The Fat Girl's Guide

Outfit of the Day: The Best Shorts I’ve Ever Worn

No, like seriously. They are. I am an all skirt/ dresses kind of girl and these shorts from Torrid have completely changed my summer aesthetic. I never wear jeans or jean shorts. Being 5’11” and plus size, I’ve never found them to fit right or be comfortable in the slightest. I honestly think the last time I bought a pair of shorts like this was when I was a kid. But I saw these all over the store and decided to just give them a shot. Low and behold- comfortable, cute, and a really nice fit! I’ve bought them in every pattern and color I can and have been rocking them hard ever since I found them! The days of Goodwill cut off shorts are gone! This summer is the summer of fat girls in short shorts!

Note: If you’re gonna buy these, they are true to size even if they feel a little tight at first- they loosen up quite a bit! I’m able to pull mine on and off without even undoing the button after a few wears. They have a lot of stretch in them.

Shorts: Torrid

Top: Thrifted. Similar here.

Sandals: Stein mart believe it or not! Similar here.

Belt: Target

Sunglasses & Necklace: F21

Visibility is a really important thing. Being able to see people who look like you, have the same struggles as you, and who you can connect with and confide in is really empowering. I think this is most important for people who are not usually depicted in the media, or who are, but not a positive manner.

I really want to help change that and create a safe space for those of us who are on a journey to self acceptance and body positivity. So I’m asking you guys to partake in the #loveyourchub hashtag!

Hashtags are a really great way to bridge the gap and to share ourselves with others. I have found myself following, learning, and making friends through social media that I otherwise would of never connected with. There are a few wonderful body positive hashtags and groups but as someone who has dealt with EDs, body dysmorphia, and diets since I was very young- the presence of diet cultures in these groups can be extremely triggering.

Dont get me wrong- I’m not saying that people shouldn’t diet and share it if they so choose, but the spaces without the talk of diets, workout routines and ways to lose weight are few and far between. The entire world talks about dieting all the time, it seems. I think it would be really nice to have a place for different people and different bodies to have a space to talk about other subjects, struggles, goals, victories, and to show their lives without the pressure of diet culture or “being more healthy” weaved in. A place with no mentioned sizes, no numbers on scales, no weighing of food, no hours on the treadmill. Just a place to have a break from that. A place to be able to share and see other bodies like your own. No shoulds, no banishing of fat. Just lots of love and stories about trying to love.

Being body positive, learning to love, or hell, even like yourself is a really hard journey. Let’s create a space that connects us and makes it a tiny bit easier.

Use #loveyourchub on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram! Show us your outfits, your VBOs, your crop tops and fatkinis, your struggles, your frustrations, your new hair, your face, your life, your body, your love. Anything you like that gives you a safe space and a break from diet culture or fat talk. Let’s make this something really amazing!

*Beautiful photo of her bodacious rolls used with consent from Jessica of Tangled Up In Lace*

Outfit of the Day: The Cherries On Top

Hey friends! Hope all of you in the US had a good long weekend! We had a little get together at my mom’s full of family, friends, and wayyy too much food! I wore this little number from my favorite company- Gwynnie Bee. If you haven’t heard, they’re the Netflix of plus size clothing and I am obsessed! They’re still offering a free 30 day risk free trial for my readers, AND if you sign up before the 31st you can win a 2nd free month, too! Just tell them I sent you. :)

Lucky for me, it is finally “just throw on a sundress” weather here! It’s my favorite time of year because it is so easy to look cute. This dress is from SWAK, so it has great fit and is a great cut. As you can tell, I feel really fabulous in it! It’s lightweight and so eye catching, I didn’t need much for it. I wore minimal makeup (what’s up BB cream you’ve changed my life!) with a bright red lip and some red peep toe shoes. The bold print and details made it a really cute outfit without a lot of effort on my part. My favorite kind of low key cute! Although, I do plan on really vamping it up with this dress at a later date to go for the full pin-up look. It’s really perfect either way you decide to wear it. A great piece to add your own personal style to!

