There are some great and not-so-great spring trends popping up in the stores…have you noticed? Well, I have my own opinions, but I want to know what other curvy fashionistas think! What are you loving/hating this spring?? Do tell!!

Take this short survey, and then tell me what other trends are you seeing??? Do you love or hate them? Let’s dish, y’all!

It’s official, y’all!!! Chicago will have its very own fashion week dedicated exclusively to plus-size designers! Plus Fashion Week Chicago (or PFW for short) will take place October 17-21. We officially kicked things off last week at an Accessories Soiree held at Charming Charlie, which I’m so thrilled to discover is on Michigan Ave!

I wore my fantastic Sasha dress from Shavonne Dorsey designs, and dressed it up with tons of fun, sparkly, colorful accessories!

We had a great crowd show up and all left with some fabulous jewelry to liven up their wardrobes.

Two fabulous Chicago fashionistas: Tamika from Dangerous Curves Ahead and Lindsey from Lindsey M Adams.

We had a short fashion show during the event too! 3 gorgeous models from ThYck Troupe Chicago wore some beautiful designs from Crescendo Apparel, and accessorized with pieces from our host, Charming Charlie.

 The models did a quick change and came out in another look with accessories from Charming Charlie.

I couldn’t stop changing my accessories!! So many fun options!!

Perry from Alluring Chicago and I had too much fun running around the store…and we definitely spent too much money!! 🙂

I’m excited to be a part of the leadership team that will be getting the first Plus Fashion Week Chicago off the ground! Follow @plusfashwkchi on Twitter and Like the PFWChicago Facebook page. More info will roll out in the next few months, so stay tuned!

How do you take this va-va-voom leopard print ruched dress from Kiyonna and tame it for the office?? It was actually easier than I thought! I added a wide black belt, a black blazer, black pumps, a refined updo, and gold jewelry.

The solid dark colors almost magically tone down the MEOW to more of a proper PURR, suitable for the office. lol.

With this look, I get to extend the life of the dress and pull it out twice as much! I actually don’t know if I like the professional look or the glam look better… lol. Anyway, this post has inspired me to pull out some more of my too-hot-for-daytime dresses to give them a new life in the sun!

When Kiyonna mentioned that they were coming out with the Betsey Ruched dress in Leopard Print, I was like….OMG, I must have it immediately!!!! But then…the doubts crept in…I started wondering if I really could pull off a full-body v-neck leopard print ruched dress. Was it too over-the-top even for me???

This dress was so awesome, that I didn’t just want to wear it to special events, I wanted to rotate it into my everyday wardrobe. So I challenged myself: Can I make this Kiyonna Leopard-Print Betsey Ruched dress work-appropriate????

Tune in on Monday to see how I styled it for the office. 🙂

How much fun (and green) is it to trade in your under-used clothes for another local fashionista’s?? Since my closets are moaning under the weight of my unused clothes and I’m kind of cheap…and environmentally-conscious, of course….swapping is one of my favorite activities! This was the basis for launching a series of swapping events for curvy ladies here in Chicago called Chic Swaps.

These Chic Swaps are not the crowded free-for-alls that some people expect from these events…I wanted it to feel more like a girl’s night shopping event. So we limited the number of tickets, had all attendees drop their clothes off at the store during the weeks before the event, hung all the items on hangers…added some cupcakes and wine…and voila! We had a chic, fun event. Here’s a little taste of the event…

As you can see, our first Chic Swaps event was The Sweater Swap and it was a great success! Everyone who came left with some awesome items that they were excited to incorporate into their wardrobes! All of the clothes that didn’t find a new home were donated to Dress for Success – an awesome organization that provides clothes to under-privileged women entering the workforce.

Jaye from Curvatude was an excellent co-host, and major thanks and kudos to Stephanie and Amanda from vive la femme and violette. This event would not have been possible without them.

Also, our thanks to our sponsors who each contributed items to our gift bags. Lush Cosmetics donated amazing bath products, Continuum Studio donated giftcards to all attendees with a bonus certificate for one lucky winner, and 2 lucky attendees won VIP tickets to a Plus Fashion Week Chicago event.

Be sure to Like ChicSwaps on Facebook, follow our tweets, and check www.chicswaps.com to find out about our next event!