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A story about plus-size bikinis would be intriguing no matter what, but since we're talking about Brazil — a country with swimsuits so small a pubic hair wax was named for it — it's even more interesting. Apparently plus-size apparel is much-needed in Brazil, and that includes swimwear. More »
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MTV featured a regular Romeo in its latest installment of True Life, which was all about "chubby chasers." Tee said: More »
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The online fashion mag PLUS Model Magazine ran an eye-catching editorial in its new issue. It seeks to promote body diversity, but while the intention was clearly positive, some of the photos left me a little cold. More »
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After hearing about American Apparel's "Next BIG Thing" model search and feeling offended by the wording in the copy, Nancy Upton entered the contest, submitting saucy, food-oriented photographs. She earned the most votes, but was informed by American Apparel that she was not the winner. Then she ended up on the Today show, and was invited to tour the American Apparel headquarters. After that, instead of blowing up further, the whole thing fizzled. More »
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"She's really one of my new heroes." That's how Bridesmaids director Paul Feig describes Melissa McCarthy, and we definitely agree. In the past six months, McCarthy has helped prove to Hollywood that female-centric comedies can be hugely successful (and hilarious), won an her first Emmy for Mike And Molly, sold a sitcom pitch to CBS and a road-trip comedy pitch to Paramount, and done an awesome job hosting SNL. Now on top of all that, she's planning to design a plus-size clothing line. More »
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There's an update in the American Apparel plus-size model search debacle: The Creative Director has asked Nancy Upton — the woman who won the contest but will not be recognized as the winner — to come and check out the company. And meet, face-to-face. More »
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Last year, April Flores — adult film star, erotic performer and plus-size beauty — visited an American Apparel showroom in an attempt to find pieces for her plus-sized clothing line. She was told that AA did not have plus-sized items because "that's not our demographic." Tuesday, the company's Creative Director, Iris Alonzo, sent a letter to Nancy Upton, responding to her irreverent take on the American Apparel plus-size model search, and referenced the earlier incident with April Flores. More »
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Big Sexy, a new TLC show, attempts to show that "not all fat girls want to be skinny." And that "it's not easy, living in a super-skinny world." All of the women involved work in fashion in some capacity, and seem to have varying levels of confidence and happiness. One woman says, "The last time I got laid, dinosaurs were roaming the earth." More »
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Nancy Upton read about American Apparel's search for plus-size, "booty-ful" models. She, like many of us, found the contest "offensive," but decided to enter. Nancy had her friend, Shannon Skloss, take pictures of her — bathing in ranch dressing, pouring chocolate sauce directly into her mouth, gorging on chicken. Bring on the awesome. More »
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More than a year after an American Apparel rep informed adult star/model April Flores that "plus-sizes" are "not our demographic," the company has starting selling a handful of women's clothing in size XL. This presents a problem: Now that AA is providing larger sizes (a move that certainly has nothing to do with being on the precipice of financial ruin), it needs some larger models. Cue the semi-offensive modeling contest! More »
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Earlier this month, three plus-sized models landed the cover of Vogue Italia. Velvet d'Amour — the plus-sized actress, model and photographer who famously walked the runway at the Jean Paul Gaultier show in Paris in 2006 — has some thoughts about the issue, and the fact that the women aren't actually wearing much in the way of fashion. More »
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Even if you take just a quick glance at Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine and Robyn Lawley on the June issue of Vogue Italia, you can tell that these women are not the typical gazelle-slender models. Lynn is a size 16; Huffine is a 12; Lawley is a 14. Three plus-size models, on the fashiony-est fashion magazine in the world. More »
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Queen Latifah says plus-size "is a word we need to bury at this point." Promoting her just-announced line for HSN, Queen Latifah said her collection will feature plus-size clothes but is not a plus-size line because "it's for all sizes." The line, to be called Queen, will launch in August and will include sweaters, jeans, leggings, T-shirts, handbags, and clip-in hair extensions. "The truth is," she says, "we all would like to wear the same clothes. We all want to wear beautiful, fly clothes no matter what size you are, and so for me it was important to match with a company that understood and respected that ideal." In fact, this is part of why the actress — who prefers to wear Prada, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Carmen Marc Valvo, and Gucci in her own life — hasn't ventured into fashion until now. "I felt like larger girls were not respected, even though we are huge consumers. I felt the marketplace didn't respect us in the way it should. I was not going to step out with a clothing line that didn't respect a fuller-figured woman or a curvaceous woman, and really all women." [WWD] More »
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In recent years Marquita Pring has become one of the most well-known plus-size models, walking in Jean Paul Gaultier's spring 2011 show in Paris, and appearing in V magazine's plus-size issue last year (as well as our own list of five plus-size models to watch). Pring has also branched out with back-to-back Levi's campaigns. In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Pring shared her thoughts on the future of "plus-size" modeling: More »
