This fall will mark my second anniversary of blogging. In that time, I have been lucky. I feel like I have a platform to share my thoughts and feelings and ranty dwellings when it comes to size acceptance, fashion or just daily experiences and adventures -- with kind, open-minded strangers and friends ready to listen, to read and to share their own views. I've met people who have touched my heart and mind, and inspired me to keep putting words onto pages.
Just over a month after I started Big, Beautiful and Bold (this blog's previous title), I reached out to Marcy Guevara, former Big Girl in a Skinny World columnist at Marie Claire and founder of The Marcy Minute, to request an interview for my blog. Marcy was one of the few plus-size women I knew of at the time who successfully managed to meld a love of journalism and of body confident-promoting fashion into a career, and she remains an inspiration and a figure of hope. Naturally, I wanted to know all her secrets and styling advice and goals.
I received something of an epic shock when she not only said yes to the interview, but invited me to attend the launch party of the Lane collection by Lane Bryant in Manhattan, where I was going to school at the time. That night would reify my desire to be part of not just the blogosphere, but of the efforts of plus-size women to feel integrated and accepted and respected by the mainstream. I will always have so much gratitude to Marcy for inviting a rookie blogger to such a beautiful evening, where I got to meet Candace Huffine and Jay Manuel and sip cocktails whilst doing it.
I also have Marcy to thank for being introduced to City Chic -- the Australian brand founded in Australia circa 2006 that has since opened 79 stores and operates in New Zealand, America and Canada. City Chic designs under the mantra of creating BOLD, SEXY, GLAM and CHIC apparel for the plus-size woman who "is not defined by the way she looks, but by the way she feels and embraces her curves." I gravitate toward retailers who make clothes for women to feel beautiful and confident in, as opposed to those who inherently seem to design to hide the body and reiterate the "shame" we are supposed to feel for having fat on it. City Chic is certainly the former, so when they reached out and asked if I would be interested in trying out some pieces from the new collection, there was no two ways about it.
This polka dot dress called by name the moment I saw it. The criss-crossed neckline adds a bit of a daring, sexy touch to an otherwise classic-cut piece. I love the flow of this dress, because it reminds me of something Marilyn would have worn, but with modernity's influence shining through in the contrasting elements and color. As I've gotten older, I've stepped back from the tom boy I once was, and craved a more traditionally feminine aesthetic, for which this dress is ideal. It balances flowiness and comfort effortlessly, and needs very little styling or accessorizing due to its accents and neckline. In other words, it's pretty perfect for days you want keep to your style but put very little time into getting ready -- which, I will be honest, is most days for me.
Because the weather has started shifting to a more summery vibe, and this dress definitely feels ideal for the season, I finally got to break out the floppy hat that Claires UK was kind enough to send me last year after I attended a blogger event in Manchester. It is literally the only styling I added to this dress, and ultimately I think the two blend intrinsically well.
Get the Look:
Spotty Blues Dress, $98, c/o City Chic
Shimmer Monochrome Floppy Hat, $30, c/o Claires UK