12 great plus size cocktail dresses

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After years of slipping through the media cracks, Jessica Simpson is more famous now than ever. And why? The girl <gasp!> gained weight. I mean, think about it: what has J. Simps really been doing with herself, career-wise? Not a whole lot. Instead, the poor girl has been a victim of heartbreak, failed endeavors, and more media scrutiny than any person deserves.

It all started with paparazzi, a pair of high waisted jeans, and an unflattering camera angle. Suddenly Jessica Simpson went from mostly forgotten pop-turned reality star to tabloid cover material. Everyone was quick to criticize the star for “getting fat.” But what kind of society would condemn a size-six beauty, when the average size for an American woman is a fourteen?

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? The secret to perfect, frizz free hair!? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

If you love fashion, you know what it’s like to count down to Fashion Week, excited to watch the trends for next year come parading down the runway and trying to envision how you’re going to interpret the style and make it your own. And then you look forward to said new trends hitting the shelves, combing through the racks and trying them on.

Until they don’t fit.

Because, let’s face it, most of this country cannot fit into the small sizes designers produce. Even more, it seems that sizes are getting smaller and smaller and what once fit you as a size ten, you can no longer even pull up over your legs!

But that may not be the case much longer. Much like fashion magazines, it looks like designers are starting to get the hint. (Let me take a moment to say MAZEL TOV! What took you so long?!) Starting this fall, Saks is going to start carrying extended sizes from designer faves like Chanel, YSL, Dolce & Gabanna, Fendi, Roberto Cavalli and Alexander McQueen. (Sizes will range from a 14 up to a size 20 depending on the line). OK, so most of us can’t afford those pricey labels, but we all know trickle down theory: what top designers do, the rest of the fashion industry does soon after. That means more fierce fashion in a range of sizes that will fit every woman, not just the size zero celebrities walking the red carpet.

And what’s more, it looks like Marc Jacobs may be joining the plus-size party in about a year! Marc’s business partner Robert Duffy Tweeted over the weekend saying:

“Your right. We gotta do larger sizes. I’m with you. As soon as I get back to NY. I’m on it! It will take me about a year. But stay with us”

Despite the fact that Robert’s grammar is a bit off (you’d think a businessman would know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’), this is most definitely something worth knowing about. And celebrating! FINALLY designers are getting the memo that the majority of us who pour over their designs season after season can’t even wear them without looking like a sausage casing. But not for long, ladies! Pretty soon girls of all sizes can rock a Chanel frock or a Marc Jacobs trench!

It’s about damn time.

Lane Bryant has turned away from the days when they “called all chubbies” into the store.  While they still make fashionable clothes for full-figured women, they are also introducing a hip new line for plus-size teens.  Err…did I just say hip?  I meant hideous! Way to miss the mark, LB.

On the bright side, at least buxom babes of all ages can find fabulously frills bras and panties from some sexy, curve-loving labels.  Va-va-voom!

Here at College Candy, we too love some curvy ladies…but do you guys?  Seems like the room is divided when it comes to understanding the negative backlash.

We recently ran a series that everyone here at the CollegeCandy offices thought would be an awesome way to give our usually pro-body-acceptance readers a self-esteem boost. But instead Celebrating Celebrity “Flaws” turned into a body-bashing he-man-woman-hater’s club. We didn’t see that coming. We were just trying to celebrate our differences that everyone, from the media to our friends, is telling us are wrong and ugly. Instead the very people we wanted to celebrate (you!), cut each other down.

How are we ever going to learn to love our bodies, if we can’t even talk positively about differences?

The conversation about flat celebrities wasn’t about the pressure to have big boobs (and of course a skinny frame), but rather about how all skinny, flat woman “obviously” have eating disorders. The conversation about big noses and bushy eyebrows wasn’t about the pressure to have petite/adorable facial features, but instead about how these women didn’t have big enough noses, or weird enough noses, or bushy enough eyebrows.  It’s as if you’re saying that it has to be one or the other. A small nose or a huge nose; groomed eyebrows or a unibrow. There’s no middle ground.

While we were pretty disappointed by all the body-bashing in the first 3 posts, we seemed to touch on some real issues in the curvy girls post and we were really interested by what we read. There was tons of backlash about who we chose — and a lot of people were upset that we included people like Monique, Nikki Blonsky, and Gabourey Sidibe. Apparently there’s a line between curvy and fat; and we crossed it. Not were we unaware of that line, but we were also pretty surprised that so many people defined “curvy” so differently.

