Friday fluff: Where in the world are Shapelings?
Posted on April 11, 2008 by fillyjonk
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Kate and I were discussing yesterday how we don’t even know where most of our readers live. Every so often a comments thread will explode with “you live in Atlanta? I live in Atlanta! We should meet up!” but there’s no centralized location for seeing what Shapelings are near your home base. So I’ve created a Frappr map, and I hope to hell it works. Go add yourself, and then tell us in comments where you live! And while you’re at it, let us know how fat-friendly it is, and whether there are particular stores, restaurants, or attractions that visiting Shapelings should be sure not to miss.
Filed under: Commentariat, Fillyjonk, Friday Fluff
Worked for me. Neat idea.
It works, though if you’re an idiot like me, it might take a while to find the “add yourself” button.
I’m the first UK Shapeling on the map, hurrah!
OK, I’m on there.
I live in a Maryland suburb and I really haven’t been harassed about my weight for many years. I don’t have a very hard time finding clothes. There’s a Lane Bryant 20 minutes away. I’m 30 miles north of Baltimore, and The Inner Harbor is a great place to visit. We’ve got the MD Science Center, National Aquarium, Port Discovery, The Gallery Mall, Harborplace, and many great places to eat, ’cause you know us fat folk can’t put the fork down ;-)
Hi Gingembre, I’m the second European! :-)
Cool! Bit worried, though, about having to enter my email address. I like staying somewhat anonymous, and my email has my real name on it. Will everyone now have access to that? I don’t mind the blog moderators having it, but I’m still a little possessive altogether. There are some people in the world (um, students) I don’t want to be able to stumble across some of what I’ve written here and there. ;)
I knew I’d be the only one for Kamloops. There is not much space allowed for comments on fat-friendliness, though….I only got in the name of the clothing store where I work.
(Or were we supposed to leave those comments here?)
I’m in Oklahoma, and while I wouldn’t describe it as fat-friendly, I don’t think it’s quite as overly concerned with appearance as some locales.
As for sights worth seeing, the Art Deco of downtown Tulsa is gorgeous and Cain’s Ballroom (home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys) is a genuine piece of music history.
Oh, and Hanson is here. Mmm-Bop!
car, does it require you to put your email? That does suck a bit, though it’s worth having a decoy gmail account anyway, so now might be the time to get one.
The Big Apple! Some convenient shopping to be had up on 125th street (Lane Bryant, Ashley Stewart, and Avenue all within blocks of each other), but otherwise the plus departments at Macy’s and Lord & Taylor’s are your best bets … even though their stock can be a little frumpy.
It’s not really working for me. I can see the pins but the map background says: “Image not found” so it doesn’t help much! I did add myself though. Who’s the other person in Calgary??
Becky, I think it’s Flash-driven so you may have to install Flash. The other Calgary person is anonymous, though. :(
Ahh, I’ll look at it when I get home, then.
Oh yeah, and DC = pretty fat-friendly, UTTERLY fatshion-bereft. I don’t think there’s even a Lane Bryant within city limits. There are lots of fat folks here so I have no idea how most of them dress themselves. (Me, I live just outside the city in PG County, which has a smattering of Ashley Stewarts and the like.)
Tourists to my city, I recommend that you walk on the left and stand on the right on Metro escalators. Other than that… zoo, sculpture gardens, Ethiopian food, free museums. Wonderland in Columbia Heights is a good bar, and so is Palace of Wonders on H Street NE.
I’m just outside Washington, DC. We’ve got a Lane Bryant and a Catherine’s about ten minutes away, and we’ve got our usual wonderful food haunts, so while there’s often an uncomfortable look on the metro, it’s not a terrible place to be.
Fillyjonk, we’re just south of PG Plaza, and it’s got the aforementioned LB and C’s. I think there’s an Ashley Stewarts there as well.
Sometimes you can get a seat to yourself on the Metro by being fat, though. The seats are actually quite wide and comfy, so my size-18 ass fits in them just fine, but if I’m wearing a coat I can kind of cant my ass outwards and look as though I’m taking up more room and sometimes people will decline to sit by me. It’s awesome. (Even more awesome is that when somebody does sit down, even a reasonably large person, I can usually keep from touching them once I stop deliberately projecting my butt into the other seat. The seat width almost makes up for Metro’s inability to be useful or functional.)
Just outside Chicago in the delightful suburb of…Des Plaines. Really, our biggest draw is the McDonald’s Museum. Poor, poor sad Des Plaines. I thought I’d left you forever and then I had to go and get really broke.
Pronoia, and the Rainbow has a plus-size section for young’uns looking for trashy crap that will fall apart in three washings (and hey, sometimes you are). There is indeed an Ashley Stewart there and that mall is where I do most of my shopping on the increasingly rare occasions when I feel like shopping.
you live in atlanta?
I LIVE IN ATLANTA!
seriously.
Well I’m on there…..Des Plaines, which is farting distance from Chicago, so basically…what’s there is here! Although I do have the advantage of being only about 15 minutes from Woodfield Mall. Plus I’ve got an amazingly good Fashion Bug and a Kmart with decent plus selections (although they need bigger shirts) just up the road a bit.
Visiting? The only way you want to be where I am is if you’re on an O’hare bound plane, or want to make faces at the people on said planes (seriously, one landing pattern goes right over my backyard).
OMG Hi Jane! I take too long to type apparently :P We’re down in the little corner by Rosemont (obviously)….there’s a Mcdonald’s museum?!?!?!? Where? My kids would get a laugh out of that!
I’m from Vancouver, Canada. I’m a tweenie so while I haven’t noticed any overt fat discrimination in my city, it may be that I am not fat enough to have it happen to me.
I am in the Netherlands - in the beautiful and exciting city of Amsterdam to be precise (I am originally from Germany, though). While there are an awful lot of weight loss adds in the Dutch media, Dutch society in general tends to be very open towards all kinds of people, including fat people. I have not yet had any negative experiences while being out in public.
As for shopping: While Amsterdam has all kinds of interesting shops I honestly don’t know about stores that carry plus-sized clothing - I buy most things online.
(About other things worth to see here - the whole inner city is incredibly beautiful. Also, there are a lot of great and in some cases quite famous museums and other interesting places, and there is usually also a lot of free stuff one can go to, such as concerts, etc. On April 30th is Koniginnedag, the birthday of the Dutch queen. Basically, it’s a giant party, and the night before there are all kinds of concerts.)
Hey everybody! I’m about 20 minutes north of Boston. Not very fat friendly here. I was out of work for a year owing to the perception that because I’m fat, I’d be a bad worker.
I wish I had something more interesting to tell… we have… ok, there’s nothing where I live!
Tada! I’m on the map. Antigonish, NS. I’m not actually from this town, and I’m moving in two weeks, but I’ve been here the better part of 7 years. I wouldn’t say it is terribly fat friendly, and good luck finding clothes (Walmart, plus sizes at Reitmans.. that’s it), I wish I could have put Halifax on the map though, I’m from near there and miss the place.
Yay! It worked! I’m in London. Anybody else in London??
I hail from the Tri-Cities in WA and added myself to the map! And I second Erin on being not that fat and so not really capable of judging how fat friendly the area is.
Ladykuri, it’s on River Road just a smidge before the intersection of Rand and River if you’re traveling…I *think* it would be north…? Or maybe it’s west…? I SUCK at directions. :(
I live in London, Ontario, Canada. (It’s about 2 hours from Toronto and Detroit.) There are a fair number of fat-friendly stores here (much better than where I used to live-Thunder Bay, Ontario-5 hours north of Minneapolis). I’ve never noticed anything particularly fat-friendly or unfriendly here to be honest.
If you ever find yourself in London, there are lots of great restaurants and parks. (It’s known as the Forest City). We also have a Thames River (like the “real” London) and its nice to walk on the riverside trails. We also have excellent hospitals, so you’re in the right place if you’re sick on vacation ;)
Birmingham, AL here. :::waves from far away:::
Not very fat-friendly, but I’m insulating myself from a lot of the mainstream fat-hate by hanging out with pagans as much as possible. Not everyone is over their body-hate yet, but most are actually thinking it through.
We do have a Lane Bryant or two at the malls and some of the little shops like Cato. I think a Rainbow just opened near me — I should go check it out.
evilsciencechick, i’m in Decatur, just outside of Atlanta. :D
Whattyaknow, I’m first person from Austin on the map. Ausitn is surprisingly not very fat-phobic considering the months-long summers wearing as little clothing as possible so as not to pass out from the heat and humidity. It’s not like there are parades or anything, but I’ve thankfully never been harrassed on the street.
As far as fashion, or fatshion, it’s really changed in the past few years. There are several LB’s, Avenue’s, Catherine’s, ect, located near me, and some of the malls stores have started to carry larger sizes(some of it’s crap, so you have to check for quality, but still nice to have the option). I have been buying more clothes lately and realized how much easier is was to find stuff I like (and thereby spend A LOT more money).
Near Ithaca, NY. Not a high-pressure, high-fashion city. People wear what they want, look how they want.
Denver metro area here….we haven’t lived here that long so I’m still getting a handle on everything. We have most of the usual suspects for shopping, a bunch of good restaurants, museums, the 16th St. mall downtown (great for people watching), and scenery I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. The people here seem to be more of the practical type than high fashion (jeans go pretty much everywhere), so it seems reasonably friendly to me.
The one thing we don’t have is a lot of oxygen in the air since the city is a mile above sea level, so if you do visit, take it easy the first couple of days while your body adjusts.
Hey y’all - Greensboro, NC here. We’ve got a fair amount of plus-size shops - LB, Torrid, Catherines, Fashion Bug, CJ Banks, Ashley Stewart. Just not my own personal favorite - Avenue (I have to drive to Chapel Hill for the closest.) We also have a really cool (and pricey) plus-size boutique, Linnea’s, and an upscale plus-size consignment shop, Rubenesque for Less, owned by the same lady. For food, you can’t beat NC pit-cooked BBQ.
I live in a suburb north of Chicago, I’d perfer not to be much more specific then that.
It’s very much like preppy culture here. We don’t have one plus size store in the mall here. In fact when Torrid tried opening, they were actually protested.
There are other plus size stores near us though, just not in the particular suburb I’m in. However, the mall does have a Stir Crazy Asian food resturant, which is awesome.
I also was posting, to tell you that when I opened my Snapple White Tea Nectarine, the real facts cap said:
About half of all Americans are on a diet on any given day.
Gingembre, you’re not that far from me! Last time I was in Hampshire, I went on a lovely nature walk on Old Winchester Hill and then stuffed my face at the Thomas Lord pub in West Meon.
I’m right in the middle of Washington, DC.
The “touristy” areas of DC are pretty fat friendly, as are the monuments and shops, but I would avoid Georgetown if you are larger than a size 8.
First time commenter, long time reader. I live in the greater southern Dutchess County area of New York. I’ve only been here for a few months (I was in Westchester County….SO not fat-friendly!) so I’m still trying to asses if it’s fat-friendly. I can tell you that we have a Torrid, a Lane Bryant and other stores as such very close by on the main route and that? Makes me happy!!
I’m in Houston, which, though a good city on the whole, probably isn’t any more or less fat-friendly than anywhere else. We used to have a really cool Lane Bryant that sold test merchandise, but it closed. At least we do have some big LBs really near where I live, and all over town. And I think that if you have bucks to spend there are some expensive large-sized clothes to be had in the Galleria.
The climate is fat-friendly because it’s never cold enough to need to bundle up in thick sweaters and coats. And the population is diverse enough, in every possible way, that no matter how you look you will find others who look like you do too.
I also like how, because the climate is so warm, people don’t go all crazy about exercising, and therefore weight loss. When I lived in Austin it was much worse: Everyone was always out running or biking, but not because they enjoyed it, it was all about weight loss! This environment feels much more comfortable to me.
Not to mention that Houston’s diversity makes it a GREAT restaurant town. Every international cuisine you could think of, plus great international groceries and gourmet groceries.
I’m near Boston, but am graduating this year and moving to Phoenix next year (to do a year long job - after that, who knows. :-))
Like Erin above, I’m an inbetweenie in Vancouver, BC. I’ve not experienced much outright discrimination, but the shopping sucks.
I’m in Evanston, which is like, the most impossible suburb of Chicago to get to, and also the one closest to Chicago to the north. I have not found any plus size Fatshion within the Evanston city limits. Also, there is no bowling allowed here because it “attracts the wrong kind of crowd”
I HAVE however, found an amazing haircut. Which, IMHO is just as good.
Seriously guys, AMAZING, I have model hair today! Plus, the stylist laughed at my jokes! Art & Science Salon is da bomb!
Also, there is no bowling allowed here because it “attracts the wrong kind of crowd”
At least there are bars now!
goodwithcheese, you’re in Oklahoma?! I was born and raised there — moved away after college but my family is still there. It’s pretty much one of the most close-minded states I’ve ever experienced. Also, a few days before I moved away from there, my roommate and I went to Tulsa to hang out and she drove me by Hanson’s old house :D
I’m in North Carolina. It’s…different.
So many people in/around Chicago! Yeeeps. I grew up there, in the Lakeview area (LSD/Addison) and went to school in Evanston. Trippy to think that like, people still live there and stuff. lol
New York! Decent resources. A very serious thinness culture but you can kind of work around it a lot of the time if you’re not in a directly related industry. I’m only a size 14 ‘tweenie, but I do feel insufficiently streamlined to fit into the “powerful businesswoman” template, not to mention locked out of 95% of mainstream and upscale fashion which is a practically universal hobby here. All of that gets to me occasionally so I definitely have fantasies about moving somewhere that I could describe as “not a high-pressure, high-fashion city — people wear what they want, look how they want.” But overall it’s really OK. Maybe it’d that I’m kind of on the line and it gets worse a couple of sizes up.
yay I’m in a chicago suburb :)
I’m on the map now.
I think the fat friendliness of the DC area all depends on where you go. Or
perhapsI’m just neurotic. I live just off of 395 in Fairfax County, and once you step outside the beltway, particularly into McLean/Great Falls/Vienna the fat-stare-rate goes up. I hate to shop at Tyson’s. Pentagon City is much better/friendlier.I like Adams Morgan for Ethiopian… Marakesh (sp?), especially. Though there are a couple of little Ethiopian places in Bailey’s Crossroads that are good. Raaga on Leesburg Pike (Rte 7) for Indian, though, is by far the best. And I love the prevalence of Trader Joe’s for grocery shopping.
