Fall Fashion: Five Curvy Girl Must-Haves

Happy Thursday! Today I'm featured on Essence.com with my girl - friend & fellow fashionista Gabi Gregg of Gabifresh.com - sporting our favorite trends for Fall 2011. Huge shoutout to our photographer Brandon Haynes of B Haynes Photo for these amazing shots. Here are a few items we think are must-haves for the season...

LoveBrownSugar Feature: ESSENCE October Issue

Happy Monday loves! I'm back after a quick posting hiatus (needed a break after the NYFW madness). I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I want to give a great big hug and THANK YOU to all the lovely folks who have been tweeting me and posting to my Facebook wall about my big news! In case you haven't seen it, here it is!

I had the honor of contributing a fashion piece to the October issue of Essence Magazine! (Yes! The Power Issue with Michelle Obama on the cover!) 

 This is such a huge accomplishment for me and I have to thank you all, my loyal followers (old & new) for your continued support. I've always dreamed that my face would grace the print pages of Essence and now they have! And close to Michelle Obama's at that! *faints*

In my advertorial, I wrote about how to pull off fall's trends in style if you're full figured.

For the full spread, please go out and pick up a copy on newsstands now! I would so appreciate the support! And if you see me, feel free to give me a shout @LoveBrownSugar on Twitter!

Before I end this post, I must say that having attainable goals in mind and putting them down on paper is one of the best things you can do to be successful. I wrote a post about this ("My Resolution: Not To Have Any") at the beginning of the year, and also created a vision board for my bedroom, and that was the best thing I could've ever done. I have a post brewing up about my process and what I've learned from all this so far. Coming soon!

What are some goals you have left for 2011?

3 Lessons Diane von Furstenberg Taught Me

My third day under the tents had to be one of the most rewarding days of my entire life. I guess for the past few days I've been trying to find ways to truly sum up my sentiments in a blog post. But words can't express how completely honored I was on that day, to be in the Theatre at Lincoln Centre for the Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2012 runway show. It was an absolute dream come true, and I'll explain why...

Solange Premieres Rimmel London Global Conference

Solange Knowles showed up to the Rimmel London premiere in the UK donning a gorgeous mustard floor-length cocktail dress. I love the length and the asymmetrical detailing. And can we talk about that hair? My gah!

I'm also in love with the hot pink lips and neon orange nails. Gorge! Kudos to Solo's stylist Charles Wade for keeping her decked in the flyest gear. She took NY Fashion Week by storm and now she's lighting up the red carpets in London. Love it!

Source

BONUS: Check out this video of Solange DJing that I stumbled on over at Blake Von D's site, from our Fashion's Night Out Blogger Crawl! She compliments my fave blazer that I was wearing that night. Love her!

Under The Tents: NYFW Day 4

Day 4 under the tents was one of my faves. I got a chance to see some of the best collections of the season that day. Starting from the top, here's what went down:

LoveBrownSugar Chic: NYFW Day 4

For Monday's look I opted for sophisticated chic in a little black dress with delicate accessories and leopard print shoes. That day I had shows like Rachel Roy and Chris Benz, so I knew i wanted to exude clean lines with a pop of animal (hence the leopard print shoes and python bag).

Under The Tents: NYFW Day 3

On day three under the NYFW tents, I had the experience of a lifetime. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably heard me gagging about it the entire day. I finally got a chance to experience first-hand a DVF collection viewing. As one of my top three favorite designers, words can't express how amazing this was for me. I mean, I was geeked! I'm bubbling over with excitement just thinking about it, but let's start from the top of the day.

Under The Tents: NYFW Day 2

Yesterday I wasn't exactly "under the tents" the entire day. Instead, I attended the majority of my shows downtown in the Meatpacking/Chelsea area for offsite shows like Helmut Lang and Kaelan, and presentations like Duro Olowu and Erin Fetherston at MILK Studios. Surprisingly, I loved the quiet calm of the downtown area over the hustle & bustle of Lincoln Center. Here's what I got into:

LoveBrownSugar Chic: NYFW Day 2

Yesterday for my daily rounds at NY Fashion Week, I rocked a printed dress that I recently snagged at the thrift. Definitely one of my best finds in a while, so I had to show it off plus it's comfortable (necessary considering all the running around I did):

LoveBrownSugar Chic: NYFW Day 1

I wanted to be comfortable and light on the first day, so I opted for loose silhouettes and wedge heels.

Under The Tents: NYFW Day 1

Yesterday was a whirlwind day. And fashion week is just getting started! Jesus be a fence. Take a look at what I got into yesterday:

Kickin' It: Fashion's Night Out 2011

On Thursday night, the streets of NYC were alive and buzzing for the 3rd Annual Fashion's Night Out celebrations. As you guys know, myself and blogger buddies like Glamazons Blog, Blake Von D, Style & Beauty Doctor & more joined forces for our first FNO Blogger Crawl to celebrate the evening's festivities at a few stops between the Meatpacking District & Midtown (did Soho last year, it was fun but boy was it crowded, yikes!)

Here are some pics from our #FNO Blogger Crawl adventures! Special thanks to Shade of Shaded Blaque for these amazing pics!

