f21 « A Well-Rounded Venture

Posts Tagged: f21

OOTD — 21 Comments
5
Mar 13

OOTD: Double Denim

For the first time in ages, I actually had a free weekend. My schedule is normally packed (by design) because I prefer to stay busy and I ~~need~~ like to plan ahead. Lately I’ve been trying a more “hands off” approach to my Google Calendar mania, to allow for some much needed “me time”. It hasn’t been so bad.

This past week, I had some good mail. I was super excited to finally find a chambray button down that fits. Surprisingly, from Land’s End. Their sizing goes to a 3x, or 24/26-ish but they are usually generously cut. For their fabulous quality and lifetime guarantee, I’m willing to take a risk.

You’ve seen these pictures if you follow me on Instagram… but it was a nice way to start the weekend! Mail & a pedicure.

Saturday was actually pretty chilly, so I risked wearing layers. I fell in love with one of Rebecca’s recent outfits and it inspired me to try something new. The bulk of the chambray shirt under the sweater was almost too much for me. I don’t like to wear things that require constant adjusting and the sleeves were driving me up the wall.

I might have brought an extra top/jacket combo, just in case I needed a wardrobe change… but I managed!

Heart sweater – Forever 21, 3X
Chambray button down – Land’s End, 3X, here.
Skirt – Avenue, 26/28
Shoes – Clarks, “Valley Moon”, 9.5W
Necklace – Etsy

It felt like an oddly “grown up” weekend. Started with self care, met Chris for lunch at the tea house for yummy gluten free food, checked out a cute antique store, then we went on our quarterly trip to Trader Joe’s for some groceries. Of course, Chris was a good sport and let me take some silly pictures all day.

Since I was trying out the chambray shirt for the first time, I decided to take it a step further and pair it with a denim skirt. The skirt is a dark enough wash that it contrasts well. Wish I had a sweater other than this black one – but you make-do with what you’ve got! And sweaters in Texas aren’t really necessary.

Most of the time, I don’t know if something actually works until I see the photos… after I’ve worn it in public. A mirror just isn’t the same!

Chris kept laughing because I look like a school teacher “or something” from way back when. It took me over two weeks to realize that wearing an old pair of glasses was giving me a headache, so I’m sporting these cat-eye glasses (most recent prescription) until I get a new, every day pair.

As far as self care goes, I hope you guys realize that while taking care of the ones you love is important and rewarding… you need to take care of you too! A lot of my crafting, “beauty regimen” (if you call it that) and hobbies are all forms of self care. Heck, even blogging! Life can be hectic, but taking moments out of your day to do something for yourself and catch your breath can work wonders!

I have a bad habit of putting my own needs on the back burner while I’m trying to accomplish other things… and it always catches up with me.

How did you spend your weekend? What is your self-care ritual?

OOTD: Earning stripes

Call me stripe obsessed, because I am. Not sure when it happened but it went from a casual fling into a full blown “thing”!

The first item I reach for when getting dressed? Stripes. What draws my eye when shopping? Stripes. What did I buy when I finally got to a F21+? Stripes. I tweeted this picture on my trip to Los Angeles in January:

Sorry about the awful picture, my cell phone and I don’t get along…

The fact that I’m breaking one of “THE RULES” on a regular basis is just icing on the cake.

This was my outfit for day 3 of Fa(t)shion February!
Cardigan – New Look, UK 26
Tank – Old Navy, XXL
Skirt – Old Navy, XXL, here.
Teggings – Re/Dress
Ring – Evans
Necklace – F21 (p.s. it’s an elephant!)
Flats – Evans

This skirt is apparently sold out online in the larger sizes but if you like it, definitely go find it in the store. It could easily fit up to a size 30. When I saw this skirt, I knew I’d break one of my “personal shopping” rules but damnit, it was worth it.

