Bill Savage's Jumble Facts #2

Bill has been running loose amongst the jumble donations and has unearthed some incredible fashion history* to share here for your delectation.

This fine piece of fuschia headgear was donated to the Big Bum Jumble by a retired MI5 agent. While the hat looks exactly like the kind of thing a teary-eyed mother would wear to an offspring’s wedding, it is in fact an incredibly advanced piece of spyware, and has, over the course of the last decade, averted several national security disasters. The hat’s genius lies in the netting which acts to disguise the true identity of the wearer, much like Clark Kent’s geeky specs. It also functions as a radio-wave scanner that intercepts enemy communications on almost any frequency. The elastic chin strap doubles as a garotte for use in emergencies while the head band is lead-lined to prevent penetration of x-rays. The flower decoration houses an advanced GPS system and homing device which can be activated should the wearer be stranded in hostile territory.

The hat has been fully decommissioned and would fit pretty much any sized head.

By Bill Savage

* Some of these facts might need to be corroborated.

Big Bum Fashion Fan: Diana

Who are you?

I'm Diana, a 28-year old photographer from London. I'll be the person with a camera in front of my face at Big Bum Jumble. (Pssst: have a look at Diana's beautiful work on fashionlovesphotos.com)

What sort of things do you like to wear?

My style is somewhere between grungy and glam - as if someone squished Daria and Bettie together. Cute dresses, red lipstick, big boots, vintage bags. I am a sucker for cocktail, prom and sundresses, anything with floral prints and polka dots. I am also completely obsessed with make-up and accessories; giant flowers to detract from messy hair, bright perspex necklaces, retina-scorching eyeshadows. Basically if it's bright, chunky or plastic, chances are I will fall hopelessly in love with it. I've said it before but in my head, I am still essentially a 17-year old with chipped nail varnish jumping around to Hole. Especially when in a photography studio.

Whose style do you admire?

There are so many people out there who have such an incredible look. One of the advantages to living in London is that a bus journey can give you as much inspiration as a catwalk, as the people with the best style are those around you doing their own thing. Bettie Paige, Sophie Dahl, Shirley Manson and Dita are also other ladies who seem to pull it together every time. I can still remember sitting with a copy of the NME at college trying to dissect Manson's eye make-up so that I could recreate it!

Give us some fat fashion advice!

Dress for yourself and have fun with it! The biggest reason why an outfit will fail has nothing to do with the size of your bum, but whether or not you have the confidence to pull it off. Fashion is about having a giggle, and everyday should be treated like you're getting ready to walk the runway with your friends in tow. It's also so important to dress for your shape, and to not hide beneath a sheath of baggy fabric. Waist cinching belts are amazing, and if you're feeling like you need a little support, a corset and a good bra are always there to provide a little help.

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

I will be the happiest girl in the world if I can come away with a few lovely dresses. Tea dresses, cocktail dresses, prom dresses, anything that I can stuff lots of petticoats underneath and twirl around in before stumbling over my boots. Cute screen-printed tees would be brilliant as well. They're always handy to wear in the studio. Anything with dinosaurs and robots. I am a bit of a geek.

What else would you like to say?

If you're shy about having your photos taken, but would love to have some done, get in touch! You don't have to be a model to have beautiful pictures. After all, you'll be wanting to show off all the bargains that you find at Big Bum Jumble!

Would you like to be featured here as a Big Bum Fashion Fan? All you have to do is drop us a line: bigbumjumble@gmail.com

Look What Came In: An Amazingly Gorgeous Jacket

Two caveats: a) This gorgeous jacket arrived in a special consignment from Oakland, California, and thus looks a little rumpled in this picture, although a quick air will sort those out soon enough. b)The Big Bum Jumble house model may not be the target wearer of this item either, it's pretty femmey.

Now here's the juice: it's one of two similar jackets, the label says Size 28 and it would fit that size snugly. It's really high quality stuff, lovely fabric and smothered with nice detailing. This jacket would make the right person look as though they were on fire. It's totally smart and would seal any deal any day.

Who's gonna get it?

Thanks Oakland donor!

The Big Bum Jumble Countdown Begins

With ten days to go, it's been a frenzy of activity over at Jumble Towers and it's going to get busier as the day approaches. To give you some idea of what's going on, here's a state of the nation talk with Big Bum chief Kay Hyatt.

How's the Jumble going?

It's going well. I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff I still have to do but I also feel confident that it's all going to happen.

What's going on at the moment?

