Essentials for the Curvy Girl wardrobe - Fall/Winter 2007
I have decided to take a few minutes to list my personal favorite Curvy Girl items and why I feel they are essential to every plus size woman's wardrobe. Because I own a clothing company, I see lots and lots of merchandise, but only a few make me stop in my tracks and really want to carry the items. I am also a plus size woman. A plus size consumer. Curvy Girl Clothing was started because we (my sisters and I) were sick of stores not carrying the types of styles and essentials that we were seeking. If a store did carry the item, it was typically at a price I was unwilling to pay for it. We carry items because we would wear them ourselves and we absolutely love them!
I have decided to take a few minutes to list my personal favorite Curvy Girl items and why I feel they are essential to every plus size woman's wardrobe. Because I own a clothing company, I see lots and lots of merchandise, but only a few make me stop in my tracks and really want to carry the items. I am also a plus size woman. A plus size consumer. Curvy Girl Clothing was started because we (my sisters and I) were sick of stores not carrying the types of styles and essentials that we were seeking. If a store did carry the item, it was typically at a price I was unwilling to pay for it. We carry items because we would wear them ourselves and we absolutely love them!
If there are essentials or items you are always struggling to find, speak up! Let us know what you want us to carry! We will have shoes and accessories in our retail store (Portland, OR) in January 2008. It is unlikely we will carry those items at this time online due to many reasons but mostly because women prefer to buy their accessories and shoes in person where they can see them or try them on. :)
Seamless Stretch Leggings
Seamless Stretch Leggings
Cost: $27.99
Find this item here.
Colors available: We carry the basics: Black, White and Brown. The manufacturer makes this item in pretty much any color you can imagine. Please let us know what colors you'd like to see leggings in - if we get enough requests, it is possible we will carry more colors. (i.e. orange, yellow, green, red)
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
I push seamless items a lot. We consider these an alternative to Spanx or other similar garments. I can honestly say seamless items have changed my life. :)
Nearly every woman who tries these on in our retail store buys a pair in every color. Need more convincing? :) Wear these under your favorite long tops, tunics or dresses. If you don't like thigh rub, wear them under skirts or even pants. They hold everything in very nicely. You feel pounds thinner when wearing these. They are soooo stylish. They are very hot right now. Women are wearing them under pretty much everything or even on their own.
Seamless Stretch Tube Bra
One size fits most (this item can fit from a size 14-26)
Cost: $11.50
Find this item here.
Colors available: Depending on the season, we carry this in a variety of colors including the basics: Black, White and Khaki/Sand. The manufacturer makes this item in pretty much any color you can imagine. Please let us know what colors you'd like to see these in - if we get enough requests, it is possible we will carry more colors. (i.e. brown, pink, blue, orange, yellow, green, red)
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
You are always looking for the perfect tube top to put under your tops and dresses. Sometimes you want more coverage (for modesty). Perhaps you are not very busty and you want a bra alternative. There are a million reasons to wear this item! This is another item where women buy one, and they come back for more and more colors.
This has been very popular for women who have had breast reconstructive surgery and no longer wear conventional bras. Our model was 16 years old when she took these photos. She is a full D cup, but gravity had not set in yet. :) We recommend this over your bra for additional coverage if you are over a C cup. If you are an A or B cup, this would be great as a bra alternative.
Seamless Stretch Camisole
One size fits most (this item can fit from a size 14-26)
Cost: $14.75
Find this item here.
Colors available: Depending on the season, we carry this in a variety of colors including the basics: Black, White and Khaki/Sand. The manufacturer makes this item in pretty much any color you can imagine. Please let us know what colors you'd like to see these in - if we get enough requests, it is possible we will carry more colors. (i.e. brown, pink, blue, orange, yellow, green, red)
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
You are always looking for the perfect camisole to put under your tops and dresses. Sometimes you want more coverage (for modesty). Sometimes you want more warmth. Other times you want to smooth out lines underneath a tighter top. Perhaps you are not very busty and you want a bra alternative. There are a million reasons to wear this item! I have no less than 5 of each color and I wear them with everything - including as pajamas. I can estimate that I wear a seamless item at least 4 days per week. Sometimes 7. I love that I feel 5 pounds thinner just by wearing this item. I love that it holds my breasts up firmer (I wear it over my bra). My husband loves that I wear them under low cut tops so that I'm not sharing my cleavage with the world anymore! :) The best part of this item is that the bigger size you are, the better the fit (as it is tighter and serves its purpose better to larger women). This is another item where women buy one, and they come back for more and more colors.
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
You are always looking for the perfect camisole to put under your tops and dresses. Sometimes you want more coverage (for modesty). Sometimes you want more warmth. Other times you want to smooth out lines underneath a tighter top. Perhaps you are not very busty and you want a bra alternative. There are a million reasons to wear this item! I have no less than 5 of each color and I wear them with everything - including as pajamas. I can estimate that I wear a seamless item at least 4 days per week. Sometimes 7. I love that I feel 5 pounds thinner just by wearing this item. I love that it holds my breasts up firmer (I wear it over my bra). My husband loves that I wear them under low cut tops so that I'm not sharing my cleavage with the world anymore! :) The best part of this item is that the bigger size you are, the better the fit (as it is tighter and serves its purpose better to larger women). This is another item where women buy one, and they come back for more and more colors.
This has been very popular for women who have had breast reconstructive surgery and no longer wear conventional bras. Our model was 16 years old when she took these photos. She is a full D cup, but gravity had not set in yet. :) We recommend this over your bra for additional coverage if you are over a C cup. If you are an A or B cup, this would be great as a bra alternative.
