When I received an email regarding a fashion festival based in Liverpool, showcasing plus size models, body positive promoters and high-street affordable brands: how is a fashion obsessed girl possibly supposed to say no?!
Welcome back to my blog and apologies for the lack of outfit based posts, life has recently been extremely busy. But since I knew that this post in particular was in the works, I haven't been feeling so bad for not posting! I've known for a few months now that I would be attending this day, and knew for definite that it would be something I wanted to blog about. So enough of the chit chat, here is my documented day at The Curve Fashion Festival 2017, in partnership with New Look.
I decided to bring one of my best friends along with me to the event, Phoebe, as I knew that this would be something she was interested and also was aware that she was a follower of a lot of the social media influences due to make an appearance at the festival. So we each set our alarms for 5am Saturday morning, and traveled to Liverpool Lime Street from Stoke for her and Manchester for me.
Neither of us were really sure what to expect from the event as neither one of us had been to something like this before, and to be completely honest, with the tickets only being £15 each, I didn't expect for the day to offer an extensive amount. However I knew to keep an open mind, as things can often surprise you otherwise.
Upon arrival, we took in the spectacle that was the home of the festival. Based in The Exhibition Center in Liverpool, it was located in a humongous hall with stands upon stands of high-street clothing stores to choose from. Towards the back was a sofa set, which we later found out was where interviews were taking place throughout the day, and a catwalk which was being used to showcase clothing from the different high-street brands. Finally with some various places to eat, sit and take photo opportunities; this place had everything needed to keep a couple of excitable girls occupied for majority of the day.
Once we were settled and had our bearings, we decided to watch the catwalk show for the different high-street brands. These included ones such as MissGuided. BooHoo and New Look. But the main point of the festival is to present models of all shapes and sizes, and clothing which caters for those regarded as being "plus-sized". For myself personally, I do not fall within that "category" with mostly fitting sizes 10-12. Despite this, it is one of my passions as a fashion and lifestyle blogger to appeal to everyone and for everyone to feel beautiful. So when I see the plus-size community not receiving the love, validation or regards that they so rightfully deserve: it angers me.
And so with events such as these paving the way forward for a brighter future, I couldn't help but fall in love with the atmosphere and the sense of acceptance which echoed throughout the building whilst watching these gorgeous girls strut their stuff down the catwalk, and I felt inspired to one day spread this positivity to a wider community.
Once watching the catwalk show and feeling as inspired as ever, we moved onto the interviewing area, where I got to see; in the flesh; one of my biggest inspirations in not only fashion, but in life. I have featured Grace Victory in my previous Style Inspirations posts as I think her style is incredible, and the way that she pulls it off is also something to be commended.
In this interview, her and Megan Crabbe (@bodyposipanda) discuss how to make it in the world of blogging and being a potential YouTuber. This is something I was super interested in and found so inspiring to listen to, as they are both so successful in that area themselves. Once this interview finished, we then got the opportunity to meet the girls themselves - I nearly died.
This is the first experience I have had with meeting people who I have only ever watched on my laptop screen, so Phoebe and I were mega nervous and waiting in anticipation to see what it would be like to meet someone who inspired us both so much!
Grace, to put it simply, did not disappoint. She was so lovely to chat to and her self love exuded from her when she spoke. Even though it was all a bit of a blur, she called Phoebe and I cute, complimented my highlighter and gave me some stellar advice for when I pursue my work on this blog. I was so thankful to meet her and will be an experience I will never forget.
Another social media influencer we got the opportunity to meet was another huge inspiration of mine: Felicity Hayward. Again, I have featured her on my Style Inspirations before, so getting the chance to meet her was an absolute dream come true.
Being the face of New Look's campaign for the festival and having her own line of self love inspired clothing - of which Phoebe and I picked up a t-shirt each - she is a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Again, upon meeting her, we were super nervous. However, she put us completely at ease when speaking to her and demonstrated with her care free personality why she is so successful in the business. I could have spent the whole day speaking to her if given the chance!
After meeting these lovely ladies, Phoebe and I took the opportunity to take a look around, and managed to get some photos in the specified areas, making me feel like an actual VIP! I was so happy with my outfit for the day, as I knew my main concern was that I wanted to feel comfortable for the entire day, as it was going to be a long one. So I was aiming for something stylish, yet still somewhat practical, which was why I came to the decision to wear this gorgeous shirt style dress I picked up a couple of weeks ago from BooHoo. I thought it would be the perfect piece to wear as it is slouchy and over-sized, meaning I was going to be comfortable for the entire day.
Once having a mooch around, the time came to watch another influence of mine's interview. Tess Holliday is a plus size model from over in the States, and has recently released her book, The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl. In the interview with Victory, she spoke about her book, her influences growing up and any advice she could give to girls and boys going through similar things that she has been through.
In the interview she came across as being really down to earth and very funny, and this point was proven further when we got the chance to have a chat with her! With me not having her book already, Phoebe and I decided to purchase her book their at the Waterstone's stand, not only so we could learn a bit more about the woman herself, but we then also were given the opportunity to have it signed by her: an opportunity we couldn't say no to.
So after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we finally got to meet Tess and yes, she is just as stunning in person. Once again, the nerves kicked in for the both of us but soon evaporated when speaking to her and witnessing how kind hearted she is. Whilst speaking to her, she signed each of our books and talked about the time she had met Miley Cyrus - I know right - and as you can see by the picture, what she had on her nails. We then got a few pictures with her and said our goodbyes, all the while thinking, is this really happening?!
Reading her book is something I am really looking forward to, as she seems to be such an interesting character and has experienced a lot in her life so far. Any woman who looks as fabulous as her and promotes the lifestyle she does is most definitely worth the read up!
After this awe-inspiring experience, Phoebe and I attempted to soak everything in and carried on looking around at the different stalls. I think for the both of us, it was quite overwhelming physically and mentally, in the best way possible.
Speaking from experience, with being surrounded by women my whole life who haven't fitted into the conventional category of what society has deemed "beautiful", it filled my heart with such joy and love to see these influences feeling confident and truly happy within themselves being the sizes that they are. I have always been a firm believer in beauty being present no matter the face of it, as I myself do not fit society's depiction of the construct, and being at the festival yesterday instilled this belief in me and left me feeling happy and content.
I had only heard of the festival this year, but I know for a fact if I get the opportunity to go again next year, that I will definitely making another appearance. It was such an inspiring day to be a part of, and for a £15 ticket, I got more than what I expected to receive from the day! I would recommend the day to anyone, no matter your size, as you will leave feeling inspired and will not regret a thing.
That's it for this blog post, I hope you enjoyed reading it! I will leave the handles for the social media influences I met on the day below if you would like to check out their work, and I will speak again soon.
Lots of love,
Amy xoxo
Grace Victory: Megan Crabbe:
YouTube - Grace F Victory Blog - bodyposipanda.com
Blog - graciefrancesca.com Twitter - bodyposipanda_
Twitter - gracefvictory Instagram - bodyposipanda
Instagram - gracefvictory
Felicity Hayward:
Tess Holliday: Twitter - FelicityHayward
Twitter - Tess_Holliday Instagram - felicityhayward
Instagram - tessholliday