We just had the Sorting Party where people came round to my house and helped sort stuff into sizes. We also used that time to do the final pick for things for the fashion show and identified top quality items for the Special Rail. Through the collective brain power of the sorting volunteers, we came up with an exciting pricing policy: basically, almost everything is going to be £1. Can you believe it? I am really happy about that.

Yay! What things do you need help with right now?

I'm still busily collecting donations from far and wide. I have a lovely volunteer driving up to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to collect a large donation of clothes. Even though we are doing well on the donations front, I can still use more. If you can arrange a collection in your area and bring it on the day, or contact me to come and get it, that can still happen.

I still need people to be publicising the Jumble wherever they can. I have been handing out flyers in Stratford to shoppers and I'd like to do this again this weekend but I don't have time. This is because I am going to Southend to collect some secret jumble merchandise. I would love it if some people would volunteer to take my place flyering in Stratford on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, and anywhere else they cared to go.

On Saturday night I am going to flyer outside Big Girls Paradise, which is a BBW club. I'd love some company for that too.

Another job for now is that I need help drawing up an official budget for the Jumble. I have applied for a grant towards the room hire from Newham council and they might give it to me but have asked for a detailed breakdown of my costs and anticipated income. Do you have Excel spreadsheet skills? Please get in touch.

What about on the day?

I need people to help set up at 10am and take down at 5pm. I need people to work the door and look out for people trying to nick stuff. I'm also keen to have volunteer 'shopper encouragers' who can pull stuff out of the jumble and encourage others to try things on. Get in touch if you can help.

Do you need to borrow any equipment?

Yes! I could really do with a full length mirror or two. Ideally the type that can stand alone, rather than the type we'd have to prop against the wall. I'm also still trying to work out how to set up a changing area in the room so people can try stuff on. One way to do this would be with folding screens, so if you have one of those, I would be very interested. I promise to look after and return anything you lend me.

What's with the pricing?

We will have a Special Rail, with top quality and vintage things individually priced between £3-£15. There will also be a Denim Bar, where jeans will cost £4. Everything else in the whole Jumble will cost £1. This way you could get a whole new outfit for £3.

What's the fashion show going to be like?

John William from Pigeons & Peacocks is our stylist and the super-talented Bea Sweet is doing the make up. John's just getting on with it, I've seen some of the clothes he has chosen and it is going to be fantastic. John is also customising some of the clothes for the fashion show and all the outfits will be for sale on the Special Rail afterwards.

What stalls are going to be there?

So far, two people have approached me to have their own stalls at the Jumble, Jade and Rae. They will both be selling their good quality clothes at reasonable prices. It's a big room so there is room for more people to rent space if they want. Just drop me a line.

Also, Mark from bigclobber.co.uk will be there with a menswear stall and some info about his shop and online business. Mark is really great and has a real passion for meeting the clothing needs of big fat guys.

We'll also be selling badges and taking orders for other Big Bum jumble merchandise.

What sort of refreshments will be available?

I'm not selling any refreshments in the Jumble room but Stratford Circus has a lovely café called Circus Eats that will be open all day. Also, you are free to come and go from the Jumble, there are plenty of places to get food in Stratford. I recommend the Caribbean cafe in the Theatre Royal bar.

What's been the best thing so far?

I think the best thing for me has been the positive comments that I've had from people. It's great to be encouraged by you all. Also, the generosity of people who are giving the Jumble their time and their stuff is really fantastic.

What are you going to wear on the 14th?

Wait and see!

What else do you want to say?

Thanks everyone for all your help and support so far. Keep it up! Come to the Jumble and make it amazing. Love love love!

Look What Came In: Shell Toes

If you know and care about trainers and have small feet, you will be excited to see this donation. Unfortunately I know nothing about trainers and have gigantic feet but will blunder on regardless in trying to talk these muthas up.

Ok, they're a size 5 Adidas Paris shoe with a fleur-de-lys design and rockin' colours. They're shell toes too, not to be confused with camel toes. They're in good nick and would look great on the end of your legs. They do not smell, which might be a disappointment to some people (remind me to tell you the story of how I once sold some smelly old trainers to a trainer fetishist on eBay).

Who will get 'em on 14 Aug? Amazingly, I still care.

Jumbotron

You'll have come to know by now that a commitment to high quality photojournalism is largely absent from the Big Bum Jumble blog, and that I'm perfectly happy if I can bodge something together crappily and make a stupid story out of it.

Hence I bring you: BBJ's debut on The Stratford Circus Jumbotron.

