PLUS+: Style Inspiration for Everyone

by Bethany Rutter

Be inspired by 100 of the very best plus-size street style images from fashion influencers and tastemakers from around the world.

Plus-size fashion is daring, experimental, and deeply personal. There's no longer any shame in not fitting the traditional ideals of beauty, as proven by Gabi Gregg, Tess Holliday, Beth Ditto, and thousands of bloggers and models around the world.

The online plus-size fashion community is loud, international, and confident. Millions of #ootd photos are shared every day, showing off amazing style and beautiful people. Plus+ gathers together the very best, and celebrates all shapes, sizes, and aesthetics—a beautiful, sharply designed, glossy collection to inspire everyone, plus-size or otherwise.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Art, Photography

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2018

About the author

Hi! I’m Bethany Rutter. In my day job I am social editor at navabi, a women’s plus size fashion brand. On the side, I am a writer, editor and podcaster, and I still occasionally update my plus size fashion blog.

Reviews

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was so much fun! The forewords alone made me emotional, and it's so nice to see unashamed fat people showing off their bodies and expressing their personalities through their clothing. I'm not huge into fashion--even though I'd like to be--so although I liked reading these women's fashion inspirations, I eventually began skipping their little paragraphs describing their style and just looking at the pictures, which were gorgeous and inspirational enough to speak for themselves.

This is my first time reading or reviewing a book like this, and even though I'm not sure if I would buy it physically for my shelf, I'm definitely grateful that I took the time to peruse it!

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My style is practical, stylish, feminine (at times) but most of all, true to me."
- Chloe Pierre @chloepierre_ldn

PLUS + is a must buy coffee table book.

Are you a plus size woman?

Have you ever been told that you couldn't wear a specific outfit due to your size?

If so, PLUS + is the book for you. With photographs of plenty of plus-sized women wearing whatever they want, this book will easily become your go-to when you need some inspiration in your day.

Each professional photograph is also accompanied by a quote from the model. These quotes range from: "I dress for the celebration I want my life to be" all the way to: "Fuck flattering! No rules. Just Style." The included quotes run the gamut from sassy to demure, and from angry to inspirational.

Finally there is a book that celebrates fashion for regular sized women, rather than for stick people with no curves. Body positivity is the message.

As an added bonus, each photo layout includes the @ tag for each model which allows readers to go online and follow their favorite model even after finishing reading this book.

If, after reading, you do not come away feeling better about your body, and your personal style, then you are missing the point and I suggest you read it again.

I rate PLUS+ as 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I hope to see this book become the go-to Christmas present for all your female friends regardless of their dress size.

***Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.***
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[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book filled with inspiration and beautiful women. What more could you ask for.
Oozing style , confidence , and charisma .
Love this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

This was such a great book! There are two introductions from the women who put the books together and then the rest of the book is pictures of different outfits with the woman's name and twitter account as well as what she has to say about her personal style. As a fat person who really loves fashion this book was right up my alley, and I totally relate to the struggle of trying to find something that is cute, affordable, and fits decently [spoiler alert: finding all three is all but impossible and the main reason why I make half my own clothes].

As is mentioned in the introduction, there are so many more choices than there used to be, but also most of them are online so in my personal experience unless items are really inexpensive or easily returnable you can easily get stuck with a lot of ill-fitting garments. I also liked the wide variety of body shapes and clothing styles that were represented in this book. When you're fat there are so many rules of what you're 'allowed' to wear or what is 'flattering' to your body type or can hide your 'problem areas' but this book features women wearing all kinds of different clothes and not being ashamed of their bodies.

These were two of my favorite quotes from the women featured in the book:



I am totally using the term "Toddler Grandma Style" from now on since I already pretty much always say that I've skipped straight ahead to the old lady portion of my life where I've decided to just stop caring what other people about what I like or wear. Also love the second quote because I feel that it's so unfair that most fat girls aren't called cute unless they put tons of time into their hair / makeup / clothes whereas a skinny girl can just throw on a huge t-shirt and a tiny pair of shorts and suddenly she's the ~most fashionable thing ever~ whereas most fat girls just get called slobs if they do that.

