Once again IGIGI by Yuliya Raquel,  had proven for itself and to the fashion community that indeed it is a great shopping destination and a premier brand in women specialty clothing.  Based in the heart of San Francisco, IGIGI designs, manufactures, and distributes apparel and accessories for real women in sizes 12-32. It had been voted number one as “Plus Fashion Retailer of the Year” in this year’s Full Figured Fashion Week.  Congratulations IGIGI, you have earned this well deserved recognition!

Consistent with its name, which literally means an ancient goddess symbolizing vitality, charm and intelligence, IGIGI creates smart, stylish, and sophisticated plus size clothing for fashion-conscious, fashion loving beautiful, voluptuous, and confident women.

To keep you abreast with the latest trends in plus fashion, please log on to IGIGI, and you will find for yourself its freshest, newest, trendiest designs that best represent your character and attitude.  There is a wide array of selection that you can choose from via online:  plus size dresses (wedding party,  career wear, evening dresses, cocktail dresses, casual dresses, prom dresses), plus size tops, plus size pants, plus size jackets, bridal, and even accessories, and a lot more at IGIGI.

The Plus Size Advocate - Plus Size Fashion, News & Events

YULIYA RAQUEL is a natural-born artistic individual through fashion designing.  This Ukrainian-born beautiful woman is a lead designer and founder of IGIGI (pronounced as ee zhee zhee), one of today’s leading brands of clothing for real women of all shapes and sizes, which is based in San Francisco, California.

It is extraordinary for a three year-old child to be fascinated at fashion magazines, or for a seven-year old to have mastered the sewing machines. Fashion designing comes to Yuliya naturally. She has been designing clothes since she was five. Part of her high school program in  Russia was designing. She was so fascinated at it, so she took additional classes while still in Russia. When she transferred to the USA, she took a few classes too.

Thinking of a more stable profession, Yuliya tried herself in the field of medicine. But destiny gave her whole life to fashion designing. Maybe it was fate, or a personal calling that led her to an exclusive passion for plus size market. Her greatest masterpiece is the unbeatable IGIGI.

Yuliya‘s  interest in plus size fashion started when she went shopping with her mother (a beautiful woman size 24 at that time) at the full figured stores. They were disheartened at the reality that there was not enough stylish, form-fitting, and feel good clothes available for curvaceous women like her mother. She went store hopping searching what is available for her mother only to end up frustrated.  She realized that only very few stores offer stylish clothing for fashion loving curvy women.

As I was browsing the net, I was led to www.pasazz.net where I came across the video of Yuliya, which she released on the occasion of IGIGI’s 10th anniversary to share with the women her inspiring story of self acceptance and discovering the beauty inside her. In that video she shared that she had an anorexia when she was ten years old because she had an ugly concept of herself. Everything that she saw in herself was ugly. The anorexia was gone when she was a teenager, but the feeling of ugliness remained. Further she shared that when they moved to America, her mother gained so much weight (from size 12 to size 24) because of medication. This affected her mother’s self-esteem so much. Her mother’s feeling of ugliness was reinforced by the pressure of the people around her to reduce weight.

The horrible situation of Yuliya‘s mom became an eye opener for her. She knows for a fact that  her mom was truly beautiful inside and out. But how can she convince other people that they are beautiful if she cannot accept herself? Tired of feeling ugly, she finally decided to accept herself and to be beautiful, and made a 180 degrees change in her life. Since then she developed a beautiful perspective about herself, and she took it as a personal conviction to change world’s view of beauty, or redefine beauty. This is the same mission that IGGI is spreading around the globe through their beautiful collections – the latest and stylish apparel designs and accessories for beautiful and fashion loving curvaceous and voluptuous women. IGIGI is committed to break the boundaries that prevent  people from appreciating their innate beauties.

