Oprah Winfrey’s Battle with Weight Gain

One of my favourite shows from America is always Oprah daily show. I have watched her on and off her weight battle through her shows since early 90’s, in my eye whether she is 50 kg or 90 kg, size 10 or size 20 she is still the talk show queen.
There are some people who criticise her for doing opposite to some dieting advice episodes which she had on TV but they do not understand how difficult in reality for a middle age woman, especially under public eyes constantly like Oprah, to lose the weight as she wishes. Yes, she is one of the most riches in the world and she has plenty money to support her weight battle; but the more body image pressure is on her, the more her body reacts oppositely.
Oprah was brave to admit “I didn’t just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me.”
She is not making excuses for the weight she has gained; she just opens up about it. Her experience is a valuable lesson for us which about taking time for ourselves, to take care of ourselves, something we all at least can do!
Despites of her weight gain, I must say Oprah still looks beautiful and elegant in her fashionable clothes. As I always think there is no ugly woman, only woman who does not know how to make herself beautiful.

My Business in An Economic Downturn.

During an economic crisis, businesses are forced to cut overhead cost and my business is not an exception. However, I have never compromised my swimwear quality. Also since petrol price rising, I have offered free international postage plus good customer service. I rather reduce my swim wear margin to help my customers save money than to send them away. My philosophy is: My business will not survive without customers, and anyone who comes to my online boutique will be treated with respect and privilege.

Curvysea New Season Plus Size Swimwear

Australian weather is getting warmer and the temperature starts soaring. It’s the time we have fun at the beach or at pool parties, I have launched new season swimwear for our full figured women. Curvysea® new style swimsuits arrive in one piece, they’re flattering and the swimsuit patterns are fashionable; we think our real ladies deserve as much fashion as other sized women and they don’t have to wear bathing suits that look like grandmas' curtains!

Are Vertical stripes or horizontal stripes for plus size figure?

If you are a plus size woman and a stripe lover, you would have known that vertical stripes will make you look trimmer because they will draw the eye vertically and the horizontal stripes are doing opposite by driving the eye across your body, therefore give a perception of your body which will look larger.
For years, fashion gurus have advised full figured women on choosing vertical stripes for clothing. Well, they are wrong, claims Dr Peter Thompson, a UK psychologist and a visual perception expert. He tested on comparing pair of photographs of women who volunteered in the process. When both images in the pair were of identically sized women, the result was that people tended to judge the horizontally striped clothes made the women look slimmer – opposite to the previous ‘vertical’ stripes perception.
Whatever the opinion is, I still think if we are plus size, we should wear thin vertically striped outfit and it should be made of soft fabric because it will elongate our figure and smooth our curves .
What would you prefer: vertical or horizontal stripes?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Colour Trends for Spring Summer 2009

Although with swimwear, especially plus size swimwear, the colour and pattern trends are varied between designers but generally, the colour trend for Spring/Summer 2009 will be earthy, subdued colours such as brown. For summer season, primary colours convey strength and energy, vivid and saturated colours that remind us of our favourite beach like blues and the distinctly sandy colour.

Source: http://www.fashionising.com/

Plus Size Beauty Queen Chloe Marshall

Today when I was surfing on the net, I found a great article from http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4520389&page=1 which has proved that beauty can come in all different shapes and sizes. Since the majority of women in our worldwide communities are size 12 and above, I think people have changed their perspective about beauty. It’s no more only slim figures to be beautiful, the live proof was Chloe Marshall who was crowned Miss Surrey in March 2008 in England.
Her smile and her look showed that she was beautiful and so confident.
She is only 16 years old and has a long bright future ahead, it’s no doubt that she will continuously be a great example of a high self-esteem plus size beauty queen.

Courtesy:
http://abcnews.go.com/
www.missengland.info/

Learn How to Love Yourself!

I have taped and watched " How To Look Good Naked " series on Australian Ten Network http://ten.com.au/ten/tvshows.html

(they were aired in USA nearly six months ago). The show is actually from the "Queer Eye" Fashion Guru Carson Kressley which shows women How To Feel Beautiful From The Inside Out.

It is really good show because from it, we can find a true beauty in our own body and we can learn how to love ourselves

If you have not seen the show, just click on the above link and it will take you to the "How To Look Good Naked" episodes.

Full Figured Body of a Celebrity!

Misha Barton, the former actress from "O.C.", was proud of showing off her curves in her two piece swimwear. There were some negative comments on her but who cares? She is healthy and as long as her fans and her boyfriend adore her shape, she is the winner!
Source: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/famous/10046/mischa-im-proud-of-my-cellulite/

Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Comment

Last week I was invited to different shows from fashion designers in Sydney (Circular Quay). Most of models were tall, thin, with flat bodies as usual, especially swimwear models.

For the Sirocco collection, there was a model with fuller body, she was about size 12, she looked beautiful , more beautiful than the others, with her feminine curves.

If you'd like to know more about Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 2008, visit http://www.rafw.com.au/

Designers Change Their Minds?

I just read an article about plus size fashion on http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph (by By Jen Melocco, Fashion Editor /April 07, 2008 )
The article is about Collette Dinnigan, Leona Edmiston who have moved into plus size market with their designs for full figured women, as they see the growing demand in large size. They come to sense at last because a large size woman is just as fashionable as a small size, only that she doesn't have much choices in fashion as the small one.

