Repost from Glorify: Making fatshion accessible to all, required for none

A recent Facebook conversation I had with a few friends about fashion reminded me of this post I wrote last March. It was originally posted at Glorify: Basecamp for the Fat Acceptance Web, which unfortunately no longer exists, so I decided to re-post it here.

Making fatshion accessible for all, required for none

It’s an uncomfortable reality that fatshion, which is liberating for so many fat people, can also be alienating–even heartbreaking–for others.

I think it’s important to both 1.) make room in fat acceptance for all voices, not just the ones who are into fatshion and 2.) keep pushing to broaden the accessibility of plus size clothing, in terms of both cost and size.

Some fatties just aren’t into clothing, and that’s totally ok. It’s important to share the voices of a wide range of fatties with different experiences and focuses–which is something Glorify does really well.

At the same time, we can’t stop pushing to make fatshion as accessible as possible for those who want it.

On the Cost Front

Clothing swaps and bargain shopping events, like the Big Thrifty here in Boston, are a good way to make awesome clothing affordable to the many fatties who can’t afford the newest ASOS Curve or Domino Dollhouse designs. (Not to mention a great way to build fat community and model a sustainable economic system.) They’re becoming more and more popular–I read about a new event every week!

The downside is that such events usually take place in cities, which leaves out rural fatties. One alternative for them is online clothing exchange communities like Fatshionxchange. Most of the clothing is super-cheap, and there are some gems to be found.

I’ve both sold and bought clothing on Fatshionxchange, and I’ve gotten some great items for way cheaper than their list price. Unlike buying directly from the manufacturer, though, there are no returns or exchanges–so it works best for buying items of a brand or style you’re already familiar with.

On the Size Front

Kath of Fat Heffalump has been a leader in advocating for clothes for supersize fatties. She has offered to help plus size companies expand their lines, has gotten both Autograph and Target Australia to expand their plus size offerings, and started a Super Sizes Facebook group as a launchpad for more activism. She also has a thread for recommending companies that carry sizes above 3x/24.

A while back, Ariel of Kiddotrue started a campaign to expand ASOS Curve’s size range, although unfortunately it never took off. Should we try again with ASOS, maybe with a petition or emails in addition to a Twitter campaign? Is there another strategy that might work better, or other brands that might be more receptive?

Quick blog note

Due to spending most of the weekend at the sci-fi/fantasy convention Arisia (which was awesome, btw! I’ll have pictures and outfit posts coming soon), this week’s Sunday Links will instead be Monday Links.

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 1/15/14

The Blog of Worldly Delights

Night Lights

Another thing money can buy: time

Money doesn’t buy only job opportunities, kindness, and compassion: it can also buy time.

Last night, I was poking around the Transition Lab‘s website (because yes, I still have fantasies about doing it, even though I probably won’t for a whole bunch of reasons), and I noticed an announcement about two new work-exchange scholarships they’re offering:

At Transition Lab, we face an irony: While building a new economy, we still need to charge tuition in order to pay our bills in the old economy. Yet, the students who would benefit the most from our program don’t have a lot of money, because the traditional economy isn’t working out for them. It’s a double bind that is preventing the new economy to take off.

So we are going to take an innovative leap to break this cycle: We are offering the two remaining slots in our 2014 Co-Creator Program as gifts in exchange for the gifts that students can offer our program. That’s right- full tuition to two students in exchange for what they can gift us in return. Really? Yep. Gifts for Gifts.

It’s great that the people at Transition Lab recognize this double bind and are working to make their program more accessible.

But it reminded me how easily money can serve as a substitute for time and energy. People who can afford TL’s tuition can just go, no strings attached; those who can’t have to come up with a skill that’s useful to others, and then spend their time and energy practicing it throughout the program.

It’s similar to all the festivals and events that offer volunteer slots in return for free or reduced admission. Those who can afford tickets have the luxury of spending their time however they want; those who can’t, don’t. Volunteering isn’t necessarily bad–it can be fun if you do it with a group of friends. It can be a good way to practice your skills and learn new ones. But it can also be exhausting. Sometimes you just want to relax and enjoy yourself without having to work.

And that’s not even getting into the many, many people who work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, who wouldn’t have the time to go to festivals or events if they wanted to.

I want a different world: a world in which free time isn’t a luxury, but a right. A world in which people have the time and energy to explore who they are and what they want to do.

Reducing the standard work week to 21 hours, spreading out work more evenly across the population, and instituting a basic minimum income would go a long way toward making that possible.

Speaking of which, Alyssa Battistoni’s recent essay in Jacobin Magazine, Alive in the Sunshine, is a must-read. She argues that reducing the workweek and instituting a basic minimum income is necessary to achieve both economic justice and environmental sustainability–and would also give people the time to build communities and enjoy life.

Her analysis reminds me of my favorite book, Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy, condensed into a form that’s both more succinct and more specific about policy goals. It also reminds me of this great video about visualizing a plentitude economy, made by Juliet Schor (whom Battistoni quotes) and the Center for a New American Dream:

This is the world I want to build.

(Note: just to be clear, I think Transition Lab is going great work toward building that world, and I’m not disagreeing with or attacking their decisions at all. I’m just using them as an example to illustrate my train of thought about the ways in which, in our current system, people with less money often end up with less free time and less control over how they spend their time.)

Sometimes bodies are frustrating: on weight fluctuations and stretchy clothes

This dress doesn’t fit anymore, but it makes a great wall hanging.

I’m really, really jealous of the people whose weight never changes, no matter what they eat or how much they exercise or how stressed out they get. I’m pretty sure that either Lesley or Marianne, possibly both, has written about staying the same weight for a decade; damn, I wish my body would do that.

