My Highlights of 2011!

Hi lovelies, hope you all had a wonderful holiday! With the arrival of the new year nearly upon us, it got me thinking of my major highlights this past year. 2011 has been exceptionally blessed year for me in regards to fashion. I've been so lucky to have had these awesome experiences, and meet so many wonderful people this year. So without further adieu, these are my highlights (in no particular order) of 2011! :

Highlight of 2011 :  

Tara Lynn, Candince Huffine, and Robyn Lawley on the cover of Vogue Italia

• Meeting Robyn Lawley and Laura Wells! (Thank you Evans!!) 
• Making fab friends in the blogging community!
• Receiving lovely message/e-mails from my readers
• Reaching over 300 followers on GFC
• Reaching over 100,000 page views
• Witnessing the rise of the "plus size" model!
• Attending LFW and going backstage
• Meeting jewellery designer Haley Kruger
• Meeting celeb make-up artist Adam De Cruz
• Meeting Thibault Masson of Ma-Grande-Taille/Plus-Size-Tall 
• Meeting the lovely Simply Be team
• Meeting the awesome Evans team
• Meeting fashion designer Zandra Rhodes at the stunning Paramount restaurant
• Going to fashion shoots
• Going to the Plus-Size-Tall/Evans modelling competition finale
• Doing fashion reviews
• Starting a Tumblr (which can be found here!)
• Interviewing Robyn Lawley
• Being the Social Media Co-ordinator for Evolve magazine
• Guest blogging for Evans
• Attending press days
• Attending the Curvissa launch event
• Meeting Big Brother 11 Winner Josie Gibson
• Meeting fashion designer Susana Bettencourt
• Meeting Rivkie Baum editor of the awesome SLiNK magazine
• Getting previews of future collections

So there you have it folks, my highlights of 2011!

What were your highlights of 2011? Let me know! :)

* Disclaimer : In no shape or form am I trying to brag and showoff. Just wanted to share my experiences with you all!

The Plus Size Industry : Tracy's Perspective

As many of you know, I started a series about the plus-size industry, and I want to share as much knowledge, as I possibly can. I think it's important, as curvy women, that we know about our value within the fashion market. So I was extremely pleased when Tracy of Chubble Bubble agreed to answer a couple of questions about the plus-size industry, and give me her insight into the PSI.

Simply Be's Model Search Update...

Plus size fashion retailer Simply Be launched their quest for the next face of plus size fashion back in July and they have now found their finalists! Entrants needed to be curvy (at least a size 14) and confident, to embody the bold & bubbly personality of the brand.

Simply Be were overwhelmed by the number of entries, they received over 300 applications by the deadline at the end of August. 17 fabulous finalists have now been selected; find out who they are now on the Simply Be website.

A few of the finalists

Click here to see the rest of the finalists : http://www.simplybe.co.uk/shop/page?pageId=4295

The gorgeous girls have now been invited to the grand final on October 6th where they will compete in a runway walk-off for the prize! Finalists will receive catwalk lessons from a professional,  have their hair and make up done. As well as strutting their stuff down the catwalk they will be asked a series of questions by the panel of judges to make sure they can talk the talk as well as walk the walk! The judges will include plus size blogger Gemma Cartwright, editor of Best magazine Jackie Hatton and the Director of 12+ Model Management, Sarah Watkinson.

The winner will :

• Feature as a new model for Simply Be online
• Star in a photoshoot with Best magazine
• Receive £10,000 to spend at Simply Be
• Receive a consultation with 12+ Model Management

  

Follow Simply Be on Twitter and Facebook for real time updates from the event. The winner will be announced on October 7th and star in her first fashion shoot for Simply Be on October 18th!

Twitter: Simply Be UK

Facebook: Simply Be Fashion


Tomorrow Simply Be is lauching two new limited collections, Baroque'n'Roll and Oriental Spirit.

Baroque'n'Roll

Oriental Spirit

So make sure you check out Simply Be tomorrow, to see the full collections!

We need diversity....

Diversity [dih-vur-si-tee, dahy] - the state or quality of being different or a varied point of difference.

Fashion is diverse or so it seems. With so many different designers and creations being catapulted into the fashion industry, you would assume there would be a wide variety of models too. If you look at the catwalks, the fashion editorials, and the fashion magazines, you typically only see one type of model. Sure this model comes in different shades of colors, but nonetheless it is the same model in essence. She's the tall-rail thin-elegant-long-legged beauty, that so many girls aspire to be. While I am aware, that fashion is more about the creations than the models, I can't help but feel that models are now receiving more attention than the clothes themselves. Models were once only the canvas, now they are apart of a designers creation.

Throughout history we have seen plus-size models being featured on catwalks for shock factors and gimmicks.  Shouldn't the fashion industry be past these antics? Yes they should, but the sad reality is, they aren't. Many of us are aware of how the fashion industry feels about not only plus-size models, but plus-size women in general :


Karl Lagerfeld - "No one wants to see curvy women. You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly."

Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist - "It's not such a good thing to show plus-size because it's not really physically healthy and not always flattering to fashion."

Muccia Prada refuses to sell garments past a size 10 because it would make her "clothing look hideous." ( How ironic, because Prada's A/W 2010 line was inspired by the "curvier" silhouette )

It's time for diversity ...

We're in 2010, and it's getting old seeing the same model. I want to see a wide variety, I want to see different shapes and sizes, heights, ages, colors, and abilities.  

Cycle 13 of ANTM - The Short Edition

Heels & Wheels

All Shapes and Sizes

Sisters - Laura (size 14) & Courtney (size 10)  Wells 

" Cosmopolitan Australia  had a family reunion of sorts in its August issue, bringing together two sisters kept separate in fashion mags due to their different sizes. Both Courtney and Laura Wells are models, but Laura is plus-size and usually relegated to special spreads. In this editorial, both girls show off the season’s trends on their slim and curvy bodies. " - Huffington Post

Many believe Fashion is Art...

Art has no limits,

So why does Fashion?

Your thoughts?



What I've been working on....

So I've been researching about the plus-size industry, and I've decided I'm going to be writing a series of articles about what I've learnt, and my personal opinions etc. I'm really excited, because I've asked quite a few people who are deeply involved in the industry, to give me some of their insight, and many of them have agreed, which is extremely exciting! I wasn't expecting that, but I'm glad they're on board to help me out. I'll also be posting interviews, to give you a more personal outlook in regards to the plus-size industry. So I hope some of you may find this interesting, because I'm working really hard on this "project", so just keep an eye out. I hope all of you are well!

P.S. I've already posted one article, "The Plus-Size Industry Examined : The Plus-Size Market" go check it out, and tell me what you think. I'll be posting a personal response about my article later.

God Bless,
Love,
LaCara
x

The Plus Size Industry Examined : "The Plus Size Market"

The world's population waistbands are expanding rapidly, more than 6 million British women are now a size 18 or larger. According to the "National Center for Health Statistics" in the US, more than 60% of women and more than two-thirds of adults of the US's 304 million population are now generally overweight. With an increase in size, there is an increase of demand for larger clothes, it seems pretty simple, however, the plus size market has and still is being under-served by the fashion industry.


Mintel Senior Fashion Analyst Tamara Sender said :


"Rising levels of obesity mean that plus-size consumers are increasing and the shoppers are looking for improved choice. Given the numbers of not just plus-size women, but also men, these consumers can no longer be considered a minority or niche sector and retailers need to wake up to the potential of this market."

Courtesy of Daily Mail

The plus-size market is one of the most lucrative, it is the fastest growing market for fashion chains, it is worth £3.8 billion a year in the UK alone. According to the "Global Purchasing Group"* plus-size clothing for men, women, teens, and children is now a $27 billion business, and it is the biggest untapped market in the fashion industry. Yet despite these monumental numbers, many designers remain unconvinced of plus-sized consumers, and continue to focus on their slimmer consumers. Designer Miuccia Prada said she didn't want to make her clothing past a size 10 because it would make her "clothing look hideous". The limited selection among designer brands, also along with higher prices, has forced many larger women to shop at plus-size chains such as Lane Bryant, Evans, and department stores such as J.C. Penny and Sears.


Plus-sized consumers are treated unjustly, and Ed Gribbin, president of Alvainsight* said:


"One of the biggest challenges is that the plus-size woman doesn't want to be a plus-sized shopper; she wants what her slimmer counterparts have. She doesn't want a separate department with less section and higher prices."


Majority of retailers have failed to meet the needs of the plus-size market, many plus-size consumers are unhappy with the choices available. More than four in ten women size 18 and over believe that plus-size clothes tend to be less fashionable. The Mintel survey says : 


 "Plus-size women must often make do with 'one-plus-size-fits-all' apparel that is unflattering and/or ill fitting. Nearly half of women responded saying they often buy clothes that are too big in order to fit specific parts of their bodies. Moreover, 43% say stores are often out of their size"


Mintel also found that more than four in ten shoppers are unhappy about the differences that exist from store to store.


However hope may be at hand, as there has been talks that the fashion house of Marc Jacobs will be considering launching a plus-size range start from size 14 upwards. Saks Fifth Avenue has also been in the limelight, as they plan on stocking plus-size designer garments from designers such as Chanel, Armani, Donna Karan and many more.


While the plus-size market has come a long way, it is apparent there is a still a long road ahead, before the plus-size market can be treated and viewed equally as the overall fashion market. As this market continues to thrive, perhaps it will become the most refreshing and sought out industry to date.

* Global Purchasing Group - a clothing buyer for 100 independent specialty stores nationwide.


* Alvainsight - a division of size and fit specialist Alvanon which holds the industry's largest body-scan database.