Dress: Gwynnie Bee

Shoes: Rack Room

New Hair, New Digs, and Constant New Clothes

Hi loves! Sorry for the hiatus. I’ve been in the midst of moving and finals! AND doing a hair makeover. It’s pretty bright but I think I like it. Whatcha think?

I figured a summer off school (first one in 3 years!) and a new house was a reason to change up my look a bit. Gwynnie Bee has been my go-to for new looks. For a flat price, I can try as many different looks as I want! They have great pieces from Asos, Elloqui, and Sealed With a Kiss! All for the price of one dress. Like whaaa!

This dress is such a pretty print on a great basic cut. When I saw it on GB I knew I had to give it a try! I never had anything from SWAK before. I was really happy with the construction of it, although everything runs a little big. I would definitely size down when ordering it. It’s such a nice length, too. Especially for a tall girl like me! I paired it with my new favorite strappy sandals and pops of pink for more interest.

If you wanna give this dress (and so many more) a shot, you can still get a free risk free 30 day trial with Gwynnie Bee by letting them know I referred you! Help me help you, right? I think you can type it in somewhere when you sign up. I can’t even explain how excited I get when my GB boxes come in. I hope those of you who have tried it are loving it as much as I am! I would love to hear your feedback and see the outfits you’re putting together with GB!

Dress: SWAK via Gwynnie Bee

Belt: Torrid

Shoes: Target

Jewelry: Thrifted

Outfit of the Day: Va Va Voom

I am obsessed with this dress! This is another great piece from Gwynnie Bee! It was something I had been eyeing from Elloqui, but I wasn’t quite ready to commit to the price of it. Luckily, I was able to rent it from Gwynnie Bee along with a few other pieces for the same price of one dress! If you don’t know about Gwynnie Bee yet, check out my original post. They’re the Netflix (or Rent-a-Swag for those of you who are Parks & Recs fans) of plus size clothing. I am obsessed with them!

When I got this dress in the mail, I was ecstatic. The fit is comfortable and has a vintage feel to it. I decided I wanted to pair it with my vintage inspired wedges, extreme cat eye sunglasses and some voluminous hair. A skirt with volume deserves some hair with volume! This is another great example of how horizontal stripes are NOT a no-no. It’s all about the cut of the piece, and this one is great. And it has pockets!!

You guys can still get a free, risk free 30 day trial with Gwynnie Bee by telling them I referred you! So check it out! xoxo

Dress: Gwynnie Bee

Jewelry: various boutiques

Sunglasses: Asos

Shoes: DSW

So those of you who follow my Instagram obviously know that I am super into selfies, right? Not only do I kind of like the way my face or my clothes look sometimes, but I think it’s really important for body positivity and learning to love yourself. I think seeing other girls my size in a celebrated way helped me immensely with my path of body acceptance, so I try to post photos of myself and my outfits often. It’s an awesome way to connect with one another, learn about fashion, and learn how to see the beauty in ourselves the same way we see others.

I just wrote a post about taking pictures of yourself for an app where you do just that- BeauCoo. It is just cranking up, but it’s really cool. It connects you with other women all across the globe who are the same size as you. I’ve been posting my outfits there for awhile now to add some more plus size perspective. You post where your pieces are from and how they fit so other can gauge if it’s something they want to rock, too. Pretty neat, huh? I think it can really open fashion horizons for a lot of us, and maybe get some of you in front of the camera, too!

As I said in my BeauCoo post, “ taking photos of yourself is completely underrated. Photos are extremely powerful, even if they are of something you find lighthearted- like photos of your outfit or your face. Through this medium it is just easier to see yourself in a different light. I know when I have changed my hair, fluctuated in weight, or I’m in a dressing room trying to decide if I like an outfit- taking pictures helps a lot. It’s something that is consistent and tangible. Through photos of myself or the stigmatized “selfies” I am able to gauge in a concrete way not only how I look, but how I feel about how I look. I get to see how I look in real time, but also, I can see how I’ve grown in my style, my size, and my maturity through photographic evidence. This is particularly helpful on those low days when I hate everything in my closet, my hair isn’t right, and I just feel horrible about the way I look. A quick rerun of my photo album not only reminds me of good memories, people, and things, but that I am actually pretty cute sometimes, too. I know it might sound trivial, but ask yourself why. In a world where we are constantly told to make ourselves beautiful- what’s wrong with seeing some of that beauty yourself?”

