Winner of Igigi Gift Certificate…from May

Cate R. won the gift certificate back in May of this year. I just realized when I announced the winner of the Kiyonna Gift Certificate last week that I never posted Cate’s pics and her product review. Thank you Cate for posing for readers of A Celebration of Curves. Cate asked me to hide her face, hence the big black dot. It’s too bad because only I get to see how truly beautiful you are. What amazing blue eyes!

I think Cate looks fantastic in her IGIGI purchases. Don’t you?

Okay, I know I won the $100 IGIGI gift certificate a while ago, but it took me a while to spend it all! I ordered three different dresses. The first was the Tina Faux Wrap in Olive. It came, and it fits beautifully. It’s a pretty color for my complexion, but I wish there had been a few more dynamic color choices (although there are now!).

I like the fit of the dress; it’s very flattering. One issues I have is that it is extremely low-cut on me. I have to either pin it (in which case it still shows about an inch of cleavage) or wear it with a tank top underneath. I wear it with a tank top to work, and it’s cute. I pair it with navy blue espadrilles generally.

The next dress I ordered was the Daniella Print Knot dress. It looked so amazing! Unfortunately, when it arrived, the fit was all wrong. It fit like a muumuu! I like dresses to show off my curves, and this was the exact opposite approach!

I had filled out a first-time customer survey, so I had gotten 15% off the Daniella dress. It took a while for me to get in touch with customer service to arrange for an exchange. I ended up getting the GORGEOUS new bubble dress with pockets. This dress is amazing! The color is breathtaking! Well done!

So, pros: I like the way these dresses fit, and the colors are beautiful. I wish they had more casual selections, and a few that were less pricey. (If I hadn’t had the gift certificate, I probably wouldn’t have done too much shopping there. These dresses are beautiful, but I would spend somewhere between $40-$60 for them, not $80-$100. They are dry clean only, and the fabric on my green dress already started to pill in one place.

And, like I said, big-chested ladies beware, these dresses easily put all your business in the street.

In the interest of full disclosure, I ordered a size 12, and IGIGI says my shape is “Figure 8.”

Thank you Cate for sending in pics of your purchases and writing such an honest review. Buying clothes online can be a challenge but I personally prefer it to spending time stomping around the mall, going from one dressing room to the next. Pics and reviews like Cate’s are extremely helpful in making informed online shopping decisions.

I am still giggling over Cate’s “…all your business in the street” line!

Winner of $50 Kiyonna Gift Certificate

Congratulations to The Asian Pear! Her comment was chosen using a highly scientific process to randomly generate a number through a complicated system of algorithms. OK! So I really just clicked the button on Random.org

Pear – has been contacted by e-mail. Her response to winning? “Oh my gosh really? ME?!?! Thank you! I’ve never won anything before. I am DEFINITELY getting the dress I had my eye on now.”

And please check out her blog – she just bought the cutest snow boots at Payless. I think I’m going to go try them on myself.

Thank you everyone for your participation. It was so much fun to see what everyone wanted. There will be more contests and giveaways every month so stay tuned.

Luscious Living: Sales and Events

APRIL DISCOUNT COUPONS

MAKEUP AND SKINCARE DISCOUNTED UP TO 50%

From eyes lips face: Save 10% on your next Purchase from EyesLipsFace.com. Use Coupon EGTENAZ. Limit one Use per Customer.

From Strawberry.net : FREE Stila Eye Shadow Duo Pan with any purchase over $25 USD at StrawberryNET!

SPRING FASHION

From Designer Shoes: World’s largest selection of designer brand name shoes for women who leave a larger footprint!
Also – 5% off for any Samanta brand shoe when the customer uses the code SAM430. The offer is good through April 30.

From Kiyonna: Posey Patio Dress at Kiyonna.com!

And this from Kiyonna: 35% Off All Lingerie with the Coupon Code: LUCK09 at Kiyonna.com!

From Swimsuits for All: Mix & Match Swimwear for the Perfect Fit. Tons of Styles Under $29. Shop Now!

FOR THE KITCHEN

From Cyber Cucina:
In consideration of the Earth Day celebration on April 22nd, Cyber Cucina has designated April to be All Natural & Organic Month

From Cooking: Closeout Prices on Top Brands! Now at Cooking.com!

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Happening around New York City

Golda of Body Love Wellness will be giving 3 workshops in April at Re/Dress in Brooklyn. All sound like wonderful evenings and you have a chance to do some shopping too!

Healthy Eating Without Dieting, Tuesday, 4/14 – 7:30pm
This class addresses the basics of healthy eating, healing foods, and how to manage eating without dieting.

Intuitive Eating, Tuesday, 4/21 – 7:30pm
This class is to help women get in touch with their intuitive sense of what, when, and how much to eat. We’ll work on savoring food, gauging hunger and fullness, what to do when you find yourself “eating to forget”.

Body Acceptance and Love, Tuesday, 4/28 – 7:30pm
As our cultural images of beauty have become more and more rigid (or at least thin) and there are more and more diet programs trying to convince women that being thin is the ultimate goal, women have to work harder to redefine and identify with their own beauty. This class will deal with and give techniques for owning our beauty and our bodies right now.

Come to one, two or all three workshops! Each class is $15, or $40 total if you sign up for all three.

All workshops are being held at this wonderful plus sized vintage store!
Re/Dress NYC

109 Boerum Place
Brooklyn, NY 11201

(Take the F or G train to Bergen Street.)

