I’m what women in the South would politely say, big boned.
Gah! How I HATE that expression.
Truth be told, I am!
I have junk in the trunk.
Cankles.
Arms that wiggle way too much.
And a muffin top for a waist line. Gah!
But I do have some tricks up my sleeves on what to wear with a curvy figure and how to feature or highlight some of your best assets.
denim top/ fedora hat/ skort/ black maxi skirt/ swimsuit/ bracelet/ sequin tote/ linen wide leg cropped pants
Unless you were to catch me at home unexpected or let’s be honest…in the school drop off lane early in the morning – I typically “try” to wear clothes that are going to flatter my {ahem} assets the most. As I have said before, I love to plan a wardrobe. I LOVE a challenge to try to find “the item or piece” that will truly make or break my outfit. It’s what I used to do for a living.
So when this Summer rolled around, and knowing I needed some new pieces for my Summer wardrobe, I also had a HUGE financial smack down on my wallet, because we decided to buy a house right around the time we would be taking our vacation that has been planned for months. Given that our new house needs S O M U C H W O R K & M O N E Y, I decided to be the most frugal I could possibly be while getting some new pieces for my Summer wardrobe. Even though it does take a lot of time to shop around & be frugal – I knew I had a few stores I could rely on for key items to get me through the Summer.
For thrifty Summer finds, I shop:
Old Navy
Target
Kohl’s
Kmart
Amazon
You can find plus sizes or sizes from XS – XXL in all of these stores. Now it’s important to note that I typically stick with classic choices that I can wear from year to year. That’s a very important tip when trying to be frugal. If you buy classic pieces, you can wear them throughout the years & you’ll get the most bang for your buck. For example, I have had the same black maxi skirt & denim top from Old Navy for years & they are still 2 of my key pieces of the season.
tissue sweater/ baseball jersey/ embroidered tunic/ jeans/ fedora hat/ embroidered tunic/shorts
My favorite jeans are weekend or boyfriend jeans from the Loft. You can purchase them up to size 18 & they have held up beautifully throughout the years. I do love trends, don’t get me wrong. But I always stick to the basics when I purchase my bottom pieces, such as shorts, skorts, jeans & maxi skirts. I’ll purchase a trendy top every now & then, but I love keeping things classic for my bottom pieces. Since I’ve become older, I have truly enjoyed wearing a skort. I used to H A T E them!!! But now, I really enjoy wearing them & Sear’s has a great one size 2 – 18 for a great price.
I guess right now is also a great time to express my love for a tunic top!
The way they fit!
They’re cool & light to wear.
They’re perfect to wear with just about anything!
And I always love the embroidery!!! — you can’t go wrong!
Also, as we all know…the color black is your bff – for any type of figure. But it can also be hot to wear black in the summertime, but I typically do wear darker pieces on the bottom to hide/disguise my hips & booty.
Here’s a great example of mixing classic twill shorts (found at Kmart for $6.98!!!) and a trendy top. I shared this picture on instagram, where I proudly boosted that I have worn Kmart shorts for the past 9 years. They aren’t designer, but you get 2 pockets, a great twill fabric, classic colors for $6.98. You can’t beat it!!!
tee/ earrings/ lace top/ sandals/ maxi dress/ maxi skirt/ wide leg cropped linen pants
This collection above has some great ideas on what to wear if you need to be a little more dressy. Everything is flow-ey. (is that a word?) but to have pieces for comfort & for coolness, you’ve gotta have pieces that flow! Another tip about wearing pieces that flow – is that your eye (or someone else’s eye) will watch the movement of the fabric more than looking at your figure. Now if you are shorter, the wide legged cropped pants will not work for you. You need to get the traditional capri or cropped style that doesn’t have a wide leg. The same may go with a maxi skirt if you are a short person, but get a knit skirt (Old Navy or Target has some!) that hits you around the knee that flows!!!
lace top = plus size & a similar style in regular sizes
I thought I would take a selfie of my lace top for you all to see. Because the picture of it on the mannequin (see 2 pictures up) does NOT do it justice – AT ALL! For the record, I love this lace top, it was a great price! You can wear it with so many things and dress it up or down. I love it with jeans or with the wide leg linen pants (see 2 pictures up) if we’re going out to eat. I purchased the 0x size, it runs big so go down a size. It has a knit tshirt back & a cami added for layering. It truly is a great classic piece to have in your wardrobe!
Let’s pause for a moment & look at this swimsuit above….
Do you see the white band/stripe on both sides, and the focus is on her bust line & silhouette figure??? This swimsuit if you’re a curvy girl is perfection, if you ask me! It automatically gives you an hour glass figure + the color is black so it gets double points in helping you look slimmer. It’s hard enough to enter swimsuit season if you’re a curvy girl, but having a swimsuit that will help you in all the right areas is a huge perk! This swimsuit is only made in sizes 10-28.
skirtini – gotta love the name!!!
available in regular & plus size
I L O V E me a skirtini!!! I know some women do not like them, but I personally think y’all are crazy if you don’t love them!!! I bought 2 of these this year, because this skirtini found at Kohl’s is a little bit longer than the normal ones. I know my swimsuit & my skirtini will be from 2 different stores, and the blacks may not match up, but who’s going to notice???
So as a big boned girl, who loves classic clothes & enjoys planning her wardrobe, I truly hope you have found some helpful tips in this post!
Which reminds me…what’s your favorite tip or fashion advice for the summertime?
Curious minds want to know.
Let’s pin together! Do you like to pin fashion, yummy recipes, crafts or DIY projects? Me too!
