Friday, July 30, 2010

The "Simply Me" project...

Good Morning!!


         If you're a consistent reader of Luvin' My Curves then I hope you know that the clothes I wear, discuss or feature are nothing if the person who wears them has no confidence. Having this blog, I have an outlet to voice my opinion as well as hope that what I put out there can reach someone.


Though there is the Luvin' Her Look feature this series is more about the thought process or experiences that led to the confidence exuding in the Luvin' Her Look feature. My hope is that with this new series I can incorporate style and self-esteem together; by showing rather than telling that real women just like you are actually wearing trends or pieces that you may be apprehensive to wear. What I try to achieve in my blog is letting every girl  know that it's ok to love herself regardless of her size. Though there are many of us who love ourselves unconditionally,  there are many ladies who feel insecure in their own skin. I've met plenty of plus size women who refuse to show their arms or even wear short-sleeves because their size dictates their level of comfort. Perhaps showing our own past and/or present insecurities in pictures will allow someone else to see that they are not the only ones, and that it's ok.



   I hope that you'd like to participate in this project, if so here are the questions:

What's the most "daring" thing you've done style-wise? 
What's a fear or insecurity about your body that you've gotten over? How did you overcome it?


So whether it's baring your arms, wearing stripes, wearing a strapless bra, showing leg,wearing leggings, mixing prints, rocking a mini or whatever it is I'd appreciate greatly if you would share! 


This series kicks off next week - so email me at johara@luvinmycurves.com with your answers and pics!!




Enjoy your weekend!

~Luvin' My Curves

 P.S: The previous images were made by some of my students for their dorm project, I'm so proud!!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Single in the City: I'm Just Sayin'

 Morning! 

  My Twitter rant for today... 

 Maybe I'm out the loop but how is"When U coming over to see me?" considered a 1st date/meeting? #imjustsayin


As you can see this dating "venture" that I took on has given me alot of stories to tell, none of them worthy of date #2.  I've been out all summer; not necessarily LOOKING to meet a guy but making sure that all my ducks are in a row so that if it happened, it could happen in a good way. In the immortal words of Ed Lover "C'mon Son"... is dating really that hard? 



Ever since I wrote about my venture and my mom's suggestions (click here) ... I received some interesting emails mainly wanting to know how things were going. I guess I hoped I could discuss how fun it's been , but all I want to do is wave the white flag and surrender!! Now NYC is great for quantity; I'm sure if I wanted to go out for going out sake I could.. but when you put in that oh so important word quality then it  suddenly all just goes up in smoke. ( I won't say that they're arent' any good guys out in NYC or in general, I know that there are.. I just havn't met many yet.)

The most fun has been going all over NYC with my friends; it's been great to spend time with them and even have a great laugh about the current state of dating affairs. I didn't think I would be telling all on here, but since I've been away at 2 long conferences I wasn't able to dish on Twitter,let's review some of it now...

Things I've learned/knew all along

  1. If the man ONLY sends you texts and NEVER calls... don't even waste an iota of a second to answer. If he's your age then he knows that we spent a good portion of our lives actually having conversations with people, we didn't grow up using texting as a substitute for conversation and I won't start now. If we can't speak we can't chill.

 2. Like I twitter ranted this morning- I'm not that chick who doesn't know you yet will show up at your house. There a couple of issues with this... I don't know you, know nothing about you and you're not getting "it" from me. Come up with something more creative than that.. and if your intention is just to hit then move on to the next one.

3. Speaking of creativity.. get some! The movie theater and Dave & Buster's are not the only options for a date. We're in NYC - there are affordable restaurants to please any palate or take some time and think outside of the box. A walk on the BK bridge, summer concert in Central Park, a rooftop lounge - living in NYC makes the options easy. If you suggest that we go out, then there's a part of me hoping that you have put some thought into what you'd like to do.

4. If you don't like what you see, then why waste each other's time. I love who I am, and whether I met you in person or online I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. So constantly mentioning my size or getting uneasy with going to well-attended spots raise red flags that you have an issue. I refuse to deal with someone's insecurities about how I look. The end.

Do you think I'm being too harsh?


As for my attempt at the Essence Dating Challenge ... I went on one date hooked up by a former co-worker.
The outfit was on point, and my smile was on megawatt because the vibe was right. He was handsome, funny, and had great things going for himself - the conversation flowed easily and I was definitely in the moment. That is until I got a phone 7 a.m the next day - seems ol' boy had a girlfriend that no one, including my co-worker knew about. The juicy details? Let's just say I got a very sad phone call from my old co-worker apologizing profusely, and an even sadder call from the culprit. All I could do was laugh, some things aren't worth the time.

