You may recall in my this post that I’ve been struggling for over two years to find some knee high boots for my fat calves. Thanks to a commenter kimstrauss I had ordered these boots from Lane Bryant: http://bit.ly/cY237m which I had shipped to my local store (free shipping this way) and what do you know? The measurements on the site? Not accurate. Well…okay, I ordered an 8W. I always wear 8W in shoes, unless it’s a generally wider shoe, like my beloved Keens. The boots were way too big in the foot and ankle while the calf, though the elastic would have you believe there’s give and then some, were too small. In fact I could only get them zipped half way up and even that was with some serious work!

So my search continues. Finding a boot with a 20″ calf and 8w shoe size? I’m thinking it’s nearly impossible at this point. I have scoured the interwebz and frankly, I’m sick of searching. I still long for lovely shit-kickers that I can pair with cute dresses (ahhh, my grunge days), but for now I think I will just wait and see what other fats post on Fatshionista (on Livejournal.com) or other blogs. I had such high hopes for those LB boots. I must admit though that they were very cheaply made as the part that connects the foot part to the upper leg part seemed glued together shoddily. Just sayin’! This was the same issue I had with Avenue’s boots last year, couldn’t zip ’em up and even if they had fit? They were so cheaply made they wouldn’t have lasted one night of dancing.

My friend Carmen still holds hope for my boot lust. She insists that there must be a way…and there is, but I cannot afford more than $100 right now. I can’t afford even that but I can make it work at least. No, my patience will be tested again and I will gaze greenly at the other ladies of the world happily sauntering around in their gorgeous boots of awesome.

What was interesting was chatting with the sales gal at LB about my boot ventures and Fat Acceptance. She seemed so confused about retailers not responding to what is an obvious demand by consumers. I laughed at this, hard! Luckily she’s in nursing school and won’t have to be stuck in retail for long. She was sweet. Part of me misses that naivete, but then again? That was before I found FA, so no thanks.

Have you found mad-rad boots? Let me know all about it!

What: My first ever giveaway, yo! Oh, what do you get? Any one handmade item of your choice from my Etsy shop! Great for gifting or for yourself. Woo! (Winner will be chosen at random by using one of those randomater-sites, have to find one, suggestions welcome!)

When: Starting today until September 30th. Winner will be announced on Friday October 1st!

How: You may enter 4 ways/times 1.) by commenting below with your email address 2.) by posting the link to this post on  Twitter 3.) by posting the link to this post on your Facebook and 4.) by linking to this post on your own blog/journal. Easy-peasy! Please include your username for tweets and FB posts so I can see them.

Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter: @Notblueatall!

Thanks!  =0)

I have been searching for a pair of knee-high boots to fit my fat calves for two years now. I’ve just about had it! Except that I still really want a pair. It’s almost become this sort of fantasy that once I have my perfect pair of black boots I can do anything I want. It’s my ticket to the ultimate independent bad-ass girl party of the millennium! NOT! But I don’t know, I just feel like they are the reason I don’t wear the dresses I have. It’s like a big jig saw puzzle with the center piece missing.

So sad that I put so much stock into an inanimate object…especially something as silly as boots! I mean, I probably won’t even be able to wear them to work for either comfort reasons or just not wanting to get coffee grounds all over them. So why does this mean so much to me? It’s like they’re the holy grail to me. I can’t speak for all fat gals, but it does seem like a bit of an equalizer. Usually shoes are one thing that thin & fats can shop for together without worry about sizing issues!

Being of the death fat persuasion (some will define this as being over a size 26 or over 300 lbs, either way, that’s moi!), my calves are larger than many fats. At their widest, my calves measure 19″, but that’s not the only issue. I also wear a woman’s size 8 shoe (occasional wide width, depends on the style/brand). There is the problem I’ve found. While many knee-high boots come in larger calf widths, it’s usually only in larger shoe sizes! I was so stoked about a fatshionista post about some boots for $27.99 at Target that fit her that I ran out and tried ’em on…no dice! She wears a size 11 and thus the size 8 they had was way too narrow in the calf to even zip. *sigh*

I dream of dresses with big ole shit-stompers! Cute romper-ish dresses (like overalls, but a dress) with combat boots! Or the old grunge way of wearing a granny dress with big tough boots on! YES! THIS! And the truth is, I probably can get some boots that will fit, but nowhere near what I can afford. And there is the rub for me. When I had the money I couldn’t find any boots and now that I don’t have a dime to my name I know exactly where I can get some…for $200+!!!

