SPOKEN CURVES!!

Be it songs or poetry, vocal art moves me in a major way.  I can give countless accounts of hearing songs in church that moved me to tears, even when the word of the pastor didn't.  I just love the emotion and expression that comes with singing and spoken word.  That is why, I can honestly say that I am already a huge fan of the certified Phat Girl; Grande.  I recently met her in Columbus at the Rock and Roses hair and fashion show.  Before I had the chance to witness her gifts, I was pulled in by her amazing personality.  However, when she took the stage; I was just like “those wolves”, I cried “GRANDE’!” To continue reading this article, pictures and video click the link http://www.phatgirlfresh.com/#!fresh-life/cute

Monochrome

One fashion trend that has trasitioned into fall is the monochrome look. This look consist of a black and white color scheme, some times accessorized with a hint of gold. It has been hot on the runways this year, in the shows of several big name design houses. Most of the monochrome shown on the runway includes patterns. However, feel free to add your own little spin to it. Below you will if are examples of the monochrome looks, one which is my interruption. 

PHAT GIRL FRIDAY...... With Haley Borden

Happy Phat Girl Friday!!!  This weeks fresh Phat girl is Miss. Haley Borden.   Haley is sending greeting from New Glasgow , Nova Scotia.

"I am 22 years old And am signed with Figure 2 Figure agency. I am an aspiring plus size model with the ambition to shine."

Description of look : bright colored (pink) tube top, with a high waisted leggings (valumputus clothing from Toronto , Canada). Light denim jacket for coverage. Style mixture, old school meets new. Sported with old school gold jewelry.  http://www.phatgirlfresh.com/#!fashionably-fresh/cnec

Jibri spring collection

Everyone knows that I love fashion.  However,  I haven't been able to say that I was in love with an entire line of clothing, until now.  Jibri's spring collection is to die for!!  It is filled with beautiful colors,  floral patterns and  trendy designs. The entire line is fun, flirty and most of all, curve friendly. You may not be able to say each piece is for your particular body type but some where within this collection there is something that will appeal to your curves.  Some of the pieces were featured on B.E.T's Rip The Runway, and they did just that..... RIPPED IT!!!  I am I love with the green slouch pants, they have to be a part of my wardrobe for Full Figured Fashion Week.  Initially when I saw those pants, I told my boyfriend, "baby, I must have been dead cause these pants just gave me life!!!" However, he was quick to point out that they were expensive and I quickly reminded him about his Jordan collection.  Any way ladies, be sure and take a peep.......... http://www.jibrionline.com/live/ 

                  

BUILDING A BRAND

  THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!!  DESIGNING, STYLING AND WRITING ALL WITH THE GOAL OF ENCOURAGING AND EMPOWERING OTHERS.  I AM WORKING TOWARDS BUILDING A BRAND BASED ON THE DREAMS AND REALITIES OF MYSELF AND OTHER WOMEN LIKE ME.  THE GOAL IS TO EXHIBIT THE BEAUTY AND STYLE THAT FULL FIGURED WOMEN/GIRLS ARE EQUIP WITH.  TO ENCOURAGE WOMEN NOT TO BE DEFINED BY THERE WEIGHT OR CONFINED TO THE BOX THE SOCIETY PLACES US IN.  TO TRANSFORM THE BASHFUL INTO BOLD AND BUILD CONFIDENCE WHERE SELF ESTEEM IS LOW.  I WANT TO DESIGN AND STYLE THE CLOTHING THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES.  I WANT TO MOTIVATE CURVY DIVAS TO LIVE SO LOUD THAT PEOPLE NEED EARPLUGS TO BE IN OUR PRESENCE.  IF I NEVER SELL ANOTHER ARTICLE OF CLOTHING, OR SEW ANOTHER STITCH, MY SOUL WILL REJOICE IF I HELP OTHERS TO LOVE THEMSELVES.  YES, I WANT TO BUILD A BRAND, I WANT P.H.A.T GIRL FRESH TO BE A PHRASE SPOKE IN EVERY HOUSEHOLD BUT MORE THAN THAT, I WANT TO REBUILD THE PLUS SIZE COMMUNITY...........

The Rozay Way

First off, HAPPY P.H.AT GIRL FRIDAY!!!  I hope that you all have a great weekend and are able to get some me time. I have decided to do a little more with P.H.A.T GIRL FRIDAY.  Starting today I will spotlight A member of the P.H.A.T GIRL CLIQUE or plus size divas on the move.  So today, I would like to introduce to some, reintroduce to others and pay respect to............... Ms. Shay Rozay!!!!!

