The Independent on Sunday yesterday carried a story in their news section on the new size acceptance, citing Adele, Marina Rinaldi, the size 16 winner of the Surrey heat of the Miss England competition, and the monthly online magazine Just As Beautiful.
(Is it sour grapes to harumph about poor journalism by saying they totally should have mentioned Too Fat For Fashion...?)
Have a read, and, as ever, let us know what you think.
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simple is beautiful
Too Fat For Fashion: March 2008
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Monday, March 31, 2008Saturday, March 29, 2008Adieu tristesse, bonjour tristesse...Many thanks to all of our readers who commented or emailed suggestions for my continental European shopping trip! Unfortunately in amongst all the walking and eating (oh my, the eating... if anybody can tell me where I can get pickled garlic cloves in the UK, I will be forever grateful), I didn't do an awful lot of shopping. But I did pick up a few vintage and flea market finds, which I shall share with you now, just for funsies. Thursday, March 27, 2008ZZ Tops...and Dresses: Salon Z's Latest Offerings
Maybe its just me but I've always felt like Saks' Salon Z was a little lacking. They've long been held up as one of the recommended plus sized high end outpost but lets face it things can be little (or alot) matronly. Which is fine if you're older or have a more conservative look but what if you want something a little younger or hipper? Contemporary wear is the largest gaping hole in the plus sized market as far as I'm concerned and Salon Z has been dragging behind its main competition Nordstrom Encore in the coolness department.
 Salon Z looks from Amanda Uprichard, Alice & Trixie and Lewis Cho Not one to be outdone Salon Z seems to be stepping up its game - with new editions from popular designers like Alice & Trixie, Lewis Cho, Maiya and Amanda Uprichard they seem to really be trying to update things. While these aren't full collections - only about three pieces per designer - I like that some of the hip labels you'd see on Shopbop or Net-A-Porter are adapting their popular styles for larger sizes. Its about time don't you think? Though I do see a bit of my pet peeve jersey fabric I'm happy to see even more silks. Everything Salon Z goes up to size 24 but the good stuff goes quickly. Everything is available for pre-order at the moment but it should be in stores / ship out soon. See anything you're interested in? Personally I'm jonesing for the Alice & Trixie Cassandra Dress in the Moroccan black color but I find myself tempted by quite a few of items. I really hope Saks expands these collections and continues them -all of these designers have larger collections for straight sizes so it would be nice to see all the same options for plus. Tuesday, March 18, 2008Keen On Boys : Elena Miro F/W 08
Now I can't begin to talk about fashion weeks without taking a look at what Elena Miro has to offer. As the sole plus sized company to do a full fledged show during the major fashion weeks (and why is that - Marina Rinaldi and co please step up) its important to see just what they're doing each season. This wasn't my favorite Elena Miro collection ever - some of the styling seemed a little too "office" for my tastes - but there were elements of it that I really loved. This season the overall theme seemed very androgynous and just a little tough - quite different from what were used to seeing for plus sizes. I always feel as though plus sized clothing suffers from an excess of frills and frou frou. I mean seriously how many floaty floral print print empire waist ensembles can feasibly fit into anyones closet? Sometimes you need a harder edge and I really welcome that.
Definite inspiration was being drawn from from Ralph Lauren's tux and tails Spring 08 collection and some of the edgier items had an almost Rag & Bone feel. Everything had a distinct personality - you've got the black fur (hopefully faux) jacket that looks like its been pulled out of Kate Moss' closet, all manner of almost Chrissy Hynde-esque little blazers and ties and of course the right amount of shine. More than wanting exact pieces I found myself getting a inspiration from the elements within the show itself - especially those great sequined accents.             Ok I totally fibbed - I need that sequined blazer in my life. How do you like this collection - love it, hate it, need something in your closet this minute? View the full collection at Style.it Saturday, March 15, 2008I Want It All & I Want It Now!
Since I run on my own unique (read: late) schedule I've got the last of the 7 things. Granted I've been cheating and I've already started my spring shopping but here are a few things I really want (read: need) in my closet for spring. A bit preppier than I usually go but if there ever was a time for channelling Lily Pulitzer it would be springtime.
