Style on the Edge

Fitness expert Jessica Smith quoted me in her article, What inspires me on Fitsugar.com on my favorite Fila toning capris. The XL size fits perfectly on size 16. I bought mine at the sports chain Dick’s or you can mail order them directly from fila.com. I found a matching top at my local Marshall’s (source of many wonderful things).

When I saw Jessica’s Look Better Naked video, I bought it because the title made me laugh. And it’s great! There are beginner modifications, but you can also do a more challenging track, with alternating days of cardio and strength. She telegraphs the moves well and gives just the right amount of encouragement, that while you know it’s pre-recorded, it feels like she’s talking to you. I’ve used this DVD for a year now, and while I’ll try others for a few days, I always come back to it and it hasn’t made me crazy from repetition.

You can try a beginner’s workout featuring her Mom and her dog, on jessicasmith.tv and she’s many more titles recently, including her challenging 10 Pounds Down series and the unusual Yin Yang Fusion DVD,.

A gym is great if you can afford it and get to it regularly, a trip to the park is wonderful, but it’s a real revelation that you can get sweaty and sculpt some powerful muscles in a little spot in front of your TV.

Stripey sailor tops are everywhere this year. And I disagree that if you’re curvy you must avoid stripes. If you’re not comfortable with that much pattern, just pop on jacket – but go on – break the rules!

Having fallen madly in love with the St. James scarf I picked up on ultra-clearance last Spring at J. Crew, I wanted to get one of their striped shirts (“cult t-shirts since 1889″). The thick fabric has such a wonderful feel – it’s warm in the winter, but never too hot when the day warms up. I could keep buying a stack of inexpensive stripey sailor shirts, or go get the real thing, made in France. So I made a trip to the St. James boutique in New York, at 79th and Madison, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

St. James offers a range of sizes. Their women’s sizes include US 14, 16 and 18, so do not fret that you think French fashion is only for the svelte. They also offer unisex shirts in a slightly different cut, so all shapes and sizes can find their fit.

I bought a lighter-weight 3/4 sleeve top, which flattered me the most. Tops are about $90-$100 and other items climb steeply, so this was one of my pricier purchases. But I have to say that the hats at $24 are a steal. You’d pay that much full-price at any mall shop for lesser quality.

I’ve never had an Upper East Side boutique shopping experience and it was a wonderful. Oh I love my clearance digging, but it’s a pleasure buying a single item of quality from a shop that attends to you completely.

So you’ve got big bosoms, knockout knockers, quite a rack, are well-endowed, stacked, curvaceous. So why do the very women who have the most need of a well-engineered bra that holds those boobies up, and have the best platform to show some gorgeous design have the worst, or even NO selection at the average department store? And if you do find something to fit, even your grandma would say, “what’s with the granny underthings?”

There is a line of very affordable ($30) and gorgeous, sexy bras at Macy’s and other department stores. They’re called Lunaire & Whimsy.

If you are a smaller cup, and a bit larger band size, I would also recommend the Olga Christina line. The bras have great support and some give a very smooth line under T-shirts, but unfortunately do not come in a larger cup size.

Just about every magazine or TV show that does a feature on bra sizing repeats the mantra: try going up a cup and down a size. If you aren’t getting professionally fitted, head into the dressing room with an array of various band and cup sizes because I tell ya, one of them will surprise you by fitting perfectly.

If the bra is rising up in the back, you might think it’s too small…but that’s actually a sign it’s too big. If you’re spilling out to the sides, again – the band is not too small and “squeezing fat up” or anything. It’s that the cup size is not big enough. Bras should hold the girls reasonably in place even without the straps. No matter how well-endowed you are, you shouldn’t have straps digging into your shoulders and leaving marks. Again, that’s a sign that your bra does not fit properly. And the bra, when new, should fit on the farthest out hooks. That way, when the bra stretches with wear, you can tighten it up.

Fit does seem to run smaller in Lunaire, so just try different band sizes, but do consider going up a cup. It’s a proportional scale. If you were once a 42D and lost a few pounds, you may now be a 40DD or 38DDD. The boob is about the same size, but as the whole bra just got smaller with the band size, you need to go up a cup size or two.

If you are wondering why a straight size US16 fits you, but not a 14W – a women’s plus size that seems comparable, just take a look at these numbers from eBay’s Size Guide (in inches):

                  Bust            Waist           Hip
Size 16:      40.5-41.5    32.5-33.5     43-44
Size 14W:   40-42          41.5-43.5     41-43

As you’ll see, the bust size range is about the same, but there is up to TEN inches difference in the waist! While the size 16 waist is smaller, the hip range is one to two inches larger.

We are more an hourglass and less a pint glass. So keep shopping and don’t settle for ill-fitting plus sizes, when what you need are proportioned larger straight sizes.

For a fun and geeky, high-tech look at sizes, check out Dark Greener’s What Size Am I?

If you haven’t found your way there yet, check out Ruche. It’s an online shop which has a vintage/indie fashion/girlie aesthetic similar to Anthropologie and Mod Cloth. But unlike the Anthro shops, the prices are very affordable, with skirts and dresses from $40. They also feature jewelry and boutique home items.

They also make it easy to search for the larger sizes, by following the Ruche”Curvy Plus” link. Note that they have a unique sizing system and that size 16 at 42/36/42 would be a Ruche 2X. If you do order from them, let me know your experience.

