Posts tagged curvy

As many of y’all know, I’m an artist, a singer, a performer, —and a curvy girl.  So a while back, I had an idea about this thing I called the Plus Size Pride Project.:)  If you’ve already heard about it, then my apple-ologies, but as I’m writing about it elsewhere tonight, I thought it might be worth mentioning again here, in case it missed anybody who might wanna join in. :)  (And btw; it can include bellydancers and non-bellydancers alike. ;D)

So, down to the nitty-gritty!  Anyone 18 and over who wears a size 16 & up is hereby invited to come participate in a little photo collage I’m workin’ on, that in essense, is all about YOU.  About US.  And about showing the world how awesome and fabulous one can be, REGARDLESS of size. ^_^   The theme is showing the world that curvy people CAN and DO live happy, healthy, fabulous & fulfilled lives, RIGHT NOW, AS THEY ARE, whether they plan to lose weight or not. :)  How that’s illustrated will be in the form of each person submitting a self-portrait, which demonstrates exactly what makes each individual feel most confident, joyful, beautiful & proud. ^_^  

So.. for example; if you’re dancer and your costume or your dance makes you feel beautiful, take a a pic w/you in your dance garb, or of you in mid-sashay. ^_^  Or if you’re a proud mom and you love your arms because they let you hold your kids, take a picture w/you embracing your little ones.  And so on. :)

People can share (loving, thoughtful) messages on placards (i.e. pieces of paper or posterboard) if they want (though nothing horrendously political please- just stuff about loving who you are and living your life for today in a size-positive way)- or not, as they like. :)  And pics can be taken w/anything; from a cell phone camera to a fancy SLR on a tripod, or anything in between. :)  You can dress as simply or as fancily as YOU like, wear makeup or go bare-skinned (just so long as you’re PG-13- so no major nudity please), and when it’s all done, photos will be made into a 2D collage, as well as crafted into a video, which will be put onto YouTube. :)  For more info feel free to PM me, or visit my info page, at http://alternate-visions.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-plus-size-pride-project.html  

Plus, we also have a group on FB, for anyone who’d like a supportive, protected environment in which to discuss the project, talk w/other people about ideas, fears etc., or ask me direct questions, if they’d like. :)  To join, just visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/plussizephotoproject/?fref=ts, and hit “Join” to apply.  Membership is by approval only (to protect people from trolls & ne’er-do-wells) and you don’t -need- to join the group to participate in the project. It’s just been made available to act as a resource for anyone who might like to have it. :)

Anyhoo, hope y’all dig, and thanks so much for readin’ all this!  And if you know someone whom you’d like to participate, feel free to spread the word!  ♥ ♥ ♥

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Ylluria

To my fellow fluffygirls on a budget:  Shrugs can be GREAT for Tribal bellydance, but I’ve seen ‘em used for Cabaret girls who needed some coverage, too. :)  So if you’re in need of a shrug (or two, or three) that can be used for day-wear, club-wear OR dance-wear, go check out JC Penney online and Rose’s Department Stores! ^_^

JCP has this shrug online for just TWELVE BUCKS, and Rose’s has an array of cute shruggies for just TEN DOLLARS!  ..And guess what?  They BOTH have ‘em in sizes up to 3x!!! ^_^  I just scored the JCP one in-store through their online shop (via salesperson- as I’d looked online for their shrug & couldn’t find it), and they’ll even send it to my local store for FREE pickup, so I don’t have to pay for shipping. ^_^  

Plus I snagged a TOTALLY cute lace-backed shrug at Rose’s that I’ve been positively DROOLING over online- for like aaaages!!! XD  (In totally unexpected fashion, too!  My gramma suggested we hit Rose’s, I hadn’t been there in YEARS, so I happily acquiesced- and BOOM, there it was!! ^_^)  And to top it all off?  I could still afford a bodacious little zebra print tank top, as well as fluttery li’l white shrug!  (I know, *gothgasp*! ;D)  And they’ll ALL work great for everything from daily life to performances- if paired w/the right duds. ^_^

Now sadly I think Rose’s is predominantly a Southern chain, but don’t quote me on that!  If you’re interested, check out their parent company’s web site here to see if they have a Rose’s (or one of their similar stores) near you. :)  And if they don’t?  No fear!  JCP is national (if not INTERnational now), so girls, if you’ve been trying to find a cute shrug to stomp the town with or bellydance in WITHOUT breaking the bank, we have GOT you. ^_^

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Y 

EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!  I JUST GOT MY FIRST PAIR OF REAL JEANS- EVAR, and they are SO CUTE!!!  Granny and I went to WM to raid their Halloween section fro long-sleeved shirts (as I had none here, and it’s gotten delightfully nippy), n’ on the way home, she wanted to stop at Cato.  So while she was looking, I was just kinda lazily browsing, and spotted an ADORABLE pair of jeans.  

