TYRA'S TEEN PLUS SIZE MODEL SEARCH

According to US magazine's website:

Tyra Banks announced her latest modeling competition -- the first-ever "fiercely real" plus-sized teen model search.
The talk show host, 36, made the announcement on The Tyra Show on Monday and put out a call for women between the ages of 13 and 19 to enter.
The only requirements? The teens must have a dress size of 12 to 20 and stand 5'9"- 6'1" tall, she told

Go to http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/ for more info.

CURVY CONVERSATIONS

Yesterday I was checking my email and I came across a silk zebra print dress by plus size designer Monif C. I consider Monif a luxury designer because most of her dresses are fairly mid to high price. I have never bought a Monif C. dress but, I hear her clothes are of quality and great style. What struck a cord in me about the silk zebra print dress was the fact that it was about $500. I thought to myself, wow, that's kind of pricey for plus size clothing.



As women in general we fluctuate in weight, but, as plus size women, many of us are trying to trim down for health or personal reasons. So, spending $500 on an article of clothing would seem like a waste of money, right? Or, does it not matter because you want luxury items just the same as non-plus size women?



Today I pose this question:
As a plus size woman would you buy or have you bought an article of clothing for $500 or more, and why?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

CURVY GIRLS REPRESENT AT THE SAG AWARDS

Celebrities at Saturday's SAG awards did not disappoint. Dresses were chic, sexy, and elegant. Below are some of my favorite curvy celebrity dresses.

Glee star Amber Riley hit all the right notes in this champagne colored fitted knee length dress. The ruching flattens her stomach and the color compliments her complexion. I am also loving the shoes. She gets an A+ for this one.

Clean House host Niecey Nash looked poised and elegant in a black and white beaded waist floor length gown. The show stopper is the oversized green jeweled necklace. I kind of which she would have done more with the hair and makeup.

The nights winner Mo'Nique looked chic in a jewel encrusted sleeve v-neck gown. The light pink dress complimented her skin tone. Being that the dress was simple, I think she could have pinned her hair up, spiced up the make up and wore a little more jewelry to really standout.

Breakout newcomer Gabourey Sidibe looked cute in a blue ruched floor length gown. I love the color, but, I thought the design of the dress was a little plain. Hopefully for the Oscars she breaks away from the long Elvira-esque gowns and go for something a little more youthful.

ASOS PLUS SIZE CLOTHING LINE IS NOW AVAILABLE

As of today you can finally purchase items from the new ASOS curve line. Sizes range from UK size 20-26 which is equivalent to US sizes 16/18-24. The pieces are very classic but chic. These are great wardrobe builders or add ons.

What do you think?

Take a look:

To purchase go to ASOS

Skinny Girl Fashion for the Curvy Body

I am such a fan of Kerry Washington's style. It's always lady like as well as edgy. She was curvy a few years ago when we first met her in Save The Last Dance. She recently lost some weight and is rocking a new slimmer body. Check her out in this coral draped dress.

For all my girls with curves looking to rock a similar look, I found this Baby Phat dolman sleeve dress in a cream color. If you don't know by now, Baby Phat is a clothing line that makes the same clothes in misses sizes as well as plus sizes. This dress retails for $59 and comes in sizes 1X-3X.

Another slender girl with great style is Eve. Her style is always edgy and sexy. At the VH1 Hip Hop Honors she sported a corseted style sheath dress.

To create a similar look try this Ann Taylor dress, $180, sizes 00-18. You can take it to the tailor to have it shortened. To really recreate Eve's look you can go to the fabric store and purchase a piece of leather or faux leather fabric and have the tailor add it to the waist of the dress.

Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron is a very slim woman who also has a sexy and edgy style when it comes to fashion. The African born actress always looks so well put together. If you like her style and would like to make it work for your curves try this dress from Dereon, $69, sizes 1X-3X.

Also for my curvy sisters below a size 10. Dereon, another urban line that makes the same clothes for misses and plus sizes, offers another version of the plus size dress for $59, sizes XS-XL.

Skinny Girl Fashion For Curvy Girls:Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie is known for her chic bohemian style. In this ensemble she decides to change up her look by going with a gold sequin mini dress, black stockings, and round toe platforms for a cute glamourous look.

Curvy girls can achieve this look with a tunic and leggings. What's great about the Michael Kors tunic is that it has slits on the side which offers a comfortable fit for curvy girls who carry their weight in the lower half of their body. Since the tunic is short, leggings would be an appropriate choice for coverage. Round toe platforms add a hint of sexiness to the look.

Crowd Pleaser: Tunic comes in Misses and Plus Sizes. Hooray!

Get Nicole's style for your curves:

From top:

1. Gold Sequin Tunic, Michael Kors, sizes XS-XL & 1X-3X, $92.90

2. Black Leggings, Torrid, sizes 0-5, $20

3. Round Toe Platforms, Joan & David, $200

MY WATCH LIST

Everyday I am on the lookout for great classic pieces to incorporate in my wardrobe. I like pieces that can transform my look from day to night. Lately I have been looking for a cool new classic blazer and form fitting dresses.

Check out what I'm watching:





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The navy chambray blazer will be worn with white skinny jeans and 4in. gladiator sandals while a long cardigan will be belted over this animal print skirt with fish net stockings and ankle boots.

