”If you don’t have an occasional failure, you are not taking enough fashion risk”  - Suzanne at Says Who.

You may remember that I am very attached to Beth Ditto’s clothing line from 2009 and 2010.  I bought this dress from the Beth Ditto Collection on Ebay from someone in the U.K. for $136.  This U.K. Ebay seller did not usually mail to the U.S. but I asked nicely because I was desperately in love with the heart infused signature dress and I was very grateful when the U.K. seller went to the trouble of changing their Ebay listing so that they were then allowed to go to the trouble of mailing it to me in the U.S.  MANY U.K. sellers are not willing to do that, I am sure it is a lot of extra trouble.

I bought the dress because it was a size 22UK – size 20US and I had just purchased a similar (or so I thought) dress, or tunic, as they might say in purple in a size 24UK which is a size 22US, which turned out just a little large and I had to have it taken in.  Thus it seemed like the UK size 22 should be fine and would be worth all the bother.

When the dress came there were shouts of joy (you have to take your joy where you find it, I always say) and then I put it on and oops, it was way too small.  I could get it on, but it was not wearable.  I sold it on FatToo for less than half the price, and the next buyer had the same luck.  But never fear, I will have this dress. I check Ebay every day for a larger size and I continue to love it.  Yes, there will be more Beth Ditto clothing tales to come.                   Ciao Bellas…affinity

Check here for the details about the Glamorous Curves Fashion Show and Sip N Shop After Party.  Lots going on in the Bay Area this month.  I am thinking about going to this, always love to get to see the clothes in person and I love that it starts so early.

Ciao Bellas…affinity

So last night we went to a Voodoo Luau Birthday Party.  We had a great time, my friend was turning 39 and had a new deck with a view of the city.  So of course I had to make a new costume.

Top: Torrid – 4X with a heart pin cushion from ebay with stick pins in it, and a few stitches I added of lavender yarn
Skirt: (sorry no photo, it must be in someone else’s camera) 3X Jaclyn Smith from Kmart
Gloves: Amazon – Lace Gloves – Good fit and I love that they were already laced with ribbon.  I like these gloves even better and they look like you could actually adjust the size if you were larger, and they are less expensive.

Ciao Bellas…affinity

How cool is that?  I bet the clothes will be fabulous!

Ciao Bellas…affinity

I am sure you have noticed by now that I live in a colorful world.  Costumes, short skirts, fake fur…it is all part of both the fat positive and Burning Man cultures that I live in.  So I had to try Knoles & Carter plus size leather when I saw it.  About a year ago, I tried a fuchsia (what I thought was a fake fur but turned out to be rabbit fur) vest, Size 5X – Size 32 according to their charts.  It was made VERY similarly to the Knoles & Carter Jacket above, with an elastic waistband.  Well of course it did not fit, because this brand runs very small, but I could get it on, and wore it once or twice before I gave it away, but IT WAS SO CUTE.  So I thought you size 3X people should know about these jackets because they are precious and yes, in my opinion, the 5X will fit you perfectly.  You can buy one HERE for now, and a little different version in a Size 4x HERE.  In addition there are a few Jessica London leather jackets in a Size 3X which is their size 30-32. I have never tried one because they don’t seem to come in a style I am attracted to, but I thought you should know they are out there and in general Jessica London sizing is fairly true although as I said previously, I have not tried the leather.   Ciao Bellas…affinity

Do you want to read a book that says amazing things about fatshion?  Of course you do, and you can find it right here.

“I bought skintight exercise tanks that stretched across my belly with the gentle sensuality of kid gloves from a Victorian romance novel.”   Emily Anderson

“Fashion has much to do with freedom and visibility: the freedom to wear things that make us feel good and the visibility that comes with polka dots, sequins, and the occasional bow tie. Fashion is art, style and play. Fashion—or Fatshion—has inspired fat girls to take to the blogosphere and the runway.”   Virgie Tovar

“We love our shiny, bedazzled body-revealing costumes.  We don’t wear black for its slimming effect.  We work that shiny turquoise, pink leopard print, and gold lamé. We wear ruffle-butt panties for pants and bras with adornments for tops. This is nothing new for the average dancer, but for fat dancers, it is downright revolutionary.”   Jessica Judd

“Fashion is often held up as frivolous, conformist, unnecessary….To you, it might just be an outfit, but to me it’s performance, play, care, support, resistance, survival and fighting.”    Kirsty Fife

“The more radical I’ve gotten, the better I’ve dressed.  I doubt that it’s to do with any inherent styling ability emerging or even learning much more about what suits me.  It’s more to do with the introduction of a lick of fearlessness into my life. Clothes don’t pull me down anymore, and now I fear no waistband.”    Margaret Howie

“You’re still fat even if you wear all black.  Wearing all black doesn’t make you disappear.  It doesn’t make your hips smaller.  Wearing color is not going to somehow make you any more fat than you actually are.  I challenge people to wear stripes and color.”  Deb Malkin

And I feel like this quote from Virgie Tovar says it all for me:

“Oh, yes, this revolution will be accessorized, altered, and adorned with faux fur.”   Virgie Tovar

Ciao Bellas…affinity

There is a book reading this Thursday Night at the Booksmith in San Francisco, read more about it here.

Next stop on the Hot & Heavy blog tour:  Erin of Fierce, Free-thinking Fatties at fiercefatties.com.  Check out her review tomorrow and for more details on the blog tour visit Virgie Tovar’s site at www.virgietovar.com/hot–heavy-blog-tour.html.

I got it in my head that I wanted to be Wonder Woman for Halloween this year and I could not find a costume large enough so I made my own.  I wore it to a little art event on Sunday.  I had fun in my costume and I have included a little tutorial below.  Ciao Bellas…affinity

Cami: Avenue Size 26-28
Skirt: Kmart Love Your Style, Size 3X, elastic waist, not fitted skirt
Boots: Lane Bryant Size 10W, over 30 years old
Tights: Shakti Size XXL, over 20 years old, they no longer make plus sizes
Belt: Bob’s Belts, Size 3X, I have worn these belts for years, they are comfortable but the 3X is the largest, and it just fits my size 28 waist, even with the stretch.
Wonder Woman Lasso: Amazon, I purchased it since it could be purchased as a standalone accessory and size was not an issue.  I taped the ends together but next time I wear it I will attach the tacked ends of the rope to the inside of the little hanger loop that was provided so the rope stays in four little loops.

I considered purchasing the Wonder Woman accessories but I found them to be either VERY expensive or made from felt for $8 or $10.  I did not like either option so I decided to make my own.

1.  Wonder Woman Top: I found a Wonder Woman logo which I printed, cut out and cut on all of the black lines and then drew all of the black lines on the cami using a black Sharpie.  I used gold leaf because I have gold leafed for years, but it would have been much easier with gold fabric paint like Pebeo.  It dries well and is easy to use. Like most fabric paint it can be fixed by either ironing (cotton position), for 5 minutes, on the reverse side of the fabric; or in the oven, for 5 minutes at 300˚.  Of course you could use any red t-