Full Figure Fashion Week 2009

You may have heard about Full Figure Fashion Week already and I am so proud to be involved in this extraordinary event. I’ve been working with buyers and the designers who are participating in the fashion show, to create a Buyer’s Market — sort of a mini-trade show for boutiques carrying plus size lines to meet with emerging designers.

There are people coming in from all over the country and even a boutique owner from Paris, a fashionable city without plus size fashion. To all those boutique owners I’ve spoken with over the past few weeks, I am honored to work in the same industry. As a group, I found you all to be dedicated, joyful entrepreneurs. May you all make your quarterly quotas and may your income streams be plentiful!

WELCOME TO FULL FIGURED FASHION WEEK

In America alone, there are 40 million women over size 14, spending $25 billion a year on clothing, or a quarter of all clothing sales, according to American Demographics. So, why isn’t there a Fashion Week event dedicated to showcasing fashions available to the curvy consumer?

There wasn’t…until NOW!

A partnership of independent fashion designers, retailers, event producers, models and plus industry businesses, Full Figured Fashion Week (FFFWeek) was created to increase economic development in the area of plus size fashion design, clothing merchandising and plus modeling. Our goal is to highlight the very best in plus size fashions – both retail and independent designers, while providing an inaugural showcase of talented designers, models, stylists and plus industry businesses that serve the plus size consumer.

It is estimated that this long overdue and highly anticipated three-day fashion extravaganza (June 25-27, 2009) will debut before an audience of over 1500+ plus size fashion enthusiasts, style mavens, models, boutiques, vendors and the media.

The FFFWeek finale showcase, which will take place on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at The Prince George Ballroom, will feature the runway collections of high-end plus size fashion boutiques, retail stores and local and out of state independent designers.

History is about to be made—We hope you’ll join us!

And the big announcement of the day:
Discount tickets are available for groups of 5 or 10 Curvy Divas and Their Friends!
Here’s the link Full Figure Fashion Week 2009

THURSDAY, June 25, 2009

FFFWeek Welcome Event 12:00 - 4:00PM
Re/Dress New York
109 Boerum Place (bet. Pacific and Dean Sreets), F or G train to Bergen Street, Brooklyn, NY

Description: Kick-off event to welcome our out of town guests. Meet FFFWeek’s organizers and supporters while enjoying premium shopping at the Re/Dress boutique. ***Re/Dress boutique will donate 10% of sales made from the event to our non profit partner, PPWAP.
Sponsors: FFFWeek, Re/Dress Boutique
Admission: Free Admission but must RSVP w/ names to RSVPKickoff@fffweek.com by 6/22/09

Designers Showcase & Networking Event 6:00 - 10:00PM
Showcase starts at 7:30PM

Club Blvd 199 Bowery (at Spring Street), New York, NY
Description: Fashion showcase featuring designs by en.v. new york. Networking reception hosted by X’Change Modeling

Charitable Gift Giving for Purses And Pockets With A Purpose:
Meet Tracey V. Bell (Chairman and President, PPWAP) and Kim Coles (Global Spokesperson, PPWAP) and donate a modestly used Purse (or Pocket Wallet), which will be bundled with personal care products and counseling services for women/children in Domestic Violence Shelters. For all monetary donations of $25 or more, PPWAP will be gifting the donor with a free 100% organic candle made with pure essential oils. We need your support. All major credit cards and debit cards with MC/Visa logo accepted. COME AND DONATE YOUR PURSE. WE NEED YOU!!
Sponsors: FFFWeek, X’Change Modeling , Purses And Pockets With A Purpose , Ashley Stewart, Structure Wardrobe & Styling , Corinthia Peoples Designs , Hyperion Entertainment Inc.
Admission:$10.00 if you are not on the guest list which closed at 8:00 AM on June 16th. If you are on the guest list, you must arrive by 7:00 PM or pay the $10.00 admission fee. If you RSVP’d before June 16th, we have your name on the list, but you and your party must arrive by 7:00 PM.

FRIDAY, June 26, 2009

Buyers Market 1:00 - 4:00PM

Location: Private

Description: A buyers sales event that will connect plus size fashion buyers and boutique owners with participating FFFWeek designers/suppliers in a private, one-on-one environment.
Target Audience: Designers and Buyers. If you represent a retail outlet please contact me directly at corinna@thislushlife.com for an invitation to this private event.
Sponsors: FFFWeek, J. Biggins Consulting, The Plus Size Marketing Group, This Lush Life

Panel Discussion - “The State of the Curvy Community” 3:00 - 5:00PM

Please note there is now a waiting list for this event. RSVP is closed until a larger space can be found.

