Wide Calf Boots Y’all!

How excited am I to finally find a pair of knee-high boots that REALLY fit my calves? BEYOND THRILLED. These beautiful leather boots are from Ted & Muffy – a UK boot brand that offers CUSTOM calf sizes on their boots. Additionally they offer sizing up to US 12 and wide shoe widths as well. I am so excited to see so many options for folks of all sizes. 

It’s been so long since I’ve had a pair of wide calf boots that was big enough to wear OVER a pair of jeans, that I just had to try this Demeter Boot with a pair of skinny jeans. Weekends are made for a casual look of skinny jeans, boots and an oversized top. But this style of boot could be dressed up quite well too – I love the versatility. 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Dip Hem Black Top – City Chic – L (special sizing)
Skinny Jegging Jeans – Torrid – 18 – available here
Parka – Old Navy
Demeter Boots – Ted & Muffy – available here
Black/White Bag – Rebecca Minkoff
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

Products provided by Ted & Muffy. All opinions are my own.

InTheThickofIt – Best Outfits of 2015

These were the most popular posts on InTheThickofIt in 2015. It was a fun year for me that included my first trip to Tulum Mexico and I was in a @proudmaryfashion Fashion show. 

Thanks as always for the love!

Outfit 1 – Greetings from Chicago Anna Scholz Dress

Outfit 2 – Transitional Stripes Eloquii Dress

Outfit 3 – Plus size Beach wear in Tulum by Asos

Outfit 4 – Lace for Spring

Outfit 5 – Proud Mary Fashion Show

Outfit 6 – How I rock a Crop Top

Outfit 7 – Winter Tunic and Leather Jacket

Eloquii Party Dresses

LastCraft lapel pins

Oh look I got dressed and hung out with my favorite femme and went to an actual party. I haven’t done that in ages. Nothing like gossiping with a small gaggle of femmes in a bar. Seriously. 

It’s busy season for me my loves – I’m deep in the weeds of small business holiday shopping for my little shop LastCraft. 

I am hoping for lots more outfit posts in early next year and perhaps a few small holiday party posts. There are SO many good plus size holiday party dresses available this year. My favorites so far are from Eloquii (seen above). Any favorites you can share?

For those that are interested, I’ll be doing a few upcoming markets in the Chicago area – I’d love to see y’all! We’ve got some amazing new totebags and enamel pins! 
Show of Hands – Nov 20-22 at Architectural Artifacts
Renegade Holiday Show – Dec 5&6 at Bridgeport Art Center

Outfit Details (on me – on right)

Black Body-Con Dress – Dorothy Perkins sz 20
Petite Black Leather Harness – Zana Bayne
Porcupine Earrings – Etsy
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

On Plus Size Advancing Style

Lately I’ve been drawing inspiration from some of the women of Advanced Style. Now I realize I’m not in the Senior Citizen category, but I so greatly admire women older than me – as mentors, as icons, as wonderful friends. 

I am solidly over the age of 35, which still feels like a surprise to me. As a queer person, I never really knew what my life-path would look like, but I knew it didn’t have a lot of roadmaps. The folks I knew growing up that were older than me fit a very heteronormative path. They got married, had kids, wore J. Crew, strived to be a certain size.  I never felt those people were my people. I have known for a long time that I have a different path. It’s been such a journey! In my late teens, I found new role models like drag-queens Divine and Leigh Bowery and oh goodness the fun I had experimenting with all sorts of pieces of me.  It took me a really long time to learn to accept  myself in the body I have and get over a plethora of self esteem issues.

Oh and what does that have to do with fashion? Well a lot really – in that I always assumed  when I was younger that women in their late 30s dressed in frumpy shit – I mean there’s a reason why the term “mom jeans” exists. And frankly most of the options for plus size women women of any age were just embarrassingly bad and frumpy up until very recently. Posting photos of my outfits has always been to fight against those assumed norms.  

So here I am, a 36 year old plus size woman. I have no kids. I am (queer) married. I love fashion. I hope that my life can be a marker of what is a possibility. Now on to the clothes…(and my sweet little pixie hair cut that i’m just loving this summer) 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Cricut Plus Size Maxi Dress – via Gwynnie Bee – Sz 2X
Black Faux Leather Belt – Forever 21 – 2X
Black Faux Suede Shoes – Urban Outfitters
Glasses – SEE Eyewear
Clutch – Vintage
Bar Necklace – Dana Rebecca

Summer Road Trip – Detroit/ Ann Arbor

Why not a road trip? Why not the sheer maxi dress that has become my summer uniform this year? 

I needed some art and some fun, so S and I headed to Detroit to see the Kahlo Rivera exhibit at the DIA. What a perfectly fantastic museum experience!!!! It was breathtakingly beautiful and I could have spent days there. I was just overwhelmed with the Dutch Masters rooms and the Contemporary spaces specifically. After many hours of looking at art, we drove around Detroit spent some time at the John K King book store after our museum visiting. Since S had to do some work in Ann Arbor, we stayed there, visiting several of the great indie coffee shops (we loved Roos Roast) and we had a great vegetarian dinner at the Arbor Brewery. It was such a good time.

Oh and how can I forget our side excursion to middle-of-nowhere Indiana to stop at Albanese CANDY FACTORY – holy moly! 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Sheer Floral Maxi – 3x – Proud Mary Fashion
Denim Cut-off Shorts – 20 – Ava & Viv (destroy wash)
Tank – 1x – Forever 21
Dr. Marten Boots
Nail Necklace – Redbud Jewelry 
Sylvie Rose Diamond Necklace – Dana Rebecca
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

Watery Print Dress

One of my favorite american artists is

James McNeill Whistler – his “Nocturnes” specifically are so evocative of a specific space. His color palette is often quite muted, in lots of greys and blues – with wispy weird light sources that seem to really glow. When I saw this dress on Gwynnie Bee, it immediately made me think of Whistler’s work.  I love the tunic shape and subtle drop hem. I wore it to work with a sweater and dark blue wedges. I wore it this weekend with my favorite birkenstock sandals and a belt (seen above). 

