Chastity Garner Valentine (left) and CeCe Olisa (right) entered the online plus-size community after launching their blogs, GarnerStyle and the Plus Size Princess. They realized there was a need to bring the same incredible group of women offline—thus, theCURVYcon was born. We sat down with CeCe and Chastity to talk blogging, building an in-person community, and reaching the next level of size inclusivity. This interview has been condensed and edited for both clarity and length.
Why did you start theCURVYcon?
CeCe Olisa: We’re both bloggers and influencers separately. We saw a need for plus-size women to have a place where they could all be together in person. So much of the body-positive community and the plus-size fashion community happens online. We’re never all in the same place—but if people are all in the same place, it’s just the influencers.
So, we were thinking, what could we do for the people who follow us and who support us? theCURVYcon was born to give them an opportunity to feel the power of body positivity and experience the plus-size community in one place. We wanted to make sure that the women who came felt treated like royalty.
Chastity Garner Valentine: We wanted to give them some of the experiences that we get as bloggers. An elevated experience. We have very few brick-and-mortar stores as plus-size women. And to go into a store with your straight-size friend and to see how they are treated is a different experience altogether. theCURVYcon gives women a few days to have that elevated experience and really be appreciated. Of course, the entire world should be like that, but it’s not.
So much of the body-positive community happens online. theCURVYcon was born to give [women] an opportunity to experience [it] in one place.
Are there any women whose online presence inspired you to join the online plus-size fashion community?
CGV: There wasn’t really a lot when we started. We both started in 2008. Gabi Fresh was the first blog I saw, and I ended up starting my own maybe a month later. I was like, “Oh, this is really, really cool.”
CO: I think the interesting thing about Chastity and me is that we started blogging when blogging started. So, the way people see the internet and social media now is not how it existed when we started. We didn’t start our blogs with the intention of it even being a job—it started off as just a passion project and a hobby.
For me, I was inspired by a lot of relationship bloggers. They were talking about dating, but it wasn’t reflecting my experiences as a plus-size girl. So, I started writing more about that, and from there, pivoted into fashion.
theCURVYcon gives women a few days to have that elevated experience and really be appreciated.
Do you have any favorite memories from theCURVYcon?
CGV: Ashley Graham did an impromptu runway at theCURVYcon, year one. She contacted us and wanted to come. We were ecstatic. I don’t even think we thought that she would want to come, but she did. So, Ashley Graham and some other very prominent models did an impromptu runway—and it was amazing. It’s one of our proudest moments.
CO: When it comes to plus-size celebrities, it’s hard sometimes to find ones who are relevant right now. Chrissy Metz, last year’s keynote speaker, is winning Emmys. She’s on the hottest show on TV. To have someone who was timely and important and in her moment take the time to come hang out—that was a really big deal to us.
Then there was the Dia&Co runway show last year. That was a dream come true. You can ask Chastity—I was legit crying in the front row. We didn’t have the resources to do it, so we collaborated with Dia&Co to make it happen. And they created a show that looked just as good as anything else happening during Fashion Week. That was a really big deal for us, and that was an iconic moment that definitely took theCURVYcon to the next level.
If brands don’t hear us, then that means that they don’t care about inclusivity. If they’re not interested in us, then I’m not interested in them.
Who would you like to see as the next designer to show size inclusivity on the runway or expand into plus sizes?
CO: I think it’s problematic that a few plus-size models get used in a runway show and then the industry is celebrated for diversity. To me, the industry will be inclusive and diverse when we don’t even need to have a conversation about size diversity on the runway. Personally, I’m done asking designers to make plus-size clothes, and I’m all about supporting the brands and designers that do. 67% of women wear plus sizes and we want to spend money on fashion. If brands don’t hear us, then that means that they don’t care about inclusivity. If they’re not interested in us, then I’m not interested in them.
In a future where that does become the reality, what happens to an event like theCURVYcon? Does it change shape?
CO: I really believe that when it comes to marginalized groups, whether it’s your race, your gender, your sexuality, or your size, it’s not up to you to push the change forward. So, for us, in the same way that we’re calling for inclusivity from the fashion industry, we’re pushing ourselves toward inclusivity. This is going to be the first year that we’re having straight-size women as speakers. We’re excited to have the Bella Twins from E! come to talk about how to support your friends in body positivity. Because body positivity looks different for everybody. It shouldn’t be that only plus-size women care about plus-size inclusivity. All women should care. Your skinny friends should want you to have all the clothes. We’re making sure that conversation is open to everybody, so everybody can do their part in moving the needle forward.
Make strides in your personal life to get out from behind your phone and behind the computer—because that’s where real life happens.
What advice do you have for anyone who can’t come to theCURVYcon, but is struggling to love their bodies? How can they find an offline community?
CO: First of all, for anyone who can’t come to theCURVYcon, we’ve partnered with Yahoo to live stream the majority of the panels and workshops for free.
Then, I would also say that, for me, my entry into body positivity came from meeting girls in person. So, the next time you’re at a coffee shop and you see a cute plus-size girl, talk to her. Ask her where she got her clothes. Ask her where she’s hanging out on the weekends. I know it sounds weird, and it can feel awkward, but that’s what girls did to me and we became really good friends. It worked in my favor to have women who understood me.
It’s going to take stepping out of your comfort zone in one way or another. If there are people you follow online who happen to live in your city, ask them out for lunch. Make strides in your personal life to get out from behind your phone and behind the computer—because that’s where real life happens.
CGV: I always say my confidence was built by the things that I could do, not what I looked like. Being athletic, being good in school, being an awesome mom, landing that promotion…those are things to have confidence in yourself about. Sometimes the things that you earn are a bit more precious than the things that you didn’t earn. If you take those things and think, “Oh, I’m this awesome person. I’ve accomplished all these things,” it will spread to the other portions of your life.
Portraits: Fumie Hoppe/Dia.com
Event Photos: Lydia Hudgens/Dia.com
