Another year, eh? That means I’m (over)due for the inevitable 2011 recap! Last year I:

• appeared on Triple J;
• set up the All Bodies Directory;
• brought fat acceptance to Cosmopolitan Australia;
• shaved my head;
• MCed for Gisela Ramirez’s launch and Sydney Creative Movement‘s end-of-year concert;
• crossed two new countries off my list; and
• after seven years, FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY moved in with the Boyfriend.

Bring on 2012. Onwards and upwards, I say.

On New Year’s Eve, the Boyfriend and I went out to dinner to Ms G’s. (Lightning quick review: Good, but several dishes are similar, and inferior, to dishes at other inner Sydney restaurants. Their mini bánh mì isn’t as good as Gardel’s pulled pork sliders. Their xo noodles aren’t a patch on Duke Bistro‘s.) After returning home to grab supplies, we went to nearby Sydney Park to get a panoramic view of the fireworks with a packet of glow-in-the-dark jewellery, a box of sparklers, and a bottle of fancy French perry (which I much prefer to champagne). Lovely.

This necklace is the best purchase I’ve ever made. It’s a wee bit exxy (£123; those colourful gems are Swarovski crystals) but – no exaggeration – it/I receive compliments every single time I wear it. It is absolutely spectacular.

Dress: Jibri – custom made (I’m between size 1 and 2). Old collection.
Necklace: Tatty Devine. Currently available.
Bag: Broadway Betty. Vintage.
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Uniform Glitter from Solestruck – size 10. Old collection.

On New Years Day, we invited a few mates over for a barbecue lunch at ours (BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR OWN FLAT!) before heading to a nearby warehouse party. This is my perfect dancing outfit: baggy top, stretchy leggings, lightweight accessories and high top sneakers.

I’ve loved this Anna Scholz print for months. Seeing these amazing leggings on sale was the kick in the arse I needed. TIGHTS AS PANTS FOR LIFE.

Tshirt: Sportsgirl – size large. Old collection.
Leggings: Anna Scholz – size UK18. Old collection.
Sneakers: Converse Lady Weapon from Asos – size 8. Old collection.
Fat necklace: Fancy Lady Industries. Old collection (though Natalie restocks them periodically).
Watch: TW Steel. Similar styles available.

How did you ring in the new year?

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

As the Boyfriend said, “That’s not colour-blocking, that’s a colour-block. Just a big fat block.” He’s not wrong.

I feel quite sad for all the years I dressed in dark colours and baggy clothes when I could’ve been dressing like this. Nowadays, nothing makes me feel more like myself than yellow.

My collection is kind of getting out of control. After I put on the dress and necklace, I was looking at myself in the mirror thinking “This dress needs something around my waist. I wish I had a yellow belt… Wait a minute, I have two.”

In addition to all this gear, I have another belt (as mentioned), a pair of sandals, a pair of sneakers, a jacket, three bags, a skirt, a singlet, a pair of tights, a button-up shirt, another nail polish, two jumpers, an umbrella, another dress, and two more necklaces – all in bright, sunshiney yellow.  Oh, and a chair. I regret nothing.

Dress: naKIMuli – size 1X. Old collection.
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs from David Jones. Currently available.
Shoes: Sambag – size 41. Old collection.
Necklace: Dinosaur Designs. Similar styles available.
Belt: Vintage from Vintage Concepts on etsy. Similar styles available.
Ring: Dinosaur Designs. Similar styles available.
Nail polish: Maybelline Mini Colorama in Urban Lemon. Currently available.

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

The dress code stipulated that we dress as our favourite female singer, so of course I went as our Patron Saint of Fat, Beth Ditto.

See? Even high fashion recognises her holy status. (JC de Castelbajac A/W 2010)

Beth has dressed herself in a million and one different ways, but this is what my interpretation consisted of: black bob, spandex, fun prints, ballet flats and bright accessories.

Inspiration for this pose came from this photograph.

The glasses aren't in character but I need them to, you know, see.

