Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Etsy shop update - black woolen pleated skirt


Today I added this beauty to my etsy shop! Just a reminder, blog readers get 15% off items in my etsy shop. Please convo me before ordering and I will apply the discount!

I've got a few great calf-length skirts right now, one that's a 5x, so if you are in the market for a longer skirt, come check them out!

I also wanted to thank everyone for the awesome comments and engagement lately - on my 6 Questions post and my trends that don't work post. It's been great to read all of your comments and I enjoy interacting with all of you so much!

For more insightful responses to the 6 Questions, head over to my favoUrite Monkey as well as Rachele at Nearsighted Owl (*she also made a fabulous banner to use if you decide to answer the questions yourself!*).

It's great to have so many friends! I *heart* my commenters!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Round peg, square hole: fashion/beauty trends that don't work for me

So at this here blog I am all about unlimiting myself, and I really do hate it when people say "oh, that? That doesn't work for me." because I really think everyone should try new things and get outside of their fashion/beauty comfort zones.

That said, there are a handful of things that really don't work for me.

Makeup.

Used to be that my youthful skin was glowing and I just looked effortlessly awesome. I would say "I never wear makeup!" and the response was automatic and unanimous: "Your skin looks amazing! If I had skin like yours I wouldn't wear makeup either!". That all changed with one somewhat bitchy comment by an Ulta store employee. Now I think I look old and haggard. But I still won't wear makeup. It makes me itch and break out and yes I've tried lots of different kinds and honestly? I'm just not that interested in it for me.

Heels higher than 2.5 inches.

I try, I really do. I buy heels. They languish in my IKEA hanging fabric shoe racks, the fabric bulging and bowing under the weight of so many different sorties into the field of heels. I think heels look awesome! I want to look awesome in heels! The best I can manage is slightly awkward. I just can't walk in them.

Sweating.

Ok, I know that's not a fashion/beauty trend, but I felt like I needed 3 things to make this a worthwhile list, and I REALLY hate sweating.

What about you, dear readers? Are there any things you've tried, or have seen on other and want to try, but feel like it doesn't/wouldn't work for you? Do tell!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

6 questions to ask yourself about body image

I came across this article a few weeks ago and it really challenged me. Basically, it's 6 questions to ask yourself about your body image, and I had an amazingly difficult time filling them out. I wanted to share my answers and perhaps get a little blog-chain going, so if you feel inclined, perhaps answer them as well and post about it? Definitely let me know in the comments if you do!


(pensive blogger is pensive)

1) What’s a simple activity that consistently contributes to your positive body image?
Having sexytimes with my husband. Also, secondarily, clean laundry.

2) What’s something you know now about body image that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
I don't need to be thin or thinner or different in any way to enjoy the way I look, or for others to think I look awesome. Also, being fat won't keep me from getting married. I am lovable just as I am!

3) Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your body image?
Lack of contentment. Comparison with others. Wanting more than I have or different than I have. Tweaking.

4) Is there a body image mantra or motto (or any kind really) that you’ve found very helpful?
I'm not fooling anyone that I'm anything other than fat, so why dress to minimize? Dress to look awesome, not thin. I think I heard this first from Xtina, but my memory could be incorrect.

5) Have you always felt about the same level of body image, or have you been through a period when you felt exceptionally better about your body and yourself as a whole – if so, why? If you were unhappy with your body or yourself, how did you become happier?
When I first discovered Fat Acceptance via the fatshionista flickr group and fatshionista.livejournal.com, it changed me by changing the way I see myself. I saw all these beautiful and confident and stylish women being daring and edgy and out there and realized that I didn't have to hide or apologize for being fat. That being fat and enjoying the way my body looks was an option for me, the two were not mutually exclusive. This opened up a world for me of questioning diet culture and the guilt put on women and men to conform to a thinness and beauty ideal. I could go on and on.

Lately, perhaps over the past year, I have been feeling back down in the dumps about my appearance, and I'm not sure why. I think part of it was declaring to friends and family that I did feel confident, and also starting to plan for my fashion consulting business, made me feel vulnerable in some ways. I've also gained some weight and changed shape quite a bit over the past year, which has left me outgrowing some of my favorite clothes and also wondering how to dress my new body shape.

6) Have you ever been surprised that something you expected would make you feel better about yourself, didn’t – or vice versa?
I am continually surprised - like, to the point of 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results' - that buying new clothes doesn't make me happier or make me feel better about myself. I think I still subscribe to the notion that just a little tweak, a new dress, a different silhouette, will change things for me. It doesn't, and it never has, and it won't.

What about you, dear readers? Care to answer the 6 questions?

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A scarf! For free!

Before we get to the real point of this post, I wanted to point out that I had my eye on the (now sold out) Beth Ditto oversize/batwing jersey dress from Evans for awhile. And then it was on clearance for 10 pounds! So here it is, on my body.

It's also a very good dress for bowling - it cuts a dramatic silhouette against the still-standing-10-pins since I'm terrible at bowling.


And now the point:

You may be asking "where did Rebecca get that effing awesome scarf?

Well, I'll tell you - I won it for free during a blog giveaway over at Mamushka Marie (who is just a doll, you really must check out her blog, I just love her style!). The scarf was made by Rachael and is from her etsy shop Softspoken. The scarf is vegan - aka, not wool - which thrilled me to no end since I am allergic to wool. Her shop is chock full of amazing knitted and crocheted goodies that are styled super well and, in my opinion as someone who has crocheted scarves as gifts, very reasonably priced.

Additional awesomeness:
Rachael also sent me a hat, even though it wasn't part of the giveaway, just because she is so nice and awesome!

Even better, the hat fit my really huge head, which no hats ever fit.




Thus, I am declaring 2011 "The Year Of The Hat" here at large people HQ.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The awesome cape of awesome

A few months back I acquired an amazing green wool cape from Fat Fancy in Portland.



It was one of those moments, haven't we all had them, when time stands still and that perfect garment just leaps off the rack into your trembling arms?

Ok, it wasn't really like that.

Actually, Fat Fancy was super crowded on that Saturday afternoon and there was a little toddler girl running around putting mashed-up-slobbery-cookie all over everything, my husband included, so it was kind of a "hurry up and shop to get out of this madness" type of sitch. But, the green cape found its way into my hands and I purchased it and now it is mine as surely as that soggy cookie was the toddler's.



It's such an amazing green, and I love the arm flaps!


Bob says "do something funny" and, umm, elevator hitchhiking was the first thing that came to mind? Weird, I know.



I'm a dork. In the best possible way. And the cape trend that I was so eager to partake in since I made my very first floor-length cloak while I was in college so I could go to the SCA meetings and feel like I fit in? This is just a natural continuation.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Asos peter pan dress

I was lucky enough to snag this dress in black before it sold out, and I'm so glad I did. This is not an intentionally gloaty post, really, I just super, super love this dress, and I'm bummed that they didn't make more of them so more lovely fats could enjoy it.



Here I paired it with a petticoat and my favorite tweed peep toes. The watch necklace was a gift from my husband's family, it was his grandmother's and I have been wearing it a lot - it goes with so much, plus it was such a meaningful gift. I feel closer to his family when I wear it.



I did my hair in a modified version of Syd's messy bun. I think she is adorable. My hair wasn't long enough, so I divided it into two ponytails and teased them both, then wrapped them around each other.



This past week was full of working a lot and being stressed, which explains the lack of blog posts and also the lack of commenting on all of your lovely blogs. I will catch up!

In the meantime, I leave you with this, which was my #1 tumblr favorite of all time (thanks nly!):

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