I figure everyone needs a MASSIVE fluffy jacket in their life, right. At least that's what I told myself when I bought this. I sold some clothes online recently, and kept the money to update my wardrobe a bit, as my size has changed a bit and some staple pieces needed rebuying. To counteract the buying of useful stuff (like this skinny black trousers, for instance), I allowed myself to splurge on the big fluffy jacket of joy. It's pretty cosy, and makes me feel a little bit like I'm back in my glam teenager days (especially teamed with these black studded flatforms I found at the back of my wardrobe). Dorothy Perkins were having a 25% off everything deal last week too, so I got these pieces at a good discount.

There's something really exciting for me to wear clothes that make me look bigger than I am. I figure it's the most cardinal of sins for fat girls, in the doctrine of flattery that dictates that fitted clothing is pretty much a must to be accepted. More thoughts on that later.

Massive fluffy jacket, Dorothy Perkins, still online here, £26 (with discount code)
Top, Forever 21+, £8
Treggings, Dorothy Perkins, still online here, £13 (with discount code)
Shoes, traded online, free

When I was down for the Plus London event in February, Claire let me have a rummage through some things she wanted to pass on. This denim should was one of the things I picked up, and I have pretty much lived in it on my off days. I wore this to go to my local WI, and to do some swap planning for March (details are on facebook here for anyone interested still). I'm looking forward to wearing it in a slightly more feminine way, with a nice pleated skirt perhaps.

Denim shirt via Claire! £free
T-shirt, £1, Traid
Leggings, clothes swap, £free
"Leather" vest, Forever 21+, £8 (bought in a BOGOF sale)
Dunlops, £2, car boot sale

An entire outfit for £11 = making my bargainous self pretty happy.

As an aside, I found out recently that an interview with me (and a bunch of other fat positive fashion bloggers) is featured in this month's Bitch magazine, which is pretty exciting for me! The magazine is pretty hard to come by in the UK (I'll scan in the feature when I get my copy for people to see), but is easier to find in the US. Check out Bitch's website to find local stockists to you.

This was worn to go to another interview last week. The dress is pretty much my go-to tailoring - it's a ponte knit with enough stretch to wear comfortably for hours on end. I don't find that I'm as confident in traditional tailoring - it's something that isn't made well in larger sizes (too many variables I guess - itchy lining, tight arms, no breathing room). However, this season has been great for finding alternatives in ponte knits, which remain smart enough without being uncomfortable.

Dress, Tesco via eBay for £1.70
Black necklace, £2, Primark
Wide belt, £7, Dorothy Perkins
Tights, M&S
Boots, Rocketdogs, £50

Make It Work!

How's that for a goofy grin?! So today I went to the printers and picked up my zine, Make It Work, at last! I've been working on this for a while now and it's really exciting to see it in paper form at last. Here are some details for you:

Make It Work is a radical fat positive zine centred around DIY fatshion and craft projects. It contains a mixture of personal pieces, tutorials, craft tips, guides to pattern upsizing, event organising and some fairly bad art. Contributors are awesome people from the fat-o-sphere including me (duh), Charlotte Cooper, Claire, Mel, Bronny, Brenda Jean and Kelsey and more.

“Make It Work” has been a mantra within fatshion communities since I can remember, and I’m interested in exploring it as a radical premise of fat positive politics. Fat people have and have always had very limited options in ready-made clothing, and, whilst retailers are starting to produce more on trend pieces, the process is slow and in the meantime, we have to come up with our own radical alternatives – whether it’s making clothes, thrifting, altering clothes or making straight sizes work for us. This zine is about sharing the resources, skills and knowledge that we’ve gained, and for it to provide strategies for people to move forward with.

Half size (A5) with 48 pages total. The zine is hand typed and has a medium pink card cover. Staple binding.

You can buy the zine from etsy here, or, alternatively you can leave your paypal email address and location in the comments below (or let me know it via email at fattyunbound@gmail.com) and I will send you a paypal invoice directly.

Hello again! I had a job interview this Monday, and this is what I wore. I posted about this dress last year here, it was a craft project made with my trust V8615 vogue pattern. I had added sleeves to the dress, but hadn't really worn it much because they were a bit tight. In a bit of a whim I decided to take them off, and in hindsight I'm glad I did. I much prefer the option of being able to wear blouses under dresses (it makes them more versatile and work friendly), and it's now a nice summer dress as is!

On a side note (ho ho), I've decided to start actively posting more photographs from different angles. This is because I've realised that focusing only on my front kind of hides my fatness to a certain extent (as much of my chub is concentrated in my perma-pregnant looking belly!), so, both to aid in my own body acceptance and to show how clothes fit me better, I'm going to try and show more sides of me.

Dress, handmade
Blouse, Dorothy Perkins, £12
Belt, clothes swap
Tights, M&S
Heels, Docs, £60

Clothes Swap!

Hello one and all! As you probably remember, last year I helped to organise a plus sized clothes swap in Leeds - and now we're putting on another!

This time we're in a different, more central venue in Leeds, Wharf Chambers. As well as the zine and reference corner we had last time, this time we're also bringing our sewing machines along for help with alterations, advice and craft fun. You'll also be able to pick up my zine Make It Work (it's still at the printers, but for those who can't come I'll be posting soon about how you can get a copy). The venue has a cafe service with tea and cake, and we welcome clothing for all gender identities. It's probably obvious to state, but the event is body positive and queer friendly!