 Diptyque Candles After a long hard day sometimes all you want to do is take a nice bath and light a candle. There is something so relaxing about filing the room with an intoxicating fragrance and there's really nothing more intoxicating and luxurious than a Diptyque. You know that feeling you get after a glass of wine? This is it - only in candle form. Sure they are pricey but the scents are unusual and last FOREVER (I really do mean that - days after you burn one the smell stays in the room) Oponnax is a spicy oriental scent I have been itching to try - right now my entire home is scented with the delicious Baies. Y-Mail The entire YSL Y-mail collection is adorable - I'm partial to the bags (of course) but the line encompasses all manner of ad ons from bracelets to clutches. I'm not usually one for an article of clothing that says the name of the designer - who really wants to be a billboard - but these little totes and wallets hark back to the good old says of snail mail. Remember letters? Those things we used to write out on stationary back before email took over. They were pretty great weren't they? I love the little stamp detail and address on these accessories and the silver tote scratches my itch for a metallic bag. At YSL Boutiques & Neiman Marcus Slingbacks The second the calendar hits March I want to throw out all my boots and start wearing any and everything thats strappy. Unfortunately the weather is working against me at the moment but the second temperatures raise I'm heading out for slingbacks and loads of em. I've already ordered this pair of Theory slingbacks from Piperlime so I'm just one pedicure away from having some fun. Shu Uemura Lipglosses I know you guys, I don't have to explain why lipgloss made my list. Everyone knows lipglosses and spring are like PB and J. The Shu Uemura variant are the perfect texture and they've got the most delightful jam flavors. Raf Simons Redux I'm big on fashion books - if there is a designer I love I'm liable to pick up a book or two on them. I'm quite excited to read and see Raf Simons Redux as I love the look of his spare minimalist designs both for his own label and for Jil Sander. Kenneth Jay Lane Bracelets These are just awesome - I've been craving them for months but finally took the plunge. Almost every animal you can think up (lions, tigers and bears oh my) but in an intricate bracelet form. Some of the models even double as watches for added functionality. And if you'd rather not have a little zebra or seahorse strapped to your arm there are about a thousand non-fauna bracelets to choose from as well. Beaded accents Beading is on absolutely everything lately from dresses to shoes - the whole look is very 1960s prep set chic but can easily go from trendy to overdone with an excess of stones. I love a bit of beading around the neckline for an accent - it really spices up an ordinary item like a cardigan or sheath. I'm especially fond of this Banana Republic cardigan I just picked up in two colors - yellow and brown. Its got the perfect amount of detailing and is just the thing to throw over a sun dress once it heats up. Check Banana stores for this one, the website has unfortunately sold out on the XL Thursday, March 13, 2008Grabby Hands
And now for part two in our Hot List 2008, or things I'm totally excited about this year.
 Clockwise from top left: black sunglasses Hexagonal panel box bag, £25 from Topshop, available in apple green, teal, black and gold (not available on the website) Floral blouse, also from Topshop 5ml perfume oil, from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, $17.50 Trouser jeans Chloe Saskia bag, price varies at Brown's, Bergdorf's and Net a Porter Purple Haze nail polish, $18 at Rescue Beauty Lounge Bold Bags I'm fond of these two bags for their unique shapes and bright colours. The Chloe Saskia, which comes in all varieties of style and colour, is a knockout with its scrumptious bold leathers and Lucite handles (classier than a pair of clear heels). Topshop's Hexagonal Panel Box Bag is perfect for getting away from giant “could fit an Olsen twin in this” bags and has just enough space for your essentials for a night out or an afternoon in the park. Chunky black sunglasses I own a gazillion pairs of trendy sunglasses (turquoise Wayfarers!) thanks to Forever 21 and ebay but am on the lookout for my one perfect pair this year, preferably black. My fave source is ebay’s Smash Vintage, who always have the cutest vintage inspired styles and great customer service to boot Violet nail polish I stocked up on tons of dark colours this winter but for spring and summer I am all about bright purple shades. I like Rescue Beauty Lounge's new hue, Purple Haze, as well as Nail's Inc's Belgrave Place and OPI's Do You Lilac It. Dainty prints Like Topshop's floral blouses and skirts for spring Smelling nice On my list for spring fragrance: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” perfume oil based on the Christopher Marlowe poem (limited edition love poem oils run until March 23). Notes of heather, clover, Irish moss, English ivy, tea rose and carnation guaranteed to make you want to frolic in a grassy field. Trouser jeans As much as I love my skinny jeans I don’t know if I want to go through another warm season with denim sticking to my legs Available: Old Navy, Gap, Svoboda Wednesday, March 12, 2008I'm Mrs Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Thanks for the Paris recs, you guys: I'm super-psyched for my shopping extravaganza. So much so that I bought new tan leather boots today in preparation. Why give Paris all the credit card love, right?
