It is rare that I read the features in Vogue; whether it is online or in the magazine I always skim through the articles.  But today as I browsed through the website this caught my attention, “A relative giant in the world of fashion, supermodel Lara Stone has struggled to fit in. But could her unexpected success mean the return of curves?” A feature in Vogue devoted to Lara Stone!  I would be stupid not to read the article, so I did, not once but twice. 

I couldn’t believe how open she was about her struggles as a size four model. Even after she was ridiculed and rejected at many of her casting calls she kept on pushing the success of her dream. She’s a size four!  Was the vision of these people that ridiculed her set in wide screen?  A size four in women's plus size clothing is tiny.  But just like any other model she tried losing weight every which way.  For Lara losing weight slowly became a problem, she couldn’t get down to an “acceptable size”.  After the diet plans failed Lara developed a really bad drinking problem.  Her drinking got so bad that she couldn’t function unless she started out her day with a drink.      

Although Lara claims that she does not blame her problem on the industry it is clear that the fashion industry is exactly what caused her drinking problem.  She has the curves of a real woman and clothes look great on her, but because of the few people that said otherwise Lara drank away the pain of knowing she could never be thin enough.  She played off her drinking problem very well so it wasn’t until she herself noticed how bad she looked and felt that her problem became real. 

Lara checked herself into a rehabilitation center and thankfully beat her drinking habits.  She’s going on eight months sober and at a size four Lara Stone has hit the catwalk for some of fashions greatest designers.  She is easily one of my favorite models; I can relate to her, women can relate to her. 

Karl Lagerfeld?

In a previous post, I wrote about some disparaging things that Karl Lagerfeld had to say about plus size women.  Well, in the new issue of V Magazine, dedicated to plus size women's clothing, he will be photographing the models.  V Editor, Stephen Gan, said "Big, little, pint-size, plus-size — every body is beautiful. And this issue is out to prove it."  So with the inaugaral issue of the new year, he will be dedicating it to the women of normal proportion.

I love this idea and definitely agree.  I also hope that this issue does well so that it will become a favorable trend for other magazine publications, and then hopefully will become a norm.  Plus size women need to be represented and given exposure, because as well all know, we are the normal women

Gabourey Sidibe has been in the media spotlight recently, she hit it big!  "Gabby" is the young, plus size, actress in the movie "Precious" that is in theaters now.  "Precious" is the story of a 350-pound teenager, who is pregnant with her second child-by her father.  Her mother is physically and verbally abusive.  The film has done remarkably at the Cannes Film Festival and has been critically acclaimed as one of the best movies of the year.


The casting directors for this movie did an "American Idol" style audition system.  They traveled to multiple states, McDonald's, Macy's, colleges, and high schools.  In the end, they auditioned about 500 girls, and still weren't satisfied with their top ten.  Alice Tan Ridley auditioned for the part of Precious' mother.  She encouraged her daughter Gabby to audition for the part of Precious and instantly got the part.

This movie has changed her life.  She is now on TV and on the covers of magazines wearing designer plus size womens clothing.  She looks great and presents herself with such confidence that a lot of people wish they had.  She is a great spokes model for young plus size women and I wish her continued success!

Recently I have been doing some online shopping.  I am suppose to be shopping for Christmas gifts, but haven't been able to resist shopping for myself.  Here are some cute items I am thinking about purchasing:


By IGIGI                                              By IGIGI                                             By Ulla Popken





  By Ulla Popken

I recently read an article that says that high quality sleep can make you slimmer.  There are two hormones that affect hunger, leptin and ghrelin.  :Leptin tells the brain that we are full and ghrelin signals our brains that we are hungry.  These two hormones are affected when we sleep.  Poor and deficient sleep, makes the leptin hormone decrease, telling your brain that your stomach is empty.  Moreover, ghrelin levels increase, signaling the need for more food.  Researchers feel that these two hormones are overall affects by energy levels, attributed to getting good sleep.

Although a person may be getting 8-9 hours of sleep, the regular-recommended time for rest, its their quality of sleep that affects these hormones.  Often, people suffering from sleep aptnea, have imbalances in they leptin and ghrelin levels.

I have a friend at work that is tired every morning and always says that he gets "bad sleep."  He is also always starving in the mornings.  So I have personally seen a direct correlation between the two factors.

So, lets all slip into our most comfortable sleeping clothes, for me a hoodie and a my plus size yoga pants, and try to get the best sleep as possible!