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I was one of fifty bloggers invited to Lane Bryant Bloggers conference during Full Figured Fashion week in New York. It is no understatement to say that I was very excited to meet all my fellow bloggers/friends from other countries and they all looked fabulous of course!

At the fashion conference, I was eager to find out more about Lane Bryant’s and their collection for fall 2011. However, I was also very interested to see how Lane Bryant would communicate with their key influencer’s because a) it’s part of my job at Awoque and b) I like to think that my fashion blog(BeyondSizes) for plus size girls is somewhat influential.

Lane Bryant began in the early 1900′s and have been making clothes for a long time, so it’s true that they know what they are doing. As a brand they are constantly trying to improve their clothing lines for the plus sized girls. I like that and High 5 to them.

First up was Robert Rutkauskas, Director Trend and Color, followed by David Albow, Senior Design Director of Sportswear. They presented the up coming collection for the fall season and all got a good lesson in clothes fitting. We then had the pleasure of listening to Gill Heer, the Senior Designer and Director for Intimate Apparel. Gill, introduced the upcoming fall Cacique collection inspired by pin up style.

During the day Lane Bryant revealed some interesting information. The best news for me personally was that Lane Bryant will begin to ship their clothes internationally in September 2011. The event finished with a nice lunch, which also gave us a chance to mingled with the presenters and my fellow bloggers.

It was a good, professional event but Lane Bryant could have gotten so much more out of it. As a company Lane Bryant could have gotten information from their audience of key influencers that could be useful in social media, in future designs, marketing and importantly get insight into how to connect and engage with the plus size community.

So, if you have an upcoming event think about how you can use it to obtain valuable information for your brand, product and services through your fans?

If you want to more on how to use social media at your next event, give us a call.

The week in New York was everything I wished for and more…

I’ve learned so much from all the wonderful women that we met during the event. We all come from different places around the world, from different cultures and backgrounds. But what makes us feel attached to each other is that despite our differences we share so many similar experiences according to our bodies and being plus size women. Most of us have gone from hating our bodies to accepting and realizing our true potential. And we all have a passion for fashion and the urge to find trendy clothing that fit our body types.

Paul Williams and I attended a cruise around Manhattan, fashion shows, blog conferences, mingle parties and shopping cruises. Let me tell you, he is a total beast when it comes to socializing and I truly have found my superior. I couldn’t have asked for a better, more fun traveling partner and he made my trip just perfect.

We had the chance to meet bloggers, models, designers and some of biggest companies in the plus size industry.

One interesting thing that we found out is that the plus size American bloggers envy Europe when it comes to plus size fashion (and we envy them). Which, means that no one is satisfied? So what can we do to change this?

That’s the question I’ll be spending my summer thinking about.

The Awoque blog is taking a vacation and so are we. We’ll get back to you around the 8th of August. Until then, keep on being social.

Hi all,

Just a quick note, we left yesterday morning from Göteborg to travel to New York to follow Thina Grotmark (the winner of Awoque’s “Rise & Shine” competition) to Full Figure Fashion Week. We have a busy schedule but we will try to post up on the Awoque blog when we can.

Below is a link to the first video of Thina waiting for her 1st trip state side.

Thina Grotmark @ Full Figure Fashion Week

Stay tuned for more info and go to www.beyond-sizes.com for Thina’s updates