Tag: Small business

My Little Black Sustainable Dress

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When it comes to sustainable fashion, plus size options are definitely hard to come by. Especially affordable plus size sustainable fashion. Until very recently it wasn’t an option for me simply because I was priced out given my limited budget. Even still, I do my best to be as sustainable as I can with my fashion choices – going so far as making sure to donate as many pieces as possible when clearing out my closet twice a year as well as repeating and remixing outfits which with this new digital age in which everything is documented on social media, is a big “no no.”

The one thing I will admit to being difficult is keeping away from fast fashion. For one thing, companies like SHEIN have managed to give plus size people more style options than any other brand I can think of. From sexier silhouettes to simply replicating straight size options in larger sizes (without additional embellishments like sequins) which many of us have been asking for the longest time, and all at a lower price that makes it obtainable for those of use looking for more affordable plus size clothing options. Continue reading →

Disney Fangirl Fashion feat. Little Petal

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Being plus size and a huge Disney, Harry Potter, Anime, J-rock, and Marvel fangirl is really not easy. For one thing, when it comes to shopping for geek/nerdy tees, and cosplay apparel it is rare to find pieces in sizes larger than an XL for women.  Then there is the expectation that one should only choose characters that are of your same race. As I mentioned before in an earlier post,  cosplaying is often seen as something that should only be done by those that “can truly emulate a character as depicted in comics, film and video games.” This obviously leaves people of color as well as plus size women like myself out or at risk of getting highly criticized by the geek community.

For this reason, when it came time to order my  Little Petal convertible dress, I had originally chose the Korra dress because I figured that that was a character I could get away with cosplaying, but when I started communicating with designer, Danielle Ward I changed my mind.  As a body positive designer and business owner, she doesn’t believe in things like size limiting who you can dress up as, rather you should think of who you see yourself as. For me that made the decision easy – Esmeralda from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

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Q&A with Body Positive, Comic Book Convertible Dress Designer, Danielle Ward of Little Petal

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New York Comic Con 2014. I was determined to be one of the first people to get this limited edition Sailor Moon t-shirt that had been announced by Viz Media on Twitter a few days before. During my more than two hour wait in line for the con to officially open,  I decided to put on some lip stick and I was approached by this beautiful young woman who asked to use my compact to touch up her make up. We talked about make up, the con and of course her cosplay. She was wearing this interesting dress which she changed three times while we were on line.  Later that same day as I walked the show-floor I bumped into this young woman again at a booth covered with pictures of women in dresses like the one she was wearing and she introduced me to the designer, Danielle Ward. Owner of Little Petal, she designs and creates custom convertible dresses that are comfy and sophisticated.  These dresses are unique recreations of characters from comics, manga, anime, film and even video games.  As someone who, at the time, hadn’t cosplayed but wanted to, I was stunned by the concept. One dress, multiple styles. I put down my deposit immediately. Danielle is so amazingly creative and talented that I just had to find out more about her.

Check out my talk with Danielle below!

Disclaimer: Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

leannaandme

Leanna (Little Petal’s Webmaster) and Danielle at Megacon.

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