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Friends and longterm followers will know I’m a huge fan of pin-up inspired style (in fact, I love just about any look from the 30s to the early 60s). Retro swimwear, in particular, is something of a speciality of mine. I’m so excited that after years of nothing but skimpy triangle bikinis and badly-fitting styles, brands are slowly branching out into vintage-inspired pieces. Swimsuits are no longer the frumpy option which is great news for those who prefer a bit of extra coverage.

In fact, 40s-inspired cossies with ruched detail, concealed panels and pull-down skirted styles are becoming a really stylish alternative to the modern bikini, and the best news is this style looks much better on a curvier woman than it does on someone with no hips! Think Marilyn Monroe on a beach in her white swimsuit – this is all about voluptuous glamour.

Red or Dead are the latest to jump on the retro bandwagon, with a capsule collection of swimwear set to launch later this month. I saw samples of these at a pop-up shop opening a while ago and completely fell in love with the sailor swimsuit (which also comes in red) but there are also halter swimdresses, classic maillots and lots more besides. They’ll be around the £40 – £60 mark.

If you love the collection, try looking in department stores like Fenwicks in the second half of the month, or online stockists Oli and Amazon.

If you love the look but need a bigger selection of sizes, another great discovery is ForLuna.co.uk which stocks pieces from retro brands What Katie Did and Lolita Girl and is also one of the only UK stockists I’ve found for the brilliant swimwear by 1930s movie star swimmer Esther Williams.

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I was overwhelmed by the amazing response to my recent guest curator post on Etsy. Before listing my picks from the site, the team very kindly let me wax lyrical about Big Girls Browse and why I started it, and it was lovely to see some of the reactions from the Etsy community.

One comment in particular really stood out to me. Niftyknits said “I’ve been trying to pretend I’m still a UK14, not 16…but this gives me the courage to say heck – I’m a 16!!!”

I was so touched when I read that, because it sums up the exact reason I started this site. We live in a world where there’s so much stigma attached to a stupid number printed on a clothes label, and there shouldn’t be! Your dress size does not define who you are.

In my experience UK 16 (and sometimes even 14) seems to be a real trigger point for a lot of women. For many of my slimmer friends, it seems to be the unspoken barrier between being ok and being ‘fat’ (and I mean ‘fat’ the way an obviously not fat girl does when she turns to her friend and yelps “OMG I’m soooooo fat”). I don’t really know why this particular size has such bad connotations. Perhaps it’s because, for a long time, 16 was the biggest size a lot of shops sold, and the crossover to the plus size market.

Now that’s not so true. As a nation, we’re getting bigger. Size 16 is now the average. The likes of New Look, M&S, Next and George stock larger sizes as standard. Evans, meanwhile, starts at 14, not the 16 that most people assume.

My dress size has yo-yo’d between a 12 and 16 for all of my adult life. Over that time my body mass index (BMI) has been everywhere from 22 (healthy) to just under 28 (overweight). I have never been obese (a BMI of 30+) though I’m sure a fair few internet trolls would tell you otherwise if they saw a picture of me in a bikini.

My comfy weight (what model Crystal Renn refers to as the ’set point’ in her book) is around a size 14, with a BMI of 24. This is on the high end of the healthy range, but healthy all the same. At that weight, I can enjoy myself, have the odd treat and resist becoming the Crazy Diet Girl that I was at my slimmest. But I frequently go above that weight, and it really doesn’t make much of a difference. I don’t morph into a different person when I put on 5lbs.

I once put a picture of myself on a blog and stated my dress size in the accompanying post. I was a size 14 max at the time. One woman took no time in getting her claws out to comment “Size 18 more like!”

I was livid. How dare she? I was proud at that time to be maintaining a so-called healthy weight. The last thing I needed when I was actually making an effort was for some nasty little witch I’d never met to make me feel bad about myself.

But then I thought about it, and I decided that by being pissed off, I was just as bad as this woman. I was letting dress size rule my life. Who cares if I was a size 18? IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER. The only thing I had any right to be upset about was the fact she thought I’d felt the need to lie about it!

The label in your clothing means nothing. It’s taken me a long time to realise that. There’s no magic change when you go up a size. You don’t suddenly become a heifer overnight. It’s just a number.

