Velvet or Velour is one of those weird fabrics that seems to only to live at the polar ends of the dressing spectrum. It’s either pieces fit for pajama lounge time or its found in elegant gowns and fancy waistcoats. Until this season, that is. Playful in-between velvet items have been popping up all over the place and I couldn’t help but share a few looks to inspire you all to look at velvet a little bit differently.
Urban Cool
This fun and functional Torrid velvet skirt adds a kick of sass to this awesome ‘Thick Hunny” t-shirt from Luella. Thrown on with my favorite gold sneakers (similar) and a pair of classic gold oversized earrings, this outfit is your go to for casual cool.
Romantic Country
One might argue that a velvet dress is automatically formal. I say, “NAY.” The tiered seams of this Simply Be velvet dress add a low key feel, while the black boots from Modcloth add a slight nod to the current equestrian trend. Velvet can be heavy, so to keep this look visually light, I added a gold accent belt (similar) for definition and my favorite black tassel earrings from amazon.
Eccentric Indie
I love this Modcloth pinafore because it’s such a unique use of velvet and matures a clothing item that is often reserved for children. I paired it with fun striped trumpet sleeve shirt I snagged at Primark in the UK (only available in store) and some comfy ballet inspired flats from Target. It’s a 3 piece look that is anything but simple.
Other Great Velvet Items
Here are some other great unexpected velvet pieces that might be fun to incorporate into your everyday wardrobe.
People tell me all the time things I shouldn’t wear- often before I’ve tried it on. This patterned skirt is a great example of something many people warned me not to wear. It’s light colored. It’s vertical print. It’s short. In some sort of plus size fashion rule book, that is stored in a very secret box, that only the pure in heart can access, whose words are now passed through our society through verbal storytelling by judgemental people, it says this. In any case, that book is very very old. It probably references bloomers. And cod pieces. And chastity belts. And Isn’t it about time we got a rewrite?So, ancient rule book be damned! I bought the skirt anyways. Not to be controversial. Not to make a statement. I bought it because it looked like a sweater I had purchased Data for the winter and I wanted us to match. It’s funny because often times people think I wear things for the shock value, but most of the time its because of one of 3 things: I think its it’s pretty, I can match my dog or it’s outside my comfort zone and I want to challenge myself to make it work.
As a plus size women there’s all this meaning put behind usually meaningless decisions. I need to wear clothes. I buy clothes I like. I wear those clothes. While usually I am wearing what I like and what spoke to me that day, the world sometimes interprets it into a grand statement. I’m brave or bold. I’ve broken the antiquated rules. I went out of the house with something that actually shows the shape of my body . In my heart of heart I can’t wait until the day when my fashion sense is praised without the caveat that I’m plus or body positive or wearing something society says I shouldn’t. How about just- ” this girl is wearing a cool outfit.” That would be nice. I’d like that.
Let’s talk about this perfectly sparkly plus size dress from Eloquii. It’s simply enchanting. Actually, I l think witch craft had to be involved because for the life of me I cannot fathom how one even embroiders on top of sequins. That’s one legit sewing machine- being able to crush that embroidery through a slew of plastic on each downward and upward motion. However it was done, the result is as special as it is unique.
Now, I’ll admit the dress fits me much different then the model (oh hey girl hey Tess Holiday), but this is mostly because I’m a pear shape and carry a lot of junk in my trunk.. and in my birthing hips …and in my candy juicy thighs. As a result the little silver lining of the dress that’s supposed to peak out at the bottom doesn’t. Instead, its taking refuge in my butt. It refused to cross the twin peaks to be seen. I don’t blame it, it’s probably lovely weather in my ass this time of year.
I noticed upon opening the dress that it perfectly matched the modern big sleeved jacket I already owned and I had to pair them together. Mostly because I look for every excuse to wear this coat. This was indeed a good excuse. Some maroon velvet flats from Target, referencing another hue from embroidery, topped of the dapper dress and made the look as cohesive as it was colorful.
Thank you to Eloquii for sending me this dress to style. Thank you to whomever’s house in Switzerland this was that I holed up in front of taking pictures. And thank you to cheese, for existing and making me able to stand in 40 degree weather in a t-shirt dress.
