Hey Loves,

I've always Theary Sim as a plus designer. She always has such a great eye for color, vibrancy & texture in the clothing she produces. So of course you can imagine I was quite excited to see the look book for her S/S 2014 Viva Collection. If you weren't ready for spring before, this most certainly will get you ready.

To the plus size women of the world,

The title says it all. This is my open letter to women that say they want quality but don't want to pay the price for quality. Within the last couple of days since Monif C released more of her bathing suits for the season, I have been reading a lot of the comments and the common statements that I continuously see is...

"I won't pay $200 for a bathing suit"

"It's too expensive."

"Why are her things always so expensive"

"$200 for a bathing suit uhhhhhh....no"

It truly grinds my gears to hear plus size women complain about pricing. So many of us are the 1st ones to say that we want quality clothing. We petition and take to social media in order to grab the attention of the fashion industry. We want brands & designers to create pieces for us that will cater to vast differences of our curves but still be functional. We want the same attention to detail and quality that is given to straight size women. We want the swimsuit that holds the "girls" up, holds in our "guts" creates clean lines for our curves & won't fall a part or lose it's shape after a few wears. But when plus size designers like Monif  C. who every year produces multiple bathing suits that will encompass most if not all of these aforementioned criteria and charge $200 we don't want to pay for that. We want b***h & moan and say "I'm not paying for that" We want to say "well forever 21 has something similar for $30" Here's our reality, you will never get Monif quality with forever 21 price tag. If you want quality you have to pay for quality. It's cliche, but it's so true.

Now don't get me wrong. I have no issue with shopping at Forever 21 as I am an avid shopper there. I  know it is easier & cheaper to run to your local Forever 21, or your local Target or Walmart and buy a swimsuit.  I also understand that if you aren't someone that goes to a beach or pool often, then spending $200 on a bathing suit might not be smart. And some of us are in a position where we just don't have the budget to spend $200 on a swimsuit. I get it, but what you have to understand, is that everything can't be cheap. Especially when a brand puts tremendous thought behind the construction of clothing, particularly plus size clothing.

I can say speaking from experience the quality & the care the goes into each & every one of Monif's bathing suits is top notch. And that is what you have to understand. You can't want a champagne life with beer bottle pockets. It doesn't work that way.



And some of you will make the argument that just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's of good quality. In some cases that may be true. But I pose this challenge to you, purchase a Monif C bathing suit, then purchase one cheap bathing suit, and tell me you don't feel the obvious difference. As plus size women we require more from clothing, with that typically comes a higher price tag for somethings.

Charging in the hundreds for a bathing suit is nothing new in fashion. Designer bathing suits for straight size women can be JUST as expensive and they have a fraction of the material we do. That should tell you something. All I'm saying is stop complaining about price. If want you cheap stick to forever 21 & target bathing suits. If that's all you can afford that's fine. No judgement, because if you can rock the life out of the bathing suit then 2 snaps & a twirl to you. But there are plenty of brands that make more affordable swimsuits (Torrid, Lane Bryant, Josephine Swim, Becca Etc. Sorella Swim, Swimsuits for All)

Maybe a Monif C bathing suit is not for you. But we can't demand the best then turn around & not want to pay the price. Ladies we have to do better.

xoxo
Shay

Hey Loves,

You ever go shopping and then find such a great pieces for GREAT price. Well this happen to me the other day. I was browsing around in Macys when I made a stop in their I.N.C sale section. I found this great black Chanel inspired blazer. after trying it on and seeing the price I knew it would be mine. And let's face it, a black blazer is always must in ones closet.

Hey Loves,

Let me say THANK YOU to everyone that came out on Saturday to sweat it out with me at my very 1st blogger event. It really was an amazing time. About 30 young ladies came out to Pearl Studios in Midtown dressed in their great workout clothes and a bundle of energy. My Sweat N' Style class was to celebrate my 3 years of blogging. The class was a mixture of zumba & a salsa class. It was nice to see the plus size women come together to workout. And to see all of them enjoy themselves really warmed my heart.

Hey Loves,

You ever find an amazing piece of clothing at a thrift store, but not completely sure what you plan to do with it just yet. That's what happened with this printer bomber jacket. I got it from a thrift store some time at the end of the year, but couldn't find the right look to go with it just yet. But when I decided to play dress up with this vintage double split dress I knew I had a good combo.

Hey Loves,

Thank you to Ty Alexander of Gorgeous in Grey for this opportunity. I had the chance to attend the Dark & lovely  Love my CURLS event the other day. It was to launch their Au Naturale anti-breakage product line. With food my Chef Roble, an appearance/live performance by Marsha Ambrosius and great drinks flowing, it was a fantastic night.

Au Naturale Anti-Breakage treatment collection has NO drying alcohol, NO mineral oil, NO petrolatum, and NO parabens and is fortified with nutritive ingredients to fight damage and help grow hair longer, 4 inches yearly. The NEW Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Anti-Breakage collection is now available in mass, drug and beauty supply stores nationwide.

Hey Loves,

This post was inspired by one of my favorite blogger Jessica Torres of Tiny Red Shoes. For the obvious reasons right?! I'm so in love with this look. I love when the ideas that I have in my head actually come to life on my body. A lot of times different looks swirl in my head at random or I'll see some thing in a store or a magazine & get immediately inspired.

Hey Loves,


This post is way over due. The morning of my birthday, I had the awesome pleasure of being able to take an up close & personal look at the new plus size luxury line known as Of Whonder. The showroom was so beautiful and I was very impressed with the pieces I was able to see. I saw them in pictures but to see them up close, I can honestly say this line is well crafted & of the utmost quality. Something we haven't seen from any other plus size clothing in the plus industry.

Hey Loves,

In case you didn't know last night aired he 86th annual Academy Awards. Naturally like any blogger, I was glued to the the tv to see what all the major stars were wearing. And of course to see if Lupita Nyong'o winds best supporting actress. And she did! But as all the stars made their way down the red carpet a select few stood out to me. So let's take a look shall we?