Back in Black (Faux Leather)

Fall has gotten quite a bit of a slow start this year in New York, and so I’ve been forced to wait longer than usual before I finally break out my favorite season staples. I will admit that I do enjoy the challenge of styling summer into fall, though the anticipation for crisp fall weather has me feeling antsy.

This weekend I finally got my wish as the temperatures dipped closer to the seasonal norm, allowing me to finally break out the newest addition to my leather jacket collection along with sweater from my Cider haul from last fall and some new jeans that I bought in the most unlikely of places.

Continue reading

5 Tips for Thrifting While Plus

I’ll be honest, I haven’t done much thrifting as an adult compared to when I was a child and teen. Back then it was more or less a necessity due to the fact that my family couldn’t afford much so we had to make the best of what we could find in thrift stores. Once I got older and I started working, I made a point to start shopping in stores that I previously couldn’t afford now that I had “adult money” to do so.

Fast forward to 2023, thrifting has become as much if not more expensive as shopping mainstream brands. Couple that with the fact that there are so many people intentionally looking for items in plus sizes to repurpose the fabric as they design something smaller. That was my long winded way of saying that I’ve been avoiding it, but I have friends who have taken to “shopping green” whom have made a point to pull me away from mainstream/fast fashion so I’ve  started to join them in their adventures these last  couple of years. That said, here are 5 things that I’ve learned as I’ve started to thrift again.

1.Don’t be afraid to look

Even though I am on the lower end of the plus size spectrum in terms of size, I have this habit of avoiding places that don’t outright sell plus sizes.  As an “old fat”  (someone who has been plus size her whole life) I still carry the trauma of crying in fitting rooms during shopping trips with my mother because I couldn’t find things that fit me, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise I make an effort to avoid going through those same emotions even today. Continue reading

Academia Autumn Romance

Be it Dark or Light, the Academia Aesthetic is one with features that stem from others such as goth, prep and even J-style including Lolita from Japan. It is one that I’ve found fascinating for years to the point that I’ve created whole Pinterest boards dedicated to it. And every year around this time those boards just get revisited more often than usual. Part of this is due to the fact that here is just something about autumn that screams academia style to me.  Just like this printed skirt from A.Gato Designs that I purchased over the summer.

The main reason that I look forward to shopping the A.Gato Designs booth whenever I’m at BlerDCon is because the items are designed to fit a wide range of body types and sizes (XS-6XL). Over the last few years I was always too late to get something in my own size but luckily that wasn’t the case this year as I made a point to make this booth my first stop once the show floor opened on the first day of BlerDCon. The print and the color combination was the inspiration I needed for what I consider my first official Light Academia/Lolita outfit.

As you can expect, this skirt has become my favorite piece for the fall an this overall look may end up being what I wear this year for Thanksgiving, which may make me overdressed for the occasion. But I mean with an outfit like this you get a chance to lose yourself in a fantasy through style, and sometimes you need that when you gather with family in one place.

Continue reading

Sea Witch Summer

Considering how hot it has been in New York these last couple of weeks, I wonder why people find it weird whenever I mention that I find summer to be miserable.  Even so I’ve taken it as a personal challenge over the last 4 years to embrace the season as much as I can. Well, at least beyond the one thing I do enjoy which is time at the beach or pool.

For me this has translated to building out a warm weather wardrobe with pieces that are comfortable to wear that also fit into my personal style as much as possible. Seldom do those  ever meet  and if they do it is rarely in my size or my budget, so you already know that this has been a process. Thankfully I am now in a position financially that allows me to (sometimes) shop outside the usual plus size retailers, in favor of other small businesses like Cosmic Drifters.

Cosmic Drifters is a UK-based brand that I have been low-key stalking on Instagram for a while now. They are one of the few witchy-aesthetic brands that I’ve found to be fairly inclusive across all of their products.  I don’t believe that I ever mentioned this here but I did decide to treat myself a bit this year for my birthday, with this skirt being one of the bigger purchases. I ordered it back in May and I spared no time in styling it as soon as I received it this month.

Continue reading

Hopeless Romantic/HeartKiller (Part 2)

So we made it to the final installment of this Valentine’s Day mini-series – the Galentine’s Day Fun Edition! Just like last time I styled two looks with different aesthetics that fit the holiday theme, one sweet and one not so much.

To quote the beloved Parks and Rec character, Leslie Knope, Galentine’s Day (February 13th) is all about “ladies celebrating ladies.” Though its popularity has grown in part by the power of the internet, I truly appreciate having a day set aside for me to shower love on my friends and other women who mean the world to me, like my mother.

Continue reading