The finale event of my Fashion’s Night Out in Chicago was the “Cupcakes, Curves, and Cleavage” event at Vive La Femme.

This event was a special collaboration between Vive la Femme, Isabella Fine Lingerie, and Vaudezilla. I nearly swooned over the gorgeous clothes and delicate bras and panties on display!



I didn’t take this picture…I forgot to take one of the store, so I grabbed this off the net. 🙂




White wine and cupcakes to start the night off right!!!




yum, yum, yummy!

 If you’re a plus-size woman in Chicago, and you’ve never been to Vive la Femme, you need to make plans to do so immediately. It’s the only plus-size boutique in Chicago (as far as I know) and it has some of the most gorgeous clothes from the leading plus-size designers. The attentive staff are intuitive about your style, and will pull a variety of clothes for you to try on. The price-points are low for designer duds, but if you are trying to stick to a budget, you will have to be strict with yourself and choose only a few pieces. You WILL be tempted to blow your whole paycheck!



Stephanie Sack is the fabulous owner of Vive la Femme. She is full of energy and is psychic when it comes to what clothes look great on you!

 For us large-chested women…it is notoriously hard to find pretty matching bras and panties that are sexy and supportive. I do most of my underclothes shopping at Cacique…but now, I’m an Isabella girl! Isabella Fine Lingerie is one of those shops in Lincoln Park that–as a larger woman–I would never venture into, because I’m convinced that they would never have anything to fit me. Ooooohhhh ladies, how wrong I was!! This shop has the largest range of sizes available in Chicago…and the bras and panties are delicate and gorgeous, which is a nice change from the industrial, “sensible” underclothes that are usually offered. For the event, they had set up a special display of the lingerie offered in larger sizes and had two wonderful “boobologists” on hand to help each customer find the right fit. I bought a gorgeous set (will post pictures later!) and I definitely plan to return to the store whenever I want something special to wear under my clothes!



Stock photo of Isabella Fine Lingerie (I didn’t take it!)

 The ladies from Vaudezilla added another wonderful dimension to the event. They are a Chicago Burlesque company (with performers of ALL SIZES) that hold performances and classes. Red Hot Annie and Abigail a la Mode were there to represent the company. We ended up getting into a great discussion about body acceptance-no matter what your size-and the freedom that can be found in burlesque dancing. I absolutely plan to attend one of their classes, and I hope to write about it here. 🙂



This is a promotional photo for Vaudezilla-not my photo. So sexy and gorgeous!

 I also got to hang out with Nikeya Young from Plus Model Mag and the Examiner. She was absolutely gorgeous and so stylish! She keeps super busy–writing, modeling and whatever other projects come her way. Isn’t she beautiful????

We were both interviewed by Ellen Warren from the Chicago Tribune, and we talked about shopping as a plus-size woman and the challenges that entails. I can’t wait to read the article and see the pictures! I’ll post it here, of course.

Whew! So, as you can see…it was a whirlwind evening and I had an absolute blast!!! I’ll post more about what I bought at Vive la Femme and Isabella. 🙂 What did y’all do for FNO Chicago?? Do tell!