Foxy Brown

Blah Blah Blah, Blah Blah Blah...

Not sure what to say about this outfit, except I felt like Pam Grier in a Foxy Brown movie.

I had my afro out, my boots up and my belt tied.

The boots and belt don't really match, but I don't care, I liked the way the belt accentuated my waist.

I just love this belt, I love this dress and I love these boots, why not put them all together??

I'm crazy and could stand to lose 10 or 20 lbs...

That is what one commenter said to me in my blog post about Fatshion Blogs and weightloss. That was exactly the point that I was getting at, fat shaming, and I can't lie and say it didn't rock me off my stilts a bit.. She also went on to say my fashion game is not on point at all.. A hit below the belt, considering my fashion is very important to me. I consider myself a professional dresser, not one who has the opportunity to wear out of the box fashions like some of my counterparts with much less traditional jobs. So perhaps how I dress is just not their cup of tea.

In my blog post, I wanted to make the point that my issue is not with losing weight at all, it was the fat shaming that seems to go along with the losing of weight. I also was concerned about the livelihood of the size acceptance movement as it seemed a lot of people who used to be proud to be curvy all the sudden decided to lose weight.

I appreciate everyone's comments on the subject. I read all of them (even the very long one!!). I even appreciate the fat shaming one. But, I'm not going to lie and say her/his comments didn't bother me, because it did... which is why I am writing about it.


In addition to attacking my weight, calling me crazy and saying my fashion was essentially "not on point", s/he called me jealous...which is no way true. I do this blog for myself, not for followers. I don't go around leaving comments on everyone's blog with my website information. I do occasionally leave my info, not gonna lie, but not at much as I should were I really seeking out more followers. I do this blog because I want to. I don't ask for donations, I don't try to monetize my site by puttings ads up, I don't go asking companies for free samples, and I definitely don't want to be in the fashion biz. I am sometimes even afraid of family, friends, co-workers and potential employers knowing I have this blog, just in case it holds me back in anyway.

I have no aspirations for this blog to take me anywhere over the rainbow. I do this for myself, and for someone, who remains basically anonymous, to call me crazy, to tell me I need to lose weight, to say that I'm unfashionable and then to call me jealous, really pisses me off.

I wish it didn't bother me, but that is not the kind of person I am.  I take things to heart. THAT is what bothers me, that someone I don't know can bother me so much.

So I am going to take their advice and "#EXHALE" as they said, and try to move on...

With that said, today I wasn't feeling particularly up to Fashion, so I just threw on a sweater and some pants. This sweater is one I got from Eloquii (I bite my tongue and put my foot in my mouth after talking so much smack about the company when they first came out). I am not particularly impressed by the sweater. It was supposed to have Dolman sleeves, but as you can basically see, they are not even really there. It is just a basic sweater to throw on with some dress pants and wear to work.. So that is what I did,  I paired it with black pants and blue shoes. I threw on these blue earrings and this bow necklace just to have some semblance of trying, and went about my way.

Good thing work was pretty busy today, it went by quickly.

Sweater: Eloquii
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Samanta
Necklace: Torrid
Earrings: Macy*s

It isn't anything particularly special, but it was comfortable considering it was cold outside. Can't wait for winter to be over and spring to finally show up and stay.

Rainbow of Browns

I named this "Rainbow of Browns" for the rainbow of browns in the vest I am wearing.

I really wanted to wear these brown leggings for some reason, but had no clue what to pair it with. I went from outfit to outfit, trying to figure out something that looked right with the leggings.

 I wasn't really feeling the above shirt, it just wasn't long enough for me. I tried it with a cardigan and it just didn't jive...


So I finally decided to go with this sweater vest I got from Lane Bryant ages ago. It was the most comfortable and most modest... and is warm for the still winter days. I paired it with a 1/2 sleeve fitted tee from Dorothy Perkins, My INC leggings and some Payless wedges for comfort.

I again put Makeup on today which I plan to do more often in the future. It was just that sometimes my makeup gets oily and i hate having to dust my face, because I just feel weird putting makeup on in the bathroom at work. But I need to get over it, because I like the way makeup makes me look and feel.

the above pics are after I washed my hair. It will undoubtedly get much more poufy as the day goes on.

Discussion re Fatshion Blogs and Weight-loss

*Possibly Triggering*

WARNING!! I was not an English major, I was a finance major, so my writing is all over the place, but I just wanted to get this off my chest!!

