One of the challenges inherent in writing a fashion blog for Big Girls is that not all Big Girls are Big in exactly the same places. As our internet friend g-dog wrote in the comments a few posts back, some of us are “succulent pears” and others are “delicious apples.” There are women with big shoulders and women with sloping shoulders; women with long necks and some with none; bustier women and tinier, perkier women; women whose bigness sits on their hips and those like me whose tummies pooch out in front. (Dare I call us Poochie Mamas?*)

And so no one article of clothing which Plumcake or I recommend can possibly make every single woman look superfantastic. Every woman is superfantastic in her own way, and trying on the clothes is often the only way to find out whether a particular blouse or skirt will make you, yourself, look and feel your best for the particular environment in which you plan to wear it.

If you want new ideas about what might look great on your own frame, my first advice is to click, right now, on the amazing myShape feature at igigi.com. Igigi is absolutely my favorite online source for plus-size clothing. Their wares are beautiful, feminine, and tasteful, without breaking the bank. And, at this myShape page, you can determine which “shape” comes closest to your own body type, and then shop by shape! I’m in love!

My second bit of advice is to experiment. Often we get stuck buying clothes in the same shapes and styles for years and years, not realizing that the passage of time and changes in our bodies, tastes, and shopping opportunities have opened new vistas. Perhaps it is time to try something new, like a belt – when was the last time you put on a belt? – or different necklines or shirts without darts. Are you sure you don’t look good in orange? Are you positive you “can’t” wear an empire waist? Perhaps that emerald-green blouse will look great even though it’s shiny, and you always thought that big girls “can’t” wear shiny fabrics?

Perhaps the “rules” you have created for yourself over the years are still correct for you. But perhaps not. So put on your adventure face and your adventure shoes, and happy shopping!

xoxo, Francesca

*PS We are Pucci Mamas!

The sale at MonifC is ending today and Francesca has not told you about it yet! She offers her most sincere apologies!

MonifC is the designer of plus-size clothing for the woman with such flair that it is as if she says “hello world, here is my flair! And now here am I!” Many of their designs require an attitude of uber-superfantastic proportions – on the order of Queen Latifah – to carry off. However, they also have some designs which those of us who are merely self-confident can also wear with pride and style.

I like this silk blouse. Until the end of the day, it is marked down from $218 to less than $56! It is still available in Dusty Gold (shown here) in sizes 14/16 and 18/20.

What I, Francesca, particularly admire about this blouse is that it offers a feminine and sexy option for those of us with less-than-perfect upper arms. See how it shows off the silky-smooth skin of the forearm while hiding the luscious but private lumpy-squishies? And the flared sleeves and beading are pretty, too.

Happy shopping!

xoxo, Francesca

*or as the Manolo would say: Ayyyyy!

Oh my fellow fat-footed friends, do not think I have forsaken you. I hear your feet stomping out in the wilderness! They are calling out for the shoes deserving to cradle your superfantastic feets. Shoes that do not make you look like you spend your weekends playing the nickel-slots in Atlantic City with Doris and Edna, reminiscing about the good old days when Rosie was a riveter and trips to Canada were for pleasure, not prescriptions.

Never you fear! Plumcake will be your sasquatchy style sherpa, snorting around like a particularly glamorous truffle pig, searching high and low for the shoes of quality for the woman who has, as my podiatrist once said “a firm understanding with the ground.”

As the lovely and fragrant Francesca has already noted, Stuart Weitzman makes shoes for the superfantastic girl who, like Plumcake, happens to be more Fred Flintstone than Betty Rubble. These brown beauties are currently available up through 12W.

Here we have his handsome mid-heel “Portal” pump, pictured here in “mushroom.”

and for something completely different: the aptly-named “Sensual” tortoise-shell stiletto.

How sexy librarian are these?! They should come with fake glasses and a rip-away blouse.

***

A short note about high heels:

Plumcake knows that one woman’s kitten-heel is another woman’s stiletto. Indeed, the girl who walks around like an incontinent geisha in 3″ Blahnik d’orsay’s may very well be the same girl who can do windsprints in 5″ Kors espadrilles. For convenience’s sake, we will use Zappos’ definition of heel heights.

Low Heel: 5/8″ – 1 1/4″

Mid Heel: 1 1/2″ – 2 1/2″

High Heel: 2 3/4″ and up.

If you happen to live near one of Avenue’s 500 U.S. locations, please be advised that they are in the midst of their semi-annual sale, with 70 percent off some items in the store, until August 1.