You can read the rest of my post here.

You can catch up with BeauCoo here.

Outfit of the Day: Mint Perfection.

I told you guys I was obsessed with this color, right? I’ve now bought everything you can in this color (except a belt! Anyone know where I can get a plus size mint belt!?) I’ve been weird about colored skinnies on me, but these were such a find! I usually am not used to it, simply because I’m always in black leggings and jeans when it comes to the pants department. But, like I said, I’m so into this color. I had to give them a shot.

I paired them with the most perfect button down top to ever exist- from Gwynnie Bee. If you missed my previous post, they are the Netflix for plus size clothing, or as many of you fellow Parks and Recs fans have pointed out- Rent-a-Swag. It’s seriously the COOLEST service. I just adore them. You sign up, and can get 1,3,5,7, or 10 items sent to you at a time to try on, wear, and send back whenever you like. I have been loving it and using it to step out of my comfort zone. This top is a shear polkadot button up I took a chance on. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a rad outfit that featured a button down! It’s really hard to find the oversized, sheer, hi-low buttons downs in plus size that give the right look, but this one hit the nail on the head! I’ve been wearing it non-stop!

«So, I highly reccomend trying Gwynnie Bee if you haven’t already. They are definitely expanding my fashion horizons! They have been kind enough to offer my readers a risk free 30 day trial. Click any of the links in this post, and let them know I sent you to get your free trial. I know you will love it as much as I do!

Top: Gwynnie Bee

Pants: Thrifted

Shoes: DSW

Sunnies & Necklace: F21

So the first part of the Spring13 Collection is up on my plus size clothing website, Big Bang Boutique! I’m always trying to push plus size clothing forward, and really listen to what you (and I) want. The collection is full of bright florals, leopard prints, deep and bright colors, hi-low dresses, and tons of mesh paneling! And! Crop tops made for plus size ladies! I’m really happy with all of these pieces and I hope you guys enjoy them, too.

As a thank you for being lovely, amazing readers, use the code FGG10 to get 10% off your entire order. <3

Outfit of the Day: Love & Lace

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day! I got super into this year because it was my first one married. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything cutesy and covered in hearts, bows, and other lovey dovey things. I even liked Valentine’s Day when I was single. I always used it for an excuse to wear something special, buy myself flowers and candy, and go dance or shop. I know it’s a “Hallmark holiday” but I’m pretty sure at this point every holiday is a Hallmark holiday, so why not enjoy it and use it as a celebration of love, you know? Especially self-love and honoring special relationships in your life, be they romantic of not.

This outfit is made of my two favorite colors for spring- pink and mint. I love the color combo and how it looks together. I’m longing for warmer weather, so I’ve been finding myself incorporating Spring colors pretty early in the season. As you can tell from the photos, I felt super beautiful in this look. I squealed when I got this skirt in the mail. It says on the Forever 21 site that it’s a size 20, but it definitely fits like a bigger size. I’ve been finding that the case with most of their skirts. The sizing through them definitely varies! I was also really happy to find black tights that fit me, seeing as how I’m so tall and larger. I’ve been wearing them over and over, but unfortunately they got a run in them rather quick. Guess you can’t expect too much from $6 tights.

Anyways, I wore this for a Valentine’s date day with the hubby. We went to dinner, went shopping, got coffee and dessert, and had people over to the house. It was a pretty perfect day in pretty perfect pink. :)

Belt: Lane Bryant // Shoes: Steve Madden // Purse: Target // Everything else: Forever 21 +

“

The people who get angriest about fat girls looking good and feeling hot are the people who are the most strongly invested in the idea that a person has to be skinny in order to be happy, healthy, and loved.

