Grace

I get super excited about meeting my blog readers, and after talking to Grace on Facebook I was thrilled when she told me that she was willing to step in front of my camera. She’s so friendly and bubbly in real life, that the moment I met her I felt like we had known each other for ages. I love having that kind of connection!

What is your favourite place to shop?
Autograph and Ezibuy are my favourite places to shop, they both have a great plus size range and some great younger/ funkier plus size pieces.

What/who inspires your fashion choices?
Colour is what inspires me the most. I have always been a total freak for purple, but in the last 5 years or so I’ve tried really hard to add pops of colour into my outfits – in the past this was a bit difficult because a lot of plus size clothes seemed to only come in black, white or varying shades of beige. Luckily most plus size retailers have figured out that you can wear pinks/greens/blues and have a chubby bum too!

Why did you want to be involved in the Fat Girls Shouldn’t Wear Stripes project?
It was one of those things I had always wanted to do, a plus size photo shoot. I honestly don’t think we have enough plus size models/role models, which to me is crazy since so many people these days are what people perceive to be “plus sized”.  This project is another great step into getting more plus size figures out there.

Do you have any previous experience with body shaming? Tell us about it.
Fat shaming is something that has always been in the background of my life.  A ex boyfriend would say how he wouldn’t want to hold my hand or walk too close to me in public, just in case his friends saw us together; he would spend a lot of time putting me down and making me feel ashamed about my body and who I was.  For a long time, that’s what I felt I deserved in life. But I was lucky, I had an amazing support system of friends and family who would tell me how beautiful I was, how I was special, and could make people laugh.  I learned to love and accept myself, curves and all.  Once I learned to love who I was, I was more open and confident with people – if it hadn’t been for that, I don’t think I would have met my amazing husband who (for the record) loves holding my hand when we go out. Suck on that stupid ex boyfriend!

If you have a day when you’re not feeling great about yourself, how do you deal with that?
I don’t dress to hide my frame or my curves like I used to. I try and wear something every day that makes me feel beautiful. If I’m having an “oh gross I feel so fat” day, then I will wear something to accent another part of my body, like having an awesome hair/make up day. Making sure my nails look kick ass, or wearing something to show a wee bit of cleavage or leg.

How do you show your body love?
Some people can’t leave the house without lipstick on…. I can’t leave the house without my nails done – the brighter the better! I also spend heaps of time pottering around in our garden with our various pets (a dog, two cats and six rabbits!) and doing D.I.Y projects at home. I love swimming and want to try to go swimming more this year – not just for the fitness benefits, but because it’s fun, who doesn’t love a good gossip session while you’re water walking?

Grace wears:
Wild Child City Textured Daisy Dress (with contrasting belt) from Farmers
Hearsay Sandals from Number One Shoes

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