Happy 2014! My review of Gwynnie Bee

Hi everyone! It's a whole new year! When placing my photos on my computer I had to create a whole new folder for 2014.. how weird. I want to talk to you about Gwynnie Bee and how awesome it is as well as some ways it can improve. Okay, the way it works is sort of like Netflix for plus size clothing. You look through the selections, add your favorites to your closet and then Gwynnie Bee sends you a garment from your closet. The bad news? You never know which garment it will be. Presumably for inventory purposes, they send you a random garment so if you were hoping for that sparkly body con dress for new year's (as I was REALLY wanting) then you're probably out of luck. That being said, other than for special events, this is a wonderful service. You get to try out different styles of clothing, some you may have never tried before, and, if you like them, there's an option to buy. If not or if you just can't afford it right now you can send it back and they'll send you a new garment. I've gotten three pieces from Gwynnie Bee so far but this is my first time taking photos in my new top (below). If I could just complain about one more thing, dear Gwynnie Bee, it's that the shipping is far too slow. Y'all def need to find a way to speed this up. You have to wait 2-3 days before your garment even leaves the warehouse meaning it'll be a week or more before you get something. Waiting on my christmas dress took about 10 days and it barely arrived in time. It arrived two days after it's expected delivery date (maybe not quite 10 days then, maybe 9?). Anyway, I'll be trying out doing some fashion posts which is new for me, so let me know if you want me to continue or stop.

Much Love <3

PS, yes I still have my christmas tree up. DON'T JUDGE ME!

Jeans: on sale at Belk
Top: Gwynnie Bee  I wear a size 22, but have a small bust so I could have sized down to a 20 because the waist is very stretchy
Shoes: Target
Ring: Glitter
Earrings: Wal-Mart
Makeup: E.L.F. cosmetics Bright Pallet (for nude lips I actually put ELF's eyeshadow primer on my lips)

The Way You Shop

Plusmodelmag.com twittered their Fashion Friday post and, thanks to the fact that they require their featured fatshionistas to include where they got their items, I found a great new place to shop! They don't go as high in sizes as I'd like- not because they don't have my size, they do, but because that's no excuse not to think of others and fight for their rights as well- and the clothing industry is definitely one place we need more recognition and rights. While this particular website claims they go up to a 5X (size 30) they don't actually have anything in stock over a 3X (size 22).

So I'm browsing through the dresses especially and noticed that my thought process was a bit different than I'm used to. As fatties we're trained to pretty much hide everything about ourselves that we, or society (mostly society), don't like. For me that means trying to make my bust look bigger and my stomach look smaller. You know how they say that when you start dreaming in another language that you've fully embraced it? (usually used when someone is learning a new language). Well, I think we can recognize changes in thought patterns and pat ourselves on the back (and each other on the back) for embracing body acceptance more (maybe not fully, but you know..). Instead of looking at this dress and thinking "oh, no.. that would show my stomach too much.. oh well", I thought "oh hey, this'll hug my hips and stomach.. right on!".

This has been hugely helped by seeing so many other fat acceptance bloggers and just participants and activists wearing great clothing and seeing fat arms, fat legs, fat stomachs.. and still seeing that they looked absolutely fabulous and gorgeous and sexy and everything else. Once you see how other fat women and men aren't ashamed and look amazing you start feeling like you can do and be the same. So I want to give out a giant thank you to all of the fatshionistas out there who pave the way for people like me. And to all of my readers, I hope I can do the same for you- rock your style!