I am a very lucky fatty. I do know that. I was invited again by Autograph Fashion to spend some time in my local store reviewing their new product lines and giving them some feedback. Of course I leapt at the chance – what’s more fun than trying on clothes and playing with fashion? Not to mention getting to share them with you all once I have too.
The kind folks at Autograph gave me a list of garments they wanted me to try on, and then let me go nuts with whatever else in store interested me.
I tried on a LOT of stuff. I lost count with how many. We didn’t photograph all of them, but here are the ones we did. The first item they asked me to try on was this half sleeve foil print top. I knew before I even put it on that it wasn’t my cup of tea, but the girls gave me a pair of jeggings (also not my cup of tea) and I had a go anyway:
Definitely not me. I’m not one for slogans or anything on tops, and I wear almost no t-shirts at all. It was made of a really soft fabric though. The same goes for the jeggings – well made and a nice fabric, but not my cup of tea. I felt really naff and uncomfortable in this outfit.
I then went on to try a floral print button through top that I had been eyeing off online for a bit. I love a floral print, and anything loose and breezy has my vote in summer:
I found it super cute, but it just didn’t fit me at all. It was kind of loose around the armpits, but sat weird on my hips and tummy. A pity, because I just love that print.
Another outfit that the folks at Autograph asked me to try were the snakeskin print leggings and this frill hem voile tunic.
This top fit WAY better, but I wasn’t fussed on that hemline – it just hung all weird. It’s a gorgeous colour though and a lovely soft, cool fabric. But I can’t tell you how much I love those leggings. They’re awesome! Soft and comfortable and breath well, and y’all know how I love snakeskin print. Those went on the “Yes” pile straight away.
I also tried on this black shirt:
It wasn’t really my cup of tea – it’s a bit plain for me. But again, another great fabric, and if you’re looking for a wardrobe basic, it would be a good one.
Then it was time to try on some dresses. This one jumped out at me straight away because of it’s blue print – blue is one of my favourite colours to wear:
But sadly, it didn’t work. It looked frumpy and bland once I put it on, and the slip underneath was actually longer than the dress. It’s a pity because I do love blue.
The ladies in store asked me to try this mono print one on, as they wanted to see it on a body rather than just on the hanger. The print didn’t appeal to me at all (a bit old lady feeling for me) on the hanger, but it was better when I put it on:
It hung really nicely and was beautifully soft as well. I think if it had been a different print I would like it a lot more.
Another one of the garments the Autograph folk asked me to try was this peplum dress:
I love it! I love it! I love it! I’m going to change the belt up for one in red or bright yellow, to bring some colour into it. I would LOVE one in the same blue as the top on the wall behind me in this photo, and I’d wear that with a yellow belt too. Or red would be awesome. Or purple. I put this one on the “Yes” pile even though I have a dozen plain black dresses. It’s such a cute style.
There was also this zip detail dress, which I really liked on the hanger:
I really liked the look of it, but it just wouldn’t sit right on me. I think I would spend all my time adjusting it – and you know how annoying that is. But I love the style and the print.
Now you know I’m not so much of a corporate wear kind of woman, but I thought I would give this dress a try (no longer on website):
How cute is that dress?? I love the just on the knee length, and the splash of colour in the top half. It’s made of a beautiful weighty knit in the skirt and a light viscose in the bodice. Since the dress was such a hit, I thought I would try a couple more of the garments from the workwear range. There was this lace print tunic:
Love it. I think I will go back for this one. I love the soft peach colour and the pretty lace print. I wear a lot of tunics and leggings, so this one would integrate into my wardrobe just nicely.
I also tried on this fluttery bow print top, and liked it so much, it came home with me! I wore it to work today, check out how I wore it:
Yes, I did have a hair cut over the weekend!
And this apricot spot top (with grey maxi skirt):
Despite the squinchy face I’m pulling, I really did like it. I may also go back for that maxi skirt, I love that it’s straight through, no tiers or frills or fuss.
Leaving the skirt on, I tried this pretty floral top:
Which I really did love (I’m a sucker for a floral), and this gather neck print top:
Which didn’t quite work for me, though I love the colours in it. Looking at that maxi skirt again, I REALLY like it. I think I’m going to have to invest in that one!
Finally, I tried on a few more tops, from this rust coloured stripe top:
Which to be honest, I didn’t feel at all comfortable in – you can probably tell by the photograph! I don’t really do t-shirts, but this colour and the stripe really called my name.