I have only had the pleasure of communicating with Ms. Rozay via social media and one phone conversation.  However, it is obvious that she is one of the most authentic people I have met.  From the moment of our initial contact, she was very warm, straight forward and lighthearted.  I must admit, I never expected a woman/model with her impressive resume to be as down to earth as she was.  She and I talked as if we were old friends, laughing and swapping stories for over an hour.  In spite of her established foundation, Ms. Rozay believes in me and my movement enough to say......"I would love to be apart of the P.H.A.T GIRL CLIQUE!"  She even went on to extend an olive branch to me and allow me to work with her on up and coming projects.  You don't find too many individuals with her star power that are so humble and gracious.  However, one thing is evident; Ms. Rozay is determined to be of service to mankind and she believes in girl power.

Before the glitz and glamor, Ms. Rozay was little Miss Shana Washington.  Born and raised as an only child in Queens, NY to Ms.  Robin Waldron.  Ms. Rozay, has always been a people person and has served as a mentor in several programs in her area and abroad. In 2005 she implemented “The Girl Club”, an informative female only mentoring group that focused on exploring different aspects of the urban teenage experience.  Now as an adult she is the voice of and for thousands of women.  Not just women in her region but all over the world.  She makes an effort to promote happiness, self love and confidence.  Ms. Rozay is a true philanthropist as she is constantly volunteering, donating and fundraising for the greater good of others.  She participated in the PLUS Model Magazine's MS Walk fundraiser and raised $200 as a walker. She worked as a street team leader for the Full Figured Fashion Week distributing advertisements and providing event information to public. In memory of her cousin she created the Jason Jones Scholarship Fund promoting violence prevention by using sports and other entertaining activities as an outlet for our youth. On July 9th,2012,  she hosted her first annual “Stop the Violence- JAY DAY” to raise money for a scholarship fund in her cousins name and honor. She spent the rest of the summer volunteering with Full Blossom Magazine’s Summer Youth Employment Program group “Stepup II Royalty” mentoring, teaching modeling techniques, interviewing skills, etc. She also formed a Full Figured Fly & Fabulous group that walked in the NYC Kidney Walk.

Although modeling was a childhood dream, Ms. Rozay was not driven to pursue it until after the death of her cousin.   In mid-2010 Shay was propositioned to model by Mello Andrews of the plus woman’s internet publication Full Blossom Magazine; she immediately began to explore the world of full figured fashion and hasn't looked back since.  She began her venture with Full Blossom Magazine on July 24, 2010 as a featured model at the grand opening of Johntine’s Plus Size Boutique. She participated in her first official photo shoot a week later.  Ms. Rozay won Full Blossom Magazine’s Cover Model Contest in early-2011 and she was featured on the cover of the 2nd issue.  To date Shay’s cover received  the most views in the magazines history. Quickly gaining popularity she decided to create a Facebook like page, “Shana the plus model”. Her creative energy birthed Full Figured Fly & Fabulous in May of 2011; a women's only Facebook group, she call’s it “A Secret Sisterhood” specifically for sharing inspirational & motivational experiences, stories and quotes. Over 400 females from all over the world participate in sharing self-esteem secrets, fashion tips & much more daily.  In 2012 Shay has been apart of the Sonsi FFFWeek Social Media Team & Street Team while working on a few different projects as the promotions specialist for Full Blossom Magazine and the executive assistant to Sakinah B, the Owner/designer of “curvy” clothing line Eyani Couture.

Armed with beauty, brains, style, class and curvy confidence, Ms. Rozay is truly the epitome of P.H.A.T GIRL FRESH!!! . Despite life's trials, Ms. Rozay has remained because the spirit of a true hustler can never be broken.  Her testimony proves that tragedy can be transformed into triumph and it is never too late to live your dreams. My advise to the world is to remember the face and the name because the world will see much more of Ms. Shay Rozay!! 

Contact info:
  https://www.facebook.com/PlusModelShana
https://www.facebook.com/SHANATHEPLUSMODEL
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/FFFnFAB/
http://www.shayrozay.com/model.html
 @_shayrozay (IG and Twitter)

Letter to Keke Dillard

Hello Keke, I am writing this in response to your facebook post about the plus size community(https://www.facebook.com/kekedillard?ref=t).  I really appreciate you going there and putting that information out there.  I have been doing my own research and I can say that everything that you stated in your post is factual.  I am a blogger and I am also in the process of opening a boutique in my area, both aimed at plus size woman.  Although I write because it is one of my passions along with fashion, it doesn't always seem promising. My Big-Mama blog is all about and for us(PHAT GIRLS) many times I feel like I am my audience.  My reasoning is that if I am able to write something that will reach, help or inspire one of my plus size sister's, I will be happy and the same goes with fashion.  I think that the problem is that most of the PHAT GIRLS (affectionately used to identify plus size women, by me) have allowed society and it's views get the best of them.  The sad part is that we are hurting ourselves and our kind to please the minority.................

