Manolo for the Big Girl

A reader from Portland, Oregon writes:

Dear Francesca,

 I am a poor working girl who saves her money to buy nice clothes. My wardrobe is not very big, but what it is in my closet is carefully chosen and sometimes hard-earned. Unfortunately, even the best-quality clothes wear out eventually. I have beautiful skirts whose hems are fraying after several years, a jacket with fraying wrists, and a few items with missing buttons  (which went missing after I’d already used the extra buttons that came with the shirts, to replace other buttons which had gone missing). And let’s not talk about the zippers, which I seem to abuse more than normal. Is there any way to hide these flaws? I hate to get rid of clothes that cost so much and which I used to wear constantly, until the constant wear started to show. Help!

 Frayed at the Edges

 Dear Frayed,

 Good for you for picking a few items from which you get much use! That is, ultimately, the best use of your money. It is far better to buy a $100 skirt which you will wear 50 times (at $2 per wearing) than a $30 skirt which you will wear twice (at $15 per wearing). Francesca does wonder what you are doing to those buttons and zippers – perhaps you need a cup of coffee in the morning before you get dressed? — But, as you say, even the best purchases eventually will show their age, even if you are very gentle and careful.

 Francesca cannot repeat often enough: Make friends with a seamstress! All of the clothing you mentioned can be saved.

 First, the buttons: Get thee to a store which sells pretty buttons, and replace ALL the buttons on those shirts. Francesca once did this, replacing plain black velvet buttons on a wool winter coat with fancy gold ones, and many of her friends asked where she had purchased her new coat. Remember to buy extra buttons for future emergencies!

 Second, the hems. There are two possibilities here. First, a seamstress may be able to “roll” the hem without too much deleterious effect. It will make the skirts a little shorter, but if they are not already very short, this may not matter.  Second, is the possibility of hiding the flaws in the hems. Depending on the design, you may be able to replace the material (for example, if the jacket has a decorated wrist which can be removed and replaced with other fabric) or with ribbons or lace. Get thee to your nearest fabric store and have fun!

Third, zippers are quite easy to replace; bring the item to the fabric store and ask for replacement zippers. If you are handy with a sewing machine you can replace them yourself, or your seamstress can do it for not too much money – certainly less than the cost of  replacing the skirt!

 It is worthwhile to spend a little money at the fabric store than to spend much, much more money at the fancy clothing boutique.

Happy mending!

Xoxo,

Francesca

Mmm, Francesca loves a good sale at Nordstrom.

She cannot wait to wear this gorgeous single-button jacket, which is marked down 70%, from $432 to $129!

And a trench coat which Francesca has previously recommended is marked down 40%, from $188 to $110.

Happy shopping!

xoxo,

Francesca

Francesca tries to remember that “Big Girl” can refer not only to the woman of generous tummy or hips, but also to the Girl of Great Height.

Our friend Genevieve has turned our attention to LongLegs.ca, a boutique store in Canada for the Tall Girl, which has an online catalogue!  And they have extra-special security and extra-special personal attention; Genevieve writes:

A friend of mine ordered something from the site. They don’t take credit cards over the Internet. You place your order, and then they call you, talk to you about what you bought, help you make sure you bought the right sizes (it’s a small boutique, and they just started selling online…the people who you talk to also do the ordering for the actual store), and then take your credit card info over the phone. She said they were very helpful, particularly with sizing.

Happy shopping!

xoxo

Oh, my goodness! Can you believe this blog has been going for 9 months? It feels like yesterday that Plumcake and I dove into the wonderful, wide world of plus-size clothing here at the Manolo network. And what a superfantastic trip it has been!

This means that it has been 9 months since Francesca reminded you to consider carefully whether it is time for you to replace your bras. Much can happen in 9 months! If a baby can gestate in 9 months, that is plenty of time for your bras to stretch out, sag, and gap. It is enough time for you to gain or lose a few pounds and now need a new size.

So, start shopping!

If you are racktastic and need a hard-to-find bra size, Francesca recommends that you start with BiggerBras.com and Bravissimo.