Then to this red and grey top:
Which really didn’t work for me at all (it felt like a pajama top) and finally, to this striped top with pockets:
Which I absolutely loved to bits, so much that it also came home with me! It’s so soft and comfy and I love the pockets. I am such a sucker for stripes too.
Finally, there was this awesome zigzag print tunic, which also came home with me, and I wore it to work on Friday (pre hair cut!). Check it out:
I think that’s my favourite piece of the whole day.
There were a WHOLE lot of other things I did try on, but for several reasons they were rejected. Some were just sold out in my size, some didn’t quite fit, some I didn’t like the fabric and some just weren’t my taste at all.
But overall I’m really impressed with how far Autograph have come in the past year or so. I always find something I love, there is always something in on-trend colours, there is now some really good variety and mostly, it fits, even my size 26AU super fatty body.
1. In the interest of openness, Autograph Fashion gifted me 5 garments of my choice, but all opinions are my own and are not influenced by this gift.
2. Thanks to Lauren Gurrieri who took all of the in store shots for me.
Fat Heffalump 
Loved seeing this post! Love your smile too 🙂
I loved the black dress and the snakeskin jeggings too, also that maxi skirt. It’s good that there are more options for bigger people now. If i go into target, not everything will fit me well or be my taste – and that’s in the 8-10 range, so it seems to me that this is a pretty good variety in this store – you will always find something that looks awesome and makes you look and feel great, instead of having to just settle for whatever.
I’m really loving this fa(t)shion february – maybe fat people take more care, maybe they are already dressing more for their bodies rather than trying to look the way the clothes look on the models and that helps. I know that for a lot of people my size, when we try on clothes we aren’t really trying to make them our own, because we are so used to being told what a size 8 is meant to look like or a size 10. Whereas with Fa(t)shion I get the impression that you are dressing like a size ‘ME’ and that’s what it should be 🙂 x
Fiona, firstly, thank you for the compliments.
Secondly, fat women in particular have to find their own style out of very limited choices. We have to make it work. We have to express ourselves around very few products. I think that gives us a style all our own.
I love it. I’m so, so, so bored with ‘mainstream’ fashion. I wish I knew about the fa(t)shion sites and the tumblr earlier but now I do. I really love the people and their style!
Yay, was waiting for this post! I see what you meant about that naff crazy sexy cool top, definitely not my thing either. I might have to check out that blue dress myself, and the peplum dress, and those snakeskin leggings!
Yeah, that thing was… ick.
Hope you have better luck with the blue dress than I did!
I actually giggled out loud when I saw the “crazy sexy cool” top. If you want us to feel crazy and sexy and cool, why won’t you design us some clothes that are crazy and sexy and cool instead of black t-shirts with glitter letters on them. But other than that, it seems they had some nice variety. I’m sure especially workwear is going to be greatly appreciated. I don’t know if I’d personally wear any of these clothes, but they look great on you, especially the zigzag print tunic that I saw earlier on Tumblr. And yay for print leggings!
Yeah, I felt the same way Beep. I nicknamed it the “Creepy Sexy Cool” top.
Ha ha, yes, “show don’t tell!” I don’t like garments that have to explain themselves. With words. I kind of liked the sleeves on that one, though.
Not really sure about the fact that they’ve ripped off missoni quite blatantly with that last top
Well, I have to say Missoni isn’t available in Australia so nobody here is likely to notice.
I’m pretty the designers of Missoni would rather drop dead than put their prints on a fat body as well, which in my mind makes the point pretty much moot. I mean, they were willing to collab with Target in the US and make cheap homewares, but nothing in plus sizes.
I don’t think that ripping off designer’s work is something to be condoned by any stretch of the imagination, but when almost all high street clothes are knockoffs in one form or another, it’s kind of inevitable.
Oops, that first sentence should be “pretty sure”. Dang fingers getting ahead of my brain!
I think the jeggings look great on you, you’ve got great legs!!! But if something doesn’t feel right, it never will. The peplum dress looks fab and the maxi skirt is a winner on you. Again I think you look good in the tee shirts, but a personal dislike is hard to get past.
I wish I could embrace colours and patterns more, but I’m the fatty who can’t yet bear to look at herself in anything other than monochrome.
Thanks Annie, I am rather fond of my legs. Jeggings have never sat well with me, I’m just not a fan of faux denim. I don’t mind them on other people, they’re just not my cup of tea.
My advice is to start by adding coloured and patterned accessories. Some socks or a scarf, a bangle or earrings, and work your way from there. I used to wear almost all black, navy or burgundy. The more I added touches of colour, the more I wanted to add more. It takes time, but eventually you find your confidence growing.
