Spreading the love for Bella of the Citizen Rosebud

My understanding of the term “fatshion” is that plus-size girls and women are empowering themselves with style. They are declaring their inalienable right to style and are refusing the dour, dowdy and dumpy get-ups the fashion industry has been dishing out to them for so long. Fatshionistas feel good about their bodies, and enjoy dressing up and showing off. My understanding of the term fashion is that is is a “prevailing style or custom.” Nobody lives in a vacuum. We are all influenced by what’s going on around us and it is reflected in our dress.

Put simply: I love costume. I LOVE clothes. For many women, dressing up is their main source of creative outlet. I dress to express myself, my moods, my inspirations. I don’t “follow” trends per se, but I do enjoy being on trend. I dress for my body, so I wear colors and patterns and fabrics that look good on me. So when bootleg jeans come back, I’ll probably still stick to skinny jeans. But I’ll wear them in a way so that they don’t look passe or dated. Maybe that’s why I like vintage! The clothing is so outdated, it can never be out. I mean a 1960′s mod shift dress still looks fresh and modern 50 years later. I love that.

Well, the 3 I’m gonna pick are 3 looks that photographed really really well. So not that they were my 3 best outfits, but the pictures convey something unique.

1) The Canadian Tuxedo. Denim on denim. Not a combo I can pull off very well, and I took this latest denim on denim trend as a challenge. This shirt is such a soccer mom shirt, and I wanted to figure out a way to make it look cool. This is my highest rated outfit on Chictopia.

2) Dotty. My polka dot romper from Target. I waited almost 6 months to wear this romper! I’ve waiting and waited for a hot day to wear it, as it is heavy rayon and cooling. I dolled it up with a scarf and my Darth Vader sunhat and wore it to a casual fashion show at the mall. Not a single soul complimented my outfit in person, but online, off the hook in compliments. And I love the quirky factor of it, so you know I’ll be wearing this again!

3) the Bobby Burns. Bobby Burns was a local legend, a jazz musician known for his wild antics and crazy style of dressing. My outfit was a tribute to his style. Plaid on plaid, that man could pull off the wildest colors and patterns! Anyhoo, it was this post that made me realize that I wanted to represent the style of my hometown, Sacramento, California.

Well, at the moment, this love of mine takes up A LOT of time. I spend at least 30 hours a week “blogging.” Either researching for an article, taking photos for an outfit post, reading and commenting on other blogs and writing my blogs. I’ve been posting about 5 times a week (not counting outfit posts on Chictopia and the various other social networks), but soon I’ll have to cut back to just 3. I think I might go through blogging withdrawals.
How has blogging impacted my life? Almost hands down, blogging has had an incredibly positive impact on my life. It has become a vehicle of creative expression, a way to build and nurture (and be nurtured by) community. And blogging got me a side-gig writing for some other publications, which is pretty damn cool.