Of course there is also the Cacique line at Lane Bryant, the ONEsexy bra collection at Avenue, and the full-figure department at Frederick’s of Hollywood! Mmmm!

And now — hat tip to our internet friend Carol for bringing this to our attention — Big Singer Jill Scott has created a bra brand of her own in partnership with Ashley Stewart. The “Butterfly Bra” not only has wide, gel-filled shoulder straps but also two support bands in the back and — Francesca’s favorite feature — underwires filled with gel. No more underwires cutting into the delicate flesh of the Big Girl! Hallelujah!

Take care of those girls!

xoxo

Our internet friend Shannon turned our attention to a delightful fashion-related article in an online publication called “The Smart Set.” Writer Jessa Crispin reviews various books about fashion . . . .

Instead of alleviating our body fears, however, so many books advising what to wear do nothing but exaggerate them. The entire structure of Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine’s book What Not to Wear is built to help you define your particular version of body dysmorphic disorder. Do you think you have short legs? A big butt? Big arms? There’s a chapter telling you how to dress around each perceived flaw. It’s hard to walk out the door feeling hot and feisty when your entire dressing process has been focused on your main source of anxiety. If I tried to dress to hide all the parts of my body I have ever been self-conscious about, the only thing left to wear would be a hazmat suit.

. . . . and ultimately recommends The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman.

If more fashion writing was done in the tone of smartypants Freeman, we could avoid the fear that caring about our appearance makes us a vain fool or a victim. A work colleague recently took one look at the four-inch peep toe heels I was wearing and snarled, “Don’t you know why men invented high heels?” I doubted anything I said would deflect what was coming next, so I just shrugged. “So you can’t run away when they want to rape you.” I understand. I used to be a humorless feminist, too, complete with shaved head and my father’s combat boots. Then I discovered Charles David heels and got over it. If only The Meaning of Sunglasses had existed sooner, I could have spent less time being a self-righteous twit.

Francesca says: It is possible to be intellectual and feminist and fashion-conscious!

I love a good sale. There’s nothing like getting something great at a ridiculously low price. One of the best things about the internet, in my not so humble opinion, is the sheer number and scope of deals to be found in cyberspace.

So today I thought I’d share a few of the deals currently out there for us Big Girls.

SWAK offers 10% off for all first time customers with code NEW10. I particularly liked this top:

Be sure to double-check on sizing, because some things on their site seem to run pretty small. This top, however, went up to a size 5X and seemed pretty close to the mark.

(more…)

Internet friend Chris wrote to us:

Oh style and fashion Guru Francesca-

Can you help a girl find a cute/fun/fashionable trench coat, about 3/4 length, for a birthday trip to the big city (NYC) at the end of April? The only style seen in the capital city (DC) is run of the mill “London Fog” type.

Francesca is happy to recommend several styles from the superfantastic plus-size offerings at the Nordstrom! Nothing “foggy” here in any way!

Leopard print by Jones New York

Iridescent ruffled coat by the Calvin Klein! Francesca likes!

Coat with faux-leather piping by Gallery Track.

Satin trench coat by DKNY. Francesca likes!

Our internet friend “m” has pointed us to a wonderful site which sells 50’s-style dresses.

You know, the 1950’s, when the ideal woman looked like a woman, not like a “waif.”

All of their dresses go up to X-large, and many many go up to 3x!

Happy shopping!

UPDATE:

Pah! And pah again!

A 37″ waist constitutes a 3X?

Francesca says: Bait and switch!

Pah!

We will not speak of this site again.

Francesca apologizes for her oversight and agrees, the sizing here is ridiculous!

Pah!

Although there is nothing particularly splashy or unique about it, this dress is Francesca’s favorite. She cannot explain why. It simply speaks to her heart.

xoxo

Do you see how the overlay skims lightly over the tummy in an inverted V, starting from somewhat below the bust?

This style works quite well for many Appley girls!  Particularly, if you have a poochie-front-tummy but not too much in the way of love handles (which would be accentuated, usually, by the gathers on the side), this dress could be excellent for you!