It’s said that one picture is as good as a thousand words, but every once in a while a picture comes along that just begs for a good caption. I spotted this one today.
There’s no prize beyond the fun of playing along, but I hope you’ll all jump in and give it a go.
In response to the cry for help from our internet friend Emanuelle, we have received many helpful observations. Surely Emanuelle is now on her way to becoming the best-dressed Appley woman in Germany!
Francesca promised to post her own response to Emanuelle, and so here is the first part of her lengthy, lengthy answer:
I have been meaning to write about this on the blog: indeed wraps and empire waists are not necessarily terribly flattering for apples, despite the fact that they are currently in fashion and so the plus-size vendors have their (often pear-shaped) models peddling them.
look pregnant, which is a nice way to look if you are pregnant. So,Emanuelle, it is not just your imagination! And, good for you for trying new things! It is always good to try, even if the experiment fails and you realize that what you were wearing before IS better for your particular body shape and style. Francesca, who is also an Apple, loves the 3/4 length sleeves and the V-necks!
What Francesca wants you to try next is the Princess seams, which can do wonders to give Apples a little bit of an hourglass shape and a waist.
(this image shows the shape of the beautiful Princess seams)
Here is a pretty blouse with Princess seams, available from Talbots:
Francesca highly recommends the Woman and Woman Petite sections at Talbots.com for any Apple. The clothes are very classy and pretty and will FIT you! And narry an empire waist to be seen!
And, look! Kiyonna just last week introduced a wrap blouse which ALSO has the Apple-friendly seems in front (and French cuffs!):
Since there is nothing you can do about your breasts, and you cannot change
More of Francesca’s response tomorrow.
Meanwhile: DISCUSS!
One of the big trends of the current season is tweed. This does my heart good. Okay, part of it may be my particular obsession with the character of Rupert Giles from the now defunct TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I really did like tweed before I ever laid eyes on him.
Of course, there’s tweed and there’s tweed. There’s tweed that’s dull and hard-wearing in a utilitarian way, and then there’s superfantastic tweed that brings out the best in the wearer.
And that brings me to this lovely little jacket from Zaftique. I blow very hot and cold on the company’s designs. Some are lovely, while others are almost frightening to me in their wrongness for pretty much anybody. Still, it’s worth taking a look because every once in a while, one comes across a treasure like this adorable tweed jacket.
I love the color, the cut, and those superfantastic flower buttons. At $75, it’s not a bad little investment, either.
Our internet friend Emanuelle writes:
I’m from
Germany , far, FAR away from these fascinating ideas I’m reading in your blog and the sites you’re linking. The idea of a fat woman not trying to lose weight would sound completely absurd to my friends. Not that they don’t like me the way I am, it’s just that nobody has ever heard anything like it before, around here. Clothes that show curves, don’t hide them? Ridiculous. Magazines are full of tips how to hide your big bosom and draw attention away from it.This is where my question comes in. I’m 25 years old, 5’5” and 180-190 pounds. I wear a European size 46 (American 14-18), I’m an “apple” type, with slimmer legs and a large belly, but with huge, honestly, enormous breasts. From what I gather, I should be wearing wrap tops and empire waists. Roughly 80% of plus size tops you can buy in
Germany are wrap tops. They are supposed to emphasize my waist and flatter me. They don’t! They make my belly look huge, and my upper body short and deformed. Don’t even start me on high waists and belts.What looks great on me are V necks, and ¾ sleeves, so I stick to that. But it gets boring after some years. I long to dress like a real woman, to wear skirts and dresses, but I honestly have no idea what might look good on me. Because I’ve been too busy all these years trying to change my body to find that out.
Emanuelle
Oh, our dear superfantastic internet friend, and my fellow Appley sister! Do not despair, for you have come to the right place for wisdom and incredibly gorgeous clothes.
Francesca has responded at length via email to Emanuelle’s cry for help, but before I post my answers, I would like to hear from you, our other internet friends, who know from long, long experience:
What fashion tips do you recommend for your Appley, large-breasted, large-tummied, small-hipped sisters?
Francesca is piqued! What is the meaning of this . . . of this . . . breakdown in all that is good and lovely?!?
You say the server was down? Is this an excuse? It is an outrage, I say, an outrage, and Francesca does not care whether it is the fault of the anti-Christ or of the puny little man in the back office who was playing Spider Solitaire when he should have been twiddling with computer . . . computer . . . things . . . it is an outrage! Look, Francesca is so piqued she has lost her ability to articulate in English. She must go buy some new shoes and try to relax.
Francesca thinks a pair of boots should do the trick. Francesca adores black suede boots in wide widths!
The Vaneli “Narayan” at 12% off! Ahhhhh, now isn’t that so much better? These boots are handsome and soft, strong yet feminine, perfect for imagining oneself to be unceremoniously kicking the puny little back office man in the heiny, while in truth maintaining one’s ladylike composure at all times. Yes, this boot will do very nicely, thank you!
Happy weekend! We have so much planned for you over the next few days!
xoxo, Francesca
Alright everybody, who missed us? Well we missed YOU and while we’re not entirely sure what happened in the Manolosphere (one suspects the Manolo’s archnemesis, Herr Karl had a begloved hand in it) we hope you’ll forgive our absence.
