BLOG ACTIVITY

    I have not been the best at keeping up with the blog, but I want to make an effort to post at least once a week. I'm starting by making a new series called "LOVE FOR PLUS", since I'm finding some pretty nice websites with cute and youthful plus size looks.

    Fashion tends to focus too much on the slim/skinny girls and forgets about the rest of us. I work for a fashion company and I see that all the styles created are only focused on the missy (size 6 - 8) client and the buyers who purchase our looks then choose to buy woman size or plus size customers but when I fit the styles on the plus size model, they are not flattering at all because the styles were not meant for a bigger body like ours. Plus size design focuses on making styles that hide the bits we don't like or takes attention away from them, for most of us that is the midriff area/tummy area and under arms bit that we all love to hate.

   As a plus size girl I understand the difficulties we go through when we need to buy clothes. We find ourselves wanting to wear cute outfits that are trendy and make us look nice and its a struggle to find something we are 100% happy with because most things are unflattering, frumpy, too old or just down right ugly. I have the same problems for a big chunk of my life too until I found TORRID (TORRID.COM), now my holy grail of clothes. Now, cute and trendy plus size clothes are expensive, which is a down side, but the good thing is that there are always sales* and clearance sections on Torrid, so I tend to watch out for those.

   Recently I also discovered ModCloth.com, I will make my first purchase soon, but the great thing about this site is that it has a wide variety of things for us plus girls and reviews are available for each style. Customers also submit their pictures wearing their purchases and the site has a "look book" section for inspiration as well as to see the fit on the other customers that choose to share. So far what I see different than torrid is that ModCloth has yet to get the sizes and proportions just right, but they seem to be working on it. All styles have a vintage feel to them and they are very cute, my advice is just to read the reviews before purchase, they tend to be helpful and customers as well as the site will let you know what is true to fit and what you need to order a size bigger or smaller.

    Other sites worth mentioning are first, FOREVER21.COM , they have a plus size section, much bigger online than at the store. I purchased one or two things before, but for me it was harder to find things that I liked or fit me well, so I'm not the biggest fan, but still. Secondly, there is SIMPLYBE.COM, which is a british shop online, I have never ordered from the site, since its a bit expensive and does not have a ton of variety for my taste, but I have heard some people online reviewing purchases and they seemed to like it.

   SO! Here is the plan. I have some Spring/Summer events coming up for which I need to purchase some clothes and I thought that I could share with you the outfit ideas I have for the events. I may just post the selected outfit including pictures of the clothes, accessories, hair and make up or in some cases I will post multiple outfit ideas for the event and later show you the one I picked.  My hope is that these posts will be helpful or inspiring to others.

*Signing up for torrid.com e-mails will keep you updated with their latest offers, flash sales, coupons and other cool stuff.  If you become a DIVA you get %5 off of every purchase, see torrid.com for details. (I AM NOT BEING SPONSORED BY TORRID)

TREND ALERT: Purple Lipstick

Are you bold enough to rock purple lips this season?

FASHION ON TV: Once Upon A Time

     Once Upon a Time is a wonderful ABC show about the classical fairy tales we know and love but with a really interesting new twist. The Evil Queen, Snow White's step mother, vanishes all fairytale creatures to our world in order to find her happy ending. The show takes place in a little town in Maine called Storybrook, where all the fairy tale characters live but have forgotten who they are and they live normal human lives with struggles that resemble those of their real lives. When Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter, Emma is brought to town by her biological son Henry, things begin to change in town. On the first episode it is revealed that Henry was adopted by Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrook and the evil queen who made it all happen. Henry knows the truth and is desperately seeking to reveal it, but knowing that he is just a kid, it would be too hard to convince regular adults that his story is not just the imagination of a child gone wild. He also knows that his real mother, Emma, is the "savior", the only one who can make things right. Regina is not pleased with Emma's prescience in Storybrook and will use all her "connections" and her power to keep things in her fantasy world as she always wanted them to be, where she is happy and in control of everything and everyone.
     Regina Mills/Evil Queen is played by the beautiful and talented actress Lana Parrilla. Parrilla is fit to be queen, she is poised and graceful and she is so good at being bad that you just really hate her character. I love it! Of course, the acting is very important, but the wardrobe! Oh, the wardrobe! I absolutely love what the costume designers and stylists for the show have done. Keeping in sync with the theme of evil, they dress up the queen in dark colors, deep purples, shades of reds and black most of the time, but they give her very elaborate prints and textures that make her look expensive. Accessories are nice statement pieces like big hats, capes, crowns, tall neck pieces/collars and extravagant jewelry. Her Make up is also done up to go with the character's feel: very black false eyelashes, bold berry lip colors and winged eye liner. For her hair she often wears extensions and creative up-dos with pins or feathers, they tend to get creative to match the outfit.
     When we see Parrilla as the mayor she is very modern and conservative, but still elegant. Her "everyday" wardrobe mostly consists of neutral colors like gray, black, white and beige most of the time. She wears well tailored suits and fitted dresses that show off her nice figure. I would say most of her wardrobe as mayor is very Calvin Klein-ish. Her make up is a lot more subtle, as she is suppose to blend in to her role as a town official, but her lips are always a variation of red.
   
