Here I Am

Disclosure: Thank you to JCPenney for collaborating with Something Gold, Something Blue to share this message with all of you. They provided me compensation for this post. However, this is a message that I strongly believe in and all opinions are my own.

Curves are Trending - Something Gold, Something Blue curvy fashion blog - Body postitivity, love your body, boutique+, jcpenney, what to wear to brunch, girly, summer outfit, prada, cole haan

I have been so fortunate to be able to attend The Curvy Con in NYC this weekend! It has been an amazing experience to meet so many curvy women and brands that support each other! I whole-hardheartedly believe that the people in the room (along with SO many others) will change the perspective on body image! I have written multiple posts talking about my struggle to accept my weight and define who I am (if you missed them, check out these posts  – full story, recent thoughts). I am so thankful for this blog and for all of you who have helped me to reach this confidence level! Your support means the world to me!

A few months ago when JCPenney announced they would launching their own private brand designed exclusively for the plus-size woman, I was ecstatic! Boutique+ has launched in their stores and has been designed by a dedicated team of design, trend and product experts whose focus is to ensure the looks of Boutique+ complement curvier shapes. In Boutique+, they offer sizes ranging from 0x-4x and 16W-30W in stores and online (and size 5x is available online)!

I was/am excited to shop in the JCPenney stores with my gal pals for affordable and stylish clothing that will help me to represent who I am! Shopping in a brick and mortar store with my friends is something I rarely do because we can’t always shop at the same stores, but now we can!  A few weeks ago, I debuted one of the inaugural looks from the collection (you can view all the outfit details here) and I am obsessed with how well the clothes are made and fit my curves. Plus, they are so trendy – I can’t wait to see what the Boutique will have next!

Today, at Curvy Con, JCPenney launched this amazing video, #HereIAm, which is sharing the message of body positivity and self-acceptance. One of my favorite messages in the video is that no one should be defined by their size and we can do ANYTHING we set our minds to. Make sure the watch the Here I Am video below which features amazing women who are changing the perspective of what it means to be curvy.

This video is amazing!! There are SO many things that I could say about it! Let’s first start off my talking about some of my favorite quotes from it!

“The only person that should be defining me IS ME!” – Damn right (sorry, I don’t usually use this strong of language, but I couldn’t resist)! I think this goes for all aspects of life – whether it’s your body composition, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, whatever it may be. No one should be able to tell you who you should be or what the norm is!

“The bodies don’t need to change – the attitude does” – Again, I think this applies to so many aspects of life, but acceptance of all body types should be the norm! We should be teaching children from a young age that it is important to be healthy, but it does not always mean that skinny is the answer. Everyone’s body is created differently and we should appreciate these differences! Over the past couple of years, I have seen a shift in the attitudes, but I think there is still so much work to be done. It’s all about education (well, I hope ignorance is currently our problem) – education that losing weight is sometimes not only about eating right and exercising, that being curvy can also mean  you are healthy and that it may just be mother nature/God’s design that we were born curvy and that ALL OF THIS IS OK! To quote Lin-Manuel Miranda from the TONY Awards last weekend, ” Love is love is love is love is love is love….”

To me, body positivity means so much more than loving my curves. It’s about embracing and appreciating what my body allows me to do. It’s about going out with friends, wearing what I want and not worrying about covering my arms. It’s about going to a new fitness class and loving every minute of it (ok, well for the most part – it is still a challenge). It’s about starting a curvy style blog. It’s about writing blog posts where I am vulnerable about my struggles with my weight and the journey to accept my whole self. Most of all, it’s about continually doing the things I love and not being afraid to shine! What does it mean to you?

I would love to hear what you think about this video, so please let me know what you think in the comments below! Also, I’ll be participating in a Twitter Chat with JCPenney on Monday (6/20) at noon (CST)! Make sure to follow SGSB and JCPenney to join us in discussing this video and the body positivity movement, in general. Before we go, I will leave y’all with one of the most important quotes from the video!

“My size is not an indicator of my worth.”

Ok, I lied – here are a few more body positive quotes from these amazing role models!

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16 Comments

  1. I love the pink skirt with the black leather. It really gives the look an edgy vibe!

    Posted 6.20.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      Thank you! I love this outfit because of the differences in fabric!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  2. kali1103 wrote:

    pink pleats are everywhere ! i just snagged my own too!
    cute!
    Xx
    Kali
    http://www.lovelaughexplore.com
    @love_laugh_explore
    https://www.facebook.com/lovelaughexplore/

    Posted 6.20.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      I agree! I love the look of pleated skirts!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  3. This video is AWESOME. I love when you wrote this: To me, body positivity means so much more than loving my curves. It’s about embracing and appreciating what my body allows me to do. It’s about going out with friends, wearing what I want and not worrying about covering my arms. It’s about going to a new fitness class and loving every minute of it (ok, well for the most part – it is still a challenge).

    It’s so true – our bodies are more than as size. It’s a vessel and allows us to live healthy lives!
    Love it!
    xo
    Krista
    http://www.hundredblog.com

    Posted 6.20.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      Thank you so much, Krista! Our bodies do so many amazing things for us and treating it right is so important!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  4. jennyblaisdell wrote:

    Absolutely love your skirt! So pretty.

    Posted 6.20.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      Thank you so much, Jenny!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  5. I love everything about this, and everything about you! I didn’t even know there was a curvy con, but that’s fantastic!

    Posted 6.21.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      Aww…thanks so much, Angie! I love this message and was so happy to share it with everyone! And the Curvy Con was such a great experience – to be with other curvy women celebrating our sizes -it was fantastic!!!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  6. I love this. So inspiring. (And your skirt is gorgeous!)

    Posted 6.22.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      Thank you, Suzanne! I still tear up every time I watch the video!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  7. This is such an amazing campaign. I love the message and you look fab as always. xo ~ Megan The Fashionista Momma

    Posted 6.22.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      I agree, Megan, thank you! I love the message of this campaign!

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply
  8. Lana Lou wrote:

    Beautiful women and a beautiful message!

    Posted 6.27.16 Reply
    • Emily wrote:

      I couldn’t agree more, Lana! Thanks for stopping by SGSB! 😀

      Posted 6.28.16 Reply

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