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A catalog called Simply Be arrived in my mailbox recently, and though I'd never heard of the company — selling US sizes 10-28 — I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw in the pages. More »
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Ford claims the "size 2" on her new model card was a "printing error." Her measurements will be corrected, and a rep reminds us Cystal's message is "about acceptance and beauty at any size." Old (erroneous) card after the jump. More »
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On Monday, Crystal Renn was a guest on Plus Model Radio, and she talked about her anorexia, her recovery, and her decision to become a plus-size model. Although: A new Ford model card states that Renn is a size 2. More »
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Plus-size shoppers rarely hear straight-up good news — there's always a caveat or catch — and the latest dispatch from H&M is no exception. More »
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How will we talk about weight in 2011? First, let's recap what we learned last year: Many people are too thin, while others are simply too fat! And no one's ever "just right" (according to the media, at least). More »
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Do you believe "skinny bitches need to step aside"? That "Big girls don't cry… they freakin' party!"? Oh, and you must "appear younger than 35" to be cast in a new VH1 "docu-series" on fabulously "phat" plus-sized women. More »
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Plus-size model and former ANTM contestant Whitney Thompson is angry. "I applaud Vogue for having a shape issue," she says, "but screw Vogue for not having shapes in every issue." More »
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Monday, news broke that ABC Family had canceled groundbreaking series Huge. Tuesday, we started a petition to save Huge. Wednesday, Huge star Nikki Blonsky contacted us, offering her sincere thanks. Last night we asked some questions. More »
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Dear Target: Why do you hate me so? More »
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In an interview with TV host Ferne Cotton, Beth Ditto said that she finds it "tiring" to defend her weight all the time. More »
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Today a reader sent us an email, asking us to take a look at the new stuff Beth Ditto designed with UK clothing store Evans. More »
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Wednesday in New York, the first-ever plus-size fashion show happened during New York Fashion Week. More »
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It's awesome that plus-size models have been hired to walk in a fashion show during Fashion Week. Unfortunately, it seems they're isolated to a plus-size show, organized by Nancy Le Winter, editorial director at OneStopPlus.com. More »
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Last night on Huge — the ABC Family show set at a fat camp, from the creator of My So-Called Life — we found out that the camp director is recovering from an eating disorder. More »
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Last night on Huge — a show from the creator of My So-Called Life — Camp Victory held a weigh-in. The face of each camper stepping on the scale told a different story: Anxious, terrified, excited, nervous, pessimistic, hopeful. More »
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Even though last night's episode of Huge (created by My So-Called Life's Winnie Holzman and her daughter, Savannah Dooley) was one of the weakest yet, it still managed to be insightful, funny and really heartwarming. More »
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An NYT Magazine piece on "The Plus-Size Wars" makes a point we've heard before: fat women are really different from other people. So is it true? More »
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Last night's episode of Huge (created by My So-Called Life's Winnie Holzman and her daughter) included some heartbreaking moments of teen angst unrelated to being set at a fat camp: Embarrassment, jealousy, shattered confidence, rebellion, manipulation, body odor and LARPing. More »
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In the wake of cringe-worthy TV shows like More To Love, Dance Your Ass Off and the Biggest Loser, are the new weight-oriented series — Huge and Mike and Molly — a step in the right direction? More »
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Late last week, some new images of Crystal Renn — in which she looks thinner than usual — hit the web. Cue the disappointment, concern and tongue-wagging. More »
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Magazines are celebrating curves! As long as they stay within the narrow size requirements. More »
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ABC Family's Huge premiered last night. Written by My So-Called Life creator Winnie Holzman — and her 24-year-old daughter, Savannah Dooley — the show introduced us to Camp Victory, where weight loss is the focus. More »
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The Sun's piece on the 2010 Miss BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) pageant in the UK is fairly heartwarming; winner Laura Morrod describes it as "the best night ever." Here's the problem: More »
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Photographer Richard Lew has tons of shots on his site: Opening night, the model contest, and the finale. (Taking orders? I like this swimsuit, this gown, this silvery glittery top, this swingy dress!) [Richard Lew Photography, Earlier] More »
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Saturday, just as Full Figured Fashion Week was in full swing, a story about the highly lucrative plus-size market hit the front page of The New York Times. That night, I went to the FFFW finale runway show. More »
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If a recent piece in the New York Times is to be believed, retailers are finally catching on to the fact that there is a demand for stylish plus-sized clothing. But will they actually start producing it? More »
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