Now, onto Miss J's latest brainwave of brilliance. We, the contributing writers of this site, and actual professional fashion peeps to boot, are going to share with you our 2008 Hot Lists. Unlike the hot lists/what's cool now/must-haves that you'll see in glossy magazines, which are more or less paid for by PRs and corporations, these lists are 100% genuine. If we love it, covet it, and stare madly at it whilst security edges towards us, concerned by that evil glint in our eye, it goes on the blog. If a PR offers us bribes, but we're not so taken with their wares, we turn down the bribes. (Unless it's like, a YSL Downtown bag. We're not insane.)  Vogue Covers, £24 from Amazon Adele's 19 album, around £8 from Amazon Undercover x P.A.M. Black Mass Lamp, price on request from selected dealers Ms Angie Dickinson, priceless Thrrrob rouge powder, $28 from Benefit.com Juno Hamburger Phone, $15.99 from Sourcing Map Hamburger Phone, as inspired by Juno I'm sensing a general Michael Cera and Ellen Page backlash in my 'hood right now, and let me tell you, I'm against it. I won't have a word said against Juno, my girl EP (nor her tomboyish Oscars appearance), or my desperate need to have a hamburger phone just like our heroine's. Petrol-blue trench from Peekaboo Vintage Tragically I had to leave this on the hanger, and have no photograph, since it's not available online, and security dudes are kind of twitchy about peeps taking photographs of stock in case customers are secretly super-fly catwalk designers ripping off ideas. But if you were to imagine Angie Dickinson in turquoise trenchcoat form, well, that's what this fabulous coat would be like. My entire look is basically Angie inspired right now. I can't explain it, but I try and channel Ms Dickinson daily. Vogue Covers: On Fashion's Front Page Love it or hate it, you can't deny it – like Summer Roberts, Vogue is undeniable. This collection has covers from the heady days of models on the cover, illustrations from back in the day when Conde Nast was too cheap to fork out for a camera, and the current lousy era of Siennamilleritis, a nasty condition that affects fashion magazines like moths destroy clothing. Undercover x P.A.M. Black Mass Lamp You know how some days, you're reading Elle Deco and thinking, "Wow, this is lame, and kinda beige"? Whatever happened to the days of pimping out your pad serial-killer style? With this awesome lamp there's no need to go on a multi-state spree to collect enough skin for a lampshade – the designers behind Undercover and P.A.M. have done the work for you. [No humans were harmed in the making of this boss light.] 19 by Adele Plus-size heroine, supercool teen (and damn all these kids on my lawn making successes of themselves whilst they're still, like, 12, or whatever), and soulful singer – Kanye West called her single, Chasing Pavements, "dope!!!!!!!". (Exclamation marks Mr West's. See what happens when you're a college dropout? Your punctuation goes all flooey.) Also, I covet her umbrella in this picture. Rhianna's not the only one with awesome taste in rainwear. Thrrrob Face Powder by Benefit Benefit's powders are all practically perfect in every way, but this new pink blush is doubly so. When you are very pale owing to the drains in this house, a la the heroine of Daisy Ashford's The Young Visiters [sic], and you must excuse yourself to put some rouge on your cheeks, use this pleasing pink powder. Motherfucker necklace Five very wise philosophers, aka the Spice Girls, once said, "Silence is golden... but shouting is fun." This necklace is both golden AND shouty, and is therefore awesome. I'd love to be tasteful and considered each day, but a girl can only fit so many little black cocktail dresses into her wardrobe before she gets bored and has to pull on her stomping boots, fix on this necklace, and go out spoilin' for a fight. So that's my brain right now. In 2008, I want to be Angie Dickinson, wearing pink blush, crude jewellery, sitting in my serial-killer lair listening to Adele whilst calling up cute boys on my burg' phone and flicking through Vogue covers. Possibly accessorised with nail polish in Schiaparelli pink, but y'know, I'm not fussy on the details. You know you love me, xoxo Monday, March 10, 2008I love Paris in the springtime......and I love you readers every season! Monday, March 3, 2008Junk in the Trunk
For all of you New York/metro readers out there: Brooklyn plus size boutique Lee Lee's Valise is hosting an Anna Scholz and Jessica Svoboda trunk show (with champagne!) Thursday, March 6 from 6 to 9 PM. Anna and Jessica will be previewing their Fall/Winter lines and of course there will be the opportunity to browse their Spring/Summer offerings currently being sold at the boutique. Lee Lee's says "We usually sell out of particular items and sizes quickly so we want to give you the opportunity to get a head start on the Fall/Winter 2008. We will be happy to reserve particular garments as we have done with Spring 2008. We will be taking advance orders on your favorite items for Fall/Winter after this sneak peak of what these great designers have to offer."
 Lee Lee's Valise 368 Court Street (corner of President) Brooklyn, NY 11231 718-246-5337 leeleesvalise.com One block from the F or G train at the Carroll Street Station
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