First of all, I really did have a great time at the Lane Bryant Blogger’s conference. I got to meet fellow plus size bloggers, and I got an inside view of Lane Bryant.¹ I am a very short blip on the highlights reel (aside from frequent shots of my hands playing with my phone.) Sadly, I was not at my best this trip – it was a bit of a whirlwind and I’m the sort who needs to ground and eat a proper breakfast. I was remiss in doing either. So that bright- eyed, borderline hysterical look you see in that shot? I promise you, not typical.

Lane Bryant’s Easton, Ohio store is sleek and gorgeous. The headquarters for Lane Bryant are brand new, architecturally beautiful, and I was absolutely fascinated by the creative process used to come up with the different styles each month. The designers and merchants know their competition, are inspired by it and are also determined to keep on as leaders of plus size (specialty size) fashion. They really do try to have something for everyone, as their envisioned customer is quite eclectic.

The major thing I learned: high fashion really does filter down to the commercial, and while I question why that’s necessary, for a company that produces new styles on a monthly turnover schedule, I can understand the need NOT to reinvent a wheel over and over. Still, getting this insight is really valuable for me and I think the experience will make me a better blogger in general.

I also came to understand how my blog is materially different from that of others in the same sphere – it’s all about point of view, or, as I almost typed, point of you. Fat Chic isn’t my career. It has been around longer than most plus size blogs – since 2007 -  (I was blogging plus before it was cool! LOL!) Other parts of my lifestyle push me towards a “conscious consumerism” bent. I’m just a little bit different.

But the very presence of this blog  matters to people, and that’s why I do it. I’m one of those women who walk around being fat and living my life – and I met some other women doing exactly the same thing, in their own way, and some of them blog about it, too.

However you may feel about Lane Bryant and its offerings, in the United States it is the industry standard for plus size clothing. Cacique is the bra Mecca and Lane Bryant is the one store every plus size woman knows about.

I have lots of photos to share, lots of notes to post and possibly some quotes to gather from Twitter.

So for the course of the week, I’ll be doing posts along the line of the following:

*SXSW blogger-style note posting

*Significant quotes from Twitter²

*Photos. Yes, I took lots.

*Possibly a video from one of the inside designers, but I’m waiting to see if there’s any further information on privacy/release info first.

I’m going to do some SXSW style note posting here, so bear with me for those of you not familiar with the style.

1. Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing again that Lane Bryant did pay for my visit and many goodies I received along the way. [↩]
2. I use Twitter as a social outlet with some promotional material most of the time, so stuff in my stream may confuse you if you’re only looking for plus size information [↩]