But a; they were jeans, and b; they were totally kick-ass, so I kinda mentally wrote ‘em off.  I started flickin’ through the 3 or 4 whole pairs on the rack, and.. oh my gords…  THEY HAD MY SIZE!!! O.O  

So, mildly entertained but not getting my hopes up, I waited for a while to get into the dressing room, n’ at last, was able to give ‘em a go.  I know my history w/jeans though, so you cannot imagine my surprise when about halfway up, I started to have this strange, tingling sensation.. the suspicion that they might, ohmydeargods, actually work. ^_^  (Regardless of size, every girl knows what I’m talking about here.  We usually know by at -least- halfway up whether or not a pair of pants is worth struggling with to get on.)  And as they continued skyward, the feeling just grew.  *thumpthump, thumpthump*  ..And my heart rate increased.

Next thing I knew, the things were gliding smoothly up to my waist.. with no trouble.. and I was starting to giggle deliriously.  I had this bizarro, mixed feeling of disbelief and elation bubbling up in my chest simultaneously.. while I was desperately trying w/the majority of my psyche not to get all worked up.  I still had the zipper and button to go, and we all know that those are often the worst parts.

But after a minute, they were buttoned, and then.. zzzzip!  And that’s when it was time for that last, scary moment- the moment where it could all go to hell in a handbasket, regardless of how they *felt.*   Again, most girls know this moment well.  It’s that nigh-heart-stopping moment when you turn to look in the mirror.  ..So I was already bracing myself for the excitement to pop like an over-inflated bubble…

And that’s when, despite all my suspicions & fears… They WORKED.  They actually WORKED!!!  Dear gawd!!!  O.O
..But no.. that’s not even it…  They were.. somehow, oh my stars.. how could this be??  Yes.. they were.. SUPER CUTE!!!  ON ME!!!!  O.O  
*confusion, wonder, disbelief, -elation*  My brain could barely register it all. 

*falls over inside*

Now.. many of you might not realize why I’m going over every detail of this, or why I think this occurrence is so remarkable.  It’s just a chick putting on a pair of pants.. right??  Well.. yes and no.  Most girls have body issues, and many of us have struggled w/finding clothes that fit our body type, REGARDLESS of what type or size that is.  But when you’re a big girl, and especially when you grew up being a big girl, this kind of occasion is HUGE.  (Just as it would be for many in various situations, who often felt like an outsider for physical or other reasons.)  As silly as it might seem to some, this was a total benchmark; especially as one who grew up in the 80s & 90s; when jeans were such a HUGE part of the (counter) culture.  I guess I’d be in the same boat if I were in the flapper era- ‘cause I doubt super-straight dresses would work on me, either.  

I once owned a pair of black, stirrup stretch jeans when I was in my teens (*lol* I know, I know ;)), but gawd I hated them.  They were just symbols of how desperately I was trying to fit in, and for various reasons, wasn’t. They weren’t the jeans that everyone else had, (yanno, NORMAL jeans) and as usual, they were just another reminder of how I had to shop in “the big ladies’ stores” (what my mother calls places like Lane Bryant and.. well.. back then.. Lane Bryant).  Mine were technically lyrca-infused fatgirl jeans, n’ though they didn’t LOOK too bad, I hated how stiff and thick they were, and how it felt like I creaked when I walked.  It felt like I was wearing someone’s old skin over my own, or an alligator’s tough old hide over mine.  I’d try to wear them off & on to “break them in,” but that whole denim standard just never seemed to work, and eventually, I got rid of ‘em.  (Though it took me FOREVER to do so.  They just sat in my pants drawer, looking forlorn for WAYYY too long, until they were simply too small to wear.)  

..And eventually, over the years, I just stopped trying.

Of course secretly, I always kinda wished I could own just ONE pair of cute jeans.  Just ONE.  (I dunno, I guess I just figured that as an American, shouldn’t EVERYONE have at least ONE pair of jeans?? *shakes head*  Yes, I know it’s stupid, but it’s just one of those secret little things I dreamt of as a kid, and which I suppose pop culture seeded into my brain.  I guess I just never really got over it.. entirely.)  I didn’t care what style they were, really.  I’ve always thought overalls were precious, and another pair of “jeggings” might actually work, if I could find the right kind.  But ftmp they were put out of my mind.  ..Kinda like my hope of trying to find a decent, plus-size-friendly snowsuit. ;\

