Bowtied Hair and Not-So-Bad Hair Days

My heart goes out to all those ladies with thin or fine hair. And if you have both, I'm terribly sorry.

See, I'm one of those lucky individuals who has the combination of thin AND fine hair. Which means, I often don't have enough hair to do elaborate to voluminous hair styles, and I also don't have enough texture to get hairstyles to stay in place.

I know that the grass is always greener on the other side, but there are days when I just hate my hair.

But yesterday I happened to be brushing my teeth and couldn't help but notice how wonderfully thick my hair was looking thanks to a new shampoo. So I thought, why not play around?

Result:

TADA! A Bowtie to be proud of!

How I did it (for thin and/or fine haired women):

Start with Head and Shoulders Men's Shampoo Thinning Solutions, but don't condition! Conditioner will just weight your strands down.

Towel dry your hair and spritz in a light leave in conditioner if needed, otherwise skip to the next step.

Use a good lightweight volumizing mousse. For those who use salon products, try Joico Body Luxe Design Foam. It's not dense like many mousse products so it's optimal for my fine haired friends.

Blow dry upside down with heat. Make sure you get your roots well to help increase the lift in your hair.

Let your hair completely dry and cool down. If hair is damp or even warm it's still impressionable and can loose it's thickness if you play around with it too much.

Once dry, pull your hair up into a high topknot using a thin hair elastic. Don't be afraid to flip your hair upside down to achieve the height. Pull your hair through the elastic, but on your final round loop a floppy bun with the remainder of your bun pointed at your face. You will need this part.

With your bun created, split it in half to form the rounded bow part. Reach through and pull your extra hair over the middle to create the "knot". Pin in place.

Take the hair spray of your choice and smooth down all the edges, or leave them or an edgy look.

And you're done! It might take a few tries, but once you get it it's a cool trick to have for life.

As soon as I wrack up the courage I will post a video showing how I did it. Until then, try searching for it on youtube.com for a better visual reference. 

What do you think? Will you try this for your everyday, or maybe keep it as a holiday party trick? Let me know in the comments!

The Printed Pants Debate

I'm a very adventurous plus sized women, but there are some trends that come along that I'm just not sure about.

Now, I'll admit that I was strictly no skinny jeans when they first came out, but after I saw them over and over for months, I finally gave in and tried a pair. The moment I looked in the mirror I was in love! Skinny jeans are here to stay and it's a risk I strongly encourage women to make carefully, like mentioned in this article.

But these printed skinny jeans? Ladies, I just don't know if I'm ready to go there.

That's not to say that they look bad, there are actually many women who pull them off wonderfully! But if I try them and like them, I may have to re-structure my wardrobe to just find something that matches. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, especially is they go the way of shoulder pads and they end up a bad investment.

What about you?

Have you tried the printed jeans craze? Tell me in the comments!

Boots. Go Short? Or Go Tall?

I had a rather disappointing wardrobe moment this weekend.

I finally found a great pair of boots for fall that would fit my calves, so I ordered them. After waiting a week, I ran home with great anticipation to get my package and try on what I expected to be these amazing boots that I so carefully selected. They zipped up with ease, which was a huge confidence booster, but when I looked in the mirror I was disappointed. No, I was more then disappointed. My amazing new boots made my legs look larger then they are.

We’ve all had those moments where you have such great expectations of a particular piece of clothing. Either you saw it in a magazine or on the rack, and knew you had to have it. But when you tried it on, it looked nothing like what you pictured in your mind. My knowledge of plus sized fashion comes from me personally having a ton of these moments in my life.

So I returned the boots in store and am now going to let you now what I learned.

When it comes to boots for women with large calves, you need to be particularly picky about your boots. Boots are made with balky fabrics, that’s the nature of these types of shoes. Because of that your need to be careful of how high the boots come up on your leg. My mistake was picking a mid height boot that stopped just under the largest part of my calf. Because boots cling to legs in order to stay up, this is a horrible place for boots to stop. They can look tight on a women, and they draw attention to the width of your leg.

My suggestion is to find either an ankle boot or a knee high boot. That way the eye is drawn to smaller areas on the leg. It’s the same idea as putting a belt around the smallest part of your waist. You want people to look at the small parts on your.

With an ankle boot look for something that sits just below your ankle bone. It’s usually the smallest part on your ankle. If you can find a boot that is actually a little large in this area that would be even better. That makes a person subconsciously think “hey, her ankles are to small for that shoe”. If you can’t find a shoe with a little room, that’s ok. I have large ankles myself, so I never have shoes that are roomy on me. I still manage to rock it though.

For knee high boots there isn’t much to specifically look for. If anything try to find a boot with a zipper versus a pull on. I can never get pull on’s to work for me. The only thing to watch for is to make sure you don’t have a band and buckle over the small part of your ankle. You want a good definition there and a buckle will add bulk.

