#FFFWeek, a reminder to stay Curvy & Confident

Hello Curvy Goddesses (& Gods)!

Please forgive my EXTENDED absence from the blog.  You see, in November I started working at an amazing new agency doing social media and time got scarce.  What's even MORE exciting is that I get the opportunity to work with one of my favorite brands as part of the day job!  All in all the past 6 months have been amazing and I am even MORE excited of what the year has in store for Curvy in the City.

I have to thank all the beautiful women who I've interacted with for work and well as on a personal level in the past few weeks, for inspiring me and reminding me why this blog is so important to me.  As most of you know, last week was Full Figure Fashion Week and the week prior to that I got to work with the brand I represent and some amazing blogger at a NYC Shop and Swap, and I left both events feeling in CONFIDENT and INSPIRED.

For those of you new to my journey, being curvy has been a lifelong "struggle" for me. Not a struggle as in a a struggle with my weight (that's an entirely different topic), but a struggle in acceptance.  Although I had an amazing and supportive mother, growing up in a family that demonized "fatness" made her and me not proud of our bodies.  As an adult I found myself attracting men and friends who shared a hatred of the curvy form.  But then, there was the relief of finding a community of curvy women who were beautiful and bold and confident, and I thought I'd found a home.....only to be told I wasn't curvy enough.  So, I felt unaccepted and without a place.  This blog became my place, my space, to heal, to learn to love and to work it out (literally and figuratively) with like-minded curvy souls.

Several of those souls I got the opportunity to interact with in the last week and I have found focusing on their beauty and love has allowed me to ignore the voices in my head and the voices from afar that say I am not "enough."  I had several really wonderful conversations with ladies this week about love, dating, body image, food and much more.  These conversations reminded me that beauty has nothing to do with the scale or how many digits are on those pair of jeans (love to all my #doubledigitdivas!) and everything to do with how you feel, staying true to who you are and how you treat your friends, sisters, competitors and even your enemies.

Overall the past few weeks have left me feeling uplifted and inspired.  I want to get more proactive in discussing how cuisine, fat shaming, body image affect not just us but our relationships with others and the world around us. Look out for more thoughts from me, more regularly---and welcome to the journey--it's gonna be a big year for us at CITC and I appreciate you all holding on for the ride!

xoxo,

Erica Michele

Read More

11/1, One is the Magic Number

It's November 1st.
1-11
I've been seeing 11:11, every day, since I moved to NY almost 8 years ago.
17 days before my thirty...#th birthday.
The clocks turn back this weekend.
The city I love is hurting bad.
.  . .and it all leaves me feeling a little confused.

But then, there's the joy that is talking to my curvy lovers out there.

There's the joy of finding a job and career path that feels fulfilling and attainable.  (I start on Monday!)

There's the peace leaving behind the old model of my work life.
My relationship with my old job was like, well, like many of my relationships   The guy, I chased and from the moment I started dating him and had to prove that my quirky "me-ness" was good enough only for him to acknowledge I was good enough, but not....quite.

There is the joy in the freedom of knowing what I am worth, part of why I am here and a lot about who I am.

Therefore, this 1111 moment for me is one of grief at the past but with so much optimism and gratitude for the future.  Its of knowing I am where I am supposed to be at this moment and that God is guiding my steps.

This new year of life, is the year of one.  The year of me. Honoring myself means I honor everyone around me.

One is the magic number.

-Ericamichele

Read More

Can "Big Girls" wear leather? (FashionStyle.com Guest Blog)

In a recent conversation with one of my favorite curvy friends, I suggested that she get some leather items for fall and she told me "Us Big Girls, can't wear leather!" For a moment, her comment took me back to the past - a past where I'd lived in ill-fitting skirts and pants from places like Wilson's House of Suede and Leather (hey, it was the early 90's!).  

I LOVE leather, the feel, the smell, the look; I even love the vegan and faux-leather and always have! Back then, I was willing to compromise true fashion just for the chance to rock leather that was often too tight or didn't fit well at all.  I could never find the cutest items in my size or that seemed to compliment my shape, which isn't quite straight size, but not quite, plus size either.

To read more of my thoughts on the leather trend for curves, click here.  Much thanks to the beautiful Kadia B. for the opportunity, love this site!

Portions of the original article re-printed via @fashionstyle.

Read More

Join me for a #curvyactive October!

A friend of mine from college issued a challenge on her Facebook page: For the month of October commit to do 30 minutes of activity EVERY day.  You may be thinking to yourself, that 30 minutes of activity isn't hard at all. However, the discipline to make activity part of your DAILY life as opposed to something you do a few times a week is not as easy as it sounds.

