Hips and Curves - Red and Black Tapestry Corset - $49; Lace Trim Bustle - $35 ; 11" Shaper Skirt With Garters - $39; Opera Length Stretch Gloves - $16; Satin Pop-Up Hat - $20

Maybe it’s the long, cold nights, maybe it’s snuggling up by the fire, but there’s something about the holidays that puts me in the mood for frilly, sexy lingerie. Hips and Curves is one of my favorite online sources of lingerie, and they’ve got something there for both the naughty and the nice.

The outfit above is currently on my wish list.  My favorite part is the Lace Trim Bustle–seems like it could go with a lot of outfits. Most items at Hips and Curves are available up to size 24, with many items available up to size 28.

I’d love to hear about any sources you’ve found for cute, sexy plus-size lingerie.

I just saw this on EW.com:

The Style network has confirmed to EW.com that it has “no plans” to order a fifth season of the reality show, which chronicled the weight-loss trials of charismatic Savannah resident Ruby Gettinger….

The network released the following statement: “We thank Ruby for sharing her inspirational journey with the Style viewers, and we look forward to her serving as a ‘Fight with Style’ Ambassador in the fight against obesity.”

Ruby is rallying the fans on her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/RubysOfficialpage.

So, while it looks like Ruby will remain in the public eye, she won’t be a regular on Style. I enjoyed the first few seasons, as the show chronicled a very large woman with a full and active life. I wasn’t as thrilled with this last season–it just didn’t resonate with me as much. However, I would have tuned in for a season 5.

Any thoughts on the end of this show?

Thanks to all who participated in our Playtex 18 Hour Bra giveaway. The winners have been notified by email and will be contacted directly by Playtex to receive their bras.

I’ll wrap this up with another cute Playtex video:

As I mentioned in my earlier review of the Playtex 18 Hour Bra line, Playtex and ALL YOU Magazine have partnered with The Curvy Life to offer 15 readers the chance to win her own Playtex 18 Hour Bra. In my test drive of two styles, the Ultimate Lift and Support (4745) and the Seamless Smoothing (4049), I was impressed with the amount of support provided by a wireless bra as well as the incredible fit and comfort of the straps.

How it works:

• 15 Curvy Life readers (one per person) will receive an 18-Hour Bra in the winner’s size (sizes 36B to 46DDD in most styles).
• See styles at http://www.playtexfits.com/bras/collections/18-hour.
• Contest open to US Residents 18 years of age or older (sorry to my international and junior readers).

How to enter:

• Complete the entry form at this link. Only one entry per person.
• All entries must include Name, Address, Email and bra size (visit Playtex to determine your size).
• Registration will be open until midnight (EDT) August 28, 2011.
• Winners will be selected at random.
• Contact information for the winners will be provided to the contest sponsors, Playtex and ALL YOU,  and the sponsors will coordinate receipt of the bra.
• Winners will be contacted by email.

Fine print:

This giveaway is sponsored by Playtex and ALL YOU.  Winners’ contact information will be provided to the sponsors, and prize fulfillment is the responsibility of the sponsors. Contest open to US RESIDENTS only. Winners must be at least 18 years old at time of entry to qualify. Only one winning entry per person. Void where prohibited by law.

Winners selected through random number generation at Random.org.

Contest Closed

About the sponsors:

The 18 Hour bra provides full coverage for long days.  This bra is for the woman juggling a busy schedule and looking for a bra that won’t budge, slip, or create discomfort.  It features moisture-wicking fabric for breathability, a soft underband to reduce chafing, and wirefree cups.  Visit: http://www.playtexbras.com/bras/collections/18-hour.

ALL YOU is geared to the value-driven woman, published by Time Inc. and sold on newsstands at Walmart stores nationwide and by subscription.  One of the hallmarks of the brand is their connection with real women and their celebration of women of all shapes and sizes.  Visit www.allyou.com  for money-saving recipes,ideas and coupons that help you create your weekly shopping list.Plus a Daily Free Sample!

Playtex and ALL YOU magazine reached out to a group of bloggers to test drive bras from the Playtex 18 Hour collection, and to sponsor a giveaway of the bra line for their readers. I was very excited to have the chance to participate, not only to try out the Playtex 18 Hour line (which I’ve never tried) but also because I can offer you, the readers of this blog, a chance to try the brand as well. (If you want to skip the review and go straight to the contest: details and entry here.) [Contest now closed.]