As with all other parts on you, you want your boots to emphasize your curves, not add bulk. So try on different styles and see what ones look best for your height and shape. I personally like buckled boots with a heel, but I love when women can pull off a flat riding boot. It’s just unfortunately not for me.

For those who have to order wide calf boots online, don’t be afraid to measure the circumference of your leg to be sure a pair of boots will fit. It’s also a good idea to order from someplace that has physical store locations. That way, if something doesn’t work out, you can return them to the store. I personally like DSW, Maurices, Lane Bryant and Carson’s for this reason. If you’ve found any other stores that have Wide Calf boots online, let me know in the comments!

Happy hunting!
<3 Lindsay

An investment every women should make.

Ladies, lets talk about bras.

Lets get real. A bad bra will create a bad look. Period. If the girls aren’t sitting right they can ruin an outfit by adding weight where there doesn’t need to be any more, or even making a women look sloppy and unfinished. Breasts shouldn’t rest on the top of a women’s torso, that’s how many women loose their waistline can end up looking bigger then they are. And there should be a clear definition of two breasts, not the one that comes to appear when a shapeless bra is worn. Uniboob is never a good look.

Bras are easily the most overlooked piece of clothing you have in your dresser. A lot of plus sized women don’t put much thought into them because they think they are too expensive, not pretty enough, hard to find your size, ect. I’ve heard all the excuses, and have even thought them myself once upon a time, but in reality a good bra is within reach (and budget)

So lets go over those excuses women come up with, and let me give you some insight as to why those really are just that, excuses.

Excuse number one: It’s hard to find the right fitting bra.
It IS hard to find a good fitting bra. But let me give you some knowledge to make it easier. First, under-wire is your friend. A lot of people are afraid of these little strips of metal because they probably have a friend somewhere who has sword against them. But chances are that friend was wearing the wrong bra size, and that bra caused some issues. That’s not the bras fault. A proper fitting bra with an under-wire can help lift and hold your girls where they were intended to be, and that’s resting onto of your pectorals, not on top of your torso. Let’s get those girls up! Look for a bra that has a well padded under-wire that doesn’t come up too far on the sides. High sided bras tend to rub and poke into the armpit area, and that’s never fun.

Now, bigger bras come with bigger hardware. That’s a fact. Don’t be put off with wider straps and an increased number of hooks. These are also little things that will help lift and support what can be a heavy area. Not to mention, a lot of weight being held up with a little tiny strap HURTS. So take a deep breath and give wide straps another chance. Including those bands that have four hooks instead of two. Those two extra hooks will do wonders for holding your bra in place. No one likes to keep hauling their chest up just because the back of their bra keeps creeping up to their shoulder blades, caused by too few hooks in the back.

Another overlooked part of a good bra is the shape. Please, put those boxed bras away! No structure in a bra cup is a seriously wrong decision. A thin rounded pad in your bra cups will add a good perk and enhance your cleavage. No, it will not add bulk! There is a huge difference between padding and shaping. Find something that’s round, thin and has flexibility to it.  It will instantly take you out of the 60′s cone look and put you in the 21′s century. Trust me, it’s sexy.

Excuse number two: They aren’t pretty.
Wrong! I know Victoria’s Secret is the standard. But the trust is, even their DD bras aren’t made for bigger women. And anything bigger then that is nonexistent in their world. That also means you are going to have a hard time finding bras in department stores. Many retailers seam to think any women over a size D is a boring mom type. The truth? Large breasted women are sexy too! So I suggest going to companies who cater to the plus sized women. Finding pretty bras just means being realistic on what you need in a bra and not taking beige as an answer. I’ll give you a great reference for pretty bras at the end of the article.
Excuse number three: They are expensive.

And they can be. If you’ve gone the route of finding custom bras, or are ordering high end large bras online, you can find yourself paying an arm and a leg for a bra. There are a few retailers who sell well prices bras who are well made, pretty and durable.

Which is where I come to my suggestion for where to find one. Lake Bryant has an underwear line called Cacique. I have sworn by these bras since I was 17 years old, no joke. I have never had an ill fitting bra from them, and they start at a D and go all the way up to an H without compromising style.
I’m in love with my new french full coverage bra that they just released, and am an ever lasting fan of their balconette.

Lane Bryant’s French Full Coverage Bra

And there it is. The perhaps unwanted truth about bras. These tips can drastically improve the way you look and feel by placing your lady curves where they need to be. At the very least I hope this encourages you to give bra shopping another shot. I suggest seeing if you have a Plus Sized store near by and seeing if they can give your a bra fitting. Most times these women are very knowledgeable and can give you a hand in finding a great bra for you.

<3 Lindsay