To Summarize my Point of View: I am wondering what is going to happen to the size acceptance movement as more fatshion blogs are moving to weightloss blogs? Also, if you want to lose weight, then good for you, but please don't fat shame yourself or anyone else in the process. It isn't good for anyone.

I've seen a lot of FATshion bloggers, start to talk about losing weight.

Fatshion bloggers to me are plus size fashion bloggers. They may self-identify as Fatshion bloggers and may not, but that is how I am defining them for the purpose of this discussion..

The whole weight loss thing has been quite disconcerting, because it seemed that they started out confident with themselves and into the whole size acceptance/body acceptance thing.

Then all the sudden something happened, the tides changed and people are talking about losing weight.

I find nothing wrong with losing weight, I mean do you! But, it has been a bit heartbreaking to see these role models of self acceptance all the sudden decide that they no longer accept their size anymore...

Either they just stop blogging in whole, change their site to a story about their weightloss journey, change their site name from something that has to do with fat acceptance to something more mainstream...

I also see it in celebrities. One by one, they talk about accepting themselves and loving themselves the way they are, and the next thing you know they are touting support for various weightloss programs....and it is all in the name of "getting healthy".  "I wanted to be healthier"

They are dropping like flies and it has start to make me feel a little bad about my weight.  I am starting to feel pressure to "jump on the bandwagon"... Is my size not okay after all. Were these girls lying to me about their confidence, self acceptance and self image? Was I fooled into thinking I was okay the size I am, when really it's not okay? Was it all a sham?

I feel tricked a bit.

I'm not saying no one should lose weight, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying how the recent turn of events has made me feel.

I just wonder, what the hell happened to make everyone decide to lose weight at the same time? And what is going to happen to our little movement of size/body/fat acceptance? Is it all going to hell in a handbag, will I continue to see this trend progress in the coming months, especially as we get closer to swimsuit season?

I just wonder... will I be able to continue without the feeling that I need to lose weight?

Does this mean I am a follower or just easily influenced?

Or does this mean, that I am one of the bloggers that is going to eventually cave to the pressures of society to "get healthier"?

I honestly don't know and it's sad...
 

The thing is, I don't really want to lose any weight. After years of yo-yoing up and down and never knowing what size clothing I wore week to week (yes it was THAT bad) I have finally reached a point where I can go into a store, pick up MY size and it fit.

Moreover, I am scared to lose weight? Why? well, everytime I lose weight (even when I do it the right way..slowly) I gain it plus some back...

Losing weight is a lifestyle change. It means FOREVER!! I just don't think I have it in me to change how I eat forever. Not saying I eat that bad now!! I mean I know Vegans who weigh more than me.

But the fear of gaining more weight scares me from losing weight. Especially with the medications I am on, they haven't helped with staying at a certain weight either.

I've seemed to hit a plateau in my gaining of weight which is fine with me. I occcaissionally flutter between 5 lbs here and there but overall I stay the same.

But I've always been a larger person. I truly believe in big bones, I mean you can see it in my wrist size and my foot size. I will never be a size .

But back to the subject at hand, the pressure to lose weight has all the sudden infiltrated what I once found as a safe haven - - the Fatshion blogosphere.

It's disheartening, scary, puzzling and just plain contradictory.

What happened to "I'm fat and pretty?" That has seemingly gone by the waste side in favor of the new mantra " I decided I want to be healthier"... I don't know enough about that subject, but I've read enough to know that skinny doesn't always necessarily mean healthier.  Especially when your diet consists of liquids only?? (just one example of how one blogger decided to lose weight)...

Who can sustain a liquid diet FOREVER!?!? Apparently, she can because that is what she plans to do...

But I digress,  I am just worried that the size acceptance movement, which was growing stronger and stronger every minute there for a while, is being stomped out by societies ideal of what "healthy" looks like.  Some people are never going to fit that ideal and trust me, Im sure it is not for lack of trying.

My concern is that many of these Fatshion turned weightloss blogs are going to start triggering people to engage in unhealthy behavior just to go along with the crowd, because that is what is being seen as fashionable.

 I don't know. Losing weight is such a touchy subject. Because some people are able to do it and others are not, no matter how they try.

I am one of those people who can lose weight very easily, but gain it back quickly. Even on healthier regimes like weight watchers or just watching my portions. As soon as I "break the law" once, it is back to square one plus 20 pounds. I just don't feel like going there again.