Avenue sells affordable clothing in sizes 14-32. Not all of the prints or styles are to Francesca’s taste, but every so often you find a gem, like this purrrrrfectly sexy black faux wrap dress.

(Miss Plumcake informs us this soft knit number hangs happily in her auxiliary closet reserved solely for LBD’s)

For an evening when you may wear this dress perhaps some extra-pretty lingerie will be called for. Avenue has that as well (15 percent off from their website, not just in the stores), and since this is a family website Francesca has chosen one of the more covering options to show as an example:

No, it is not made of real satin or silk, but then, it is not made for wearing very long.

Happy shopping!

xoxo, Francesca

Mama is in need of a julep and a lie down and possibly someone to feed her grapes and rub her feet (I wonder if the Fug girls will lend me George) for she is exhausted. I have spent the past several days digging around the ugly birk-shod bowels of the internet trying to find a low heeled superfantastic shoe for my beloved internet friends who cannot or will not wear the higher heels.

I give you the understated sexy Sigerson Morrison.

Look at that detail, those luscious curves, that sexy scoop by the vamp. They are the very definition of a gorgeous mid-heel pump and they will never go out of style.

Can’t you just imagine some icy Hitchcock blonde slowly ascending a flight of stairs? The camera is tight, we can’t see what’s in her hand and the top of the stairs are covered in shadows, we just see her feet in those shoes. Is she the icy femme fatale? The innocent career girl with all the bad luck? Those shoes say yes, to both.

Old Navy is having a Women’s Plus fall trunk show! Francesca and Plumcake have the savings for you! Click here and save 10% off any purchase of $75 or more, from now through Thursday.

First, a recommendation from Plumcake:

Plumcake has plucked this little morsel from the virtual racks at Old Navy.

This is the sort of dress one might wear to a casual party where barbeque, salsa and festive blender drinks in colors not found in the natural spectrum will be served. It is inexpensive and as such, no great loss if you accidentally fall into the wading pool which your friend’s younger brother has turned into the world’s largest ocean-themed Jell-O shot, complete with Swedish fish and fruit roll-up kelp for authenticity (not that anyone I know has ever tried that, or has the recipe at home).

Our fabulous girl will merely slip on this dress, a cute shrug or cardie in case she gets chilly, grab her adorable candy-wrapper clutch from fair trade group Taraluna. . .

and dance the night away, enjoying herself and looking fantastic instead of worrying whether chimichurri sauce or blue Curacao comes out of double-starched ivory linen.

Because it doesn’t.

And now, from Francesca:

Alas, Old Navy does not have a Women’s Petite department. But if I, Francesca, were just a few inches taller, I would be sorely tempted to buy this versatile pencil skirt, so perfect for showing off the shapely calves which so many Big Girls can flaunt:

For the coming fall days, I’m charmed by this cardigan sweater, useful and pretty for gentle Sunday hikes amid New England foliage:

But meanwhile, since much of summer is still ahead of us, you might want to consider this adorable V-neck top, which helps hide the lumps of those of us (like me) whose tummies pooch out a bit:

Happy, happy shopping!

xoxo, Francesca and Plumcake

I want to do so many things with this dress.

I want to take off the belt and wear it with three strands of pearls or a scatter brooch to my grandma’s three-mimosa brunch.

I want to replace the “leather-like” belt with something of higher quality (you know, something that once had a mom and a dream) and wear it with seamed stockings and a 50′s handbag for a night of flirting with Inappropriate Men at a local rockabilly show.

I want to wake up at noon the next morning and sit in the dark eating greasy tacos and watching that scene in Pride and Prejudice where Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy jumps into and subsequently comes out of the water over and over again until we faint from sheer Regency-era hotness with it only to regain conciousness three hours later and start the whole thing over again. (woo, is it warm in here?)

I think you get the picture.

The neckline and pencil skirt make it sexy without turning the world your mammographer or putting you in direct danger of any sort of tabloid-style unpleasantless when getting out of a car. It isn’t an investment piece, but it’s well worth the price tag.

These subtle slingies from Pedro Garcia on the other hand, are an investment and would be perfect for with this and many other dresses (don’t you dare ruin the line of this skirt with ankle wraps or a t-strap). On supersale for under $150– over 60% retail– there’s no reason they shouldn’t sleep in your closet tonight!

Sizes are limited but the 41 (American 10/11) is still available!