I just this morning sent out a list of my favorite thrift stores to a friend of mine, so it’s on my mind. If you’re into that kind of thing, “Unique” in Falls Church on Gallows Road between 50 and 29 is gigantic and fantastic. Some might even call it overwhelming. It’s great!
I’m an inbetweenie in Portland however I still have an AWFUL time finding clothes at all the hip cute stores with local designers and interesting things, I can shop at all the regular department stores and stuff, but Seaplane and Dragonfly and Michelle DeCourcey are all off limits to me :(
I will defer to any other PDXers who are fatter than me (size 14) about whether we’re fat friendly. I would say that we are not fat *un*friendly but the ridiculous hipster scene is pretty exclusively thin and funky/beautiful, and the “creative class” that everyone in Portland pees themselves over are also pretty traditionally good looking and (mostly) thin.
What say you Meowser?
Portland, Oregon here. If you get tired of icky humidity in the summer, come out here, it’s usually quite lovely in July, August, and September, and even our hottest days are dry as a bone (in fact, the hotter it gets here, the drier it gets, one of those weird Pac-Northwest climatic quirks).
I’ve never been hassled about my weight here and I take mass transit, walk, etc. And we have a terrific plus-sized consignment boutique called Savvy Plus. (We’ve got most of the plus-sized chains too, although no Ashley Stewart, waah.) Voodoo Doughnut, now open 24/7 with the most creative, quirky doughnuts on earth, and performs both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages (one of the owners has a license to perform the ceremonies).
FJ, can’t people take the Metro from DC to the suburban malls? I’ll bet that’s where they get their clothes.
Plus we have something called food carts, which offer everything from great Indian food to great pizza during daytime hours, CHEAP. And way too many great restaurants to name. And who could forget Powell’s Books, an absolute must if you are a book nerd, a shop so huge they literally hand out maps on the ground floor!
On the other end (because there’s so little cross-pollination between MD and VA), Value Village in… College Park? Langley Park? Anyway, on Rte 193 is also overwhelmingly huge. I’ve generally had pretty good success there, too. And there’s another one up near Hillandale that actually has changing rooms.
I like Meskerem and Dukem for Ethiopian.
Whoops, I meant to put the “FJ” paragraph at the end, I don’t know how that happened.
I have not found any plus size Fatshion within the Evanston city limits.
The Target on Howard. :) Other than that, yep. And I also go to that Art & Science!
Portland is supposed to be one of the most fat-friendly cities in the country, Lexy! The Pacific Northwest in general is meant to be very fat-pos… I know what you mean about the hipster/DIY scene though.
Meowser, honestly most of the people that I see in the city on a daily basis probably live in the suburbs. And they probably own cars, which is good because you can Metro to a couple of malls but not the one with the Torrid.
Lexy, I’d agree with you there. But since I’m an old fart, nobody cares if I’m fat. :-P
BTW, Savvy Plus starts at around a size 12, so you might be able to find some stuff there. It does suck shopping for clothes as an in-betweenie (bigger than 8, smaller than 16), I’ve been there.
Denton, Texas.
Fairly fat friendly.
Retail stores: Lane Bryant; Avenue; Dress Barn; Fashion Bug and some vintage shops with plus sizes.
Food here is crazy good!
Buffpuff- I’m a Londoner! Yay London! Which are you in?
Right now I’m in Dayton, OH. I don’t know if the area is really fat friendly, I do know that there are a lot of retailers going up to a size 24 now in clothing, which is fairly cool. There’s a Lane Bryant and a Torrid at one of the malls, I think it’s the one in Miamisburg, just outside that is a Catherine’s. It’s a bit of a drive for us, we’re actually in Kettering, and there’s nothing good for “extended plus” clothing. Nobody has really hassled me about my body, but I also don’t get out as much as I used to. I will say that it’s a great city for walking in, lots of well maintained sidewalks and crosswalks.
Oh, all of the larger men’s clothes are also in Beavercreak or Miamisburg, which is a pain in the neck when we have to shop for men’s pants. And there’s no Ross Dress for Less anywhere in the area, I miss those terribly.
Goodwithcheese! I am a Tulsan, too!
*waves*
Which bit are you in, I mean.
Also, Boris or Ken?
Meskerem! Yes. That’s the one I was trying to think of. I don’t know the name. I just eat there. :-) That’s the one with the upstairs loft area… right?
‘Tis very strange, the lack of mingling between the MD and VA folks. My SO lives in Montgomery County, and we’re not sure what we’ll do if we ever decide to move in together… He’s anti-VA, I’m anti-MD. I guess we’ll just have to move to DC… man, how I want to live in a row house on Cap Hill… right down by Eastern Market… I love that neighborhood! Sooo neat. Soooo expensive…
Eastern Market’s definitely worth the visit if you’re around here. I used to tell everyone not to miss “The Awakening” scupture down at Hains Point, but now that they’ve moved it to the National Harbor… I dunno…
Another fave of mine is the annual Crafty Bastards craft fair in the district. And as a music fan, I love The Birchmere and Wolftrap (especially the Barns of Wolftrap). Jammin Java in Vienna is pretty good for music, too (though a little crowded most of the time). We used to go up to Glen Echo and go contra dancing all the time… so “dorky”… so much fun… I oughtta get back into that.
Grew up within a mile of Midway airport. When I moved out of the house at the age of 25, I went just a little south and am now 15 minutes away from Midway.
I often feel like all of the cool places are on the north/northwest side of the city. Southside feels rather ho-hum in comparison. But we do have plenty fat-friendly stores, such as Lane Bryant and Torrid and Ashley Stewart. And my area’s becoming more and more mixed demographically, which I LOVE.
sparklepants: What part of OK were you raised in? I’m Tulsa-area (and have been, like, my entire life). You’re right that it’s not really an open-minded place, but I like the pace of life here. And I dig the twangs.
FJ: Well I’ve never lived anywhere else so I don’t really have much perspective :) I don’t think anyone REALLY cares that I’m fat and I’ve never had a single comment directed at me because of my size, which judging by some of the stories out there is kind of unusual :(
But I have gotten the Stares of Judgement if I do something really out there - like by ice cream or cheetos. Some PDXers will give you the SoJ if you’re not buying 100% organic-vegan-free trade what have you.
Meowser, I’ll have to check out Savvy Plus! I used to shop at Buffalo Exchange all the time back when I was in high school (and a size 8) but I can hardly ever find things in my size there any more, I love consignment shops!
Naamah Darling: Hey! 9-1-8 represent!
*sigh* size 8
not size 8)
Portland OR. That’s odd I just emailed Meowser yesterday when I realized that’s where she lived. The plus size consignment store is rad, I haven’t found the world’s cutest things there but I’ve only been a few times and the women who work there are soooo nice. I don’t know if Portland is the most fat friendly city I’ve been in. I lived in Oakland CA for a while and that seemed much more open minded, I think because there are just so many different types of peope there. But I also work in a hospital and am not surrounded with the most progressive people.
But we do have Beth Ditto here. I have actually run into her at the Torrid in Lloyd Center. It ruled
Lexy - you should try the Buffalo Exchange on hawthorne, I know a bunch of the folks working there and they were working really hard on getting more plus sized merch. I found some cute dresses there last week! (size 20)
Lexy, thankyouthankyou, because you have inadvertently reminded me that there is a tub of Haagen-Dazs raspberry meringue ice-cream in my freezer.
Raspberry meringue!
They’re also making a sea salt caramel flavor now that is just as amazing as it sounds.
I hail from Alameda, California. For shopping options, we have one small Avenue, a rather nice consignment store called All the More to Love, and the Women’s department at Mervyn’s which isn’t at all inspiring. I’m hoping that with the new facelift and agressive storefront-filling campaign at the local mall this situation will improve at least a little bit.
Fat hate isn’t open here, but stranger fear is in a big way. Luckily, we’re less than a sneeze away from Berkeley and San Francisco, both of which have plenty of fine dining, decent museums, and fun, funky shopping…not to mention hot and cold running political demonstrations.
The best resources we have here in town are a year-round farmer’s market where you can get great veggies at a good deal and a new arts center where you can go see a great band one night and take a class in papermaking the next. Mr. Twistie is going to be performing there this summer with two bands.
Mostly this town is quiet and leaves people alone.
Wisconsin Shapeling reporting for duty
I live in Montreal, Canada, the queen of bagels and smoked meat - you can’t miss St. Viateur Bagels and either Dunn’s or Schwartz smoked meat. We also have many great cafés (we do have Starbucks but they’re far from being the only player on the market here). Santropol is the coffee shop I’d recommend: it’s local, it’s kinda hip in a hippie way, been around since the 1970s, and has amazing coffee (bio/equitable) that you can drink on-site or buy in grains to take home. And the sandwiches there are just amazing.
We also have great Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Thai communities, with great restaurants, as you could imagine. Souvlaki George, Pho Tay Ho and Souvenirs de Bangkok are respectively my favorite Greek, Vietnamese and Thai restaurants.
Clothes-wise, for women, we have the Reitman’s clothing empire to thank for Addition-Elle, Pennington’s, Cassis, and MXM (available at Addition-Elle and Pennington’s). There’s also Claire France for a more classic or professional style, and also Laura Plus. You’ll find those stores mostly in shopping malls, although there’s a 2-story Addition-Elle right downtown on Ste-Catherine Street (across from the Eaton Centre).
fillyjonk, I’m starting to wonder: are you getting kickbacks from sales of Haagen Daz sea-salt caramel ice cream? Or is it just that good?
If it’s just that good, it might be worth a trip to the store on a Friday night.
I live in Portales, NM, and it’s pretty fat-friendly except for stores — and that’s more about being a small town than it is about prejudice. The only person I’ve ever had trouble with over my weight is my mother-in-law; my doctors have never once raised the issue of my weight. They do exams and whatnot fully and completely, and only raise issues like arthritis and blood pressure, and it’s never in a weight context — it’s more in a context of “try to eat more fiber, switch to red wine, and keep up with your exercise,” or, “here’s some Indocin for arthritis pain, and here are exercises you should avoid and exercises you should try to do.” I feel extremely blessed by this, especially since it’s not like our doctors are on the cutting edge of weight-related health issues.
I did raise the concern myself, as I’ve gained so much weight over the past two years, and they did thyroid tests, etc. When those came back fine, I was told that my diet, activity level, and general habits are great and that my weight at this point shouldn’t be a major concern. Awesome.
Other than doctors… nobody seems to care either way, honestly. Socially it seems to be like, “If you’re skinny, fine; if you’re fat, fine; if you’re average, fine; now let’s go see that movie, okay?” I am lucky.
fillyjonk, I use that email address as my spamcatcher anyway, so I just went into its preferences and removed my for real name. Probably should have done that once I switched from using it as a “real” address to primary spamcatching in the first place, so this is a good reason to.
I’m near Syracuse, NY, although I grew up in southern Illinois and spent time all around Missouri and Kansas. I’m really a midwesterner apart from my address. :)
fillyjonk, I’m starting to wonder: are you getting kickbacks from sales of Haagen Daz sea-salt caramel ice cream?
Have I mentioned it here before, or are you referring to the tiny stampede I set off on another site?
The answer, of course, is just that I am madly in love with sea salt caramel, and ice cream is an excellent delivery system, especially since I have a wicked sore throat right now.
For car and others:
1) The frappr map does not seem to show your email to others.
2) If you use a primarily spam-trap email to comment here, and you are a regular, frequent commenter, it might be worth shooting us an email to let us know your real address. There have been several occasions on which it’s been useful for us to be able to get in touch with Shapelings.
fillyjonk, I think you mentioned it a couple of times on Open Thread on Tuesday. I missed the tiny stampede (though I’m now awfully keen on the idea of a ‘tiny stampede’).
I think I’m going to have to try this flavor.
Oh, I probably did, because I think I bought it on Sunday or Monday. Then I ate way too much of it, and now I’ve been nursing the rest. (By “way too much” I mean that it is best for the first few bites, before the cold takes over… after that it’s kind of a waste of ice cream.)
Oh yeah, I forgot to add that, IMO, Montreal isn’t any worse or better than average when it comes to fat-friendliness, unless you insist on going to the land of the beautiful people (aka St-Laurent Street in the Mile End and Crescent Street downtown) on a Saturday night. But that’s alright with me - I usually prefer the casual bar with pool tables and karaoke to trendy nightclubs…
I’m in Parkville, Maryland–just north of Baltimore City. There are plenty of stores that cater to our body types in the area, but I’m pretty-much sized out of most of them although I can occasionally find things at The Avenue or Catherine’s.
I work in the arts in Baltimore so I put together a list of performance venues and rated the comfort of their seats for my size 32 ass. So if you ever want to visit this cool and quirky city and see a show…you might want to check the list out on my blog before making your reservation.
Shout out to Bree who is not that far north of me!
Long Beach, CA. Southern CA is the opposite of fat friendly, which is why I live under a rock and just don’t give a fuck no more. The standard is so far from what and who I am that it would be a soul-sucking and hopeless endeavor to try to attain it, so that kind of makes it easier to just say to hell with it.
LB does, however, have an excellent yarn store for the knitterly types (Alamitos Bay Yarn Company). It also has the second-largest population of Cambodians outside of Cambodia (largest is in Paris). What else … there’s an aquarium that is pretty awesome, and a huge-normous used bookstore called Acres of Books, which should be on any book nerd’s list of places to visit in the area.
A 3rd UK er!
I think im also meeting buffpuff in the coming month, just out of coincidence.
I’d say falmouth is pretty neutral fat-wise, for a small dock town in the back end of cornwall out of the way of everything. I havent really scoped it out in that sense…
Lindsay - I AM IN DECATUR, TOO!
well, just outside of decatur - between decatur and tucker :)
I’m added — another Chicagoan. I’ve always found Chicago to be fat-friendly as far as my (almost exclusively) downtown life has gone.
chillyrodent, I’m in Ithaca, too. I actually grew up in Cortland, then moved away for college, and am now back in this area for law school.
My experiences have not been universally good, but the people at law school =/= the people of Ithaca in general, so I have a feeling that’s why.
apricotmuffins - your artwork is gorgeous!
Yeah, I live in Westchester County NY but I’m from Fairfield County CT. You know the Stepford wives? Yeah, that based on the women of the town of New Caanan, CT, the town next to the one I grew up in. That aesthetic is still rather popular and it’s not friendly to anyone who isn’t white, thin and rich. That said, the town I’m from, Norwalk, is actually quite diverse, both ethnically and economically. Not surprisingly, that correlates directly to fat friendliness. When everyone looks different form one another, it doesn’t matter exactly what that difference is. At least, not as much. Plus, our proximity to NYC tends to make any kind of shopping easier. Everything is close by.
Hello from NJ, land of shopping malls.
Well, OK, there’s more than shopping malls, but the upside is that there are several LBs and Avenues, as well as a Catherines within easy driving distance of me to outfit my size 28 self.
FJ, thanks for setting this up. it’s really cool to see how diverse we are!
I FEEL SO LONELY *weeps*
Will you UKers meet up with me for some fat shopping in London some time? PLEASE
Hi, I’m in Denver! (*waves at TropicalChrome*) I am, as VanCouver Erin puts it, a “tweenie” as well, so I haven’t noticed any fat-discrimination here. People here are very outdoors-obsessed, and as TropicalChrome observed, they tend to dress for practicality and comfort (Crocs originated here, you know) — although, there are plenty of areas where you see hipster-types, as well. While I don’t shop in plus-sized stores, I hear-tell that the metro area is home to both a Lane Bryant and a Torrid, as well as a decent Fashion Bug. I would encourage any visitors to the mile-high city to eat at Watercourse, which is the most delicious vegetarian restaurant in the history of the universe (you would not even believe that their desserts are vegan, they are just that good).
Also, I just discovered this blog very recently,and I love love love it. I am still deprogramming from the cult of WW, and I love the concept of HAES. All you Shapelings are awesome and inspirational!
Lawrence is so-so fat friendly. If you go to the public pool in the summer, you’ll see that folks come in all shapes and sizes here and don’t seem to be ashamed of it. Live and let live. That’ s the old hippie soul of our town. :-)
But we are also a college town, which means scores of barely clad 18-22 year olds who feel pretty strongly about staying thin and flaunting it.
We have mixed feelings on this.
What are the UK-ers doing on Sat 3rd May? Sounds as good a day as any.
Em, count me in for the post-clothes shopping coffee/drink. Or food.
I’ve learnt not to clothes shop with other people as I get very irritable and unpleasant.
Like Erin and Marianne, I am also a tweenie from Vancouver, Canada. And I agree. The shopping sucks. Although, if you guys have excess income and feel like buying a cute… but really expensive piece of clothing, there’s always Bodacious on Main and 28th. Other than that…
I used to shop at Additionelle, but the “younger” clothing store in Metrotown got closed down in order to expand Aldo. Because their shoes needed breathing room, obviously. Every single article of clothing I own is from The Gap, Old Navy, or Liz Claiborne and ONE dress from Bodacious, because my cousin was getting married.
Orlando, FL, checking in. Florida is not a great state in which to be fat. Occassionally a glimmer of hope will open up only to close in 6 months. We do chain stores here and beach/tourist culture.
If you visit Orlando in the middle of summer, please, for the love of being comfortable on the rest of your trip, wear lots of sunscreen, frequently reapply it, and try not to go outside between 1 and 3 - and remember that your bald head needs sunscreen, too. This goes especially for the people who think the sun isn’t that bad and their meager base tan will protect them.
Also, Orlando is not a pedestrian-friendly city. You will need to rent a car if you plan to leave the parks.
Looks like currently I’m the Northernmost Shapeling. :)
Edmonton Alberta is a heck of a lot more fat-friendly than my last residence, which was Los Angeles/Orange County California, where beautiful people reign.
We don’t have a whole lot of attractions, outside the biggest mall in North America (and yet still no Lane Bryant!) and an awesome year-long farmers’ market. During the warm months, though, we have amazing festivals, including the Heritage Festival, which showcases food from around the globe. Last year, I think there were 160 booths with 90 different cuisines. For a snowbound city, I’m impressed with how many different types of people there are up here.
javamama, is that Lawrence Kansas? I was living there when we had the big protest breastfeed at the public pool after a breastfeeding mom who had the babe under a towel got kicked out while all manner of barely clad college students lolled about. Ah, good times.
penguinlady, I ADORE Edmonton. I spent two months there in college. The botanical gardens were great, too.
I’m the first Montanan! I’m in Livingston, a small mountain town about 30 minutes outside of Bozeman, home of Montana State University.
Waukesha, WI here, soon to be from West Bend.
I’m added, representing the deep deep South. I think I’m the first one in Mississippi. Hattiesburg, specifically.
You know, it’s actually really fat friendly come to think of it. We have a pretty high per capita number of fatties, so you can even get good plus sized stuff in thrift stores.
And although many of you will not believe me, since this is in fact MS, we have some of the best restaurants I’ve ever tried. I went to this newer local place downtown last weekend, and the Downtown Ken Brown burger at Brownstone’s is not to be missed. It has bacon, cheese, barbecue sauce, sauteed onions and ranch dressing. Artery clogging on a plate is what it is, but OMG. Add a side of sweet potato fries and a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan beer, and you are in heaven, I tell you.
I’m a total foodie, and you can eat like a queen in this town.
San Francisco here. We’ve got Lane Bryant for work, and Torrid for play. I feel a little old for Torrid, but their t-shirts are really great. As for fat-acceptance/friendly, this place is pretty everything-friendly. The gym is still a little scary though.
done and done!
Hey erin, I’m from Vancouver, (Canada) as well.
I was mainly an in-betweenie, and then I had kids. *g*. I haven’t found it to be bad to be bigger, although I have had a few medical experiences of the “oh, you have strep throat? You should lose weight” variety. But I’ve had size friendly docs, too.
A great shout out to Bodacious, of course, for great plus size cuts and locally made clothes, and also to Change, the best extra-size for reasonable-price local bra shop.
Another UK shapeling here…Norfolk, England, to be precise. We have some cool places to visit up here - Cambridge and Norwich are the main towns near me.
(Although to be honest, the grass is greener for me elsewhere…this Brit is aiming to be able to stick her pin in the PNW and specifically, Seattle, sometime in the next few years, if we can find a way of getting into the US legally. Portland peeps, I have to come visit you sometime though - that bookstore’s calling my name.)
Our big chain of ‘outsize’ (Goddess, I hate that word) stores over here is Evans. They’re in most major towns. I’m probably not a good guide to clothing stores, though, as I a) hate clothes shopping with a passion, and b) am an 18, which here is a tweenie size stocked in lots of ‘normal’ stores. Still means there’s a lot in the ‘normal’ ranges (especially bras - it sucks that so many ranges stop at a 38 back) I can’t fit into. which may be why I hate the whole thing so much.
Ooops! I missed Marianne and Carmenconcarne there. Hello Vancouverites!
(And I do buy most of my plus size cool clothes online. With occasional trips to Cotton Ginny plus and Additionelle/ AE Sport.)
Kirsten, I’m in West London. Where are you?
And, Em, it’d be my pleasure! I love fatgirl shopping and rarely get the chance to do it on account of not having any London-based fat friends.
Alas Miss Prism, I’m busy on the 3rd May in the day time but I could do something late afternoon/evening.
FJ - they’re opening a Lane Bryant within DC city limits, and closing the Tyson’s Corner one, from what I understand. *continues reading* There’s a mall with a Torrid here?! Which mall? Dude, I’ll pick you up at the nearest metro and we could go shopping. I need pants.
I agree with libbyloo that some of the outer suburbs can be more homogenous (and fatphobic), but the only overt fatphobia I’ve gotten was on 18th street in Adams Morgan (street harassment sucks). Granted, it a Saturday night in AM, so it’s a lot of drunken post-college boys, depending on where you are.
Also, libbyloo — one of these days, I swear I’m getting up to glen echo for contradancing.
I live in Alexandria, VA, which is just south of DC, and I think DC is a much fat-friendlier city than some other major cities I could name.
Evening would be good. I’m picturing tapping someone’s shoulder in a pub and saying “Excuse me, are you Kate Harding?”
Count me in as one who also lives near Vancouver, BC (about 30km away). Other posters have said the same and they’re right, the shopping for fatties sucks here. We have Addition Elle, Penningtons (hello old ladies!), Reitmans (one corner of the store anyways)….aaaaaand that’s it. I travel south of the border a couple of times a year to Washington State and buy a lot of my wardrobe there (also to quell my severe Sephora addiction…why oh why have they put two in Calgary and none here in trendy Vancouver?).
I’d say this area of the country is pretty fat-friendly, although I did work downtown for a number of years and noticed there aren’t very many fat people walking around down there, which leads me to ask, “obesity crisis, wah?”
Karen, it’d be a schlep for you — it’s at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. I think there is also one at Potomac Mills.
I’m originally from New Jersey, but I’m currenly living in Springfield, MO where I’m living the fabulous adventure of being a broke seminary student. :)
I live in Somerville, just outside Boston, MA. I think Boston is known for being less of a fat-friendly place, though I’ve never had anyone treat me overtly badly because of it (we also like to think of ourselves as progressives). Every so often some dickwad posts on Craigslist about how all the women he sees are too fat to date, but I think on the whole women are less fat here than they are in small-town New Hampshire where I’m from. I’m often the fattest woman in the room, and I wear a size 20. When I visit home, I feel like I stand out less.
Oh, wow, I’m the first Pittsburgher so far! That’s kinda weird. There seem to be far more people claiming to be from there stalking the internets than there really can be. Pittsburgh’s fairly fat-friendly. I can shop, especially nowadays, when Macy’s decided that I’m worth making clothes for. I’ve had comments, and every other woman I know there is on a diet, but that seems, sadly, par for the course anywhere. At least no one’s protested our Lane Bryants (they _really_ did that??).
I move around for work a lot, so I’m really in Ohio, a bit southeast of Columbus now, and I’ll be heading off to California in a couple of months. Denver people, what do you suggest for someone who plans on using your fair town as a touristy/I’m sick of driving cross-country stop?
I live in Auckland, New Zealand. Three years now.
And Kiwis are a polite, friendly bunch so if there was ill will towards me or any of my kind, I wouldn’t have eve known.
And as for shopping…..the pickins are slim. But seeing as we’re a small country, the pickins on everything are slim. I just order online and have my family in the States send it over along with my beloved Jolly Ranchers that I miss so much.
Scoring another goal for the team: Hello from Aarhus, Denmark, Europe!
The city itself, much like the rest of Denmark, is pretty uniform fashion-and-appearance-wise, especially when it comes to the youth. On the other hand, people generally tend to keep to themselves and live extremely private lives so it’s highly unlikely that someone will get harassed on the street…
I just moved to Philadelphia from Atlanta about a week ago. No idea how fat friendly this city is. No idea where to shop. Any other Shapelings in Philly able to give me some advice?? :)
Great idea to do the map!
Ok, I think I have the dumb, because I accidentaly put myself on the map twice. :P
Dang, I’m not the northernmost Shapeling! Curse you, Edmonton! ;-) (No, I kid - I grew up there and only moved to Calgary last May.)
I’m not sure about fatshion in Calgary but I can tell you that Alberta in general is pretty fat-friendly - I have some sizeable friends that would be absolutely shocked to have friends, family, or strangers comment on their size because it’s literally never happened. In discussions of dating/looks/etc, weight doesn’t come up - and there isn’t really a dieting culture (or maybe I’m just not exposed to it?) so much as an ‘outdoors’ culture, because we’re so close to the mountains and rivers and etc etc that we’re expected to be running around outside all day. :-D
I’m another one in the northern Chicago burbs. Born and raised within spitting distance of the WI border and the Lake, left for college in Minnesota, and somehow have now landed back in the burbs. sigh.
Working in Chicago (though only in name it’s really more like Rosemont).
I’m about 2 miles from a mall with both a LB and a Torrid and a JC Penney with a good Plus size area.
Miss Prism, I have dropped you a line at your gmail address along with my own email details. Can we tempt anyone else to the party?
I’m in Chicago, and I’d love to hear from other Chicago Shapelings! I find Chicago to be decently fat-friendly, although quite a few mainstream stores (as in not dedicated plus-size stores) have been phasing out their plus-size departments, which is very disappointing. But there are some good stores not far from me- Lincolnwood Mall is pretty close, and sometimes a friend and I will make the trek to Woodfield to shop at Torrid. I grew up in the West suburbs, though, and they are most definitely NOT fat-friendly- I got made fun of a lot in middle/high school for being fat, and I was a size 8/10 till college. Messed up, man, messed up.
Whoops - I missed your post, apricotmuffins. You are indeed seeing me soon. I shall be in Cornwall the week after next. If you fancy a jar/cake/bumperfundinner out of college hours I should be delighted!
Amy, if I had to go back to the States to live again, Chicago would be my city of choice. I love that place. I went to Uni there and had the best time living in the city. Hands down, one of the best cities in the US.
I’m in MN, in a small town known as the birthplace of Sinclair Lewis. We have a parade and flea/craft market on Sinclair Lewis Days (and fireworks). I noticed at the parade last year that a couple of the SC royalty were not thin young ladies (one of them was probably a size 16/18 and cute as all get-out). We were watching last year’s pageant on the local access channel and several of the contestants were big girls. Was really nice to see that. Not much else here, other than the band shell across from our house at the lake where they have concerts every Wednesday night in the summer. Nothing for plus sizes, unless you count WallyWorld, have to go to St Cloud for LB or Catherine’s (45 miles away). But it’s nice here and not fat-phobic at all from everything I’ve seen so far (been here almost 2 years, moved here when I got married).
32-P, yay, another Calgarian! I’ve had totally different experiences than you though. I’ve never had a stranger comment on my weight, but family and friends, oh yeah. And I hear tons of diet talk all around me. I wonder if that’s a Calgary/Edmonton thing or if we just run in different kinds of social circles. I do think in general though, there’s less obesity hysteria in Alberta and Canada in general than there is in some parts of the US.
There’s nothing special here for fatshion, as other Canadian’s have mentioned pretty much just Addition-elle and Pennington’s. I do most of my shopping online. But any inbetweenie with a rack of doom should check out the Cat’s Pyjamas, they are so, so amazing for bra fittings.
I think there’s also a Lane Bryant in Columbia Heights, down the street from the new Target.
Err, and that would be another DC-er in the mix.
oh YOU KNOW i have to say yes to that, buffpuff.
Say, do you like red wine?
JP, JP, woot!
Calling in from Jamaica Plain, which is actually a neighborhood in Boston, but Boston and I have a distant relationship, so I like to just mention it up front and get it out of the way.
JP is one gloriously queer village, I think it may come very close to Northampton in that regard. Very progressive, in lots of different ways. But with progressive community, you run the risk of orthorexia, and I have certainly detected more than a hint of that at gatherings.
On the other hand, we have JP Licks, which is the best non-snooty ice cream parlor in the greater Boston area. There are a few others that apparently are better, but they have flavors like wasabi-red wine and I don’t approve of that sort of new-fangled, half-cocked, art-for-the-sake-of-artness. Okay, not wasabi-red wine, but you get the picture. Bostonians do like their ice cream.
Not much in the way of fatty goodness out here, though. The last place I went clothes shopping was at the Fat Girl Flea in NYC. Otherwise you’re just looking at a few Lane Bryants and Avenues, and cheap trendy teen clothes at Tello’s (JP and Cambridge).
I don’t like how culturally conservative Boston is. When I came out here with Big Moves, I was leaving San Francisco, where everything is cool and nobody bats an eye at whatever freaky shit. Big Moves was fuckin’ establishment out there. But here, just doing our stuff, we are so far beyond the radical horizon that we might as well be on the other side of the planet. Weird.
If you’re within driving distance of Boston or Philadelphia, the thing to see in the next two weeks is… well, Big Moves! Our size-diverse circus-themed dance and performance revue, Big Top, is opening in Cambridge April 17-19, and then we go to Philadelphia for two shows on one day on April 26. All the details–and advance tickets!–are on our web site (http://www.bigmoves.org).
If you’re near Montreal, as I see a few of you are, you can check us out there June 12-22, when we perform our smash hit Lard (”like grease, but thicker”) at the Montreal Fringe Festival.
Big Moves: We’re everywhere you want to be!
(/plug)
ah “yay” from Hamburg, Germany, from me. I wish all you guys were closer to me.
Apart from the social factor, I’d love to do a fat-friendly photo series, and I need models!
Great idea, thanks, Shapely Prose.
32-P, we got pwnd by Denmark! :)
And, I do hear diet talk up here, but not that much. It might just be the circles that I run in.
Car - I forgot about the Botanic Garden! It’s been under 3 feet of snow for the last 6 months!
I’m Jen and I’m in Northern Ontario. I’m that yellow dot at the meeting place of 3 of the great lakes. <3 I love it here. We only have a Pennington’s superstore for clothes but some of our other locations like Sears and Zellars and Reitmans and um…Ricki’s all carry plus sizes. Up to 18! I know there are bigger sizes than that but that’s what they’ve got. I don’t know what Pennington’s carries.
As far as I can figure the Soo is pretty fat friendly, but then again, I’m sortof an ‘undercover’ fat person. I’m average, but I’ve always thought I was ‘fat’ until I discovered FA. I’ve never personally experienced fat hatred or discrimination but I know a handful of people who have.
Noe
I am very interested to hear of the fat friendliness in NZ, I have recently acquired family over there and would love to go to school there, or just move there for a bit but ever since I heard the story about the fat couple being forced to lose weight before they could gain citizenship, I’ve been a bit wary.
Hey, apricotmuffins, I like any wine, (apart from Chardonnay and Retsina, which both taste the same to me). So, yep, red’s gooood.
I’m out in the wilderness of central Virginia, but I moved here last year from Chicago. About the only thing I really miss is Art + Science. I have to drive 35 miles for a decent haircut now.
We have no stores at all, fat-friendly or not, but some excellent barbecue.
Well, I’m a student at RIT. I live on-campus, so I can’t say much about Rochester–I never leave school! During summer I live in Bellevue, NE, which isn’t too bad for fat-friendliness, except for my mother. xP
another Lawrence, KS’er here!
I’m in St. Paul, MN — where it’s currently SNOWING!
Blech.
Another UK shapeling here. I live in south west london. I think people in my part of London. Buffpuff, Miss Prism, I’d quite like to jump on the meet up bandwagon (if it’s not too presumptuous).
Added. Anyone else from the Seattle area?
Sorry that made little grammatical sense, my mind took a break in the middle and didn’t return to the original thought train; being social makes me extremely nervous/stupid
I live in South Bend, IN. I can’t wait to leave. It took three years even to find anyone ranking above friendly acquaintance.
Skreee, OMG, I know one amazing fat lady in Hamburg who’d be a perfect model! She’s beautiful, sassy and confident, but I’m not sure where she stands on fat acceptance matters. I don’t think it would be ok for her to be called “fat”. How could we tactfully contact her?
Is there a description of your project in German that I could point her to?
Reporting in from central Maine, which gets extremely hgh marks for fat tolerance. There’s definitely a higher percentage of the population here that’s fat than any other state I’ve lived in. I do have to dock some points due to extremely limited plus-size shopping (thank GOD for the internet). Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Target, & a teeny-tiny Penney’s are within a half hour’s drive. However, bonus points are awarded for kick-ass homemade ice-cream stands practically on every corner and , ahhhhh, the fried clams and lobster rolls.
I’m in Buffalo– I’ve commented before as B-17.
I’m kind of a tweenie– size 16ish, with emphasis on the ish because nothing ever fits. I cannot find *anything* in Buffalo NY. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything, it just means I hate shopping, and always have, and probably always will, because it has always been so unrewarding, because nothing fits, because I don’t look all that hard, because nothing fits, because… never-ending cycle.
Thank God for the Internet.
Toronto’s nearbyish, so I’d go up there to shop except I … well, hate shopping. ;)
Anyhow. Any city with a decent roller derby team can’t be all bad. :)
Santa Fe, NM, by way of Manhattan and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Santa Fe is a beautiful place. Fat friendly? Not overtly in any way I can think of. Spicy? You bet!
Hellllo from Kalamazoo, MI! Yes, Kalamazoo is a real place…
I’m on one of the college campuses in the general area and let me tell you, it’s not very fat friendly. There’s a few of us who get together to celebrate our body image, but few people outside the group are fat-friendly. Lane Bryant and Target are nearby, which is good. That’s nice, at least. But…yeah.
Hey, car. Yup, Lawrence KS. I *think* I remember that nurse-in Or else I’m getting it mixed up with another nurse-in that happened about the health club here in town. Or was it Wal-mart? Larrytown loves a protest!
Hey, Leafuille! Maybe we see each other lurking about town and don’t even know it! We’ll have to develop a baby-flavored donut gang sign to flash to find other Shapelings.
Hey, msruth, that’s fine by me!
I’m a lonely New Mexican, wishing to share some enchiladas.
Albuquerque is just friendly. Sadly, there aren’t enough plus-sized shopping options, but there are plenty of activities to do here that are great for everyone. (Try the Tram, if you dare.)
Checking in from foggy Daly City, CA, right next to San Francisco. I have lived in the Bay Area for 8+ years and have found it to be a pretty fat friendly place overall. Yes, CA is the land of the “beautiful people”, but we also have plenty of plus size folks as well. We have a ton of organzations active in the fat acceptance movement: Big Moves Dance Company, Women of Substance Health Spa, the Padded Lilies synchronized swim club. With the Bay Area’s history of activism, we are also a hotbed of fat activism - like Marilyn Wann of Fat!So? fame. I even found a great plus size fitness trainer in SF. So, the resources are definitely here - you just need to know where to look.
I’m from Glendale, CA (a suburb of Los Angeles). But the map isn’t working at the moment . . . Bummer.
Long time reader, first time commenter, but…
Hello from Los Angeles!
Yeah. *waves at Brooke* Fat-friendly? Eh. No.
But to hell with it. It’s L.A. Even if you hate Hollywood and despise all things celebrity, you can find something here to do that you’ll love. Promise.
I’m complicated– Originally from NYC which is one of the fat-friendliest places I’ve ever been. I get good looks from people on the subway and compliments, things can get really tight for people above a 24-6 or so because space is at a premium but most hatred is directed at stupid people and the MTA. Sites worth seeing: Union Square Farmers Market and their Winter Gift Fair for unusual things. The Strand is a bookstore famous its “eight miles of books”. For the best and cheapest Falafel in Manhattan head to St Marks and Third where there are three-four Middle Eastern restaurants that have driven down price to $4.
I go to school in DC, which isn’t as fat friendly as NYC. I get a lot of nasty looks from other women, especially when I’m with my boyfriend. But then at other times all is good. Check out the Smithsonians which are always free and the best gelato in town can be found in the basement of the National Gallery next to the gift shop. Eastern Market is open most days with local produce and a Flea Market with art on weekends
Sunnyvale, CA! It’s about a town nirth of San Jose and less than an hour away from S.F. It’s a great city without feeling like one. Been here 12 years, love it! I have the best esthetician (sp). She’s fat and fabulous! Her place is called, “Amazing Face” and offers full spa services. She’s rad! I almost feel that everywhere I go is fat friendly if I’m friendly to everyone…ya know?
I noticed others from Vancouver, BC! *waves*
I agree with them that the shopping totally sucks here for fatties. At my largest it was nearly impossible to find clothes that fit me *well* instead of mother-to-be or older-lady. I wanted sexy and fun and clothes like that were HARD to come by! The attitude in Vancouver towards fat people is hard to pin down. There are a LOT of outdoor sports/activities to do but finding workout clothes to do them in is nearly impossible. Being fat and active is difficult in this city and easy at the same time - hence, the hard to pin down part.
Downtown is the worst place to work if you are fat imho - I know because I used to work there! Downtown is filled with wealthy (or wanting to look wealthy) starving-to-be-thin fake blondes. They are everywhere! I used to work with many of them and most of them lived downtown as well as worked there.
I will say though that the kink and alt communities are very fat-positive although I think that has more to do with the activities and less to do with the city they’re in.
Twistie! I’m in Alameda too! I find your assessment to be pretty much what I would say. Have you been to Harper Greer in Berkeley or SF? They are my current favorite boutique. A lot of the clothes are too Chicos-ish or old for me, but they have some great basic blouses and skirts.
I’m currently in the capital of NL, Canada - St. John’s. I don’t know if you would call this place “fat friendly” or not, because really, I’ve never really noticed anyone who cared either way what weight you are, it’s very odd.
In any case, there are a few plus-sized shops here - all of them have been mentioned by other Canadians: Addition-Elle, Pennington’s, and there’s that part of Reitman’s. But other than that? If you are going to go to Newfoundland, go during the summer. Sure, there’s tons of touristy things going on, but the province really comes alive. We have theatre festivals, historical re-enactments (Colony of Avalon and L’Anse-aux-Meadows come to mind), and folk festivals (big day-long music shows that have all the local bands playing. A lot of different towns have their own), off the top of my head. Year-round, there’s some great restaurants, and if you’re in St. John’s, try to get downtown. It’s full of different shops and restaurants, and again, there’s that historical link (it was Old St. John’s - the city expanded from there) so there’s a pile of old buildings all over the place. (However, if you are going downtown, don’t bother with a car. There’s not many places to park, and the streets can be very narrow and weirdly uphill. Best to walk if you can.)
woot! first Detroit area Shapeling!
(unless you count Ann Arbor)
It’s fat-friendly in the sense that there are plenty of people who are not skinny, but I still got moo-ed at at the pool at my old apartment complex. grrr.
Lots of shopping options, especially if you like that “fancy” dresses in bright colors with sequins variety :)
Dang! Now I’m all jealous of all of you who live near each other, especially in all the cities where I used to live!
Hi, sarah! Sounds like you’ve found the local Torrid, too :)? (I love them even though I don’t always find things there because when I do, they’re wonderful.)
YOU ALL! Earlier this evening, upthread, I wrote:
I live in South Bend, IN. I can’t wait to leave. It took three years even to find anyone ranking above friendly acquaintance.
Then, tonight I was on Craig’s List and saw THIS:
“I am looking for women who like themselves. Not plastic surgery barbies. If you are already nodding, you know you belong in this group! I want women friends to have coffee/dinner with. Playdates would be nice. I am an about-to-be step mom of twin pre-schoolers. I want women to reply who don’t diet until they die, strong women, outspoken women. I am not skinny, have a wonderful fiance and he loves me the way I am, and am in school for a great job in teaching. Life does not go down the drain because of your size, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion. Please, email me if you agree! Let’s get together and be happy!”
YAY YAY YAY!!! I emailed her already. (We have a preschooler!)
This map thingy made my day.
I live in small-ish town New Hampshire, just over the Mass border. Haven’t been here long, but so far so good.
Holy crap! Another Alamedan!!!!
(waves to Sony)
No, I haven’t been to Harper Greer, but maybe I’ll check them out next time I need something really basic. Thanks for the tip.
CJ here! I live in Spotsylvania, Virginia. (Right outside of historic Fredericksburg, Virginia!)
Spotsy is very rural but is not a bad place to live. I love my neighborhood and the school my daughter goes to is first rate. I don’t have trouble finding clothes here - we’ve got Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Avenue, Catherine’s and Dress Barn Woman all nearby.
If you are in this area, I strongly recommend American Family Fitness as a gym. People there are all shapes and sizes - even the employees - and I have never felt out of place as a large person there. I highly recommend the water aerobics classes - the instructors are the best!
Hi, first time posting here but a loyal reader! I live in Los Angeles which can be pretty harrowing. I am currently lower weight due to trying to fit into the 0 size rule for all women here in L.A. You feel unseen if you don’t look a certain way.
The constant bombardment of ads for plastic surgery and ’self improvement’ is absolutely mind boggling.
People stare at you if your are just a little plump and many people here are aspiring actors, models, whatever!!! That means they are paid not to eat! The culture here is very toxic and I think that if you are not naturally thin, it’s very very tough.
TropicalChrome, on April 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm Said:
Denver metro area here….we haven’t lived here that long so I’m still getting a handle on everything.
Hey, Littleton here. For stores… meh, but for parks, it’s great.
it is very sad that my fellow New Mexicans are in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Nobody in the far eastern, dead middle (N/S) area? Boo!
I’m in Adelaide, South Australia and it looks like I am the only one on the map so far.
Of course, I missed this whole thread because I’ve been nigh-nighs for the past 12 hours!!