The Perks of a Plus Size Blogger

The plus size community seems to be at antsy with itself lately and it is a sad thing to see.

Bloggers are being accused of various things to include: peacocking about working with brands, having too many gifted items on their blogs, always going on about going to events and generally saying that everything is "gorgeous" as long as it is free.  They are also accused of encouraging consumerism and killing fairies.  Ok, not the last one, but such negatively towards people in the same community as yourself makes me rant a little.

I properly started blogging about fashion about a year and a half ago.  I started because I caught sight of Becky's blog, saw all the fabulous, colourful and fashionable clothes that she was wearing and her awesome attitude and thought to myself, I want a piece of that.  Not the free clothes, the confidence and her attitude.

The number of plus size fashion blogs I read grows on a daily basis.  I don't pick and choose based on their brand interaction, I chose on the basis of if I find their blog interesting and also the kinds of clothes that they wear.  Seeing how clothes work on different bodies is extremely helpful to a plus size person and also seeing someone wearing something that you would not have dared to, encourages you to be a little more adventurous and jump out of your comfort zone.

One of the unexpected perks that has arisen is that occasionally I get opportunities from brands in order to review clothes or maybe attend an event. This isn't something I expect or court, but when it does happen, it is obviously extremely exciting. When I see other bloggers doing similar things, I feel happy for them also. 

The biggest perk I have gained from blogging though is this: I am so much more than the shadow of the person that I used to be.  Fashion blogging has completely changed my life. I am no longer hiding and I wear the clothes that I want to, not the clothes that I "should".

Someone said on Twitter today that wearing clothes doesn't give you confidence, but they are wrong.  Fashion can take you out of your safe place, which often can be the very place that you are hiding in, and into places that you could never dream of. 

The other bloggers in the community continue to inspire me and I draw my own confidence from them.  I don't care if the clothes they show are free, paid for, stolen or borrowed, what makes me continue to read their blogs is their confidence and their friendliness to others.

The plus size community has always been a supportive and friendly one and it is a shame when discomfort arises because some work with brands and others don't.   Blogging is hard work and time consuming, especially if you are working too, or have children, or both! If someone gets a perk from doing their blog then well done to them.

I love writing my blog, both my opinion posts and my fashion posts.  If I stop loving it, I'll stop, simple as that.  If you don't kind reading someone's blog, then don't read it.

This is just a little of my perspective, but I urge you to check out Hanna's post and Leah's post

*Edit
Having read Gina's comments on the Facebook feed

Capes for Heroes

Today is the donation date that I have been speaking about on a couple of blog posts recently. 

The idea behind it stemmed from the Facebook #nomakeupselfie from a couple of weeks ago. 

What I have noticed about these Facebook games is that it is always focussed on cancer.  Whilst Cancer Research is of course a very worthy cause, what about the other charities that need donations and awareness as well? Alzheimer’s Research, The Stroke Association, FMA UK, SANE, the RSPCA, the Down’s Syndrome Association, everyone has a charity that means something to them because a friend or relative is or has been affected or indeed themselves.

I want to do something to emphasis that although charities like Cancer Research are important; there are others out there too that need help and support. 

The idea is that we are all to post on our blogs and Facebook/Twitter accounts a picture of ourselves holding a sign with the name of your chosen charity, the link or text message number of how you can donate and the hashtag #IDonated. 

Here is a bit about my chosen charity and my picture!

Capes 4 Heroes is a non profit organisation that have a very simple, but very powerful idea. Here’s what they have to say:

“We make and personalize superhero capes for kids with disabilities, kids with life threatening illnesses and kids who just need to feel empowered. We hope our capes give these deserving kids an extra boost of strength and courage and make them feel like the superheroes they truly are!”

Sometimes it isn’t about trying to cure a disease, sometimes it is as simple as putting a smile on a child’s face when they really need to smile.

You can donate a cape to a child for $30 or alternatively whatever you can afford to via Paypal on this link You can also nominate a child who you think needs a superhero cape of their own on the website. They also send capes to the UK.

Marisota Pop Up Shops

Last week I was invited to attend the preview night of the +Marisota  Manchester Pop Up Shop.  Mark Heyes would be there with his beautiful Ava Range and also other items would be available to have a look at from the Marisota Shapeology range.

A new report undertaken by Marisota has revealed that more than two thirds of women in Manchester now shop by shape,preferring flattering clothes to designer labels (83%).

It's Shapeology study, which targeted 100 women over the age of 45 in Manchester, suggests that out of all occasions from graduations to first dates, women from the city found it hardest to shop for outfits for weddings (46%) and summer holidays the worst (21%) for wardrobe dilemmas.

More than one third (31%) struggle to find clothes that suit their shape, with almost half (47%) wanting to hide their flaws, while 51% want to enhance their best bits.

Marisota has used a new technology called Shapeology to ensure every garment has some sort of hidden paneling and support, as well as clever colour blocking throughout the range.

Upon arrival I was immediately offered a glass of champagne (a good start off in my books!) and was made to feel welcome from the start.  Mark was on hand to greet everyone and I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour of the clothing after which Mark picked out some items for me to try on.

Now at this point I have to say that I am an idiot.  I had my camera with me, all ready to snap pictures of the clothes, only to find after a few photographs that I had somehow forgotten my memory card.  Silly silly girl.

Here are a few of the pictures I did manage to take along with a photograph of myself and Mark. 

Edit Scuba Print Dress

You can find the dress above as well as some other favourites that I found below in the Ava Collection by Mark Heyes

I have already ordered the blue jersey top with the mesh stripe detailing and the aztec trousers and have a feeling that they will be worn a lot over the Summer!