When I reported on the Ms Curvaceous UK contest originally my plan was to showcase curves from around the world with the readers of Full Figure Plus.

I must say I was surprised to be contacted by the organizers of the event thanking me for the coverage as well as updating me on the winner of the contest.

15 curvaceous aspiring models were selected from regional heats all over the UK and given an intense training program with a leading fashion choreographer and runway coach, Reuben P Joseph.

After a lot of deliberation from the judges the finalists were whittled down to the final 5 who answered questions from the 6 judges in front of the audience.

When it was decision time emotions ranged from disbelief, happiness and ultimately glory which struck the face of Simone Charles when Abi from Hughes Models Announced her as Ms Curvaceous UK. Natasha was announced 2nd place and Zizania 3rd.

Streamline Empire, a youth led organisation consisting of mainly 18 – 23 year olds exceeded all expectations with the biggest youth led event of 2012 the ‘Ms Curvaceous UK’. This annual competition promotes girls from size 12 and above who are unfairly phased out of the modelling world due to its unrealistic size restrictions.

Ms Curvaceuos UK Simone Charles(Sitting Down)

What I can gather from the photos of the entrants they represented a good slice of ladies of all sizes and shapes and for that I must take my hats off to the UK plus size community for an accurate presentation of curves.  Here is crossing my fingers to it taking a hold here in the US, but let me get back to the contest.

Streamline Empire strives to provide a platform that encourages diversity in the modelling industry, as well as create experiences and opportunities for individuals who need that encouragement to get started. They believe that big is beautiful and now they are bringing their vision to the UK for the word to see.

The aim was to empower women of size and it was clear that after holding Ms Curvaceous UK 2012 Streamline Empire will achieve this! Empowerment is something the worldwide plus size community needs to see more of.  Hopefully this contest will be around for decades to come.

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If you are in the US like me you probably have never heard of plus size model and actress Adaora Ukoh.  That’s ok.  Full Figure Plus is here to let you know about plus size women from around the world.  What brought this young lady to may attention was an article saying that she would be coming out with a line of clothes.  After doing some more research I realized that she was famous in the Nolywood world.  For those like me who have no clue what Nolywood is:

The cinema of Nigeria grew quickly in the 1990s and 2000s to become the second largest film industry in the world in terms of number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind the Indian film industry.

According to Hala Gorani and Jeff Koinange formerly of CNN, Nigeria has a US$250 million movie industry, churning out some 200 videos for the home video market every month.
Currently, Nigerian films outsell Hollywood films in Nigeria and many other African countries. Some 300 producers turn out movies at an astonishing rate—somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 a year. The films go straight to DVD and VCD discs. Thirty new titles are delivered to Nigerian shops and market stalls every week, where an average film sells 50,000 copies.

A hit may sell several hundred thousand. Discs sell for two dollars each, making them affordable for most Nigerians and providing astounding returns for the producers. – Source

Now that you know what Nolywood is now lets get to the stunning beauty of Adaora Ukoh.  As you can see from the photos she is gorgeous and one of the few people that I have ever seen that looks great with her head completely shaved.  The pictures are from her blog Adaora Ukoh: Nolywood’s big, bold And Beautiful.  I hope you don’t mind me borrowing them to share.

At this point I have not been able to find any information on the clothing line she is coming out with.  As soon as I learn something I will pass it on to you guys.  For know enjoy the photos of another plus size woman who in her world is a bonafide superstar.  I will for sure be keeping up with her Adaora Ukoh and her activities.

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I hate that I did not hear about the Ms Curvaceous UK (MCUK) contest before today.  The finale is tomorrow and from the promo trailer looks like it is going to be a nice showcase of the best in curvy women that the UK has to offer.

Ms Curvaceous UK (MCUK) is a training program and modelling competition for curvy girs; those who are not well represented on catwalks by mainstream established designers and have recently become recognised as “Plus- Sized”. Ms Curvaceous UK aims to showcase the talents and skills of these girls and give them opportunities to be seen as beautiful models in their own right.