The tattoo and body positive slogan (made famous in this photograph) were drawn on with waterproof eyeliner. It didn’t budge all night! So I can vouch for Rimmel Exaggerate Automatic Waterproof Eye Definer (though that is a ridiculous product name if ever I heard one).

Wig: Carnival and Party Warehouse. Currently available.
Dress: American Apparel (I know, I know) – size M/L. Similar styles available.
Leggings: Beth Ditto for Evans – size UK18. Old collection.
Shoes: Witchery - size 40. Old collection.
Watch: TW Steel. Currently available.
Ring (lime): Dinosaur Designs. Similar styles available.
Ring (rhinstone): A stall at Glebe Markets

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

I know heaps of you get excited about autumn/winter fashion, and occasionally I also get suckered in by the coats and the scarves and the tights. But my flirtation with textures and layers never lasts; by the time the end of winter rolls around, I am pining for summer dresses and sandals and my tan.

Last weekend brought the first properly spring days I’ve had since I got home. I celebrated by having a barbecue brunch on the rooftop of the Glenmore Hotel, catching a ferry across the harbour to Watsons Bay and getting sunburnt on my shoulders. It was glorious.

The hat was an unexpected purchase. While I was overseas, my family (sister, brother-in-law and niece) and I had a week long holiday in a small Portuguese town called Quarteira. Despite us being there in the latter half of September, the sun was still seriously intense. I bought this hat from a little stall on the way to the local food market for the grand total of €10. Barry bargain.

I’d previously shied away from wide brim hats, which I now see was folly. This hat makes me feel very 70s glam, which I tried to enhance with my shapeless coral maxi and chunky (albeit ridiculous) wooden necklace.

Dress: Witchery - size L. Old collection.
Hat: A stall in Portugal
Necklace: Vintage from SHAG
Thongs: Havaianas. Currently available.

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

I’ll be adding my height, weight and size info on all OoTD posts from now on. We have so little understanding of what sizes and weights actually look like, so this is me neutralising every aspect of my body.

Corpulent will be going on a short hiatus as I’m leaving for a six week trip to London/Portugal/Spain today. *high kick*

I’ll still be twittering, so if you can’t bear to be without me you can look me up at @awesomefrances.

Gisela was sweet enough to invite me to introduce the show; here’s the transcript of my speech.

Good evening and welcome to the official launch of Gisela Ramirez’s first plus size collection.

I met Gisela on the internet almost a year ago. I liked her immediately – she’s a very cool chick and is seriously passionate about what she does. When I heard she was designing a line, it’s fair to say I was a wee bit excited. I knew that her line, however it turned out, would go some way to filling the sizeable gap in plus size fashion.

Despite how frivilous it may sometimes seem, I do think fashion is important and can be quite political. The way we present ourselves through our clothes sends a message about us before we even open our mouths.

The limited options available in plus sizes – especially in Australia – mean that the messages we are able to send with our fashion are, in a way, censored. It is much easier to think of fat women as homely and sexless when the fashion choices available are largely homely and sexless.

The bulk of plus size fashion caters to our insecurities. It assumes that we all must be ashamed of our arms, our bellies and our arses. That our sartorial goals only revolve around flattering our figure.

The idea of a ‘flattering’ outfit being one that highlights my good parts while minimising my flaws. Beyond the fact that no waist-cinching belt will transform me into a size 10, what the designers of ‘flattering’ garments fail to realise is that all my parts are good parts. I can’t minimise my flaws because I have no flaws.

When writing this speech, I was looking through the first emails Gisela and I sent to each other. All those months ago, she said to me that she designs for the “type of girl [who] isn’t hung up on her body, is confident enough to stand out in a crowd and wants to be the centre of attention.”

Now how amazing is that?

In an industry that tells fat girls ‘Don’t draw attention, don’t wear bright colours, don’t wear tight clothes but don’t wear shapeless sacks either’, Gisela Ramirez has created a line from superhero spandex and sheer silk chiffon.

That’s what’s so exciting about this new collection. She caters for the middle fingers. For those of us who wear our freak on the outside. Who don’t walk when we can strut.

