So Fat-shionistas (their word, not mine) have come together for the launch of Full Figured Fashion Week in New York, and larger women all over Manhattan are excitedly gathering in anticipation of clothing that is actually on trend and made in big-girl-friendly sizes.
It seems too good to be true after the recent too-small-clothing debate, with UK Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman calling for designers to up their sample sizes.

Five years in the making, the event organizer Gwen De Voe is hoping to get the attention of fashion designers globally.
“The main objective is to show the consumers and buyers that there are other designers out there.”
She’s expecting 1500 people to attend including retail buyers and plus sized customers all looking for a solution to their what to wear dilemmas.
But the bigger issue is, well, bigger.
Beth Ditto, frontwoman for ultra cool band, The Gossip acknowledges the irony of a fashion industry which holds her up as a style icon, yet doesn’t have a single piece to fit her.
“I know that one year Karl Lagerfeld was refusing to make clothes for women of a certain size, and the next year he was asking me to play the Fendi party,” she says.
“What a contradiction they are! But they’re probably just as big victims of not being able to see beyond the ends of their noses as all the people complaining about it. You have to get in there, shake it up.”
TopShop, the same retail outlet which boasts the Kate Moss line, asked Ditto to design a range for them and thankfully she refused, asking instead if she could design for their plus–size division, Evans (available from July 9 online at bethdittoatevans.co.uk).
And while she’s on top of the fashion roost, while her songs are still spinning in the coolest clubs, Ditto remains a designer’s darling. Now everyone from Dolce & Gabbana to Chanel are making one-offs of their regular styles for her to wear to shoots and events, reports the UK Times. But will this spin off more ranges in larger sizes?
“The truth is, they’re not going to make them for everyone. They make only a few pieces just to fit me. For the rest, I have to make it work my own way. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to go round my shoulders because it was a skirt, but that’s how I wear it.”
So what will Full Figured Fashion Week do for an industry which insists on fitting their clothes on female coathangers? Rhiannon Gammill, who writes a blog called Manolo the Big Girl had this to say to The Daily Beast:
“I’ll say there are more options now than there used to be, but that’s sort of like saying ‘he doesn’t hit me nearly as often as he used to.’” says Gammill. “I’m fat, I have money. I’m more than willing to give it in quantity to the store who will supply me with beautifully made clothes that don’t make me look like a hooker, a tranny, or someone’s bingo-playing grandma from Duluth. I would love to see Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte, a big girl herself, do a ready-to-wear line that extends to the plus-sizes.”
Ditto, meanwhile, should enjoy her time on top. The highlight? That she was actually photoshopped to be larger after posing naked for the cover of style bible Love, earlier this year.
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
@TheStalwart an analyst in Sydney said it was a "sad day" http://t.co/vh4Yu4OgDD. I think he was just exhausted and gave up analyzing
RT @NASA: Amazing views from the International Space Station of Pavlof Volcano erupting in Alaska. http://t.co/vqBkkiOful
US Google Doodle features a girl's touching depiction of her father's return from Iraq http://t.co/4LiRFOntTY
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
Kel says:
If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
Most commented