While I’ve been a great fan of the Playtex commercials, as witty commentary and as one of the few brands that highlights curvy women in ads, I had never tried any bra from Playtex. Admittedly, I’m a bit of bra snob (see my post on my $200 bra as an example), but on a more practical level, I’ve never found a bra without an underwire that I really felt gave me adequate support.

The claim to fame on the 18 Hour line is wirefree support and comfort cushioned straps for all-day wear, so I was very curious to see if these bras really delivered.

I’ve been wearing either the 18 Hour Ultimate Lift and Support (4745) or the 18 Hour Seamless Smoothing (4049). I’ve been impressed with both bras, but my favorite of the two is the Ultimate Lift and Support. I decided to do a ” blind” test drive of the bras, without reading about the specifics of the bras. When I put on the Ultimate Lift and Support, I immediately noticed just that, lift and support, and thought to myself,” This is the most lift I’ve ever gotten from a wireless bra.”

The current commercials for the 18 Hour line focuses on the comfort straps, and I’ve got to say, they’ve nailed the straps. I’ve always had strap slippage issues (I’d rather have a loose strap than a strap that digs), and the straps on both models are amazingly comfortable and didn’t budge a millimeter. I can say, without hyperbole, that this may be the best strap design ever.

For extended wear, both bras were comfortable, and the Cool Dri fabric did a good job of reducing moisture on these 95-deg+ Atlanta summer days (not bone dry, but not dripping wet, either). The Ultimate Lift and Support gave more support (as might be expected) than the Seamless Smoothing, but both wore well.

Thus, I can definitely recommend the Playtex 18 Hour line when you are looking for all-day comfort with support. I’ve attached some specfics about the bras I tried below, but you can see the entire Playtex line at http://www.playtexfits.com.

So, how do YOU get to try a bra from the 18 Hour line? Visit this post for contest details and to enter. Registration ends August 28, 2011. [Contest now closed.]

Style 4745: Ultimate Lift and Support

Provides the girls with extra support and lift; cushioned straps alleviate dig-in

http://www.playtexfits.com/bras/styles/4745

Style 4049: Seamless Support

Moisture management cups; smoothes back and side bulges! Cushioned, no-slip straps prevent dig-in.

http://www.playtexfits.com/bras/styles/4049

Contest Details and Entry Here

About the Giveaway Sponsors:

The 18 Hour bra provides full coverage for long days.  This bra is for the woman juggling a busy schedule and looking for a bra that won’t budge, slip, or create discomfort.  It features moisture-wicking fabric for breathability, a soft underband to reduce chafing, and wirefree cups.  Visit: http://www.playtexbras.com/bras/collections/18-hour.

ALL YOU is geared to the value-driven woman, published by Time Inc. and sold on newsstands at Walmart stores nationwide and by subscription.  One of the hallmarks of the brand is their connection with real women and their celebration of women of all shapes and sizes.  Visit www.allyou.com  for money-saving recipes,ideas and coupons that help you create your weekly shopping list.Plus a Daily Free Sample!

Published: June 2011 Steven Meisel - Photographer

Friend of the Curvy Life, and blogger extraordinaire, Atiya King, of the blog Secrets, Lies and Margaritas, sent me these great shots from the current issue of Vogue Italia, and hipped me to a website that I hadn’t heard about: Vogue Curvy. I asked her to share her take on these images and the Vogue Curvy site.

Atiya writes:

Let’s face it. The fashion industry has no idea what sexy is. They seem to be under the impression that sexy is young, 6 feet tall, blondes, with bodies like teen boys. I know. I know. It takes them awhile to catch up to those of us in the real world. See, in the real world, we know that sexy is more than that. Sexy is quirky. Sexy is smart. Sexy is ambitious, and sometimes, sexy is a whole lotta woman!

Published: June 2011 Steven Meisel - Photographer

Vogue Italia has stepped up their game. Their glossy, black and white, June 2011 cover features sexy, plus-size models Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine and Robyn Lawley. This is what most women look like. Soft, voluptuous and hot! We need to see more of this. Actually, we want to see more of this.

