Big Bum Fashion Fan: Bea Sweet

Who are you?

My name is Bea Sweet and I work as a Makeup Artist in the fashion industry in London.

What sort of things do you like to wear?

I like to wear all things tight and shiny, huge prints, fussy clothing, diva dresses, painful heels, oversized T-shirts, massive gold hoop earrings, headscarves and hairpieces. I like to mix high-end pieces with vintage and things from Evans.

Whose style do you admire?

I admire women like Diane Pernet and Mrs Jones, because they both have their fingers on the fashion pulse but do it their own way, retaining their femininity and class. I believe that is the key to being a woman with admirable style.

Give us some fat fashion advice!

• If you see something in a plus size that you like and dither about whether or not to buy it, just buy it. Because it’s really hard to find nice signature pieces in clothing sizing to fit big girls, so when you find a good item make sure you get it and leave no space for regrets.
• Don’t be afraid to wear something you wouldn’t usually wear, don’t stick to what you know, embrace leggings, wear colour, wear black, layer, accessorise, customise, surprise yourself.
• Nothing is off limits to you: no item of clothing is something that "you shouldn’t wear because you are big." Don’t think you can’t wear something because you are fat, because the truth is that you can wear it and you will absolutely rock it. So do it.
• Remember this quote by Aimee Mullins, "Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. It's much sexier than any body part." It applies to being a fat girl too, if you are confident with what you have and really own it you will be surprised with the reaction you get from other people. Nine times out of ten people will tell me how wonderful I look (and the other one isn’t even worth mentioning because I realise that what they say is a reflection of them, not me). So hold your head up and turn what has always been a negative for you into a positive.

What would be your dream find at the Big Bum Jumble?

A vintage prom dress in a UK Size 28 with so many beads on it that I could hardly carry it.

What else would you like to say?

I am hugely excited for the Big Bum Jumble, fat girls are hot girls!

Perhaps you’d like to visit my blog, beasweet.blogspot.com, and see more of what I do, or look at my website, beasweet.com (which is unfortunately currently under re-construction but you can still bookmark it).

The photo of Bea is by Scott Nunn.

PS Wanna be featured here? Of course you do! Drop us a line: bigbumjumble@gmail.com