There is nothing like a cool crisp Winter day to inspire staying inside and doing some shopping from the computer.  I am working on some changes for Full Figure Plus that newsletter subscribers got a peek into this morning.  Additionally, I am hanging out more on Google+.  If you are over there add me Glen L Johnson, MBA to your circle.

Things that have caught my attention this morning include:

• TechCrunch | Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book
• Leading Plus Size Retailer Sonsi.com Adds Exciting New Apparel and Accessories …
• Curves win big at the 2012 SAG Awards
• Brazilian bikinis burgeon to fit the fat
• Get 20% off orders of $150 or more when you use code: STYLE2012 at Kiyonna.com! Offer Expires March 2, 2012. Not valid on body shapers, wedding dresses and gift certificates. Cannot be combined with any other coupons.
  
• ‘Feeling Beautiful is Empowering!’
  Ulla Popken promotions running right now:
  Friday, Feb 03 – extra 20% off Clearance – C21K0203
  Monday, Feb 06 – 10% off entire order – C21K0206
  Wednesday, Feb 15 – $5 shipping – C21K0215
  ullapopken.com
  
• Media misquotes - Octavia Spencer: I’m Not at a Healthy Weight Facebook response: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=371396182886483&id=149279818431455

Contestant Barbara Monteiro, from Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state, gestures after winning the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Contestant Ariana Costa, from Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, performs during the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Contestant Adriana Santos, from Brazil’s Bahia state, performs during the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

I first wrote about Lee Lee’s Valise back in 2007 with the post Lee Lee’s Valise a Trendy Boutique with Plus Size Appeal so I was excited to read the news of this merchant coming to television.  Though the press release talks about the TLC and Stacy London connection on this blog we are more concerned with how Lisa and her husband Jim’s plus size boutique is depicted on the show.  What are your thoughts on this matter?

It’s  plus-size fashion without the minuses of mainstream retail traditions in TLC’s newest series. Executive produced by WHAT NOT TO WEAR’s fashion authority, Stacy London, with BBC Worldwide Productions, this eight-part series set to premiere in May 2012 will follow husband and wife business owners Lisa and Jim Dolan, as they revise and revolutionize the norms of plus-size shopping experiences in their clothing store, Lee Lee’s Valise. Each episode will focus on three different customers as their intimate shopping experience at the store, combined with Lisa’s distinctive clothing line, helps transform their lives.

The average size of an American woman is 14, but no average-sized American woman experiences a normal shopping experience at a typical fashion retailer as only 18% of clothes are a size 14 or over.  At Lee Lee’s Valise, women of all shapes and sizes feel confident, fashionable and sexy through Lisa’s custom-made designs, tailored business approach and bold NY personality. Through drama, laughs and a few tears, Lisa and her team will transform their customers’ wardrobe from shab to fab — all through the simple and personalized accommodations to fit and flaunt each unique body type.

Running a successful business with a unique focus may seem like a walk in Central Park, but for this outspoken duo, drama is inevitable. While Lisa and Jim have a strong opinion about each and every item in Lee Lee’s Valise, they always put the customer first. Often times the customer’s feedback and personal shopping experience plays a vital role in how Lisa designs her line and stocks her shop.

The series is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions for TLC. Executive Producers are Scott Shatsky with Stacy London and Julie Merson executive producing for Super Long Play. Elli Hakami and Jane Tranter are executive producers for BBC Worldwide Productions.

About Lee Lee’s Valise
As a plus-size consumer, Lisa Dolan has traversed the boutiques of Brownstone Brooklyn, in search of contemporary clothing in her size. It became very apparent that all of these boutiques have ignored the “normal sized” women. As you might know, the majority of American women average a size 14, and it was impossible to find anything bigger that a 12 in any of the boutiques and shops that have sprung up in the neighborhood. So when the “perfect” space opened up in a historic spot on Court Street, we decided to open a shop that would specialize in sizes 10 to 28.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

First the Lane Bryant ad was to racy for American Idol now plus size model Whitney Thompson Cycle 10 winner of ANTM who has launched a plus size dating website, TheBigAndTheBeautiful.com has had her ad rejected from the list of Super Bowl commercials.

Welcome to The Big And The Beautiful, the online dating site where you can really be yourself!

I created this site for real women with real curves … looking for real pleasure. Unlike other dating sites where members feel pressured to fit a certain mold, posting older “flattering” pictures or even lying on their profiles, everyone here has the freedom to be their true selves.

So what if you have a big butt? Men love extra padding! Whether you’re voluptuous, curvy, athletic, or tall, embrace your shape because the men on this site are just waiting to meet you.

And guys, I don’t have to tell you this site is the best place to meet all of your needs. Spend a little time talking to these sexy ladies and I know you’ll be satisfied.