Ripley Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue (bet. 36th and 37th Streets)
16th Floor, Room 17C
New York, NY
*** Must have I.D. to enter bldg.

Description: This panel discussion will address the current state of the plus-size community and the significance of Full Figured Fashion Week, through the eyes of the industry’s leaders, bringing different perspectives from various experiences and points of view.

* Sharon Quinn, “The Runway Diva,” will moderate the discussion. Accompanying her in this discussion is:
* Cassy Jones- McBride- US Director of the Fuller Woman Network,
* Deb Malkin- Owner of Re/Dress NY,
* Glen Johnson- Owner of Full Figure Plus and a Member of The Curvy Collective,
* K. L. Belvin- Author of “Man In Transition”,
* Mia Amber- Model, Actress, Creative Editor of Plus Model Magazine,
* Maddy Figueroa-Jones – Editor in Chief of Plus Model Magazine

Sponsors: FFFWeek, The Curvy Collective, Fuller Woman Expo, Igigi
Admission: Free Admission but list closed until further notice

FFFWeek Media Reception 6:00 - 10:00PM

Taj Lounge (Mezzanine Level)
48 W 21st St (bet. 5th and 6th Aves.) New York, NY
Description: Official press party for FFFWeek
Target Audience: Press, Designers, Models
Sponsors: FFFWeek, Curvesity Entertainment
Admission: By Invitation Only

FFFWeek Full Figured Friday Night! We have NYC Entertainment SEWN Up!
10:30 PM - 1:00 AM

Sage Theatre
711 7th Ave.(bet. 47th & 48th St.), New York, NY
Description: Mini-Concert hosted by Queen Aishah – comedienne, actress, radio personality, and philanthropist. Performances by
Queen Aishah, Crystal P., (Detroit’s new Queen of Comedy) and
The Glamazons, the fierce foursome plus size pop group whose mission is to show the world that talent comes in all sizes.
Sponsors: FFFWeek, Curvesity Entertainment
Admission: $20.00 in advance or at the door (INCLUDES mini concert and Friday night afterparty below)
Note: No tickets will be mailed. Check-in at the door - please bring photo I.D.

FFFWeek Friday Night Dance Party 10:00 PM - 3:00 AM
Stitch Lounge
247 West 37th St. (bet. 7th & 8th Ave), New York, NY
Description: Dance, mix, mingle, drink, network or grab a bite to eat while celebrating our historical event New York style with old and new friends. Music by some of NY’s Finest DJ’s.
Sponsors: FFFWeek, Curvesity Entertainment
Admission: $15.00 in advance. More @ the door.
****If you purchase a ticket to the mini concert above, you do not need a tix for this event as it is included.
****Online tickets must be purchased BEFORE 6 PM on June 26th.
Note: No tickets will be mailed. Check-in at the door - please bring photo I.D.

SATURDAY, June 27, 2009

Small Business Workshop – “Marketing Your Business Or Organization Online”
10:00AM - 12:30PM
Ripley Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue, (bet. 36th and 37th Streets)
16th Floor, Room 16M
New York, NY
*** Must have I.D. to enter bldg.

Description: 1.5 hour workshop on Marketing Your Business or Organization online using Facebook, Twitter and Your Website. *All attendees will receive a free website analysis (value $295) or blog analysis (value $145)
Target Audience: Small Business Owners, Models, etc. ANYONE who wants to strengthen their online presence by utilizing social media.
Sponsors: FFFWeek, J. Biggins Consulting, The Plus Size Marketing Group
Admission: $50.00 registration by 6/12/09

Curves in the City - Shopping Soiree 11:00AM - 3:00PM

Ripley Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue (bet. 36th and 37th Streets), 16th Floor, Room 17D, New York, NY
*** Must have I.D. to enter bldg.

Description:Discount shopping with participating FFFWeek designers and vendors
Sponsors: FFFWeek, The Curvy Collective
Admission: $25.00 VIP, $15 General Admission Tickets

Note: No tickets will be mailed, check in at the door –please bring photo I.D.