I absolutely love the peplum dress, if I saw something similar over here in Norway I’d be tempted to try it on after seeing it on you. But honestly, I think what you wear best is your vibrant smile, you look so happy and it really shines through and it makes me feel happy too. I hope you had an awesome day 🙂
Ahh thank you YNG! What a lovely compliment!
So many great clothes, Kath. I was having fun trying to guess whether or not you liked the outfits as I scrolled. By the end of the post, I was getting real accurate. 🙂
I love the zip detail dress, bummer that it wasn’t comfortable!! And personally, I’m partial to the Crazy Sexy Cool shirt on account of the TLC song. hehe
Yeah I’m really disappointed about that zip detail dress. It had all the right elements, it just wouldn’t stay in the right place when I put it on.
At least someone likes that Crazy Sexy Cool shirt!!
Oh man, those leggings are freaking fabulous. I’m with you on the hemline of the top though — not a fan, though I adore that colour. Really not a fan of slogan shirts either, they remind me of my pre-teen Supre days and I just cringe. My absolute favourite is the peplum dress though — I can’t get over how fantastic it looks on you and you could do SO much with it. What’s another black dress after all? 😀
Wouldn’t it be awesome to have that peplum dress in colour? It’s such a great style, but it’s SCREAMING for colour. I’m going to liven it up with tights and other accessories.
I loved the colour of that weird hemline top too.
And yay for print leggings!
You look marvelous! The rust top surprised me – it wasn’t a color I would picture for you, but it really, really suits you. And then you didn’t care for it anyway…
The maxi skirt is sharp. I have one that’s similar, but maybe a bit shorter and I can’t tell if the waist is similar. You definitely rock the peplum dress. I like the bottom of the frill hemmed tunic, but if it doesn’t suit you, it doesn’t. Noticed the haircut right away – had to scroll up to make sure I hadn’t imagined the longer hair in the earlier pics!
And I just love how happy and comfortable and confident you look, even in pieces that didn’t quite work for you. Rock on, you!
SherryH I really like the colour and the stripes of that rust top – just not the style. I’m not a t-shirt wearer really.
And thank you!
Hey Kath,
I must say, I really dislike most of Autograph’s clothing – they just aren’t my style. But I love love LOVE your work to bring a voice to us fellow fatties. A big THANK YOU 🙂
You’re welcome Nayfie. Make sure you tell plus-size clothing companies what you do want!
I am so getting that peplum dress and pairing it with red shoes and a red belt! I also like that frill hem top but in the teal colour.
Horizontal stripes look awesome on you! You rock them out so bad! I love it.
Bri, I like your thinking about that peplum dress! I was also thinking yellow tights and a bright blue belt. COLOURRRRRR!
I love horizontal stripes but they are SO hard to find in fab fatty clothing.
I love Autograph’s clothes and stumbled across your blog because you had reviewed their clothes earlier (it’s amazing what Google will return). I have kept buying at Autograph because I like their style and their clothes fit a shorty (5ft 2in) chubby chick!
Also, I’ve kept reading because your blog has really inspired me to think differently about my size and wanted you to know that for every person who comments there are many more who just read. I’ve also spread the good word about size in my little world. Thank you.
Thank you so much Kirsten, you have made my morning!
Love the floral top and the leggings – pity shipping to the UK is about the cost of another garment in itself. Darn. They generally appear to have some pretty cool stuff.
International shipping is a bugger isn’t it? It’s 2012 and the internet has business going global – shipping needs to catch up!
You mist own the peplum dress! It really is exquisite, and seems made for you. And I actually love the first outfit, even though you didn’t quite dig it. Not fond of tees with slogans, but the cut and how it works with the leggings really works for me.
Love how your hair goes short somewhere in the middle, as if you were able to alter it at whim – if only we could do that, long one week, short the next, with the ability to revert back without waiting!
I *do* own the peplum dress, it’s one of the 5 pieces Autograph gave me as a thank you for my time and work.
They gave me the peplum dress, the zigzag tunic, the snakeskin leggings, the pocket stripe top and the bow print top. All fabulous pieces!
*must* own the peplum dress….
I’m not much for dresses for myself–they look great on you, though. But I love those tops! I’d sure love to find some like that in my local Wal Phart!
It sucks that there never seems to be much good stuff at Savers (a huge local thrift stop) in plus sizes. Maybe when we plus size ladies get hold of a good thing we hold onto it!
Digging the maxi skirt and the “fluttery bow print” top the most. Very cool.