"Fat" Fashion Bloggers or Just Fashion Bloggers?

I tend to read blogs from girls of all shapes and sizes, admiring style across the board. I know size can be an issue in the fashion industry, but in a way, I thought the blogosphere was different. I didn’t think that stylishly curvy ladies needed to segregate themselves in the way the industry segregates them. Examples being that weird Vogue Curvy section of VogueItalia.com or any overall purely curvy-dominated fashion spreads, which brings attention to girls of other sizes, but in a strange, separating way.

I was recently reading a Teen Vogue article from last month that profiled curvy bloggers. One of the bloggers, Ragini of A Curious Fancy, whose style I absolutely love, describes her blog as, “Vintage-fashion inspiration from a fat girl,” and on her site, describes herself as, “Fat, fanciful, and whimsical.” I’ve also come across the word “Fatshionista” more than once from bloggers themselves and I always thought it was kind of polarizing. Is it so optimistically wrong that I feel like size should not have to define these girls? Two of the bloggers listed below used to run blogs called “Young, Fat, and Fabulous” and “Fatshionable.” Gabi of Gabifresh (formerly Young, Fat, and Fabulous) said in the Teen Vogue article, “I am passionate about reclaiming the word fat and loved the previous name of my blog, but I try to be realistic about our society. I can spread my message further if I have a name that focuses on my style rather than my size.” I think the idea of taking back a word is worth exploring, but at the same time, when I look at her blog, I see style, not size.

As a reader of many blogs, I never stopped to make a distinction in terms of looks or bloggers I particularly like, but as a fashion blogger myself, I started to wonder whether I needed to address, focus on, or market the fact that at size 12-14, I’m in the “curvy blogger” size range. It rarely crossed my mind when starting because I figured style is forefront, but this curvy grouping made me wonder if it’s something I should address on my own blog. Granted, I know first hand that curvy girls have more of a fashion challenge when it comes to finding things they love in a certain size whether in malls or vintage, so in that sense, I can understanding addressing “dressing for your body type,” but I don’t quite understand using size as a defining characteristic when it comes to style. I ultimately decided against putting a style label on my blog, but for those who self-identify, is it part of a state-of-mind or gathered experiences we curvier girls have? I understand the need for community, but the idea also feels limiting somehow. What do you guys think? Should I just be glad there are curvy bloggers out there or am I right to see a future where size is not a defining characteristic when it comes to style?