And finally here's a few of my favorite looks:

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard book to classify because it feels more like a motivation book (wear whatever you want!) rather than a fashion book (inspiration of creating fashion styles). That is because the images are, for the most part, collected rather than curated. There’s no attempt to categorize and classify: Fashion forward, retro flavor, the little black dress, day and night, the perfect professional outfit – none of that is here. It’s pretty much a bunch of images of people wearing whatever with little blubs. So while all the more power to them, I don’t know if looking at people throwing on whatever they felt like that day and photographing it really tells the story I wanted to follow.

I think your enjoyment will likely come from just knowing that there are many people who don’t care what others think and just want to wear what they like. Whether it is a stained and ripped t-shirt over sweats or a ruffled pinstripe surplice dress. Each of the photographs comes with the model’s (a lot of bloggers are in here that plus size fans will recognize) idea of her style. It may or may not match the picture and I can’t say that they were very useful. Instead of describing their style, I’d rather they had said why that particular style represents them and why it is their favorite outfit. Something more than the usual “If I had to categorize my style, i would call if classically chic with a touch of glam drama” doublespeak that doesn’t really enhance the viewing experience. I want to know why you picked that skirt and that top, why you wear it a lot, why it best represents you.

There are all sizes covered here – pear to apple, 1x to 5x, which I appreciate. And the writing is always upbeat and positive – motivational. Each page has 1-2 images so you won’t run out of things to enjoy. I won’t say the ‘fashion’ is inspirational or will teach you about how to really showcase a plus size figure. But the words are motivational so you won’t feel you have to be ashamed of being curvy. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my reviews can be found at http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will post on my site on January 29, 2019.
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Plus+ is a collection of plus size models showing their sense of style and confidence in photos and share their own words. You can see the confidence flowing through them and it makes me wish I had more for myself! They wear what they want because they can and who cares what anyone else thinks! The models are a variety of plus size, are different races, and there is even a Muslim woman expressing herself in fashion!

Most of the fashion choices were not ‘for me’ and would not be something I would wear, but that is not what this book is about. The title says it all and it did reach its purpose: Plus+: Style Inspiration for Everyone. Wear what you want because YOU want to whether it be colors or black, short skirts or long skirts, shorts or pants, etc! Be comfortable in your skin, as it is who you are.

Special thanks to the publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing for granting me an e-arc copy via NetGalley!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Reading this made me so happy. I'm not much of a fashion person. My sense of style is . . I honestly have no clue. Whatever fits? But I would like to be more into it. I see pictures of girls wearing cute things and I think to myself, I want to be like that. But so often I find the people I'm looking at to be thin. So this was so refreshing, and so inspiring. As a fat girl it is so hard to find good fashion inspiration, but this book has a ton of it and I found myself following many of the models on Instagram.

The only thing I would say is that the little bios seemed to get kind of repetitive. I found myself skipping them as most of them said something along the same lines. It might of been more interesting to ask the models a question that got more of a varied response, but that might just be my opinion. I definitely don't usually read books like this, but I'm glad that I found this!

[Lisa Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I feel deeply privileged to have received an advanced copy for review. Everyone should own this book and let it help you feel more confident and comfortable in your skin. As a plus sized woman myself, I was really inspired by the eclectic fashions from all the models/bloggers. I appreciate the fact that this book features not only cis women, but trans women and non-binary folx. It’s a great intersectional look at the real bodies of plus size fashion and the endless possibilities of what to wear.
—-

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

[Eve beinguniquebeingme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plus is the perfect body positive coffee table book with many famous influencers from Instagram all introduced in the book which is essentially a social media guide to plus sized fashion.



Complete with their links people like, Grace Victory Kellie Brown, Sarah Anne and more share their experience and love of certain styles through photo and blurb.