About 12 years ago prior to IGIGI, she was a couturier having a little studio, designing chic evening gowns for women sizes 18, 20, 22, and 24. The main complaint is that they want something beautiful for a wedding occasion, and have nothing to wear because the stores do not cater to them.  After doing some research in plus market, Yuliya realized a void in the plus size clothing market that needs to be met. And because of her strong conviction to change the world’s definition of beauty, she launched in February 2000 igigi.com where she posted online her clothing collection. IGIGI had a humble beginning. She launched IGIGI with just 300 dollars that she paid for the website and sewing machine. She had made the launching of IGIGI a history because she had successfully managed it to become one of the top leading brands in plus size clothing around the globe. She claims that today IGIGI “has tens and tens and tens of thousands of customers around the globe.” She had managed IGIGI to become a landmark in the plus fashion industry.

Yuliya envisions a world that allows everyone to feel beautiful. She promotes size acceptance and advocates that every woman should fall in love with who they are inside and out. She believes that everyone is gorgeous just the way they are, no need to change, no need to be weight conscious.  She believes that every single human being on earth is truly beautiful beyond description.  Everyone is created beautiful.  There’s an innate beauty in a woman, she just needs to unleash them. Beauty is not about size and shape, our body is our body, just the way it is.  She emphasizes that beauty and size are two different things. As women we’ve got to celebrate ourselves and exudes that beauty and be an inspiration to many.

When Yuliya designs, she always situates herself at how a wearer will feel in the garment. Will it make her feel more feminine, sensual or attractive, etc.? She finds joy and fulfillment when she receives positive feedbacks from her happy and satisfied clientele.

Please visit IGIGI’s official website. They offer you an up-to date apparel collection to fulfill your fashion needs. If you want a one-time only design, check out their new line called Limited Collection. You can find trendy, hot style and unique pieces from their Limited Collection.

The Plus Size Advocate - Plus Size Fashion, News & Events

Corsets are a timeless fashion used by  powerful women in the past eras to express their powerful stature, something that they cannot live without.  This blatant fashion statement has been passed on from generation to generation, and is being enjoyed today by many women in the world.   Many international women celebrities in the current pop culture have made corsets as a staple in their wardrobes.  For the past two decades they have repeatedly brought the corsets out into the fashion world and into the limelight.  In different occasions they display their corsets in elaborate and trendy designs and materials, whether a leather corset for an erotic spectacle on stage, beaded one for the Red Carpet, or lacy and casual for dinner with friends, the image goes back to one of the most powerful women, Queen Elizabeth I of England who dresses herself in beautiful corsets.  It may not be the intention of these celebrities to be associated with powerful women in the past eras but, this fashion statement not only speaks of their prominence, but can also be a powerful tool for her expression.

Corset, though a simple item of clothing, had its share of controversy.  Historically, corsets speak of a conservative male oppression of women.   Young girls were put in corsets to grow accustomed to restrictiveness binding.   In present time fashion designers less likely care about its symbolism of male dominion over women, but in the trend of time, it has become for them a timeless fascination of shaping the female body into a beautiful curvy look, and for the wearers to exude a supreme form of confidence and feminine expression.  Also, there are others that don’t care about its cultural history or its ability to shape a body.  For them corset is an ideal under-garment supporting the back in a comfortable manner – a very practical fashion sense.

In the present time, we see plus size corsets as elegant, ultra alluring, and sophisticated fashion that is available in various styles and colors fabricated from all sorts of materials.  As time evolved, corsets have developed to become distinct from the 16^th and 17^th century.  Today, these are available in different sizes, from small to 3X and above.  They are now worn as outerwear together with jeans in casual or special setting, or even glamorized as evening attire.  They have also evolved into becoming a bra.  Also, corsets are commonly used as lingerie designed to be comfortable and easy for the wearer to get in and out of.

Fascination with these garments had been confirmed in recent corset news.  In the fashion world, corsets are not just sexy fashion; they have become a very profitable undertaking.  Celebrities have custom designed embellished leather corsets, and those made from other rare and artistic materials auctioned for $1000 and above for the benefit of charitable undertaking.

Leather corsets or those made from classic lace or racier PVC are popular today in the lingerie fashion.  They come in various styles and sizes.  Like their outerwear counterparts, numerous designs are available to emphasize the curves of the female physique.  They are carefully designed to satisfy the wearer.   Other details and options were added to a modern lingerie corset.  Many are lined with silk or satin.   Some have optional G-strings and detachable garters; some have front zippers, lace up backs, hook and eye front closure, and adjustable shoulder straps.  Lycra is sometimes added to give more comfort to the wearer.

