Making Under America?

I just watched my first episode of "Making Over America" on TLC.

My feelings after watching it were mostly positive. I love that they love juicy big butts and full breasts. I love that they encourage a woman to accept herself as she is, not as she was or could someday be.

My only criticism would be that I don't share their fashion sense and I think they encouraged their fashion victim to wear things that seemed too tight.

"Size It Up" - Lucky Mag, August 2009

This is my new challenge to myself - take an outfit from a skinny fashion mag and "Size It Up" to plus size.

Here's today's inspiration: a beautiful, polished look with bohemian details to soften it up.

Here's my take: A peasant blouse from alight.com (wear it unbuttoned for a more flattering V neckline) with a pencil skirt in a hot coral (color not shown in picture) from Jessica London. Unless you're model-tall, you'd probably have to hem the skirt to the appropriate length for you.

Not all plus sizers wear wide shoes, but for those who do, here's my pick for the "Size It Up" shoe: a chocolate brown slingback sandal (instead of an ankle strap - to keep the leg line long) from amazon.com.

Obviously, the earrings, necklace, and clutch from the inspiration photo (Page 126, August '09 Lucky) are already perfectly sized. And the clutch is only 25 bucks! :)

P.S. The Jessica London skirt doesn't do the inspiration one justice, admittedly, but pencil skirts were in short supply at the plus size stores I shopped for this look. This is a shame because I think they're great for plus sizers who are smooth through the hip (no saddlebags or as I call them "ledges and bumpouts") or are smaller on bottom than top like apple shapes (so this look does NOT work for my bumpy pear body type...woe is me!)

My Summer Look

If you see me at the Saturday Market or breezing around town in the sultry weather, here's what I'll be sporting:

What I love about this maxidress from Fashion Bug is the underarm coverage, the width of the straps, the empire waistness, and the over-the-top color & pattern. So summer.

I would rock it out with these Embellished cork wedges from Zappos.com (just about my absolute fave place to get shoes.)

Safety definitely comes first with Prada sunglasses. (Ok, I'm not really gonna shell out the $290 for these, but a girl can dream, right?)

Add this great, inexpensive woven tote from Target (pronounced Tar-zzzhjay) - I went spendy on the sunglasses, so I can get the bag on the cheap and still look fansational, right? Throw on a couple of mixed metallic bangle bracelets, and heat up the place!

(Only $140 for the whole outfit if you wear your old sunglasses but the Prada ones do kind of glam it up.)

Way to Wear a Summer Dress Out-of-Season

I saw this cute little number at Alight and thought it would be an ingenius way to wear some of my summer dresses that feel too short for any season other than summer. Make a longer slip and waist cinching panel out of a fabric that complements the dress, add a jacket or cardigan, and there you go!!!

(I might forego the big bow at the side, but that's just me. I like cleaner lines.)

Lucky, April '09

A most excellent issue!! I tore out a hundred things for my scrapbook, and here are a few of the best:

I'm in love with the sweetly feminine but modern outfits featured throughout. Obviously, the editors were in a Springtime frame of mind, starting with this sweet cotton floral top embellished with rosettes on p72:

Part of a multi-page spread, page 174 is a veritable treasure trove of put-together looks. Suitable for any body shape - just add a bag and some jewelry and run out the door feeling fresh and lovely!

I'm digging the sort of bathrobe sexiness of a coat or shirtdress over another dress. (P171 and 175.)

Makes me want to go to a garden party!

Only one accessory I want to show you this month (besides shoes of course.)

I found this ring so unique and intriguing, I plan to use it as an inspiration for a bracelet. I can imagine it having the feeling of a vintage wrist corsage.

I picked out 3 pairs of shoes to feature this month. (What, me? Shoes?)

If you're a person who has traditionally found high heels too uncomfortable (or too scary), I highly recommend a wedge heel. They are SO sturdy and SO comfortable you won't even know you're wearing heels, and they have all the benefits of less-comfortable heels, like giving you a little extra height and a longer leg line.

These on page 88 are amazing and (depending on your skin tone) will make your gams look a mile long! I'm logging on to Zappos.com right after I get done here...

The outfit is nice too, but as a pear, I don't do pencil skirts. Great for an apple though!

This next pair is adorable, but ugh - the price tag! (p72, $240) When I saw them, I thought, why not get a cute pair of flats at Payless and add a coordinating butterfly embellishment?

Savings = About $200. Send me a picture if you do it! You can keep your $200. :)

This last pair is pure fantasy. Ridiculous really, as they're probably WAY too tall for your average girl. They're definitely too tall for me and I wear heels every day. (p72)

But how deliciously, dreamily ridiculous.

