Curves Become Her turns 3 – a belated blogiversary edition

My dear CBH Fam,

I hope you have been keeping well and that the year end is coming along nicely. It’s been quite a year hasn’t it? All I hope for everyday is respite for weary souls and a little more understanding between people. Be it 2015 or 2020.

It has been a while since the Halloween post! While the eerieness of those photographs was exactly what I was hoping to capture, it was a last minute decision in all honesty. Halloween and Diwali give me the annual ultimatum of Which festival will you dress for?? My answer to that for 2015 was Neither! Forgoing the usual route of an ethnic top or Punjabi suit, this time I rustled up a festive dress from my Dec 2014 shopping haul and made it work..

Diwali 2015

  

bardot sleeved dress – Pink Clove, maroon shrug – Marks & Spencer’s earrings – Ankara at Tekka Mall, Little India

My mother who has been doing rather poorly this year had yet another fall a few days after Diwali. She sustained a right hip bone fracture and underwent surgery for a steel placement where the fracture happened. Mom had one too many falls this year which slowed down her walking a fair bit and made her quite miserable with having to manage the pain. Thankfully she is a tough cookie and within two days of surgery she stood on her two feet with the walker but my little family unit was understandably distressed during this period. November passed by in the blink of an eye and I had other things to attend to..so the blogiversary post just did not happen.

What has kept me so busy? For starters I have been writing weekly articles for US online magazine Wear Your Voice. The issues I tackle in those write-ups are diverse and are not limited to ones of a body positive nature. I have written articles from the perspective of being part of the South East Asian and South Asian diaspora. I have penned posts about the agency for body positivity in my region. It’s been a great platform to speak up and I could not ask for a better editor in chief and colleagues. They are so supportive of my pitches and ideas, they encourage me to be outspoken and to harness all that anguish I harbour into words. The team is so dynamic and they discuss topics ranging from politics LGBT issues to intersectional feminism to pop culture. You can check out my latest article pertaining to body image in Asia here.

It’s a learning curve; migrating from writing informally on the blog to penning articles with an air of professionalism. But it feels So Good. Okay I’ve said that already but yes it’s exciting for me 😀

Honestly I would not have made that leap had it not been for my editor-in-chief Ravneet. If she hadn’t reached out to ask me if I was interested in writing for WYV, I might have stayed in my rut. It’s difficult for me to self promote and I know that’s what we have to do in order to get ahead but loves I have not done anything of that sort in my life. It’s hard for me to see my strengths or capabilities like an outsider can, I’m sure some of you know the feeling.

2 weeks into my new post as weekly blogger for Wear Your Voice, I took another leap of faith. I reached out to Velvet D’Amour, whom many of you familiar with the plus size industry would know was The model who walked the runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier in 2007. She is an acclaimed fashion photographer and editor-in-chief of magazine Volup2. She was looking for weekly guest bloggers for her magazine and the chance to work with Velvet was too good to pass up on. I would have been kicking myself if I let my insecurities get to the better of me and let this go. To my surprise, she was enthusiastic about having me on board and you can read my latest article where I interview Corissa of the blog Fat Girl Flow here. I look forward to my weekly write-ups for both magazines and promise to share them here for your reading pleasure 🙂

So as you can see, there has been some settling in to do aside from my personal life. Which unfortunately left my blog unattended but it is a matter of time before I manage it all with more ease.

Before I launch into my Blogiversary Outfit of the Day look, there is another announcement I have to make. A lot of you must be well aware of who Tess Holliday is and her successful Eff Your Beauty Standards movement. (This is when I say, kindly leave your opinions of Tess out of my comments section because I know people are testy about her right now). She was enquiring for bloggers who would be interested in representing Asia along with the rest of the EYBS team. I thought I’d let her know that I would be keen, it is so important to rope Asia into the body positive movement..we have a lot of work ahead of us here. When she signed me on along with the wonderful Harnaam Kaur, it felt surreal that I was doing all these things I had not dared to venture into. Which also means, MORE effective time management!