Very often it’s people just projecting their own body-loathing onto someone else; if you’re truly comfortable and confident in your own skin, it shouldn’t make a difference to you what anyone else is wearing, or how they look. It only affects you if it’s making you question your assumptions, about both other people and about yourself.

”

Lesley Kinzel

(via itgetsfatter)

Have you heard the word about Gwynnie Bee?

Well, if you haven’t, let me tell you about the best secret when it comes to plus size fashion that everyone should know! Simply put, it’s the Netflix for plus size clothing. No joke! When I found out about Gwynnie Bee, I was so excited that something like this finally exists for plus size! I just had to get behind it!

Here’s how it works: You pay a monthly fee, and they will send you either 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 items at a time, depending on how many you decide you would like to receive. The great thing is, just like Netflix, you can send back, receive new items, and keep items for as long as you like. When you’re done, you simply put them in into the pre-paid shipping they send you with your package, let them know that you’re sending it back, and they will promptly send you something new! There’s no late fees and shipping is free both ways, so all you’re worrying about is rocking some seriously killer looks.

What is also really fun is the virtual closet. Once you start your subscription with Gwynnie Bee, you can browse through all their designers and great items, and add them to your virtual closet. You can browse by size, which really helped me step out of my comfort zone and look at things I usually wouldn’t. The truly great thing about Gwynnie Bee, and why I’m gushing about them is this very reason- You get to try before you buy. This peplum top I am wearing, I would of never ordered that online for fear of how it would fit. But I got it from Gwynnie Bee, because I knew if it didn’t work, I could send it right back for something else I’ll love. So it is a huge tool for expanding my fashion horizons. Not only that, but I know a lot of people who don’t like trying stuff on in the stores. With Gwynnie Bee, you can try on in the comfort of your home and decide what you like. It’s seriously clothing without the commitment! Another reason I am so behind this innovative idea is, I’m a college student. As much as I drool over Asos, Elloqui, Evans, and other higher end plus size pieces, I really cannot afford them. With this service however, I’m looking more fabulous than ever! For what I would pay for one piece usually, I’m sampling tons of them! How awesome is that?! Gwynnie Bee is for any fashion girl on a budget.

And just look at how cute the packaging is! Everything, from the clothes, the direction, the cards- everything with Gwynnie Bee is handled with love and care. I really admire that in a company. Receiving this little white box in the mail is seriously fashion heaven!

If you’d like your own little boxes of fashion heaven, Gwynnie Bee has been so kind as to offer my readers a free 30 day trial of either the 1, 2, or 3 item at a time plans. (No, like seriously free. No risk or commitment.) Mention that Brittany of The Fat Girl’s Guide sent you to get the free trial! I hope you all love it as much as I do!

Top: Asos c/o Gwynnie Bee // Leggings & Belt: Lane Bryant // Shoes: Forever 21 // Necklace: Brighton // Bangles: Betsey Johnson // Sunglasses: Charming Charlie’s

Down the Aisle: What to do when you friends don’t like dancing.

I, for one, love to dance! My husband, and a lot of our other friends on the other hand, do not. One of my worries about our reception was that the last thing I wanted was for people to be sitting around bored. I love to throw parties and really pride myself on making sure everyone has a good time. I knew a lot of our friends and family were not dancers. (Well, maybe some times with a few drinks.) We had a small dance floor outside, and lots of other things for people to do!

We set up a photo booth ourselves, with lots of props and costumes to go with it, along with a zombie bride and groom couple to pose with. It was a big hit!
One of the sellers of our venue (which was a restaurant and brewery) was that it came with beer pong tables! I cannot even describe how relieved some of our guy friends were to have something social and normal to do at a more “formal” event.
Corn hole. Same vein as beer pong. People loved having different areas and stations of the venue to play around and mingle in a relaxed, fun environment.
When all else fails, set things on fire. This was not only SOO much fun, but it made for truly beautiful pictures. We got sparklers for our grand exit. We exited to “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles. Yet somehow we ended up stopped at the end of the sidewalk arm in arm with everyone singing as loud as we could with sparklers in our hands. It was one of the best moments of my life!
We ordered the chinese lanterns as well. Everyone wrote their wishes for us on them and we lit them to fly! They were actually hard to get going, and I was slightly terrified we were going to set the building on fire, but all in all, it ended up looking really beautiful and was very exciting for our guests!