As a plus-size model I know how big the demand is for sexy, curvy women, so get out there and start searching, dating, and enjoying every minute of it!

Welcome to your Big and Beautiful life!

Whitney Thompson 

President 
TheBigAndTheBeautiful.com

After watching the video I do not see anything wrong with it. I realize people will NEVER get over the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction but what does that have to do with a plus size model promoting a dating website? Nothing in my opinion.

I mean we are not a nation of prudish people so why should I be offended by a plus size lady and not some of the truly offensive things going on like the SOPA and PIPA legislation that this blog protested on yesterday.

Plus Size Model Whitney Thompson

To hot for television or to fat period?  I personally think the later is the case.  I mean with the insane amount of money, rumored at as much as 3.5 million for 30 seconds, you would think no matter how big the characters are there would be no problem with airing the ad.  Maybe edit out the thong shot but that’s it.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

In the world of plus size 2011 has been an interesting year.  There have been a few ups and and few downs on this blog as well as in the plus size community as a whole.  With 2011 coming to a close its that time of the year for me to review the noteworthy events that happened in the plus size community in 2011.

January

Chubby Vs. Plus Size – I think this debate will continue forever – LOL. Plus Size Fashion Designers vs. Knock-off Fashion Designers. There was also the debate that Oprah was rooting for the plus size community.  We see how far that went now didn’t we?

February

10 Reasons Plus Size Modeling is Gaining Momentum. There was lots of talk during the month that merchants were taking the plus size community for granted which was the inspiration behind  Has the ASOS Curve Bubble Finally Burst?  February was also the month that I finished graduate school and started my journey into blogging full-time with few distractions.

March

Tennille White’s Spring 2011 Plus-Size Collection To Appear on BET’s Rip the Runway. Fullfigureplus.mobi goes online with the surge of mobile traffic in the plus community thanks to Twitter and Facebook and the sale of Tablet computers. Lane Bryant gets a new look and Full Figured Fashion Week announces its industry awards.

April

The major talk of the month was the giveaway of the Spring 2011 Lane Bryant clothing.  During this time the surge of plus size clothing companies from overseas started opening up websites targeting US customers.  The size acceptance debate continued with Sick Looking Runway Models Are Great Role Models.

May

The biggest story of this month was the loss of plus size model extrodinare Mia Amber Davis.  Her loss showed just how much influence she had on the entire plus size community.  The maxi dress showed that it would be around for another season.  Personally this month was great for me with me being named one of the featured bloggers by Black Enterprise and being interviewed by my local newspaper.

June

Full Figured Fashion Week™ was of course the highlight of this month.  Vogue Italia placed three plus size models on the cover continuing the trend of plus size models finding plenty of work internationally but not so much in the US. UK plus size fashion company Simply Be added big and tall menswear to their US website.  The question was also asked Should Retailers Do A Better Job Promoting Fashion to Big & Tall Men?

July

Plus size model Fluvia Lacerda makes a splash internationally which will increase her popularity through the end of the year.  With the rise of social media there were a few incidents on Twitter that were business killers.  Full Figured Exclusives was launched from this blog and turned out to be a massive failure – can’t win them all.  Reality turns plus size with the debut of Big Sexy.  I was not high on this one but it turned out great.

August

The debate surrounding designer knockoffs continues with Is Forever 21 Duping the Plus Size Fashion Community?  With the enonomy down during the normal back to school effort Etsy.com became more relevant than ever.  The question was also asked Is The Plus Size Community Guilty of Group Think?

September

Clothing company American Apparel showed the dark side of fashion by denying plus model Nancy Upton the win of their model search contest.  Lane Bryant celebrated the 3rd Annual Fashion Night out.  Australia added its hat to the ring of international sites targeting the United States plus size consumers.

October

With models like Fluvia Lacerda and Rosie Mercado I posed the question Why Is Crystal Renn Still Talked About As A Plus Size Model? Queen Latifah debuted the Queen Collection but did not want it associated with plus fashion.  With its popularity growing it was time to ask the question Why Plus Size Fashion? Forever 21 is in the news again when a plus size fashion blogger takes them on.

November

Do You Wear Socks With Your Heels? When it comes to 2011 shoe trends that question had to be answered.  Full Figure Plus turns seven years old.  I still can’t believe it.  With the help of blogger Gabi Gregg Eloquii introduces its brand of plus size fashions.  Additionally, AdoraOm debuts great looking activewear.

December

Evans continues the trend of international companies targeting plus size consumers in the US. Making sense of  US Vs. International Size Charts For Plus Sizes became a bit easier.  Japan passed a law making it illegal for its citizens to be fat.  Additional talk is going around the Internet with Mariah Carey endorsing Jenny Craig, Jennifer Hudson - Weight Watchers and Janet Jackson – Nutrisystem

Three hundred and twenty-seven posts, hundreds of comments and lots of discussions on the state of the plus size community.  I am not sure what 2012 is going to hold for the world of plus size, but if 2011 was any indicator it is going to be one heck of a ride!

