Full Figured Fashion Week, Part 1 Recap

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some fun photos last week while I was in New York City for Full Figured Fashion Week (FFFWeek). This was the final year for the event, and considering that every previous year I sat around social media with FOMO, I figured it was my last chance to get there and experience it!

It was a crazy few days so I'll break the recap into a couple different posts. Spoiler: I am so glad I went.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I'm an introvert. An outgoing introvert for sure, but an introvert no less. Crowds of strangers stress me out and make me want to sleep forever. I had anxiety about my ankle holding up in flats and heels, walking around the city, and meeting people I usually just see online. As I already posted, my ankle was a champ, so I don't need to cover that anymore!

I arrived Tuesday and went to the press event, which was a little crazy and I felt totally out of sorts. It was so hot on the walk from my hotel that I was a sweaty mess! Then my name wasn't on the list (for any of the events as I'd find out later) despite being emailed confirmation. This turned into the “nobody wants me!” sort of panic that you'd experience from grade school. It's a nasty thing. There were so many people and it was just overwhelming. But I did get to finally meet Lindsey, of one of the owners of my favorite new line, Poppy & Bloom! (Posts: Dress 1, Dress 2)

Lindsey and her mom were just fabulous the entire week. It's so awesome when you meet people you interact with online for so long, and really get to know them. That was the theme of the week.

After the press event, I was able to make it to a non-FFFWeek event, #rSSchoolNight, an event put on by RewardStyle. It was hosted at French Connection in Soho, and it was great to hear the information, even if only for half the time. French Connection graciously gave all gift certificates. When I got all sad panda because I thought I wouldn't be able to use it on the clothes much too small for me, one of the RewardStyle gals reminded me: bags and accessories! Since I shop online most of the time, I forgot what it's like to be in a straight-size store without options. Lucky me, the bags were on clearance! You'll see them in some upcoming outfit posts.

Tuesday outfit details: How I managed to make it through the day without a single outfit photo is beyond me. I wore a comfy travel outfit: a Karen Kane maxi dress with SWAK Cardigan and some new Munro American shoes. For the RewardStyle event, I changed into the SWAK Annabelle Maxi Dress.

Wednesday started off with the “Building Your Brand Through Social Media” panel. It was sponsored by Just My Size and featured some of my faves: Nicolette Mason, Sarah Conley (for Eloquii), Marie Denee (The Curvy Fashionista), and Plus Model Mag's EIC Madeline Jones. I was caught in the act of Instagramming during the panel, LOL. It was a great panel with a really knowledgeable panel and an engaged audience. Plus Model Magazine has a great recap and photos here.

Love The Curvy Fashionista!

Later in the day, the super lovely Sarah Conley of Style It invited me to hop over to the Eloquii office to sneak a peek at some of their upcoming items and meet some people on the team. All I know is that I want ALL THE THINGS! My biggest concern with Eloquii has been the bottoms since I am outside of their size 24 in the waist. They showed me some items that have some more give in the waist, which should help open up these options for some of us.

Sarah and I then headed to an event hosted by SimplyBe (who received the FFFWeek Retailer of the Year Award) and Ebay. Did I mention how lovely Sarah is? I didn't know about a few of these events during the week as they were invite only. Not being local to NYC, I usually get excluded from invites (which in my head turns into “they don't like me!” Seriously, I know the voices in my head are ridiculous.) This was one of those events.

I had my first taste of Pimms (SimplyBe is a British company) and got to meet some more amazing bloggers I follow, including Kelly Augustine and Meaghan of Little Lime Dress.

I also got to meet the hilarious Erica Watson, who was awarded the FFFWeek Entertainer of the Year honor!

After the event, Sarah and I went and ate some great gluten-free meatballs and almond ice cream. So good!

Thanks Sarah! (Photo from an upcoming post!)

Outfit details: I had lots of questions about my shirt from Thursday, and in my opinion, it's epic. And funny. Unless you don't know the song, then it just seems weird. You can find it here. I'm wearing the XXL, and it's super comfy. Scuba skirt from ASOS that I seriously want to wear every day (also seen in the local newspaper article). Cardigan from Old Navy. Watch is Michael Kors. Necklaces: Kate Spade (similar) and Julie Vos (similar).

More FFFWeek posts to come, but for now I'm off to Savannah for Fitbloggin!