Plus Size Special Occasion Forum

Why Couture is Ideal for Plus Size Mother of the Bride

2011-08-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Every woman wants to look fabulous on the wedding day of their daughter or son. This is universal. The majority of woman are plus size (14 and up), according to many statistics, so about 60% of mothers are plus size.

This healthy majority still faces an unfair marketplace where fine clothing that really fits is a rarity.

Either it's the right color and doesn't fit, or it sort of fits and is not what she really wants. What's a plus size mother of the bride to do?

The answer is: Plus Size Couture: Having an ensemble made to measure from fine fabrics.

Having been in this industry for over 20 years, I know my clients well: They are plus size woman, usually 35 or over, and no matter how they dress during the week, strictly casual or career wear, when it comes to That Special Day, they all want to look and feel appropriately dressed and comfortable.

Even women who live in jeans and buy their clothing at Ross are more than willing to expand their budgets to get the right look. So why haven't the major stores really gotten with the program? Why does Neiman Marcus, one of the nation's largest online retailers, only offer up to size 24, and all 6 of the gowns offered in "special sizes>Evening" have defined waists?

The reason is that plus size women come in all shapes and sizes, and buyers for large chain stores focus their dollars on the middle demographic, ignoring everyone else.

They have learned that there are challenges in fitting larger plus size women and women with different body types, and they don't want to be bothered.

The larger a woman becomes, the more distinct and unique her body type becomes. That's why most retailers ignore sizes above 24 and women with unique body shapes.

Plus Size Couture offers all larger women the option of having exactly what they want, what looks best on them, in the fabrics they choose, at the price point they can afford.

We at Peggy Lutz Plus have been pioneering plus size couture for over 20 years, and are experts at fitting all body types and heights, fulfilling all desires to have it YOUR way. www.plus-size.com is the answer.

Must We Suffer to Be Beautiful? Part Two

2011-07-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

Consider BOUND FEET. Wikipedia says it pretty well.

Can you even imagine letting anyone do this to you? Hobbling you to the point of constant pain and inability to walk? It was practiced into the 20th century!

Take a look at this video at YouTube if you can stomach it..those are her toes you see underneath the arch of her foot...

The shoes were pretty, but so what if you're in constant agony?

So what if men of the time found it sexy?

Consider how we still allow our culture to dictate to us that we must alter ourselves, often painfully, to be considered beautiful: Plastic surgury, starvation diets, high heeled shoes, girdles and other "foundation" garments.

To be truly beautiful, a woman must be happy, feel good about herself and how she looks, and feel comfortable.

Plus size woman deserve to feel beautiful in their clothing, especially during the most important events of their lives.

Plus size woman deserve clothing that fits their bodies and their personalities as well as the occasion.

I founded Peggy Lutz Plus over 20 years ago to provide comfort and chic for women of all shapes and sizes of large.

Explore the options at www.plus-size.com for plus size mothers of the bride and groom, plus size special occasion clothing and career clothing.

Insist on comfort; you're entitled to it! xoxo PEG

Comfort is the Ultimate Luxury

2011-07-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Must we suffer to be beautiful? Still? It's just a couple of years shy of a century since Coco Chanel introduced sportswear and comfortable clothing for women. The corset died hard, but it did die; sort of.

Women of fashion taking a stroll in the 1890's.

Wasp-waisted in the 1900's.

Thanks in large part to Chanel, who created comfy sportswear for her upscale clients in 1915 made from jersey, a fabric previous only used for men's underwear! Now that takes moxie! So by the 1920's women were free from corsets.

So why backtrack? Demand comfort! No matter what size you are, you can look great and feel relaxed and comfortable for your most important occasions and every day of your life.

"I wanted to give a woman comfortable clothes that would flow with her body. A woman is closest to being naked when she is well-dressed."
— Coco Chanel

We at Peggy Lutz Plus couldn't agree more! www.plus-size.com xoxoxo PEG

Plus Size Special Occasion Clothing: Should It Be Comfortable?

2011-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

How Important is Comfort? When it's one of the most important days of your life -- wedding, awards ceremony, Bar Mizvah, Charity Ball -- can you expect to be comfy as well as gorgeous?

I spoke recently with a potential client who emailed me lovely photos of her at her daughter's wedding and bragged about how many foundation garments she wore and the bruises and aches they left her with afterwards. She did look gorgeous, but at what price that beautifully defined waist and strapless gown?

At what point do we let go of our old image of ourselves and relax into the new, older, wiser version?

I'm a stickler for comfort. Plus size women deserve not only to look terrific when the get 'way dressed up, but also to feel great. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that being comfortable is a big part of looking good, but that's a relatively new idea. When I was a teenager, we wore girdles and long-line bras just as our great-grandmothers wore corsets.

A skimming, flowing gown can work wonders for your figure. A long, unbroken, vertical line is a dream come true for plus size figures.

Not everyone's figure is right for a Tank Dress (above), but if you're an apple, like Charlotte, carrying your weight high with a baby tummy and not much waistline, there couldn't be a better silhouette: Long, lean and lovely.

If you're a pear shape and love to show off your waist, please do, but keep the skirt soft and flowing over your hips and thighs. Don't spanx yourself to kingdom come! Enjoy life! Eat, dance, and let that smile on your face be genuine.

