Glamour_USA_November_2016

90 glamour.com

Fashion / Style Your Size

LAU

REN^ CHAN

Finishing Touch

Huffine brought our

looks to life with a little

help from yours truly.

First Look One of

my favorite steps:

snooping through

Lane Bryant’s

past collections

for inspiration

CHAN:

KATIE FRIEDMAN.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOS: LAUREN

DREELAND. STILLS:

TIM HOUT;

STYLIST:

RENATE LINDLAR

OUR PIECES!

Glamour x Lane Bryant

dress ($90) and jacket ($100,

available starting October 17

at lanebryant.com)

I believe there’s a secret designer in all of us—and I found mine

this year when I was tasked with helping create Glamour and

Lane Bryant’s new collection of chic size-14-and-up clothes.

As a former plus-size model and a bigger-than-average fash-

ion person constantly frustrated by the lack of stylish options

in my size, I jumped (OK, lunged) at the opportunity. And with

our collection hitting stores this fall, and new items arriving

monthly, I’m sharing what I learned along the way:

1. The old rules don’t exist. If you’re above a size 14, you’ve
   most likely been instructed to avoid horizontal stripes, cover
   your arms, blend in by wearing black—the list of nauseat-
   ing commands goes on and on. Because of those conventions,
   plus-size labels often play it safe. But Glamour is over t hat; we
   designed “rule-breaking” pieces like sleeveless jumpsuits and
   sequined skirts. And those were the pieces our model, Candice
   Huffine, right, asked to take home. Point being: Risk taking
   pays off!


2. Proportion is everything. Want longer-looking legs?
   Grab a high-waisted skirt (like our pleated one, on Huffine,
   right). Trying to appear taller? Reach for an elongating duster
   v e s t (c o m i n g i n No v e m b e r). I n t o d e f i n i n g y o u r w a i s t? A c r o p p e d
   jacket (like the one at bottom right) works. And wide-leg pants
   help balance hips. Now you know!


3. Good f it is all in the details. There are tricks, I learned
   in the Lane Bryant studio, that make clothes easier to wear if
   you’re a 14 or above, so look for these wherever you shop: waist-
   bands with hidden elastic to accommodate different waist
   shapes; button-down shirt fronts that are sewn together to
   avoid gaping on larger chests; and “pencil” skirts that actually
   have a slight A-line for extra mobility when you walk.


4. Most important, women’s opinions matter. Thanks
   to social media, brands are in tune with what their customers
   want to see on shelves. Why not tell them what you love and
   hate? When @glamourmag follower @littlelimedress told me
   she was desperate for “high-waisted, wide-leg tailored trou-
   sers,” I listened—and we made them! Use your voice; smart
   designers will listen.

Editor Lauren Chan picked up a thing

or two helping design the new

Glamour x Lane Br yant collection.

Four Truths

About Dressing

Yo u r S h a p e