I just figured jeans would never really be for me.  I don’t have the money to buy the expensive stuff or get a pair tailored, so I never bothered w/the denim section in stores.  (Even in the fluffy-chick sections.)  It was just too depressing, embarrassing, upsetting & aggravating to try again and again and again w/no success, so the closest I ever came to “looking for” jeans was to note a cute pair on telly, or admire some flashy ones w/an appreciative nod as I walked by them in the Junior’s or “regular” section (as I made my way to the “fat-chick clothes”).  Being plus-size has always meant wearing the ugly, the plain, and/or the matronly, and up until recent years, we big girls have been taught to think that that’s just our frigging lot in life.  But OF COURSE I wanted those spangly, decorated, cartoon-covered, graffiti-ed, lace-inlaid, torn-kneed, dark & super-“skinny”, fashionably fabulous jeans.  Despite what I wear most of the time, I have always been a fan of fashion, and for a long time, even considered going into the design business.  I’ve always been keenly aware of what I was missing out on.  And it SUCKS.  But you suck it up.  You live, and dea w/whatcha got.

Jeans “just weren’t for me,” so why bother?

And THAT’S what makes this kind of thing so remarkable.  I found a pair of jeans I -ADORE,- when I wasn’t even looking.  I had almost lost even those last, tiny, faint & dying vestiges of hope that I’d ever find SOMETHING in the jean world to fit me.  Not something matronly and plain mind you.  Something CUTE.  After a lifetime of tries & failures (even trying on stuff I didn’t like- just to see if it would work), I’d given up 99.99% on finding anything- ever.  (And that last .01 percent?  It had alllllmost faded down to non-existence too.)  Plus, thanks to The Jeans Dilemma, I pretty much had written off all denim; outside of occasionally mooning over fabulously funky jean jackets- which I can’t resist when decorated w/pins and buttons and such. ;))  

So this “happenstance” occurrence (to me) is an AMAZING, mind-blowing, almost life-changing thing.  *beams*  Here I am, thirty-something years old, and I just bought my first pair of REAL jeans. ^_^  I am realizing a childhood dream. -Even if it is a seemingly minor, superficial one. :)  And even though I’ve come to peace with (hell, grown to love) my outcast, weirdo nature, I’m realizing how much that one piece of unfulfilled childhood meant to me.  Jeans were a symol of belonging, of being “normal,” and to not have that meant a lot more than I realized, I guess.  ..It’s kind of incredible how tiny, little moments like this can mean soooo much to somebody.. huh..?  

It sort of reminds me of those makeover shows on TV.  I like ‘em for just this reason.  ’Cause it’s not just about the clothes. :)

And the best part?  These jeans are SUPER swank. ^_^  They are dark blue, blinged out and studded, w/REAL pockets in the back (and those have kick-butt studding on ‘em too). :)  They have gentle kitty whiskers & just the right shading in the wash on the legs, and I positively LURVEZ them.  ^_^  (But somehow they weren’t over $30.. which makes a MAJOR difference to me, given my tiny budget.  Which means they were affordable AND schmexy, making this absolute serendipity. ^_^)  ..Honestly?  I love them so much, I pulled them out of the bag once I got in the car n’ held them to my chest-and rode that way-all the way home; just as excited and eager and bubbly as a little kid.  (Yep, I know I’m a dork. ;)  Now let’s just thank God I don’t drive! ;D)  If I can, I’ll snap a pic for you guys (as Cato doesn’t tend to feature many clothing items on their site; given the quantity of merch. they go through).  Buuuut I’ll also see what I can drum up online. :) 

I fully intend to wear them w/my Belladonna tank top, shrug & light belly gear. ^_^  Hell, they’re so cute I could honestly wear ‘em w/anything. ^_^  So happy!! ^_^

..And I have Cato & my grandmother to thank for that. ^_^

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Note:  I know this isn’t tremendously bellydance-related, but it IS big-girl related, and as this blog is about more than just bellydance, I wanted to share it w/you all, here. :)  I figured it might make a difference to other fluffy girls out there, maybe give folks of every size hope, and who knows? Maybe it’ll get Cato a little more business for their PS department. :)  They may not always be my bag stylistically, and they do a lot of clingy knits and narrow-hipped tops that I don’t think quite make sense for big girls (imo), but it’s GREAT to know they have some superb pieces, and that they’re OPEN to working w/fuller-figured ladies.  Some stores don’t even make the effort, and Cato can have some -really- cute stuff.  *points up*  Case in point. ;)  

Plus, they have a GREAT discounted jewelry section- and other folks might dig the shoes & bags that often go on clearance.  Especially if you’re lookin’ for good work-appropriate clothes, for girls on a budget, Cato can be a fun place. ^_^  ..Besides, I shimmied in them while gazing at myself in the changing-room mirror, just to see how they’d look w/BD gear…  *grins wryly*  So.. doesn’t that count? ;D

Love, Light, & Sooooo Much Laughter,
♥♥♥
Ylluria