Tuesday 8 May 2012

Curvy Cosmo Column


Following on from my Chewing the Fat post, which lamented the lack of 'in-betweener' girls in the fashion blogging community (as in bloggers tend to be one end of the scale or another: large and curvy, or very slim and model-esque), Cosmopolitan magazine has impressed me by bringing on board a new columnist by the name of Laura Puddy. Laura is much like me in that she has no standard size in clothing; pieces in my wardrobe range from a size 12 to a 16. In H&M I'm generally a 14 in trousers or the like and whilst some tops fit me in a medium, some large barely fit over the boys (i.e., my boobs!). In Topshop and River Island I can generally get into a 12 in trousers, although due to the extreme weight loss I underwent five years ago I have excess skin around my tummy and so I usually have to get a 14 so I don't get a saggy-skinned muffin top, but then they don't fit me around my thighs. Sorry, that's probably too much information for you but I have insisted from day one that my blog will be incredibly honest. After all, you see dramatic weight loss on telly, but rarely do they discuss that the skin does not recede, no matter how tight your abs are, if you've been severely overweight as an adult. Spanx are a good friend to me!

I digress! So, Laura's column will be showcasing her experiences as a curvy fashionista in what most people see as a skinny girls industry. As well as outlining what she's been up to, I believe the column will also show a few fashion pieces which are suitable for those of us that have wobbly bits that we want to hide (that's not to say size 10 ladies don't have bits they prefer to keep hidden, let's try to be fair here!). I have only read her introductory column to date due to workloads, however in that feature she also explains why the pieces she is showing us are good for those with big boobs, bums, hips, thighs, whatever! So even if you're very slim but have a pear shape, you might still get useful tips on how to flatter your shape from Laura. I would like to congratulate Cosmopolitan on taking this important first step and I wish Laura all the best with her column. I for one will be hooked to it, I'm sure - even if I am trying to shift the few pounds I've put on over the last nine months of my MA!

Let me know if you read Laura's column and what you think of it.

Nicole x

4 comments:

  1. Designer clothes look better on skinny girls, that's just the way it is. Being healthy or not is another matter.

    / Avy
    http://MyMotherFuckedMickJagger.blogspot.com



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    1. Most designers only cater to skinny girls in the first place. I'm not advocating being overweight or underweight and I did make this clear in the first post, but not here admittedly. Being healthy and having a good life are the things I prioritise. I find your comment incredibly interesting as generally I would agree that smaller girls can wear a wide range of styles and make it look good, where as bigger girls can't. However as a woman that has been a size 8 but still has a FF bust size, I have never, in any of my guises, looked like a model. My point is that not everyone does resemble the women we see in the media and therefore it is nice that magazines are starting to recognise that fact. After all, just because not all clothing will look good on a larger model, it doesn't mean that no garments would look good on her at all (obviously, I assume you're not suggesting that). All I ask is that a wider range of sizes are represented in the media as it's nice to see healthy girls and how they dress their shape.

      Thanks for your input.

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  2. I really like this post, as a 12/14/16 /18 in different shops I really see why this article is important to you, I have given up on trying to buy pleated skirts and horizontal stripes because they aren't realistic to my figure. I have come to terms with the fact that I will only ever buy a size 8 in topshop in the form of a shoe and Jane Norman can stick her size 14 in the size 10 rail where it should be. Bravo to Laura and thank you for writing this post, I will definitely be following her colum and your blog xx

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    1. Thank you! I really appreciate your honest response to this post and I honestly know how you feel. There are some fashion that girls like us cannot wear and we just have to be realistic about that fact. However I do feel that more should be said about our experiences as shoppers and the like, so that other women don't feel alone. Thanks again for your words :) x

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