Browsing Category

Fashion

Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James Line Is Now Dressing Plus Sizes

Photo: Draper James for Eloquii via Bustle.com

Eloquii is well known for stocking its online shelves with chic and trendy pieces that work from desk to drinks and beyond. But now the brand’s signature city-savvy is getting a sweet Southern twist by partnering up with Reese Witherspoon’s brand, Draper James.

The screen star launched the lifestyle brand back in 2015 where it quickly found fans of its delightfully darling array of attire and home accents all across the South. In fact, according to Bustle, the brand has brandched out into brick in mortar with a flagship in Nashville and stores popping up in Dallas, Lexington, and Atlanta. But Refinery29 notes that while DJ has served sizes up to XXL (size 16) since its start, Witherspoon sought to fulfill customers’ requests for expanded sizing.

“We were determined to set out to find the right partner to better serve her, which led us to Eloquii, a brand whose fashion and fit we love,” Witherspoon shared in a press release as well as on Eloquii’s site. “It’s been such a fun and rewarding experience to work with Eloquii on this collaboration.”

The 23-piece collection hit the web on Tuesday, featuring charming takes on classic spring silhouettes, including denim, dresses, graphic tees, and even jumpsuits that would work in the boardroom or at a barbecue (depending on how you style them, of course). Not to mention a slew of accessories accented with cute phrases, like a canvas tout emblazoned with “This n’ That” and a “Totes Y’all” carryall. Plus there’s another collection from the collaboration called Hello Darlin’ that’s slated to hit shelves in April! Prices will range from $55 to $225. So while they might not be considered the most budget-friendly, there are plenty of solid investment pieces that you can rock for a few years, not just a single season.

And though many might know me as Jersey girl or a New Yorker (gotta love being part of the bridge-and-tunnel crowd!), very few know that I spent a significant part of my childhood living in Texas, and many of the pieces in the collection could easily assimilate into my aesthetic. Some of the statement pieces I’d add to cart would be the parrot embellished dress you can see on your right; the buttery yellow lace yoke shift dress that will have you looking sharp but sweet in mere seconds; the flirty and frilly red gingham skirt; the 3/4 sleeve wrap top that’s also available in gingham, allowing you to make a matching set with the skirt; and the parrot print jumpsuit that would look great at any spring or summer soiree on your schedule.

It’s another awesome move that the industry has taken in recent weeks to make fashion, regardless of your signature style, more open to all. And while there hasn’t been word that the collaboration will continue after the aforementioned April arrivals, I’ve got my fingers crossed that both brands will make it a permanent partnership.

Planning to pick up a few pieces for yourself? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

March 6, 2018 by Val

Fashion

OMG, Chromat’s Coming to Nordstrom In Sizes Up to 3X!

A post shared by CHROMAT (@chromat) on Feb 14, 2018 at 8:03pm PST

Chromat’s been known for delivering eye-catching designs dressed on models of all sizes since it first rocked the runway at New York Fashion Week back in 2010. But the “future-forward body wear” brand is celebrating a big breakthrough: it’s coming to Nordstrom with an order that includes sizes up to 3X!

Chromat’s designer Becca McCharen-Tran shared the good news during a panel for the opening of the Fashion Institute of Technology’s latest exhibit, “The Body: Fashion and Physique,” where she sat alongside Christian Siriano and Kim Jenkins, a professor and lecturer at both Parsons and Pratt Institute, to discuss increase in inclusivity in the indutry. Slated to hit Nordstrom in March or April (just in time for Spring Break), McCharen-Tran told Refinery29 that though she’s nervous and excited about the it, she’s already ahead of the curve — yes, pun intended — to fulfill the unexpected order with help from a factory with curve sizing experience. After all, it’s been her mission to create clothes for all bodies that made Chromat’s show one of the most-watched during Fashion Week and earned her a runner-up spot for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2017, according to Fashionista. But those sizes haven’t always been readily available on store shelves. “We were so surprised,” McCharen-Tran told Refinery29. “That’s why the order with Nordstrom is so important. It’s the first time a retailer has been so supportive of our curve inclusive mission.”

So what’s kept the brand’s larger sizes off the sales rack until now? According to McCharen-Tran, it’s the fact that retailers haven’t reached out about them. The designer noted that the burgeoning brand has been wholesale focused, producing only what had been ordered from major retailer like Barneys and Revolve, who never asked for them. “No one has ever bought above a size large for us,” she said. “Barneys has never bought above a size large, so we were producing extra sizes on our own.”

