Fluffy Grl Summit

Hello lovelies, sorry for the delay in posting but here I am J  So I was invited to join this year’s Fluffy Girl Summit held on Mizzou’s campus as a panelist.  It was flattering that someone thought of me enough so say "hey I think Mimi will be a great candidate".  I drove up the morning of and was already a little worried because it was storming pretty badly and of course, it is hard to get people to attend an event when the weather is crappy.  I wanted everything to go right for this group of young women.  I already met two of the young ladies several months ago and was so excited to see and support them.  I finally get there at 2pm and the show starts at 4pm.  The helper and model in me hurries to the back room to see if the girls need my help.  I know that majority of them do not know me but I know how stressful it can be backstage.  They handled everything quite well and only asked for a little help here and there, but they definitely wanted me to have a seat and relax.

Its 3:30 and the door opens, the guests have a seat and patiently wait for the show to start.  Tyler, the host of the evening was hilarious and a great addition to the event that had the entire audience laughing.  The time has come and the first set of ladies grace the runway.  They separated each part of the show into categories (1) business, (2) evening wear, (3) spring, (4) pop-out season (lol), (5) beachwear, and (6) lingerie.  I loved the confidence in the ladies especially those that were chosen for beachwear and lingerie segments of the fashion show.  It takes a lot of courage to get out on the runway and strut them curves but it is a whole other story when you are showing off them curves for the world to see.  They had fun and that’s all that mattered.  They showed the audience that they love the skin that they are in and probably inspired other young women to do the same.  Like I always say, “You only have one life, so why not love all that makes you, YOU!”  

** Ladies during Evening Wear Segment**

During each break in between the six different categories, Tyler kept us entertained with his jokes and dance moves, he even brought up a young little fella (like 2 years old) that was absolutely adorable.    Mid-way through the event, Tyler explained the images that were displayed on a screen on the wall opposite of the runway.  It was a slideshow of the ladies included in this event wearing swimsuits, under garments, and some nude with the special parts covered.  It was fantastic and loved that the ladies had the power within themselves to take the photos to share with the participants.  They truly are inspirational and a much needed group of women on Mizzou’s campus. 

** Ladies during Lingerie Segment**

At the end of the fabulous runway show, they provided lunch for all the participants, which was super nice and asked everyone to come back into the room and eat and stay for the panel discussion.  There were four panelists and loved that I was a part of this great event.  Kelsey Hammond is a photographer and a business owner, Sylvia Jauregui is the current Residential Coordinator of Center Hall on Mizzou’s campus, Yvonne Chamberlain is the current Director of Leadership, Programming, and Diversity at Stephens College and then there was Me.   We sat on the stage as we were asked questions from Tyler as well as the audience.  It was a great discussion about the plus size community, the locations that we shop, what being a fluffy girl means to us, how we felt about plus size starting at a size 8, and even spoke about dressing for your curves and what is right for your body.  It was nice to be able to share our advice with the crowd and answered some fabulous questions from those in the audience.

**Ladies during Pop-Out Segment**

The ladies over the event took the panelists to dinner a couple of hours after the event was over and it was nice to be able to sit and relax and get to know the ladies a little bit more.  We dined and shared stories and I showed the girls the pictures that I took of them strutting on that runway.  At the end, it was sad knowing that I was not going to see majority of them until next year.  As we were about to leave the table, the ladies presented a gift to the panelists who attended dinner and expressed their appreciation for our participation in the event.  It was a beautiful bracelet that was made by some of the Mizzou students.  It was very touching and so thoughtful.  Overall, the event was great and I am super duper proud of my boo Briona Conway, she represented on that runway and was quite the leader backstage.  It was so nice to see Joniece Cooper again and was great to meet all the ladies of the night!  I am happy and honored that I was able to be a part of such a great and well-needed event.  I cannot wait until next year’s Fluffy Girl Summit!

** Ladies during Beachwear Segment**

**Me and my Boo Briona at Dinner**