Taking 30 minutes to honor your body daily should be a part of our daily activities.  However, as women, we routinely don't honor ourselves or our bodies.  We don't take the necessary time to relax and decompress from our busy lives or honor ourselves with the gift of physical activity.

I decided to take on the challenge for this October (a month before I turn 35!) in order to practice what I preach; after all one of the core beliefs (aka #curvyrules) is: 

My increasingly busy schedule has made me have to rethink activity in more lifestyle related terms.  This challenge for me, is less about going to the gym every day and more about the practice of taking 30 minutes a day for myself.  Not only is being active good for maintaining and tightening your curves, it is also great for stress relief and clearing your mental and spiritual space.

An L.A. girl to my core, I prefer working outside whenever possible.  My knees and ankles are shot, so I tend to favor long walks that have a variety of terrains available (hills, stairs, paved and unpaved areas), plus walking with and among nature is always good for centering oneself.  

Some other great ways to get to your thirty minutes of activity are:

• Take the stairs (at work, at home or at any other opportunity).
• Take a brisk walk for 15 minutes a few times a day, seeing the sun will lighten your mood and before you know it, you've done 30 or more minutes of activity. 
• Take the long way home; get off the bus, subway a few stops early.
• Park your car a block away from where you need to go.
• Don't order delivery! Walk, run or bike to pick up that food order.

Make a date! 
Another GREAT way to get your 30 minutes in to your everyday life is to make activity part of your social life.  Make a date! That friend (boy you crush on) that you've been meaning to get together with? Why not invite them out for a little active fun.

• Enjoy the city! Take a brisk walk, run or bike ride in your cities best public spaces (I love to do Central Park dates, myself.)
• Get active for a cause! Find a fitness minded charity event like SweatySaturday (October 13th) or Making Strides Against Breast Cancer's Annual Walk (October 21st) and get some friends together. 
• Sweat and Eat (or drink)! Create a negative calorie effect by making a date before your typical brunch, dinner or a drinks date to sweat it out.  Try that Stiletto Bootcamp you've been wanting to check out or use that SoulCycle online deal you bought months ago.  Either way, you can sweat (and groan) with a pal and then take the second part of your fun to your favorite bar or eatery.  You won't feel so bad about splitting an order of fries or a glass of wine if you just burned 500 calories!

Join me this October in getting active and making time for ourselves and honoring our bodies!

Embrace your curves, embrace your life.

Read More

#denimdelight with Catherine's

A few week's ago, I had the pleasure if enjoying some delicious lunch with Kellie B.and other gorgeous curvy women a The Park in New York City, courtesy of Catherine's #DENIMDELIGHT.

In the back patio of The Park, Catherine's set up a delicious spread including sliders, insane mushroom risotto and delectable Potato Gnocchi with Pancetta, Arugula and Pecorino. The team also had sangria and drinks available for us to nosh on while we mingled, tried on gorgeous feeling denim and getting custom made lop gloss courtesy of Giella Cosmetics.

I am always on the search for he perfect red and what better way to get it than to have on customized before your eyes.  After viewing my completion the technician from Giella added gold undertones to my gloss to compliment my skin tone.  I loved the results!  The best thing about Giella is that its custom, you can even come to them with something that is no longer made so they can match that hue of your favorite hard to find shade.

Giella Custom Made Red, Jewels courtesy of  Catherine's

The denim all felt gorgeous.  I really loved the feel of the jeggings (I wore them almost the ENTIRE #curvyinMA weekend) and picked up a pair of trouser jeans for my Mom.

My Mom and I modeling our Catherine's jeans on a girl's weekend in Massachusetts. #curvyinMA

For more on Catherine's Denim check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CatherinesPlusSizes

Read More

MYNT1792 & Plus Model Mag Blogger Conference

On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending MYNT1792 & Plus Model Magazine's Blogger Conference held at the Ainsworth Park near Union Square in New York City.  This event had everything I love: good food and yummy portions (pulled pork sandwiches, hummus and chicken satay), gorgeous friendly curvy divas and great fashion.  It was a total blast!

Model Katherine on trend in a metallic jean.

