Happy Wednesday everyone, how is your week going, did you have a nice Easter? I am currently focused on the countdown till April 30th, I can’t believe it is already April 24th, time has definitely flown by this year but i think I say that every year lol. And I am super excited to be picking up my Mom at the airport tonight.
Well we are heading into the home stretch of my latest series, 30 Days of Dresses and I really decided to try it. I knew it was going to be a challenge but it has kept me motivated and I have loved creating all of these looks for all of you. As we are finally on the other side of what was a pretty long and gloomy winter I hope I have inspired you to refresh your spring wardrobe and grab some new dresses that make you smile.
Something else that I got to do this month that I was super excited about was to co-host the Avenue spring fashion show at the Niagara Falls NY location. *This post is sponsored by Avenue but all opinions are my own as always*
This is the second year that Avenue has hosted a fashion show in every single location across the country all on the same day at the same time. And this year they took things to the next level as they are also using it as way to look for its next fresh face for a retail and fashion campaign in 2020. The fashion show was predicted to be the largest of its kind with hundreds to thousands of women participating in all 260+ stores throughout the U.S. This is Avenue’s final stages in finding and using an everyday Avenue customer for its next campaign, which will be announced in the coming months. How exciting is this! I can’t wait to hear more about the contest.
The shows were also a great way to celebrate Avenue’s lastest campaign, “Your Confidence Is Showing” which I shared over on Instagram when it came out last month. I love that they the campaign features real every day women who are plus size and living bold amazing lives without their size limiting them. It is a powerful reminder to enjoy life to its fullest no matter what and that your size doesn’t define you and what you are capable of.
Confidence is something that I get asked about a lot here on the blog and on my social media channels. I always say that it is a constant journey but to start the journey you need to take that first step. Once you take that first step you will be surprised at how powerful the journey will be. And it doesn’t mean that life is full of sunshine and rainbows, we all still have our good and bad days but its how we approach the bad an our overall outlook.
With that in mind I really enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with the customers who were walking the runway and those who came to lend their support and shop. When I asked them if they would share what #ConfidenceIs to them, I would have to say every single one of them had to pause for thought. I think for a lot of woman it is a hard thing to articulate and recognizing that you are worthy of being confident can be a challenge.
Slowly but surely though the group started to open up and share their thoughts and it was a great conversation. For some it was a big step to have their picture taken with me knowing it would end up on social media. I was so happy to see how amazing they all did strutting their stuff on the runway and having the confidence to put themselves out there. And boy oh boy did we share so many laughs throughout the event. It was a great reminder of what can happen when women support women.
And while I cherish all the memories that were made that day the biggest one hands down was meeting the granddaughter of one of the customers walking in the fashion show, Lily. Her grandmother was very nervous to walk in the show but she did a fantastic job and it was a wonderful moment to have her granddaughter see her conquer that fear and looking absolutely fabulous of course.
After the show, a group of us were sitting around chatting and I saw Lily looking at the cards I had brought in for the women to write on. I asked her if she wanted to say something and at first she shied away and said no but when her grandmother encouraged her and said well you wanted to do it earlier she eagerly grabbed a marker and went for it. And then when I asked her if it would be okay if we took a picture together I got asked how many followers I had (and let’s just say she was impressed lol!) and if I would be sharing it on social media. When I said yes I would, you could tell how excited she was and the smile on her face said it all.
I shared this over on my Instagram stories but I think it is really important to realize that this is not just about fashion or a brand campaign. This is about so much more. We have the opportunity to create change, to move fashion and the industry forward, and ultimately to give the next generation of young women the power to love themselves exactly as they are.
The more imagery they see in advertising and marketing that reflects women that look like them, the more empowered they will feel and they will embrace their differences because there won’t be one ideal body type or look that all women will be striving to achieve. I am honoured that Avenue has asked me to be a part of this movement. I don’t want any more girls to hate themselves like I did till I was almost 40 years old.
So I decided to take my own leap of faith and enter the model contest. As part of that process, I was also required to walk the runway. And well you know I have to say I have gotten used to strutting my stuff and I had a blast. I was so touched when the amazing store manager Deborah had the song Mustang Sally playing for me to take my walk. I want to give a special shout out to Debbie and her team, they were absolutely amazing and took so good care of me.
There were so many great new arrivals to choose from but ultimately I decided on this royal blue maxi dress. As soon as I saw this on the website I knew it was a must have piece. Besides the rich bold colour I loved that it had more of a form fitting bodycon shape with a tulip like hem.
This is not something I am used to seeing from Avenue and I am loving the new direction they are taking where they are still keeping to the styles we have all come to know and love but they are also introducing more on trend and fashion forward options because you know a girl needs options! And let me tell you customers are loving it too, I can’t tell you how many times I got asked about this dress and the number of women that were honestly shocked that it was from Avenue. I felt absolutely amazing in this dress. The high low hem and contoured shape make amazing movement when you walk and it hugs my curves in all the right places. I am wearing a size 30/32 which I needed for my booty lol.
I decided to add a little extra drama to the look by choosing to pair it with this bold kimono in a bright kelly green floral print that is a must have trend for spring. I love the use of primary colours and it provided so many options for accessorizing. I love the elbow length sleeves and the lightweight fabric too. I am also wearing a size 30/32 in this which gave me that great over sized look.
For the runway show I wore some cute coral accessories and a white bag and flip flops for a little more casual vibe. All of the accessories including the shoes were from Avenue. When I took the photos of the look I decided to change things up and add this mixed metallic wedge that is also from Avenue and a mustard satchel. This look is easy breezy but makes me feel fierce, I definitely felt amazing walking down that runway.
I would like to end this post by posing the same question to all of you that I did to the women who attended the event – tell me what #ConfidenceIs to you by leaving me a comment on this post.
Special thanks to Rebecca of Rebecca Northcott Photography for capturing these images.
Dress by AVENUE | Kimono by AVENUE | Shoes by AVENUE | Earrings by AVENUE | Bag by JUSTFAB |
