting big things from this label, so make sure you keep an eye out.

I know I do, but I have long been thwarted by the junior plus size offerings from Pinup Girl. Amazingly, the clothing store want to offer a broader collection of sizes, and they want to hear from you! Laura from PUG posted an open thread on their facebook page for people to offer feedback, and an overwhelming amount of people requested larger sizes.

It looks like Pinup Girl will be moving to a Torrid-style sizing system, and Laura has asked plus size shoppers to email her with their Torrid size so she can get a proper survey on the demand. I requested sizes 4 and 5, and she responded:

If you wear a size 3 or up, please contact Laura on Laura at pinupgirlclothing.com and request it!

My friend Zoe held a clothes swap today for a handful of friends and I was totally unprepared and didn’t bring anything to swap, but gladly took a chance to spend the afternoon with friends. So while I look a bit pouty in this photo, I’d perked up considerably by the afternoon!

I wasn’t really in the mood to wear tailored or tight clothing, so I opted for the baggiest garments I own. Sometimes it’s nice to reclaim shapelessness and forget about pursuing a “womanly” silhouette (which is usually code for an hourglass shape that only a percentage of us actually have!) I used two pieces from the Ezibuy Wardrobe Challenge, threw a baggy tunic top over it all and was super comfy all day.

What I wore:
T-shirt – Sara
Tunic – Big W
Pants – Sara
Sandals – Evans
Sunglasses – Valley market vendor
Necklace – Lola & Bailey

I still recommend clothing swaps as a way of getting rid of clothes that no longer fit, and claiming garments that actually do!! Go organise one with your friends, family and workmates

Following up on yesterday’s Australian edition, I present the UK and USA edition of “Where I shop online”! It’s not as long as the homegrown plus size shopping post because I have grown to love the UK retailers, Yours Clothing and Evans in particular, and give them my custom regularly! I’ve included links to other online shops that I browse frequently – if you’ve had any experience with them or other plus size shops do leave a comment.

UK

Yours Clothing
Quality: Yours Clothing have a huge variety of garments, which have a huge variation in quality. I’ve bought things that are fantastic, yet others are constructed in arse-about-face ways that obviously save the manufacturer money. Regardless, Yours is one of my favourite places to shop because there is so much to choose from!

Sizing: The best thing about Yours is that they also stock a huge variety of sizes, from UK 14-32. In my experience UK sizing is pretty much the same as Australian sizing, but as always do make sure to consult the size chart and your measurements!

Cost: You can browse the site in a few different currencies, which is fantastic, and all the garments are very well priced. Yours have great sales too, so it’s worth signing up to their email list to get a heads up! You can pay with Paypal without any dramas either – I love retailers that accept Paypal!

Shipping: Postage to Australia is £10, and depending on the conversion rate it’s pretty good. It’s definitely worth it at sale time! I usually receive my orders within a week.

Evans
Quality: I adore Evans – their garments are really well made, on trend and totally my style. Evans and Yours are tied for my favourite plus sized online shops, because while Evans doesn’t have as many clothes as Yours they make up for it with a great collection of footwear for wide fitting feet.

Sizing: With a range from UK14-32, Evans offers fantastic on-trend clothing to fatshionistas who miss out on a lot of plus size brands that stop at size 26. I’ve always found the clothes true to size, but be careful when shoe shopping as most of the shoes are EE fittings (a nice change from having to pass up all the shoes that are too narrow!)

Cost: I find Evans a little pricey at times, but the sales are great. I am a huge stinge, obviously

Shipping: A super duper £7.50 to Australia, which always makes me happy! Shipping usually takes around a week, which also makes me happy.

USA

Torrid
Quality: I read a lot of complaints about Torrid’s quality from stateside fatshionistas but the pieces that I have bought over the years have been of great quality! The brand is very young and full of statement pieces, sometimes a little too much so for me, but there’s a lot to choose from if you’ve got a fearless sense of style!

Sizing: Torrid offers from US size 10 – 28 but in my experience their sizing conversion is totally funky. I always go a size up from my Australian size, sometimes two, yet their chart says Australians should go down a size! Always have your tape measure handy and pay attention to the measurements, NOT the conversion chart.

Cost: Unfortunately it is pretty spendy for what you get, especially if you’re an Australian shopper because you get stung on conversion and pay a whopper for shipping.