Stretch Crop 3/4 Sleeve Shrug
Sizes from Jr Plus 1x-5x (fits from 14/16 to 28/30)
Stretch Crop 3/4 Sleeve Shrug
Sizes from Jr Plus 1x-5x (fits from 14/16 to 28/30)
Cost: $24
Find this item here.
Colors available: Depending on the season, we carry this in a variety of colors. If we only receive a small quantity of a color, they will go in our retail store or our eBay store as those are the 2 places where items move the fastest.
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
This is an item that you may very well use more than any other item in your closet. It is perfect for women (such as myself) who refuses to wear short sleeve or sleeveless items. I now buy sexy sleeveless tops and camis because I know I have something to wear over it. I no longer pass over that perfect cocktail dress because it is sleeveless. By adding this layer and texture, it is very slenderizing, particularly in the black. This item is incredibly soft and very stretchy. This shrug can be pinned over the breasts, but it is truly meant to cover that annoying fatty part between the arm and the bust (the part many women hate). It is covering your arms without covering up the adorable item you have on beneath it. While many women do not refer to this item as a shrug, when we show them how versatile the item is, they typically walk out of the store with several colors.
Sizes from Jr Plus 1x-3x (fits from 16/18 to 24/26)
Cost: $38.99
Find this item here.
Colors available: Denim Blue
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
This is a timeless piece that works well for most Curvy bodies. You can wear this anywhere, including the office, making it a versatile piece. We recommend it with a simple sweater and a pair of sexy black boots.
Sizes from Jr Plus 1x-3x (fits from 14/16 to 22/24) - coming soon up to size 5x!
Cost: $32.99
Find this item here.
Colors available: Denim Blue, Black Twill and Brown Twill
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
Ok. I will admit it took a while for me to buy into the whole skinny pants craze. It was not until we opened our retail store and I watched different body type after different body type walk out of the dressing room in these pants (loving them) when I realized, these look so good on so many curvy women that it's impossible to continue my loathing of the skinny pant. I was wrong! I tried on a pair myself and fell in love with them. I have long legs, but they made my legs appear even longer and leaner than they are. I loved the stretch and comfort level of these pants. It doesn't hurt that they are stylish and when I am out on the town, I feel like I am wearing the same styles as my thinner counterparts. I personally feel Curvy bodies look better in these pants than thinner women, especially ones with a full backside.
Sizes from Jr Plus 1x-5x (fits from 16 to 24)
Cost: $44.99
Find this item here.
Colors available: Denim Blue
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
Is this an essential? I'm not sold on the idea, but this style is showing up in so many magazines and on tv (especially music videos) that it is a trend that is hard to ignore. After walking into about 30 denim manufacturers in Los Angeles, only 2 of them indicated they would carry this size in plus. The ones that did carry it have it up to 3x (which was about an 18). I was highly disappointed. Curvy Women are fashionistas too! We did have our manufacturer make a special cut of these up to Jr plus 5x (appx a 22/24) for us exclusively and they are selling like hotcakes. This tells us that these pants are in high demand and while you may hope they go away soon, there is no sign of a slow down. We will tell you, however, that we recommend this size for women with longer torsos or those who are taller (5'7"+). Dare we say that this is also a fantastic item for the curvy crossdresser. :)
Sexy Black Dress (Sleeveless)
Sizes from Plus 1x-4x (fits from 16 to 30)
Cost: $23.99
Find this item here. (on sale!!!)
Colors available: Black and white polka dot (look for other prints)
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
Little black dress. Need I say more? :) You may see this and say you hate polka dots. You may see this and say it is too rockabilly or punk for your taste. This is the absolute girlie girlie of girlie dresses. This tie back halter has been one of our best sellers since the day we have been in business. I wear mine under a red shrug with lots of chunky jewelry and I have to admit, I get so many compliments when I'm out in it! It's appropriate for almost every event. Even if this is not your style, we recommend always having a little black dress in your closet just in case!!! Curvy Girl Clothing specializes in dresses, so it is likely we will always have a black dress to suit your needs!
Sexy Black Dress (With Sleeves)
Find this item here.
Colors available: Black (sometimes we carry this in other colors, depending on the season)
Why is this a Curvy Girl essential?
This style was so popular in the short sleeve, that we made it with 3/4 sleeves. This fabric is amazing. Stretches where you need it! The ruching along the sides is so slenderizing. The best part about this dress is that you can jack it up real short to wear as a scandalous mini dress or wear it long at the knee. This was designed as a dress, but most women, believe it or not, buy it as a top to wear over jeans and it looks super cute. That makes this one versatile item, and a must have for your closet! It is also made from a fabric that is virtually wrinkle free (like many of our stretch dresses). We choose this fabric because it is low maintenance. Throw this dress in a ball in your suitcase, arrive at your destination and put it on! No ironing, no hassles! Curvy Girls have better things to do with their time than fuss with wrinkles!
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What are your essentials? We'd love to hear from you! Help us spot the latest trends - you never know, we may take it to our designers and have them make it in plus sizes!!!! :)
About the author
About the author
Lisa Toton is co-founder of Curvy Girl Clothing. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband. When she is not obsessing over plus size fashion, she is writing sketches (some for Curvy Girl Clothing) or you can see her on stage at many of the top comedy clubs in the Los Angeles area where she has been performing as a stand up comedian for a better part of the last decade.
You can contact Lisa at lisa@curvygirlclothing.com.
About Curvy Girl LLC
Incorporated in 2005, Curvy Girl LLC is a lifestyle company catering to plus size women. Curvy Girl’s first venture was http://www.curvygirlclothing.com/, an online boutique taking the plus size fashion industry by storm. We offer fashion forward trendy styles, in plus sizes (14+). Our flagship retail store opened in Portland, OR in November 2007!
NOTE: Curvy Girl LLC and Curvy Girl Clothing is not associated with curvygirl.com.