Two women can wear the same dress size and look completely different. Height, body shape, muscle mass, waist-to-hip ratio, even the size of your boobs can contribute to what dress size you wear. The BMI scale (which dictates that a woman of average height, were she a size 16, would probably be slightly overweight) doesn’t take into account the fact muscle weighs more than fat, or the fact that big breasts aren’t a choice. It also doesn’t take into account the reasons women are the size they are; from lifestyle to genetics to the medication they’re on (including, of course, the contraceptive pill). One woman’s 12 is another’s 22. It doesn’t matter what the label says as long as you’re happy.

More importantly, and the point I was trying to make when mentioning the comment that woman made, is that size is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, there are some people who will always look at women and see fatties, whether they’re size 12, 16 or 26. But there are just as many others who’ll look at a size 16+ and see a voluptuous, sexy woman who’s got better things to do than obsess over the label in her jeans. And that is a very attractive thing indeed.

If, with this site, I can make just one or two women of a similar size to me feel better about their bodies, then I’m happy. I’ve come to terms with the fact I wasn’t built to be super-slim, and I’m concentrating on being happy and having a healthy attitude towards my size instead.

And the happiest, healthiest people are the ones who don’t obsess, or care, what a label says!

Wearing denim doesn’t have to mean wearing jeans, and this season there are loads of alternatives to the plethora of skinnies, jeggings and boyfriend jeans that are still filling the rails everywhere from M&S to Mango. I know lots of you – like me – have trouble finding jeans that fit, so save yourself the nightmare shopping trip! Shirts, jackets, dresses, skirts – this Spring, the alternatives are endless.

So I’ve put together some suggestions of jean-free ways to wear the fabric. If you’re really brave, you could tackle the double denim trend (yes it’s back!) and team a jacket or shirt with your favourite jeans or jeggings. I prefer to play it safe, though…

For a different take on denim, try 70s style button down dresses, worn-looking shirts (a la Christina Hendricks) or a boob-friendly grandad tunic (wear a good bra and undo a few buttons). If that’s still not for you, why not go for interesting pieces that are denim blue in colour, but made of softer, more pliable fabrics?

I’ve picked some of my favourite blue buys from a variety of shops. Some are high street, some are specialist, so there should be something for everyone. Size ranges are listed with each product, and nothing’s over £60 so there should be something to fit all budgets.

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Vogue may be all about aspirational high fashion, but they know a hot topic when they see one. Hot on the heels of the so-called ‘rise of the size 16 supermodel’, Vogue Italia has dedicated a whole section of their website to women like us: Vogue Curvy.

So far it seems to be relying on two tried and tested topics – models and celebs. There’s a gallery dedicated to Crystal Renn, complete with behind-the-scenes pics you might not have seen before, and one for America Ferrera. Model Sindy Gourland gives fashion advice, and the ‘curvy blog’ covers the recent Mark Fast show.

But to be honest, it seems to be playing it incredibly safe so far. A selection of items inspired by Christina Hendricks has such great potential, but seems to consist entirely of boring black sacks. Where are the cleavage-enhancing red carpet gowns or Joan-esque wiggle dresses? Just because we’re curvy doesn’t mean we’re boring, and we all know Vogue has access to the most exquisite clothes. The style advice section is a bit more inventive, but there are no links to buy, just lots of photos.

The site shows definite potential, but I’d love to see them taking bigger risks and using a bit more imagination. Vogue is leader, not a follower, and right now I feel there are other sites and blogs out there delivering the same content in a much better way.

They get an A for effort though. It’s very early days, and this is such a departure for a magazine that’s usually devoted to tiny models. I’d love to see Vogue UK and US following Italia’s lead in the future. I bet I know plenty of willing contributers…

If you walk past Debenhams on London’s Oxford Street in the next few days, you might spot something a bit unusual. They’ve just added two size 16 mannequins to the display, with a board below reading “I’m a size 16. Do you want to see more of me?”

This is part of a trial by the retailer to see if customers would like to see these mannequins rolled out across more stores. Traditionally, Debenhams use size 10 models, but with 42% of sales coming from size 14 and 16 garments, these new mannequins represent the average customer far more.