TO REGISTER:
Go to http://www.bodylovewellness.com/UpcomingWorkshops.html
OR stop by Re/Dress NYC OR email Golda at bodylovewellness@yahoo.com

Walk-ins are also welcome.

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Belle-Noir’s Curves & Cocktails event is three weeks away. Being billed as “The Ultimate Girls Night Out for Women with Curves”, Curves & Cocktails is taking place on Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 12 Noon until 6:00pm at the Avents Loft, located at 15 W. 28th Street in New York City.

Attendees will have access to vendors that cater to & show love to plus size women, including Qristyl Frazier Designs, Yania Creations, Collective Elements, and Lia Sophia Jewelry, among others. Attendees will also be treated to tasty treats and delicious cocktails sponsored by ToMA Vodka & Riunite Wine, as well as beverages sponsored by Izze Juice & The Water Shoppe. There will also be raffles every hour, with prizes that include $100 Igigi Gift Certificates and Gift Coupons from Samanta Shoes, and more!

Christina Mendez and Editor-In-Chief of Plus Model Magazine, Maddy Figueroa Jones will be presented with our 1st Independent Woman Awards.

VIP attendees will also be treated to a goodie bag filled with coupons from Igigi & Samanta Shoes, as well as products from Dove, Yardley of London, and gifts from our vendors.

The event is going to be one to remember, and will be the official kick-off as we start the Curves & Cocktails Tour with stops in Washington DC and Atlanta this Fall, and the West Coast in 2010.

Tempting Male Shoppers with Booze

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article called Belly Up to the Bar And Buy Some Jeans, profiling a trend to serve beer and hard liquor in men’s clothing stores.

Emphasis mine:

By offering in-store drinks, a growing number of retailers are trying to get men to shop more like women, who often linger and browse, buy items on impulse, and return time and again to a favorite store. The recession is driving stores to search for anything that gives them even a small edge over rivals. And generally slower traffic gives sales staff more time to offer drinks and talk with shoppers.

Beware all men who enter here! Drink to avoid being thought of as a sissy, metrosexual, woman wannabe! Ugh. “Get men to shop more like women?” I think that there is a gross generalization here about women shopping on impulse and doing more browsing then men. I’ve seen my husband do the same thing at Home Depot, wandering aimlessly up and down aisles just to see if there was something that caught his eye. I think we both browse, but we have different interests. And certainly there are straight men who are interested in wearing nice clothes and they try things on while browsing in a store.

Retailers say they use discretion when deciding to whom they offer drinks and avoid offering liquor to minors. In many states, stores don’t need a liquor license because they are serving drinks free, not selling them. New Jersey and Georgia are among the states which do require a license, even for drinks offered free.

They aren’t carding guys in the stores but merely offering the use of “discretion.” Um…right. It’s a full proof plan! (See what I did there…Fool Proof vs. Full Proof – Tee Hee!)

“Men are more purpose-driven as opposed to window shoppers, so the addition of lounges and/or bars provides a club setting that can give sales associates a natural entrée to engage with this guy,” says Tom Julian, president of New York-based brand consultancy Tom Julian Group.

Excuse me?! Fuck off Tom Julian, president of a company you named after yourself with one employee who happens to be yourself. You think because I look in a store window that I have no purpose? And why the fuck do you think giving a customer a “club setting” translates into more sales?

There are several Prima Facie reasons but for the moment just consider that if you give your customer a relaxed environment where they feel comfortable spending some time browsing, and then you give them something for free that further relaxes them like, oh, I don’t know, maybe some alcohol, then maybe a customer will feel like they want or even feel obligated to give you their money. You see, Wall Street Journal, customer manipulation like offering a free gift with purchase, beer/champagne, and groovy music works with women too because we happen to be human beings.

This article about stores finding ways to bring in the boy dollars is full of oozing contempt for women while discussing ways to entice men to “shop more like women” while browsing and trying things on. Blech. This article had real potential to focus on ways that retailers are being creative and competitive to bring in customers but instead the reporter just relied on the same old boring “men shop smart” and “women shop on impulse” bullshit stereotypes.

As for me personally, I hate shopping in a brick and mortar store. This is the reason why I prefer to shop online, have clothes sent to my house, try them on at home and then return whatever I don’t like. I’d rather pay for shipping than have to schlep to a mall, fight traffic, etc. Browsing through aisles and store after store is tedious for me and I much prefer browsing online.

Please tell me what you think about this. Am I overreacting?

Fundraiser for Big Moves New York

I am thrilled to announce that Big Beautiful Bargains is coming to New York! This is a fundraising event for Big Moves NY, a non-profit dance company promoting size acceptance.

If you have never been to one of their shows, I highly recommend going to see them. The dance troupe is extremely talented and a whole lot of fun. I also hear that the dance classes they offer are great and I’m planning on checking them out one of these days.

New and Used Plus-Size fashions for Less!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29th and SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30th

From 10AM until 5PM

This extraordinary shopping event takes place at The Knitting Factory, 74 LEONARD STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013.

MORE INFO: BIGBEAUTIFULBARGAINS2008@GMAIL.COM

Please check this website for more details: Big Beautiful Bargains on My Space.

I will be at this shopping event so please comment and let me know if you’ll be there too. Maybe we can have a Celebration of Curves meet-up? I’d love to meet you!