Wannabe Princess

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days, you will have heard about Jamelias comments regarding clothes shopping on the high street. I blogged about it here.

Today she has ‘apologised’. Reassuring us that she only meant ‘extremes’ in sizes and that she feels the high street should stock sizes 6 to 20… It really is quite laughable. 

I feel that by saying ‘they’ should shop in specialist shops and ‘they’ should be made to feel uncomfortable it is all very anonymous. It is easy to say that a bunch of blank faces (and bodies) should be treated a certain way, but what Jamelia (and anyone who agrees with her) needs to realise is that WE are real people. We have REAL feelings, REAL jobs, friends and families. When you say that people should make ‘them’ feel uncomfortable you are encouraging them to treat US differently.. US as in real people.

WE ARE THE ‘THEY’

Sam // Lisa // Kate // Daisy

 

Sarah // Nikki // Lolly // Steph 

 

Emily // Michelle // Hannah // Faith 

 

Rebs // Emma

// Stephanie // Becky 

Zoe // Michaela // Lucia

Katie // Cat // Rebecca // Vicky

Kathryn // Bobbie // Emma // Sonya

Dear Jamelia… I don’t know if you realise it, but there have been fat women around for very many years. As a 32 year old woman, I grew up as a chubby child and a fat teenager. Even those older than me, very many generations before me have been fat. You may or may not agree that fat people are healthy and you may assume that this ‘epidemic’ needs to be cured, but surely you have to agree that fat people are just that, people.

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Good Evening!


Over recent weeks you may have seen different discussions on social media and blog posts about ‘Drop The Plus’. It is a campaign that is all about dropping the term plus size , mostly in the modelling industry. However it has grown and now people are campaigning to Drop The Plus everywhere, which gets a big FAT no from me!


Growing up in a larger body (and probably a smaller one) is not easy. I have nearly always loved by body, or at the very least liked it. There have been times when I have embraced it but not often I have hated it but I know I am a rare breed. The truth is that we’re surrounded by mainstream media and subliminal messages that tell us we’re wrong if we’re overweight. 


So, How can I love my body when so many people are telling me that I shouldn’t? Quite simply, the term ‘Plus Size.

For starters it has allowed me since the age of 14 to look up influences that I want to see, not what the media thinks I should see. Yes as a teenager it can be scary looking up (On Ask Jeeves of all places #Old) the word plus size, but let’s face it there is so much in our teenager years that is scary so this is kind of small in the grand scheme of things. Even back then searching plus size fashion online bought up a number of influences, Google the term now and you’re literally bombarded with images! 


As a teenager and even as a grown up, helping our bodies to feel normal is one of the best ways to encourage us to love the skin we’re in. When you feel like you’re the only fat girl in the world, it can be a lonely place. Google plus size bloggers and you get to see that there are hundreds of girls exactly like YOU who are rocking it every single day! Surrounding yourself by this media helps you to feel much more at ease with your body, trust me it works.


And then there is the topic of clothes shopping! I dream of a day when I can walk into a clothing shop, pick out any item and know that they stock it in my size however we all know that is a reality that is far from the truth. So, rather than wander into shops and browse websites and guess (usually with disappointing results) whether they sell items for me I can look for plus size retailers and know that I am far more likely to get positive results. Yes, perhaps one day we’ll live in a world where we don’t have plus size retailers and instead every shop will stock clothes for everyone, but honestly I think we’re a long, long way off of that!!

Rather than getting rid of the term plus size completely, I think we need to take away the power it holds over some people. The truth is that being plus size is COMPLETELY OK! You don’t have to feel sad if you’re classed as plus size, it’s just a label and doesn’t have any baring on your life, your good qualities etc. I believe that rather than worrying about whether we should be calling people plus size or not, we should be putting our efforts into teaching girls to love their bodies and embrace their size (whatever that happens to be). Once you love the skin you’re in, the label that people put on it is harmless!


So, those are my opinions on the DropThePlus Campaign… but what do you think? Do you embrace the term plus size or think it should be eradicated?


I put the feelers out for some positive thoughts on plus size and here is what people had to say!


Nikki from Natty Nikki “I think we should keep it! I call myself a plus size blogger because that is what I am. When I search for clothes online I look for plus size options in google to find the clothes in my size. I have no problem with the term to me it is the same as using petite or tall in clothing sections.”


Filipa “I think it should be kept for multiple reasons, I don’t see it as a bad or offensive thing. How else would we find the shops that carry our sizes?“


Leah from Just Me Leah “I think we should keep it. I can see why ‘plus size’ models don’t want to be called plus, because they’re not, but we all know a size 12 IS plus size in the modelling world. But for the women who ARE plus size and identify as being so, what else should we call ourselves? For instance I call myself plus size because it’s a descriptor. I’m happy to refer to myself as fat in most areas of my life but many people aren’t on the same journey as me and get upset by the word, so plus size is a judgement free term for me”


Becky S “Plus size helps me find clothes that fit! I don’t view it as an insult – it’s a description of the clothes I wear”


Kat from A Curvy Cupcake  I’m all for #keeptheplus. Its just a search term at the end of the day. The people who want to drop it are the same people who would be up in arms if plus size stores like Evans, Yours etc were called “fat shops” or something. So what do we call plus size ranges? Because we all know size inclusivity is a looong way away so you can’t just not categorize. It’d be too hard to find anything!”


You can also listen to Georgina from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust talking about the topic here.



So… what do you think?


Debz xx

I have blogged about Scarlett & Jo before and to be honest, I have no doubt that I will blog about them again. Scarlett & Jo are a brand that sell exclusively at Evans. One of the things I love most about the range is that ALL of their items go up to a size 32. They don’t pick and choose what they think different customers of different sizes want – instead everything is available in all the sizes – such a revelation!

Over recent months they have bought out some beautiful dresses and skirts. They have definitely found a look that works for them – and it’s safe to say, I am a fan! They’re also big supporters of the blogging industry which is really nice to see.

A couple of weeks ago they sent me this beautiful dress which are far as I can see is not on the website yet. I wore it quite casual just out for dinner but it definitely has potential to be styled up and worn with more glamour.

As usual with Scarlet & Jo items, it’s a fantastic fit and really high quality. Whenever I get items from this range I am always pleased with the look and feel of the material of the items – they never disappoint!

Head over to the Scarlett & Jo website today and have a look at their range. What do you have your eyes on?

Debz xx