In The Thick Of It

A glance down the list of blogs in contention gives a flavour of the field: “Manolo for the Big Girl”, “The Manfattan Project”, “Chubble Bubble”, and “In The Thick of It”. It’s light and fun; about display rather than disguise. These women are mad about fashion, and (it is an “and” not a “but”) they are also fat. That shouldn’t sound like anything revolutionary, but it is. Their pants are political. Even a simple photo of themselves — pretty, proud, plump and dressed up to the nines — is enough to excite a strange moral response. For example, earlier this year an American fatshion blogger, Gabi Gregg, posted an unapologetic photo of herself looking pretty smokin’ in a size 18 bikini. It caused such a sensation that she ended up defending herself on prime-time news for supposedly glamourising unhealthy lifestyles.