The Big Thrifty!

Saturday was the most exciting shopping event of the year: The Big Thrifty. It’s an annual bargain-shopping event where people donate  plus size clothing in advance, pay $5 to get in, and then get to hunt through piles of awesome clothing priced at thrift-store prices. The proceeds go to charity, so it’s win-win all around.

Fabulous fatshionistas in line, waiting for the event to start (from the Big Thrifty’s Facebook page)

The Big Thrifty is awesome both because it’s a chance to try on clothing in person–which makes it easier to try new styles and brands–and because of the sense of fat community. Although it was uncomfortably crowded, everyone was friendly and polite. In the dressing room–which was a veritable celebration of fat bodies–everyone was passing clothing around and complimenting how items looked on other people.

It was wonderful to be among so many fabulous fatties: friends, internet friends, blog idols, and strangers, all joined in the pursuit of great clothing. And it made me happy to see the clothing I donated going to good homes!

I scored some awesome stuff, including a Deerie Lou t-shirt from Torrid, a pink prom dress (!), a turquoise Igigi sundress, a purple ruffled sleeveless top, and a bolero with cherry appliques. I’ll post more about my finds soon, once I’ve had the chance to photograph them. I have some OOTDs coming as well, both from the day of the event, and from that night (when I went to a party wearing the Igigi dress) and the next day (when I went to a May Fair wearing the Deerie Lou shirt).

The Big Thrifty includes men’s clothing, so Steve was able to find some stuff as well!

The sense of community got me thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to have an event like a picnic where we fatties could all frolic together? Something with the positive sense of solidarity of the Big Thrifty, but without being crammed into a dusty, crowded room (which, unfortunately, gave me a headache that kept coming back throughout the day…blehh).

So I’m going to plan a Fabulous Fatties Frolic, which will most likely involve a picnic in a park in Cambridge. Stay tuned for details!