Last week I had the pleasure of attending The Curvy Con in New York City. This plus-size fashion and empowerment event proved to be one of the highlights of my year! Meeting my fave online influencers, shopping exclusive plus-size retailers, and being in New York made this event a ‘must attend’ or years to come.  Below I share some of my fave moments from The Curvy Con and give you a sneak peak of next year’s event!

Cece and Chasity, founders of The Curvy Con

The founders, Cece Olisa of The Plus Size Princess and Chasity Garner of Garner Style, worked extremely hard to give us this amazing body positive conference for women sized 10 and up. Held near Chelsea Pier in Manhattan, the two day event was sponsored by JCPenney.  I’m telling you, this event was first class.

The Curvy Con boasted two floors of entertainment for the curvy consumer. The bottom floor was filled with comfy chairs, social media stations, tons of shopping. The pop-up shop included ASOS Curve, Dia & Co, Fashion To Figure, Curvy Couture,  Eleven 60, Yandy.com, RACHEL by Rachel Roy, SimplyBe, Eloquii, and JCPenney’s updated plus department, Boutique+.

What I loved about the shopping area was the chance to actually touch the clothes! As a plus-size consumer, I purchase 75% of my clothes on line. Listen, I sit, crossing my fingers, hoping that what I purchased on the computer ACTUALLY looks and fits as it did on the model. To be able to talk to the store owners/representatives, try on clothes, and shop EXCLUSIVE sales. Some of the retailers gave us free items and some offered up to 50% off during The Curvy Con weekend. It was amazing.

This VIP Afterparty hosted by Gwynnie Bee

Later that night, I was able to attend VIP Afterparty hosted by Gwynnie Bee. Thank God, for my blogger bae, Toya, of The Fat Girl of Fashion, she hooked me up with her VIP pass, I was able to enjoy the festivities. The folks at Gwynnie Bee treated us like princesses! We had a fly ride over the bridge on a party bus (with wine!) and arrived to the locale to see the beautiful view above! We ate tasty food, danced the night away, and took thousands of selfies.

I cannot explain how it felt to be in a room full of plus size women having a party. The usual anxiety I feel (for being the biggest person in the room) was now gone. When people told me, “oh you cute!”, I believed it. So many fly curvy women just being proud of their bodies, making friends, and looking fashionable, was a breath of fresh air for my soul.

DAY TWO – Panels & Shopping

The second day was the the real deal! We arrived at the venue at 9am. I was not prepared for a FULL DAY of amazing-ness. I’ve been to plenty conventions, usually I leave early because the last leg of most conventions gets pretty lame. Not at The Curvy Con. From the top to the bottom I was engaged and encouraged. The very first panel was about blogging, so you KNOW I was all about that discussion. The day continued with discussions about fashion & retailers hosted with JCPenney, Curvy Confidence, Personal Style, and a keynote discussion with Sherri Shepherd (whom I love, she’s HILARIOUS).

‘So You Wanna be a Blogger’ hosted by Ty Alexander of  Gorgeous in Grey

‘Curvy Confidence’ panel & discussion on fashion

Loved this!

Project Runway winner, Ashley Neil Tipton, discusses the #HereIAm campaign

Sorry to use the word ‘amazing’ so often, but there’s no other word to define this event. There was a point where I couldn’t even be in ‘blogger’ mode because I wanted to take in the entire experience. The confidence building, the new people, the business of New York, and the friends I met. I will be there again next year – because why . . .  it’s during NEW YORK FASHION WEEK! Y’all, listen, how am I even gonna slay the scene during NYFW! I’m already saving to purchase my VIP ticket because I feel like the celeb sightings will be on TEN and the sponsors will be on 100%. You must attend!