I Cannot even think about forsaking my blog any longer than I have. I have missed my little nook and it’s just so comforting to write from this space. This is where it all began. What an adventure these 3 years have been!

Righto so Onwards (finally) with my belated blogiversary outfit of the day look that I shot over the weekend :

thats me screaming Happy Blogiversary to Meeee!!!

 

Can I just say after the weeks of sitting with bed head and my fingers typing away from the laptop, this was a welcome breath of fresh air! There should be a scent concocted that makes you feel exuberant as if you are dresses to the nines because it is a delectable feeling.

I am beginning to veer away from ‘fast fashion’ because of what I am learning about ethical fashion consumerism but I had to wince and get some items from Forever 21 Plus for Nov-Dec because my medical and dental bills were not going to get paid by a mysterious donor (I wish. Actually I don’t. Sounds creepy).

Plus Size Velvet Tonal Sequin Dress in 1X

Rubi black pump heels

Lovisa beaded green earrings

I was in the mood for a glitzy party dress and aside from this number on plus size store Jibri ‘s website that was just far too expensive for me, this mermaid-like number caught my eye.

Not wanting to take attention away from the dress, I opted not to accessorise as much (you must be quite accustomed to my accessocrazynes). But I did go for a bold lip from my LA Splash liquid liner collection. This was from the Hocus Pocussed bundle that was released during Halloween. The shade I am wearing is Til Midnight. Aptly named.

Hurrah! The blogiversary post is done! Ootd posts are just so much fun and I cannot wait to get more done in the near future.

Thank You for the love, the support, the well wishes through my meandering as a plus size woman rediscovering aspects of herself that were previously buried beneath self loathing and fear. I am constantly learning so much and although it can get challenging, I know I am right where I want to be.

Chat Soon 🙂                                          

All my love xxxo

Aarti Olivia

 

Inspired: The Matrix

  
The Matrix movie series arrived at a pivotal point of my life – the turbulent period of existentialist dilemmas called my 20s. 

I was walking the path that was not chosen by me. I had to get ahead in life and knew however that gaining an education in the old-fashioned way was a necessary evil. So I completed my BSC in Psychology, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology and finally the Masters in Psychotherapy. 

Studying psychology brought about an internal awareness that I previously only scratched the surface of. Along the way I also studied philosophy, anthropology and sociology as was demanded from the curriculum which only made me ask more questions about society as a whole and humanity. 

When my friends first watched the movie the general reaction was “Whoa. How cool was this movie? All those stunts! That bullet dodging scene!” 

Yes I felt the same way but also, I left the cinema saying “Holy Shit. This is profound. This is a sci-fi adventure into our psyche. Neo is the everyday person who one day, gets the opportunity to see his existence beyond the confinements of his human realm. He is asking questions. He wants to get out of the system. He wants to rebel”. 

  
  
  
Now I can go on and on about the theories and books and philosophers and religions that inspired this series. That would have been great in my once upon a time blog that spoke about these things. But this is not the place, I think. Not unless you’re actually interested to read my ramblings on topics aside from body positivity and fashion. 

Some of you will recall my inspired fashion look from last year based on the television series American Horror Story: Coven. I had such fun putting the look together. I Still get raves from my friends and followers alike for that “witchy woman” ensemble! 

I love to play dress up as a character. Not in the sense of how the awesome people of Comic Con or Cos play..but within the peripheral ballpark. 

So I came up with a look that isn’t your average Curves Become Her fashion post based on fashion from the Matrix series and I hope you like it. 

The Look

  

  
duster top – Forever 21 Plus 

leather leggings – Cotton On 

boots – H&M 

sunglasses and necklace – Forever 21

The Matrix was all about long trench coats, leather, black vinyl, sunglasses that were beyond cool. A minimalist aesthetic with clean, straight lines. 

   
    
 
the Only time you saw outfits meant to hug curves were on the gorgeous Monica Bellucci. What a stunner. 

   
 
I went with the less curved-up look because that stays faithful to the main characters of the movies. 

