Weekly Recap: NY Fashion Week ends

This week, The Fat Stylist introduced a new feature on the blog called ‘Three ways to wear it,’ we take one item of clothing and style it three ways. Thus, giving you a few ways to stretch your wardrobe.
On Sunday, The Fat Stylist put together NY Fashion Week favorites. We can’t wait to see many of these runway looks hit the stores later this year (hopefully, coinciding with hitting the lottery’s lucky numbers).
Here are the top three Polyvore sets for this week:
Red, blue and metallic
Urban safari
Dark casual
And don’t forget about these tips and tricks for thrifting for the lady of size.
Carry on!
Polyvore set: Tall brown boots

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Polyvore set: Charcoal and tortoise shell

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Polyvore set: Three ways to wear it

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Get three different day looks from one shirt.
Thrifting for the lady of size

Thrift store shopping (or thrifting) is not as hard as you might think. It’s better than shopping at Wal-Mart (why does Wal-Mart always look like the apocalypse is nigh?). And it’s a really good way to add range to your style.
Here are some basic guidelines to get started and if you’re already a pro read on for more ideas to improve your thrift game.
1. Ignore sizes and at the same time realize that thrift stores actually carry a generous amount of plus and extended sizes. Some sizes you find in thrift stores are marked in an older size range and some may not be marked at all. Your best bet is to pick it up and look at it. Does it look like it’ll fit? Try it, though, I don’t recommend trying it on just yet. I like to wash and dry my thrifty purchase before wearing.
2. Spread the love. Shop multiple thrift stores frequently, because no one thrift store holds all the treasures and you never know when the treasures will roll in.
3. Remember, it only costs a dollar or two. So pick up something you might not usually try. At worse you’re out a few bucks. Of course, that does depend on which store you are shopping since some thrift stores are thriftier than others.
4. Look for the weird, stunning, or the amazing-how-could-anyone-throw-this-out pieces. You can pair your thrift store find with basic items and get an outfit that takes the edge off plain or boring.
5. Shop the men’s department. They have good t-shirts, button-down shirts, sports coats, and overcoats in larger sizes. If you have any sewing skills or know someone else who does, shopping the menswear at a thrift store will yield you project after project. Not to mention cute results once the garments are altered to fit.
6. The cleaners and the washing machine are about to become your BFF! If you feel icky about wearing second-hand clothing, don’t forget there’s little a good wash and dry can’t cure. A natural, low-cost way to help kill bacteria/mold that might be lurking in old clothes is a line-dry in sunny weather. The sun kills many of the microbes in clothes.
7. Avoid holes and tough stains. I wouldn’t buy anything with a stain unless: a.) It was really cute AND b.) The stain was identifiable as ink. Buttons can be repaired, small rips on the seam are worth the short time it takes to repair, but anything beyond basic washing and mending is where I draw the line for most thrifted items.
I’ve bought many charming tops and skirts from thrift stores. I have always enjoyed the compliments my thrift store finds have fetched. And I’ll admit there’s been a coat or scarf I didn’t wash before wearing (yikes!), but I was young and stupid. I’m hoping that with my years of practice I’ve learned a thing or two about thrifting for fun and wearable items.
In the end, thrifting may not be your thing. But don’t be afraid to try it. If you believe that a good find can be made at a garage sale then you know what a little rummaging can do. Extend this thinking to your closet and you’ll get a kick out of the funkier wardrobe you’ve created.
Polyvore set: Dark casual

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Polyvore set: Ruffle top yellow bag

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Polyvore set: Urban safari

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Polyvore set: Red, blue and metallic

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The darlings of NY Fashion Week Fall 2008

I love her use of patterns and colors. I have long been a fan of red and blue color combos. Oh, and I pray those tights will 1. be sold in my size and 2. be available in a store near me!

Ooh! I’m thrilled that metallics are still in style. All these items are very figure flattering. If they made it to fit, I’d wear that first dress every day of my life! It’s so comfortable looking and I am a sucker for anything with a deep v-neck.

Can we talk about how incredible the last dress is? I’m not sure if that’s a gold jacket or a gold vest, but trust, I do want! The black dress is really simple, but the sparkle and swoop of the skirt really transforms it into something more.

This is another collection with very flattering shapes for any figure. The puffy sleeves balance the hips, the full skirt camouflages fuller hips and every last skirt cuts off at the most flattering place on the legs.

First off, I love the orange color and I love the steely green on both skirts pictured. I’d rock all these day wear looks to work, definitely. Her approach is always so straight-forward with a hint of whimsical detail.
Ok, so it was quite by accident that the favorites here are all Asian. They just happen to be my top designers and they had good items to feature on the site. Now, if we can just get all designers with hot collections to make these gorgeous collections in bigger sizes I’d be one happy camper.
