I used to be terrified that wrap dresses would accentuate my “lumps” instead of my curves… I’m realizing that’s not the case. This dress is slate blue with a pink sash, and… pockets!

p.s. I took my braids out and I’m rocking my natural hair for the winter, I’m new to the natural hair game and this was my first updo!

Dress: c/o Igigi, available here. Bag: Jessica Simpson, old. Shoes: Avenue, old. Fishnets: Spanx/Lane Bryant available here.

Photos by: Zanography

It’s that time of year again where you help me choose an outfit for my office holiday party.

Last year, I did the survey on twitter and the dress you suggested I wear was a huge hit, so let’s do it again! This year, I’m building my outfit around a vintage bag and sexy/comfy shoes. I’ve narrowed my choices down to these three dresses and these two coats from SimplyBe.com (the names and descriptions are below). Other than the faux fur coat, which would be a total splurge, everything I’m looking at is under $100.

So, chime in and tell me…. which pieces would you choose for an office holiday party?

Australian retailer Crossroads is putting their spin on plus size dresses. Offering trendy styles in bright colors, they’ve got some cute pieces that would work for a night on the town, a daytime date or a special occasion. Crossroads offers plus size dresses in the same styles that they make for their smaller/straight sizes.

The range goes up to an XXL or dress size 22, so I’d recommend taking a look at their size chart and the cut of the dresses you like before purchasing, but once again its nice to know we’ve got more options. Below are some of the stand out dresses from their site… check them out at crossroads.com.au

Sometimes I forget that I’ve never dated anyone as long as I’ve dated Robert. Going on a few dates with lots of guys has given me a many experiences (both good and bad) but there’s a lot of new territory that comes with dating the same person for an extended period of time and that’s what I’m navigating these days.

One of Robert’s old coworkers got married recently and he invited me to go with him. Instead of buying a whole new outfit, I wore one of my favorite dresses from LucieLu (I reviewed it a while back here), I purchased some beige heels from Avenue on sale and beige hair accessories from Old Navy, I think I spent like $25 total:

Anyway, It wasn’t until halfway through the night that I realized I’d never been invited to a wedding as someone’s date before. It was kind of a big deal for me. It made me feel… like a “grown up” a little bit! It also became a little bit of a milestone, relationship-wise… it made me feel like Robert and I are in a good place.

As I’ve mentioned before, because Robert and I are in the “slow and steady” lane, its easy for me to look at other relationships zipping by and get ansy. But at the wedding I made sure to just enjoy where he and I are, there were a lot of older couples at our table who had the stresses of life/kids/babysitters/putting gas in the car on their shoulders. Robert and I spent the night laughing, dancing and enjoying each other. Going to the wedding with him was a reminder to just rock out with what we’ve got going and keep looking out for new “firsts”.

This week may qualify as the best, ever!

Saturday night my bff, Alex took me to see the opening night of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” on Broadway. It was a star-studded evening and we had a great time enjoying drinks and yummy food with some of our favorite actors from the stage, TV and movies.

Then on Sunday, Robert took me to my first NFL game. We watched the JETS beat the Colts and our seats were fantastic!

Monday, when I got out of work, I had a text from my friend Dominic offering me a ticket to see Brandy in concert, so I dropped everything and met him at the Best Buy theater. We had an amazing time and my big sister Brandy is looking and sounding great!

Lastly, the Plus Size Princess Fitness Challenge is starting to pickup on Instagram and Twitter… we’re committing to eating well, working out 4 times a week and documenting it all online to hold ourselves accountable. Check out some TBGB readers below who are doing #PSPfit with me (we’re working out, devouring salads and feeling strong!). There’s still time to join, the official start is Monday 10/22! (just leave your twitter handle in the comments section here)

Follow me on Instagram: PlusSizePrincess

(click on the photo to enlarge it)

Do you follow “PlusSizePrincess” on Instagram? If you don’t, here’s what you missed:

First of all I’m having the best time transitioning my Foxcroft Denim Shirt into the fall. I came up with two new ways to rock it one look was for dinner, the other for brunch.

(skirt: Rachel Pally, Leather moto jacket: Avenue, Infinity scarf: H&M, Mini skirt: Rainbow)

Lets see… what else?

I was on Huffington post Live (twice!) you can see the first segment here.

Two of the post talented people I know are producing a play, so I went to support them and help raise money… you can learn about their production of Dog Opera here and get tix here.

I had a cute girls dinner in Harlem with Kellie from fatshioninsider, Nadia Abhoulson, and Beck from Manfattan and a few other bloggers.