I get the whole philosophy behind “make it work” and in most cases, I agree. But it depends on the context. Making it work with the tools you have at hand versus… seeking out clothing in smaller sizes to see if you can “make it work” are slightly different to me. And I’ve seen this phrase describing a myriad of fashion-y things and/or concepts.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The size on the tag means nothing. I have thrifted things in my closet that say small. A size “small”, I am not! I think that as purveyors of fashion we need to use all resources available. Any and all resources. If we didn’t, the world would be a sad, sad place.

Do I also need to say that these thoughts apply only to me and my shopping habits? I don’t care (or judge) what other people do. Good? Okay.

In my last post, I mentioned that I use my hard earned money to support stores that cater to my body. Stores that make clothing for ME. If I walk into a store that carries up to size large, is it possible that I can “make something work”? Absolutely, even as a size 28 and I’m not talking accessories. The oversized trend is like fashion’s gift to fat girls. Sure, that top was meant to hang off someone’s frame… but hey! If it works, it works.

So what’s my problem?

Economics. When I’m buying straight sized clothes off the rack, it is just a number to the company. Their stuff sells and that’s what they care about. If I’m buying their clothing, even if they don’t care to cater to plus sizes… why should they bother changing that? If I’m buying retail, I avoid buying from companies that don’t offer plus sizes.

But thrifing, eBay, second-hand, etc.? Everything is fair game. I’ve seen things in store that I have not bought and later sought out online (saves money too!) because of this.

Some companies offer limited plus ranges and for me, these are borderline – ASOS Curve, Eloquii, etc. Each time a plus line is launched and it stops at 24, babies cry. No joke.

For decades, the “industry leaders” have had lines up to size 28 and stopping short of that is just annoying. It makes me highly suspicious that these companies see clothing fat bodies as “promoting obesity” or that fat(ter) people don’t deserve clothing that makes them feel good but that is a rant for another day…

Old Navy makes my borderline list because they don’t carry their plus line in stores (but make up for it slightly with free return shipping). But the sad fact is that they offer a lot more options in straight sizes, and if a similar version makes it to plus – it is probably $20 more and not as cute.

I probably think way too much about this stuff but to me, it is important to consider all angles. I like cute clothes as much as the next person, but after 15+ years of wearing fat girl clothes I am fed up. Where I spend my money, giving constructive feedback and being vocal are some of the tools that I can use.

I took a picture of my tripod because I planned to make this a (funny to me, facetious) post about how much I love my tripod. In reality, I’ve been spoiled by handing off my camera to other people and having them snap pictures for me. Instead… I got distracted by a rant. I’ve realized that I prefer to either be behind OR in front of the camera – not both!

Do you make conscious choices about what or where you buy things? It doesn’t have to be clothes.

Events / OOTD — 14 Comments
10
Feb 12

OOTD: Fatty Affair

As promised, here is my outfit from Fatty Affair! If you missed the event post, you can find it here and you can see the whole set of pictures up on Flickr.

Dress – ASOS Curve, UK 26
Jacket – Joanna Hope, Simply Be, US 28
Tights – We Love Colors, EE in Scout Green
Belt – Torrid
Boots – Fitzwell, “Syrup” via 6pm.com
Bracelet – F21
Bangles – Torrid

For this event, the “dress code” was on the fancy side. Since I was speaking about fashion, I wanted to pick an outfit that was sparkly, special and something I felt comfortable in. Movement, comfort, warmth (or lack therof) and if possible, something I had worn before, were all concerns.

Being nervous (public speaking!!!) and experimenting with new clothing combinations is a recipe for disaster, in my experience.

This jersey dress from ASOS certainly fit the bill on all counts! I’ve worn it before with my favorite black and white cardigan, but it is one of those OOTD shoots that never made it to the blog (yet). Lately I love the idea of pairing bright pink with teal… so with my color palette set, I picked out a couple of coordinating accessories.

Here are a few more awkward pictures for the road!

When wearing ASOS Curve clothing, I’m constantly reminded that while they can obviously find suppliers to make clothes that fit my size 28 body (UK 26 is a US 22) but have “no plans to extend their line”. Grr.