Published: June 2011 Steven Meisel - Photographer

A curvaceous beauty hasn’t graced the cover of Vogue since Sophie Dahl’s spread in April 2000. Clearly, it’s been too long. So, I’d like to thank Vogue Itlaia’s editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani for having the courage to put these beautiful, buxom women on the cover. Hopefully, one day, this will not be such a novelty issue.

Until then, check out Vogue Curvy for more pictures of this sexy issue.

Our curvy friend, Jeanette DePatie, AKA “The Fat Chick,” author of The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that’s Fun and Feasible for Folks of all Ages, Sizes, Shapes and Abilities) gave us the heads up about a great event in San Francisco in August. Early bird ticket sales end this Friday, so make sure you check it out now.

Here’s the info:

The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), is hosting a two day educational summer conference, No BODY Left Behind – The Health at Every Size or HAES Model: Ensuring an Inclusive Approach to Health & Wellness, at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay, in San Francisco, August 12 through August 14, 2011.

The conference will focus on the HAES approach to health – intuitive eating and pleasurable physical activity rather than dieting and weight loss. Panels throughout the day will address specific challenges to the HAES model in healthcare including, weight bias and discrimination, the need for HAES education for medical students, the need to unify the HAES and ED communities and avoiding healthism.

The ASDAH community is committed to promote education, research, and the provision of services which enhance health and well-being, and which are free from weight-based assumptions and weight discrimination. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to meet highly qualified healthcare professionals in a dynamic and interactive format to address the need for competent and compassionate healthcare for people of all shapes and sizes.

View the conference schedule here.

Register by June 25 at http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/ to receive the early bird rate of $30 off the conference rate. ASDAH have negotiated a terrific room rate of only $99 at the luxurious Sofitel in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Don’t miss out!

Here I am, almost in the same pose as my avatar. This picture was taken at the end of last year as part of an event I hosted for women entrepreneurs. (BTW: If you are in Atlanta, and you want a professionally done picture you’ll be proud to show, contact Oana Hogrefe Photography. Oana is my photographic secret weapon.)

When I started this blog in 2007, I chose the name The Curvy Life to reflect, not only my interest in body image, but also the philosophy that life has curves, we are all living a curvy life, and we should embrace those curves and live an exuberant life. I started the blog before Facebook hit it big, and it served as a great outlet for things I needed to say and do.

I’ve had many curves in my life, and I went around a new one in November when I took on an opportunity that is giving me the opportunity to share my life philosophy with women entrepreneurs all over the US and Canada. (You can check me out on Ladies Who Launch.) I’ve been doing this work in Atlanta for the last 3 years, and now I have the chance to work with many more.

You may notice that I haven’t been blogging lately. These days, I spend a lot of time talking, writing, Facebooking, etc about living our best lives. (Facebook is a great way to connect with me.) Not that my passion for empowering women to feel good about their bodies has waned, but rather, my focus on self-love has expanded to embrace more than body.

I am proud of the work I’ve done with The Curvy Life, and it’s not going away, but it will be shifting to reflect my own shifts. Body image still holds many of us hostage–I encounter too many women who are reluctant to post a headshot of themselves when promoting their businesses because they feel they “need to lose 10 lbs.”

There are great voices out there now promoting body love and self-esteem. We’ve got a long way to go, but I hope that we are getting closer.

If you are new here, browse our archives.

If you want to keep up with me, feel free to friend me on Facebook.

Deepsy Patel, Conyers, GA

Though every day at The Curvy Life is Love Your Body Day, October 20 is NOW’s official “Love Your Body” Day. Check out their website,  especially the winners of the poster competition. A big Georgia shout-out to winner Deepsy Patel, of Conyers, GA for the gorgeous poster above.  And as a bonus, poster images can be sent as e-cards from the site.

If you’re on Twitter, you can follow NationalNOW and use the hashtag #lybd to talk about Love Your Body Day and the things you are doing to celebrate! You can also find NOW on Facebook, where we also have a Love Your Body Cause. And while your there, follow me, CurvyA on Twitter and join our Curvy Life Facebook Page and share your thoughts on body love.

I’m a raving “Eat, Pray, Love” fan, so through my day-job, Ladies Who Launch Atlanta, I’m hosting a viewing of the movie with an after-party discussion, this Friday, August 13.  The after-party will touch on each of the three themes:

Eat–Tasty, indulgent Italian fare

Pray–A presentation by Robbie Houcek, an energy healer/shaman, on easy, friendly meditations you can incorporate in your everyday life

Love–A presentation by me (ta-da!) on falling in love with yourself and your life

For more details and tickets, visit here.

