Seriously, who doesn't love fall? You've got orange leaves, pumpkin spice lattes (pumpkin everything, really) and cute knitwear. And, as more brands begin embracing plus-sizes, we thicker ladies have more options than ever to be rocking the trends and breaking all those boring fat girl no-nos.
This season's trends seem to be a metamorphosis of '90s grunge and English schoolgirl, so we're bound to embrace our inner Courtney Loves and Carey Mulligans circa An Education.
Plaid & Those Cute Ugly Sweaters
If you're a sucker for classic prints, the tartan obsession couldn't be more of a godsend. As Dolce and Gabanna, Rebecca Minkoff, and Marc Jacobs have shown us, plaid dresses, plaid jackets, and plaid crop tops are the way to go.
I love this long-line ASOS Curve jacket. It's got that boyfriend feel to it that adds just the right amount of androgyny without obscuring the overall femininity of the outfit. Plus, the red and black contrast epitomizes what tartan print is all about. Paired with a sort of grandma-esque, cute ugly sweater dress and chunky Dr. Marten’s, the '90s girl in you can have a party.
If you need a little help with sweater dresses, I find that body-hugging is the way to go; it avoids frumpiness and shows off your silhouette in an ideal sexy-classy mesh. I chose this ASOS Curve knitted swing dress and found it complemented the tartan jacket perfectly. Overall, this combo will make you feel like the lovechild of Kurt Cobain and Zooey Deschanel. Personally, I'm good with that.
Ultra-High-Waist & Jersey Tees
The high-waist trend seems to be a controversy within plus fashion: the pro-experts say they suck in the belly, while the con-experts say they actually bring attention to it. In the case of these uber-high-waist ASOS jeggings, they probably make my tummy look bigger, but that's okay.
Instead of hiding our figures this season, fashion is finally letting us show them off. You just have to dig it. The particular pants I'm wearing aren't actually in the plus department, but the size 14 fits me just fine, and I'm usually a 16/18. For bigger sizes, there's a similar version in Curve or Torrid’s pixie pants also stretch above the waist.
And for this outfit, what better complement than the crop top? Jersey-style tees and jackets with their contrast sleeves are trending monumentally. This baseball top (Curve version) is super-cute and shows off just the right amount of skin so you're saying, "I like my fat, but I'm not trashy." The final touch had to be these textile, chunky Astrix boots. There's something about wearing platforms that makes me feel like I should be in a Michael Jackson video so I like to wear them often.
Bigger and Badder Animal Faces
Remember how last year everyone got into leopard print, and then all of a sudden it was just okay to have creepy looking leopard and lion faces on your boobs? That's still happening — but it's way cooler this year. The whole mammalian face trend has moved on from the cat family and started incorporating every animal. You've got pug faces and badger faces and reindeer faces too — all in plus-sizes!
I actually love this trend for fuller-figured women. We're so often told not to wear bold patterns or tight dresses, so when both can be ticked off in one outfit you feel that "rebel with a cause" high. Topshop's shark dress is probably my favorite animal illustrated piece ever. It's trendy because animal faces are in, but still unique because shark faces aren't the first think you'd think of. Though not a plus-size piece, per se, I've found that anything stretchy in a Topshop 12 will fit at least an 18.
In an effort not to be too, "WAH LOOK AT ME," I kept the rest of the outfit understated. The denim jersey jacket was from Heavenly Couture earlier this year, but, as always, ASOS curve has something similar. As for the shoes, a splash of red seemed appropriate for an otherwise blue-toned ensemble. My suede heels are old H&M, but Chinese Laundry does an almost exact match apart from the toe. This may be one of my favorite trends of 2013.