Lucky Magazine, March, 2009

Even with a somewhat unimpressive cover and strange headlines that didn't quite match the contents, this was still a great issue.

The cover article that promised "Body-flattering outfits for normal sized people" should have been called "...for A normal sized PERSON" because it was a one-page, one-person deal, but she was a really cute, curvy gal. To be honest though, I liked her in her "before" jeans and curve hugging tshirt best! (Page 100)

The best corporate-without-being-an-automaton look can be found on page 190. Girls with good legs and smaller bottoms can go with this skirt; I'll wear mine a tad darker and several inches longer. Otherwise, kudos forthe whole look. ---->

Best look in the book: an ad actually - on page 56.

Banan Republic model/singer/songwriter Ayo

(didn't know her before this ad) has such an effervescent smile

I want to kiss her.

And the trench aint half-bad either.

(Hope the belt is faux python however.)

Clothes: Adorable boxy jacket/top on page 82.

<---- Would try this on an apple-shape over a pencil skirt?

Bright windbreaker on page 112. Everybody needs a pop of color! ----->

<------Cap sleeve peplum top also on 112. So flattering for a pear girl.

Beautiful classic sillhouette dress on page 122. ---->

It's Armani - $895. (Wow.) Let's have a contest to see who can knock it off best on their home sewing machine. I can name that tune for under $50...

I'm not usually a white-dress person,

but this little dress/belt/vest combo makes me think Meditteranean vacation and swarthy greek gods. (p169)

I'd wear it to the knee of course,

with a low heeled gladiator sandal.

Page 179 has a whole mix and match outfit I love! I'll just circle the items you need and you can go shopping. Pair with a simple brown or black wide-leg trouser and some garnet or ruby earrings, and you're set.

Even if you're not Sporty Spice, you gotta love these cute kicks with this retro-inspired T. (Avoid the top if you're an apple-shape though, you might look a bit unbalanced.) P182

When did romantic, sweetheart tops like this come back into fashion? And may I also say, "YEAH!" (184) ---->

Accessories: Stunning flower hair clips on page 70.

---->

Lusciously pretty floral ring! I tried to find it at forever21.com and couldn't. :(

Love Love LOVE this necklace from page 94. Only $35 bux!

Shoes: Ok, shoes are accessories. But I love them too much to lump them. Fricken-satisfyingly-substantial-without-being-too-chunky red sandal. I gave up being vegan for shoes like this. (I still don't eat anything that comes from a creature, but this leather is a cast-off waste-product from other people's meat habit that would have just gone into a landfill. Right? Oh the justifications I'll make for really good shoes. )

And these little floral flats are adorable.

Ok, so it wasn't all good. Worst look in the book: seersuckerish romper page 192.

What. Ever. Twice. I can't even bear to include a photo here.

Overall Review: Darned good issue. On the downside, I think their cover is starting to get further and further away from what's ACTUALLY in the issue, but what was in there was juicy and full of goodness, so a solid "A" for their March effort.

My Favorite Subject - Shoes!

People have been embellishing their clothes, their accessories, and even themselves since, well, forever. But I'm always so excited when something is easy, creative, and cheap! Here's a pair of shoes I got at Payless for $10 on sale. They're a perfect fit, a deep burgundy color, and a classic almost-retro style. And the V shape and the pointy toe add to the length of the leg. As soon as I saw them I knew they would look great - with a little embellishment.

I went shopping. Craigslist, eBay, Goodwill - I hit 'em all. What was I looking for? A pair of vintagey crystal brooches (matching) or some gaudy old sparkly clip-on earrings. I found these old Avon earrings at eBay for under $5.

Not sure how anyone wore them on their EARS - they're huge! But I think they transform these shoes from ho-hum to hot!

Maybe I haven't found just the right pair of clip-ons (that's another nice thing about this technique...you can change it up for every mood!) since I was looking for rhinestones rather than pearls, but I still think they look quite special.

Ideas for embellishing shoes: add jewelry, crystals, paint, feathers, silk flowers, fabric, leather, tassels, bows, trim, coins, paper, buttons, beads, or gems! Here are some sites I found - but there are a million out there!

http://www.mjtrim.com/Centers/Projects/23.aspx

http://shoes.about.com/od/boots/ig/Embellished-Shoes/

http://nostalgiaatthestonehouse.blogspot.com/2008/03/embellished-shoes.html

http://www.zimbio.com/Shoes+And+Fashion/articles/848/Hip+Trend+Embellished+Shoes