I also got to spend some time with Luvvie and +size designer Monif C. at the Focus100 symposium. There are women of color doing amazing things in technology, don’t sleep!

Have a good weekend!

xoxo

Going to the gym in sweats and a big T-shirt is against my religion.

When a Plus Size Princess hits the gym we should look cute if we want to! Of course, most of the popular activewear lines don’t go into plus sizes so it takes a little work, but I’ve found some great options for workout gear that is fun, functional and affordable. So for those of you who have been asking, here are the brands that help me workout in style.

I usually go to the gym looking like this:

Shoes:

A few summers ago I made the brilliant decision to walk the entire length of central park wearing flip flops (that’s like walking 51 blocks barefoot). The next day I could barely walk! My podiatrist suggested I get a pair of New Balance sneakers to give my feet some stability after the trauma I’d put my feet through. I got my first pair and have never looked back, I wear an 11W shoe and was able to score a pair of New Balance 860′s with pink accents. I’ve worn them walking, hiking and in class at the gym and they feel great while giving me extra support in my arch and a nice bouncy feeling in the heel.

Jacket:

I also found out that New Balance has jackets up to a size 2X. This Gazelle jacket that I’m wearing here is great for when I’m working out in the park. It has a little zip up pocket for your iPhone so that you can listen to music without an armband or worrying that it will fall out of your side pocket (that’s happened to me before, augh). It also has reflectors if you happen to exercise at night, as you can see my camera flash was bouncing off of it.

Leggings:

I workout in leggings from Just My Size, you can order them online or pick them up at walmart. They fit high on my waist so I dont have to worry about them slipping down and they last long (even through the extra “chub rub” that comes from working out).

Tshirt:

I get soft Vneck shirts from Old Navy in lots of fun colors, again I buy them in a XXL and they fit me fine.

Sports Bra:

I keep it simple these days with Champion Sports Bras. I’m a DDD and I find that their 2XL sizes support me well. I picked mine up at a Mom and Pop store here in Harlem, but you can grab yours from Amazon.

I also got the BEST water bottle from amazon. Camelbak lets you sip water without tipping the bottle, you just bite on the valve and the water comes out easily, which I love when I’m on the elliptical. It helps me not have to stop in order to hydrate. Of course, I got mine in pink but there are lots of colors to choose from.

So, that’s the breakdown of what I wear to the gym. I’m comfortable in it and I feel good wearing it which makes me want to go to the gym even more… sometimes its the little things that motivate you. To be honest, finding out that I could rock New Balance gear was the most exciting thing for me… because it’s a mainstream brand, I totally assumed I wouldn’t be able to wear their workout clothes but I was wrong!

What do YOU wear to the gym?

On Saturday, I hosted “Love Songs & Curvy Conversations” at Lenox Coffee. It was my first event and it was sold out!!!

I put together a few pics for those of you who missed it (click on the images to make them bigger) and I’ll have video up soon. I want to thank my sponsors for being so supportive of TheBigGirlBlog and giving away great prizes. Thank you Match.com for giving away TWO memberships… I think the winners are going to have lots of fun with that

SimplyBe is one of my favorite places to shop right now and they were kind enough to raffle TWO $100 giftcards to TBGB followers. I can’t wait to see what the winners choose, I know they’re going to look adorable!

We also got to hear from Tiffany from the Foxcroft collection (she’s wearing a foxcroft denim shirt that comes in plussize! You can see me wearing it here), Foxcroft gave away three shirts to facebook followers and attendees who spoke up and shared their stories.

The best part of the evening was meeting my Plus Size Princesses, I feel like I know you all from your comments/tweets/emails but being able to hug each of you and hear your stories meant a lot to me. (Special shout out to Nora who drove all the way from Connecticut! And to the Mom & sis from Saint Lucia who were visiting and hung out with us xoxo)

I could not have done this without Alex Lawrence, my pianist and best friend (I’ve known him since the 2nd grade!!) finding friends who will stand by you and support you 100% is rare these days, I love him so much- follow him on twitter @alexlawrens.

Speaking of supportive friends, I was glad that my friend Ms. Kathryn Finney was able to come too, she is so busy but she made time for me! I also had blogger buddies in the building, Alyssa from StylishCurves and Shaina from aThickGirlsCloset both came out and we all kinda matched in our color scheme… werk!

You can see more pics from #CurvyConvoNYC on my facebook page.

Lastly, I want to announce that my next event, “Cardio & Curvy Conversations” will be held at New York Sports Club on October 27th! Want to come workout with me? Register here!