The Curvy Goddess

The Americans Do it Best...

Sadly it seems that America does plus size best.  Which means for those of us in the UK that we have to pay high postage costs, possibly import charges or trip to the states!  Whatever it isn't going to be cheap. 

However despite the high price of getting their clothes here - several of the American retailers sell clothes extremely cheaply - so cheap that I may have convinced my boyfriend to come America with me at some point in the future to buy a load of saleable items and sell them on Ebay UK! That aside - a lot of these companies are selling gorgeous, young and fashionable clothes - that are superior to what is offered here in the UK.  I can only hope that one day one of the bigger chains will realise the potential markets abroad.

Torrid started out as a plus size clothes shop offering gothic and alternative wear - but then realised there was more money to be made selling plus size clothes in line with fashion trends and so 'turned pink'.  Torrid still sells the odd goth/alternative item, however its sister company Hot Topic which specialises in alternative wear - now has a plus size range, which is only available on line.

I recently discovered Alloy which is aimed at the teenage market - but it is quite conservative teen wear so I am sure those of us that are older could get away with wearing it and more importantly its cheap!

Alight is a web based shop that sells from a whole variety of different designers - the prices vary, as do the styles.  I recommend checking out the designs from Blue Plate, Ruby Rox and Nancy K - they are all reasonably priced and have some of the best dresses and tops I have ever seen in plus size - definitely one to shop at if you like your clothes to be funky or original...

I can also recommend B&LU which is another web based seller very cheap and fashionable clothes, once again aimed at teens but will suit most ages.  I recently brought this dress from them and totally love it! 

For special occasions you might be willing to pay a bit more - if you can it's definitely worth checking out IGIGI who have some gorgeous clothes - most of which I personally think are a bit too glamorous for everyday wear, but then I am a bit of a tomboy at times...  A lot of the IGIGI clothes you can buy through Kianet and therefore save money on having to pay big import charges (they may not however have all the latest items - but they usually turn up there...).  Similar to IGIGI is Kiyonna which sells some gorgeous and posh dresses, tops and jeans.  However they are pricey so be prepared to fork out your hard earned pennies.

It's such a shame there isn't as many decent British sellers - but I fully intend to soon write a 'Best of British' post...

Starting Weight and MiniMins

After much avoidance - this morning I finally weighed myself.  I weigh fourteen stone and five pounds - I need to lose five stone and five pound to get to my target weight of nine stone.  This week I've been so good about healthy eating and exercising, my target does feel attainable - I know it might take a year - but I've got to accept that this is not going to happen quickly, but it can happen.

Yesterday I joined the weightloss forum - MiniMins and that also has helped immensely - just hearing and seeing how others have lost weight is inspirational.  And MiniMins also suggested that I copy my diary and fashion review posts on to the forum and I got loads of compliments about my writing here which made me feel fab!

On the Up Here in the UK!

I have discovered this week two new (well newish) fabulous collections of plus size clothes here in the UK!  Yes thats the UK!

I checked out Simply Be's new autumn collection and they are certainly improving - their winter range is gorgeous - lots of corsets, funky tops and beautiful skirts - all embracing some of the current fashion trends!  And there is also the Anna Scholz collection which is great for those of who can't get to the Anna Scholz collections in major cities...  Simply be has progressed loads since it started and its really encouraging to see them filling the gaps in the market!  That said a lot of their clothes and the Anna Scholz collection is pricey.  But they are sooo beautiful, its probably worth it.  On the cheaper front though - they do have some very cheap and pretty corsets in the region of £40-50 pounds (which ain't bad considering corsets can cost £90+).

And the wonderful Big Girls Wardrobe shop from ebay has moved up in the world!  They now have their own on line shop!  So now everyone can buy their great clothes - not just those of us with an ebay account.  Good luck to them, I hope they have shops soon...

Angry. Sad.

I went to the doctor today to get another prescription of the pill today.