Finale Runway Showcase 7:00 - 11:00PM
Red carpet VIP Arrivals at 6:00 PM
Doors Open at 7:00 PM, Showtime: 8:00 PM

The Prince George Ballroom
15 E. 27th St. (bet. Madison and Fifth Aves.) New York, NY
Description: Semi-formal, finale designer showcase featuring the collections of:

* Agape Goddess Wear
* Ashley Stewart
* Big Girls United (BGU)
* Candi Apple Couture
* Jewel Shannon Designs
* LaMaica Fashions
* Monif C. Plus Sizes
* Osun Designs
* Qristyl Frazier Designs
* Robert E. Knight (presented by PLUS Model Magazine)
* Sealed with a Kiss Designs (SWAK)

Sponsors: FFFWeek, The Plus Academy, Ashley Stewart
Admission: No tickets at door

Note: No tickets will be mailed, check in at the door –please bring photo I.D.
1 Ticket @ $45.00
5 Tickets @ $40.00 ea.
10 Tickets @ $35.00 ea.

Official FFFWeek Afterparty 10:00PM - 4:00AM
Tavern on the Green
Central Park West and West 67th Street, New York, NY
Description:Celebratory dance party commemorating the first ever Full Figured Fashion Week. Music by “Chuck” The Triple Threat of Power 105.1 FM
Sponsors: FFFWeek, Bigger and Better Thangs Entertainment, HSS&A Inc.
Attire: Semi-formal
Admission: $20.00 in advance

Skinny Jeans may cause nerve damage and other wonders from the World Wide Web

Some things I found this week on the web that I really enjoyed. Have a great weekend!

JoGeek I wish you could have met my seamstress grandmother! She would have grabbed you right around the middle, said “Oy! So zaftig! You should have many babies!” And then she would have poured you a shot of scotch while spending hours looking at your sewing patterns.

Harriet, I love you. I have your book Feed Me!: Writers Dish About Food, Eating, Weight, and Body Image, and as soon as I finish it I will post something about it but I can tell you right now that you are brilliant because you are so full of love and outrage and calm and motherly goodness that every time I read you, I feel like I’ve been hugged. So thank you.

Seriously, Deb is hard core. She takes wrestle naps with Mrs. Wilson next door (you always suspected, didn’t you?) and is pretty much a genius. But I don’t want you to know because she is my precious and I refuse to share. So don’t buy her book called 5 Ways to {blank} Your Blog, which is all about your blog, how to write one, how to get people to read it, how to make purple frogs rain from the skies…ok maybe not that last one. That one is all me.

Edited Saturday morning before coffee: OK I just realized I put in the wrong bathing suit link. Whoops! Here is the one I covet! And for $24? Well…come to mama!

Fat Poets Society Audio Interview

The Fat Poets’ Society was created after a poetry writing workshop during the 2006 annual convention of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), a civil rights organization. The authors are donating the royalties from Fat Poets Speak to NAAFA.

Listen to and/or download the Fat Poets’ Society Pearlsong Conversation mp3 recording here. We each read one of our poems so you get a preview! You can click the link and listen to the audio in your browser window or right click on the link and “save as” to download.

I hope you enjoy it!

Fat Poets Society - They wrote about our book in my local paper!

Thank you Putnam County Courier (est. 1841) for having the good sense to write about our lovely fat positive book of lovely poems, Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets’ Society

If you click on the image you will be taken to my Flickr account where you can increase the size to make it easier to read.

Wednesday party at Katra in New York City

All photos can be viewed in my Flickr Stream

Last night I put on my black dress and headed down to the Lower East for a cocktail party thrown by my dear friend Gwen Devoe, Owner of Devoe Events, Inc.. Gwen is a former plus model who now specializes in plus model training, development and management. Gwen has been a long time advocate and supporter of increasing the visibility of fuller figures on fashion runways.

We are working together to organize the first Full Figured Fashion Week in New York City, June 25-27, 2009. I’ll be posting more pics of events and I really hope you can come and see the fashion shows, dance at the parties and do some shopping.

Fashion week is about so much more than the runway shows. During fashion week is when buyers and designers have an opportunity to meet and get business done. Because plus size fashion is not usually included in the shows, designers and retailers suffer. I am very excited to be a part of Full Figured Fashion Week, and I know that it will be mean good things for the industry and for all women interested in buying fashionable clothes.

Links à la Mode : May 21st

Recommended fashion reading from independent fashion bloggers.