It's a beautiful book but I would've liked more styling tips like checklists of ideas or mini stories about styling too maybe.

[Alessya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiration in a book. Loved it!

[Tvishi Mongia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found the book very interesting and inspiring. As a plus size woman it made me feel really good! Looking forward to more of this.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

WOW, just WOW. I loved this book. I just love books about fashion, about seeing people dress in their favourite fashions, but quite often these woman are thin (sometimes even thinner than thin), so I was more than excited to see plus-sized ladies show us all about their fashion. To note, I am not plus-size myself, but I do like more variety in fashion, everyone should just be able to wear what they want and show it off to the world! Thin, curvy, plus-sized, tiny or big, everyone should shine.

This book shows us various girls/woman telling us about their fashion and quite often we see that they were told not to wear a certain thing as they weren’t the right size for it (urgggh, people please). I loved seeing all these strong woman showing us proudly what they like to wear (and boy, I love their clothes), and I can just say that they were all fabulous and inspirational. Very inspirational. Very motivational. <3

Due to the book being an ebook, I had at times a bit of a hard time figuring out whose quote was that at the bottom of the page. Often we have one girl on two pages, but sometimes we have two. I was just going with that the above one was for left, the bottom one was for right. Hopefully that was right. :P

The photography quality was overall pretty high, though there were a few that seemed blurry/out of focus. I loved that the photographer is able to catch the sparkle in each of these girls’ eyes, you could see the confidence radiate out of them. I love it when photographers are able to catch that.

All in all, this was a very inspirational book, definitely having me motivated to just try out those tops I haven’t dared to wear. Now to just wait for the summer to arrive as it is a bit too cold to wear them in November.

Definitely recommended!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[WritingReadingSoul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small, pocket-size, 224-page book filled with beautiful color photos and style testimonials from “plus-size” women is definitely an inspiration for all. Creator Bethany Rutter wanted to include a variety of women who fit into the plus-size framework: “black women; women from the ‘Global South’; transgender women; Muslim women; indigenous women; queer women; women whose first language is not English; and people who don’t identify as women at all.” Also included are their online usernames so that readers can connect with them not just through the visuals. Although some of the styles are not my favorites, all of them display the wearers’ creativity, versatility and power. Each of these women, in a paragraph or less, describes her personal style—no fear factor, all confidence! For example, one style maven said, “Every outfit I wear is defiance to the society that would rather push me down than build me up. I can build my own self up now.” Another proclaimed, “I dress for the celebration I want my life to be.”
The questions I asked myself after enjoying this book: How do I define my personal clothing style? How do I celebrate my body as it helps me move through the world? Am I an individual or a trend follower? All great pause for thought.

[Lauren Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I love the concept of this book. I think it is a very important subject and one that needs to be talked about. I loved reading the forwards. There were a few shots that I absolutely loved, the cover being my favorite. That being said, some of the photographs looked quite amateurish...and some of the fashion choices were definitely not ones that I would ever wear. Some I didn't find flattering in the least. But, that is the beauty of fashion... It is in the eye of the beholder, much like art. I commend these women for being bold in their own skin and loving themselves. That's by far the biggest and most important message in this book, and for that, I find it a success in it's own right.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is FANTASTIC! Each page is a glorious homage to the featured woman's unique style - and all of them have WAY more fashion sense than I can ever hope to have! This book celebrates the idea that you can wear whatever you want regardless of your age or your size - and that we all should throw away all the rules of what we "should" or "shouldn't" wear that have been drilled into us forever.

So whether your fashion tastes run to "Scandinavian Simplicity" or "Toddler Grandma" (definitely MY favorite), this is a quick, easy and fun read. And you may just be inspired to go out and shake up your wardrobe!

[Charlipain · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The power of visibility, of seeing a mirror of ourselves reflected back to us, cannot be underestimated"

My sister and I were discussing the beauty of street fashion photography last week when looking through the "Women In this town" fashion photography book.