This is one of the most important days of your life, so remember it, don't be distracted by discomfort and ill-fitting clothing! Remember every moment. xoxo PEG

A New Twist on Plus Size Special Occasion Jackets

2011-05-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

I very new look is arriving mid-month at www.plus-size.com. Our new Wearable Art Collection will wow you! A celebration of color and texture so inspiring, you'll find one that speaks your name.

We've been having a wonderful time, the entire crew, creating new fabrics and then creating lovely jackets from them. Many were designed with plus size mother of the bride looks in mind, and that covers quite a spectrum, from very couture dressy to barefoot on the beach..

This is a first peek at the new collection..what do you think of these jackets? Which is your favorite?

This first is created from a collage of vintage Japanese prints, salt-dyed silk pieces from Joslin and sandwashed rayons. It's our size M (22/24) in the new Daisy Jacket Style for plus sizes, one-of-a-kind.

This one is a harmony of purple/brown and colors that love purple and brown! We've found that combining beautiful fabrics such as Joslin salt dyed and shibori silks, vintage Japanese prints and carefully chosen sandwashed rayons creates a new fabric far more beautiful than any of the original ones..do you agree?

xoxoPEG

Fantasies of Plus Size Mothers of the Bride

2011-04-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Mother of the Bride, tending to be a Boomer, likes to look like herself and feel relaxed on the Big Day. This doesn't sound like too much to ask after all those years of child-rearing and teen-rearing, does it?

If you happen to be a plus-size MOB, one who dwells in the twilight world of fashion just off the end of a lot of the racks, an ensemble that speaks your name, fits well and arrives in time can feel like The Impossible Dream: An ensemble in which you feel comfortable and elegant; can eat, drink, dance, flirt, and generally be yourself.

After all, it's your day too!

When the day arrives, you'll want to look great, feel confident, and be present. Each tiny moment is a treasure washing briefly onto your shore so you want to really be there and remember everything. What you wear is more than the right color and length; it's key to relaxing and being yourself on one of the most meaningful days of your life.

Every day I talk with plus-size women approaching the Big Day, sometimes as brides, often as mothers/aunts/etc. of-the-bride. Each is unique. Some are going to destination weddings requiring specific clothing, some are preparing for a huge, formal event with everyone they love in attendance. Some are short, some tall, some are pear shaped wanting a fitted bodice, some are apples, so please skim over the waistline. But they all seek something they adore and can wear again and again, something they'll love having in their wardrobes.

The wonderfully anything-goes attitude of current fashion supports self-expression: mixes of texture and color in clothing and accessories make matchy-matchy look old and dowdy. There's a lot of fun in fashion now, making Being Yourself very current all the time.

Our new, Summer Collections at www.plus-size.com was created as an answer to the ongoing question: What do plus-size mothers of the bride want?

Thanks for sharing your feedback and fashion savvy with us at Peggy Lutz; all our best ideas come directly from you, our clients, xoxo PEG

Plus Size Mother of the Bride Ensembles You'll LOVE

2009-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Gabrielle Jacket is simple, easy elegance! The Coco Jacket is the same shape, just shorter, and the Capel Jacket is the version of this style designed especially for pear shapes.

Your Coco or Gabrielle or Capel is YOUR jacket because you choose the fabrics and it's made to your measurements in close collaboration with your Peggy Lutz Stylist.

Gabrielle Jackets and Coco Jackets can all be Capel Jackets! You can also choose from Couture Fabrics.

www.plus-size.com is the home of Plus Size Couture!

Plus Size Special Occasion Quandry?

2009-10-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

What's the ultimate plus size fashion emergency?

Your daughter/son is getting married in a month (or less) and you haven't found the right thing to wear.

There are 6 ensembles on your bed, but none is perfect:

#1 is a good color and the style is ok, it fits through the bust, but the fit of the skirt evokes a sausage.

#2 fits well and is comfortable, but taupe makes you look like a ghost, even with too much make-up.

#3 makes you look 2 sizes smaller, but after all, this is not a funeral.

#4 is the ideal mother of the bride ensemble if only you were your great-aunt Elena.

#5 is just plan gaudy, tacky, overdone, cheap and, well, you get the idea.

#6 is the one you'll have to go with since it does fit, cobalt blue is going to stand out in the photos but looks good on you, the outfit is simple and contemporary and you can dress it up with jewelery, if only you liked it more...if only it was really you...if only the other mother wasn't a size 6...if only they'd cancel the wedding...

After all those years of raising children, shouldn't this day of days be your day too? Don't you deserve to look and feel fantastic, eat what you please and dance with ease?

Absolutely! No matter what size you wear, what you may think of your shape, your height, your upper arms, your tummy, your hips, you DESERVE to look and feel beautiful, comfortable and stylish on one of the most important days of your life.

After 20 plus years in the Plus Size Fashion world, I'm convinced that finding the right outfit for a wedding, a bar mitzva or bat mitzva, awards ceremony, formal dinner, red carpet event, vocal performance, you get the drift, is the most challenging fashion emergency for plus size women.

For this reason, we at Peggy Lutz Plus have made it our business to design and create the most beautiful plus size special occasion clothing in the whole, wide world. Visit www.plus-size.com and let me know if you agree.

xox PEG