Shipping: As I mentioned above, shipping your Torrid gear to Australia costs a bomb! They say it’s based on weight but it’s usually around AUD$60. Ridiculous!

Other retailers I haven’t bought from yet (but check all the time!)

USA

B & Lu
Igigi
Kiyonna
Size Appeal
SWAK Designs

UK

Next
New Look
ASOS Curve

Phew! That was an epic round up, but I hope it was of some value. If you’ve never shopped online before, start with the clearance sections first and make sure you take your measurements (honestly!) and pay close attention to the sizing charts.

If you can recommend other plus size online shops, go nuts in the comment section!

I have been shopping online for a few years now, and having a bunch of local plus sized friends who do the same I just figured that it was something that was quite common. I’m always surprised when people ask me if I am hesitant to shop online, because of international sizing differences, the shipping costs and because it’s hard to tell if a garment will suit but I have honestly never been that worried about it! I was asked to do a post on my recommendations for plus size online shopping via my question form on Tumblr (if you have any burning questions, go nuts!) so I thought I’d do a fairly thorough round up of my experiences and opinions of the various online retailers.

AUSTRALIAN PLUS SIZE RETAILERS

City Chic
Quality: The collections are usually on trend, cater to a younger market and include a lot of smart casual pieces as well as some dressier dresses. The quality of clothing swings with huge variation from a little bit dodgy to really good. The jeans I have bought from City Chic typically stretch out in the waist, so buying down a size in denim might be a consideration.

Sizing: City Chic offers from AU 14- 24, and garments are sized fairly accurately.

Cost: This is one of my main concerns about the City Chic brand, as I have felt that many of the garments aren’t of a high enough quality to warrant the pricing. That being said, if I am ever in a situation where I need something to wear at the last minute I will bugger the cost and purchase anyway because there really isn’t any other option for smart casual wear!

Shipping: City Chic ship domestically and internationally, and the site suggests that domestic shipping costs AUD$10 and are typically received within 5 days and international shipping costs are priced on destination and are typically received in 2-4 weeks.

Sara
Quality: Very good quality basic pieces for every day, work and smart casual occasions. This brand doesn’t really offer much on trend unfortunately, but the basic pieces can be layered and styled with a little trickery!

Sizing: Sara offers clothing from AU size 16 – 28, but the larger sizes are often scant (hint hint, that means there ought to be more!) Sizing is true, but if you’ve got broad shoulders like me you should go up a size in the jackets.

Cost: The pricing of the Sara range is really decent, right where it should be!

Shipping: Standard delivery within Australia is under AUD$10 and within 10 days, and Sara offer a Priority service of 2 day shipping as well. I can’t see any indication of international shipping available on the site unfortunately.

Autograph
Quality: Autograph offers excellent quality clothing, but sadly the collections are rarely on trend and their target market is probably for ages 30 upwards. I buy basics from Autograph, and they last for years even putting up with rigorous abuse from housework and my art messes!

Sizing: Autographs sizes cater to AU 14 to 26, and in my experience run a little large.

Cost: Newer collections can be on the upper end of reasonably priced, but Autograph has some incredible sales where you can pick up garments for $10! Because the pieces aren’t really on trend, you can buy your end of season basics for a bargain.

Shipping: Autograph and City Chic are under the same umbrella company and have the same shipping costs and policies.

My Size
Quality: Garments are of an excellent quality (from my limited experience!) but My Size doesn’t do many trend pieces, instead offering basic smart casual collections.

Sizing: The sizing caters to the typical range of AU 14 – 26, and runs pretty true to size though the t-shirts are a little large from memory.

Cost: Pricing is on the high side, but the quality is pretty good. International customers must pay with Paypal, and incur an AUD$25 fee on top of shipping!

Shipping: Australian customers can expect to pay between AUD$11-15 depending on how much they order, and international customers will pay shipping dependent on where they live and how much they order.

Embody Denim
Quality: Embody’s denim pieces are of fantastic quality, and I can’t rave about them enough! They have a variety of styles ranging from skinny jeans and flares to skirts and jackets. The fit is quite incredible, I highly recommend a pair of Embody jeans!

Sizing: Depending on the style, the label ranges from AU 8- 26. I usually go up a size in denim, and I wasn’t disappointed when I went up a size in the Body Love style. They fit perfectly for me, but your mileage may vary. To assist your purchase they have an email consultation service too!