MYNT 1792 will be launching its line in October via MYNT1792.com and at Nordstrom.com, but they have been around for years.  A family owned and operated company (as Adorn Fashions), they were tired of the popular "excuses" that many retailers gave them when discussing plus size fashion.  MYNT 1792 wanted to bring high end fashion to curvy women of all shapes and sizes and focuses on great materials and fit.  Calling their fashion sensibility "downtown trend with uptown sophistication," the Fall collection will include blazers, skinny jeans, motorcycle jackets and faux fur.

Model Kori with the luxe faux fur (with pockets!)

They are aware that one size, does NOT fit all; therefore, they use a number of different fit models (including friend of CITC Allie McGev) that have a wide variety of shapes (apple, hourglass, etc).   Most of the pieces we saw retail for under $200 (and we're talking amazing jeans, moto jackets and faux fur, here!) Best of all, MYNT1792 plans to offer FREE shipping, including internationally. How fab is that?

Alysa, from StylishCurves, Maddy of PlusModelMag and me!

The great thing about the blogger conference, besides the food and fashion was the opportunity to be in a room of smart and stylish women who all were focused on curvy confidence.  I left the event full, laughing, (a little tipsy) and inspired by the women I saw and met.

Model Allie and AThickGirlsCloset

Huge thanks to Allie McGev for reminding me to go and Maddy at Plus Model Mag for the invite!
Pictured above Blogger inspiration and sister in Cali, Marie Denee

Read More

Welcome to Curvy in the City!

Well, not really welcome, but thanks for joining me here!  

I love to eat out and eat what I want (korean fried chicken and foie gras aren't exactly figure friendly) but I also want to feel beautiful and worthy of love at the same time.  Curvy in the City is an expression of my daily and perennial dilemma to justify my love of the city life (culture, cuisine, events, activities) and also as a means for me to begin to accept myself.

I began Curvy in the City in October 2012 with the Twitter handle @curvyinthecity and a Tumblr account. I began this journey, partly as a social media experiment (social media pro by day) and also because I knew that the thing holding me back in all facets of my life, was my lack of confidence, much of which was rooted in my life long struggle to NOT be a curvy girl.

I’ve been a size 8 through an 18 and while at each size people always remarked about my “figure."  Simultaneously, most of my life I was also asked if I wouldn’t be happier if I were a little bit smaller?  

You see, to those ex-boyfriends, old friends and family I wasn't "that fat," I could just stand to lose a few pounds, for me, of course (never for them). I felt as though there was something wrong with me, something I needed to change, because being curvy made me never quite "good enough."

This size paradigm chased beyond just interpersonal interactions.  Since I tend to hover between a 12-16, finding clothing that fits and fits well has been a life long struggle for me.  I could fit in to "straight" sized clothes...sometimes, if they even had my size. Then if i went to traditional plus-size retailers and department stores, they were either lacking style or didn't have things in my size either!  So because I didn't "fit" in any true paradigm of size this began to reinforce my low self perception.

However, Curvy in the City helped me realize that the issue of weight wasn’t totally about my body or fitting in to the latest fashions, it was more about me reforming my mind.  Reading articles about plus-size issues, seeing beautiful women who exude curvy confidence and tackling these issues forced me to begin to accept the fact that I am pretty fabulous and I deserve love and happiness without conditions—-no matter WHAT SIZE I HAPPEN TO BE!

As a result of all this, I wanted to open up the forum to have more orignal content, to bring my unique voice to this dialogue so I have expanded to this blog page!

Curvy in the City is my unique point of view on city life as a curvy woman.  A curvy lifestyle that embraces the love of my God given curves, city culture and cuisine.  When I speak to the curvy lifestyle, I speak with knowledge from the size 8-18 paradigm, although I am sure this isn’t the definitive curvy definition.  

Below are a few things that define the Curvy in the City perspective, they are some of my #curvyrules:

Run this town! Take advantage of all the events, attractions, tastes and sounds cities have to offer!
Accept your body for all it’s curves! (and sometimes lumps & bumps& dimples.) 
Eat REALLY, really GOOD food! (preferably tasty & good for you.) 
Keep on moving! An active, healthy and balanced lifestyle is a key to sustained happiness!
Know your worth! (and always be actively seeking to know it!) 
Be confident! 
Don't judge! (Body image is a issue outside of the curvy/plus size world as well. There is unity in knowing that many of our struggles are the same.)
Be a role model! (Walk in the awareness that your behavior influences others.) Your sense of self love, fashion, social and spiritual awareness should inspire yourself & others. 


Curvy in the City is one urbanista, attempting to help some one else realize what it took me decades to: 

Perfection is a myth.  

Life is a gift. 

Embrace your curves, embrace your life.

Read More