Plus Size Models at Milan Fashion Week!

I am always a fan of using plus size models on catwalk because it makes sense and it is more realistic. Elena Miro's fuller figure models looked quite sexy and elegant at Milan Fashion Week Winter/ Fall 2008-09 http://news.sawf.org/Designers/48294.aspx
I hope to have my plus size models in my plus size bathing suits, on the fashion catwalk one day!

You Can Be Sexy at Any Size!

80% of men prefer real women with curves, according to poll results from Nancy Hayssen’s online survey.
Sexy comes in all shapes and sizes. Sexy is a state of mind, is an attitude, is how you feel about yourself, and is about confidence no matter your size is 8 or 18
You have to believe it because if you don’t, nobody is going to, but when you do, everybody will also be attracted to you because you know from inside that you‘re a sexy woman with curves and all.
The celebrities like J.Lo, Queen Latifah, Nancy Hayssen (a former plus size model) who are self confident, who are sexy and who get a lot of attention. They don’t want to be skinny, they’re proud of who they are and they love their bodies the way they are.
Now get up and go shopping, girls! Buy a new skirt or a new plus size bathing suit that you can show off your beautifull curves at the beach or the pool this weekend!

The Uniqueness of Being Yourself

Different individuals may have different body sizes due to many reasons: genetics, medication, body frames and other factors that affect our body shapes and weights.
Since we have little control over body size or - weight, we should focus on something over which we have more control.

Self care on your appearance is one of important factors. Believe it or not, clothing can make you look fuller or fitter; if you choose the right styles and right fabrics, you will look trimmer, nicer and even years younger as the outfits will flatter your body and brighten your face. I’ve seen some full figured women in wrong plus size bathing suits at the beach; their bodies would look nicer if they wear swimwear that accentuates their curves and disguise cellulite. Beauty is what you make it and you’ll surprise to find it in you!

Curvysea has special deals for our ladies, we offer free postage and a bonus short pareo (while stock last) for every order. Check out http://www.curvysea.com

Wow! Curvysea's Customer's Comments On The New Zealand Real Women Forum!

Last week I found very good comments from Sheryl, one of my customers and she is the web mistress of http://www.realwomen.co.nz/. It was really a coincidence, as I typed the keywords “plus size swimwear” (to check on my website SEO) into http://yahoo.com.au/ and after I clicked on NZ button, I found the title: “Re: Plus size swimwear - Realtalk Forum Index” on the 2nd position of Yahoo first page, I hadn’t known the feedback that was for Curvysea, but with curiosity, I opened the forum page and there I was filled with happy emotion when I read them, the great comments from Sheryl and from other real ladies.
If you'd like to read them, please go to http://www.curvysea.com/ and click on the link to my customers' testimonial page.

Blogger Buzz: Happy Eighth Birthday!

Blogger Buzz: Happy Eighth Birthday!

What Sunscreen Is Right for Us!

There are lots of sunscreens on the market, providing all sorts of protection and benefits but which one will protect us the most?
According to Dermatologist, Dr Natasha "It's all that little bit of sun you are getting every day, that cumulative damage that in the end is going to give you problems, not only with cancer but pigmentation, broken capillaries and that sallow, chicken-skin appearance which is very hard to rectify once it comes so you need to prevent it."
She recommended "You should be aiming to buy an SPF 30 plus sunscreen. Then look for active ingredients, zinc and/or titanium - they are physical blockers that reflect the sun from our skin, essential for sunscreen to work. These days zinc, nanonized zinc or zinc oxide is invisible on your skin"
Other information from Anita Teng, Cancer Council Australia, you should make sure the sunscreen including UVA and UVB protection, which will help you prevent malignant skin cancer, melanomas, as well as preventing sunburn, sagginess, blotchiness and reduction of collagen radiation, ageing skin, wrinkles and yellow or brown spots.
To make it work the best, you should put it on before you go outdoors, 20 to 30 minutes (allowing the cream to absorb) before you expose to the sun and make sure you put enough suncreen on your body (1teaspoon per limb /Anita's advice).

Adding to sun protection is to wear one piece swimwear or two piece tankini or a kaftan, plus a large hat and a pair of sun glasses.
Source: http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/98201/health/finding-right-sunscreen
http://www.curvysea.com

Good Travel Tips for Overseas Holidays

As we work hard all year long, this season is an opportunity for us to spend time with our loved ones and also is a chance to make an overseas trip. There are some tips to help us make the trip smoothly and safely
- Check the latest advice for travelling to your destination. It’s encouraged to register with a travel site of the Department of Foreign Affairs in your country; for Australian the website URL is http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au
- It’s advisable to buy travel insurance to cover unexpected accident during your holiday at the destination.
- Investigate the local customs/culture and if possible, the local laws. For instance, if you go to some middle-east countries, you should wear modest clothes.
- Check for transit visa requirements and the validity of your passport (should be at least 6 months validity).
- Lock all of your bags at the airport to avoid luggage tampering or theft.
Have a safe and sound holiday!