Launching this trial is a savvy move on Debenhams part, particularly on the eve of London Fashion Week when everyone’s eyes are on the fashion industry. Far from being shoved into a specialist 16+ range, the mannequins wear the new Principles by Ben de Lisi range, which has had loads of press recently and is one of the store’s key collections.

Hopefully, if enough of us give positive feedback, the mannequins will become a permanent fixture across the country.

If that happens, I’d love to see them continue this good work and add some other sizes to the mix in the future. As much as I think this is a fantastic move forward, I don’t think you can truly represent British women just by adding a couple of plus size mannequins to all those size 10s. How about some petite models, some size 12s and so on? Let’s really push for diversity and a true representation of who is shopping on the UK high street.

[photo via the Debenhams Flickr page]

Topshop are offering half price shipping on all orders with the code FEBSHIP2010. Clothing goes up to a size 16, shoes up o a 42 (UK 8). Don’t forget the Tall range for longer lengths.

Get 10% off at New Look with the code SPRING10. Main collections go up to a size 18, Inspire collection to a 26.

No, I haven’t been given my own Beth Ditto-esque fashion range (yet) but I am very honoured to be the first guest blogger on the brand new Evans blog.

As the market leaders in the UK when it comes to 14+ fashion, Evans are hugely influential. But theirs is a mammoth task; as one of only a handful of brands catering for the plus size market in this country (and the only one to have a truly significant number of stand-alone stores on the high street) they have to do a bit of everything, from trends to workwear to classics to formalwear (plus shoes, lingerie and so on). I think it’s great that they’re adding another place for customers to interact and discuss what they like, what they want and how they want to be involved, and I’m sure the blog will be huge news as it grows.

I’m the first of many guest bloggers, and having seen the plan for the next few months, I’m definitely going to be reading long after I sign off and hand the baton over to another blogger! They’ve got some huge names involved, and there’ll be plenty of great content about all aspects of the industry – not just what’s in store at Evans – which is great from a corporate blog.

Read it here, just don’t forget who sent you!

When it comes to bras that fit, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that only a handful of brands can really cater for the fuller figure. All of them charge upwards of £25 for a decent bra, so buying pretty new lingerie quickly ends up costing a fortune.

So I was happy to discover BraStop.com, who offer all the brands I’m familiar with (Panache, Kalyani, Freya etc) along with one I didn’t – Curvy Kate – with discounts all round. The money off ranges from a couple of quid to around 50% off, and with one Curvy Kate bra on special offer at £10 this week, I thought it rude not to give it a go…

I have to say I was thorougly impressed. First of all, with BraStop’s service. I didn’t specify next day delivery, but I ordered the bra in the afternoon, it was dispatched within hours and it was on my doormat when I got home the next day, prettily wrapped in tissue paper beneath the plastic shipping bag.

The bra itself was a real surprise. For £10, I wasn’t expecting much (I didn’t note the £26 RRP at the time). Even Primark charge £6+ for its D+ bras and I’m used to paying around £30 for Panache and Kalyani, but the quality was on a par with those other brands I’m used to. The choice of style is limited (there are about 6 bras in the range, all fairly similar) but each comes in loads of colours and prints so when you find the one you like, you’re set!

Like most of us, I vary between a couple of sizes depending on the brand, but I decided to go with the smaller back size on this occasion given that Curvy Kate is a specialist brand and they tend to be slightly more generous around the band than high street D+ ranges with their padding, frills and over the top detail.

I was right to do this. The bra I tried was called Portia, and I’d liken the fit of it to similar styles from Panache – the cups are quite wide and the back is fairly generous (if you’re between two sizes, go down as there’s quite a lot of stretch). Most importantly, it’s incredibly comfortable. I often find the bones start to dig in after a day’s wear but with this I couldn’t feel a thing. The straps didn’t slip at all, and nothing itched or rubbed. All in all, I was suitably impressed. It’s great to discover another brand that fits and flatters, especially one so affordable.

Prices on BraStop for Curvy Kate range from about £12 up to £16 and right now there’s free shipping with the code JAN10PAY. I’m definitely going to be investing in a few more!

disclaimer: I paid for the bra and received no incentive to write this. I just loved the brand!