Fat Fashion

This is your semi-regular thread in which fat women can share pix, make recommendations for clothes they love, ask questions of other fat women about where to locate certain plus-size items, share info about sales, talk about what jeans cut at what retailer best fits their body shapes, discuss how to accessorize neutral colored suits, share stories of going bare-armed for the first time, brag about a cool fashion moment, whatever.


Gussied up for a wedding last weekend. Dress by ModCloth. Shoes by Franco Sarto.
Cardi by (I think?) Jessica London. Pearl necklace purchased from Etsy.
I wish my cardigan wasn't so disheveled in this photo, but whatever! You get the gist.

For a really long time, I found it incredibly difficult to find cute, summery, mid-fancy dresses to wear to events like daytime weddings. And it's still not super easy, although being able to shop online and increasing numbers of retailers who carry plus-size lines has helped a lot.

ModCloth presented me with a few decent options, and I was lucky to have a ModCloth gift certificate given to me for my birthday by my wonderful friend Miller, so I used part of it to buy the dress in this picture. Which is only $55. A pretty good price for something I'll be able to wear to multiple events.

The cardigan, shoes, and necklace I've all had for years. When I was choosing a dress, I definitely tried to find something that would work and look cute with stuff I already had. I've also got a long-sleeved rust cardigan that can be paired with this dress in cooler weather, and it's sleeveless for middle-of-summer weather.

The thing about having something to wear is that it makes getting dressed up for a special occasion so much less stressful. I used to dread dressing for special occasions, because I didn't know how to dress my body, and I couldn't have found appropriate clothes I liked even if I did.

Feeling better about myself and finally having access to a wider spectrum of options makes dressing up fun, which is something I never would have imagined I'd experience.

And it's a self-reinforcing loop: Having special clothes I like makes me feel good, and feeling good makes me want to wear special clothes I like.

Really, years ago, I never could have imagined that I'd ever feel any other way than, "Welp, this black sack is all I can find, so I'll wear this black sack, and then I'll feel miserable in my black sack." It's kind of amazing.

Anyway! As always, this is a general thread for fat fashion, but, if you need a topic: Do you have a go-to dress for daytime weddings and/or similar events? Are you in desperate need of one? Do you eschew dresses altogether? Do you love getting dressed up for special occasions, or dread it?

Have at it in comments! Please remember to make fat women of all sizes, especially women who find themselves regularly sizing out of standard plus-size lines, welcome in this conversation, and pass no judgment on fat women who want to and/or feel obliged, for any reason, to conform to beauty standards. And please make sure if you're soliciting advice, you make it clear you're seeking suggestions—and please be considerate not to offer unsolicited advice. Sometimes people just need to complain and want solidarity, not solutions.