Anna Scholz Blog

One of our stockists is the Fresh Ayer boutique in Wayne, Pennsylvania in the U.S.

The shop’s owner, the lovely Liz Ayerle, recently appeared on the Talk Philly TV chat show to discuss the latest plus size looks.

Models Christy and Devon look great in their Anna Scholz pieces.  Purple was the color of the day!

To see more of what Fresh Ayer has to offer, visit their website at www.freshayer.com.

Here’s Katie Rose working the red carpet when she won the Best Make Up Artist category at the Icon Image Awards in Philadelphia.

“I felt AMAZING during the awards event!” Katie Rose wrote us. “I felt that I had the full look!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for helping me to shine with your stylish, stunning and beautiful clothing!”

Thank you, Katie Rose. And congratulations on your award!

I love this video that JLo did for Vogue Italia recently.
She looks sexy and curvy!

The Times London weekly magazine recently featured some “bootylicious” photos of today’s hottest plus-size supermodels alongside their greatest champion, Gary Dakin, who is the head of the plus-size division at Ford Models.

One of the many reasons top plus-size models like Crystal Renn, Ashley Graham and Marquita Pring love working with Gary Dakin so much is that he has helped them to embrace themselves as they are. “We’re not saying, ‘What’s your hip measurement?’ We’re like, ‘You gained a pound. You look great,’” Dakin tells The Times.

Dakin guesses that the public’s dissatisfaction really started to affect the industry last year. “I think people got fed up with seeing a rash of unhealthy women and the industry reacted to the unhealthy press they were getting,” he says.

The next hurdle, many believe, is for plus-size models to be on a par with “straight-size” models– for all the talk of size to calm down. “We are all models,” says Crystal Renn. “Beautiful girls are beautiful girls. Size should not matter. Look in the street and there are all kinds of shapes and sizes. Why are we here? To get people to shop and feel good about themselves. Showhow that has been forgotten.”

“I just wanted to share a picture of me in my gingham ruffle dress,” Anke wrote us.  “[The dress] was so beautiful and comfortable for vacation and the cats just loved it (or was it me in the dress?) when we spent a week of vacation in Turkey last week. …I wish we had some better weather in northern Germany right now. ”

Ahh, you both definitely look relaxed!

Gary Dakin, the head of the the plus-size division of Ford Models, recently gave a fascinating interview to The Times UK. Dakin represents some of the hottest plus-size models in the industry, including Crystal Renn (he even walked her down the aisle at her wedding), Ashley Graham and Tara Lynne. He was responsible for Renn’s Terry Richardson-shot spread in V Magazine’s recent Size issue and Lynn’s recent bare-all editorial in French Elle.

Dakin’s insight into and influence upon the modelling industry is indeed valuable. The Times UK writes, “Gary Dakin is the man behind this year’s biggest modelling story, capturing headlines at a time when what models do, or wear, or say, or look like, resonates beyond the catwalks to the front pages and from the front pages into national debate. He’s the reason why plus-size models have been spotted on catwalks, and influential style magazines have run shoots with women size 16 and over.”

“It’s been a struggle, for a long time,” he tells The Times UK. “Not so long ago people were dismissive. Nobody wanted to shoot the bigger girls. Nobody wanted to give it a go. This year has been the culmination of about ten years of not saying no.”

And, thanks to Dakin, plus-size models are busier and better paid than ever before. Says Dakin. “We used to be a $6-800,000 part of the business. Now we’re worth $5 million. Whatever we want, we get. Because we promote great girls, we promote health.”

Part of the change in designers’ and magazines’ attitudes toward curvier women is due to the recession, Dakin believes. The economic downturn “has forced fashion designers to wake up to the notion that the consumer buying power of women over size 14 far outweighs any other and that all sorts of women can make their clothes look good. …The industry traditionally thought that a woman who wants to lose 10lb is not going to invest in the right clothes,” he says. “That’s not true…Michelle Obama is not out looking to lose 10lb. She is a size 12/14. She still wants fashionable clothes.”

To read the full article, visit: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article7115562.ece

Catherine sent us this e-mail, “This is a picture of me wearing one of your dresses on my hen day. We learned how to become the perfect domestic goddess and this dress fitted in perfectly with our floral theme. Thank you for making such beautiful clothes for the fuller figure.”

You definitely look like godess material to us, Catherine!

”The picture was taken at my best friend’s wedding last weekend up in North Berwick,” writes Julia.  “I had loads of compliments about the dress– in fact, never had so many in my life!!”

Wow- our compliments too, Julia!

I’m loving this new website called If Shoes Could Kill documenting some of the more outrageous shoe designs out there. Some are amazing works of art, some are amusing and some are just plain wrong.

Here are a few choice entries in this entertaining addition to the world of fashion websites.

–Winnie

“Life is full of tough choices,” the commentary reads.

“Do you get a hamster so it can live a life of joy and happiness with its little wheel and wood chips and slurpy vertical water bottle in a cage?

Or do you get a hamster so you can put it in your shoe and give it a concussion with every step you take?”

These flip flops are for “When You Want to Feel Like You Are Eating Donuts in the Park”.

Not sure if these really work as footwear, but you’d definitely be popular!

If Shoes Could Kill is brought to you by the same brilliant people who do the Lolcats website and FAIL Blog.