Ok ladies, this is one of those deals I stumbled across that I just couldn’t pass up letting you know about. The deal is that if you buy one item at regular price, you get the next item (equal or lesser value) for only $10! The deal is only taking place through tomorrow night (Sunday, Feb 21, 2010), so get on the ball. :)

Get shopping!

Here are some of my favorites:

Deep V-Neck Sweater – $24.99 (on sale!)

I Love You Ruffle Cami – $12.99

Just yesterday, Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug went through a major site redesign that combined all three sites into one. It’s pretty cool, they’ve made it easy for you to mix and match your styles and make one purchase across the brands. They also include Cacique as  a separate brand.

This also means that you end up only paying one shipping cost, which the site says will be flat rate of $7 for ground shipping, no matter the size or amount purchased (sweeeet!). Each of the stores are having some pretty awesome deals right now to kick off the new site.

Out of the three, I’ve always tended to be more interested in Lane Bryant than the other two, but I thought this would give me a good chance to check out the sites and find some items I love from each of them. I put together this cute outfit I’d totally wear! In fact, I already have those jeans from Lane Bryant. They are tried and true. :)

Click the Image For More Info on the Product

The ballet zippers are literally calling my name! How about you? What do you think of the sites being combined? I have to admit I will probably still mostly buy from Lane Bryant, but I love the fact that I now have more choices!

My sister has this fascination with aprons, so whenever I travel I try to find her a hip, new apron. Of course she’s a size 7 so “one size fits all” seems to fit her just fine! But I was thinking the other day (while I was making some kick ass heirloom tomato bruschetta) that it was high time I find a cute little apron for myself as well!

I set out on a mission, and although I was pretty sure I’d never find aprons as cute as the ones I get for her… I just had to try. To my surprise I was quite happy when I realized that there are a few Etsy sellers who make handmade plus size aprons.  *Happy dance* I scoured through pages and pages of the cutest aprons you can ever imagine and pulled out 4 of my favorites. [Honey, if you're reading... this would be a great Mother's day gift for me. :D]

Click on the images to go to the Etsy shop

leahashley's Retro Black Polka Dot Apron - $26.00

sassyapron's Sassy Half Apron - $21.95

loftylady's Feminine Hostess Apron - $28.00

InGoodCompany's Soup Salad and Stripes Apron - $20.00

Aren’t these just to die for? I mean really! I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about this before. The thing I loved about all of these aprons was that they were fun and a bit flirty. I know that after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is cook (and honestly my husband does most of the cooking, sweet eh?!). So having a fun, inexpensive apron like one of these to wear while I’m getting ready will make it a ton more fun!

"España" One Shoulder Ruffle Swimsuit w/Detachable Strap - $118.00

With all the snow we’ve been getting this winter, it’s hard to imagine that swimsuit time is just around the corner! The other day I saw this awesome video on Youtube from Monif herself talking about the Spring 2010 collection of Plus size swimsuits. I absolutely love the idea of connecting with your audience in this way! Using free resources such as Youtube to show off your line of clothes on real women, is a great way to go. Hat’s off to Monif C. for getting social with us.

The funny thing is, I had already seen this lovely swimsuit on the site and was starting to drool. I absolutely love the one shoulder ruffle and the latin flare!

Below is the video where she shows off several of the seriously trendy swimsuits.

What do you think? I giggled a bit when she says you won’t be swimming in the Olympics in any of these, and really love that they’re actual swimsuits! It’s not as if I spend a ton of time in a swimsuit, but when I do, I want to look good! Thanks Monif C. for having such amazing clothing and for reaching out to us in this way. Social Media rules!

Bring on the Curves

As I was perusing the news about New York Fashion week this morning I was delighted to see an article from npr.org discussing the use of plus size models on the runway. This is exciting to hear, but the cynic in me wonders why now? What has happened that has made designers finally begin to create beautiful clothing for the average sized woman?

Photo from V Magazine's January Issue on Plus Size Models

Although a part of me wonders whether the decision to use plus size models was politically or motivated or possibly even a publicity stunt, my hope is that they finally realized that real women is where the money is at. I’ve honestly never understood why fashion designers would only cater to such a small portion of women. When the average size of a woman in the U.S. is a 14, these people are just throwing money out the door.

Lane Bryant was one of the first large companies to break into the plus size fashion arena and bring real women great clothes. I remember a time when it seemed like every single item of clothing in my closet was from there. Why? Because I couldn’t find fun, trendy clothing anywhere else! Now, we’re seeing more and more plus size clothing stores pop-up online in addition to the brick and mortars.

The story on npr.org asks another great question “Is it really ‘Plus Size?’” Personally I feel that it’s a step in the right direction. Although a size 12 model still doesn’t represent a size 20 for example, she at least has more curves than a size 0. My hope is that we continue to look to realize that real women want to be fashionable and will spend our money on great clothes. If you design it… we will come!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Would you be more interested in things like Fashion Week if there were more models our size (or at least closer to our size)?

Yesterday I mentioned on Twitter that I had added a few stores to my List of Plus Size Stores online and wanted to know if anyone had a favorite to add. Right away, @redressnyc replied and said I should add their store Re/Dress NYC. I headed on over to the site and started looking around. Unfortunately I didn’t see where I could buy online (which is a main factor for my list), but they quickly let me know that they’d soon be selling on Etsy. Since they weren’t really set up online yet, I went about my business and starred their tweet so I’d come back to it later.