We were lucky we found a venue that allowed us to cater the wedding to our laid back party style, and I wouldn’t of had it any other way. I think having little things for everyone to do besides dance makes a huge difference. I know we all had a fantastic time!

Down the Aisle: Wedding Decor

While planning my wedding, I was a mad pinner. I probably pinned over a thousands things to my wedding ideas throughout the several months of planning. There were SO many great ideas and DIY things to do that I wanted to incorporate into my wedding while still keeping it special and personal. I knew from the beginning what my vision was- Halloween Chic/Masquerade Ball/Fall/New Orleans. We combined it all with the theme of “French Quarter in the Fall.”

A lot of my DIY things were documented on my Instagram throughout the weeks leading up to the wedding. A few of them are the Mr. &Mrs. pumpkins I painted, the 20 hand carved pumpkins a bunch of my friends lovingly helped with for a few beers and company, my photobooth, the entire candy bar, glitter skulls, the painted guest book tree, and the white ash tray pumpkin centerpieces. (A lot of our friends smoke and we needed something cute. Ta-da!) There were a few more not pictured as well, such as home made candy apples, mummy wrapped candy bars, and cotton candy martinis.

Our venue for the reception was initially a bare room with pipes sticking out of the floor. With the help of my amazing florist turned day-of wedding planner, she got them to repaint, hang the lights, and put together my vision perfectly. Full of skulls, pumpkins, and masks with a chic, romantic feel. I am still so in love with how everything came out!

Down the Aisle: Wedding Party

People usually complain about dressing their wedding party, and a lot of people dread being in one. I don’t know if we just have truly fabulous and easy-going friends, or if we just were so laid back about everything- but this part was an absolute breeze for us!

The most important thing for me was that everyone was comfortable and felt awesome in what they were wearing. The guys were easy- they brought comfortable shoes and the tuxes looked great even without all the pieces on. My husband decided to keep it simple. I was honestly a little worried about letting him handle this himself, but everyone looked amazing! I was particularly worried about his grey suit, but honestly, he had no say in what my girls or what I wore, so why would I have that control over him? It made no sense. I wanted him to be in what he loved and wanted just as much as I wanted that for myself and everyone else. And look- I had nothing to worry about!

My girls, I really kept the same idea. All of my girls are different shapes and sizes, and they’re all completely different and have distinct styles. Why the hell would I put them in the SAME dress? That just seemed cruel to me. So I told them- 2 of you get a red dress, 2 of you get a black dress, make sure its knee-length. And that was it. Those were my guidelines. I never understood the drone look. I wanted my girls to feel comfortable and beautiful, too. I wanted them to get a dress that they could wear again if they wanted. They kept waiting for me to boss them around or tell them what to wear, and seemed shocked when I didn’t. (What’s up with that, Bridal Industry!?) The most important thing to me was that everyone could afford to be in the wedding party, which is why I went with Alfred Angelo. Not only did they have cute, well made dresses in lots of different colors and cuts, but they had variance in pricing for every budget. Plus, they’re all over the US so my girl out in LA could get her dress just as easy as my friends in Atlanta.

Seeing them all together on that day was so perfect and amazing. I was so happy how it worked out that everyone had pops of red on their black dresses and pops of black on their red dresses. They did such a good job!! I really think in the end, people want to make you happy on your wedding day, and they want to look great not only for themselves, but for you, too. And that’s what it’s really all about- those friends and family who have been there through thick and thin. Those people who love you and support your love and life. What their wearing doesn’t really matter- but I feel like that disappears much easier if you let it go and trust that your loved ones are just that awesome.

