“…The creative-minded woman, who wants to look like herself, not the masses. She has a sense of adventure about what she wears, and although fashion is important to her, she is too busy enjoying life to be governed by the latest trends. To her, Anthropologie is a portal of discovery—a brush with what could be. A place for her to lose—and find—herself.” Talk about a mission that resonates so well with The Long & Short of Style. Anthropologie is a brand made for the woman not afraid to express herself AND now they have expanded their sizing to include both straight and plus size women!!! A brand we can get behind! Follow us as we go `twinning in Anthropologie showcasing a few pieces that speak to the creative adventurer within us!
Gail – Boho Bad Gal
Coat: Anthropologie (sold out) similar here // Velvet Skirt: Anthropologie // Blouse: Anthropologie (no longer available) similar here //
Tall babes, you can get this same look too! Scout on down to Leslie’s section for all of the links!
I love when a retailer decides to step up and extend their clothing line to include plus sizes – I mean, more access and greater options is always a plus – pun intended. So, when Anthropologie stepped into the plus size fashion game I was delighted!
I was having an interesting conversation with my sister a couple of weeks back when she asked me if my style was really classic with a “twist” and I replied, “That’s a good question. For so long the options that has been made available for plus size women have been really very classic and very “mature”.” Unless you’re a seamstress and thus can make your own clothes, one is really “stuck” with that plus size retailers offer. So, stepping into Anthropologie was a real treat because I got to experiment and try different pieces and put outfits together like this one, right in the store.
This straight style yellow skirt is an absolute dream. It’s velvet with an elasticized waist but the elastic is hidden so that it looks like a regular waist band. I sized down in the skirt to a size 2X for a slightly more fitted look.
Next came this beautiful yellow printed peasant style blouse that I’m wearing in a size 3X so that I can have a more “blousey” oversized look.
For a more even patterned look I added this navy plaid coat – that has flecks of yellow, pink, green and purple in it. I love the large lapels.
One of the most fun things about putting this look together was that my sister and I got to shop in the same store! Thank you Anthropologie for allowing us to be able to indulge in one of our favourite pass times – shopping TOGETHER!
Leslie‘s Bohemian Rhapsody
Coat: Anthropologie (sold out on-line, similar here & here) // Blouse: Anthropologie (sold out on-line, similar here & here) // Skirt: Anthropologie // Boots: Just Fab (old, similar here)
My plus size ladies, I got you babes! Since Gail and I are twinning, you know this look works for you too! Refer to Gail’s links above!
Styling this post was such an experience for me on so many levels. It gave me more clarity on the plus sized women’s experience in the fashion world and given me an opportunity to do things I don’t often get to do – like going shopping in the same store in Canada with my sissy! I’ve always loved Anthropology. While my style is not super boho, they always have fantastic pieces that really express my inner free spirit and love of colour and print. That said, funny enough, I did not really delve into the world of Anthropologie until they had a plus sized collection. Gail and I LOVE shopping together, and there are just some stores I skip or don’t spend a much time in when they don’t have plus or cool shoes or accessories that we can both oohh and awe over. This is one reason why retailers really need to expand their sizing and have all the collections from the plus, petite, straight and tall collections in the stores.
Shopping is an experience, like a dinner out with friends. It’s not a chore (at least not for the fashion lovers of the world). Think about it, when you want a really good meal with quality food, amazing attentive service and the best ingredients and atmosphere, you tend to go to a sit down restaurant with friends, not fast food. Not that there’s anything wrong with fast food, but it serves its purpose. When you want an experience you don’t typically go to a fast food joint. For shopping, I see it as a similar thing. Shopping with friends is an experience that you all feed into. Yes, there are times when you need to just get in and get out, but shopping can often be a group activity or outing and really, no one wants to be left out, and when you can’t get your size in a store, it`s disheartening, alienating and frustrating.
So in walks Anthropologie on the size inclusive sphere! Now, Gail and I are there quite often stalking the collections and seeing how the same pieces fit our different bodies, and it’s been an experience. A very positive experience. The only drawback being that I wish they had more of the plus size pieces in the store so we can touch, feel and try everything on. But, they do have many more of the plus size pieces on-line, and you can return in store when you order on-line which is great!
This coat jumped out at both Gail and I wen we saw it. Love the print and flecks of colour. The style is also classic so that it can be a piece you can wear year after year and not worry about the trends changing on you.
Next came this skirt in this gorgeous golden yellow colour! Just because it’s fall, doesn’t mean we have to go around only wearing grey, black, and navy. The velvet of the skirt makes the colour look so rich and saturated, while the texture makes the skirt look luxurious!
Then came the blouse. You know I LOVE print and Gail adores feminine pieces. This blouse was the perfect combination of both our tastes. Since this blouse was only available in plus size, I took the smallest plus size they had (i.e. 1x). I wore it backwards and off one shoulder to create a whole nother kind of look with this piece. Never be afraid to take and piece and flip it and reverse it. When it doesn`t look right frontwards, I always try it on backwards (i.e. when it doubt, flip it aboutJ)!
I learned soooo much from this twinning experience. Not just from Gail and I wearing the same pieces, but more from shopping in a brick and mortar store that caters to both straight and plus sizes. The sales associates in store were AMAZING, and the store is a great size so that you can meander around looking at all the selections meant to entice (and they definitely do entice). The one challenge I had was when it came to selecting an outfit, from the physical store that both Gail and I could twin in. The plus collection in store is not as expansive as the straight size options. This made it a little trickier wen it came to putting a look together. I have always heard from Gail and many other plus size women that they get frustrated when they go into a store and sadly are not able to find their size or there is limited selections available in store. As I mentioned earlier, Anthropologie has plus and straight size pieces in store, and even more on-line, but the plus selection is not as expansive as the straight size. We would so love to see even more plus pieces in store so that our shopping experience is even more exciting! It just means our pocket books will cry!LOL
I already knew, but also truly realized that I so took it for granted that I could express myself, my personality, my mood through my style. But for plus size women, until more recently, it’s almost as though their style has been dictated to them. Like, if you’re a plus size woman, you will wear moomoos and loose unstylish clothing. As though you are not permitted to be stylish if your plus size. For a person like me, that literally uses her style as a artistic outlet, a means to communicate and show the world what I want them to see, this feels like fashion prison. This also has made me even more of an advocate to see more retailers offering size inclusive fashion in their stores on-line and in the brick and mortar store.
And my tall girls, I would recommend trying on their pieces even though they do not have a specific tall collection (yetJ). I tried on several pieces where I was quite surprised with the fit. But you`ll have to tune into our next post to find out more about that one!
Anthropologie, thank you for giving both straight and plus size women an opportunity to choose how to express themselves. Allowing them to dictate their style rather than them being dictated to. Thank you for allowing my sister and I to have a excellent shopping experience where we can both find pieces that reflect our style sensibilities. And thank you for recognizing that all women deserve quality, unique pieces that all ow them to differentiate themselves from the masses and transcend the trends!
And that’s the long and short of it!
Gail & Leslie xoxo
Photo credit: Roseline Bonheur