                                                                             

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Me and my hips have our ups and downs and right now we are on the up. I am loving all the form fitting body conscious dresses that are in for the spring season. The gray applique dress is a great option for work and when 5pm hits I can breakout the sexy heels and have drinks with friends.

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I love these gladiator style platform sandals which can be worn now with black tights and can carry me into the spring. They also go perfectly with everything above.

1. Navy Chambray Jacket, Banana Republic $130, sizes 00-16

2. Animal Print Skirt, Forever 21  $12.80, sizes XL-3X

3. Belted Ponte Dress, Dorothy Perkins $57, sizes 2-18

4. Dot Print Dress with Applique, Ann Taylor Loft $89.50, sizes 2-18

5. Ohlson Sandal $100, Aldos

ASOS CURVE LINE

ASOS is finally launching their curve line which caters to plus sizes 20-26

Check out a few of the looks below:

The looks are very cool, simple, and casual. These are the kind of pieces that will be great add ons to spice up your wardrobe.

Let me know what you think?

Congratulations Mo'Nique!

At last nights Golden Globe awards, comedian Mo'Nique won the golden globe for best supporting actress in the movie Precious.

This is a great moment in history. What a month for curvy girls! Let's keep doing big things.

Plus Size Model Crystal Renn in February Glamour

Top plus size model Crystal Renn is featured in the February issue of Glamour magazine.

Photos taken from Glamour.com

Crystal Renn's star just keeps rising, she is on her way to becoming a household name-if she isn't already. She is truly opening doors for plus size women. Feature after feature she continually takes beautiful high fashion pictures and her curves are always shapely and sexy. Sometimes in the back of my mind, I wonder why we don't see more african american plus size models featured in high fashion spreads?

What do you think?

Faith 21's Spring Look Book

Faith 21 and Forever 21 Spring collections.

Photos from Nitrolicious.com

 I am loving all the typical spring colors, polka dot, and floral prints. What I am noticing is the lack of girly pieces for the Faith 21 line. At first glance my eyes were more drawn to the Forever 21 line (the smaller models). The blue polka dot top and the floral skirts, now that's cute. When you look at the plus size model in the Faith 21 clothes- I can't help but feel a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong she looks cute and all, but, I can't say I am necessarily craving what she has on. A striped cardigan and rolled up denim shorts are a little blahzay compared to the other looks. This is one of my pet peeves with brands that do offer plus size clothing. They are never as cute as the straight sizes.

Update: Oops, I stand corrected. There is a cute polka dot dress in the plus size line

 What do you think?

Pleats For Curves

One of my favorite shapes on a woman is the pear shape. I used to always wish I had a pear shape opposed to an hourglass shape, because I never liked having large breasts. Pear shape women are usually smaller at the top and larger at the bottom. You can see their hips coming from a mile away. I remember back in highschool when my first job was working at McDonalds, I had a coworker whose shape I admired everyday. She had this small little upper body and her hips would always knock over the buns as she would move around in the kitchen making big macs. She would always wear tight jeans to show off her hips and I used to think, I could never wear tight jeans with these hips.

She would walk around with confidence as the male customers would drool over her. At that time I was insecure about my large hips and whenever I saw her, I would gain more confidence about the size of my hips, because she would wear her hips with pride. As we got to know each other, we would make jokes about our hips and everytime we worked the same shift, we would say, what's up pencil hips and then laugh about it.

I am talking about hips today because a popular trend for 2009 are pleated skirts and dresses. You have seen curvy celebrities like Beyonce wearing this trend. Check her out in two different looks

The red dress gives Beyonce a kangaroo pouch. You may not want to go this extreme if you are trying ot pull this look off in your everyday life.

The white dress is perfect. It has a hint of the trend and it actually looks flattering on the hips.

Check out these options

Pleats on hips can be very tricky. It can either add volume or not lay properly. If you have full large hips. I suggest trying this trend in an A-line silhouette.

If you are sick of A-line skirts and want to take this trend full on then you may need to go a size up if the pleats don't lay on your hips properly.

Check out more options for:

Plus Size Curves

Skirt-Faith21, $15.80, sizes XL-2X, Dresses- Torrid, sizes 12-26

PRECIOUS STAR DAZZLES IN BLUE

Gabourey Sidibe dazzled in a long blue goddess like gown at the 2010 National Board of Review Awards Gala in NYC last night. For the next couple of months we will be seeing Gabourey in a myriad of gowns for award season. The blue gown that she is wearing compliments her chocolate skin and the makeup and hair accentuates her almond shape eyes. I can't wait to see what she will be wearing to the Golden Globes.

FOREVER 21's COLORFUL LEOPARD PRINT

Leopard print is one of the most classic prints of all time. It will never go out of style. Trendy and wallet friendly clothing store Forever 21 has put a cute and colorful spin on leopard print by mixing pink and blue. This colorful version is sure to add an element of fun to your wardrobe.


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1. Cardigan, $22.80, sizes XL-2X

2. Trench Coat $34.80, sizes XL-3X

3. Halter Top $17.80, sizes XS-L

4. Skinny Jeans, $22.80, sizes XL-3X

5. One Shoulder top $17.80, sizes S-L

6. Baby Doll dress $17.80, sizes S-L