The good news comes on the heels of Nordstrom recently stocking the sales floor with straight and curve offerings from Khloe Kardashian‘s Good American brand sitting side by side on the rack instead of separting them. It’s an annoyingly common practice at brick and mortar stores which often places plus-size sections in a corner or on a completely seperate floor, almost out of sight of others because heaven forbid a larger woman is seen shoping alongside her straight-sized counterparts. But McCharen-Tran has hope that small steps like these will not only lead to more visibility for diverse body types beyond the runway and less segregation on the sales rack but also to universal sizing standards. “Hopefully that’s where retail is heading, to be honest,” she said, though Siriano noted that it could depend on the types of garments and the materials used to create them. “So that everyone can know based on their measurements what size they are anywhere.”

So now’s the time to rewatch the Chromat’s Spring 2018 recent runway to start thinking about which of the chic swimsuits styles you’re planning to add to cart as soon as they arrive at Nordstrom!

February 27, 2018 by Val

Fashion

Plus Size Models Take to The Streets of London Fashion Week

Embed from Getty Images

Plus-size fashion has incresingly become part of the style spotlight in New York with the likes of Ashley Graham, Candice Huffine, Marquita Pring, Iskra Lawrence, and many more becoming a runway regulars this season. But there are still plenty of places where the plus-size set are squeezing themselves in just to be seen by the industry, like London Fashion Week.

Hayley Hasselhoff — yup, you guessed it, David Hasselhoff’s daughter — joined a crowd of fellow curvy models, diversity activists, and influencers, including Megan Jayne Crabbe, Sonny Turner, and Callie Thorpe, for a protest during London Fashion Week early Friday morning. The group, which was organized byplus-size fashion retailer Simply Be (which caters to sizes 12-32), stood outside of the LFW show area in their skivvies, holding signs calling out the UK fashion industry for its lack of size inclusivity with phrases like “LFW —Where Are the Curves?” and “Curves Shouldn’t Mean Compromise.”

It isn’t the first time that the retailer has used its platform to protest at London Fashion Week. Last year, Simply Be not only took to the streets but also kicked off the fashion festivities by hosting its own Curve Catwalk that featured a mix of models and influencers and became the U.K.’s most size diverse runway. But this time around, the brand sought to use the protest to make the industry more accessible after discovering that while the average dress size in the U.K. is a size 16, according to research it had commissioned, 89% of participants didn’t feel their size was represented on the runway or in ads.

“We want the fashion industry to change the way it represents body shapes,” Angela Spindler, chief executive N Brown Group plc, which owns Simply Be, told The Evening Standard. “This isn’t about ‘skinny shaming’ we, think that shape should be celebrated irrespective of size and it’s time that the industry became more diverse — after all, fashion is for everyone.”

Hasselhoff echoed the same statements as the group also posed in denim jackets painted with phrases like “Flaunt it, Support It” and “Your size, No compromise” at Oxford Circus. “We want to give women everywhere the confidence to be who they are,” she explained. “This is only achieved by showing a wide variety of models irrespective of size. By tearing up the ‘one size’ fits fashion rule book we hope to encourage any woman, whatever her size, to feel fabulous in their skin.”

Hopefully this continues the conversation and leads to bigger changes and more visibility for diverse body shapes, sizes, and abilities!

February 16, 2018 by Val

Fashion

Gabi Gregg’s Latest Swimwear Collection Focuses On the Impact of Inclusivity

via GabiFresh.

Gabi Gregg is back on the sales rack with the her latest collection for Swimsuits for All. But this time around, there’s an even bigger message that goes beyond body positivity to go along with her bold designs.

Though I’ve loved how the influencer and entrepreneur has always used her platform to spread body positivity, her latest collection strikes an even more empowering chord thanks to its campaign. And I couldn’t be more excited about it! Featuring Philomena Kwao, a model and philanthropist, and Ericka Hart, an activist and sexuality educator, in the Survivor-inspired (the Destiny’s Child throwback, not the reality TV show) spread, each shared their own stories of survival and how it has empowered them to push forward for a better, more inclusive, future. “I wanna insert myself in a narrative where I’m oftentimes erased,” Hart said in an audio clip on Swimsuits For All’s site. “And just in general, you don’t get to see black, queer femmes talking about their bodies, and being topless, and pushing up against white supremacists’ notions of how we’re supposed to exist.”

January 9, 2018 by Val

Fashion

Rachel Antonoff Assembles Pretty Plus Size Picks for Gwynnie Bee

via Refinery 29

Rachel Antonoff is taking her penchant for fun and fresh prints and giving them a plus-size remix with Gwynnie Bee.

Antonoff’s collaboration is really something to celebrate, as it’s the latest in a line of designers who have linked up with the plus-size clothing subscription service. Antonoff’s signature aesthetic of quirky prints inspired by the every day and flattering silhouettes for women of different sizes and shapes has become the style blueprint for shows like Girls, even recruiting Lena Dunham herself to showcase the line in a short fashion film back in 2013. To see the line open itself up to a larger market—pun not intended—is amazing to see as Antonoff herself mentioned a plus size line is already in the works, creating a more inclusive space in an industry known for being straight and narrow (in many senses).

