Fashion Blog by Jen Anderson

It's a little silly how the people behind most clothing brands seem to think that you can't be petite AND plus size. Even though the average American woman is only 5'3". Worse - some seem to think that we get taller as we get bigger. So if you're 5'2" and wear a...

When you think LBD, you probably picture Audrey Hepburn in pearls and long gloves. It's an elegant look, but hardly appropriate for the office. But lose the gloves and add a blazer, and you're ready for work. Or throw on a denim jacket and a scarf and run some errands....

When the economy is bad, we tend to think that we need to buy the cheapest clothes we can find. We decide we'll upgrade our wardrobes when we're flush with cash again. But that thinking costs more in the end. You can stretch your money farther by investing in well...

Your body can absolutely have some attributes of more than one of the five main body shapes. It's so common that some style experts have come up with their own taxonomy. Trinny & Susannah discuss 12 body shapes in The Body Shape Bible, while Bradley Bayou has defined 48 body shapes...

We plus size women buy most of our clothing online. This gives us countless options, but it also complicates the whole process. Women's clothing sizes are ridiculously inconsistent, so you need to know your measurements if you don't want to have to exchange or return half the things you order. Yet...

Raise your hand if you've ever decided that you can't spend "too much" on clothes because you were going to be a different size before long. Yeah, me too. Your weight is affected by a lot of things. It could be medication, a medical condition, a diet, or a new fitness...

We're all one illness, knee injury, or global pandemic away from being forced to reduce our physical activity. Which can mean weight gain. Or you've had the good fortune to grow older, and your metabolism has slowed down. Or you're on a new medication that causes weight gain. Or maybe...

We (as a society) don't talk about upper arms as much as we should. I can talk all day long about how to dress when your hips, boobs, or tummy are disproportionately abundant. And I will talk your ear off about it because the more we talk about it, the more...

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...

One of my love languages is gifts, so I love shopping for presents. I really enjoy finding just the right thing for each person. While I'm at it, I'll find things that would make a perfect gift for me. But I usually don't buy those things because....reasons? The thing is...

We sometimes talk about the Hero Pieces in our wardrobe - the stunning print, eye-catching art top, that jacket that you just had to have. They're a bit more exciting than that little black dress. What we tend to forget is that without a good collection of basics on hand, those Hero...

Plus size women have been let down by leggings so often that they won't try a new brand without two personal recommendations and a substantial coupon. Even then, we think twice. Shopping for leggings inspires the kind of trepidation usually reserved for bathing suits. I think it's because leggings can...

In an ideal world, we'd wear nothing but investment clothing. Every last thing from undies to outerwear would be of the highest quality. You'd buy new clothes because you wanted to add to your wardrobe options, and not because certain pieces are worn out. And you'd never have to settle for clothes that were just...

If you've made a resolution to organize your closet, I'm gonna need you to take a deep breath and step away from the garbage bags. When you're plus sized, wardrobe management is a different ballgame, so we shouldn't follow the same advice that works for everyone else. Let's make sure we're...

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...