There’s some pretty crazy things I’ve done for the sake of blogging. I think walking down an active city street for “authentic” New York photos has to be one of them. Red light. Go! Go! Go! Green light . Quick get out of the road before you a become very large piece of gingham and denim road kill!! Yes, pose with that taxi while the driver of said taxi says creepy things to you. This is the big city and I was playing a weird form of sexy frogger. Personally , I think I set an all new high score. In my opinion, nothing in more important to city living, than a really amazing pair of jeans. These light wash jeans from Good American are still one of favorites. This is 100% because they make my butt look magical. If you’re late to my fall party, you might have missed the memo that I’m really into big sleeves or, as my boss called them today, “mutton leg arms.” While I at first thought my boss was weirdly trying to be cool, google tells me this is actually what big ass sleeves are called. It’s a thing. I prefer the french term, gigot. It sounds exotic as opposed to meaty. That said, I am really leaving lots of amazing jokes on the table that my inner 14 year old could make about being an expensive piece of meat. That’s probably ok, because feminism. I got my mutton leg shirt from Fashion to Figure. Gingham has the potential to come off a bit too country for my taste, but these sexy balloon like sleeves elevate this piece to cocktails and class versus the usual tractors and grass. To complete the look I added a vintage scarf from Hugo Boss in an autumn floral print and my favorite pair of city walking flats from Target.
I always dress up the day after having a bad day-something about put together helps me feel like I can conquer everything. I suppose that’s why today I’m wearing what only can be described as an eclectic bad ass babe’s power suit. The floral pencil skirt is from Eloquii, the sheer teal collared shirt is from Modcloth, and bright, yet assertive, powder blue faux leather jacket is from Just Fab. The earrings are some of my faves I picked up from a local street artistic in New York. The shoes I purchased in London from Jones Bootmaker and were the first pair of heels I could wear all day and not hate the world after. The last detail is pretty much hidden in the images. It’s a gold lucky rabbit ring from Me & Zena. After yesterday’s events, I can use all the luck I can get.
Monday was one of those days I wish hadn’t happened, but am ultimately a better person because it did. Sometimes growth is super painful, but we come out the end better. So as much as I really wanted to run away and hide from all the emotions and self analysis I faced yesterday. I am forever grateful I didn’t. I shared a very public opinion about a very controversial topic. I received some well-thought out rebuttals, but I also received some pretty nasty commentary. It was hard to see a wide variety of assumptions about me be expressed, as well as several unfair analyses of how had come to believe what I did. Some felt the need to negate some pretty powerful and hard experiences in my life. And unfortunately, my body reacted and reminded me of those emotions, those moments, and that pain. It was rough.
I was so hurt. I tried to put something positive out and as a result was left feeling very helpless and like I re-broken something I had already healed. I was feeling so much that I simply didn’t need to. Reliving these experiences weren’t necessary. My participation in the discussion wasn’t necessary. So I made a decision. Somethings just aren’t worth talking about. There are parts of my life I am not ready to share. Heck, I may never be ready. And until I feel comfortable discussing all of it, I’m going to talk about none of it.
What is so hard about this experience, is I didn’t expect this to affect me as it did. I didn’t expect to suddenly feel everything I felt. I thought I was stronger than that. The truth is sometimes being a blogger makes you feel a bit invincible. You get so used to hate. You get desensitized. You begin to expect it. Other’s expect it of you. While there’s power in being conditioned to be fearless and impenetrable, there also can be a slow loss of reality and empathy.
So while yesterday was painful and overwhelming, I am thankful for it. I still stand by my words. I still believe what I said. However, all of that seems quite pointless now. The real thing I learned yesterday is that I am still human. It’s ok to feel. It’s ok to not be ok. It’s ok to have things that are difficult to talk about, experiences you wished never happened, and moments you wish you could rewrite. It’s not shameful to be sensitive, overwhelmed, or hurt. Even though I am blogger exposed to the world, I still am human. I still have feelings. I have fears. I still have room to grow. Sometimes my own expectations of what I need to be, get in the way of who I really am. I’m a feeler and yesterday I felt things. I felt them hard. And those feelings ultimately made me a better person, so I refuse to be ashamed of or regret them.
Velvet or Velour is one of those weird fabrics that seems to only to live at the polar ends of the dressing spectrum. It’s either pieces fit for pajama lounge time or its found in elegant gowns and fancy waistcoats. Until this season, that is. Playful in-between velvet items have been popping up all over the place and I couldn’t help but share a few looks to inspire you all to look at velvet a little bit differently.
So, ancient rule book be damned! I bought the skirt anyways. Not to be controversial. Not to make a statement. I bought it because it looked like a sweater I had purchased Data for the winter and I wanted us to match. It’s funny because often times people think I wear things for the shock value, but most of the time its because of one of 3 things: I think its it’s pretty, I can match my dog or it’s outside my comfort zone and I want to challenge myself to make it work. 
Let’s talk about 
There’s some pretty crazy things I’ve done for the sake of blogging. I think walking down an active city street for “authentic” New York photos has to be one of them. Red light. Go! Go! Go! Green light . Quick get out of the road before you a become very large piece of gingham and denim road kill!! Yes, pose with that taxi while the driver of said taxi says creepy things to you. This is the big city and I was playing a weird form of sexy frogger. Personally , I think I set an all new high score. 
In my opinion, nothing in more important to city living, than a really amazing pair of jeans. These 
While I at first thought my boss was weirdly trying to be cool, 
I got