“Fashion has so many wonderful things about it, but there’s this aspect that it feels exclusionary, can be somewhat elitist, and make you feel like you’re supposed to look different than you do, or make you want to be something that you’re not,” she explained to Refinery29. “I’ve always felt like clothes should just be part of celebrating who you are and enhancing your day, whether it’s just because you’re more comfortable or you feel good in them, and I think the plus-size market is so important and not necessarily getting the attention it deserves yet. I think it’s starting to, but it’s not all the way there. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

And to celebrate the partnership, plus size fashionistas will be privy to some of the brand’s greatest hits in the seven pieces collection, including the dissected frog, florals, parrots, and a fruit salad prints. They arrived on Sunday, June 19th in the form of flowy tops and frocks fit for a summer filled with road trips, fun fêtes, and all-night excursions that will create memories to last a lifetime, regardless of your dress size. “I’m a fan of Gwynnie Bee, but in general, my approach to fashion has always been that it should be fun, it should be inclusive, and your clothing should be more of an accessory for an adventure or a good time than something that’s stressful.” Well, I’m always up for an adventure!

Head over to Refinery29 to check out the rest of the pretty, printed pieces that just hit shelves on Sunday to nab them now before they disappear!

June 20, 2016 by Val

Fashion, Hair

Recreate Rihanna’s Sparkling Style with These Haute Hair Accessories

via YouTube

Shine bright like a diamond! Rihanna looks dazzling in the “This Is What You Came For” video that just dropped. In the clip, the star plays directly to the camera in a glittering onesie and a high ponytail, but it was the array of brilliant hair accessories that really caught my eye. The sparkling spread of pearls and crystals looks like a fresh take on Blair Waldorf’s famous headbands, adding a formal/red carpet polish to the party. And if you had enough pieces of varying sizes, you can easily arrange them like a custom crown that’s all your own. I figured I wasn’t the only one who would want to recreate the style, so I searched the shelves for the perfect pieces to pick up to really rock this look for any upcoming summer soiree.

June 17, 2016 by Val

Fashion

Swooning Over Ashley Graham’s Sultry Swimwear

Courtesy of SwimsuitsforAll via People.com

Ashley Graham wants you to embrace your inner Bond (Jane Bond) on the beach this summer.

The mega model has linked up with SwimsuitsforAll to create a collection of espionage-inspired swimwear to make the straight and plus-size set feel super sexy. Though they’ve just hit the site on Monday, they’re selling out super fast. The 11-piece collection boasts a bevy of sultry silhouettes in sizes 10-24 for $79-$398 that will suit (wink wink) your style with everything from classic string bikinis, strappy monokinis, and other neoprene one-pieces that show off some serious skin. One of the standout selections includes a 007-inspired suit that Graham described as “truly like James Bond,” featuring a series of zippers for added sex appeal that doesn’t skimp on support. There is also a Swarovski-encrusted bikini (521 crystals to be exact) worthy of magazine spreads and personal style posts, though many wearing it will likely snag some of their strands in the process. I’ve already got my eye on Secret Agent suit that features a lace-up front. “I wanted [my customer] to not feel like a Bond girl but to feel like the badass Mr. Bond himself,” Graham told Refinery29. “When you put on these suits, you can take over the world… That’s what I’m doing! I put on a suit and took over the world!”

Graham herself has become a beacon of breaking down the image of the bikini body. She served as the first plus-size model to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s 2015 Swimsuit issue in an ad for SwimsuitsforAll (natch!), she upped the ante this year by becoming the cover girl of the iconic issue this year. “I proved to them that, yes, people want to see a woman my size, and men and women are really excited about it,” she explained to The Daily Beast. “I don’t know that that was the catalyst for MJ [Day, the sports glossy’s Swimsuit Issue editor] to put me in, but it definitely proved a big point.” Not to mention the fact she strutted the runway in Paris for H&M, recently snuggled up to Joe Jonas in DNCE’s music video for “Toothbrush,” and regularly puts body shamers in their place on social media.

Aside from smoldering in front of the camera, she has taken her eye for style to design smoldering styles in the form of lingerie that’s been a hit at Nordstrom as well as workwear that can go from desk to drinks with DressBarn. And this isn’t just an instance where a notable slaps their name on a product and just watch the cash roll in, she’s dedicated to ensuring her pieces are perfect before hitting shelves and portray exactly what she wants (#GirlBoss). “At the end of the day, if I’m not involved, if it’s not genuine to my style, if I’m not going to wear it, it’s not going to sell,” she told Refinery29. “Because I want to also be able to wear it, I’m creating things that haven’t been done before, or haven’t been perfected before,” which fuller-figured fashionistas are psyched about and already getting behind it.

