Fashion Blog by Jen Anderson

For the longest time, my signature look was It Fits. If something fit both my body and whatever arbitrary work or school dress code I was dealing with at the time, I wore it. Once we started getting actual options in the plus size world, I was able to discover my...

When you wear classic styles with enduring appeal you don't have to add new pieces to your wardrobe all the time. But that doesn't mean you can't. Even if your closet is brimming with the most perfectly, timelessly fabulous pieces, every wardrobe could use a breath of fresh air every now and...

We've all been told not to wear bright colors. Which is ridiculous. The thinking behind this lousy advice is that subtle colors like black and gray make us look slimmer than bright colors that stand out. Which, no. That's not how that works. Sure, wearing some drab shade that makes you...

We might as well admit it - we dress to please ourselves, but part of that pleasure comes from being admired by our friends. We're oh-so fabulous and love when people notice that. It's only mean-spirited if you don't tell them where they can get awesome clothes for themselves. But...

Yes. Class dismissed. Just kidding.  So many plus sized women think that dressing outside of their comfort zone is great - for other women. We'll cheer on our friends when they're considering baring their arms, or wearing a print for the first time in years. But when they return the...

Some plus size women make style choices that revolve around making ourselves look smaller. We wear black because it's allegedly slimming. (It isn't.) We don't want to risk showing off a single lump or bump, so we wear clothes that hide our bodies. We avoid bright colors and prints that would...

Neutral colors should be so easy to wear. They go with pretty much every color you can think of. And each other. Yet many of us have a fraught relationship with neutrals. The problem is that not all neutrals are created equal. I can't stand beige. Don't know why. I...

 If you're hesitant to wear prints, I get it. I used to be the same. I cringe whenever I think back to some of the prints that were in plus size clothing stores back in the 80s and 90s. Add to that all the nonsense advice about dressing to blend...

A cruise pulls you out of your usual routine - which is part of the appeal. Once you're on the ship, you don't have to worry about anything except showing up to dinner on time. It's so relaxing. But do you have anything to wear?  There's more pressure to dress...

We've been taught that we need to conceal certain body parts because...not very good reasons. No, really. The whole point of hiding, balancing out, or mitigating your tummy (or hips, or whatever) is to make yourself look more hourglass shaped than you actually are. Putting aside the extremely limited effectiveness of...

It's a perfectly natural assumption that women under 5'3" wear petite length pants, women over 5'9" wear tall length, and women in between wear regular length pants. And in many cases, that's correct. But if your waistbands tend to hit you in an uncomfortable spot, there's more to it.  All these standardized...

I'm not talking about your typical pear-shaped figure here. I'm talking about Super Pear shaped women, which may be a term I just made up. Pear shaped women have hips that are wider in proportion than their shoulders. Super Pear is that, but more.  OK, so how do you know if...

Some people like to plan out their outfits before they go to bed and set everything out so they can get dressed in the morning quickly and easily. I am not one of those people. I consider myself organized if I manage to lay out my clothes before I get...

I've gone on and on about how you shouldn't buy clothes that you could only wear on a special occasion. In most instances, it's better to invest in well-made, versatile pieces. But that doesn't mean I think you should show up at parties wearing the same exact outfit you wear to...

We all need little pick-me-ups to help us get through the day. If you're like me, most of your mood boosters are in your phone or on your desk. From where I'm sitting, I can see a Tina Fey action figure, a calculator shaped like a friendly robot, and a photo...