Winter Beach Trip: Tidbits #2

Hanging out in the back yard and coloring with my niece. We are the ones with the blue glasses - Rachele and Kuchis! Dogs instead of cats, the boys just finished fixing the fence and my favorite dish, bouillabaisse.

- Rachele

OOTD: Love Your Body in Photos

The biggest thing I hear at family gatherings is, "Don't take my photo! I am so fat!". Do you find yourself saying the same thing? Maybe you are hesitant to get in front of the camera and don't like any photo of yourself? Bummer! Because you you can start loving and accepting your body in photos.

sweater : thrifted

striped top : thrifted

jeggings : fashion bug

flats : payless

If you are taking outfit photos, try different poses and don't compare yourself to other blogs and fashion photography. It's the same as comparing your body to other people. It's not going to help make your photos better to be green with envy. Get your ass in there and do your own thing.

Be silly! Well, maybe not everyone is silly like me. But I find that goofing around when I am taking photos, it loosens me up and then you have some fun outtakes to laugh at later. Don't worry about sucking in this or tilting your chin just right. If I think about those things too much, I end up looking pissed off or awkward in all my photos.

Don't sit on your hands! Take photos! I am not super proud of all my outfit photos but the more I take, the more comfortable I am with it. You will become more confident with practice and seeing photos of your body will be familiar and normal. Before I joined the fat acceptance movement (I swear it's not a cult), I was shocked when I went swim suit shopping. I had no idea what my body looked like in such a large mirror with so many angles. Being photographed has the same affect on people. They aren't used to seeing themselves and immediately start a list of what they don't like about themselves. The more photos you take, the more you will start looking at what you love. And before you know it, you'll love all of it! You might find yourself not hiding when the camera is around.

Take and choose lots and lots of photos. Don't be picky about what you think is your "best" photo. They are all you and the ones with the most personality and interest should be picked, not the ones where your double chin isn't showing!

Being visible is powerful. Showing that all sizes and shapes wear fashionable clothes and do fun things is important. Women have to stop hiding and putting themselves down. Don't rip up or delete your photos. You can love yourself and love the person you see in photos!

- Rachele

Destination Friendship Tour

I am very, very excited to go to the Leslie and the Lys show on Saturday! If you don't know who Leslie Hall is, well...it is hard to explain. I read the following here and it best describes her! Or you can be a wikipedia nerd.

Complain ye not of the blinding sun as you rise up and tread beyond the walls of the cave, for Leslie Hall is calling you, trumpeting the truthness of the wondrous nature of the world in its magnificitudeness of which you are about to be electroknighted! Rise up, hit the thrifts, find the gem sweater that is you and find the you that is that same gem sweater and then get ye to the magical hall of awesomeness...with a performance by her gem sweater hip hop majesty, Leslie Hall. Both wave and particle, Leslie Hall is the electron in two different places at the same time. She is the irony of art school and the innocence of Iowa. Blasting mad beats and rotating mid-air harnessed to a two-by-four, she is the consummate entertainer and the envy of every performer I’ve ever met, including David Hasselhoff.

I first heard about her when shopping in the Fat Fancy basement when I saw her stretchy pants for sale. They also had her CD and I was mesmerized by the cover with this plus size girl in spandex and midwest hair. I didn't take much interest in it at the time. But eventually I started watching her videos and I finally realized exactly how awesome she was. She is there for me when I need cheering up and an excuse to do some "body rolls". I noticed before Valentine's Day that she was playing in Portland on her Destination Friendship Tour. My opportunity to see her since I missed all the other times she played here! I hinted to the mister that I really wanted tickets and he could get them for me for Valentine's Day. Well, I guess I didn't hint! So even with a cold, the mister found parking downtown to stop at Fat Fancy to pick us up tickets. Now they are resting comfortably in my crochet bag until the big event.

She is widely known for her large collection of gem sweaters, which she photographed herself wearing each one. They are also named and part of a Gem Sweater Mobile Museum.

Then I realized today that I really have to wear an outfit that is somewhat glamor-tastic! I can't possibly shake my booty in jeggings and a cardigan! So I made a little style board with my outfit idea for the show. I am going to totally be a fatty fangirl and wear tight pants. I sadly, do not have a gem sweater so I will have to do some serious thrifting this week to find something!

And lastly, my favorite Leslie and the Lys videos for you to enjoy!

 

 

Now you'll know what I'm talking about when I post photos from the show. *runs to thrift store to hunt for gem sweater and cat shirt*

  -Rachele