A family member of mine had weight loss surgery. All the sudden she considers herself a guru on eating right and weightloss. It irritates the hell out of me because she fails to realize that without the surgery all her healthy eating habits would have been no help! She has leveled out around 250, and is trying to get down to 200 by June.  I commend her efforts, but wish she wouldn't put weight loss strategies on me, especially since they apparently haven't worked for her....


That goes the same with Fatshion bloggers... and celebrities. They push their weightloss ideals and ideas on you, not realizing everything doesn't work for everyone.  And someone who is 250 lbs can actually be healthier than someone who is 160...

I am all for size acceptance. Although, I am not for extreme obesity, especially when you are doing it on purpose. But for those of us that are happy with our sizes, and are healthy enough, please don't try to pressure us to lose weight. We get enough of that from Society, Hollywood, Friends and Family already.

Burgundy Boots and Busy Bee

It was initially pretty dreary outside today. For some reason I woke up extra early for a weekend (read: 5:30 am).  I threw on one of my $3.20 scores from Kmart yesterday (the burgundy mesh back sweater). Since, it was also really rainy, cold and overcast, I initially wore my rainboots, grey jeans and a burgundy and grey scarf.  My hair was a complete mess and I wore no makeup. (Hell, it was 6:30 in the morning!!)

Sweater: Kmart
Grey Jeans: Torrid
Rain Boots: Avenue
Scarf: Avenue

But then it stopped rainy, and although it was still chilly, it was sunny, so I decided to switch my rainboots out (which can sometimes be hard to walk in because I got them 1 size too big) for my burgundy over the knee boots that I just got from Jessica London (purchased before the spending freeze!).

I absolutely love everything about these boots. They fit perfectly, are comfortable and look very stylish. I at first wasn't sure what I was going to do with red over the knee boots, so I am glad they are more of a burgundy.

I smoothed down my hair with the scarf, put some makeup on and my son I went and had lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.. (talk about expensive food).  But it was good, and I even got a compliment on my boots!! You also may notice that I changed out the grey jeans for some darker jeans, because the grey jeans kept slipping down my bottom, and with a sheer back, the last thing you want to do is inadvertently moon anyone when you sit down.

Sweater: LYS via Kmart
Jeans: Macy*s
Boots: Jessica London
Scarf: Avenue

Besides buying a few groceries today, I didn't buy anything else. I spent most of the day cleaning the house and fixing some stuff that long needed to be fixed. I took some stuff to goodwill (some = a whole boatload) and this afternoon, ended up sending my son off with my parents for the remainder of the weekend.

So now I've got to figure out what to do with all this free time I have now. Hopefully, I won't fall into the trap of boredom shopping. Maybe I'll go out for a walk.. Or perhaps, I'll play dress-up!

We'll see.

 As always, thanks for reading...

Total Fail - Day 2 and I already spent $32!

I totally failed my no spending goal already and it isn't even day 3! But I couldn't pass up this great deal I got at Kmart with the brand LYS... I mean not like a $32 deal, I'm talking a $3.20 per item deal...

I spent $32 and got 10 awesome items from the LYS fall line. I am not usually a Kmart shopper, but these items were CUTE and on clearance for $3.59 each I had to cave. I have $3 and some sense in bonus points with the Kmart Shop Your Way Rewards card which I applied to the total and it took my total cost down to $32 and some change... Even the lady behind me was fascinated by the great bargains I got.

By far, my favorite is this faux leather light grey waterfall vest.. I can NOT believe it was only $3.59...

It looks WAY more expensive, more like $100. And I got it for $3.20!!

I also got these items... on clearance for $3.59 each.

What was I doing in Kmart AGAIN?!?!? Well, I returning that toilet seat I got, because I found a better one for cheaper at Lowe's.

But I promise, I PROMISE no more spending... I've stocked up on Groceries, the dogs have food, both me and my son have clothes on our backs, I've got gas in my car... There should be no reason for me to step foot in another store and be tempted to buy something...

So here we go again... Day 3 - Here I come!!

Day 2 - Spending Freeze/Shopping My Closet

Today, I didn't wear anything new. Everything I have on is straight from my closet.

Cardigan: Avenue
Tank: Target
Leggings: Evans
Flats: Payless
Red Belt: Kmart

So far so good, spending freeze is going well, I guess.
I never knew how much the cost of  necessities can add up.  Since I never really paid attention to what I was spending, I never really new that even things that are necessary are quite expensive!!

Like Dog Food ($32), and ziploc bags ($8), and toilet seats ($17), and tax returns! Yeah, I just filed my tax return and it cost me $63 (via Turbotax), REMEMBER TO FILE BEFORE APRIL 15th!!