My doctor took the opportunity to tell me that I need to start considering other contraceptive options because I am getting close to the allowed BMI for the pill (combined) and that my weight is far too much for my frame.  He listed off various potential health risks too as I am obese.  Fair enough he had warn me of the health consequences of obesity and thrombosis, but did he have to be so judgemental?  Obviously I must be living on a diet of KFC and chips (not salads and jacket potatoes).

He gave me no advice on weight loss - just told me that I must know about diets.  No mention of exercise.

He seemed to think that I was going to do nothing about my weight and that it was time to change my contraceptive method.

I f**king hate the NHS and their attitude to weight.  It seems to be constantly emphasised as a drain of money but there is no help for those that want to lose weight.  I know that they are not responsible society's weight problem (and as a society I think there needs to be a change in how we live and eat), but overweight/obese people need guidance not bluntness and insensitivity.

My lovely boyfriend cheered me up as best he could, but I feel so blue now - at one point I decided that I am now going to live on soup :-)

Simmering beneath the sadness I am also now determined to prove that doctor wrong...

It's too Hot!

Well I checked out the stairs and they were and steep - perfect for exercise...  Planned to walk briskly up and down and see how many times I could manage with killing myself. 

But then the heat wave continued.

I just couldn't do it - I can't even muster the energy to anything at the moment.

Boyfriend was lovely and said not to worry, that when it cools down he'll make sure I start the stairs again.

I wonder if I was lighter would the weather get to me so much?

Felt blue about it all yesterday but today I have accepted that the heat wipes me out and that this is only a delay.  And besides this week I have been much more active at work as we moved offices, so I haven't been completely inactive (and have been eating well).

You gotta laugh...

The BBC Have Your Say section on their website often seems to have the most unpleasant people on it.  The topic of 'Are you responsible for your own health' had a lot of people ranting about obese people, but this comment really made me chuckle:

"Added:                                           Wednesday, 26 July, 2006, 12:09 GMT                 13:09 UK                                               

         

stop smoking, eat properly and exercise and you wont get ill, so you will live forever then, wake up, the care homes are full of 80 and 90 year olds who did just that and now they cost the tax payers a fortune having their diapers changed, the truth is we are all going to get old, get ill and then die, it is just a matter when. Maybe heavy smokers and the obese should get tax rebates as they die earlier and therefore cost us less.

       

                                                    david shepherd, Withernsea, United Kingdom"

You gotta laugh, sometimes...
       

About Me

I'm overweight and I hate it.  In my head I've always been oveweight but when I see pictures of me from years back I do wonder if that was the case.  Whilst I have never have been skinny, I can't say in all certainity I was really was overweight when I was younger.  I never weighed myself then because I was afraid of what I would see on the scales.

According to my BMI I am obese, I know I weigh fourteen stone something.  I am afraid to know what the something is and so I have avoided weighing myself recently.  Last September I discovered I weighed 14 stone and 9 pounds - I was horrified.  By the end of November I had managed to lose the nine pounds which made me feel immensly better.  But since then I have failed to lose any more and when I have occasionally weighed myself it is always in the region of 14 stones 1-3 pounds.

I know that exercise is the key for me.  I had good intentions of going running recently, but I was scared to aswell.  I feel incredibly self conscious and fear that if I go running someone will laugh at me wobbling about.  That pisses me off.  Society/media is happy to point the finger at fat people, make us feel bad about our weight - but rather than inspriring me to run to the gym, I just want to hide. 

Gyms in my mind are not places for overweight people.  They seem to be filled with highly toned gorgeous people.  It is the same with exercise classes.  For a long time I have pinned my hopes of weight loss on playing squash with my boyfriend.  But the reality is playing squash takes time and costs money - I cannot expect him to be free constantly, nor do I have the cash to play everyday.  I have every intention of playing squash when I can (once a week is realistic), but in order to lose weight I'm gonna need to do more exercise than that.

Of course I know that a lot of my fears here are paranoia and I really do fight them but I can't help but feel that the media portrays a one sided view of obesity.  It is very much 'look at the cost of obesity on the NHS', 'X% of society is obese' or 'tax the fat' - there seems to be no support - just attack.  Whilst I appreciate there must be some people out there who are happy with shape over weight/obese/whatever - I am sure there must also be a lot of other people like me who desperately want to change themself, but lack the will too.  We need support, not criticism.