Shows like this make fashion fun on TV, they have very little restrictions when it comes to wardrobe because the storyline allows for it, they can go crazy with what they give us on screen:

 As the Evil Queen Regina:

Incredible lace head piece with a very detailed cape and leather outfit.

Long velvet dress with metallic thread.

Feather coat with organza high collar.

Photoshoot for Entertainment Weekly showing off her style and evil queen ways.

Leather outfit complete with musketeer style hat, small cape, gloves and pants.
I love this purple and black tapestry-looking riding coat.

As Mayor Regina Mills:

Conservative outfit with deep green coat, gray blouse and black pencil skirt complete with black pumps.

Belted gray extended shoulder dress with front drape at waist.

I guess you can say that bad girls do have more fun...at least with their wardrobe in Once Upon a Time.

POST SERIES: MUSES

Muse: America Ferrera

Occupation: Actress

Origin: Los Angeles, CA - USA

Best Known for: Her roles in "Real Women Have Curves", "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and "Ugly Betty"

Age: 28

    America Ferrera has transformed herself in front of our eyes. She started out as an unknown chubby girl with real talent. As usual people just took notice of her appearance before her skills, but she broke through and mad a name for herself just as she was. She was first noticed when she starred in the film "Real Women Have Curves" a coming of age story about a girl who struggles with her self image. After the movie she was casted in other films and on her own TV show "Ugly Betty" an adaptation of a Colombian telenovela. The show was a hit and so was America. 

Her transformation from Betty to America now.

     America, like many actresses in Hollywood, changed her image as she grew famous. As many actresses when they hit the big time decided to change her diet and exercise routine to slim down to fit in to the scene. She did however stay healthy, unlike many other actresses. If you look at her, she still has her curves and she remains a down-to-earth gal. I like her attitude and her sense of style. Big girls can take a look at her and get inspiration. She knows her body and knows how to dress in a way that favors her shape and shows off what she's got.

America's weight loss, before and after.

America in a modest Rachel Roy gown at a red carpet event.

America was featured in the cover of Cosmopolitan for Latinas in Nov 2012.

Ferrera slimmed down to a very healthy weight and she looks fantastic.

POST SERIES: MUSES

Muse: Kat Dennings

Occupation: Actress

Origin: Philadelphia PA, USA

Best Known for: Her roles in the movies "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist", "The House Bunny", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "2 Broke Girls"

Age: 26

     Kat Dennings is known for her roles where she is the girl everyone wants to be: sexy, outspoken and cool. If there was ever a movie about my life, I'd want her to play me. (Not that I even look like her at all, but she would make me seem so cool, haha). She is just a really awesome girl. I love how she is proud of her body. She has a big chest and she dresses up to show what she's got. She is not afraid to accentuate her assets. I feel that Kat is a lot like the roles she picks in real life, so she is able to play the characters effortlessly.

Dennings as "Max" in the sitcom  "2 Broke Girls"

Another one of Kat's prominent features are her sultry lips.

Red carpet event, rocking a white low cut dress.

Bold choice of a dress, showing off her chest but still classy.

POST SERIES: MUSES

Muse: Ginnifer Goodwin

Occupation: Actress

Origin: Memphis Tennessee, USA

Best Known for: Her roles in the movies "Walk The Line", "Mona Lisa Smile", "He is just not that into you" and currently Snow White in the TV series "Once Upon a Time"

Age: 34

Ginnifer Goodwin is an amazing actress, I think she is underrated. She unfortunately has been type casted for a very long time, always playing the friend who is deeply in love with the handsome guy who is in love with her best friend. She is always the character that is good and the girl next door. I still love her regardless. She has been able to break a bit from that in "Once Upon A Time" as Snow White:

Goodwin as the kick-ass Snow White on ABC'S "Once Upon A Time"

For the show she sports a cute dark pixie cut that makes her look super edgy.

   

      I love that she has some meat on her bones, she is a normal girl, she is not a size 0 or looks like she is starving. I love her for that too. Ginnifer is a very cool stylish chick. She has good taste. She tends to stick to feminine looks, she is very on trend wearing looks that are right off the runway. She has a classic style. I like that she is not afraid to rock some bold looks, she makes them look even better than they did on the runway.

Halloween Costumes 2012: Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

   Another cartoon character that I really like is Sally from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"(1993). Sally is Jack's love interest. A lovely caring rag doll who is imprisoned by her creator Doctor Finkelstein. She often falls apart and sews herself back together. She is a very interesting character, her costume is really funky:

Sally has stitches all over her body.

The make up for this costume is all about the skin color and the stitching.

Sally's dress is just a bunch of scraps sewn together with short sleeves and uneven edges.

If you don't want to make a dress out of scraps you can always buy one:

Costume:

The Nightmare Before Christmas Sexy Sally Adult Costume
The Nightmare Before Christmas Sally Plus Adult Costume

Make Up:
Sally Nightmare Before Christmas Make-Up Tutorial by Promise Phan
Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas Make-Up Tutorial by Jessica Harlow