Wow, Marianna, great post! You’ve covered everything and I’m sure this will be immensely helpful to many women. You always look so great, I love to see your threads on the forum.

Great write up Marianna! I loved reading every word! I agree, this is a plethera of good advice for many women who struggle with weight.
And, I think you look fabulous in everything I have seen you post- you are more stylish than I can ever hope to be and I’m a size 6- so ROCK ON MARIANNA!!!
Style has nothing to do with size, but everything to do with fit, and finding the right style for you!

I loved reading your post! I am a plus model in Philadelphia and I adore clothes. Life is too short and fashion is too much fun to spend time feeling bad about the body that one is fortunate enough to enjoy and have fun dressing! I hope you’ll post again with some more plus tips!

What a beautifully written blog, Marianna! I loved reading about your journey from wearing clothes that don’t fit, to finding clothes to that do and feeling fabulous.

You look gorgeous, and you have much to celebrate!

I’m sending virtual cyber hugs to you!!

let’s hear it for a plus-size fashionista! I may be older than you but I go through the same things only add in that I am only 5′2″! The plus-size dept. is huge compared to the plus-petite offerings. That would be why I started to sew and have gotten into designing some of the clothes that I wear. Now I can get the details that I want on shapes and sizes that work on my body!

Fabulous post, marianna, and Amen to everything you say. You’re a great roll-model for style mavins of any size! And you’re an excellent writer, too.

Fabulous post, Marianna. I love what you say about ignoring the size tag. That’s something every woman can completely identify with, and you are so right on. I’ve heard Clinton Kelly say that you should just cut the tag out if it bothers you so much. Clothing sizes don’t change our body size!
Your style is very elegant and polished, yet young and funky.
Recently I tried to shop for someone who is petite, and I realized how hard the special sized women really have it. So I’m even more impressed with your ability to pull together such great looks.

This is a fantastic post, Marianna! Thank you so much for writing it. Your outfits are fabulous–I love your style and find it very inspiring. I’ve added your blog to my blogroll and google reader because you give me all sorts of ideas about outfits I want to steal.

What a fabulous post Marianna! I could completely relate to a lot of the things you were saying, and I have to say that you have just totally inspired me to dress in things that I like *right now* instead of waiting to lose the last of the weight that I’ve been working on.

You are stunning and have 100X more style than I’ve ever had.

Wooohooo! Thanks for the superb write-up, Marianna! I’ve read through it a couple of times and am moved each time. Your impeccable sense of style is a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration for us all. I LOVE your polish. Love, love, love, love, love it! It’s just part of who you are. You’d look polished in hessian sack! Thank you Marianna’s Mum for being a style role model to your gorgeous daughter. I’m sure you are as proud of her as we are.

All your outfits ROCK. I hit the roof with excitement when I saw you sport that frock with little cowboy boots! My word. You go girl! Mary said it so well: “ Life is too short and fashion is too much fun to spend time feeling bad about the body that one is fortunate enough to enjoy and have fun dressing!”

And look at you sporting the hottest trends: leggings, tunics, slouch boots, plaid top, ruffled skirt and waist cinching belt. Brilliant!

So no pressure or anything, but I demand to see you in more dresses from now on. Your height and grace was made for the look

Marianna-What an insightful post!! It was lovely to read. Thank you for posting this! I am on the opposite side of the spectrum “stick-like” and have issues purchasing clothing that fits good as well. My mom’s Bff is an Apple shape as well, and she is 5′10”. Thank you for this post. I am trying to help her get back into the job game after being a stay at home mom for 20 years. She is a wonderful person, but I wasn’t sure what to recommend to her. This post (with excellent pictures!!!) is very helpful!!

Thank you ever so much for posting this on YLF! You are a gorgeous woman, and no size matters, when the clothing is flattering and you have a great smile!!

Wonderful post, Marianna! You are simply stunning! I, too, admire your sense of fashion and your polish. To quote my DD’s, you totally rock! I wish I had half of your flair.

Marianna: Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your perspective. I, too, have struggled with my weight, especially in the last couple of years. And for me, size acceptance has been a big issue. I agree that looking fab really starts on the inside and size acceptance is major cornerstone in feeling fab. Thank you for sharing your perspective and your tips for looking impeccable at any size I look forward to checking out your new blog for style tips & inspiration!

Marianna,

When you won the TJ Maxx contest I thought how great and very attractive you looked in that post in all your assorted outfits.

Thanks now for sharing your insights and thoughts on dressing so fab. Great post!

Marianna, you absolutely ROCK. Thanks for sharing your journey and more photos of your impeccable style.

Marianna you are an inspriation. As an apple I am learning a lot from you. I love, love you in that dress with the boots. Stunning!!

Marianna, what a great post! Thanks so much for sharing. I love the outfits you have posted. You look incredibly polished and stylish!

I have been fortunate enough to never struggle with my weight, but this post resonates with me anyway. I think all women at all sizes seem to struggle over SOMETHING, whether it’s being plus size, having big hips, flabby arms, too skinny/straight, petite etc. Just look at the post from a few days ago where Angie asked everyone to make a fashion wish, and so many of them ended up being about bodies rather than clothes. I’m a size 4 and constantly have to battle clothes to fit my top half. I’m always wondering if my bust size prevents me from embracing all the fun and trends that my smaller-chested counterparts get to play with. But like you, YLF has helped guide me and give me options I never thought I had.