The aforementioned Anthropologie is always good for a wander, I’ve bought very little there – just a few bargain basement finds, including a few cute dishes and a perfume “tester” for just a few dollars (it’s alcohol. so no cooties!) A few weeks ago, I scored a cute wool bolero on clearance for $15 that I’d tried on weeks earlier for full price. Love when that happens. You can search for the XL sizes on their website and I do suggest a spin through their clearance racks.

I’ve still never ordered from Mod Cloth’s “additional sizes”, though I have friends who are devoted fans.

And if you want to go for the true handmade indie or vintage style, there’s the wonderful Etsy marketplace. I’ve found that many of the clothing makers offer larger and custom sizes, so just do a search on the sizes. Again, I’ve just not ordered anything yet myself, but I’ve been very tempted many times. We also have a few links to vintage clothing dealers to the right.

One of the upsides of the upsizing of America is that we can finally buy women’s cut souvenir T-shirts in larger sizes.

I just visited my beloved Central Park Zoo and found an adorable sequined penguin T. The sizes ran to 2XL, but I was rather surprised to find that I fit in the size L. Now, I don’t care about the bonfire of “vanity sizing”*, what I care about is that we larger-framed women can finally wear a flattering shirt that is cut and sewn for our bodies, and we don’t have to look shapeless and weirdly mannish, despite larger bosoms, in a men’s L or XL.

If you are in New York for any length of time, consider a zoo membership. The passes will get you in all three of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s zoos and the Aquarium at Coney Island, plus promote their fieldwork and research. It is well worth the price of about $90 for you and a guest and just a bit more for a family.

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*This past week on ABC’s The Revolution, our guru Tim Gunn addressed increases in clothes sizing, He noted that a size 8 has increased 2.5 inches since he began at Parson School of Design in 1985. An industry expert feels so strongly on the topic that she addresses it on a dedicated website, The Myth of Vanity Sizing.

I grew up on LL Bean. The catalog was omnipresent in our house since in the 60s and 70s. The UPS man still arrives at my mother’s house with those green bags about once a week, I’m not kidding.

After wearing a flannel shirt for years and coveting the stripey sailor shirt around age 15 or so, I decided I was a fashionable teen and wanted nothing to do with them – give me belly shirts and flares. I’m still on the fence now, as they make some quality things, but their clothes so often are a bit too frumpy, especially in the Women’s sizes I’d worn a few years ago. I always thought they could do that preppy with a twist thing better than the mall shops, if they put their mind to it.

So they finally did come out with LL Bean Signature a few seasons back.

It’s a bit pricey and a bit too formal for me, but there’s some lovely pieces. I wondered with the trimmer cut if the sizing would run a bit too small. But Bean’s main line is running bigger every year, so I put in an order for a 16. The jacket fit like it was made for me. It seens equivalent to Gap sizing They also carry 18s. Look for the designs online and in their outlet stores.

Recently, I’ve received a few emails from plus-size retailers and websites. Now, I have no problem with the term plus-size. I have no problem shopping in plus-size departments, I’ve done it for years. Actually, let me clarify that. I had a LOT of problems shopping in plus-size shops and anyone who has knows why. Lots of crying, frustration all of it. ARGH!

At one time I was a 20W in most major brands (Elisabeth, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.). Now, due to my own downsizing and size upsizing (a very real phenomenon) I fit in many makes of straight size 16, such as Gap. I don’t kid myself this is the 16 of my youth.

The thing is, I am plump still. I’m working to change it. But some things will never change, and I was born with a large frame body – wide shoulders and large muscles that never fit into baby onsies since birth and then came some boobs.

I cannot bear to read one more miraculous weight loss story about a women dropping five sizes. OK, if you had a size 2 frame body to begin with, were very chubby and you lost many pounds, you might go back down the sizes . But the reality of structure and stature is that some of us are XL and shall remain XL, no matter how sleek we might get. I will always need an L or XL sweater or jacket, I just might keep taking in the sides further and further.

Plus-size is cut wide, and is often drapey and shapeless. And it is often just dreary or horrible or just not my taste – either overly loud with matronly embellishments or ultra-sexy clubwear. All I want is a classic, yet funky look…jeans, a camisole, a cashmere sweater that reads cool, quality, FITTED. Yes, there are some wonderful plus-size fashions out there, but you really do need to dig!

So, dear reader, I only list retailers that offer things I love. If I wouldn’t wear it, due to fit or taste, it’s not here. It’s a dream list, as my budget is small and I’m not a fashion diva. I like the feel of clothes, softness and quality are equally important to me as presentation. I will continue to list a small amount of plus-size shops that offer the smaller sizes and suit my taste. If you’re larger than a US14-20 or OX-1X, this blog might not suit you, but follow the links to some wonderful blogs that will lead to some great clothes for you.

In the New York area, it’s only snowed anything of note once since…before Halloween. Maple sap is already on the earliest boil, but it’s still way too early for real Spring. So houndstooth is perfect. Thank you New York Times Style for being more liberal and less limousine in your photo essays – with people, size, and price tags.

Fashion stylist Edith Dohmen has a lovely blog, Style Has No Size. She uses the brilliant term “inbetweenie” for us. Based in the Netherlands, she’s working for major magazines there, so I look forward to her perspective.

Edith has designed her own dress for Dutch brand Yoek, who ship internationally. Their sizes range starts at US8, with their size L being a US16/18.

While sometimes I’m more just buying some clothes to fit and not so much fashionista, I had a bit of a moment and am heading to Manhattan with some new style – everything from a Junior L to a 1X sweater. And then I came home and shopped my closet, putting things together in new ways and realizing the vintage jacket that was in the attic for years does now fit (vintage size 20).