Please bear with us, we are working out mani-ed fingers to the bone and we’ll be with you again as soon as the stable of well-oiled cabana boys Francesca and I keep for our own amusement have finished fanning the server down to a reasonable temperature.
Never Let Go!
Friends, I am concerned. Not because that teflon-chested hunk of man candy Taylor Kitsch who despite being recently cast against type as the Object of My Unmentionable Dreamlust (replacing –and I kid you not– a pair of green Pucci pumps) has been back in my humble town for weeks filming Friday Night Lights and has still failed to propose, no, I am concerned because in the past week I have seen three (THREE!) well-dressed big girls walking across a gas station parking lot BAREFOOT.
What is happening here? Does no one keep a spare pair of inexpensive comfy flats in their car for just this very occassion? What if your car broke down and you had to walk a mile or two to the nearest gas station? Could you do it in the shoes you’re wearing today?
I am scandalized!
Plumcake needs a liedown. While I’m recovering my delicate sensibilities, check out the sturdy and not entirely visually offensive lug-soled, Avenue Ballet Flat. They’re incredibly inexpensive, have good traction, excellent padding and will be a godsend to anyone whose poor tootsies just cannot handle one more step in a pair of pretty but painful day shoes.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . .
It should seem obvious that one of the myriad reasons that a person may be Super Curvy is that he or she loves to eat. Another reason may be that he or she hates to eat, or rather, hates to cook. Either way, there is no way to extricate our Cushioniness from our relationship with food and exercise, as well as genes and health and hormones and stress and all sorts of other issues we all come here to ignore in favor of fabulous shoes and clothing and wit, oh my!
But there it is, we have to eat, and yet the question of what we eat and how much probably causes most of us no small amount of guilt and shame, whether it should or no.
So Francesca is here to say: IT IS OK TO LOVE FOOD. Loving food, talking about food, cooking food, buying food, and going out to eat food can be a glorious part of life, and does not need to cause embarrassment. You do not have to eat in private or be afraid to openly admit that savoring a fresh neopolitan is one of your favorite pleasures. In fact, savoring the neopolitan bite for bite - really, truly savoring it — is probably a way to eat just one neopolitan, rather than two (or four, as Francesca has done many, many times. And loved. every. single. bite.).
In any case, there is an interesting article in today’s New York Times about cupcakes. Francesca adores cupcakes! Francesca loves all cupcakes, whether from the bakery or the Entenmanns box. She is an equal-opportunity cupcake lover. Do you know what is one of Francesca’s favorite desserts of all time? The St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes of Entenmanns. Yes, it is true. I love licking off that green frosting, and then slowly sucking the chemically-cream frosting out of the crumbly cake. The chocolate topping comes last, always. It is a messy way to eat a cupcake, which is why Francesca performs this sacred ritual only in the presence of Those Who Understand.
Of course, there are also Very Fancy cupcakes being produced every day at specialty bakeries and at the homes of women all over the world who enjoy baking cupcakes as much as Francesca enjoys licking and biting and savoring them. What is better, a cupcake or sex? you ask. Francesca says: Give me a moment to consider.
You can enjoy a daily homage to these tempting treats at one of Francesca’s Top 10 blogs, Cupcakes Take the Cake.
Happy shopping and HAPPY HAPPY eating!
xoxo,
Francesca
Many of our internet friends have written bemoaning the lack of boots suitable for the girl with the wide calf. Well gals, I have good news and I have bad news.
The good news is there are boots out there. The bad news is that it’ll cost you.
It is the mantra of the Manolo Blogs that instead of buying cheap footwear made with deplorable lack of attention to detail by whatever 8-year old Bangladeshi child was cuffed to that particular table, one must save up for the superfantastic shoes, lovingly made by handsome gruff men named Aldo who drive cool Italian scooters and get 90 minute lunch breaks.
Give Aldo a cow and a dream and he’ll make you a pair of boots that will last you until the cows –at least the ones who have not as of yet become court shoes– come home.
Some internet friends have had success with Sudini, whose boots come with a standard 14″ circumference and elastic goring for a better fit, like the mid-heel brogue-style “Tiffany” that goes all the way up to a 13 Wide.
But for my money, custom is the way to go. Duo Boots offered hand-tooled, custom fitted boots for calves up to 20″ in a variety of traditional and modern styles. Even better? Most boots ring in at under 150 pounds!
Here are a few of my favorites.
From Top: Moscow, Almeria, Odessa & Versailles
Remember to order slightly smaller than your actual calf size because leather stretches over time. Happy shopping!
Lane Bryant is having a “buy one, get the other for $10″ sale.
If you buy one item at a cost of at least $59.50, you can choose any other item (which costs less than $59.50) and get it for $10. Not a bad deal, if you like Lane Bryant!
So, what items are eligible for the $10 sale price? Well, for starters, Francesca likes this Fuschia beaded top (not for herself, since her arms are too lumpy-squishy, but for women with arms to show off it is a very cute top - and the skirt shown with it is also available at the sale price!):
And here is a handsome cardigan, available in black, yellow, and pink:
And here is a versatile black knit skirt. There are also some handsome pants available.
And remember to treat yourself to something special for nighttime.
Happy shopping!
xoxo, Francesca
