Plus Size Fashion: Where Do We Go and Fit in Society

Personally, I fit in the higher sizes in some mall stores but do not quite fit in the plus size stores. Fashion is what it is no matter the size, just as long as you can wear it with confidence. You knowing that you look great will show the world that you look amazing. At my waist I can fit in a 16 or 18 at Lane Bryant, but the chest area and pant legs constantly sag. When I go to the mall stores they either do not have my size or the hems are extremely short, which is why I frequent New York & Co, Loft, Gap, and Old Navy.

I interviewed my sister, who has killer style by the way, to share her experiences and where she frequents to buy her clothing. When we lived at home we always asked each other outfit opinions, it was like having your personal stylist. Please share some feedback below if you have any questions for her or myself. Keep comments clean please. This is an open forum to discuss the obstacles women go through for clothing in general. Click links to websites throughout the post. You can also follow my sister on Instagram under  hellomonroe210.

What inspires your outfits?

    I really do not have a main inspiration for my outfits. I honestly want to be comfortable, well put together, and experience a sense of happiness through my outfit. I believe there are many factors that influence your choice of outfits. Your clothes may reflect the way you're feeling that given day, you maybe more laid back depending on the amount of time you had to get ready in the morning, as well as have much are money you are willing to spend. My main focus is to inspire women of all shapes and sizes to realize that they are beautiful in there own way. I completely understand that being plus size in a "modern world" is not by any means easy, especially when it comes to trying to be a fashionista.

Where do you frequently shop?

    I honestly shop anywhere I am presented with the opportunity to do so. I have become aware of the fact that there are not many plus size stores available to the plus size women. My experiences while shopping are not as enjoyable as I would like them to be because there are only 1 or 2 stores in the entire shopping mall that have a section for us full figured women. Even though some places offer a plus size section in their stores, these items are either: out of style, not true to size, over-priced, or are meant to appeal to an older population. I am going to be honest and say that the struggle is real ladies! Hopefully by reading this blog I can make your shopping experiences a little easier.

    I shop at Forever21+, Lane Bryant, H&M+, Wet Seal+, Fashion To Figure, Ross, T.J. Maxx, ASOS.com, Kmart, Burlington Coat Factory, and some others I can not remember, like I stated before my shopping experiences are very random. Most of these retailers do not have stores available if there are not any near your home, so just keep in mind the size chart. They are very helpful. I personally seem to find Lane Bryant as having the most accurate fit. Anything that I buy there whether I try it on or order online always fixes like a glove. The fabrics they have for their clothing is ideal for the full figured body, not too loose or too tight. They are stylish and with the coupons they have available, quite affordable. 

Rosany Note: How awesome is the ASOS.com Runway feature?! You can truly see the fit and how the fabrics move before you order something. 

Favorite accessory?

    Lately I have been into watches. I have no idea why, but for the pass 2 years I've worn them with almost every outfit. I believe that watches are a art piece, a statement piece, and reflects your personality. I am more of a bold, in your face type person when it comes to watches but I keep it classy by trying to not overwhelm my accessories with my outfit. I also find watches to be more polite when speaking to people. The reason I say this is because I tend to run into people on campus and I am often running to meetings or class and instead of having to look at my phone to know what time it is I can nonchalantly look at wrist without being rude. I am not a huge person of depending on my phone for everything. Also, watches can be a great conversion starter, believe it or not.

Your daily must have item?

    My daily must have items are; my glasses (or else I can not see), earrings, a watch, tinted lipstick (Baby Lips is my favorite), and at times a necklace. Without one of these items I feel like something is missing.

Your dream splurge item?

    My dream splurge item would be plus size riding boots. It look me 2 years to find a pair that actually fix my extremely wide calves. (I bought 2 pairs at Lane Bryant). They are usually very expensive! But for some reason no matter how bad I want to have a pair I can not find it in my heart to buy them, especially being a college student! Another dream splurge item would be a perfect swimsuit. I still have not found my dream swimsuit but the ones that I have found are $150+.

How do you feel plus size women are perceived in society and in fashion?

    To be honest I get this question quite frequently. I am not sure why, but I am guessing it is the because of my sense of fashion. Some people consider me as a fashionista, I just consider myself as a well dressed young woman. I take anything positive as a compliment. As to the question stated above, I do not approve by any means of the perception of how plus size women or any women is perceived in the society or in the fashion industry. But since this is a plus size blog I will express my concerns/view points of the perception of plus size women, just note that I do not like that the labels of; plus size, skinny, average, what do these labels even mean? It is extremely frustrating dealing with the amounts of labels we are already given by society and adding more to the list is just overwhelming. The last time I checked We Are All Women and we should learn to love ourselves without being compared to any label. The fact that I have to correct people when they state that "I am very pretty for a big girl" is so annoying. Thank for your sort of compliment but I would prefer a simple, "you are every pretty". There is also a misunderstanding that all "big girls" smell. This is NOT true by any means. Every person has their own type of odor whether it is good or bad. But thanks to this stigma I make sure I put extra perfume. It is sad, but true. Going back to the fashion industry there are stores who have stated that they do not make their clothing available past a certain size because they do not want their brand to look bad. The last time I checked the size of the clothing has nothing to do with it looking right or wrong on the person, it is more how it is put together. But I believe that having their clothes look bad is the least of these companies worries. They should invest some time and money in learning to speak and learn some morals. I could go on forever on this topic but one last thing that I would like to state is that I do not understand why the plus size and the I guess "regular" sizes are divided within the same store? Usually the plus size is in a small corner of a store, sometimes mixed in with the maternity section, while the rest of store is label "teen", "junior", "misses", or "women". I can not wrap my head around this idea. Last time I checked I am all the above, but I am still forced to shop in a corner with obviously less choices in clothing.

Words of Advice:

    The world can be a cruel world, only if you let it be. Teach yourself, your children, family members, and even society the value of self-worth, morals, and appreciation of what they consider to be imperfections. Those "imperfections" are what makes them uniquely perfect and if they do not learn to love themselves, they are going to allow others to define who they are and will become.