So anyway tonight me and my boyfriend are to go exploring some stairs near my street...  If they go high up (and seem safe), I intend to get up in the mornings and walk up and down them a few times as stairs to wear me out and I won't have to feel quite so self conscious.  Will keep you posted as to how it goes.

In The News - July 9th 2006

The Observer newspaper published a very interesting article about obesity.  The journalist spent some time in a 'fat suit' and felt terrible as a size 30 woman.  Along with the journalists thoughts & feeling about her time in the suit it also has a lot of information about how the media is twisting the facts about obesity...

Shopping Hell

Shopping being a plus size is not fun here in the UK- especially if you are at the younger end of the scale.  During the last couple of years we have also lost Etam's plus size range (which was a strange mix of fashionable and frumpy!) and the Seven range from Evans (which was terrible towards the end but previously had been very good). So on the high street that leaves us with Evans, Ann Harvey (yuk if you are in you 20's!), Inspire at Newlook, Mark One and Marks & Spencers plus size range.  That’s five shops - you could do your sale shopping in less than an hour if you wanted!  Of course there are one or two other lesser found shops that have plus size collections and there are a couple of the bigger retailers that offer sizes 16-22, but with the exception of Evans and Ann Harvey there are no other high street shops that are dedicated to plus sizes… And it often seems that certain shops take no care with their plus size ranges – one season you’ll find plenty of gorgeous things, the next t-shirts and jeans are the limit.

Online though it’s a completely different story - there is so much more choice and several online shops are dedicated to providing funky plus size clothes to those of us and of course there is ebay… 

In my opinion the BEST place to buy plus size clothes is ebay.  Why?  I'll tell you!  As long as you are savvy enough to know how to search - you can find anything you want.  You can get Etam and Seven range clothes, which are no longer in the shops, not to mention the various ebay shops, which sell new and fashionable clothes, and there are also several specialist designers which make and sell unusual and gothic clothing.  As ebay is worldwide institution you also have access to plus size clothes from America who do plus size far better than we do! And of course because a lot of the clothes on ebay are second hand you can get them cheap...

Some recommendations to check out on ebay UK:

Big Girl’s Wardrobe

There are quite a few shops similar to Big Girl’s Wardrobe on ebay – however most of them are just pale imitations of each other offering the same stock. Big Girl’s Wardrobe seems to have the edge, as it looks incredibly professional and adapts to fashion trends – it always seems to have items you won’t find anywhere else!

Elviras Closet

Elviras Closet sells some of the most beautiful gothic plus size clothing you’ll ever see! Lots of velvet, lace and polka dots! Whilst some their items are definitely club wear – a lot of them would make excellent evening wear… They also make lots of one off pieces for those of you who like their clothes unique.

Some tips on searching ebay…

Keep your search simple – try to keep it to one word. You will find quite a lot of clothes by searching for well known plus size ranges. I recommend the following:

• · Chapter
• · Inspire
• · Etam
• · Seven
• · Evans
• · Torrid
• · Hot Topic
• · Kiyonna
• · IGIGI

If you are looking for something more specific try searching for a detail eg. lace up or crochet… Its really a case of knowing what you want. Of course you can also window shop through the categories and you may come across something special. Its also worth expanding your searches to find ‘items available to the UK’ as you will then be able to see items from abroad too – as said before America has a far superior range of plus size shops which I will get on to at a later date…

Starting Out

I've been thinking about doing this on and off for a while now as I wanted to create a space for me to be able to rant about my frustrations about buying clothes and society's ever increasing negative views about over weight and obese people...

I want to lose weight and I want to be healthy and I don't see why I should be be punished as I do this, nor do I think if some one out there is overweight and happy with themselves (truly so not pretending) that they should made to feel bad about themselves.

Over time I want this blog to be some where that reviews plus size clothes shopping, a source of links about weight loss/weight issues and to be my diary as I continue to try and become a healthy curvy goddess.