I’ve attached a 20 minute discussion with Robbie Houcek on the theme of self-discovery as a preview of Friday’s event. We talk about why this story resonates with so many women, and how we can experience self-discovery without taking a year off and traveling the world.

Enjoy!

Eat, Pray, Love Party Preview Recording.

If you’d like to join the BlogLIVE experiment and can’t join us in person you can participate via Ustream at this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bloglive-atlanta

(Click on the image for registration information.)

I’m thrilled and honored to be invited to participate in this innovative blogging experiment.

It’s networking without the facade! Come meet the faces of your community, no masks allowed!

For the second time this year, we’re taking the blogging bug to IRL (In Real Life) status by stepping from behind our laptops and onto BlogLive: Atlanta!  Yes, we’re chatting up touchy topics, social media style, with comment cards and retweet cards via Live Blogging Saturday, July 10th, 2010, and we’re inviting you to join us!

To be held at tahCha Tea House in Atlanta (3352-C Chamblee Tucker Rd, Atlanta, next to The Velvet Room), this “casual networking” event will allow “Blog Visitors” to raise their comment cards to “comment” on Live blog posts presented by panelists chosen for their expertise in business, media, and life skills. Retweet cards will serve as support for poignant comments…Social Media Gone Live! Register today!

Credit: ABC Family

I’m at the beach getting ready to spend the day in a swimsuit, so I thought it was appropriate to give a little shout out to Nikki Blonsky, not only for literally being the poster girl for big-bodied girls on the show “Huge,” but for appearing IN the show in a bathing suit. It’s one thing to be in a photo that can (and has been) retouched, but quite another to appear on video.

I found the composition of this poster shot to be fascinating. Nikki’s character is supposed to be very confident in her appearance and have no desire to loose weight. However, this poster image is not the picture of confidence. What’s the message here? I can think of several possibilities:

Is it the positive-body-image-is-fake attitude? There are those who will claim that, even though this girl claims to be confident, at heart, she really isn’t. Or, is it that, no matter how confident a girl may be in her body, putting on a bathing suit is a confidence-shaking experience? Or, is it that the vast majority of women, no matter the size, feel uncomfortable in a bathing suit, and feel “Huge”?

Whatever the message, I think she looks cute in the suit, and I post the image to encourage you to get out there and enjoy the summer, and to not avoid activities that you want to participate in due to swimsuit phobia.

“Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern belle from Atlanta – and I’m not from Atlanta”–Rue McClanahn

The passing of Rue McClanhan this week has me thinking about the “curvy” message of “The Golden Girls.” The show ran from 1985-1992, and is now in reruns on the WE TV network(they’re running a “Golden Girls” marathon today). I watched the show in it’s first incarnation, and I’ve been enjoying it 20+ years later, but for much different reasons.

When the show was first on, it was a popular, Emmy-award winning comedy. I watched it because it was fun and funny, with strong female leads. Returning to the show all these years later, I am struck with how far ahead of its time the show really was, and how powerfully these “older” (they don’t seem nearly as old to me as when I was 19 years old), single women were portrayed.

Here you have four single women over the age of 50 portrayed as vibrant, sexual beings. And while they may express concerns about aging and romantic prospects, they never engage in self-loathing or body hatred. I can only remember one episode in the 7-year run where a main character’s weight was an issue. (Blanche was trying to loose weight to fit in her wedding gown for her wedding anniversary, an annual ritual for her. I also remember a trip to an aerobics studio, but not sure if these were connected.) These women never fretted over finding romantic partners. In fact, even the 80-year-old Sophie had a fairly robust sex life. They had careers, even changing careers later in life, had fabulous 80s wardrobes, fully engaged life. They ate cheesecake and never fretted over the calorie count. They weren’t stick thin, but they never sat around complaining about cellulite, thigh-size, lower-belly pooching, and wrinkles.

Where on TV today do we see women over 50 (or any women, for that matter) portrayed in this way?

So, farewell Blanche Devereaux. Thank you (and Dorothy, Rose, and Sophie) for embracing the curviness of lie and leaving a great model for female empowerment at any age.