Anyway, Marianna, you look wonderful and you’ll always look wonderful at any size. It’s great that you are taking positive steps to lose weight and get in shape, but it has no bearing on your appearance. You are lovely now and you will continue to be lovely 50 pounds from now.

Marianna, thank you for your post. I think you’re beautiful and stylish. Your fashion sense is an inspiration to women of all sizes!

Marianna, thank you SO much for your post…you look great and it’s inspiring to read about your journey. As Maya says, we all have something we have to dress around and some of us have daughters who may have this issue too. Size is a difficult issue to work around and I’m so happy to have inspiration from someone who has found some peace with it!

Thank you for sharing with us!

You look wonderful, Marianna! And your write up is very touching and inspiring. Good for you for finding your style and for being confident about it.

Very well written , a pleasure to read…and as always you are a pleasure to see!! Looking super Fab!!!

Hear, hear, Marianna! Having joined this community somewhat recently, I have quickly learned to click on whatever post you’ve written – you always have such a strong point of view and a wonderful eye for fashion. I’m also excited to see you’ve started a blog – I’ll be checking in there often!

Marianna – I was crying by the time I finished your post. I spent most of my adult life as a size 8 and it was only in my mid-30s that I found myself, thanks to a series of stressful events and health issues, a size 16. I have been at a loss to dress this body that feels like a stranger to me.

My first few plus-sized years, I just bought anything that fit me, quite sure that I would soon return to my “normal” weight and also too depressed to spend much time thinking about or shopping for my much-larger body. I would be asked on at least a bi-monthly basis if I was pregnant or when the baby was due because most of the clothes I wore were so ill-fitting. (Note to anyone reading: unless a baby’s head is poking out between a woman’s thighs, never ever ask if she’s pregnant!)

Finding YLF has been one of the steps along my path to feeling okay with this differently-shaped body of mine. Don’t get me wrong – I’m going to the gym often and would love to get back to a size 8 some day. But for as long as I’m a size 16, I want to look great. The way that Angie includes us plus-sized women in all her fashion advice has been very healing for me. And seeing gorgeous, stylish women like Marianna and Michele in the forums have given me kick-butt role models that I lacked. I have plenty of money to spend and now it’s a matter of clearing my closet of all the unflattering items and starting anew, with an eye on what looks actually looks good on ME and THIS body. I’m just at the infancy phase of learning what looks good on me, but for the first time in years, I’m getting excited about clothes again.

I turn 40 *gulp* in 3 weeks, and look forward to making this a decade in which I can both work on improving myself AND feel great about who I am at any given time, at any given size. Thanks, Marianna, for being a young YLFer leading the way. And thanks, Angie, for giving us a community that helps me along my journey.

Wow Marianna, when I look at you I see a beautiful face, amazing style and not your size. You are an inspiration for all apples regardless of size.

I fluctuate between a size 14 and 16, which usually means I fluctuate between departments at the store I’m shopping in. When I have to head to the so-called women’s department to find something that fits, I feel like I’ve been put in the penalty box. I find those little segregated departments depressing. I’m glad you’ve put a positive spin on it – less size competition, fewer crowds – and I will start trying to look at it that way myself.

Marianna, your write up on style adventure is very touching. Having lived quite a few years I can say that my body has changed directions several times in life. I have been too thin, I have been too heavy, but really what ever weight I am is just me and my hormones, or whatever it is that makes a woman’s body change shape sometimes. You are a smart one to learn to not be in denial, and have fun dressing. It shows that you enjoy style. You have got IT! You definately dress well, and you are an inspiration to all of us.

…ah… how lovely is this Internet business…. To learn, to share, to buoy each other up when the waves wash across the Bow.
Flexibility breeds acceptance of things as they are. Old enough to be Mum to most of Angie’s readers, my 20’s were spent as a slightly overweight Apple. Lost all the excess baggage by working out like a fiend, allowing me to enjoy the 30’s and 40’s as a size 8/10 hourglass, and fun it was to dress that figure.
At 50 a lumbar disk ruptured, knocking me on my keister, literally, spiritually and emotionally. The knees are shot from all the running and menopause has taken it’s toll. So here we are at 55, back to a very Apple-ly size 14. When life gives you apples, bake an Apple Pie )
Good luck Honey, you are gorgeous just the way you are, and I plan to steal outfit ideas, so keep them coming.

Marianna,
You are a beautiful woman and definitely look totally FAB in every photo. Thanks for your inspiring words – you made my day!

Bravo, Marianna! What a well-written, expressive article. You are one of the most stylish women I know and have had the privilege to meet!

Yay, Marianna! What an awesome post! You express yourself as beautifully as you dress! You are such a classy, stylish, gorgeous young woman! Kudos to you for having a great time dressing the body you have right now…and what a brilliant job you do!