   
 
Now in Matrix Reloaded, the city of Zion saw more risqué clothing along with the very basic pared-down pullovers. So I layered inside as an homage to the sexy people of Zion. 

   
  

This has got to be a plus size bloggers’ and girl’s fav bikini top from Forever 21 Plus because I have seen it on So Many of my friends!! So when I got it months ago and everyone wore this, I was like “Oh man. I don’t want to look like a clone.” So I bid my time to wear this beauty. This IS my favourite bikini set from the store for the summer of 2015. 

Little Details

   

 
The word to describe how it felt donning this look: Powerful. This long duster top is a first and I really like it. 

  
I played around with Lip colours for this although the photograph does not do it justice. I lined the lips with a darker shade, almost black. Filled in the rest with my matte red Revlon lipstick and added some gold shimmer in the middle to make it glisten. 

Playing a character comes naturally to me. Acting is and always will be in my blood, even if I am not part of that world anymore. For a few moments you can suspend reality and transform yourself into a completely different persona. 

I hope my loves have a good start to the week, I am signing off now but before I do so here are some wise words from the Matrix 

  
All my love, 

Aarti Olivia xxxo 

P.S: I did this shoot with a very angry, bloated, muscle-spasmy stomach but survived! Recovery is ongoing. Thank you so much for the advice and the kind words. It means so much to me. 

Summer Evenings

Hello loves! 

I’ve been struggling with intense stomach pain and distension for the past few days – it’s either a gastro or ovarian thing – and I am trying to be a patient pussycat. It’s taking All my patience to bear with the discomfort! Plus it’s eating into my time, I could be doing so much right now but Doctors orders are Stay in bed, hydrate and recuperate UGH. Have quite a few tests to undergo to find out what on earth’s cookin in that belly of mine. 

Thankfully, I did a fashion post before the symptoms got real bad. So here goes! 

I had a bit of a Forever 21 Plus haul in early 2015 but I churned out very few posts in the first half of this year so I’m finally getting these lovelies featured. 

The Look

  

 
floral maxi dress – Forever 21 Plus 
white and gold slippers – Rubi 

earrings – Lovisa 

Where do I start with what I love about the dress? The keyhole neckline, the colours with pretty poppy flowers, the front and back slits, the way it sits nicely at the waist, the billowy texture. Perfect for a Sunday evening dinner by the beach. 

  
 The dress comes with a slip and it’s not one of those tight slips some dresses have on, makes sense to have that layer seeing how light the fabric is.

My only issue was with trying to find the right bra. I Don’t have a strapless bra at the moment because I have yet to find one that actually does its job. So I had to wear them pasties. Didn’t feel very secure with just them on! 

  
Little Details

   

 
 
I kept with a very natural, understated look for makeup with just some mascara on the eyes for a change. Yes I don’t wear mascara anymore, it is a rarity. 

  
I own more maxi dresses than I ever have and that’s quite a surprise seeing how I avoided them for a long time being 5 ft 2 and all. They have an elegance to them when worn well. 

Now it’s time for this very grumpy cat to rest and send me Aaaaalll the good vibes so I feel better soon! 

Sending you lots of love 

xxxo Aarti Olivia 
 

Curves Around the World relaunch (part 1)

Hey hey

So us girls are back for the new year with new members and a rejuvenated start. For those of you who may not be in the know, CATW (Curves Around the World) is a collaborative effort with my fellow curvy, plus size bloggers and we approach a variety of fashion-related themes every week. 

I have been working slow due to PCOS and a sudden onset of glandular fever. So, much of my typing for the blog right now happens after work from the comforts of my bed, with medication and warm teas in tow. It sucks a little because this week is really busy but I am pushing on.

For this first post, we decided on an introductory post on why and how we got started fashion blogging..among other things. So here goes.

How would you describe your personal style? 

It is difficult to pin my style down to a specific type or types. But I do know this: 

I have been influenced by fashion from the past decades, dating back to the 1920s. The history of fashion and the numerous styles fascinate me. 