MCUK sets out to build confidence in the curvy girl of today and help her to feel more comfortable with the way she looks. We give recognition to these aspiring models that will become leaders in the modelling industry once the barriers are broken down and a model is seen as a model regardless of size or shape.

The contestants will strut their stuff on the runway wearing fabulous collections from amazing designers who cater for the more full figure. If you want to see amazing fashion collections and beautiful models on the runway then Ms Curvaceous UK is YOUR BRAND.

We believe that curvy girls should be acknowledged and represented in the fashion industry. As a response to this, Ms Curvaceous UK was created to address the needs of this group. We give curvy aspiring models the opportunity to fulfil their modelling ambitions, we give them a platform.

The emerging designers who cater for the more full figure are also given a platform to showcase their fashion collections to industry professionals, consumers and press. Ms Curvaceous UK aims to pave the way for curvy women everywhere and encourage them to embrace their bodies.

What impresses me about this contest is that it is geared towards aspiring models.  On a weekly basis I get emails from young ladies who not only submit their photos to be the next beauty of the week but they are looking to get into the plus modeling industry.  There needs to be more contests like this worldwide to give young ladies an opportunity to show they have what it takes to take runways and magazines by storm.  Congratulations to all of the ladies involved in the finale.  I hope to be reporting on your work in the near future.

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Nothing like a model search to get the blood racing.  If you have been looking for a way to break into the plus modeling world then you should read on and find out more about the Curvy Kate Model search.

Bare Necessities, the second largest online store for intimate apparel, is the exclusive lingerie retail sponsor of Curvy Kate’s ‘Star in a Bra’ model competition, a model search campaign to find a charismatic curvy woman in the United States to be the face of Curvy Kate.

Bare Necessities is the first online retailer in the U.S. to sell Curvy Kate, a British intimates designer of fun, flirty lingerie, specifically created for curvy women.

The ‘Star in a Bra’ model search will be conducted via Facebook and launches April 5, 2012. Fans will vote and ultimately take part in selecting the winning contestant. The winner will be announced late June, 2012.

Contest entry details, products, and exclusive video are available at www.barenecessities.com/curvykate.

The multi-step competition encourages fans to submit five photos of themselves in their favorite lingerie for a chance to win an international modeling contract and a year’s worth of Curvy Kate lingerie. Ten finalists will be flown to New York for a professional photo shoot, and the winner will be flown to the UK to take part in a marketing campaign with fellow UK and Australian winners.

This marks the sixth ‘Star in a Bra’ competition, but the first in the United States. Curvy Kate looks for curvy women who are charismatic and confident with their bodies. The U.K. and Australian contests have turned search winners into celebrities.

“In 2009, I entered the ‘Star in a Bra’ competition by taking pictures of myself in my bathroom mirror,” said Lauren Colfer, the 2009 winner of the Star in a Bra contest. “I sent them in to Curvy Kate, and here I am now.”

The introduction of Curvy Kate in the U.S. appears well suited for the American woman. According to Bare Necessities, which recently sold its 5 millionth bra online, 43% of its bras sold are plus-size, and an additional 25% of bras it sells are full-busted.

Bare Necessities’ selection of Curvy Kate bras are available in sizes 28DD-44G, and are designed for fun, flirty women with a fuller breast and desire for fashion. Utilizing gorgeous, fashion-conscious designs and clever engineering, the line offers a variety of flattering, colorful styles normally only seen in smaller cup sizes. Bras and matching panty sets are available at www.BareNecessities.com, as well as the company’s plus size lingerie site www.bareplus.com.

For more information, please contact Erin McLaughlin, at erin@barenecessities.com.

For contest entry details, products, and exclusive video of the 2009 UK winner,
please visit www.barenecessities.com/curvykate

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“I note that your Hall of Fame is 95% black women.  I don’t have a problem with that, but it does seem to be very lop-sided and those looking for a fight could say that your selection process is defaming black women.  It makes it look like pretty much all overweight women are black, which is certainly not the case.”

