On Saturday I attended the very first Curvy Convention in London and I have to say that I had a great day!
As ever I expect there to be a barrage of blogger reviews and photos online so I don’t want to talk too much about the day because I think you can read that anywhere! I have to say though, that the day was much better than I expected, for the first-ever one it did great. One thing I would say is that the range of models they used was brilliant – I am sure you’ll see in everyone’s photos that there were short, tall, of all sizes, ages and colours which was fantastic. I felt it was a shame that the largest model was a size 26 I would love to have seen the brands showcasing their items in all of the sizes they sold – IE a size 32. But as I mused over the event yesterday I wondered if there were other ‘representations’ that were missed which I didn’t notice because I was too busy thinking about myself. But overall, the range of models was noticeably varied and fantastic!
The Sense of Community
I joke about attending the Curvy Convention with voyeuristic intention, but it is a little like that. There are not many places you can go where you can see hundreds of women who look just like you! I love that I can lust over dresses and ask people where they got them from, with a strong chance that I will be able to wear it too! Watching catwalks, getting up close and personal with brands and chatting to the people who make and sell you your clothes is fantastic. You can speak to them about what you would like to see and they can tell you about their plans it’s brilliant.
Me and the Topsy Curvy Girls, Blogger Babes, Lucia, myself and Kat (Thanks for the pic!)
I wrote a long soppy post on Facebook last night, but I really want to repeat it here.
I always feel lucky for the inspirational people I have in my life – but then I remember I put myself there. Rather than listen to prejudices and the media about my body and lifestyle choices I sought out a community that simply says ‘it’s ok to be you’. And I tell you now, those 5 words are so powerful. I spent yesterday surrounded by amazing plus size women showcasing fashion – not just clothing options but real, forward thinking fashion for fat bodies. You can tell me it’s not needed or wrong but hundreds of women in that room will tell you differently. Being in a room of women who lift each other up (so many people coming up to me about #wearethethey) is amazing. I then spent the evening drinking rum, tequila and sambuca in a room full of people who I would never have met if it wasn’t for this funny little fat world we’ve worked hard to carve for ourselves. Feeling a bit soppy but the point is don’t ever feel that because you don’t fit in that you are wrong. Instead find (or build) a community of people who think just like you – it’ll change your life. Possibly still drunk but #wearethethey and we’re stronger than Jamelia’s words
The truth is that the community WE HAVE made is fantastic. We have come together to create something special and yes, we can’t all arrange events but the fact that we travel to attend them, work together to promote them and generally get together to make them work makes me so happy. It might just be a few times a year but these events are fantastic and I can only hope that everyone has a chance to find something just as special in their lives! I can’t wait to go back to Curvy Con next year!
Debz xx
Debz Louise is a plus-size blogger based in Yorkshire. Behind many nationwide campaigns such as #WeaAreTheThey & winner of Best Blogger at the UK Plus Size Awards, she talkas about life as a plus-size 40-something woman in South Yorkshire.