This weekend was so humid and I wanted to be by the water – isn’t chicago just so pretty in the summer? Watercolor print clothes are just perfect for a nod to summer.

OUTFIT DETAILS
Jete Watercolor Hi-Lo Tank Dress – Size 2x – via Gwynnie Bee subscription
Birkenstock sandals
Turquoise leather and gold belt via Asos
Long Necklace – Forever 21
Short necklace – Dana Rebecca
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

ProudMary’s Plus Size Fashion Show – Fashion on the Fringe

This week was super fun for me. I spent a lot of it with Jessica the owner of the perfect online plus size boutique Proud Mary. She held an amazing fashion show and shopping event Friday night at Fringe Salon (this is where I get my hair done BTW – by the amazing Patrick McAfee). 

Seriously I am almost without words about how cool this event was.  It was filled with my people –  gorgeous wonderful fat women 🙂 I honestly have never had such a positive response from walking a runway – everyone was so kind and generous. It was also great that there was so much shopping and this amazing photobooth by GlitterGuts

Above are all the outfits I wore – and they’re all available now at Proud Mary

My nails are by gigi at fringe salon find her on her tumblr thegigijigglesnails and IG @thegigijiggles 

Makeup is by Liz find her on IG @itslizmedaris 

Farmers Market and Striped Maxi Dress

I’ve been a vegetarian for several years now and one of my favorite things about spring is that the farmers markets finally start up again in Chicago and I have access to loads of gorgeous fresh fruit and veg. My favorite market is in Logan Square on sunday mornings.  I usually meet up with a friend or two for coffee at one of the many coffee shops in the area and then head over to buy delicious foods. 

This week I bought a new squash plant and some lettuce and spinach. My lovely pal M bought a giant loaf of sourdough that I wish I had also purchased because I’ve been thinking about it ALL week. That is on my list for this weekend for sure.

I decided to wear this lovely sheer striped maxi from eShakti over some shorts and a cami with my birkenstocks.  It was a perfect choice for the windy but warm weather – I love nothing more than a breeze blowing my maxi dress around me. I feel like I’m conjuring up something fun – hah! 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Sheer Striped Maxi – eShakti – Sz 20
High-Rise shorts – City Chic – Sz 18
Cami – St. Eve – Sz 1X
Braided Belt from Nordstrom
Gold Moon earrings – limited edition top shop
Black Diamond Necklace “Sylvie” – Dana Rebecca
Backpack – gift
Strappy Birkenstocks via zappos, Sz 41
Glasses – SEE Eyewear

Oh where oh where has InTheThickofIt been?

Well first of all, I’m still posting a lot on instagram @inthethickofit and i would LOVE it if you follow me and interact with me there. It’s not just clothes posts – it’s also a lot of my day-to-day and my sweet dogs Scout and Sailor and delicious food I eat. Typical insta, right?

Oh dear readers of InTheThickofit – it’s been a heck of a year. I just wanted to issue a quick apology for the slowing down of posts in the last 6 months. I am trying to get things together for more MORE MORE!!! but that hasn’t happened as quickly as I’d like. My lovely partner S is my photographer and between my schedule and his, there has been no time to take decent outfit photos. 

Also my weight has fluctuated quite a bit in the recent months and I’ve been finding it difficult to readjust my wardrobe accordingly. Sometimes it’s just hard to admit that life isn’t super easy. But I’m working through it and drinking lots of chai which seems to help a little 🙂

Here’s what’s happening though…I’ve got an amazing little Etsy shop called LastCraft that has just totally blown up.  There’s also my full time day-job that takes up about 12 hours of my weekdays. It’s just busy. 

I do have to say i am completely thankful for my plus size clothing subscription service Gwynnie Bee. It’s been so nice to add items that fit my ever-changing body to my wardrobe, even temporarily. Seriously if you haven’t tried them, you really should (and here’s a code that includes a free month if you’re so inclined). Below is one of my favorite recent purchases from them

I’ll be hopefully posting more soon – just wanted you all to know I’m thinking of you and missing you lots!

Transitional Stripes

The moment I saw this Mixed Stripe Dress from Eloquii, I knew I had to have it. I love the “sack” shape of it – but it is not so bag-like that it is frumpy. It’s a perfect dress to wear from spring to summer as the material is light and easy but it pairs well with leggings and a jacket. The minimalist shape and pattern are just a great addition to my spring wardrobe. 

I spent the day shopping for new glasses (I can’t wait to share those with you in a few weeks) and just walking around downtown with S. We shared an amazing cinnamon roll and iced coffee (YUM!) and also popped into LUSH to get my favorite spring bath bubble bar Ultraviolet. Are any of my readers LUSH fans? What are your favorites? 

OUTFIT DETAILS
Mixed Stripe Dress – Eloquii – Size 18/20 (TBH, i probably would have been fine in the 14/16, but I really doesn’t matter too much with a dress this shape)
Waxed Denim Jacket – H&M+
Necklace – Forever 21
Earrings – gift
Leggings – Spanx – Size XL
Leather Backpack – gift (via etsy)
Glasses – SEE Eyewear
Oxford metallic-tip shoes – Clarks UK