Fatshion, for me, is all about using my body as a canvas–and that’s hard to do when it keeps changing.

When I first found fat acceptance and stopped trying to lose weight, my weight settled around 200 lbs, dropped to 180-ish for no discernible reason, and then stayed there for a few years. Then, due to a combination of anxiety keeping me from some of my favorite forms of movement and other factors, I gained weight over the course of a year or two and ended up around 235/240. I’ve been there for two or three years with only minor fluctuations, but I’m constantly aware that my weight could shift again.

Right now, I’m don’t want my weight to change in either direction.  If I lose weight, most of the wardrobe I’ve built over the last few years will no longer fit; and I’ve gradually given away or sold most of the clothing that’s currently too small. If my body decides to get smaller, I’ll be kicking myself for giving away the black and beige lace evening gown, the blue/pink/brown ’60s-floral-print sundress, the eggplant satin button-down top with ruffles…

But if my body decides to get bigger, not only will most of my current clothes no longer fit, but I’ll have significantly fewer options for buying new ones. As it is, I already wear the largest or second-largest size in many plus size lines, especially junior’s plus like Wet Seal, Forever 21, and Deb.

It’s a bit precarious to wear a size 22, knowing that many plus size lines stop at 24, and that your body may well get bigger as you age (and possibly have children, not to mention other factors that can affect weight). Here I want to pause and give a shout-out to a few brands that go beyond 3x/24: Domino Dollhouse, ASOS Curve, Simply Be, Yours, Love Your Peaches, Ashley Nell Tipton, Cult of California, Torrid, ModCloth, eShakti, Sealed With a Kiss, and Chubby Cartwheels.

So I buy mostly stretchy items–most of my clothes can stretch to fit 10, 20, even 30-pound weight fluctuations. I even have one magic skirt that has fit comfortably at every size from 160 lbs to 240. Seriously, it deserves its own movie.

Same skirt, 8 years and 80 pounds apart. (Some aspects of my style never change, huh?)

And I keep hoping that my body will chill out and stay the same size indefinitely, even though I know it’s ultimately out of my control.

Sunday links 1/12/2014

Steve on the beach during our Christmas travels

Fa(t)shion
-So exciting: Linda Dianne is making a short film about fatshion, focusing on the Fatshionista LJ community in its heyday, as her Master’s thesis.
–La Farfa: body diversity in a Japanese fashion magazine.
-The Trans Clothes Swap offers a way for trans people to access the clothes that fit their gender. Cisgender people can donate as well.
-Tracy of Chubble Bubble (aka woman behind Domino Dollhouse) is pregnant! She lists her favorite plus size maternity clothes.
–18 body positive style bloggers you should be following.
-I love this redesigned wedding dress covered in skulls, and this actual wedding dress made of hand-dyed silk in purple-blue-green ombre.
–Sonsi final sale includes sizes 4x and 30/32.
-Autostraddle interviews the always-fatshionable Lydia of Style is Style.
–6 body-positive, affordable style resolutions for 2014.
-Georgina of Cupcake’s Clothes is selling a bunch of cute stuff in sizes UK 24 – 32 (US 22 – 30).

Fat Acceptance
-I so wish I could be in London for the Fat Babe Meetup!
-Melissa takes on the myth that all fat people are lazy or weak.
-Marilyn Wann recaps her 2013 in fat activism.
-The author of this piece sounds so awesome: I’m fat, forty, and single, and I have no problem getting laid all the time.
–Food sins: a primer for the confused. I plead guilty to worshipping cheeses…
–The FTC busts diet companies for fraud.
–Traffic light labels on food would be a green light for fat-shaming. UGH.
–Why does every bit of science reporting about fat cells have to turn into a conversation about “curing” obesity?
–No more media stitch-ups! Developing media literacy through fat activist community research.
-The problem with “then you lose weight.”

I love this cover of Mary Lambert’s “She Keeps Me Warm.” (Also, I love Mary Lambert! I keep meaning to write a post about her awesomeness as a proud fat, queer femme…)

OOTD: Ringing in 2014 with my glamorous friends

Dress: Eloquii via Gwynnie Bee, sandals: Naot, headband: Crown & Glory, bangles: Deb and Torrid, necklace, earrings, and wristband: So Good, clutch: eBay

I had a wonderful New Year’s Eve party, which I described a bit here. It was one of those nights that makes me so grateful for my friends and community.

OOTD: Pastel goth and fat thrifting day!

A month or two ago, I organized a fat thrifting day through the Boston-Area Fatties Meetup Group, and it was a success! We only ended up going to two stores, but we had a ton of fun browsing together, and we all found some great stuff.

One of my favorite finds was this ridiculous (or ridiculously awesome?) pleated purple top:

First I thought it was a skirt, then a poncho, and then I finally realized it had sleeves.

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 1/8/2013

Spashionista

And I Get Dressed

OOTD: Holiday stars and sparkles

One of the benefits of having a non-Jewish partner is that I get to celebrate twice as many holidays. 🙂

This is the outfit I wore to spend Christmas with Steve’s family in Brooklyn:

Dress: Domino Dollhouse via Facebook resale community FatToo, teggings: Re/Dress, shoes: Naot, cardigan: Kohl’s, headband: Target, bangles: Torrid and Deb, earrings, necklace, and wristband: So Good

I was so happy when I found this dress on FatToo. I had originally admired it, but was waiting to buy it–and then it went out of stock after the initial run, due to a problem with one of DD’s suppliers. Finding it on a resale community was such a stroke of luck, and it fits perfectly–it’s so comfortable and I love how it looks on me.