The powerful women of the past eras may or may not have regarded corsets as a must in their wardrobes.  But for the women of today, modern corsets (from the simplest to the most intricate) have become a powerful tool to express their womanhood.

The Plus Size Advocate - Plus Size Fashion, News & Events

Over the years that I’ve been making women’s plus size clothing,  I often wonder what plus size women want in clothing.  As I’ve read other blogs I’ve come across 4 things that matter most to different women.

Comfort

Some women don’t care about the rules of what you should or should not wear they are just all about comfort.  Fabric is probably the most important consideration followed closely by roominess in the design. Not necessarily concerned about what others think as long as they are comfortable.

Fit and Style

To me fit and style are virtually inseparable. How can you have style without fit? This person, I think, tends to be all about following the rules like; no horizontal stripes, balancing her silhouette, color matching her complexion and never wearing clothes that are too loose or too tight.  If you fit this category you like comfort too but are not comfortable unless you feel confident in what your wearing.

Attitude

No rules apply and anything goes.  You can’t actually say that fit and style are out the door when it comes to attitude because some plus size women display alot of attitude with fit and style, but what I’m referring to here is women who hate the rules. If she wants to wear her clothing skin tight and extremely revealing then that’s just what she will do. Not at all concerned about what others think and don’t want to be limited by what others may deem as unacceptable.

I don’t know if I’ve covered all the plus size fashion categories here but it’s a start. What kind of person are you?

The Plus Size Advocate - Plus Size Fashion, News & Events

An inverted triangle body shape (sometimes called strawberry) is wide at the top and narrows as it goes down your silhouette all the way down to your feet. Classic features of an inverted triangle are wide shoulders, broad back and large bust.  From the waist down you are proportionately smaller than your upper torso with small buttocks and hips. Your legs are generally very shapely and considered an asset to you.  The goal of an inverted triangle is clear, de-emphasize your upper torso while adding volume below the waist to bring an overall balance to your entire silhouette.

What an Inverted Triangle Should Wear

Do’s and Don’ts for Tops

1. Do wear tops with low cut necklines, V-necks and sweetheart necklines are great as long as they are not too wide . Wear longer length tops to pull eyes up and down rather than side to side. Darker colors are your friend.
2. Don’t wear tops with wide necklines, shoulder pads, rouched or puffed sleeves and never wear halters or tube tops.  Stay away from tops that are too short or too loose. Don’t wear light colored or loud tops with dark bottoms as this will only draw eyes to your top width.

Do’ and Don’ts for Skirts

1. Do wear A-line or full skirts that flare away from the waist rather than your hip. Colorful skirts with darker tops are a great combination for you. Add interest to your skirts with biased cuts and asymmetrical hemlines. You have beautiful legs draw attention to them.
2. Don’t wear tight fitted pencil skirts  or short skirts as they may tend to make you look too top heavy. Don’t wear long skirts with thin floaty unsubstantial fabrics as they will not add the proper structure to your lower body.

Do’s and dont’s for Dresses

1. Do wear dresses with fitted bodice and lowish necklines. A line dresses and dresses layered below the hips and add volume to the bottom are idea. Choose colors that are solid to add vertical interest that draw the eye up and down.
2. Don’t wear dresses with unstructured fabrics or that has designs or embellishments that over emphasize your upper torso (wide necklines). Tapered form fitting dresses will not bring the overall balance your looking for.

Do’s and don’ts for pants

1. Do wear boot cut, wide leg or flare legs.  Cargo pants will add the desired volume you need and will look great on you. You can also get away with wearing skinny jeans as long as you play down your choice of top when wearing them but be careful.
2. Don’t wear high waist tapered pants or short shorts as this will not add the volume your looking for to bring overall balance to your lower body.

The goal for the Inverted Triangle (Strawberry) is to bring attention away from your upper torso and create an overall flattering vertical balance by adding volume to your lower body.  Be sure to draw attention to your amazing legs.

Check out our selection of fashion forward women’s plus size clothing trendy and affordable at PlusSizeSavings.com

The Plus Size Advocate - Plus Size Fashion, News & Events