Photo taken from YFF Conference site
Hey curvy girls,
What does it mean to you to be Young, Fat, and Fabulous? As you sit and ponder on that question, let me tell you about a few girls who embody what it means. As a native New Yorker, I had the pleasure of attending the YFF Conference created by well known (Soon to be MTV's TJ winner, I have faith that she'll win) fashion blogger Gabi of the blog Young, Fat, and Fabulous. The event was hosted at ReDress NYC (one of my top five places to shop) in Boreum Hill Brooklyn. For the past year Gabi has been winning the hearts of curvy fashionista's all over the world with her amazing style and infectious charming swag.
I rushed to leave work on July 9th to go checkout the conference. Let me keep it real, I really wanted to see how these 10 fashion blogger's would be dressed. Upon my arrival, standing in front of the Redress store was the Parisian curvy fashionista Miss Sakina from Saks In The City who was in a black curve hugging sequined pencil skirt that was a DIY project, and next to her was the ever so sweet Melinda from the blog Sound Bites in a chic black shift dress with a flower pin
As I perused the store to find the next blogger to chat it up with, I saw a familiar face. I'm pretty good with faces and names, so, I knew who she was right off the back. It was Aryn from YFF's closet feature. Aryn, is a beauty in person and her sweet spirit was shining through. She came to support the girls as well as model some clothes from the ReDress store.
The event began to fill up quickly, with curvy girls looking for their next great fashion find as well as meet their favorite curvy girl blogger. I saw all the bloggers eager to chat with their fans and give advice on shopping and style and their experience as fatshion bloggers. I continued to make my rounds. Next up was Finlands own, More To Love fashion bloggers Peppi and Mimmi, who I immediately clicked with, once I found out that they loved rap music and adored Jay-Z. They told me all about their trip to Kingz Plaza Mall in Brooklyn and the loads of sneakers they scooped up. They were truly fun gals to talk too. I asked them what plus size options were available to them in Finland and they explained that there isn't much of a choice in Finland so, they have to be creative and make due with what they have.
I headed to the back of the store where Redress has their famous leopard print couch and found, the stunning J. Fatshionable in a princess-esque pink tu tu with a three quarter sleeve sequin top and a pair of sexy Louboutin red bottom heels sitting on the couch next to a very tired and jet lagged Fashion Hayley who just got in that day.
Across from them was Christina from Musings Of A Fatshionista in a black caftan with a silver skull necklace and a pair of multi buckled wedged shoes. I asked the three blogger's their thoughts on the conference and each of them gushed about how wonderful the experience was for them.
Earlier in the week the girls started the conference with a kickoff party at Torrid where they got to exclusively review Torrids Fall collection. The next day they were off to Evans to check out their upcoming Fall season collection.
After leaving Christina, J, and Hayley I glided over to newcomer Nicolette of the blog Nicolette Mason. She spotted me as I was walking towards her because we both had on a very similar print. This Williamsburg resident was so sweet and happy to be among such stylist curvy girls. Nicolette is no stranger to fashion and design because she is a design strategist at an international design firm as well as the newest video blogger for Vogue Curvy.
Next up to meet was Gabbi of the blog Corozones Rojos who look absolutely fab in a black &white striped top. We talked about how most of her readers think she is Caucasian or Asian, when she is really Mexican.
And last but not least, the young woman of the night, Miss Gabi! who was shining like the star she is in a gold metallic slouchy top, fitted skirt, and an old school 1980's style gold chain. Gabi was so happy with the turnout and greeted all her fans and readers as if they were friends she hasn't seen in a long time. I spoke with her for a moment just to find out how she was feeling about all her success. She said she was excited and happy, however, tired from a grueling weekend schedule of fashion previews as well as challenges for the MTV TJ contest.
After a year of rigorous planning the YFF conference was a success. All the blogger's were excited and appreciative for the experience and to be part of something that is truly phenomenal. The next day they were off to a photo shoot with Plus Model Mag, dinner with City Chic, and then on Sunday hanging out at Macy's to checkout the American Rag collection.
In a world where girls no matter the size are obsessed with how fat or skinny they look. These 10 fashion blogger's embrace their bodies and do not apologize for their size and for their sense of style. They all walked and spoke with confidence and poise. Even though each of them have gained internet fame within their own right, at the core, they are just unique individuals who simply love fashion and most importantly love themselves inside and out. Each of them wants to make their own personal dent in the world of fashion and represent for curvy girls all over the world.
Now, that's what I call being Young, Fat, and Fabulous.
Checkout more photos on the
YFF Conference website as well as SC's Facebook page.
Please note: All photos of the 10 bloggers belong to Stylish Curves except for the Plus Model Mag photo at the top.