Society has painted this picture of greed and filth and associated it with being plus sized.  We are thought to not have self control. It is said that we are less beautiful than other woman, and are less deserving of love and a good mate. It is thought that we should have to settle for the scraps when it comes to romance.   We are not at all healthy and have no value of life.  We (society) tell our children not to be fat as though it is the same as being a thief or a murderer.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard, "yes she is pretty, but she is fat" or, "you have a pretty face", I would be rich.  I guess in hearing these things so much, many woman have begin to believe them instead of the truth.  The truth is, bad health is housed in the bodies of both fat and slim woman.  A person's beauty has nothing to do with their size or  face for that matter, it is about who you are on the inside.  Men (real men) are not effected by a woman's size as much as he is her character, personality and intelligence.    We are just as great as any other woman, but each individual PHAT GIRL HAS TO BELIEVE THAT!!!!

Until PHAT GIRLS learn to except the realities of their existence, we will always be on the low end of the totem pole.  The fact is plus size businesses aren't successful because so many PHAT GIRLS are ashamed of who they are.  In a way I think that many PHAT GIRLS feel that supporting "BIG" business means you are OK with being the person that society says we are, which is not true.  We are not that ugly picture at all!!!!  However, the only way to prove them wrong is to embrace who you truly are and not who they have falsely made you out to be.  It is OK to have a desire to be healthy(if you are unhealthy) or to lose weight but no matter what your size is love you and identify with what lies beneath.

Keke, for the past year, I have been trying to start a PHAT GIRL MOVEMENT, because the need is so great.  I am a big bold woman, and it pains me to know that so many of my PHAT GIRLS are afraid to declare the same thing.  I just don't know what give them the right to not be BOLD, FIERCE AND PROUD OF EVERY OUNCE OF THEMSELVES.  I come in contact with so many woman who are waiting to lose weight so that they can get that new hair style, dress up and even go out and have fun.  I try to tell them your size isn't restricting you, you lack of love and confidence for yourself is.  Most PHAT GIRLS are their own worst enemy. I mean really, if you were bold and didn't believe in yourself, do you think the investor would have?  I think not!!!!  It is our duty as bold, beautiful intelligent PHAT GIRLS, to stand up and be heard.  We have to continue to encourage and empower our sisters to love themselves and make no apologies for who they are.

WHO ARE YOU

It took me a long time to come to terms with the person that I am.  I thought that so many irrelevant things defined who I was, things like clothing, other materialistic goods and even other people.  I was so wrapped up in what others thought until I privately begin to embrace the person that people said I was. I was wasting so much time embracing a person that didn't exist instead of loving who this body housed.  In the midst of all this, I learned something very valuable, there is a big difference between embracing something and loving it.  When you embrace something, you take hold of it.  You hold it close to you, for whatever reason but that doesn't mean you love it.  Now when you love something, you have profound feelings for it, you have the strongest form of affection for it.  You can embrace something and not love it, with ease but it is hard to love without embracing it.   When I was embracing the person others said I was, I was not at all loving the true me.  It took me going through life trials to begin to truly love and embrace the real me.  I literally looked in the mirror one day and asked myself, "WHO ARE YOU".  I then made a list of all of the characteristics that I possessed and begin to exhibit those things.  Yes I was talked, laughed at and lied on, hell I still am.  However, now that I know who I am............. I could care less!!!

So I ask you my full figured diva's, who are you?  Are you that fat insecure chick that is willing to settle?  Are you less of a woman because you have more to love?  Are you just a waste of a pretty face?  Are you some lazy heifer sitting around letting the world pass you by?  WHO ARE YOU?  I will tell you who you are, you are that person that lives within you.  That smart, intelligent, fun loving, kind, important person.  You are not those wide hips, big boobs and butt, but you should love them because they are a part of you.  Never allow others to define who you are because they are probably defining what they see instead of who you are.  Do you know how many people seem to be one thing but are really something totally different? I will tell, millions!!!   Looks are deceiving, so let your actions define you.