The above statement came as a result of me placing the submission to the Plus Size Beauty of the Week all in one place in a permanent location on this blog.  While the comment was making an observation from a supporter of this blog it did cause me to think for a moment about the makeup of the over 200 submissions and counting in the four years this segment has been running.  A few things came to my mind when it comes to the ladies featured as beauties of the week:

1. The ladies represent women from 12 countries
2. Women of color from around the world not just the United States are not ashamed of their bodies
3. There has never been nor will there ever be any type of color discrimination on this blog
4. The plus size silhouette is beautiful regardless of the race

My only conclusion after some careful thoughts is that the reason for the high number of black ladies who have submitted their photos is because I am black.  I think if I were of another race then the makeup would be tilted in the direction of the race of the person requesting the submissions.  I could be wrong but that is what my gut is telling me.

It makes it look like pretty much all overweight women are black

The above statement is what really sparked my brain to talk about this particular segment that has a life of its own.  I have not actively promoted the beauty of the week in months but ladies continue submitting photos and asking about modeling assignments.  If you will indulge me for a moment to put on my conspiracy theory hat I will say that for the seven days I have feature each of these ladies some of which have modeling careers they get more exposure here than in other areas mainly because in mainstream modeling the black model is pretty much non-existent with the plus size model not even considered as part of the equation.

At this point the only high profile black plus size model is Anansa Sims-Patterson daughter of former super model Beverly Johnson.  Though some would say at a size 14 she is not plus size but that is a debate for another time.

Anansa Sims-Patterson

Maybe that is why there is a high proportion of black ladies who have submitted their photos and asked questions about breaking into the world of plus modeling.  Asking the question again, “Why Are So Many Black Women Featured As The Full Figure Plus “Beauty of The Week?” My answer is I do not know but as always I welcome every race on the planet to send a photo to beautyoftheweek@fullfigureplus.com for your chance to be featured.

Bonus Fact: There are 196 countries in the world today.  Of that at least one person from 150 countries have visited Full Figure Plus.  With that statistic there is no way the beauty of the week will ever be made up of just one ethnicity.

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Why Is A Size 6 Model Considered Plus Size Today? In a world that considers a size 4-6 plus size its no wonder that women in the 21st century have a distorted view of thier bodies. To shed more light on this issue Plus Model Magazine editor Maddy Jones was part of a segment featured on World News Tonight. During the segment the reporter talked with Supermodel Beverly Johnson who was a size 4 at the height of her career and would be considered plus size today.

My problem is not with the nudity of the photos but with the nightmarish world that has been created by the mainstream fashion community telling ladies that being a zero through extreme dieting and drugs is something to strive towards.

Reading the statistics on Plus Model Magazine blog did not shock me but it did bring to mind that we are still in a dark place when ladies feel that to look good they should look sickly.

In the January 2012 issue of PLUS Model Magazine, plus-size model Katya Zharkova is featured in an explosive editorial where thought provoking statistics and statements are revealed.

• Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less.
• Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity within the plus-size modeling industry continues to be questioned. The majority of plus-size models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14, while the customers continue to express their dissatisfaction.
• Most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for Anorexia.
• 50% of women wear a size 14 or larger, but most standard clothing outlets cater to sizes 14 or smaller.

If statements, photos, and editorials like those posed by Plus Model Magazine do not make you pause and think about the state of beauty in this country something is the matter.  Size acceptance is one of the foundations of Full Figure Plus.  Seeing the horrible standard that is being set by the fashion industry on the size of models is downright criminal and really upsets me.

I know there are a few people that are offended by images like those above but this type of visual demonstration is needed to show the problem with size in this country.  If ladies are constantly shown images of emaciated women wearing fantastic clothes no matter how many size acceptance programs come down the ramp women will eventually feel they need to look like those smaller models.

Celebrities are not helping. Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson have all kicked off weightloss campaigns with major companies and I am sure there will be more and more models showcased that look like they need a good meal.  Hats off to Maddy and the entire team of Plus Model Magazine for showing that it is ok to be a size 14 and up.  What are your thoughts?

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