So we wanted to open up these questions to everyone and find out what our readers really think. Read More »

Can anyone believe we’re nearing the end of the second week of June? It seems like just yesterday we were packing up, hugging our BFFs goodbye and settling back into our childhood bedrooms. And now summer has come upon us so quickly I haven’t even had time to go swimsuit shopping! We’ve even already had the MTV Movie Awards, which means the 4th of July is just around the corner.

But before we start counting down the days until the end of the summer, let’s stop time and relish in the week that was:

* Behold: the 30 most overrated dudes in Hollywood.

* Stuck inside without a chance to see the sun? Have no fear, my friend; there is a better, more natural way to get your tan on this summer.

* And here is a tasty, refreshing and couldn’t-be-easier-to-make recipe that will get you through the humid, hot, and brutal summer ahead.

* We all know we get by with a little help from our friends, but do you know what type of friends will help you out the most? We do. And did you know just how good your friends can be for your future? Now you do.

* What is “healthy”? Is it skinny? Is it athletic? Is it one of these gorgeously curvy women? Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like the three date rule! ) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

In the last year or so there’s been a big upswing in “awareness” about plus-size models. They’ve always been around, but they suddenly started getting a lot more attention for being their bold, beautiful selves. Of course, there’s always a backlash, like a study that showed that ads featuring plus size women actually make women feel worse about themselves – so much so that some networks have declined to air commercials by Lane Bryant featuring a plus size model in the company’s lingerie. So here it is ladies, are we really pro plus size or not?

On the one hand, pretty much everything in my brain screams “all shapes and sizes are beautiful, embrace who you are!” Even the idea of saying that we could be against having gorgeous full-figured gals in our media seems ludicrous (damn you, Ludacris, for ruining my ability to spell) especially when you consider that the average size for women in America is plus size. Having larger ladies on TV and in fashion magazines can only be a good thing, right? I mean, ultimately won’t it just encourage us as a society to accept different kinds of beauty and stop making such a big deal out of it? Read More »

Dear Dude,

I want a boyfriend. I have been single for the last four years, and although there have been opportunities for love to kindle, things just never seem to work out. I think a part of it is my fault. I am very conscious about my weight (I am full-figured). I think I am a very intelligent, funny and generous person, and I have a great circle of friends. But I don’t know how to show a guy that I have all these qualities because, frankly, most guys seem more interested in the way women look. Dude, how can I make a guy see past my weight to the person that I am inside, when looks play such a huge role in a guy’s opinion of a girl?

Sincerely,
Single and Not Loving It

P.S. I want to add that I am not ugly, just a little overweight. Read More »

I’ll be honest: I always thought Alloy was for the 12-17 age group, but then I started flipping through their merchandise and realized that they have a ton of cute stuff for us more sophisticated ladies. I mean, how could you not love this dress!?

Their regularly priced stuff is already reasonably priced, but they have a huge sale/clearance section that is even better. Another bonus: they have a wide range of sizes from petites up to plus-size so it’s a great option for you skinny minnies and us curvier gals.  Here are a few of my favorite things (besides raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, of course)… Read More »

Last night I had a dilemma. A major dilemma. Involving TV.

You see, I wasn’t sure which I wanted – no, needed – to watch more: the Paris Hilton documentary on MTV, or More To Love, Fox’s newest dating show.

It was a tough call, but being that MTV shows everything 4,367 times, I went with More To Love.

Ever since I heard about this “Bachelor for real people” I was intrigued. Having grown up overweight (and not had my first kiss until the ripe age of 18!), I really got behind a show that didn’t focus on looks and really just gave everyone a chance at love. Or as much “love” as you can get by meeting someone through a reality show on Fox.

I settled in front of the TV with some (fat free!) frozen yogurt, excited for the “real” people that were about to find their soul mates. And what did I find? 60 minutes of sound bites for the likes of Chelsea Handler, Joel McHale and every blogger on the internet to rip into women with already questionable self esteem.

Seriously, even I couldn’t hold back on the jokes. And that’s bad.

There is so much wrong with this show that I don’t even know where to start. Lucky for you, I got really good at taking notes on my iPhone while watching, so here are some of my biggest issues with More To Love:

Read More »