Wardrobe Workout

Edited by Dramatis Personae

Welcome to another wonderful round up of Links a La Mode! This week we have a wonderful selection of posts to help refine, define, and challenge your wardrobe. From Agent Lover and Style Symmetry, we’ve got the spectrum covered when it comes to hosting and attending Clothing Swaps. Clutch22 shares with us how to negotiate price matching at retailers, and Krislyn Diaries challenges us to try out great summer up-do’s. Decline Designs conceptualizes personal style, while Dirty Laundry helps us refine our self portraits. All in all, our lovely bloggers help you get your wardrobe and personal style fit and in shape for the upcoming Summer season!

Links à la Mode : May 21st

• 39thandbroadway.com - Bringing an End to Fashion Knock-offs– Finally!
• Agent Dreamer - Designers I Heart: The Dark, Majestic Femme
• Agent Lover - How to Throw a Swap Party
• Awakened Aesthetic - An Instant Classic: Black & White
• Breakfast at Saks - Erika Hendrix - An Urban Romance
• BRICK MY LANE - Mrs Obama and fashion = respect
• Clutch 22 - How to negotiate a price-match including a video experiment at Nordstrom.
• Decline Designs - Defining Your Personal Style, Part One: the Concept
• Dirty Laundry - How to Refine Your Self-Portraiture
• dramatis personae - Developing Your Wardrobe Palette {part 4}
• Felicia Sullivan - Step aside, Kerastase. Phyto is the new reigning queen of haircare
• Hong Kong Fashion Geek - Fashion Geek’s tips to scoring big at warehouse sales.
• Independent Fashion Bloggers - The New IFB is Here!
• Krislyn Diaries - DIY: cool summertime do’s
• Mystery Creature - how to follow fashion with a vintage twist
• Retro Chick - Do’s & Don’ts for the Perfect Wedding Guest Outfit
• Style Symmetry - How to be a Guest at a Clothing Swap Party
• THE COVETED - shu uemura is in the Pink
• The Demoiselles - Fat or Thin… You’re Still Getting Old
• The Recessionista’s Blog - Choosing a Swimsuit: Summer Style Tips
• Work Chic - You still can still be a chic mom to be in the summer heat!

My Social Calendar - Last night a film screening, an important cause, fashion, and a celebrity

Last night I attended a screening of a new documentary by Joe Pantoliano called “No Kidding? Me too!” about the stigma and shame associated with mental illness and Joe’s own personal struggle with depression and his escape from shame with the help of his family and medical treatment.

I can tell you that the film is inspirational and very well made. Joe is currently shopping the film around to film festivals and is looking for a distributor. This is a very important project and I believe it can do a lot of good in the world. I recommend you get a copy from the website and I am pretty sure it can be rented.

After the film was a Q&A with Joe and Jordan, a young man who tried to commit suicide by jumping out of his bedroom window from his 9th story apartment building just a year ago. He is an eloquent and thoughtful young man, walking with crutches while healing from his injuries. He is going to college and speaking to high school and college students about depression. He says that his goal is for young people to talk about mental illness as comfortably as they would talk about acne. He is incredibly brave as are his parents who were there last night. I hugged his mom and dad at the end of the night and we all cried a bit. They are incredibly supportive of Jordan and encourage him to talk about what happened in the hopes that it will help in his healing as well as help others.

I also bought a copy of Canvas, a film Joe made with Marsha Gay Harden about a family struggling with a mother’s paranoid schizophrenia. I look forward to watching it this week and I’ll tell you all about it.

After the Q&A, I had an opportunity to tell Joe how much I enjoyed the film and that I believed it would do a lot of good. He is a very personable man and when I asked him if he would pose for a picture with me he immediately and enthusiastically said yes, put his arm around me, grabbed my camera and took the above pic. Now you know why I look a bit startled…and fabulous.

My camera died immediately after the pic was taken so instead of giving you a full body shot of my outfit, here are links to what I wore:

Kiyonna

Stretch Poplin Wrap Blouse - $ 68.00
We have taken the classic cotton work shirt and given it a cut made to flatter your curves. Fashioned from cotton infused with just the right amount of stretch, this style ensures a comfortable fit every time. An adjustable tie, extended French cuffs and smart tailoring create a polished shirt, sure to become a wardrobe staple.Kiyonna
Kiyonna

Sateen City Trouser - $ 68.00
Chic yet versatile, these are the pants you’ll want to wear every day. A streamlined silhouette and clean lines mean these pants can transition you effortlessly, from a day at the office to an evening on the town.


Zappos - still free shipping both ways!

Tags: fashion, fat, joe pantoliano, me with celebrities
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