Another Curvy Life friend sent me links to these three IGIGI outfits (available from size 12+):

Tailored Portrait Collar Dress in Navy

Little Black Dress

Wide Leg Pants

A friend of The Curvy Life sent me this fantastic list of resources. I’m going to add these to the Blogroll and Resources list, but she gives a great breakdown on each, so here’s the list:
Body Image: Feministing, Margaret Cho (used to be plus size), Nikki Blonsky (plus size actress, now has her own TV show), About.com (Plus size fashion resources)

Clothes: Kiyonna.com, SizeAppeal, Alectra.com, Benina & Lu.com, Igigi.com, Ulla Popken, JJill.com, Alight.com, Newport News, Eileen Fisher, Calvin Klein, INC, MaxStudio size XL fits size 14-16. Evans (a UK plus store that has an online site, and is much hipper than Lane Bryant.)

Custom Clothing: TC2.com (developed 3D body scanning technology), Mytwindressforms (custom dress forms)–If there’s a way to commercialize it, TC2’s technology could be used to create affordable custom clothing. I think they use it in London to reduce the price of custom men’s suits ($900 instead of $2000.)

FIDM.com, the LA fashion school, has a ton of fashion related links
Largely Positive–an example of a body image website that might be similar to yours

If you haven’t seen Joy Nash’s YouTube video, “Fat Rant,” it is well worth the 7 minutes it takes to watch. With over a million views since March 2007, “Fat Rant” has generated a lot of public discussion regarding fat women and self-esteem. The YouTube page for the video (as of 1/16/2008) has over 12,000 comments, Joy has been interviewed in the press numerous times, and she now has a “Fat Rant” blog (www.fatrant.com). I love Joy’s clever yet straightforward approach to issues surrounding fat life in a thin-obsessesed world; however, I am always surprised at the venom of those who feel it necessary to attack anyone who stands up and says, “I’m fat and I’m OK.” Why is positive body image and self-esteem in fat women so threatening?

See the video at YouTube or on Joy Nash’s blog, Fat Rant.

So says Stacey London, in What Not To Wear, “Triple Thread.” The show features triplet sisters in need of style makeovers. As Stacey and Clinton watch the footage of these sisters discouraged and broken-down by the fit of clothes, Stacey declares:

“When will women learn to quit blaming their bodies and realize that the problem is in how the clothes are made? Clothes are like trains—if they don’t stop at your station, they’re not your train.”

Amen, Stacey ! Gloria Steinem put it yet another way;

“If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?”

Our bodies aren’t the problem. Clothing manufacturers should be altering clothes to fit women’s bodies rather than women altering their bodies to fit clothes. However, the fashion industry doesn’t seem to care at all about fit and size as it relates to real women. There no such thing as a standard size, sizes vary within the same clothing line, and there is little allowance for shape and proportion differences.

This sad fact of modern fashion is the reason why the women featured on What Not To Wear, regardless of size, often find themselves frustrated in the quest to spend $5000 on a new wardrobe. Big or small, finding clothes that compliment their bodies takes may hours trying on clothes at many stores.

I cease to be amazed by the short-sightedness and downright arrogance of an industry that ignores the basic needs of its customers, leaving women feeling dissatisfied and demoralized by the shopping experience.

As fashion consumers, first, we must learn to disconnect from the power of the size tag and to value fit over size. Second, we must continue to voice our complaints over the failure of the fashion industry to serve the vast majority of us.

To see this episode of What Not To Wear, “Triple Thread”, click here and select “Full Episodes.”

Today on “The View,” co-host Sherri Shepherd was wearing a dress that made me think of this dress from INC International Concepts, a curve-friendly brand:

INC has both Misses and Plus sizes ( Misses: S-XL; Women’s:14W-24W),  so whether your curves are large or small, you can find something striking.   I shop for INC at Macy’s, but the line is also available at Bloomingdales and online at Macys.com.