But plus size women are on the whole distinctly lacking from most of these types of books.

So when saw this in Foyles bookshop yesterday, I just couldn't leave without it!!

Inspiring and empowering. The plus size fashion bloggers are some of the most fiercest, trail blazers out there.

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love seeing people of all sizes being confident in who they are. I was happy to see a wide variety of people represented in these pages and have quite a few additions to my social media feeds. Along with photos, the reader is treated to a bit from each participant about their personal style. I found this book well put together and a joy to peruse.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this inspiring book in exchange for my honest review.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lovely collection

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then I am reminded of an interview I read with Beth Ditto, back in the dawn of time when newspapers were still newspapers and still made of paper and print. The author wondered, in the way that was clearly his wont, at the fact that Beth Ditto did not smell like he expected a fat person to smell. And this line about Beth Ditto has stuck with me over the years, a splinter in my thoughts as a fat person learning to live my life and learning to live it on my own terms in a world so often determined to live it for me. The line became became less of a splinter as I realised an undeniable truth: the interviewer was a moron, and sentiments like this, wondered with a faux-artless air, were repellent at every level. He is dead now that writer, and I do not miss his work. But sometimes that line is still with me when I wonder if this is it: that to be fat is to be marginalised, to be brought down to the specifics of the fool that studies you as though you are something to be examined, to be found wanting, to be found nearer to Narnia than to a well-fitted peplum.

("You read Vogue? ... You?")

And I thought about the Beth Ditto line again when I received a copy of Plus+ from a Twitter giveaway, and when I read it I realised that this is an important, important book. It is the sort of book that makes the line go away; that makes you realise that you exist, that you are - you are. I loved it. I would have cried were I given it as a child. I almost cried when I read it now, because it is so resplendent and so, so simple. Plus size women being fashionable. Plus size women being beautiful. Plus size women rocking something other than the sad-sack dresses that certain high street stores seem determined to perpetuate upon us! Plus size women being themselves. Gorgeously. Fiercely. Wholly. Such a simple thing, such a rarely rendered thing in mainstream publishing.

Were I running a school library, or indeed managing a public one, I would have a copy of this on the shelves - face out, proud, seen. It is a book that holds a thousand tiny revolutions inside it; we speak so often of getting the right book to the right reader at the right time, and I think if this book reaches somebody at the right time, it will change their world. It tells them that it's okay to be who they are. It tells them not that they can be beautiful - but that they are. Such a quiet thing. Such a simple thing. Such a perfect powerhouse of a book.

[Yvonne (It's All About Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading: November 27th 2018 

"So let this book be a record of how far we've come, filled with people who know we have so much further left to go and are having so much fun getting us there."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Ebury in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***



I know, I know, you are probably as surprised as I am to see this title pop up on my shelf. PLUS+ isn't just a little out of my comfort zone, it's waaaaaay out. But, as someone who has struggled with her weight her whole life, there was just something about this title that drew me in. I was in desperate need of both some body positivity and fashion inspiration, because let's face it: it's not easy at all to find good plus-size clothes out there that are affordable, look good and are comfortable as well. Although I wish PLUS+ would have had more text and more fashion advice handed to us by the different models futured in this collection, the forward was brilliant. The photos themselves are wonderful, showing the world us plus-size girls have the right to wear whatever the heck we want and that we don't have to hide our body. Body positivity to the win! I admire all these beautiful women for not being afraid to show everyone there style and looking fabulous while doing it. And I definitely felt inspired by quite a few photos.

