My First (Plus Size) Cosplay Experience

I attended my first Comic Con back in 2011 with a friend. While my friend burst into the Con scene in full Star Wars Imperial Officer regalia, I, on the other hand went with a Sailor Moon t-shirt I purchased the week before, worn under a black quarter-sleeved, knee length hoodie. (This was back in the day when I was still uncomfortable being in heavily populated social situations and always wanted to be covered.) Prior to this I had known about cosplay*, having seen examples on Tumblr but it was a whole other thing seeing it in person. I was in awe at the things people had managed to recreate and I was jealous of my friend for not only did he have the means to own such a detailed cosplay, but the ability to wear it as well. Continue reading

Commanding Attention

While it took me a while to actually enjoy fashion, I will admit that I always had a thing for historical costume, particularly those of the 18th century and the regency. Its no secret that I love history.  It’s been my favorite subject since the first grade when I first learned about Elizabeth I and today I am a proud historian who does research via study of symbols/iconography and material culture. Part of that love has also lead to me incorporating a couple of history inspired pieces into my wardrobe with things like velvet ribbons, cameo brooches, lace gloves, parasols and my most prized possession – a military zip jacket. To date this is one of those pieces in my wardrobe that rarely makes an appearance save for special occasions like the start of fall.  With its gold-crested button front, mandarin collar and  curved seams, it turned out to be one of the best accompaniments for my new retro dress. Continue reading

My Two Cents: 3 Things I’d Like to See At Plus Size Fashion Events

I am not one to pretend that I know everything about fashion or the fashion industry. I really have more opinions and critiques about it than actual knowledge of what goes into creating pieces and promotional events. That said, I do think that it is worth analyzing what gets presented to us, especially since I’ve noticed that they tend to be severely lacking. Just last week I attended the Modamix and Addition Elle fashion event at Lord & Taylor in the city and while it was great seeing pieces first hand, styled by the very person who designed them, it left much to be desired. The murmurs that I heard from where I stood assures me that I wasn’t the only one that expected a little more. With that in mind here are just three things that I’d like to see happen at these kinds of events: Continue reading

Think Pink – Shopping For a Cause

We’ve finally made it to October which means sweater weather, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, New York Comic Con and, of course, Halloween. Yet there is one more significant thing  that occurs this month that is sometimes ignored during the rest of the year, that is breast cancer awareness.

The great thing is there are ways to help even if you can’t do so personally by volunteering  and do it in style. So if you believe that this is an important cause that needs to be spread, consider representing and supporting by purchasing and wearing something pink this month. I did some searching and found some great affordable “pink power” selections for the office, casual Sundays and even for those weekly workouts, all of which donates a  percentage of the retail prices towards the various nonprofit organizations and their work. Continue reading

My Bare Arms Summer

Ever since I was a tween,  my biggest insecurity were the appearance of my arms. They are big, covered with stretch marks, and scars– things that I believed absolutely had to be covered. This insecurity would effect me most once it started to get warmer. For me this usually meant that sleeves (not short sleeves, mind you) and sweaters made up most of my daily summer wardrobe, even in 100 degree NYC humidity. While other girls and young women would wear their tanks and spaghetti-strapped summer dresses, I wore thick hoodies (sometimes over long sleeves).

This continued on as I have  entered adulthood. Even with the scorching  sun outside, I would stay covered, replacing my adolescent hoodies for shrugs, cardigans and blazers.(It should come as no surprise that I usually spend the summer indoors.)  I truly believed that as big as I was, I had no right to show off my arms. Nevermind that the various types of cover-ups didn’t make my arms disappear from existence or give them a slimmer appearance.  This all changed mid- May in a Target fitting room. As I stood there looking at my reflection in the mirror, I just could not figure out how to wear the Lilly Pulitzer Sea-Urchin-for -You Satin Florence dress  with a shrug and  retain the overall silhouette of the dress. That’s when it hit me, why did I have to? It was then that I decided to stop hiding my arms and embrace them as they are. Continue reading