So, I’m a big baby and a whiner and it’s true. It’s the one thing I feel is missing from my wardrobe. It’s such a cute-ass look, ya know? UGH! I will surely drive myself crazy with this pursuit. I know this, yet I still search. For used boots. For cheaper boots. People keep saying Torrid has them, but I don’t wear heels, yo! I need a biker/harness style or some other low heeled boot of great construction. They need to take a beating and then ask for more! I want to wear them with girly things and then to goth night! It’s my fantasy after all.

All this talk of boots, I might as well show my faves so far:

1. “Sphere” Ros Hommerson 2. “Channel” Ros Hommerson 3. “Ashley” David Tate 4. “Vine” Duo

Those last ones, I just found yesterday, may not even fit me as the reviews say they have a very narrow ankle. But I love them so! I would even go for a more engineer style boot. But alas, none shall fit my Cinderella-esque calves! Ha! Those first three should fit, but I bought some Ros Hommerson boots before and they claimed to be wide calf, but they didn’t even come close! So I keep looking and waiting and hoping and maybe one fine day I’ll find my dream boots.

Yes, I do realize that I could buy some boots that fit my feet and then get some magical cobbler to put in a gusset or shaft of elastic or leather to make the calf fit…but in the end it would cost more than buying some that do fit (or so I have heard). I did find some cute ones at The Avenue last winter. I tried them on, they were cute as hell, but they wouldn’t zip up. And when I looked at the display model? It was falling apart all over, but especially the sole! Nuts!

Do you feel there is a giant missing puzzle piece to your wardrobe? Tell me all about it!  =0)

Oh my sweeties! I have had one hell of a week, and it ain’t over yet! I know I haven’t been very posty lately, and I do apologize for that, but with all of the madness that is running your own business while also dealing with random maladies, well, it just happens.

I was doing my usual reading of various blogs in the fat-o-sphere and came across this list of the top 40 fat fashion blogs when I had a sudden realization: I may have fallen out of love with FATshion!

Please, don’t feel sorry for me. It happens to the best of us. Things do tend to wax and wane, yes? I just don’t know. I think it may have started when I went to Big Moves Bay Area’s Cupcake & Muffintops 2.0 last month. I was at first overwhelmed with what to look at and try on and buy and then mega-underwhelmed when a pile of bottoms (mostly denim & capris) did not fit. I did buy some tops, but left with the weight of disappointment on my shoulders.

Next was the “Kaden” boots from Target that were posted on LiveJournal’s Fatshionista community with the promise of affordability and fit for larger calves…alas, it simply wasn’t so (unless you wear a size 11). And finally, when I went back to Target the next day to try on this Converse One Star dress (I was so bummed by the boots that I left without perusing the plus clothes) and it didn’t fit either. Maybe that is when I fell out of love with fatshion.

Or perhaps it is entirely due to the fact that I no longer have any sort of personal income with which to buy anything over $10. I had to save my tips for an entire week for the Cupcake & Muffintops 2.0 last month. All $29 of it were spent there, too. Glad I went. I had an incredible dark chocolate cupcake and got to talk to so many lovely fats. But damn. When you look forward to something long enough I guess it just builds up in your mind until it cannot possibly live up to whatever it is you think it should be. Like those damned boots!

I hate to sound bitter, but I have wanted some knee-high boots to wear with dresses for over two years now. And with all of my internet resources, wisdom and secrets I’ve still come up short. And damn, those boots would have looked amazing in that Converse dress, yo! Ha-ha! Of course it all plays into my fantasy of creating the ultimate grunge (to me at least) outfit. I suppose in the truest sense of it though, the heart of grunge, was to made due with what’s available or cheap or handy and not about buying brand names and whatnot. And certainly the things I had wanted to buy were/are cheap.

