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Friday, August 31


This t-shirt is one of my favourites! I got it when I was in Portland last year in a vintage store. You can't really see, but it has a man with a massive muffin top standing on a set of scales with the slogan "Low Fat", which I kind of loved. I remember I found it a day before I was due to fly to Oakland for NOLOSE, and well, it called to me. I got my boyfriend to slash the neck the other weekend - it just seems to go with so much more now! Also, check out my tiny tiny attempt at a topknot! 

Tee, thrifted, $10
Skirt, handmade
Shoes, George, £6 (similar here)


Yesterday I made a trip to get the first stages of a thigh tattoo started, and I thought I’d share the to date photos as a memory of what it’s like at the end of the first session. I get the shading and colouring finished in about four weeks time and I am already pretty excited! I already have a small piece, but it was something I did without planning about 7 years back. This is the first piece I’ve had done with lots of planning and with a tattoo artist I respect and who came super highly recommended (for anyone in Yorkshire it’s Gareth from Black CrownTattoo, a studio which literally came recommended from pretty much every tattooed person I know!).




I chose to have my thigh tattooed because it’s maybe one of the fattest parts of me, and it’s a part of me that I’ve always felt strong and powerful in. I remember hating being stocky when I was growing up, having a bit of a hockey players build which was impossible to clothe. I’ve always been clumsy too, which has resulted in more bangs, bruises and scabs than I care to recall. It’s funny now actually, I seem to not even notice the bumps and surprise myself with a new bump regularly. I can’t even articulate how uncomfortable I felt growing up like this – I grew up in a very middle class area (albeit in a housing estate in the area in a working class family), and I used to feel like these marks betrayed me – they made me conscious of my inability to fit places, of my need to work in manual labour jobs where my friends didn’t. I never really stood a chance of having an unmarked body. Now I’m proud of my shape, the way I’m taller than most women and built to take up space. I like that I’m stocky, that I’m strong and powerfully built, and however that resonates with my family of similarly built bodies. I’m not traditionally feminine, but I employ femininity anyway (as well as masculinity sometimes too), on my own terms. I wear dresses with my bruises and bumps, on my body that I’m supposed to cover up in the interest of the general public.

Being tattooed is embodied art, and where you have pieces factors into your experience of that piece. I’ve written before about the politics of having a “marked body”, but mainly from the perspective of being fat and having stretchmarks, scars, lumps and bumps etc. I know that tattooing is fairly mainstream now, however, I still feel it’s transgressive because it rails against the logic that (particularly as women) we should be clean, unmarked, chasing after youth and the innocence that a completely unmarked body (hairless, bruiseless, smooth, without bruises or scars or marks of any kind) seems to suggest. I chose to get a sewing machine tattooed on me because it’s a part of my history – working class crafting, making something out of no or few resources, and body acceptance too, which is what started me making clothes regularly again. Choosing a personal facet of my history and having it inscribed on me acknowledges that my history has shaped me, my body and my experience of it.

(Also, it’s just beautiful!)

It was a really empowering experience – I didn’t really expect that actually. I knew that I felt strong enough to deal with the pain, but I was nervous that I would be a wimp throughout, that I’d need to stop or wouldn’t go back for the second half. I was surprised at how easily I dealt with it, at how strong I am when I need to be. I’ve been through things, and they’ve shaped me in a way which makes me strong and tough in moments like this, and that in itself is awesome. 

Roll on shading and four weeks time!

Wednesday, August 29



As you can probably tell, I'm packing at the minute! My partner and I are due to move to London in a little over two weeks time, where I'll be going in postgrad education. As a result outfit posts may well seem a little cramped for a while as I try and fit them in around boxes. You might also get a few silly poses like this!

This is a really old dress, which I cut up a bit originally to make it a little more boob friendly. I felt like being incredibly pink today, which is apparently my favourite colour at the minute, so I'm ridiculously co-ordinated, probably to a new level of obnoxiousness.

You can't really see them, but I also have new shoes!
I bought these in the ASOS sale for £28. They're basically flats, but with a small platform, and they're seriously really comfortable. I like them because they're slightly fancy but I can still run about in them without noticing them. They're still on site here  in most sizes, and in leopard print too here. I love them so much I'm considering owning the leopard print too! FYI, the size 8 is pretty generous.

Cardigan, £7, Dorothy Perkins
Dress, £4, charity shop (DIYed neckline)
Shoes, £28 ASOS (buy them here)

Tuesday, August 28

Giveaways

Hello hello!

Just a quickie to announce the winners of my giveaways with Elomi, Chubby Cartwheels and Domino Dollhouse. Congratulations to Debbie, Lauren and Gillian - you should all have or have had emails from me! Enjoy your winnings, and also many thanks to each of the brands for donating such awesome prizes.

The folks at Yours Clothing got in contact with me recently to offer me the chance to review some pieces from their new collection. After having a nosey on their website, I came across these red chinos which looked garish and wonderful to me. 

I decided to test drive them at work today. I went for the size 24, but whilst the waist fits just perfectly, the hips and legs are a bit baggy on me. I seem to be awkwardly between a 22 and 24 at the minute in trousers, which means things do fit me a bit oddly. These seem well made and worth the price, but I'm a little disappointed that the legs aren't as slim fitting on me as they are on the product page. The ankle length is cute though. I'm tempted to tailor them a bit myself as the material is lovely, breathable and I do like the colour a lot. 

Top, Dorothy Perkins
Trousers, courtesy of Yours (buy them here)
Shoes, Dorothy Perkins (still available (just!) here)

p.s. giveaway winners, I'll be contacting you shortly!!