Cost: These are high end duds at around $250 a pair! If you sign up to the VIP list you’ll be notified of half price sales and seconds. That’s the only way I could afford my pair!

Shipping: Postage is free Australia-wide, and while Embody mention that they ship worldwide they don’t have any indication of what shipping costs are.

Some other retailers I haven’t yet bought from:
Dreamdiva
UnderCoverWear
Entitled Clothing

Stay tuned for the UK and USA post!

The ASOS Curve collection was launched this week and after being initially disappointed in the line and its lack of adventure, I’m now quite seriously pining over a few pieces. What helped were the reviews by lovely bloggers Christina, Gabi and Sakina – seeing their styling really helped me to envision incorporating these basic garments into my wardrobe.

Currently I’m wishing for the above pieces, but the conversion from GBP to AUD is always a bitch. I love that flared jeans are coming back, because while skinnies are fun to wear (if only to bait derisive looks from those who are adamant that “skinny jeans” are only for “skinny people) I miss my flares of the late 90s. The black batwing dress looks a right disaster on the model, but when styled by Gabi it looks incredible!

I’m anticipating even better things from the ASOS Curve line, because their straight sized collection is full of wonderful pieces. Fingers crossed!

I want to take a moment to appreciate and respect some of the fantastic people who have influenced me in the arena of body acceptance. When I started using the internet, it was more than just a mass of information ping-ponging from server to server, it was a means of finding and communicating with people who were like minded, and because I have always felt like the odd one out it was really important to me that I have access to the internet. From a young age I was interested in social justice and human rights, but it felt like all the people in my “real life” thought I was crazy, or a bleeding heart liberal (which ever is worse?!)

I’ve said before that identity and styling always intrigued me, and while I have struggled with body image and identity I never really hated myself. I knew my struggle was against societal conditioning, not me, so when I came across fat positive people in the late 90s and early 00s, it was an amazing feeling knowing that I could plug into these networks and NOT be thought of as awful just because I was fat.

A lot of the role models I list are from the last five years, because I’m sad to say that I have lost contact with (and forgotten names of, sadly) a number of friends and admired people that I knew in the earlier days. If any of them stumble across this entry, I just want to thank them for their support, encouragement and enlightenment.

Beth Ditto

It goes without saying, but Ms. Ditto is a phenomenon. It’s not often that I can rave about a celebrity and admire pretty much all of their persona, their art, what they say, and how they carry themselves but Beth Ditto ticks all the boxes for me. Plenty of people have said that they can’t stand how she strips down to few clothes during performances, or that she behaves in a generally unladylike manner, but they are revolutionary acts she carries out in a world that pooh-poohs women for not being whatever enough. I like it. Screw being ladylike, own yourself!

Kelli Jean Drinkwater

I don’t know much about Kelli Jean, but I know that she rocks. She’s a performer, actor, model, film maker and an all-around champion of fance. Currently she’s in Sydney causing havok, so if you see any events she’s associated with CHECK THEM OUT AND REPORT BACK TO ME!

Marianne Kirby

Participating in the fatshionista Live Journal community was hugely challenging for me, but it has also been incredibly rewarding. I am pretty sure I butted heads with Marianne in her moderating role a few times in the early years, but after I read the book she wrote with Kate Harding (Screw Inner Beauty in Australia, Notes from the Fat-o-Sphere in the US) it dawned on me that some of the things I was clinging to, that I would defend tooth and nail, were hurting me and holding me back. Like pretty much everyone in western society, I would judge other people and validate myself by putting others down. My defensiveness was a pretty natural reaction to being challenged on this, but I’m glad Marianne challenged me. I am a happier person within myself for it.

Lesley Kinzel

Lesley is another moderator of the fatshionista LJ community, but also runs fatshionista.com. Even when I was a complete defensive twat Lesley would respond with warmth, humour and compassion and she really did inspire more of that sort of thing in me. I was so honoured when we started talking via Twitter, and she even put my blog on the fatshionista.com blogroll. Pretty daggy, I know, but that’s the kind of honesty Lesley inspires. The Boston Globe is even backing up my recommendation, with a huge article on the fantastic things this woman has done for Fat Acceptance on the internet. Go read it!

Thank you for being unashamedly you, and thank you for showing me that it’s ok to be unashamedly me.