Love Your Self(ie)!

I used to hate, hate, hate having my picture taken. I was so insecure and so not into the way that I looked, I just hated seeing pictures of myself. Folks, that is so wrong and messed up! Taking pictures of yourself is one of the most positive (and in my experience, most successful) ways of learning to love yourself and your body. Study your shape, your face, your everything. Memorize every freckle and line and curve, and eventually (I promise!) you will start to see the beauty in it all.





I think the emergence of the "selfie" is one of the most beneficial things out there for anyone with body image issues. For one thing, sharing a bunch of selfies is empowering to other people just like you! Who doesn't want to see pictures of some cute person, doing their thing, feeling confident and beautiful? NO ONE. Confidence, like happiness, is contagious. The more positive images of real, everyday people you can surround yourself with, the most you will start to feel like that could be you.





The reason I seriously love this shirt is, obviously, (hellooooo) because I'm a big promoter of its message. 1.) LOVE YOURSELF. and 2.) TAKING SELFIES IS A GREAT WAY TO DO THAT. I had to have it as soon I saw it hanging on the rack. Cute cold shoulders were a plus, too!





Be rebellious-- don't listen to the messages inherent in media and our culture that tell you you aren't good enough or pretty enough. Because you are! I PROMISE!





I'm so passionate about people feeling good in their own skin. Please, if you haven't already tried it, take some selfies! You don't even have to share them with the world if you're not ready yet. This exercise is just for you. Stretch those self-love muscles and eventually you will be a body positive champion. And take it from me, that's a good thing to be.





cold shoulder tshirt, ross. red skinnies, dots. lace up booties, burke's outlet. earrings, shop in helen. clutch, thrifted.

Marvelous Mondays: Breaking the Rules

Happy Marvelous Monday my loves! Unfortunately my pics today didn't turn out the greatest. The sky was very dark and stormy looking, and yet the sun was still blazing, which resulting in some very weird lighting. Not to mention it was about 15 degrees hotter outside than when I left for work this morning, and I was suffocating! I'm afraid I rushed these as a result.

In any case! If you're new to the blog, here's the idea behind Marvelous Monday:
"Our philosophy: Monday is nobody’s favorite day of the week, but maybe its terrible reputation is a little undeserved. We’re on a mission to make ours (and hopefully yours) a little less awful by dressing marvelously!"

There are currently 5 of us participating in the challenges, so make sure to check out the other ladies' looks! I've posted links at the bottom of this entry for your perusal.

This week's theme was "breaking a fashion rule." I think as plus-size bloggers we are certainly bogged down with more "rules" than most. I'm happy to say that, in my opinion, the girls involved with this concept are not afraid to challenge the notion that we're only "allowed" to wear things that make us appear to be thinner. You wear the clothes, not the other way around! Wear what makes you happy, or comfortable, or confident. Or don't! But whatever you do I hope it's because you've made that decision, and not because you've felt forced into it by some silly rules.

I broke two rules with this look-- combining prints and wearing horizontal stripes. :)





floral skinnies, belk. cream striped top and nude flats, old navy.



Don't forget to check out these lovely ladies!

Cheri at Cheri'z Angel and Style Luvin
Jocelyn at Fat, Fashionable, and Feminist
Sarah at The Ridiculous Sort
Sian at Sort Life Out, Buy Milk

Workplace Bullying

Hey guys! I started to do my usual outfit post today, but something happened yesterday that's been on my mind. I decided to make this video post instead to see what you guys thought.



Like I said in the video, if you'd rather comment anonymously, feel free to drop me an email. My email address is: byehollywood@gmail.com.

Red Hot Tamale

Here's what I wore today! This isn't the most "flattering" outfit, but I'm getting the point in my acceptance of myself and my body that I don't care as much about hiding what some people might consider flaws. What I have is beautiful and a gift and it's meant to be celebrated! Life is too short and tough to push off loving yourself until you reach some vague goal in the undetermined future. Love yourself now! I do! :)







sweater, f21+. red skinnies, dots. embellished flats, ross.

hair cut, take two

I cut my hair again. GASP.

I think it'll look better after being washed and styled again, but here it is immediately after!





Also, I need you guys to help me accessorize my dress for graduation! I'll model it for you guys really soon so you can see what I'm talking about. It's a burnt orange color with tiny navy pinstripes... really cute, but seriously, what can you wear with burnt orange?!

Happy finals week! <3