If there is one thing I will take away from Full Figured Fashion Week, it has to be what I learned about our community. As part of The Fashion Front, we were involved in a lot of activities, but The Pulse of the Plus Size Community Panel was my favorite.

The panel consisted of Jill Hutchison of Sonsi, Katheryn Finney The Budget Fashionista, Madeline Figueroa-Jones of Plus Model Magazine, Jennene Biggins the Founder and CEO Voluptuous Woman Company, Leslie Medlik of Redress, and was moderated by Comedian Erica Watson.

We discussed so many things, but really focused on what our issues and needs are as a community, how we should support each other to succeed, price discrimination, availability of fashion, and the fashion industry.

The audience asked so many great questions! I was really honored to be in that room with so many amazing women and men. In fact, you’ve all inspired me so much, that I’ve decided to start a petition asking plus size retailers to use a wider variety of models in their ads. I think it really starts with them.