As you can see, so far there's been  no "success", but the process has been fun, if not interesting and great lessons are being learned. Life is too short to lose hope.  no one said that finally stepping back into the dating pool would be easy.




I plan on going into some of the issues I mentioned above more in-depth next week, especially as it pertain to being a plus-size woman. Stay tuned... 

~Luvin' My Curves

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Dress Me: The "not so serious" White

Morning!
  
Today's "Dress Me" email comes from T. out of Boston, Mass. She writes:

"I've seen your previous white party posts and I love them. But I'd really like if you could suggest how to wear white to an event that's not as serious as a party. I don't know the 1st thing about wearing white, so I'm afraid, but I also want to do something different - I want to stand out in a simple way and I feel like all white would be a good way to do it."

First, off I'm glad you enjoyed my previous posts on what to wear to a white party (click here and here to check it out). I really do enjoy white party season and if my suggestions can help then I'm all for it. As the end of the summer nears, the quintessential white party mode is fully on. Alot of white parties occur around July 4th, but it also seems that many happen in August right before Labor Day season. The great thing is that you don't have to wait for a party to wear all-white, it's a classic must-do for the summer.

You can choose to go the simple white route which is perfectly fine - and easier to do. There are many options popping up that would make this option a "go-to" but beware that some other curvy girl may have it on too! Or  you can get crazy with the accessories and in that case you'll stand out because if someone else is rocking your white outfit the same exact way, there is some serious ESP going on. I bring on the bright colors  but look to metallics and prints to offset the whit as well. As you can tell, options are limitless and I'm excited that you want to try something different from your everyday. 

Since you stated that you'd like to wear white to an event other than a party, here are two suggestions that I hope you can start to run wild with. Both are pieces that you could wear to a white party or something as simple as brunch with friends.

White Affair
Fashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore



With this outfit, you could substitute the tee for a batwing top, and really cute shorts instead of the jeggings.



Simple White pt.2Fashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore



I think you could definitely "stand out in a simple way" like this!

I get the apprehension  you have with white, some folks may say  "it's white, it's easy". But I totally understand that it also proves to be harder than it looks. I used to feel the same way because I MUST make sure NO ONE is wearing what I'm wearing or at least in the same way;  I don't want to just put a white frock on I want to OWN it; and I'm always thinking "what if I spill something?"

I hope these suggestions are helpful for your "not so serious" white event. Please let me know how it goes!!!
 

What do you think of my suggestions? Do you only take on the all-white for parties or do you make it part of your casual rotation?

~Luvin' My Curves

Friday, July 23, 2010

Luvin' Her Look: Stiletto Siren

Morning!!

Today's Luvin' Her Look feature is one fierce lady who I look forward to reading. She is fellow blogger Ms. Stiletto Siren from My Lipstick on her Collar. Ms. Siren is fearless, and loves loud colors and funky cuts.One reader describes her as "one of the only folks I know who's over a size 20 and wears the heck out of it". I couldn't agree more.

Read what she has to say about her look:

" I define my style as a bit of Rocker Glam meets Hippie Chic, I can be edgy, feminine, earthy & fabulous all at one and I love being that way. Versatility in my style reflects my personality because I have a million different sides to me and showcase them all through my fashion & style. I am not a huge accessorizer and am pretty basic when it comes to my makeup so I really like to let the clothes speak volumes which is why I will wear some pretty "loud" pieces from time to time, but I do always make sure to include great shoes!"



















On what being plus-size means to her: 

"To me being proud and plus size is a journey for all curvy women and its a journey I am honestly still going through each day. It is about loving the skin you are in and knowing that weight and size are not an indicator of health and that no body is the same. If no body is the same why should there be any reason to feel bad about your own body? It is one of a kind, unique, beautiful and part of the wonderful person inside, and that is what really counts. Part of my journey to being proud and plus size means taking chances with fashion, having confidence in myself and having enough self worth to see how fabulous I am and letting the rest of the world have a chance to see it too! "



I'm loving her look and her attitude! WERK!!! Are you Luvin' her look? 


I'm always looking for curvy girls to feature on Luvin' Her Look , if you're interested send me an email to luvinmycurves@gmail.com.

~Luvin' My Curves
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