We asked our Yours Clothing blogger babes who are their curvy queens and who they look to for inspiration in the plus-size market. Here’s who you should be checking out for style tips this year and what they had to say:
“Most of my blogging friends as my inspiration to my blog. Blogs like Terrible Tumbles, Lottie L’Amour and CurvyGirlThin really inspired me to reach out into the plus size community and use my voice. Bloggers like these ladies are a huge inspiration to not only me, but many other girls. Not only are their looks super stylish but they are incredibly lovely individuals. I see them encouraging others to speak up on topics they are passionate about.
Bloggers such as these three ladies are representative of many a girl I have met in the plus size community that have supported and lifted each other up via positive contributions. They inspire most of my outfit choices and style steals, but on another level motivate me to be more confident and sure of myself.
In terms of an ‘icon’ I could not go without mentioning Adele. Adele has managed to have an extremely successful career whilst maintaining her down to earth attitude. In interviews she is completely charming and modest. We all know however that she is a lyrical genius with the voice of an angel. Did I also mention that she has amazing style? I mean come on, look at her Givenchy gown for the Grammys!”
“I take inspiration from so many different people within the industry, for varying reasons, so I will highlight a few who are front runners in my eyes.
Olivia Campbell; not only is Olivia a woman of colour but she stomps all over the mould of how a conventional plus size model should look. She is fresh and edgy and she represents a fuller figured woman. I find her look more relatable and often find myself referring to her outfit choices for style inspiration. She is also a woman with a voice, a story and a past and that to me shows how real and down to earth she is, plus she is a total babe in real life too (always a bonus) Other than Olivia, I take a lot of inspiration from my blogger friends and other women in the community.
I love how women are stepping outside of their comfort zones and trying new things and that continually inspires me to keep on the scout for new trends likewise bring back old ones that I couldn’t get enough of. A couple of women who I always refer to style wise are my Rubenesque Effect ladies, Sian, Claire & Dani – they are all very different in their styles and I always seek inspiration from them.
Also I love following my blogger friend Natalie Craig from the US – she has impeccable taste in clothing and she’s a fellow shortie too so we definitely like the same things style wise!”
“There are so many women in the industry that have inspired me over the years. The first person I would like to mention is Melissa McCarthy. Not only is her fashion sense amazing, her smile is gorgeous, her laugh is contagious, she absolutely adorable to the point where I just want to give her hugs all day, and she is funny! I was never really a fan of Gilmore Girls (I know, *gasp*) but I saw her on tv and as Molly in ‘Mike and Molly’ and she completely won me over in Bridesmaids.
Her character appeared to hardly have makeup on and was just normal. Her character’s personality was quirky, unapologetically herself, and she seems to be that way in real life. I think it’s amazing to see someone so confident in who they are that they are able to laugh at themselves for whatever reason.
Another inspiration is Gabourey Sidibe. When I think of representation of plus-size women she’s the first person I think of. I first saw her in Precious and thought she was incredible. I think that was the first time I saw a girl who looked like me on screen. She didn’t look like other plus size girls who were still “conventionally beautiful” but she looked different and I have always been drawn to people who are different to what is considered “normal” to society. ALSO, her Instagram and twitter give me life and I wish we were best friends.”
“I know the norm would be to cite celebrities as fashion influences: Kate Moss, Kate Hudson or one of the Kardashians (or whoever the latest “it” model is) but being exposed to so many beautiful and stylish individuals on a daily basis inspires my fashion choices so much more.
Through blogs or social media, it’s accessible and wearable fashion that mixes high end, high street and independently sourced pieces that inspires my fashion choices. I’m much more likely to buy a dress because I saw it on the Instagram feed of my favourite plus size blogger than in a glossy magazine because I can buy into a complete look and know how that piece will sit on my squidgy body.
Whenever I want inspiration of how to style the latest trend led piece, I’m straight onto Instagram or Google and looking at how Steph from Nerd about Town has accessorised it, or what Lottie L’Amour wore it with and then give it my own twist.”
“In all honesty, I don’t have a plus-size icon or inspiration, as I tend to appreciate someone’s qualities, efforts and achievements, which on the whole, don’t take into account their size. To me, thinking of someone as being a plus size icon or inspiration, places the focus on the fact that they are plus sized and detracts from their actual achievement; would they still be considered an icon or inspiration had they achieved the same thing at a size 10? Not in all cases.
When I really think about it, I could say Adele. She has an incredible voice, is a genius songwriter and has worked hard to sell out arenas and perform to fans worldwide. Yet from the outside, it would appear that she has still remained humble and kept her feet on the ground which is something that I really admire. She has succeeded in living her private life with her husband and child out of the limelight, she hasn’t sold out to newspapers and magazines with tonnes of set up press shots and interviews about her life outside of her music and she hasn’t stuck her face and name on any product going just to cash in on her fame with endorsements. As a result, she has maintained a level of normality and privacy. All of these are values and qualities that I admire and that inspire me but none of them have anything to do with her size.
The same goes for fashion, as when I come across a girl whose style I love on Instagram, I draw inspiration from the look, regardless of her clothing size and I see how I can get it to work for me. Perhaps this stems from not feeling able to relate to the shape of many plus size or “standard size” women in the public eye or in advertising and therefore I am sort of size blind, as I’ve always needed to work out how I can get a particular look to work for me. At the moment, I love the full coverage yet illuminated makeup look of blogger, Sarah Ashcroft, paired with the sports luxe outfits that she posts, as they’re a great way to be able to wear comfortable, off duty pieces stylishly. I also really love Lydia Millen’s style as she invests in key pieces and really gets her wear out of them, they’re always in neutrals and classic colours with minimal print, which is much more my style right now, and she combines very feminine pieces with elements of androgynous styling, which I love the effect of.
Above all, actions, honesty, determination and hard work inspire me and people of all sizes can possess those qualities. I’m inspired by people who overcome adversity and take a stand for what they believe in, those who work hard to build themselves up from nothing but never forget where they came from and those who continue to get up when they’ve been knocked down. Women such as American civil rights activist Rosa Parks, British Entrepreneur Michelle Mone and novelist J.K. Rowling are my inspiration
The steely determination demonstrated by J.K. Rowling particularly inspires me by the way that she kept fighting to get her first Harry Potter book published despite being turned down by 12 publishers and even though she amassed a fortune of hundreds of millions in the space of a very few short years, she has appeared to remain humble and donated a fortune to those less fortunate than herself.”
We would love to hear who your idols and inspirations are! Tweet us at yoursclothinguk
“Empowered women, empower women”