Part of my awkward speech was about giving companies feedback. Fight for your right to be able to find the kind of clothing you want, in a size that fits your body – which I’ve wrote about before. You don’t know how many times I’ve been told the two solutions of – lose weight or learn to sew. You don’t have to do either!

More and more companies are listening to the growing demands for plus size, fashion forward clothing, extended sizing, etc. and with my purchasing power, I try to support the ones that are.

It is important to give constructive feedback and give it often. Don’t like what you see? Give feedback. Don’t see what you want? Ask for it.

Check out Kath’s great post – YOU have the power to drive change. She has written a great post on how to engage with these companies and do it effectively – as she’s worked with two companies in Australia already.

We all have the power to instigate the changes we want to see in plus size fashion. Now it is time to speak up!

Challenges / Five Take / OOTD — 21 Comments
26
Jan 12

Five Take: Primary Colors

If you’ve noticed, I’m a bit of a color nerd. I blame it on being an art student but if we’re being honest – it started way (way, way) before that. This week, our Five Take theme was primary colors – red, yellow, and blue. Can you guess who chose it? ;) Though now I can’t help but think… Wonder Woman.

In 2011, I took a step back from the color roller coaster and added more neutrals to my wardrobe to try something different. Even after my experimenting, I still feel like some pop of color is always needed.

Most of my outfits with color tend to utilize the color wheel. I’m not kidding when I say that I used to carry one of these babies in my purse:

Yes, I am completely serious. Actually I have two, a mini (purse sized) color wheel and one that was with my school stuff. Hey! They come in handy. Over the years, they have gotten put… who knows where, but color theory is now ingrained in my brain.

Top – Simply Be, size 28, here.
Skirt – Avenue, 26/28
Jacket – Torrid, size 4
Tights – We Love Colors, size EE in Gold, black patterned tights from Avenue.
Boots – Fitzwell, “Syrup” via 6pm.com
Bracelet – F21, here.

For me, it is almost impossible to resist the urge to add color to anything. Almost physically and mentally impossible to resist adding color to my outfits, makeup, interior decorating, the food I cook – yes, I add different vegetables for color (okay, sometimes flavor). Usually, I’m drawn to a bright color. Surprise, I know.

Not that I always follow “the rules” (because they are meant to be broken) or have an entire rainbow (and then some) of clothing to choose from (despite my best efforts) but the thought is there.

For this challenge I had originally planned to keep it simple and wear just one primary color – I was thinking blue. The last several days work has been really busy and this weekend I spent most of the time in my snowman pajamas. Alas, they are not primary colored – otherwise you might have seen them. Since I try to not play “dress up” for the blog, you get this a few days late!

This morning I realized, that it was already mid-week and I needed to take pictures but a simple outfit no longer appealed to me. So here we are – two colors and lots of “stuff” or texture – sheer, floaty sleeves, houndstooth, cut outs, beads, patterned tights. Well, you can’t actually see the sleeves since I forgot to take a picture with the coat off! This outfit definitely has a lot going on.

I thought it might be too much, especially the coat & tights combo… but I like the effect. Though I don’t like the fact that the black tights scrunch around the knees – making it nearly impossible to see the pattern without hiking them up every two minutes.

My closet is well-stocked but the dominant primary color in my wardrobe is this bright, cobalt blue. A year ago, it would have been red. Yellow is definitely lacking… but I have a few pieces. 2011 was a great year for blue… and it’s a good thing because Pantone named Tangerine the color of 2012.

Guess what goes well with that? ;)

Don’t forget to check out how the others wore their primary colors!

Claire – A Monkey Fatshionista
Rebecca – The Plus Side of Me
Gina – Fat Fit Fine
Becky – The Ramblings of Mrs BeBe

What is the dominant primary color in your wardrobe? Do you use color theory in your outfit choices?

A Well-Rounded Venture

Posts Tagged: f21

OOTD: Double Denim

OOTD: Earning stripes

OOTD: Fatty Affair

Five Take: Primary Colors

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