….but one thing is holding you back. That muffin top doesn’t look very cute in those band-shirt-skinny-jeans-and-converse getup. That chubby face looks ridiculous with a shag haircut and rainbow stripes and a tiara. Wouldn’t you love to look like this?

Well… Try it and you’re may end up like this:

Not cool.

We can’t even fit into Hollister or Abercrombie, and they don’t want us curvy girls wearing their clothes anyways! Check out this statement from a 2006 interview with Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch:

“That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that. In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”

Fucked up, right?

Well here are some stylish and affordable options:

1) Learn to sew! Not only is it a great hobby to kill time, everyone will ask you where you got that shirt! You can take a basic thrift store tee and turn it into something sexy like this:

2) Learn Where to Shop! shopping is fun, until you look at the price tags at some of your favorite boutiques. If you’re young, stick to discount clothes. In urban neighborhoods (such as mine) there are tons of discount stores that sell designer clothes at deep discounts: Shoppers World, Foreman Mills. Then there’s the classier and more affordable Marshals (TJ Maxx in my experience doesn’t have a lot of plus size). Old navy is a little pricier and has weird sizing but some great finds. My #1 pick for young, stylish, plus size clothes at super low prices is Rainbow.

3) Learn How to be Yourself! Vintage is fun and sexy. Everyone loves a pinup girl! Dress in silhouettes that suit your shape. A-Line dresses are flattering on most full figured girls, and boy do Pinup/Rockabilly designers looove A-line. You don’t need to go full-on Betty Boop, but take some tips from her and Marilyn! Ain’t this freakin’ adorable?

I did the goth thing, the punk thing, the scene thing, even the ‘hood scene (#boutdatlife) … And eventually learned how to blend these styles to become ME. I didn’t find ME until I was forced to go looking – a 19 year old teenager entering the corporate world. I came to my first meeting in a hoodie and sneakers. I realized after I started dressing better, people actually noticed me for the right reasons. I felt good inside because I knew I looked good on the outside. Sometimes you don’t now what your body can do until you try! Dress right and you will get attention for all the right reasons 😉

Lets take a look back at my [sometimes embarrassing] styles from age 16 till now, 24: