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Video: How plus-size fashion bloggers break all stereotypes
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
There is an opinion that fashion bloggers are just young girls (and sometimes boys) with conventionally beautiful looks, and Instagram is the center of ideal people with ideal lives. However, a decade ago, they broke into the world of digital perfectionism - the first bloggers of the "plus" size, destroying all stereotypes. And today they are able to prove that it is not necessary to be perfect in order to become stylish, successful, happy and loved.
Stephanie Zwicky
Stephanie was a pioneer of plus-size fashion bloggers, and one of the first full-length models even before Tess Holliday's triumphant runway appearance. Long years of struggle with his body, cruel self-rejection, gastric bypass surgery, exhausting diets and exercises did not bring Stef a step closer to the desired "fashionable" result. And then she decided not only to make peace with herself, but also to reveal herself to the world. Zwicky gave up her dental career (of which only the stylish tattoos on her forearms are now reminiscent) and moved to Paris to become an actress. She did not work with acting, but the girl received her first contracts with brands that wanted to attract a new target audience, and created her own fashion blog Le blog de Big Beauty, where she began to share recommendations and advice for fashionistas with large clothing sizes. It was not easy to find beautiful clothes over XL in France, and Steph's blog has become a real help for many women. In addition, her own style, luxurious and elegant, attracted everyone's attention. Zwicky began to be invited to fashion magazines, in one of them - 100% Mag - she led her own column.
Today Steph not only has a fashion blog, crowds of fans and contracts with several brands. She has her own luxurious house (Zwicky willingly shares photos of the interiors on her blog and on Instagram), a published autobiography, a page in the French-language Wikipedia, two beloved children … And most importantly, a life full of joy.
Georgina Dole
In those years, when the word "body positive" had not yet become common, a plump girl appeared on the popular Lookbook site, dressed in ruffles and lace "childish" shades. Her hair changed color from pink to peach, her glasses were heart-shaped, and her brooches and rings appeared to be stolen from Detsky Mir. Some commentators admired her style and openness to the world, called her "marshmallow" and "angel", while others mercilessly criticized her appearance and unwillingness to look "normal." Englishwoman Georgina Dole, dreamy and vulnerable, paved the way for many fashionistas with an unconventional view of the world. Behind this romantic style and courage to be yourself were years of rejection, pain, depression and self-harm, but in the photo Georgina always smiled charmingly.
After years of network bullying, Georgina decided to focus more on her psychological comfort and boundaries. Today her Instagram is closed to "casual" visitors, and you can only follow the girl's life with her approval. However, Georgina regularly pleases her loyal subscribers with new looks, all kept in the same pastel-candy palette. Over the years - Dole is already about thirty - her style has evolved, lost its infantilism. Surprisingly, she manages to bend her line and at the same time subtly feel the trends.
In addition, Georgina has been creating accessories and jewelry for many years, she has her own online store, which is popular among fans of “pastel gothic”.
James Watts
Florida-based James N. Watts is a fashion designer, academic musician, and imaginative, fluent in Chinese and demonstrates the wonders of stretching with effortless splits.
James is a non-binary person and positions himself as someone who transcends traditionally "masculine" or "feminine." After all, style, beauty and freedom have no gender! He (however, the pronoun "she" is acceptable) boldly combines prints and colors, uses blue lipstick, wears glasses in the spirit of the 70s, rows of beads and a weird haircut "like a pot." The knits that James creates are just as eccentric, and he himself is the best model for his creations.
Megan Kerr
Who said horizontal stripes make you look fat? No, maybe it makes it look fat, but who can forbid everyone who likes it from wearing a horizontal strip? Megan Kerr from New Zealand, Maori by origin, on her blog This is Meagan Kerr organized a whole campaign for the freedom to wear a horizontal strip for obese women. The girl prefers things in monochrome, and her main accessory is a perky smile.
However, rather quickly, her blog turned from a daily style guide for plus size women into a real mouthpiece for body positivity and feminism. She writes a lot about relationships with the body - for example, how for many years she was embarrassed to be photographed while sitting, although she liked herself in a full-length photo, about the fight against anxiety disorder and internal "evil critic", about the right of women to be themselves - loud, bright, take up enough space and breathe deeply.
Rajini Nag Rao
It seems that Indian women should have passed the Western standard of beauty with the inevitable thinness and fair skin, but things are sadder. Rajini, a lover of vintage items and the owner of a charming, doll-like appearance, in her fashion blog A Curious Fancy recalls the effort it took for her to accept her body. Even passers-by on the street made unflattering remarks to her.
Today, Rajini is the editor of the online magazine xJane, is happily married to a British citizen and has a daughter. She recently published a post in which she talked about postpartum depression and what helped her overcome this condition - a topic still taboo in a society where the difficulties of motherhood are usually hushed up.
As a feminist, Rajini dreams of raising her girl in love and respect, instilling in her a healthy sense of boundaries - and hopes that the world will be safer for women.
Text: Sofia Egorova
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