Head over to Refinery29 to see every suit in the collection and act fast! These are sure to sell out soon, especially with Memorial Day around the corner.

May 24, 2016 by Val

Fashion

10 Pretty Plus Size Dresses Perfect for Wedding Season

If your social feed was swarming with the glint of a thousand diamond engagement rings over Valentine’s Day, you already know that all those wedding invitations are on their way. Aside from selecting the right gift for the happy couple, the next question is always, “What am I going to wear?” Fuller-figured fashionistas are faced with finding frocks that are not only elegant enough for the sweet ceremony but will help keep their cool when they’re getting down on the dance floor during the reception. With floating fabrics, pretty pastels, and shapely silhouettes, I scoured some of my favorite fashion stops to ensure you look sweet and chic for all the photos and social snapping throughout the festivities.

Eloquii Studio Bonded Pique Dress, $139.90

This fab fit and flare is already red-carpet approved from the likes of Rebel Wilson, so it’s sure to stun for your special occasion.

April 27, 2016 by Val

Fashion

Danielle Brooks Is the Face of Christian Siriano’s Collab with Lane Bryant

via People Magazine

Danielle Brooks is trading in her Orange Is the New Black jumpsuit for something more red carpet ready as the face of the Christian Siriano x Lane Bryant collaboration, which hits stores on April 28th.

Brooks was a simple choice for Siriano, who works regularly with the actress and even had her wear one of his gowns to the 2015 Emmys. “I thought she was the perfect muse for this kind of figure,” the designer told Refinery29. “She celebrates her body and is a great muse for this world. She is so positive about it, and you don’t always find that.”

Siriano’s goal was to not only show off serious color but also lots of fun with fashion in the form of flirty fit and flares, sheer skirts, and a series of striped tops. “We took a lot of inspiration from 1950s ice cream parlors,” he explained to People. “I wanted there to be a lot of prints and stripes and textures, but still feel modern, with a little vintage feeling as well. I think the clothes are really great, wearable, fun and fresh, and that’s what we wanted to see.”

Brooks was excited about the chance to work again with Siriano, and she clearly had a blast on set.“It was fun to be surrounded by all these sexy men holding my dress and tying my shoes,”she said.“Plus, the clothes helped me to embody the way in which we did the photo shoot—they make you feel sexy, like everyone has their eyes on you. It’s like these are the clothes you want to wear when you walk down the street and want to make heads turn.”

Yes, I need to stop stalking People’s site, but I couldn’t help myself when I heard the good news—I mean, I want to make heads turn too! Brooks has proven to be a formidable actress, not only as the beloved Tastee on OINTB but also in The Color Purple currently on Broadway. Not to mention her chic sense of style (Did you see her Ebony cover with GabiFresh and the gang?). Her love of sultry silhouettes and vibrant colors make her one to watch on any red carpet she struts on, and she prompts fuller-figured fashionistas to hunt for whatever pieces she shows off on Instagram.

Needless to say, I’m shopping this collection as soon as it hits the shelves. But for now, head over to Refinery29 to see more of the pieces that are available in the collection, and check out People for the rest of the chic snaps from behind the scenes of the campaign shoot.

April 20, 2016 by Val

Fashion

JCPenney Pumps Up Its Plus-Size Section with Project Runway’s Ashley Nell Tipton

Courtesy of JCPenney via USA Today

Full-figured fashionistas rejoiced when Ashley Nell Tipton won season 14 of Project Runway. Fans couldn’t get enough of her pretty pastel palette and sheer styles that showed how plus-size fashion has evolved in recent years. And to celebrate her big win, Tipton will ensure everyone can look as cute and colorful as she does with a new collaboration with JCPenney.

The lavender-locked designer will debut her line as the first brand ambassador of JCPenney’s new Boutique+, a new line specifically for plus-size, which will bow in May. Sizes will range between 0x-4x in 500 stores nationwide while sizes up to 5x will be offered online with prices set between $12.99-$60. According to USA Today, this is just the start for the retailer, as it will also create a shop within the shop to feature more brands in addition to Tipton’s this fall.

While trendy statement pieces and fresh hues are important for any line, the fit became the top priority for Tipton, even when playing with shapes you don’t usually spot in the plus-size section. “A lot of my inspiration is what straight size women wear — why is there a disconnect from what they wear and what we can wear?” she told the publication. “I don’t want them to be invisible anymore; I want to show personality.”

And after spotting some of the preview snaps on USA Today, I honestly can’t wait! Tipton’s cool Cali aesthetic and eye for color will guarantee each piece will become a seasonal staple for everyone—including this chic tee, moto vest, and pleated skirt combo that I need ASAP—regardless of size.

Head over to USA Today to check to get up close and personal with some of the looks that will hit shelves in May.

April 11, 2016 by Val

Newer Posts