Kickin' It: Essence Blogger Breakfast

Yesterday, ESSENCE Online invited a small group of bloggers for breakfast at their offices as a kickoff to New York Fashion Week! We chatted with Editor-in-Chief Emil Wilbekin, fashion & beauty editors Zandile Blay and Tia Williams, and found out all they have in store for this week's fashion coverage! They have a specialty landing page Essence.com/FashionWeek with all their weekly goodies. Here's what I got into at the breakfast:

Kickin' It: New York Fashion Week Prep Fun

New York Fashion Week is in full swing ladies & gents! Phew, what a whirlwind already. Between blogger pampering events, press breakfasts, runway shows, after-parties and Fashion's Night Out, there's enough in my schedule this season to fill up an entire month - in one week!

Renae Bluitt of InHerShoes, Me, Abiola of AbiolaTV & Raijean of Swarai Blog

Over the past few days, I've had the amazing opportunity to attend some super chic prep events for NY Fashion Week. The first was the Qream Gone Glam pampering event on Wednesday, September 7th! The lovely folks at Qream with a Q partnered up with Glam Media to provide a group of fashion & beauty bloggers the chance to get pampered with manis & pedis right before NYFW madness began!

If you guys recall from my Kickin' It: Qream NYC Launch post, I'm in love with this new liqeur. As a 21+ diva (Drink responsibly kids!), I've found it to be extremely refreshing and the perfect cocktail mixer. Here's some more info about Qream:

QREAM WITH A Q^TM is a one-of-a-kind cream liqueur.  It was created by an inspired alliance between Diageo and Grammy Award-winning musician, cultural ambassador and style visionary, Pharrell Williams.  Williams was instrumental in the development of the liqueur’s creation – from taste and bottle design to marketing and advertising. Available in the U.S. in two flavors – Strawberry Crème and Peach Crème – Qream is 99% lactose free at 12.5% ABV

 While there I bumped into some of my fave blog buddies like Christine of Tineey.com and Renae Bluitt of In Her Shoes.

I also had a chance to meet some bloggers that I communicate with all the time, but I've never met like Raijean of Swa-Rai, Ehmonie of What's Haute & more!

My favortie flavor from the collection is Peach Creme - so amazing. As for outfit deets, I opted for my absolute fave tribal print dress that I scored while studying abroad a few years ago. I went to a store called Primark in London (it's like London's version of H&M) and scored this amazing dress that seems to never go out of style.

Check out the Qream Facebook Page for more information about Qream With a Q. It's delish!

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Qream via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Qream

Cover Girls: Angela Simmons for VIBE Magazine

 While she might not be on the cover, fashionista & footwear designer Angela Simmons is heating up the digital pages of VIBE.com with a new fall fashion spread. With NY Fashion Week under way, I'll be looking forward to bumping into Angela under the tents. Check out some of the super chic looks she rocked for VIBE:

Follow Me @Style369 for NY Fashion Week

If you don't know about my intense love for Style369 already, you should get familiar. Style369 is an amazing online shopping destination  for curvy girls with style & class. I've been a huge fan since they launched and I'm honored to announce I'll be one of their New York Fashion Week correspondents!

As a result, I'll be tweeting from @Style369 on Twitter when I'm not on @LoveBrownSugar and bringing you the latest in NY street style, fashion shows, celeb sightings and more! Can't wait!

Click over to Style369's blog to see my Q&A feature. So excited!

Will you be following? Be sure to hit me up @Style369 staring Thursday, September 8th so I can give you a shoutout!

LoveBrownSugar's Fashion's Night Out Crawl

Hey lovelies! Sorry for the week long hiatus, but I've been gearing up for New York Fashion Week and have been swamped with to-dos before the craziness commences! I'm checking in with you all because tomorrow night myself and a few other amazing bloggers (like Danielle of Style & Beauty Doctor, Jessica & Andrea of Glamazons Blog, Blake von D & more!) will be running around NYC for Fashion's Night Out and we want YOU guys to join us!

Join LoveBrownSugar & friends for FNO drinks, party-hopping & shopping on September 8th, 2011 from 6pm-9pm for our 1st Annual Fashion's Night Out Blogger Crawl! For those of you who remember my FNO 2010 crawl, you know that we get DOWN. Last year's was loads of fun. Don't believe me? Check the "Kickin' It" post HERE!

Though each blogger has their own itinerary, we'll be aiming to meet up at central locations at every hour during the evening. See below for the LoveBrownSugar itinerary:

Confessions of a Shopaholic: RACHEL Rachel Roy Fall 2011

So you guys know I'm obsessed with everything having to do with Rachel Roy. She's one of my absolute fave designers. The folks over at RACHEL Rachel Roy have released their Fall 2011 lookbook promo in the form of a film.

Beautiful. Imperfect. Life.

Taking place at a campfire, end-of-summer-meets-fall in Beautiful. Imperfect. Life. The film, directed by Cameron Duddy with still campaign shot by Harper Smith, showcases the collection's cozy knits, feminine playful silhouettes, and classic structured separates. Creating chic savvy ensembles, this versatile line up is sure to leave you wanting more. See below for the lookbook:

Will you be picking up some RACHEL Rachel Roy pieces this season? I will!