Why the name? Sometimes in the UK a man who’s a bit of a wimp and slightly effeminate is called a “big girl’s blouse”. Big Girls Browse was my attempt at a stupid pun on that!

Big Girls Browse isn’t a plus size site. Though I do feature plus brands, BGB is about more than that. It’s for any woman who’s felt hard done by when shopping on the high street. It aims to bridge the gap between mass-market fashion and specialist stores for those who’re somewhere in between. It’s for woman who’re fed up of pulling on a pair of trousers to find they gape at the waist and pull on the hips. It’s for any woman who has to wear a modesty cami under every top because it’s not cut for women with boobs. It’s for tall women, short women, women with bellies, women with boobs, women with curvy hips, bums and tums, and women who won’t go out in the evening without their magic knickers! It’s for you, the average, normal, everywoman who’s fed up of hunting for the perfect fit.

I’m Gemma Cartwright, and I’ve worked on fashion, beauty and lifestyle websites since my teens. When I was 18, I created Catwalk Queen, which grew, over the years, into one of the UK’s leading fashion blogs. I left the site in 2009 to work on other project, and returned to it in September 2011, a little bit older and (hopefully) a little bit wiser!

Big Girls Browse is a labour of love for me. Working on Catwalk Queen in the past, I often I felt far too big for the fashion I was writing about, even if it came in my size. By nature, the fashion industry is full of tall, slim women. There aren’t many women like me at the kind of events I frequent, so I often felt that I stuck out like a sore thumb. That’s where the name of this site came from. Though I’m not drastically overweight, I’ve always felt like the big girl, and it did nothing for my body confidence!

I’m still devoted to Catwalk Queen and strive to make it as inclusive as possible, but while I was on a break from the site I decided to do something a little more personal. I wanted to create a blog that didn’t just feature tiny models in high fashion clothes that wouldn’t translate to real life, but wearable stuff worn by a regular woman. Rumour has it the average UK woman has the measurements 39 – 34 – 41, making her about a size 16, depending on the shop. I’ve been that woman, and though I’ve lost a bit of weight since I started this site, I’m still far from the size 8 models in magazines and always will be. I often find myself limited when it comes to shopping. Not always because the clothes don’t fit, but because they don’t fit properly. They pull on the hips, gape on the waist barely do up over my ample bust! Despite the fact I represent the average British woman – and I’m not technically plus sized – clothes just don’t seem to be created for women like me.

We all know the cold hard truth is that high fashion clothes hang best on very slim models and that’s why models are the size they are. But so few women look like those models in real life. The result is that clothes look great on the catwalk but are impossible to wear in real life. Even when the high street interprets them, they skimp on fabric or don’t cut to accomodate our curves. Too many companies are alienating the majority of their consumers because they’re not cutting to fit them.

I want to change that, and Big Girls Browse is my first step. The site will act as a resource and directory for sites that cater to the specific problems so many women face. It will follow me in my struggle to find shapes and silhouettes that work for my pear-shaped body. There will be plus-size sites featured, but also ‘straight’ sizes, specialist lingerie brands for larger cup sizes, brands that cut for curvy hips or wide calves, brands for tall women and short women and everything in between…and that’s just to begin with!

If you have a brand or product that you think is suitable for this site, email me on BigGirl@BigGirlsBrowse.com.
I’ll happily feature products and services from around the world, but please note I am based in London, UK.

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