Big is beautiful’ is a concept that has found its way into the mainstream of international fashion, opening up new and lucrative vistas in the multi-million-dollar clothing industry and simultaneously imbuing in ‘ample’ women a renewed sense of confidence that the world out there does not belong only to women for whom dress is driven by diet.
The clothing culture that takes account of full-figured women has also reached Guyana. These days fashion events that cater to ‘the bigger girls’ have become popular though we are yet to move to the stage where the local shops take sufficient account of the notion that big, too, is beautiful in the clothing they offer.
Part of the idea behind the staging of the August 14 GT Memoirs Plus Size Expo at the Ramada Princess International Hotel is to bring the big sizes into the high-profile showrooms, the organizer, Damien Lewis says.
Lewis is allowing half a day, from midday to midnight for the staging of a variety of activities aimed at raising the profile and boosting the confidence of Plus Size women and men. During the event four designers—Reshma Persaud, Jason Shurland, Pamela Fox and Anthony Seecharran—will showcase a range of clothing, casual wear, swimwear and evening wear for both women and men. The programme will also feature what its organizers are describing as ‘self-love,’ sessions that will focus on living an enjoyable and fulfilling life through a focus on self-confidence and keeping fit.
Lewis is aiming to attract a minimum of five hundred participants to the event.
One of the presenters at the event will be Dr Will Campbell, a Counselling Specialist. Campbell, who is expected to speak at the event, told Stabroek Business that his presentation will be on ‘self-love and having a positive image.’ There is, Campbell says, a stigma attached to individuals who are considered overweight or plus-sized that has completely distorted their perceptions of what it means to be beautiful. Campbell says that while Guyana, these days, has become more accepting of plus-size women and men more work still has to be done to usher in an even higher level of acceptance of the reality of bigger bodies.
Campbell is concerned that bigger bodies have become targets for ridicule, pointing out that many people who are considered fat might avoid fast food establishments out of concern that they might be subject to ridicule.
Lewis, it seems, is backing the idea that if there is one industry that can help change perceptions of beauty in Guyana it is the clothing industry. In a society that has its own fair share of ‘big girls,’ for example, it has become commonplace for some women to stick slavishly to slimmer fits, some out of a desire to delude themselves about their size and others on account of the fact that such plus size clothing as is available on the local market is limited to ‘a few pieces here and there,’ hidden away amongst the stock rather than prominently displayed and promoted.
Four years ago Nicola Rowe came home from the United States and opened the Moi Toori Boutique at 6A Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt. She had grown up in the clothing industry as a helper in her mother’s boutique. Her own excursion into plus-size clothing resulted from complaints from her mother that she wasfinding it difficult to acquire clothing that she could fit into. Nicola added a plus-size line to her boutique and, she says, she has not regretted it. Apart from being able to meet her mother’s clothing needs she has also been able to reach a wider local market. She says that in the process she has been able to change many women’s perceptions of themselves, persuading them to break the habit of trying to fit themselves into ‘itsy, bitsy’ pieces that create discomfort without doing a great deal to enhance appearance.
On Saturday, Rowe will open another branch of her boutique at 17 North Road which will offer a line of clothing for the plus size women. She will, she says, be seeking to offer pieces that are affordable, ranging from as little as $3,000 to $10,000 in some instances. At the August Expo she will be offering a fashion event that will seek to educate plus size women on how to dress attractively.
Beyond the forthcoming event, part of Lewis’ objective is to create a Model Agency where plus-size women will be invited to model clothing. It is yet another avenue through which, Lewis says, plus-size women will begin to feel confident “in their own skins.”