Gisela is not flattering our figures with these clothes. She’s going one better. She is embracing our bodies. She knows that when our clothes send the world a message, we should be the ones dictating it. The main message for tonight? Fuck flattering.

In order to avoid having the same three conversations over and over again, I present to you the Corpulent Declaration.

1. Yes, I am fat

I should not be required to defend the way I classify my body, and yet…

I am fat. According to my measurements, I am plus sized. I weigh 95kg/210 pounds (give or take a few). According to my height and weight, I am obese. When people talk about the obesity epidemic, they are talking about people like me. I have had people tell me that they are worried about my health because of my size. I’ve seen the frenzied whispers when I wear something ‘too tight’. I’ve heard people snickering over the size of my arse. In my view, I have fulfilled the selection criteria.

I recognise that I am not very fat. I’m conscious that I have a measure of thin privilege. But that doesn’t negate the fact that, yes, I actually am fat. As Kate Harding said in a really awesome article on Salon:

It’s … OK to point out that I’m not that fat, so I’ve never personally been the victim of the worst fat hatred our culture has to offer — that’s the plain truth. But telling me I’m not fat is a goddamned lie.

2. My fashion doesn’t flatter

This is aimed at the clothing companies - and PR companies representing clothing companies - that email me promoting their “tips to look slim and sexy instead of fat and frumpy” or “Sizzling Swimsuits to Flatter Any Figure” (those are direct quotes).

I’m down with people wearing whatever they want. Some fatties want slimming clothing and that is their prerogative. But I wear miniskirts, spandex, bodycon, horizontal stripes, bright colours, shapeless sacks and leggings as pants. Fat girl fashion rules mean nothing to me.

3. Good health is a fine goal, but it’s not what drives me

The argument that fat and health are not mutually exclusive is a worthwhile and valuable one to make (and one I make fairly often). Having a fat body is not a health problem in and of itself except in the most extreme of cases, and fatness is no barrier to healthy behaviours. Health at every size (HAES) is a fantastic alternative to weight loss and absolutely deserves to be promoted.

However, I am not a HAES advocate and Corpulent is not a HAES blog. It is not my job, nor my purpose, to encourage fat people to lead the healthiest lives they can. I don’t advocate for fatties who meet a certain set of criteria. I just advocate for fatties.

I know that some people are fat by choice. I am well aware that some fat people don’t exercise, don’t eat well, have health issues or have mobility problems. I’m not ignorant; I just don’t care. No matter our situation, we are all worthy of respect and dignity from ourselves and from others. That’s the point of it all.

While I was absent, I was featured in the winter issue of Peppermint magazine. Peppermint is a “green fashion magazine, celebrating eco and ethical style”. It’s the most positive women’s fashion magazine I’ve seen and I’m proud to be in their pages. This issue is still on sale, so go buy it – stare at my mug AND support an awesome independent Aussie mag at the same time!

The feature was called ‘What is Beauty?’ and asked a variety of women of different ages, sizes and cultural backgrounds exactly that question. This was my part of the spread:

My section says:

I had pretty low self-esteem throughout my adolescence. I grew up in a coastal town and all the girls there are tan, fit and blonde whereas I’m bigger, bi-racial and a completely different body shape. I wanted to look like someone that wasn’t me. While I’m actually bigger now than I ever was in high school, the one thing out of all of my ‘flaws’ I thought I could change was my size, so that’s what I attacked. I went on my first diet when I was 10 years old.

Those years were seriously bleak. When I was 18, I made a conscious decision that I wouldn’t hate myself anymore. It has been an incredibly long process – I still have bad days sometimes – but seven years later I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a single thing about me. Not a single freckle and not a single gram.

The cultural messages on what is aesthetically pleasing seem to be more and more uniform. Perfection exists in such a tiny Goldilocks-style window (not too fat, not too thin, not too dark, not too pale, not too soft, not too muscular…) But truly beautiful people are not photoshopped. Inspiring music is not auto-tuned. Important art is not precise. We need to remember the appeal of imperfections.

