It’s Time To Stop And Start All Over; Make A New Beginning

December 27, 2013 by Marie Southard

For a few weeks now, I have been saying that I had new and exciting blog news. Well, just in time for the New Year, I’m ready to reveal it! Running Big, Beautiful and Bold this past year has been incredible. I feel like in a solitary 13 months, I have met the most incredible people, received some of the sweetest feedback, and really found my voice in terms of promoting body positive, size accepting messages through fashion posts, essays […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: body positive, Marie Southard Ospina, Migg Mag, plus size acceptance, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus-size blogger

Hazy Shade Of Winter

December 22, 2013 by Marie Southard

Seasons change with the scenery, weaving time in a tapestry. Won’t you stop and remember me, at any convenient time. Funny how my memory slips while looking over manuscripts of unpublished rhyme. Drinking my vodka and lime. Everything is beginning to decay and die. Trees shed their leaves and transform into the remnants of seasons passed. The fallen leaves evolve into brittle and brown heaps of sticky mess, sticking to your shoes as you walk through the streets. The grass […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: ASOS, BBW Model, boater hats, burgundy, Dorothy Perkins, english fashion, Fat Pride, forest green, manchester fashion blogger, manchester plus size fashion, plus size, plus size acceptance, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus size pride, plus size retro, plus size vintage, plus size winter fashion

Our Hearts Were Singing, It Felt Like Christmas Time

December 18, 2013 by Marie Southard

I may not be the biggest fan of the cold, but I am certainly a fan of Christmas time and the holiday atmosphere. There’s something about this time of year that makes you excitable — restless with anticipation of the year to come and all the plans in progress. We’re thinking about all the things we want to accomplish. About all the things we want to do, and the places we want to go. My to-do list for 2014 includes […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: ASOS, BBW Model, Christmas dresses, manchester blogger, manchester fashion blogger, manchester plus size fashion, plus size christmas dress, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus size vintage, plus size winterwear, plus-size blogger, winter fashion

Love Was Just A Glance Away, A Warm Embracing Dance Away

December 17, 2013 by Marie Southard

I love when clothes transport you to another time. When I saw this coat on ASOS, I knew it would make me feel like Rita Hayworth in the 1940’s. I could imagine her wearing it on a night out with Orson Welles. Despite the fleetingness of that relationship, it remains one of my favorite Hollywood romances of the 20th century. His felt suits and slicked back hair. Her ringlet curls and big, inquisitive eyes. I know the warm wool of […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: 1940s coats, 1940s fashion, ASOS, BBW Model, curvy confidence, pink coats, platform boots, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus size retro, plus size velvet dress, plus size vintage, plus size winter coats, plus-size blogger, Rita Hayworth, winter coats

Your Heart Is As Black As Night

December 14, 2013 by Marie Southard

Since watching An Education in 2009, I have probably listened to the soundtrack a few hundred times. I love the incredible jazz selections, from pianist Floyd Cramer’s “On the Rebound” to Brenda Lee’s “Sweet Nothin’s.” For whatever reason, though, I always tended to skip over Melody Gardot’s “Your Heart is as Black as Night.” I think, perhaps, because it is the only song not actually from the ’50s/’60s era. This morning I gave it a chance. Gardot is obviously heavily influenced by […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: 70s coats, 80s coats, an education, BBW Model, BBW photography, D.A.N.Y., direct action new york, direct action new york coat, manchester fashion, manchester fashion blogger, manchester plus size, mancunian fashion, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus size photography, plus-size blogger, retro fashion, vintage fashion, vintage plus size, your heart is as black as night

Claire’s UK Sponsors An Incredible Blogger Luncheon And Unveils Their Spring/Summer Collection

December 13, 2013 by Marie Southard

This review also appears in VIVA Magazine. Imagine this: bright, almost neon flower headbands, nautical hats perfect for San Trope, quirky ugly-doll phone cases, retro, Audrey-like sunglasses — essentially, all the things you need for a fashionable few months of spring and summer, whether you’re jet-setting to Ibiza, planning garden parties in the country or on a night out in the Northern Quarter… and in one place. Few brands offer the kind of variety that’d cater to the chic, punker […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: article 21, Claires, Claires accessories, claires uk, Claires UK PR, in the frow, lily kitten, maiden of wood, manchester fashion, manchester fashion blogger, manchester fashion events, manchester plus size, mancunian bloggers, minty essence, miss drifted snow white, northern bloggers, northern uk bloggers, Plus Size Fashion, plus size fashion blogger

And It Goes On And On, Way Beyond And Out Of Reach

December 13, 2013 by Marie Southard

Yesterday, I attended an amazing event that gave me the chance to meet a dozen lovely and beyond talented Mancunian fashion bloggers. Up until this afternoon, I really had no idea that there was much of a blogging scene up in the north of England, let alone a 20-something lady-filled blogger scene. But I’ve been thrilled to be proven wrong. Stay tuned for my official review and coverage of the event in a bit (I’ll give you a hint…it has […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: ASOS, claires uk, furry hat, ModCloth, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus-size blogger, russian hat, TopShop, vintage inspired plus size, vintage plus size, vintage skirt, vintage top

We Are Stardust. Billion Year Old Carbon. We Are Golden.

December 4, 2013 by Marie Southard

The past two days have been rough, for reasons I will write about at a later time, I’m sure. But two things have made the day sparkle just a bit more. I got two packages in the mail upon returning home from my new job at VIVA Magazine. The first, a care bundle from my amazing and beautiful friend, Natalie. She knew I was sad and sent me (and my Paddy) the most thoughtful prezzies. The second was a disc […]

Categories: Art, Body, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Photography, Plus Size • Tags: Armani Exchange, armani exchange sequin dress, beauty photography, boudoir photography, Dorothy Perkins, fashion photography, Fuller Figure Fuller Bust, Gabi Gregg, Georgina Horne, lancashire photographers, Marie Southard Ospina, mermaid dress, My Boudoir, My Boudoir UK, Nadia Aboulhosn, Nicola Grimshaw-Mitchell, pinup fashion, pinup photography, plus size, plus size dresses, Plus Size Fashion, plus size model, plus size sequin dress, plus-size blogger, Sarah Elliott, sequin bodycon, Simply Be, UK, uk photography, vintage fashion, vintage photography, vintage photography UK, vintage plus size models

The Glamorization Of Eating Disorders And Why That’s Pretty Sh*t

December 3, 2013 by Marie Southard

Not long ago, as many of you probably know, a delightful blog dedicated to shaming gays, fat people, sluts (who apparently encompass about 90 percent of the entire female species) and promoting overall misogynistic, homophobic-related material, wrote a post that explored why men should date girls with eating disorders. I won’t even link to the story, because quite frankly, I’d rather not get those guys any more page visits, but the premise of the article was that women battling anorexia […]

Categories: Body, Culture, Health, Lifestyle • Tags: anorexia nervosa, bulimia, eating disorder stats, eating disorders, glamorization of eating disorders, healthy body image, healthy weight, reasons to date a girl with an eating disorder, weight in the media, women in the media