A fabulous insightful post, you ROCK

Marianna, you are SO chic. What’s more, the fact that you are an absolutely amazing person shines through in both the way you look and your words. I agree with Angie that your polish is pedestal worthy. Thank you so much for this awesome write up– I *love* all of your outfits.

MBZ, I love your twist on the old adage! Its lovely!

Marianna, you are lovely and radiant.

“Your polish is pedestal-worthy”, hear hear! I couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much for this post Marianna, you write so clearly and with such enthusiasm and I think there’s excellent advice here for lasses of all sizes.
I’m 100% convinced you have inherited the style gene and fashion insight from your stylish Mum. I’m always in awe of the fab outfit combinations you put together and nobody would ever know that you were struggling with how to dress just a few months ago. Let me tell you one thing: when I’m in desperate need for some inspiration I just have to look at your pictures and I’m good to go.

(I also love your blog, I’ve added it to my blog reader).

You look very stylish and well-proportioned in all of your photos, Marianna. Thanks for the post and your insight. My shape is a little different from yours but I identify with some of the issues you wrote about. I’m tall and I’ve almost always been between a size 10 and 14, with a waist that requires tailoring in, so I know the frustration of having limited fashion options and that there is a stigma attached to not being a single-digit size, though my large frame would have to be starved down to the bone to fit in the small sizes many women covet. And even being only a marginally larger size, I’ve felt sized out of certain brands because it’s so hard to find fitted blouses and dresses that accommodate my large chest. Besides when one wears the largest size in a line, one can’t size up to fit the chest or hips and have the waist tailored. Unfortunately, though, when I’ve tried plus-size clothes the tailoring costs have been outrageous, as my waist is not “plus”. It’s rotten being stuck between two size ranges.

Oh, Marianna, you are eloquent, stylish, and beautiful! I want to say that while your size may make it harder to find the clothes for the look you want, that is an issue about the clothes, not you. Your size is part of your beauty. You have a lot of presence!

Super post. Thank you, Marianna, for being so open about your personal journey towards accepting your body and thus your whole self. Very inspiring. And you look SO FAB!!! Love all your outfits, especially the one with the (wrap?) dress and those studded booties (funky!), and the one with the fuchsia tartan tunic over the skinny jeans. Trendy, chic, pulled together, flattering. You’re setting a stylish example not just for plus sized women!

Marianna,

You look great – I love your outfits! Where did you find your brown boots? I covet them!

All,

Thank you SO very much for your thoughtful responses and kind words. I was at work and away from the computer for the first part of the day, but I sneaked a peak at your comments whenever I had the chance. Every comment made me smile from ear to ear. I am glad some of you were able to relate to my story and I am thankful that Angie gave me the venue to have my voice be heard. I have spent way too many years hating my body and enough is enough.

I LOVE what MBZ said: “When life gives you apples, bake an apple pie.” Brilliant.

Marianna that was a wonderful post. I have never seen a pic of you where you didn’t look gorgeous and 100% stylish. And especially as a fellow apple you really are an inspiration to me in terms of snappy dressing – at any size!!!

Life is an event Marianna and you are showing me that you are playing your part beautifully! I love you in that ruffle skirt outfit, my favorite!

Marianna: What a lovely, lovely post. I’ve already told you how absolutely gorgeous I think you are. You are learning now what I only wish I had learned when I was your age…self acceptance at any size. Easier said than done, that’s for sure.

Marianna, thank you so much for the wonderful and touching post! You are so beautiful and wise beyond your years! I wish I had half of your style. How nice to have such a stylish mom for a role model. She must be so proud of you and your fabulous style!

You look fab, my dear. The epitome of fab.

Wonderful post. I live my life with a plus size upper body and regular size lower body. What fruit I am I do not know but perhaps a tuti-fruity for ever worring about it at all. You demonstrate that with some positive attitude a little ‘ Angie’ ingenuity you too can look Fabulous. Thanks for the inspiration.

Marianna, the openness and the beautiful flow of your write up of your personal journey made me teary eyed. I was really moved by all of it!

You’re 100% stylish and beautiful. In addition to dressing yourself well, you seem to know your make up. I’m always impressed by how nice your make up looks.

Amazing post! You are an inspiration to lot of women!

Thank you Marianna! I just had time to really read your post and it was superb!
I echo the others who commented – You Rock!

What a beautiful and touching post Marianna! You are gorgeous and have a great style! I have been inspired by many of your outfits

You look so fantastic, Marianna! I’m glad you have been able to look and feel better in your clothes. Thank you for sharing your story. I may pass it along to some of my plus size friends who deserve to look as beautiful as you do. =o)

Great post, thank you. I would like to recommend a fantastic, cheerful blogger: Lilly from http://frocksandfroufrou.blogspot.com/. I think you will like her. Best wishes Jen x

Marianna,
You look great in all of those outfits! My favorite is the first one on the left. I have also known some plus-size yet really fashionable women. A friend of mine always looks so well put together and always wears some fabulous statement jewelry. And it doesn’t hurt that she has the prettiest complexion too! I really feel that this is an untapped market that only a few designers have touched. It’s silly that some clothing labels assume that plus-size women want to dress frumpy. they need to offer more choices to today’s women.