A couple of years ago, I set up a tumblr blog called Hey, Fat Chick! Spending so much time looking at pictures of bodies outside the beauty ideal has blown my mind. It has helped me realise that there are no bad bodies. When beauty ideals are so prescriptive, making peace with your body is a revolutionary act. Smash the ideal. Never apologise for your body!

I feel most beautiful when I’m at home, in varying states of undress, doing something completely mundane with my boyfriend. Those quiet, unconscious moments are the most beautiful of all.

Here are a couple of extras from the associated photo shoot I did with Leanna Maione:

Coat: Second hand from Shrinkle on etsy (BEST PURCHASE EVER EVER EVER)
Dress: Asos
Tights: We Love Colors (Free shipping to Australia and New Zealand on orders over $30 with the code WELOVENZAUS. Offer valid until 31 August.)
Necklace: Dinosaur Designs
Belt: Second hand from GlobeAmaranth on etsy
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell from Solestruck

I’m not one for parties, so the Boyfriend and I had our own understated celebration on Saturday. In the afternoon we went to the new contemporary collection at the Art Gallery of NSW, which is both great and free so you should definitely check it out. (I’m not very knowledgeable but I enjoy contemporary art very much. Out of all the artworks on display at the gallery,  this installation by Ugo Rondinone was my favourite.) We followed up our dose of kulcha with an amaaaaaaazing meal at Bentley Restaurant and Bar. They make good everything in that place. The cocktails and wine we imbibed did result in a hangover on my birthday, so at least that part of my yoof hasn’t disappeared.

But before all that, I posed. I got stared at a fair bit in this outfit, but that was kind of the point.

It was actually a little bit warm for this woolen Beth Ditto dress but nothing was going to stop me from wearing birthday sparkles. This decision paid for itself when a convenience store clerk liked my dress so much, and was so pleased to find out it was my birthday, that he gave me a free chupa chup. Result!

The bird I’m posing with is a bronze sculpture by Henry Moore called Reclining figure: Angles (1980) that lives outside the gallery. While she makes an excellent posing partner…

…she is incredibly uncomfortable to recline on. My head is resting on her tit, which didn’t make the best pillow.

This shoes are gorgeous, clearly, but I leave a Tinkerbell-style trail of glitter everywhere I go. I’ve only worn them three times but I’ve already scuffed both toes. While I don’t regret buying them, they seem like they’re going to be an extremely short-term item.

Jumper dress: Beth Ditto for Evans (first collection) via eBay
Leggings: Beth Ditto for Evans (first collection)
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Uniform Glitter from Solestruck
Watch: Nixon, (part of my) birthday present from the Boyfriend
Lippy: Girl About Town by MAC

PS. My third post for Cosmo Australia went up last week. This one’s on faTshion. (Thank you to everyone who read, liked and/or commented on my last post – I was seriously blown away by the reaction.)

My hairdresser charges me an outrageous amount to cut my hair. But he had me between a rock and a hard place, because whenever I used a different hairdresser my mop was massacred (I paid $70 for a hideous short back and sides before Christmas). So, inspired by Gisela and Kath, I decided to clipper it. I’m all for anything that’s cheap/free and allows me to spend the bare minimum of time on my appearance. #3 guard 4 lyf.

The hair kind of roughs up every outfit I wear, which I’m well into. I thought I looked like a day-glo punk rocker the day I wore this:

HORIZONTAL STRIPES ON A FAT GIRL

I was super excited when I first got this jacket, but now it does my head in. Despite the tag on the jacket and the listing that was on LA Vintage, this is not leather (unless cows have recently been genetically engineered to be made out of waterproof vinyl and I just didn’t know about it). Maybe I should have a blog sale or something… I have a few pairs of sneakers I’m not in love with anymore… anyone interested in a pleather jacket or some lightly used Nike Air Maxes?

Dress: Asos
Cardigan: Some cheap and nasty chain store, like Temt or Ice
‘Leather’ jacket: LA Vintage
Tights: We Love Colors
Necklace: Phillip Normal
Socks: Holeproof
Boots: Dr Martens