There's a facebook event here - you can RSVP there if you're on facebook. There's no need to tell us you're coming, however if you can it will give us an idea of the numbers we're expecting. If you have any questions about the event, you can also either post on the facebook wall, or email me at fattyunbound@gmail.com.

We're running from 1-5, and it's £1 to get in. Bring along any clothes in reasonable condition, and you can swap them for ones you want!

Even if you can't make it, please let anyone who might be interested know about the event - any publicity is much appreciated. Otherwise, hope to see people there for more fun chatter and swapping!

Top picture courtesy of Sarah Price.

Of course, I pretty much had to take the evening event at Plus London Two as an opportunity to wear all of my fanciest clothing at once! I'm quite a quiet person, and I don't go out in the evenings all that often, so blogger events are always a great chance to dress up and swan around shedding feathers everywhere.

The dress was from Torrid via Re/Dress at this year's NOLOSE conference (my first!), and has pretty much been lounging about waiting for an occasion like this. The hat I got at the clothes swap I co-organised last year (news on a second will be revealed soon! Local types might want to keep the end of March free!), and is pretty much the best hat ever. The shoes were an extravagant purchase, from the Doc Martens final sale recently - I've loved them since I first set eyes on them last year, but couldn't justify the price tag for heels which, it must be said, I'm not the best in. However, I'm quite impressed, as I managed to walk around in them for the entire evening without feeling much aching (until the last few minutes) - very unusual for me. As they are docs, they also have good quality sales with grip that makes me feel significantly more confident too, so they will definitely be making an outing again.

Details:
Dress, Torrid via Re/Dress, $30
Feather cape, eBay, £9.00
Hat, clothes swap, £free
Necklace, Primark, £2
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Bag, market, £5
Tights, M&S
Shoes, Docs, £60

The event was fantastic, and it was great to see so many amazing fat women in one space. I never fail to come away from these events feeling empowered in my body and my fashion. There were also some great brands there, including Elomi Lingerie offering bra fittings (and I was very surprised to discover that I am in fact an E cup!), Red Bows Vintage (whose rails I have been wanting to rummage in for a while!), ASOS, and Simply Be. You can see lots of photos from the event at the Plus London 2 tumblr here, and also check out all of our best blogger poses in the Pop Up Studio here. Thanks again to Claire for organising it, and I hope that there will be many chances to see everyone again in the future.

Early mornings are never the best time to show off outfits! This is what I wore to head off to London last Saturday, to partake in the lovely Plus London event, organised by Claire of A Monkey Fatshionista. I made the pinafore (having had vintage pinafore lust for several years now) by upsizing a simple 60s pattern I found on eBay for 99p. It was a bit of a hit and miss - thinking it'd work out shorter than it did, I lengthened the bodice and had to do some major adjustments! However, apart from that it was relatively easy to size up, as the pattern had no darts, pleats or additional fanciness. I made it up in a cute purple floral corduroy that I found on sale at my local market, and added the white buttons from my sewing stash.

Blouse, £12, Dorothy Perkins sale
Pinafore, handmade
Tights, M&S
Socks, Primark
Docs, gifted

We spent the morning at Anna Scholz's studio in North West London, having nibbles, chatting and looking over their upcoming collection.


Anna was really welcoming, and I really liked the mix of bold prints in the collection. As an amateur seamstress, it was also really interesting to hear how she designed her prints, and she even explained some fit issues to us that helped me better understand why high street options are often so badly fitting. I also liked the way that Anna designs several different designs using the same pattern, which gives options for a wider variety of body shapes than by using just one design per print. Her clothes are way out of my price range right now, however I found the experience refreshing and totally different to the way other brands have treated the plus size blogging community. It's also nice to hear from a plus size designer who is actually plus size! The discussions we had highlighted the complexities of the industry to me in ways I hadn't often considered - we're a hard bunch to cater to, given that there is little room for variety and so many different ways to be fat!

Evening post to come soon!

I think I might be breaking some blogger rules by going barefoot in this, but it'd be silly to put on shoes when I don't plan to leave the house. I'm partaking in Fatshion February on tumblr this year, so you can expect a lot more outfits from me during this month. I'm going to try and commit a little more to showing how I dress up and down, so be sure to follow me on tumblr to catch everything I wear. Also, follow the fatshionfebruary tag to catch all of the other entries, because they are ACE, and it is genuinely exciting to see a project which focuses more on everyday embodiment of fat bodies, rather than just showcasing the days when we feel super fancy.

Cardigan, M&S, gifted
Top, Dorothy Perkins via clothes swap, free
Necklace, £2, Primark
Skirt, Forever 21+, £8

A super dorky post today, because this pinafore is pretty juvenile. I found it at a costume sale at Bradford Playhouse a few years back, and it's still the 60s smock of my daydreams. I wore this to do boring stuff at the job centre and the market.

Also, I dyed my hair! I found some ancient dark brown hair dye in the toiletries stash and decided to go slightly darker on a whim. I had black hair when I was a teenage goth, but have not strayed too far from my light brown natural colour since I got it back. I consider this a reasonable success though!

Dress, £5, costume sale
Blouse, £5ish, eBay
Tights, M&S
Docs, £50