Cosmopolitan

That said, I do think fashion is important and can be quite political. The way we present ourselves through our clothes, accessories and hairstyles tell the world a story about us before we even open our mouths.

Though it may not be fair, it is a form of social currency. It impacts on our ability to find work or secure an apartment. It influences whether our significant other's parents will consider us a good catch. The limited options available to fat people - especially in Australia - mean that the messages we are able to send with our fashion are, in a way, censored.

By refusing to cater to us, fashion labels are controlling the way we can present ourselves; it is much easier to think of fat women as homely and sexless when the fashion choices available are largely homely and sexless. To send an accurate message, fat people must try harder. We have to be adventurous, resourceful and inventive. When saying no to fat talk, one of the greatest transformations we can make is through our clothing.

I'm not going to teach you how to dress for your shape. Those rules tend to focus on "flattering" the body, which is a thinly veiled euphemism for "making it appear smaller". Pro tip: No amount of cinched waists, good tailoring, draping or dark colours will turn a fat body into a skinny one. Rather than forcing oneself to become some kind of optical illusion, I'm of the opinion that you should appreciate what you have. Ideally, fashion should help reflect the person you are, not turn you into something you're not.

This can be a tall order when you're plus-sized. I know that all too well; though I'm on the smaller side of fat and have more sartorial choices than those larger than me, turning my wardrobe into something that communicates who I am is still a seemingly endless process. Here are the tips that help me, and will hopefully help you too.

1. Get rid of everything that makes you feel bad

When my self-esteem and I were at our lowest, I tried my very best to hide myself away. I wore a lot of black. I wore baggy men's pants in a vain attempt to make my hips and arse disappear. I hated fashion, because I hated how my body refused to conform to the clothes I thought I should be wearing. It became a vicious cycle; I wore those clothes because I hated my body, and I hated my body because I wore those clothes. When I started dressing to uplift myself, those baggy jeans were the first things to go.

Go through your wardrobe and be ruthless. If something doesn't fit, GET RID OF IT. The dress that you will wear when you lose weight is sucking the life out of you. If you haven't worn it for over a year, it's probably safe to get rid of. If you're not sure about an item, try it on and ask yourself how it makes you feel. Do you feel fabulous? If you don't then it's wasting precious space that could be taken up by something that beautifully highlights your awesomeness.

Bag up your pile but don't throw it out! If you have some friends that are around your size, tell them to cull their wardrobe and organise a clothes swap. Invite them around one Saturday night, whip up some cocktails and rummage through everyone else's clothes. That bedazzled frock your friend can't bear may be the perfect thing to help you channel your inner Beth Ditto (our Patron Saint of Fat).

Closely connected to this point is…

2. Buy clothes that make you feel awesome

I'm as guilty as the next fat person of buying clothing because it happens to fit or it's easy (my work wardrobe was once made almost entirely out of black jersey dresses). But remember what I said above: fashion should reflect the person you are.

This means disregarding the common rules for clothing fat bodies. Horizontal stripes, bodycon, bold prints, bright colours, Mama Cass style mumus, miniskirts, crop tops… they are in if you want them to be in. I have seen women across the spectrum of fat wearing each of those and they looked spectacular. Fashion is anarchy - there are no rules. If you love it, there is no outfit that is out of bounds. Any haters may take their usual route to the left.

3. Step outside your comfort zone

A fashion motto in the online fatshion scene is Make It Work. If you see a cute fabric belt that has no chance of doing up around your waist, it could work as a necklace.  If a dress you like is straight sized but has some stretch, try it on. The current oversized trend works in our favour; I'm a size 16 to 18 and I've bought tops and dresses that are as small as size 10. An item does not have to fit the way the designer intended it to fit. Try on styles and colours that you wouldn't normally go for.  Make fashion work for you.

4. Get thee to the internet

The plus size fashion market in Australia is dire. That's a fact. Many of the brands available are aimed at an older market and are more concerned with hiding the body than celebrating it. We do have City Chic, but they sell a very specific look and if you're not into strapless dresses and girly embellishments (i.e. me) it doesn't have much for you.

This is where the wonder of the internet comes in. With the Aussie dollar so strong at the moment, now is the perfect time for it. Get yourself some measuring tape and measure around your bust, natural waist and hips. Once you've got your details in centimetres, convert it to inches so you're prepared for American sites (there are plenty of online conversion calculators that will do this for you). Every online outlet has a size guide and you must consult it to know your size.

Here are some tried and true plus size stores to get you started:
• For on-trend clothing: Asos (their main range goes up to a UK18/Aus16 and their Curve range goes from UK20 to UK26/Aus18 to Aus24), Forever 21+, Evans, Style 369, Torrid, Dorothy Perkins
• For rock and roll style: Domino Dollhouse, noxceptions
• For classy gear: Jibri
• For seriously fashion forward threads: Gisela Ramirez, naKIMuli, Carmakoma
• For boots that cater to wide calves: Duo Boots
• For tights in every colour of the rainbow and then some: We Love Colors (sign up to their mailing list to get a free shipping code on 1 June)

If the shipping rates are particularly severe (I'm looking at you, Torrid and Forever 21), get your friends in on a group order.

There's a great spirit of information sharing in the online fatshion community. When we find good gear, we want to let our fellow fats know about it. The best way to learn about different retailers is to read fatshion blogs: mine!, Big Beauty, XL as Life, Busty Traveller, Young Fat and Fabulous, Musings of a Fatshionista, Fatshionable, Frocks and Frou Frou, Blog to be Alive, Pocket Rocket Fashion… Read them, then click the blogs they link to and read them too.

5. Have fun

Once you realise the truth - there is no spoon there are no rules - fashion becomes a whole new ball game. It's decoration. It's comfort. As an unrepentant fatty, it's activism - your clothing is your placard. But most of all it's fun, so enjoy dressing up (however you see fit).


Frances Lockie is a 24-year-old public servant from Sydney who spends her spare time trying to take over the internet. She blogs at Corpulent; normalises the fat female body at Hey Fat Chick!; and runs the All Bodies Directory, which collates body positive health care providers in Australia and New Zealand.

Want to join our pledge to say no to fat talk, just like Frances? Sign up here.