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

“CurrentlyObsessed.me allows you to Stalk your favorite style bloggers and their obsessions. In real time, get unprecedented insight into what top tier fashion, beauty & lifestyle bloggers around the globe are obsessed with, writing about and buying. Members can Stalk their favorite style bloggers and save their own obsessions. Join all of your favorite style bloggers as they expose the products they love.”

If you did not already know there is a new social community, CurrentlyObsessed, that will allow you to “stalk” your favorite fashion/style blogger and see what they are currently drooling over.  The cool thing about this new community is as you read above it allows you to follow your favorites in real time and share them on other social networking communities like Twitter and Facebook.

CurrentlyObsessed is the brainchild of blogger marketing community Reward Style.  Bloggers who are looking to supplement their income should look into becoming part of this community, but for now we are going to concentrate on the fashion.  (Bloggers shoot me and email at glen@fullfigureplus.com if your interested in joining Reward Style). Going to the CurrentlyObsessed home page reveals the top ten list, fresh meat or new bloggers in the network, and the latest obsessions of the community.

I know what you are thinking, “why do I need to join yet another social networking community?” The answer is simple with hundreds of designers in the network that your favorite bloggers are “obsessing” over you can stay up on what is new in the world of fashion allowing you to make informed purchases.

Plus size fashionista beware.  There are quite a few plus size designers in the listings but not as many as you may like to have at your disposal.  Signing up is as simple as connecting CurrentlyObsessed to your Facebook account and start “stalking” bloggers.

Some of the brands covered on Full Figure Plus that are part of the CurrentlyObsessed community include:

ASOS Curve
Forever 21+
Hot Topic
Macys
ChicStar
Danskin
Steve Madden
Chinese Laundry
Max & Chloe
e.l.f. Cosmetics
Payless shoes
Zappos
Endless.com
Target
Nine West

As you can see when you click on the photo of an item “obsessed” by a blogger it shows you who, the buy button, and allows you to share your find with people you associate with online.  Though the plus size selections are slim its still a great way to see what your favorite blogger is thinking and to have another resource beyond blog posts to see what is going on in the world of fashion.

Thank you to those who are currently “stalking” me.  I will be adding more obsessions to my list very soon so stay tuned.  CurrentlyObsessed is on to something good with this community.  Not only is it a way to get great fashion but it is a way of getting into the mind of your favorite fashion/style blogger.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

Are you new to Twitter and have no clue about how much the plus size community has flourished because of this popular social networking community?  Your in luck I was going through my list of followers both old and new and decided to to post a few of the more interesting Twitter people.

Follow Full Figure Plus @Fullfigureplus

• @sexythickmisses - A true lover of Life* Shoe fanatic * Purse Connoisseur * and nail polish-a-holic* – Never heard of a nail polish-a-holic
• @fatandbeautiful - A blog about learning to love my body through fat acceptance, a dash of makeup, sexier clothes, and focusing on my physical and emotional well-being.
• @FATSEXthebook - Large-size women and men tell their true stories of social and self-acceptance in romantic and sexual relationships. info@fatsexthebook.com.
• @CurvyFierce Up and coming plus size model and new blogger.
• @skwilbur -  Womenswear fashion designer focused on style options for the curvy woman.
• @EddyandBri - the newest premier shopping destination for curvy fashionistas size 14+! We bring you fashion for your curves!
• @ullapopkenusa - Shaping women’s style in sizes 12 & up with exclusively-designed, stylish merchandise. Was reintroduced to this brand – Waving at @Babe_Hope!
• @AdoraOm - Premium Activewear for the Full Figured Fashionista 14W-24W Proudly Made in America!
• @PlusizeBrittany - Plus size model and new blogger.
• @BrazenlyBuxom - Curvy, voluptuous, sassy and happy. I’m an artist, photographer, model and blogger. Challenging the skinny world with my curves.

What I like the most about social media, in this case Twitter, and its influence on the plus size community is that it does not matter who you are.  What matters is your voice and how you get your message across to your followers.  Full Figure Plus has come a long way from where it was in 2007 when I created it as a way to keep up with my kids.

The most important thing about my presence on Twitter it has allowed me to see individuals all over the plus size fashion world and network with many of those same individuals.

Though social media has been good a word of caution when it comes to communities like Twitter.  Social media can be your best friend and greatest enemy at the same time.  Use common sense when posting so you do no paint yourself into a corner that you would prefer not to be in.

Check out these individuals and if it is the first time dealing with them let them know the came recommended from Full Figure Plus!

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women