fashion | BulgingButtons

December 5, 2013
by BulgingButtons 33 Comments

Throwback Thursday – Preppy

pink and green official preppy handbook halloween costume

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Ok, I confess, I was a prep. Big time. I owned the Official Preppy Handbook (oh how I wish I had written that one) and did my best to live the preppy dream. I didn’t go by Muffy or have a summer home in the Hamptons, but I did enjoy that style. Here are a few highlights of my preppy phase.

1. Turtle necks with tiny printed things on them. There were hearts, flowers, frogs, strawberries, and so on, but my all time favorite was the one with whales. In fact it inspired my fashion mantra of the era, “When in doubt, wear whales.”

2. Real Sperry Topsiders. These were purchased from the boating supply store and were worlds cooler than the Thom McAn knock offs.

3. Wool sweaters, particularly those with a pattered yolk or a monogram. Yes, I had both. Yes, I had a lot of sweaters. Really. A lot of sweaters.

4. Ribbon patterned accessories. I had ribbon headbands, ribbon watchbands, and ribbon D-ring belts. Sailboats, lobsters, flowers, whatever.

5. L.L. Bean Chamois shirt. It had to be from L.L. Bean. I’m not sure why, but it did. I had two, one red and one navy. I loved the red one best, it was so soft.

6. Alligator shirts. These were your standard polo style shirt, but before anyone had heard of Ralph Lauren. They came in a huge variety of solids and stripes, and were always worn with the collar flipped up. I don’t know why.

7. Penny loafers. With pennies in them, of course. My pennies were Canadian, just because.

8. Pappagallo purses with wooden handles and interchangeable covers. I had the smaller sized one. It was a terrible excuse for a purse, but oh so cute.

9. Tretorn tennis shoes. I resisted these because my mother wore them to actually play tennis, so how could they be cool? But I finally gave in because not only were they cool, they were really comfortable. I wore them for years afterward. My favorite pair had red plaid swooshes.

10. Pink and Green. I resisted this trend for quite a while too, because I thought it was ugly, until my mom found the cutest lime green sweater with just a tiny bit of pink trim around the edges. Then I was doomed. My Tretorns (see number 9) were taken from my gym basket and dyed… one hot pink, one lime green. Then the laces were switched. They were hideous. Yes, I probably deserved it.

I would love to hear your fashion flashbacks. Any other grown up preppies out there? I’m sure I’m not alone. After all, L.L. Bean is still in business.

November 24, 2013
by BulgingButtons 18 Comments

Loving Leggings

Who says fat girls can’t wear cute clothes? We can, it’s just a matter of finding them, which can be quite a challenge. I’ve had some luck with Dress Barn for Women and Old Navy online (no plus sizes in the stores as far as I’m aware, still). Last month I was out of town and needed an outfit for a college reunion event. I headed over to Dress Barn and was pleasantly surprised to find a few pieces I liked that fit well. On a whim I grabbed a pair of black leggings, expecting to feel something like a sausage being squeezed into its casing. Surprisingly, I did not. I bought the leggings, along with a few other items, with the idea that I can wear them around the house during the cooler winter months.

Fast forward to now. The cooler weather has begun and I’m in the leggings. Yes, they’re great for lounging around the house with a giant t-shirt, but they have so much more potential than that. I’ve discovered that they look great with a long sweater and my cool ankle boots with the buckles the are usually hidden under jeans. Sometimes I even pull on a short black skirt over my leggings. That look takes me back to my college years, but I don’t think it looks too young for me now, as long as I don’t put a giant bow on my head and layer 23 black rubber bracelets up each arm. The leggings also look really good with a long coral peasant top and a pair of ballet flats. Finally, the cute v-neck swing style t-shirt and a pair of sneakers makes a sporty casual outfit. Woo hoo! I’m getting way more wear out of these than I anticipated.

The keys for me (and I would think for most fat girls) are as follows:

1. Make sure your leggings fit properly. Too tight and they may try to roll down, too loose and you’ll look wrinkly and weird. Either way you won’t look right and you’ll be uncomfortable.

2. Don’t wear leggings if you have giant legs. I’m fat, but I carry the majority of my weight around my belly. My legs, while not tiny, are shapely and not particularly jiggly.

3. Wear a long top. Yes, cover your entire butt. Even if you have a cute butt. Leave it to your jeans to show it off, not your leggings. They are meant to let your legs pop out from under your top, not expose every curve you have. Girly bits are not meant to be paraded around in public. If your top isn’t up to the challenge, go put on some real pants. Nobody wants to see that much of you, even if you aren’t fat.

4. As an alternative to wearing a long top, wear a short skirt. This will still cover up the butt and girly bits, and make the leggings look cute.

August 20, 2013
by BulgingButtons 5 Comments

Thank You, Old Navy

I do appreciate the fact that you offer plus sized clothing on your website. I also appreciate that there are several cute styles to choose from, and many of them come in size 4X (which I am excited to say is too big for me). Would it be asking too much to actually give some space in the store to these fashions? I realize that maybe you don’t want plus sized people in your stores, but hello, we’re in there anyway buying for our skinny loved ones. It’s time that fat acceptance is a way of life since a huge number of Americans are overweight. I’m sure you could sell some of those cute clothes to people who would appreciate being able to try them on without having to first pay for them, then wait for them in the mail. Oh, and the return by mail only thing? Not so cool. So to recap: