fat is not a four letter word

Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss

September 5th, 2011

BFDiva Laurie sent me a very exciting email recently: she’s been chosen to be on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss. It is a spinoff of their Say Yes to the Dress series, and it’s about, as you may guess, shopping for a wedding dress. The Big Bliss spinoff focuses on plus-sized brides.

I hadn’t seen the show, so I went and checked out some clips to get a feel for what it is like. There seems to be a range of fat experience here: some women have lost weight, some are dieting, some are very accepting of themselves. Many of them are matter-of-fact about their bodies, and have seemingly learned to blame the clothes, not themselves, if something doesn’t work. And of course, some are less confident, or apprehensive about the whole experience. Some hate trying clothes on; one woman admitted she hadn’t worn a dress in 20 years. The people helping them seem to be pretty positive and encouraging. (Although after watching a bunch of these videos, I still haven’t seem them find one dress that isn’t strapless, what is up with that.) (I also suddenly feel like getting married all over again in a giant white poofy strapless dress. Maybe I’ve watched too many clips in a row.)

So, have you ever seen the show? Do you have any advice for Laurie? Check out the clips below and let us know in the comments what you think. And good luck, Laurie! Let us know when the episode airs!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Ask BFD, Fashion, Personal, Sex & Romance, TV, Video

You might also like

  1. Maybe We Don't Hate Dress Barn
  2. Review: Igigi Cosenza Dress
  3. Dress Barn Revisited

9 Responses to Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss

  1. Janie, on September 6th, 2011 at 2:21 am Said:

    Oh boy! I haven’t seen the show but I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to find a frock that makes your heart sing if you’re not happy with your body.
    It really doesn’t help that they’re all white does it?! xx

  2. Naomi, on September 6th, 2011 at 2:47 am Said:

    seen it….. the consultants are smart about it I think, take their advice, ask for Randy too. Don’t listen too much to relatives.

  3. WendyRG, on September 6th, 2011 at 10:39 am Said:

    I love both the original Say Yes and Big Bliss. I’m not quite sure why, since I’m a feminist to the bone. I’ve been married almost 20 years, didn’t take my husband’s name, didn’t have a big, flashy wedding, my ring is “estate jewellery”, i.e. bought second-hand, but I enjoy these shows nevertheless, as do a number of my very feminist friends.

    On the other hand, I can’t watch the kiddie pageant queen shows for more than 30 seconds without throwing up.

    Anyway, good luck to your friend. I agree with the posters above: the consultants are very professional and not at all judgmental. Randy’s fun too.

    As to why everything is strapless–I think it’s just the current style, no matter what your weight.

  4. Scooter, on September 7th, 2011 at 6:27 pm Said:

    I watched a ton of Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix while recouping from surgery this summer. The consultants are pretty universally great no matter the size of the bride and offer good advice. And they readily admit that 90+% of their inventory is strapless because that happens to be popular now. (Side note, will this style never die?!? Why should every bride have to look the same?!)

    On a different note, I remember one episode in particular with a bride that I felt so badly for. She had lost a bunch of weight but still felt that she was too big and dress shopping was clearly no fun for her. I wanted to hug her and send her some body acceptance vibes because she sounded so miserable. But her experience was the exception on this show, definitely not the rule.

  5. Elise, on September 8th, 2011 at 5:10 pm Said:

    Not just strapless, but what’s up with the mermaid style? Why must the dresses fit snugly over the belly and hips? Something that flares from the waist would’ve looked good on all three of those women.

    It was hard to tell from the clips if they actually found dresses they liked. Did they?

  6. Allyson, on September 9th, 2011 at 6:52 am Said:

    “I’m stuck because I’m fat this is sad worst day ever” I love that girl.

  7. thirtiesgirl, on September 11th, 2011 at 8:29 pm Said:

    I’ve seen the show a few times and I’d agree with what others have written here, that the Kleinfeld staff is respectful of the women they’re working with, which I like to see. I don’t like to see some of the self hate spewed by some of the fat brides. That stuff gets tired very quickly. I mean, I know women still have confidence issues to deal with, but haven’t we made enough strides with size acceptance that more women have become accepting of themselves? …That said, though, fortunately, there isn’t a lot of self hate on the show, and it’s great to see the brides looking happy with their dresses and hear their love stories of how they met their SO’s.

  8. MizShrew, on September 12th, 2011 at 10:03 pm Said:

    Regarding the strapless style: I just read an article today about the potential influence of Kate Middleton’s style choices — and one of them was the prediction that wedding dresses with sleeves would become popular. So perhaps there’s hope in the near future for those who wish to avoid the strapless (regardless of size)?

    I found the idea of shopping for a dress so daunting that I had one made instead. So I give these women a lot of props for being willing to put themselves out there.

  9. Joan, on September 14th, 2011 at 2:58 am Said:

    I just don’t understand why Say Yes to the Dress doesn’t have plus sized women on the show all the time. The show and the store make it seem like it is a big deal every time a bigger girl comes in – which seem interesting given that the average woman is like a size 14.

Subscribe to the comments for this post (RSS)

« Is Melissa McCarthy The New Ryan Reynolds?
Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza »

RSS button Entries RSS

RSS button Comments RSS

Email us

Look around
  • What's the Big Fat Deal?
  • Introduce yourself
  • How do I love myself? And the follow up.
  • Our Facebook group
  • BFD greatest hits
  • 10 Ways to be a Body Positivity Advocate
  • Our pet fish
  • Press and media
We are...
Image of Mo Pie Image of Weetabix Image of Jenfu
Find it
Meta
+ Click to display
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  •  
  • Google Reader or Homepage
  • del.icio.us 43 Folders
  • Add to My Yahoo!
  • Subscribe with Bloglines
  • Subscribe in NewsGator Online
  • Furl 43 Folders
  • Add to Technorati Favorites!
  • Add to netvibes
  • Health Blogs - Blog Top Sites
  • Pop Culture Blogs -  Blog Catalog Blog Directory
  • Blogging Fusion Blog Directory
  • I fight fat-hate!
  • B-List Blogger
  • Bloggapedia, Blog Directory - Find It!
  • As Seen on Delightfulblogs.com
  • Blogarama - The Blog Directory
  • Top HealthCare Sites
  • + Click to hide
Your comments
  • Babs: So sorry to hear that you are moving to Facebook. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who refused to...
  • Trish: I’m a heavier girl, and throughout my pregnancy so far I’ve not thought too much about looking...
  • Rhonwyyn: Hi Mali, So sorry you’re feeling this way. I was never very skinny, but I learned to hate my body as...
  • Jody: I just got this cute Disney Nerds bag at Disneyland this January. It was only $20 and the strap is super long....
  • Courtney: I found one at H&M. Can’t wear a damn thing from that store except their bags, and it was under...
Recent entries
  • New BFD Page on Facebook
  • Recommend A Crossbody Bag
  • It Happened To Me: I Read xoJane.com
  • Actor Gains 50 Pounds, Becomes "Much Funnier"?
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza
  • Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss
Notes from the Fatosphere
Most Popular Categories
  • Advertising Advocacy America Ferrera American Idol Art Ask BFD Beth Ditto BFD Classic BFDudes Biggest Loser BlogHer08 Books Britney Spears Carnie Wilson Celebrities Cold Hard Cash Comics Courtney Love Dance Your Ass Off Diet Talk Diet Talk Warning Drop Dead Diva Eating Disorders Exercise Fashion Fatism Fat Positive Fat Suits Feel Good Friday Feminism Food Gabby Sidibe Glee Gossip Guest Post Gwyneth Paltrow Hairspray Health Huge Humor International Jenfu Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Love Hewitt Jessica Simpson Kate Winslet Keira Knightley Kelly Clarkson Kids Kirstie Alley Links Magazines Media Meta Mike & Molly Mo'Nique Mommyblog More To Love Movies Music Nikki Blonsky NSFW Old Navy Old Timey Oprah Personal Photoshop Politics Project Runway Queen Latifah Question Race & Ethnicity Renee Zelwegger Review Ricki Lake Ricky Gervais Science Sex & Romance Star Jones Theater The Office Tidbit TV Tyra Banks Uncategorized Video Weetabix Weight Loss WLS Work

Twitter
[aktt_tweets count="5"]
Most Comments
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza (232)
  • How Do Strangers Treat You? (134)
  • "The Beautiful People Are The Skinny People" (103)
  • "You Do Not See Fat People In Concentration Camps" (100)
  • Are You Insecure About Your Height? (97)
  • Big Fat Ad (91)
Archives
Powered by WordPress & WPDesigner :: Design by Pattycake Designs & modified by Make My Blog Pretty :: Logo by Evan Carothers