Fashion designers, style icons, artists, photographers and musicians that cannot be pegged into a certain style inspire my senses. Quirky styles, cleverly mismatched clothing, original pieces, hair accessories, chunky jewellery and hats please my eyes. 





I am definitely inspired by curvier celebrities for personal style tips!



I cannot even begin to start on the many plus size bloggers and models that have inspired me to dare to wear the outfits that I do today ❤







The global plus size community – be it the more famous names or fellow plus size girls on social media – inspire my fashion palate Everyday. Including my CATW girls. They’ve all got a distinct sense of style and I love to see how they interpret each week’s theme in their unique way. 





I used to dress in dull, matronly clothing but since the conception of my blog..I have never looked back to those days. Vibrance of colours, statement jewellery pieces and accessories give me life. 



Inspiration for future fashion choices also comes with travelling the globe and people watching. Which is why I am a keen observer of people in everyday life. Streetstyle fashion by photographers is very popular now but it’s become diluted over the years. Having said that, there are some style stars out there that I practically hero-worship. Julia Sarr-Jamois, Nausheen Shah, Preetma Singh, Giovanna Battaglia, Anna Dello Russo, Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuel Alt are some examples that come to mind.





My notable fashion journeys of the past have seen me dabble in grunge, goth, classic, androgynous and bohemian styles. They do seem to pop up in my outfit of the day looks until today, from time to time. 





Given that I live in a country that experiences summer for most of the year, I am limited with trying looks for Autumn or Winter. It just makes no sense to invest in pieces like thick coats or leather gloves that I will not wear in my daily life. 

The words that come to my mind when I think about my fashion sense are Creative, Eclectic, Fierce, Functional (most of the time anyway). 

My South Asian heritage and the mix of different Asian cultures that I grew up with have most definitely had a part to play with how I style myself today. 





How do I want my style to communicate about who I am, what I value and how I approach life? 

After years of hiding and feeling too shy to wear clothes that I actually like, I am now in a place where I am much more comfortable in my skin. I am not any slimmer nor have I undergone any major makeover. I do not need a slimmer body to feel good about how I look. That is what I would like to showcase the most – that Style and Body Positivity is Sizeless. 

I have been skinny, athletic and muscular, round and voluptuous. I know the struggles each of those body types have and that has helped me so much today with the realisation that it isn’t the perfect body that maketh self confidence. So I want my style sense today to show authenticity to this new lease of life I embarked upon since the blog’s conception. 

I consider myself a creative soul and a writer before a fashionista. Some people have an innate sense of style; I am not one of them and that’s okay. Which is why I am constantly challenging my comfort zones with fashion and daring to try new styles that I previously would have shuddered from even considering. 

I approach life with tenacity and positive realism. I am a born and bred urban girl and although fashionably adventurous .. I will never put myself through agony to pull off a look. I will not be wearing thigh high boots in this crazy hot humid country and be crabby all day as a result. I have my limitations with foot injuries so I am careful with footwear. I blog because I am passionate about it and I do not (as yet) earn a dime from it..so I try to be fashionable yet frugal. Especially this year, because I am saving up for a major overseas trip and I have had quite a few medical complications that required a fair bit of my finances to dry out. 

So I won’t be THE most fashionable girl in the room because I have these limitations. I still do appreciate fashion and guzzle down the latest in the fashion world by reading articles, watching fashion week shows and staying in the know. 

I adapt. I make do with what I have and keep myself very sanguine. Life is too short to be complaining about what we cannot have. I know I am capable of bigger, better things but being frustrated is not going to bring those things into my life. I remain passionate and an ever-adoring fashion lover no matter what. 



Tartan red Bodycon dress – Forever 21 Plus. Feather necklace doubled up as a collar – Lovisa. Red pumps – Pazzion. 

I picked this look for the post because gosh I love tartan and this dress has been waiting to be worn since the end of 2014..but my bad health came along and slowed things down. Plaid and tartan are still a very big trend, it was evident in Spring/Summer 2015 collections everywhere. 