Since the store is in NYC, and I probably won’t get a chance to check it out until I’m there for a conference in October, I really didn’t spend too much time looking at the site. It seems like an awesome place for plus size women who want great fashion to shop though! Anyway… this evening I was searching Google News for stories about plus size fashion and the same store showed up again! This time it was an article from NYdailynews.com covering the model search that Re/Dress NYC is holding right now. This made me take a double look. So I went back to the site and dug a little deeper.

As they mention in both the article and their own website, the model search is for women who are size 18+. Yes! That’s right, 18+! How exciting is that? We can barely find stylish clothes in those sizes, let alone have a chance to be the spokes model for a company. This seems like a really awesome opportunity for both Re/Dress NYC and the lucky winner. I may even enter it myself!

How to enter:

1. Email 2 or 3 jpg images to modelsearch@redressnyc.com
2. Write a 250 word essay about what you love about your body and/or advice for women who need a self esteem boost and email that with your photos to modelsearch@redressnyc.com
3. Send $10 payment via paypal to paypal@redressnyc.com
4. Read the fine print!

I wanted to give Re/Dress a shout out for also being on the ball when it comes to Twitter. It’s important to be a part of the community, and Twitter is a great way to achieve this. Thanks Re/Dress NYC for conducting this model search for women who don’t often get opportunities like this, and for having a great little store (which I can’t wait to check out next time I’m in the ‘hood).

As you can see, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written here. Life took a bit of a left turn some time back in April of last year. Since then, there simply hasn’t been enough time to maintain this wonderful site. I had every intention to keep it up-to-date and help out my fellow curvy women, but life simply got in the way.

Love them? Click the Image to Buy!

So what does this have to do with rain gear you ask? Well I recently moved (along with my lovely family) to Seattle, WA. You know, the city of rain and coffee? Well honestly the weather has been pretty delightful and hasn’t been nearly as dreary as people led us to believe. I firmly  believe that Seattlites have been lying to outsiders for years just to make everyone think it was gloomy and rainy here. They may even kick me out for telling the truth! hah.

Although it has been pretty nice, we have had a few rainy days and quite a few chilly ones. I’ve noticed that it’s definitely fashionable here to wear rain boots and other types of knee-high boots. Which is great if you’re a size 2 and look great in skinny jeans and a pair of cutesy rain boots. But what about me? I can’t just walk into any old shoe store and find a boot that fits around my calf! Usually a boot shopping expedition takes hours and hours of utter frustration.

So now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, I thought I’d look around to see if I could actually find some cute wide calf rain boots and a stylish rain coat. I want to look fashionable, show my own style, and stay dry at the same time! This shouldn’t be such a difficult thing to ask for. :)

I have my own funky style, and am lucky to work in a pretty casual office. I’m happy to say that I did find a few great options for plus size rain gear, and I wanted to show you some of my favorites!

Comes in Plus size!

OMG Love the Color!

These are hot! Click Image for more!

Do you have any great fashionable rain gear for plus size women you’d like to show off? I’d love to see what you ladies love as well.

It’s not as if Spring is a new phenomenon, however every year it shows up at our door step and brightens the world anew. The evenings are lighter, flowers are blooming, the trees have tiny sprouts and everyone seems to be smiling again. Little kids are playing in the park and women are showing off their new open-toed sandals with fresh pedicures. We quickly forget the woes of winter, and haven’t quite felt the heat of the summer. Everything is fresh and new again! And the clothes… the wonderful, flowing, lovely skirts and dresses.

I’m not really much of an outdoorsy girl, but I really love being outside in the Spring. All I want to do is pull my hair up with one of my grandmother’s scarves, put on a flowy skirt and skip around the garden. [ok stop laughing!] So, I don’t have a garden (yet, my husband is in the process of getting one ready) and honestly I don’t really skip ;). BUT the idea is still there. I can imagine doing that right? More realistic would be to head out to a local cafe, hook up to the wi-fi and get some work done while listening to great live music, sipping a hot latte and letting the sun flow in. Now THIS my friends sounds perfect. Ok… I should admit, I’m actually doing this right now. And I can’t seem to stop smiling.

The past week in general has been great, and I’m glad Spring came along when it did. I spent one day at the zoo with my daughter and sister, and another at the park with a friend and her kids. My husband has been getting the garden ready out back, and our daughter just LOVES being outside. She stands at the front door saying “hello” to people walking by.

But I have to admit, my favorite part of Spring all comes back to the outfits. I get so tired of turtlenecks and socks! Give me some open-toed shoes, a comfy skirt and a great jacket (it still gets cold in the evening!) and I’m set. Hello SUN! To get into the season, I’ve added some of my favorite products of the season to this post. If you’re interested in purchasing them or learning more about the products, just click the image.

What do you like about Spring? And if you have a favorite outfit, what all does it entail?

The Ultimate Guide

On my quest to find the best online plus size retail stores, I’ve found some amazing shops (and some not-so-great). Following is a list of all the stores I’ve found that I think meet the grade for CurveApparel.com. All of these plus size stores do a great job of keeping us curvy women looking great!

AlwaysForMe.com Great for plus size swimsuits and lingerie. annascholz Amazing designs in the U.K. Avenue.com BarefootTess.com Large-sized Women’s shoes! b&lu Belle Avenue Chique Plus CJBanks.com eDressMe These plus size dresses are pretty pricey but so so so fabulous! These are designs you’re not going to find anywhere else. evans

IGIGI Just For Curves Kiyonna.com Old Navy Lane Bryant Maximum Woman Monif C. Plus Sizes PlusSizeFix.com Silhouettes Shop translated They have some seriously gorgeous dresses! Sealed with a Kiss Designs Torrid.com Zaftique.com Check out the great plus size leggings!

What is your favorite online store for curvy women? Please let me know if you have any comments about the stores listed above or would like to have one added to the list.