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

[patrycja polczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I have received this book from NetGalley*
It's more of a tabletop book, which you can look at from time to time. The general idea of the book is to show that no matter the size, you should be body positive. The message of the book is to love yourself, love your body and be true to yourself. Being not only plus-size but also PwD can be challenging in a matter of finding clothes that fit, look good and are comfy. Ladies presented in the book are happy with themselves and you can definitely see it. Some of them are stunning, some gorgeous, all are amazing. Author of the book is absolutely right, that buying big sizes is possible almost only in online shops. Highstreet shops barely ever offer big sizes and more exclusive shops don't even bother to sell plus sizes. I agree with all the girls in the book, who say that it took time to accept their bodies and feel comfortable in it. For me, it took some time, too. Now I wear what I want, what I find comfy and what reflects my mood. Sometimes I like to dress up, but most of the time leggins and oversized sweater are my vibes ;)
Thank you for this book, Bethany Rutter!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Style is not measured in the size of your jeans. All women can be inspired." - Kellie Brown @AndIGetDressed

I absolutely loved this book! As someone who loves fashion, this was a book I would grab off the shelve for the display cover alone! Rutter Bethany does a beautiful job with the collection of photos of plus sized women and showing their fantastic styles! As a woman, who has some curves and doesn't fit the skinny model look, I really appreciated that the line above by influencer, Kellie Brown. When my gal pals tell me, oh, I don't think that would make me look good or that doesn't flatter my shape. Like girrrrl, how do you know? I love that no matter the size of your jeans, you can find clothes that speak to you. To your personality. To your body type. Don't let ANYONE ever shame you for your size especially society! This is why I am a 100% supporter of this book! Definitely would recommend!

[Tesha Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. As someone who is personally plus size and constantly dealing with the dilemma of finding clothing that fits my style and my body shape I was very interested in this book. It features a huge range of body shapes and plus size figures, a massive amount of styles from all walks of life, and a way to continue following the styles you resonate with. Each beautifully clear photo is paired with a name, description of style, and a social media handle allowing anyone who picks up this book to follow the people they share style and interests with. This book promotes a positive feeling about your size and shape in a unique way.

I received a free ARC through NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plus+ is a coffee table book exploring plus size fashion.

Popping with pictures of regular plus size women wearing what they enjoy, Plus+ shouldn’t be unusual. After all per the National Institute of Health, 2 out of 3 women are overweight or obese. However, I have never seen another book like it. How many large women have you seen in Vogue? Not many.

Plus+ is the perfect gift for curvy girls looking for new wardrobe ideas. There are a multitude of styles shown. I do wish there were longer bios of the models. 4 stars!

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diversity! Inspirational! Light nice read that I am likely to pick up again and again.

This was bought for me as a present from my sister when I was feeling low about how I looked and to say this cheered me up, motivated and inspired me is an understatement. As someone who is taking photography at university and did fashion in school I think this book is a decent representation of online "influencers" obviously not all photos are "amazing" in this book but thats due to the point being about the person in the pictures rather than the pictures themselves. ALL I CAN SAY IS LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

More, please! This book provides a wide variety of fabulous folks to follow, much of the styles leaned toward femininity. While this is wonderful if you identify as feminine/ femme/ womanly, but (for me) not as helpful for those of us who also want to also outwardly express our gender neutrality.

Please consider a follow-up book of gender neutral folks and fashion! (Maybe even petite and curvy fashion, if possible.)

[Aja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our society needs this book more than a wide variety of the fashion books available. These women need to be seen and celebrated and their stories told. I found a ton of new people to follow and it gave me a lot of joy. And I saw some of my friends featured which also gave me joy. This book is a must read.

[Duda Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really like this book. It showed fat people as people, for once. As a fat woman, I understand it is no easy for us to find clothes. It amused me how confident and happy those girls were in pictures.
The only thing I missed in this book was some more text.

[Allie Paarsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated this book. It gave me many new and wonderful ladies to follow on Insta and a better perspective on my fashion outlook. I do wish it had addressed the process these wonderfully confident people took to become the glorious flowers they are today.

[Gennifer Eccles · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a plus size woman, it is so empowering and validating to see a fashion book filled with women who look like me. In an industry so obsessed with size, it was great to see women outside of the norms. The only issue is that some of the pictures lacked sharp focus or the colors were over-saturated. Nevertheless, I loved the arrange of styles, and the foreword and introduction were wonderful.