Point one: it's not actually a Jumbotron, it's much smaller, I just like that word and want to use it as much as possible. Jumbotron, Jumbotron, Jumbotron etc.

Point two: I took the picture on my phone. Clearly my phone can't cope with taking a picture of another screen, which is why these pictures have intrusive lines over the screen. Sorry.

Point three: Everything's a bit blurry and wrong because I had to sit through the whole cycle of current announcements on the Stratford Circus not-Jumbotron, which was quite boring, and I got freaked out when the BBJ screens appeared, and fumbled with my phone, and didn't quite do any of it in time. Then I couldn't be bothered to sit through the cycle of announcements again to wait for our screens.

This has all been quite pointless, yet I remain strangely excited that the Jumble is up on the Jumbotron.

Next...watching paint dry.

Look What Came In: Big Bum Jeans

Whilst few would describe the Big Bum Jumble chief and house model Kay as willowy slim, she nevertheless lacks the junk in her trunk to do these jeans justice. Never mind. They will look spectacular on someone who has the requisite chunk to fill 'em up.

They're a size 6XL, they're comfy, worn, and well-loved.

Who will walk away with these beauties on 14 August? Who? Who?

Thanks mystery donor.

The Sorting Party

The Big Bum Jumble got a step nearer at the weekend with the grand sorting party. This was where some lovely Jumblers went through the donations bags and sorted them into size and type. This will make Jumbling easier for people when they come on 14 August. Items were also priced up and paraded around the garden. Yes, important work was carried out.

Look! Look! Lauren of Pocket Rocket Fashion was there too and she posted about it an' all.

We'll tell you about Jumble categories and pricing over the next few days.

We're also still looking for clothes. Here's how to donate.

Meanwhile, here're some pics from the party. Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who came and helped.

Oh dear, piles and piles of clothes

Hurrah, busy bees at work

Part of the denim pile

Bill Savage muscles in on Kay's modelling territory.
Big Bum Jumblers please note that Bill and Kay are not the same person,
even though they are both mannish, specs-wearing chubsters.
Also, neither of them should be mistaken for Ruth and Tamsin of Unskinny Bop.

Order is brought forth from chaos, and everybody retires to the garden for a cup of tea

Guerrilla Marketing: Sublime Juxtaposition

I have no doubt that Cultural Studies professors of the future will write windy academic articles about the sublime juxtaposition of fat/obesity discourse represented by these two posters. Just tell them you saw it here first.

5 ways in which you can help publicise the Big Bum Jumble

There are two weeks to go to the Jumble and we need your help for the final push for publicity.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help.

1. Use the flyers and posters
Download the flyer and poster and print some copies. You can do this on a printer, or you can take one copy to a photocopy place (like a newsagent, a post office, or just sneak some copies off the copier at work) and run some off there. Give flyers to people, or leave a little pile at local places, like cafés, libraries, community centres, pubs, anywhere that people leave flyers. Go to shops and any kind of place you can think of and see if the owners will let you put a poster in the window. Put posters in crazy places, be daring, take pictures and send them to us so that we can stick them on the blog. The first person to put a poster on the railings of Buckingham Palace wins a prize. That is no empty promise.

2. Use your big mouth
Tell your friends. Tell them in person over a cup of tea, call them up and tell them, send them a text about it. Go round to their house and put a note or a flyer through their door, telling them that you bet they'd really enjoy supporting the Jumble. If you have a job, tell your colleagues, even the annoying ones, they will think you are a cool person who does interesting stuff, which of course is true, and your boss will give you a pay rise, ok, maybe not, but you never know. Tell your Facebook friends too, and invite them to join the Big Bum Jumble event page. Use Twitter. Use anything!

3. Take over the media
Tell your local paper and radio station. They will be in the phone book, or you can Google them. Encourage them to have a look at the Big Bum Jumble press release. If you feel brave, present yourself as a Jumbler and invite them to run a story about why you think the Jumble is a great idea. Drop us a line if you need help with this.

4. Link link link
Link to anything you like that has been published here, or that mentions the Big Bum Jumble. Even if it says: "The Big Bum Jumble is a giant waste of time and anyone who likes it is a loser". All publicity is good publicity. You can use the share buttons at the bottom of each post, or Google 'Big Bum Jumble' and see what comes up.

5. Random stupidity
Do something really ill-advised in the name of the Big Bum Jumble. A tattoo, for example, or some kind of performance art. Try not to get arrested.

Thanks!