Friday, August 17


Okay, so a leather jacket has been on my list of things to own for years now, I even remember finding one in a vintage shop a few years back, but not buying because I didn't have the funds. I was reminded of it when I saw this beautiful leather jacket on ASOS curve. I'm far from having £100 to drop on a jacket, so I did some eBay hunting and ended up buying this, which is fake leather, nearly new and originally from Dorothy Perkins, for about £35. Shortly after this version popped up on Inspire for £40, which is a much more tempting price point for the more budget conscious of us. 

I have been wearing it with everything this week, it's just perfect for toughening up an everyday look. 

Leather jacket, £35, eBay (similar styles available here and here)
Geometric printed t-shirt, Forever 21, £7
Mustard midi skirt, Dorothy Perkins, £20
Leopard print peep toes, Crocs (available here)


Wednesday, August 15

Weekly Favourites

(Very late, sorry!)








And some powerfully awesome links:

Of Another Fashion is a tumblr archive featuring fashion histories of people of colour. As a trainee archivist (I start my course in about six weeks!), I'm really passionate about making alternative histories available and accessible. There is nothing more powerful than finding connections in your history, particularly if you're of an identity group that is often written out of mainstream commentary. I actually had a little cry at how amazing this collection is, and it made me remember that I wanted to do something similar about fat histories. 

Two zines from the Queer Zine Archive Project, which is amazing in itself (be aware though, you'll lose hours on the site!):

Seriously, I'm always in completely awe at the impact that the internet has had on access to archival objects, and on exposing alternative histories and rewriting what we understand as mainstream histories. People conceive of archiving as just looking after dusty objects, but there's so much power and politics invested in what is seen and what isn't even accessioned. I'm always really excited to find new projects and new people/collectives working towards such amazing projects. 


My latest DIY project was this cute denim skater/mini circle skirt. I've been after one for a while and it occurred to me that I could probably knock one up for much less than a shop bought one. I started it a few weeks back, then my sewing machine decided to completely give up the ghost, jam when I so much look at it, and ended up in for a good old service. It came back last week, and I rejoiced at it being easy to use once more (seriously, I thought I'd lost the ability to work one for a while!). 

Anyway, so this was my first project with pockets, and hey, look, they're even feature pockets! They're pretty massive:


I'd like to be able to add a version of this skirt to my etsy soon (when it's back up), because seriously, it's the most comfortable thing ever. It has an elasticated waist, and the stretch denim has enough weight to hold the skirt down without any Marilyn moments. 

Today was one of those days where I feel like dressing a bit fancy for no reason, probably much to my colleagues' amusement! My hair was looking super fluffy, so I quiffed it and shoved it up with grips this morning, then added my old faithful feather clip: 






Also, these are my new sandals, bought from Dorothy Perkins in their sale for all of £6. Seriously, they are the most comfortable things ever - I've never found sandals that feel comfortable, they always poke and jab in horrible places. These get bonus points for having a tiny heel and also being easy to cycle in. Hurrah! 


 

 Blouse, ASOS curve, £9
Skirt, DIY
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £5
Shoes, Dorothy Perkins, £6

Monday, August 13

Giveaway the third: Chubby Cartwheels!

Hi everyone!

I come bearing the last of my blog birthday giveaway prizes. This giveaway is run in conjunction with the seriously awesome Chubby Cartwheels, who are easily one of my favourite indie brands at the minute. I love how Shawna has taken some of the most trend focused fabrics of the past few seasons (velvet, lace, mesh) and made them into unapologetic and well, just plain badass pieces. Their size range - 14-32 - is easily one of the widest I've seen, and the price point is ace too. I'm definitely ogling pretty much every piece of their current collection for my wardrobe this fall. Here are my favourite pieces from the site:




Chubby Cartwheels have offered a seriously awesome prize to one of you: an item of your choice from their website. All you have to do to enter is visit their website, and let me know your website item (hey, you all know how this works by now!) in the comments to this blogpost. Make sure you log your comments in the below widget, and you also have a chance to get some additional entries there too.

Good luck lovelies!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.s. you've only got a few hours left to enter the Elomi giveaway, and a week left for the Domino Dollhouse giveaway.

Tuesday, August 7

Giveaway: Domino Dollhouse!

Hello again everyone!

I’m excited to announce the second birthday/anniversary giveaway – this time, I’m working with the spectacular Domino Dollhouse. DominoDollhouse need no introductions really – the Rebel Rebel and Urban Mermaids collections have been incredibly enthusiastically received this year, and I’m sure you’ve seen pieces of theirs on most plus size bloggers!

I love Domino Dollhouse because they’re independent, alternative, reasonably priced and also in a much more generous size range than most other brands. The clothes are brave, on trend and unapologetic, the models are pretty badass and genuinely FAT, and they’re a brand which has surfaced within the fat pos community, which is just fantastic. Here are a few of my favourite pieces:







Domino Dollhouse have very generously offered to donate a $50 voucher to one lucky reader! All you *have* to do to enter is visit their website, have a nosey and let me know what your favourite item is in the comments below. As per my last giveaway (which you can still enter here!), I’ve given you more opportunities to win in the below gadget.

Good luck lovelies! x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, August 6


Hello all! This weekend I made a rather bold decision to go a bit nuts with my hair colour. After a not particularly successful bleach I bought some pink dye and lo and behold, I'm even more obnoxious than normally! I'm not sure what pink means for my many red things, perhaps a larger interest in colour clashing?!

Dressed in some of my favourite things today, the first dress I ever made, cambridge satchel and some rather nifty flatforms I picked up in the Dorothy Perkins sale for about £6!

Dress, handmade
Cambridge Satchel, gifted
Shoes, Dorothy Perkins, £6

P.s. Don't forget to get your entries in for the fantastic Elomi giveaway!