Bridal party & wedding dress: Alfred Angelo

Groom and groomsmen: Savvi Formalwear

Photos courtesy of Abbi Conroy

Outfit Down the Aisle

Welcome to bride week on the blog! My professional wedding photos are finally here, and I am so excited to share them with you. This week we will have outfits, bridesmaids and groomsmen style, and reception decor. I also want to touch on a lot of issues with the wedding industry, being a fat bride, DIY, when to stop looking on Pinterest, anxiety, offbeat weddings, and trying to keep a low budget, your sanity, and your vision of your special day in tact. So look forward to that!

Now- the dress. I think picking out my wedding dress was one of the hardest parts of the entire wedding for me. I love fashion, and I love wearing so many different things. Yet this article of clothing was, well, permanent. You only get one dress to get married in. That was heavy for me! I thought it was really important. I knew looking back at pictures that I wanted to truly love what I was wearing for the rest of my life. Luckily, I accomplished it. But it was the 3rd dress I purchased.

I went to David’s Bridal first. I don’t know if that’s typical everywhere, but where I live it is. Either way, it can be a good place to get your feet wet and explore everything wedding. Unfortunately, it may completely turn you off to the whole thing. When I went to DB, I got help from a girl who was about my size. I thought maybe this would make some difference in my experience, but it really didn’t. The people there work on commission and it shows. I got bullied into a dress I hated by the people at DB and my mother (who meant well, but looking back it kind of hurts my heart a little.) Not only was I told by several people that DB was the only place I would be able to find a plus size wedding dress, but because I am 5’11”, I was also told it was the only place I would find stuff long enough. NOT TRUE AT ALL. I wish when I got engaged that there had been shows like Say Yes to the Dress Big Bliss and Four Weddings. Those, along with Offbeatbride.com completely changed my entire view on weddings. Before that, the big white wedding day was giving me crippling anxiety attacks. Thank God for those wonderful people of the world and corners of the internet that remind you it’s best to always do you!

I remember buying that DB dress out of desperation. I remember no one crying or saying what a beautiful bride I would be. All I remember is frustration and lots of bridesmaids dresses with wonky zippers that we all had to fight to get our money back on. I remember being told there were no other choices and feeling like I hated my body and needed to lose weight so maybe I could do something with this sack of white satin and beads. Not exactly the experience I was hoping for.

Months down the road after lots of wedding porn on Offbeatbride and Pinterest, I decided there was no way in hell I could wear that gross thing on my special princessy day of love. No way. So I ordered a knock off dress from China for $150 with my exact measurements. It was tea length and precious online. Minus the weird raw edges and cheaper material, it was actually really cute when it came in! But there were all these weird round circles on it that were supposed to be soft vintage polkadots around the waist. I tried to make it work but it was starting to feel like I was never going to get “that feeling” about a dress. Which seemed so tragic to me because I love clothes so much.

Enter- Alfred Angelo. There was one across the street from my mom’s work and I dragged my fiance in there just for fun. They were so helpful and fit me in on a moment’s notice. I tried on a bunch of dresses that were long enough, fit me, and were simply beautiful and not over priced. Holy moly! I found this dress and I felt like an angel. I felt so beautiful and perfect. My size didn’t matter. My height didn’t matter. None of it did. I felt gorgeous. I brought my mom back the next day to show her a few dresses. I put this one on and she cried (which is a big deal for my very stoic mother.) I knew it was the one.

So, long story short- wait until you get “the feeling.” Try on so many different styles. I never thought this would be THE dress for me until I put it on. Do not settle. Do not let anyone talk you into something you do not want or doesn’t feel quite right.Don’t let people talk you out of budget. Don’t work with people who make you feel crappy about your body and like you have to settle on something that just fits you. There are so many options out there and you deserve to feel the most gorgeous you have ever felt on your special day. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Dress, Hairpiece, & Viel: Alfred Angelo

Shoes: Etsy

Garter: Etsy

Bracelets & Earrings: Macy’s

(Photos courtesy of Abbi Conroy. Make-up by Thomasina Moyer)