We hope you enjoyed meeting up with Instagrammer Jasmine of CookieLuv246!ย Today, we are so excited to introduce you to one of our amazing contributors, Brianne of The Huntswoman.
Brianne is a fashion designer, writer, businesswoman, and all-around Renaissance woman.ย Her blog is artistic, unapologetic, and definitely aspirational (#goals)!ย She is a plus size blogger YOU NEED TO KNOW!!!
Meet Brianne of The Huntswoman!!
Blog: The Huntswoman
Age: 27
Location: ย Iโm all over! ย I pay rent in Salt Lake City, and travel for work to NYC and LA almost monthly.
How long have you been blogging?
I officially announced that I was a fashion blogger on my Facebook profile in December of 2016. ย So, about a year and a half.
What or who inspired you to become a fashion blogger?
I am a fashion designer, and I realized the best way to connect with people (and potentially future customers!) was to write about fashion. ย Iโve also been an activist for almost the last decade, organizing to change policies, laws and viewpoints on sexual assault. I realized that I had a lot I wanted to personally share with the world, from fashion to politics (because fashion IS political), so a blog was born!
As for people, I would have to give all the credit to Marie Denee. ย Seeing the community she has created, and the resources sheโs provided me, inspired me to start writing.
What led you to it? Do you blog full-time, for fun, as a hobby?
Iโm going to be SUPER honest with you. ย I started posting on Instagram as a blogger, and later blogging on my actual website, to help catch the attention of luxury and couture fashion houses โ because I want to work for them!
Mentors told me having an engaged community of folks on Instagram (AKA โfollowersโ) would help me land an internship, and eventually, a job as a design assistant. ย Iโve learned a lot about sourcing clothes, styling, scouting locations for photo shoots, working with photographers, etc, just by creating content for Instagram and my blog!
TL;DR: I blog to make my dreams happen. ย People can hop over to my blog and get a real feel for who I am as a creative. ย I blog to inspire other people on their creative and/or body positive journeys.
Your evolution!
What is your favorite asset? Your legs, arms, waist? How do you play that up?
I really love playing with mischievous facial expressions, and Iโve started to post photos of myself showing emotional range (going beyond #Smizing for the camera).
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Other than that, my hair! ย I love doing out-of-the-box things, from shaving my head to other short styles. ย My fave is the faux hawk Iโm rocking.
What are the challenges, if any, you face regarding being plus size?
Dating. ย I have PCOS (which I write about), and Iโve gained quite a bit of weight over the last 5 years. ย I struggle with feeling attractive and wanting to put myself out there. (Real talk!)
The Faves
Whatโs your favorite thing about being plus size?
For sure, the plus size community. ย I have met lifelong friends and collaborators online, using plus size hashtags and Facebook groups.
Whatโs your favorite thing about being a blogger?
Having an outlet for my opinions! ย Now, itโs not just me getting jazzed up or ticked off about topics, I can share that with other people.
Describe your personal style.
Hard femme CEO Coven Supreme. ย I created a shoot called โSalt Goth,โ shot on the Utah Bonneville Salt Flats, that encapsulates my aesthetic (for my own wardrobe, not the clothes I create), perfectly.
Who/what are your favorite designers/brands?
I am a luxury/couture nerd. ย I secured a grant from Stanford to see the Savage Beauty exhibit at the V&A, and saved for months to buy all the prints and books I wanted at the gift shop. ย That exhibit changed my life. I also love Vivienne Westwood, who is also a hell raiser, and, of course, Maria Grazia Chiuriโs work at Dior. Her first collection blew my mind and had all my creative synapses firing.
Also, Christian Siriano โ because his clothing is beautiful and he makes impactful political statements by who he dresses. ย I could talk about favorite designers/brands all day, lol.
For plus size fashion, I am obsessed with JIBRI. I think the approach to fashion (being fashion forward and trying new fabrics and styles) that Eloquii takes is awesome. ย Iโm also a ride-or-die for Premme.
Interestingly enough, when Premme first dropped I wasnโt super into it. ย It took me time to realize that plus size people donโt have to only accept recycled trends (usually 3 months after theyโve hit mass market straight sizes) from the runway. ย We can set the trends. Once that switch flipped, I became all about it. My fave thing is when a straight sized person asks me where I got a Premme piece, because they get a little taste of what I feel almost daily looking at brands.
Which bloggers inspire you? Plus or straight size!
Oh god, almost all my friends are bloggers, so I canโt pick only a few people.
I am incredibly inspired by the aesthetic choices Suma Jane Dark makes, and Iโm excited to have them shoot my editorial for my first collection. ย Suma is such an incredible person to collaborate with, and theyโre just lovely.
I appreciate how Corissa, of Fat Girl Flow, shows her full body (and tummy) without apology. ย This is what inspired my TomboyX photoshoot (shot by Suma, interestingly enough!). ย Corissa often says, โPlus size people can be aspirational, not just inspirationalโ and thatโs turned into my mantra.
Iโm going to stop answering this question now, but I will be doing a series on my blog, spotlighting and thanking the people who have inspired me on my way! ย Shine theory ftw. <3
Well, the main difference is mainstream acceptance (no pun intended). ย A few years ago, our options were much more limited. In 2018, for me, itโs about supporting brands who support and showcase true diversity โ who, on their website, have more than a size 14 โhourglassโ models.
Iโm also excited to see luxury brands partnering with companies like 11Honorรฉ to FINALLY expand their sizing.
Now, versus a few years ago, weโre really grappling with the politics of plus size fashion. ย Companies need to know, and understand, that by serving a market that has been ignored and, frankly, bullied, theyโre going to have to step it up and realize that โbody positivityโ isnโt only a cute hashtag on Instagram. ย Itโs a fucking political movement. Dressing plus size and fat bodies is political.
What do you think or hear from readers, is one of the biggest myths about plus size fashion?
Fashion rules. ย We inherited them Stacy and Clinton on โWhat Not to Wear,โ the idea that you canโt wear stripes or that everything has to be slimming.
Newsflash: Fashion does not have to be flattering. ย Fashion is used to communicate, to inspire, or create an emotional response. ย Itโs hard to do that if youโre trying to hide how big your thighs are, instead of living a beautiful and fashion forward life.
Are you working on anything or have anything to share?
Oh god, what am I *not* working on? ย Iโm working on my first collection, which will be sizes 6 to 26. ย Iโm getting ready to launch the first of many online courses on So You Wanna Blog, โGet the Kโ for small biz owners and bloggers trying to figure out how to get to 10,000 followers. ย Aaaand, Iโm consulting for a few startup products/companies that will launch later this year.
Anything else you want The Curvy Fashionistaโs readers to know?
I hope if youโre reading this, thinking about how you want to start a blog or share OOTD pictures on Instagram, just fucking do it. ย Put yourself out there. Itโs scary and itโs exhilarating. Stop putting it off, just do the damn thing! THIS IS YOUR SIGN.
Whatever your dream or desire is, imagine how much further youโd be along if you had started when you first thought, โI want to do (fill in the blank)!โ Start now, and a year from now youโll be thankful you did.
Lastly, what does Curvy.Confident.Chic mean to you?
This means that I am a plus size or curvy babe, who isnโt afraid to own it. ย And โChicโ is more than style to me. Itโs how you treat other people, with grace and compassion โ but also taking no shit.
Check out Brianneโs blog at TheHuntswoman.com!!!
What do you think of her style and her thoughts? Is her blog one you read? Letโs discuss!
Are you a blogger? Want to be featured? ย
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Looking for more style inspiration? Check out all of the plus size blogger spotlights here!ย