There is another reason: My current closet/wardrobe situation. It’s a nightmare! I have a pile of things I want to sell, donate and reorganize but never find the time/inspiration/motivation to even tackle it. I know, I know…little steps. Commit to one small task at a time, thus less guilt to harbor. But you gotta know by now, I just don’t do things the easy way. And we have so much less space for things than we used to. With fall & winter on their way I am looking forward to digging out the cardis and sweaters and layers! Oh how I love layers! But I also live in CA and that means those are probably a bit far off for now.

How do you organize your clothes? By season? By occasion (formal/casual/etc)? I have a friend who organizes all of her clothes by color! She even has hangers that match each item! I can’t get behind that because it would drive me insane. But I am open to your creative suggestions or advice! Please, help me fall back in love with fatshion, even if it’s just my own wardrobe!

Thanks for reading.  =0)

*Listening to Presidents of the USA “Everybody wants to be naked & famous” and loving it!

First thing’s first! The blogs!!! I had the unbelievable pleasure of meeting two great ladies yesterday. And guess what? They both have blogs full of fattitude!

Please give some love to:
awellroundedventure.com  &  bargainfatshionista.blogspot.com

And I love a good Q & A so I took the liberty of snagging this one from bargainfatshionista.blogspot.com

1. If you didn’t have to work or go to school, how would you choose to spend your time?

I would love to travel, but that would mean being away from my husband (he doesn’t like to travel) and our companion animals. I may take a trip or two on my own or with friends and then try to settle a bit before going back to any type of routine. I guess in the end though, I would really like to help the fat/size/body acceptance community & movement along as best I can. It means a lot to me as it has helped me so very much in my own life. I am not sure what that would look like, but I just want everyone in the world to know that they are worth every ounce of effort and energy in the journey to positive self acceptance. It seems so simple, but we all know it’s not. I have thought about possibly starting some sort of outreach program, but I’d have to do a lot of research first. Ha-ha!

2. Do you have a lucky piece of clothing? (e.g. lucky socks)

Hmmm, I’m not sure I have anything “lucky” at the moment. I definitely have a bunch of favorite items that I wear endlessly. Like the carrot-leaf-pearl necklace my very good friend bought me when I opened my cafe, I wear it nearly every day. And my growing collection of big wooden laser-cut earrings. Guess nothing lucky though.

3. What is your least favorite food?

Least? Wow! Oh! I know! Eggplant, yellow mustard and lima beans. I know, silly stuff to hate so much, but you know, I keep trying them and realizing that yes, I do hate them. Ha-ha!

4. What is one thing you absolutely must do before you die?

Oh I like this one! I must sing in a band at least for on live gig. It’s been a dream since High School or earlier and now I am just determined to do it. Even if I have to do everything myself, hire musicians and do it that way. I would of course prefer to meet awesome people and go the old school route, but it just needs to happen, so I won’t be too picky!

5. Should fashion be taken seriously?

Yes, but not too seriously! I am certainly not for starting an actual fashion police. I think it’s fabulous when items are mis-matched to a ridiculour or over-the-top way. But I tend to find glamor in things much less than what most would consider glamorous. I love fashion, but I also don’t live for it. I just enjoy finding my own style and staying true to me and right now that means comfort is the priority.

6. What triggered your decision to begin loving and accepting your body?

I was sick of hearing it’s not okay to be fat, that it’s a disease or something to be fought in a war. That combined with being surrounded by office gals on weight watchers and such and hearing them compete in how little they ate each day. It makes me sick! I knew I was ready to get off of the hamster wheel, but wasn’t sure how until I discovered FA (Fat Acceptance) through a BUST magazine article on the U.K. Chubsters ( a fatty gang). I never looked back!

7. What are you passionate about?

Life! It sounds cliche, but it’s the truth. I find that with every passing year there is more to love in the world. The more I learn and grow and see the more I realize that life is full of excitement and mystery and fabulous nature and beyond. Okay, so I’m a hippie at heart! Ha-ha! You caught me!
8. Have you ever considered quitting blogging? If so, why?

I have and I have also stopped for awhile. Mostly because I lose steam or inspiration. I’m an artist in many things and I follow my inspirations where they lead me. I am at their whim, so to speak. So, when one well dries up I move on to the next. I may be post crazy one month and then post very little the next. I find it’s just a natural flux, but it also allows me room to breath and experience other forms of art as well.