Tartan brings me back yet again to the teenage years. The 90s had a huge tartan trend and I wore a lot of oversized tartan button downs with bootcut light denim jeans and black Timberland boots. I think my hairstyle was pretty similar then too! Except for the blonde – we weren’t allowed to dye our hair in secondary school. So this is another 90s revival right here! 



Why did I begin fashion blogging? 

Some of you might have read my reasons before but for the benefit of my new readers and for those not in the know..Here goes! 

There isn’t enough representation for the plus size community in Asia. I flip through magazines and cannot relate to the skinny petite figures. I am tired of looking at slimming advertisements describing fat people in ways that make them seem like worthless slobs. Back when I started CBH, I had yet to  see Indian plus size girls out there who were confident in their skin. They seemed so embarrassed and almost apologetic for existing in those bodies. The constant body shaming I witnessed and experienced sickened me. I needed a voice for girls like me who felt so alone, unrepresented and misunderstood. When I realised there wasn’t one, I decided to be that voice. Be the change that I wanted to see. 



To be Continued in a second part. WordPress does not seem to be saving my post beyond this point and it’s deleted the latter part of this post TWICE (oh the drama). So I will start anew with a second part to this post later today. 

Chat soon! 😉 

the Missguided velvet skater dress

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
– Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

Hello loves,
This will be my first fashion ootd (outfit of the day) post for the year 🙂
It’s been a long time coming thanks to delays from this n that.

The Look

Velvet Skater dress in Maroon
– Missguided UK size 18
black skinny belt – ASOS Curve
H&M boots, Lovisa black flower crown

There were quite a few outfits purchased at the end of 2014 that were unfortunately not perused because I just wasn’t feeling ‘dressy’ with my swollen eyes. So this is the first of that lot that I am shooting for the blog.

Throughout the period of recovery post-surgery, I had this look in mind. Something about a burgeoning sunset and being amidst nature seemed to be the theme. So I kept this ensemble rather simple in terms of accessorising and let the outfit & surroundings shine instead 🙂

I love velvet and crushed velvet so much because well, what is there not to like about that texture? It is luxurious and in recent times has been created for modern fashion in all forms – clothing, shoes, necklaces. Even in basic outfits, it’s statement making.

My ASOS Curve purchases took Forever to arrive despite having paid extra for faster shipping. The Missguided package came pretty quickly though so I went with this dress for Christmas.

I’ve gained weight since the holidays so from a size uk 18-20 I guess I’m between a size 20-22 now but this dress still fit rather well for the shoot. Oh don’t worry, I certainly am not lamenting my weight gain..it’s just a fact. Weight goes up and down but with it our morale or sense of style should not be compromised. Style is Sizeless, that’s my mantra!

The quality of the dress is good and on the whole I think it’s a good start for the UK company’s foray into plus size clothing.

Little Details

I quite like how the skater skirt’s pleats look thanks to the crushed velvet..and it is a really pretty colour.

I’d been looking for a black flower crown for sometime. No matter how many colours I love, black will always be a favourite. A black choker would have set this look off nicely too.

If you have a keen eye, you will probably notice that I added blush for a change. It’s not that I don’t like the product, it’s just that I don’t see the need for it because my cheeks tend to flush light pink anyway. I was feeling a little product-happy since this was the first time applying makeup in 2 months, that definitely had a Huge part to play with adding the blush!!

So that’s a wrap with Curves Becomes Her’s first fashion post, yaaay!! 😀

I am not a trend follower nor am I a trend setter but oh I do love fashion so I have been enjoying the NYFW offering this past week. Some pretty cool styles cropped up, some a little ghastly but it has been a good series of shows so far. The awards seasons have been a tad predictable with their fashion choices, so I wasn’t keen on doing a write-up for that.

What’s in store on CBH’s fashion menu?

You’re just going to have to wait and find out 😉 What I can tell you is that there will be more leaps of trying something new, there will be an eclectic array of looks and there definitely will be plenty of self-discovery ❤

Chat soon lovelies,
Happy Chinese New Year to my Chinese friends around the world and Asia! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

cheers to taking the road less travelled and having fun along the way, Aarti Olivia xxxo