Disclaimer: I received the dresses reviewed in this post for free from Igigi in exchange for publishing a review and hosting a giveaway.

Last year I reviewed an Igigi dress and a few months later a reader commented to tell me she found the perfect wedding dress there. That made me feel rather good, particularly because I know how hard it can be to find pretty clothes when you’re plus-sized.

Igigi sponsored my friend Wendy‘s annual Weetacon party again this year and gave the larger ladies another opportunity to get a free dress in exchange for a review. Or at least that’s what Wendy told us when we sent in our top three picks a month beforehand. Then she took us out to the parking lot on the first night of Weetacon and pulled out all three dresses we’d each requested from her magical SUV which like a TARDIS must have been bigger on the inside than the outside. There was much squeeing and jumping up and down and the experience was as close to the “Favorite Things” episode of Oprah that I will ever get.

Anyway, you too might get to have a mini-Oprah moment if you enter the giveaway explained at the bottom of this post, but first here’s my review.

First choice: Carmella Lace Dress
Retail: $176

I’ve never owned a wrap dress before, so getting into this thing was a bit like a Westerner trying to put on a kimono. The ribbon goes through a hole in the dress and then you have to wrap it around in a certain way and tie it in the back, which was a bit tricky, but looked great once you figured it out. They say wrap dresses flatter every figure, and I think that’s true. I’m glad to have a little black dress in my wardrobe that I can wear in the evenings, or God forbid, to a funeral. (Nobody die on me, please. I don’t need to wear this dress that much.) I like the lace and the way the fabric flows when I twirl. I love to twirl. Do you love to twirl? It makes me feel like a six-year-old again in the best possible way.

(There is a scene in You’ve Got Mail where young Meg Ryan and her mom twirl in the book shop and it is my favorite scene in that whole movie.)

Second choice: Claire de Lune Dress
Retail: $152

This dress reaches almost to the floor, which makes it the longest dress I’ve ever owned. It made me feel like I was wearing a ball gown and I was dressed up to go somewhere super fancy. It would probably be good in the winter since it covers you up so well. I think it’s designed for a big-chested girl, but because this is also a wrap dress the top parts can be pulled tighter so there isn’t a gaping canyon of fabric falling off your chest. The ties in the back are really long, so be sure you tie a bow with big loops so you’re not dragging them on the floor.

This dress also twirls well.

Third Choice: Isobel Dress in Garnet
Retail: $112. On sale: $89.99

Ok, this is a pretty dress that looks great on the web site, but it did not look good on me. Had I paid attention to the “Shape Stylist” tab on their web site, I would have realized this and requested something else. I am a triangle shape and the site clearly says which shapes this dress flatters, but a triangle is not among them. Igigi knows best! Wiser women than I shall listen to them! So, instead of showing you how I looked in this dress, here’s how Wendy McClure looked because she is totally rocking it:

That said, I love the red color and the fabric is a nice and soft. It’s made from a jersey fabric, so I bet you could wear this all day and be perfectly comfortable. This dress doesn’t twirl well, but it has many other fine features.

Because there were several ladies running around in Igigi dresses, I also got to experience that Damn-it-why-didn’t-I-order-THAT-dress moment. For whatever reason, the Boulangerie Wrap Dress didn’t pop for me on their web site, but looked really great on the ladies who got it. In a perfect world I’d trade the Isobel dress in for that, but I already got several awesome dresses for free, so I will shut the hell up.

The Igigi web site does a good job of photographing their dresses from several angles and letting you see close ups. They’ve also got videos of models walking in the dresses for a few items, which gives you an even better sense of how they look and flow in real life. I used their size chart, but I think I should have requested the next smaller size than I chose. There you go. I’m not as fat as I think I am. It didn’t matter that much on the wrap dresses because you can adjust them. The Isobel dress isn’t a wrap dress, so the looseness in the wrong places was another reason it didn’t look so great on me.

Honestly, I probably would not drop $176 or even $152 on a dress no matter how pretty it is, but I’m kind of a cheapskate (which you know if you’ve read this blog, ever). I usually go to Macy’s and might find something in the $50-$80 range. But Macy’s does not have the fantastic selection Igigi has. I usually end up with only 1 or 2 real choices there, whereas Igigi has dozens of flattering options. Their clothes are really well made too, so if you do ante up for one of their dresses you definitely get what you pay for.

Giveaway! (What you really came here for.)
Igigi is letting me give away a $50 gift certificate to one of my readers. Anyone can enter, but if you live outside the US please be aware of Igigi’s shipping prices to your country. To enter, leave a comment below describing which item on the Igigi site you would wear to Prince Charles William and Kate Middleton’s wedding and why. One winner will be selected randomly. Giveaway ends at 11:59 Eastern time on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Due to misbehavior in the comments, I decided to end the contest early at 11:40am Eastern time on Friday, April 1, 2011. My apologies to everyone who did behave respectfully.

There are also several other opportunities to win a $50 Igigi gift certificate on the other Weetacon attendee’s web sites. Here are the links so far:

• Susan reviews the Tres Chic and Bridgitte Sculpted dresses
• Jessi reviews the Igigi Estrella, Tres Chic and Florentia dresses
• Beth reviews the Audrey, Champs-Elysee, and Cybelle dresses
• Cari reviews the Vicenza Top, Montparnasse Dress, and Masterpiece Top
• Melinda Rae reviews the Tres Chic, Jackie 2-in-1, and Carmella Lace dresses
• Deb reviews the Elianne Top in Purple Magic and the Epiphany Top in Magenta
• Andrea reviews the the Carmella Lace Dress, the Bardot Pencil Skirt, and the Boulangerie Wrap Dress in Richelieu Blue

ETA at 11:00pm: Here are a few more links:

• Suzanna Danna reviews the Ingocnito Pencil Skirt, Tailored Pencil Skirt, and Sachi Printed Wrap Dress in Royal)
• Fredlet reviews the Francesca in black, Boulangerie in Richelieu blue, and Isobel in garnet dresses

ETA on 3/30/11 at 1:30pm: And a few more:

• Wendy McClure reviews the Isobel Dress in Garnet, and the Tres Chic in plum and black and white
• Veronica reviews the Mosaic dress

You can watch the @Weetacon twitter feed for announcements of any more reviews/chances to win. Actually, just visit this page for a complete list of the giveaways.

BTW, if you do buy an Igigi dress, tell them Weetacon sent you! They’ve been a very gracious sponsor, so I’d like for them to know their promotions are actually working.

Disclosure: All prizes listed in this post were provided for free.

Ok, I’m going to stop nattering on about my book for a moment to start nattering on about The Heart Truth® campaign run by SUBWAY and Diet Coke. February is American Heart Month which is kinda important because heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US. A quick Googling pulled up this article from 2007 that says, “Approximately 40% of all women who die are struck by heart disease or stroke. More women die this way than from the total of all cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).”

My grandfather died of a stroke, and most of my aunts and uncles have high blood pressure, so my own heart health is rather important to me. I like this whole “living” thing, even if it occasionally comes with chronic headaches and weight regain. To lower your risk of heart disease you should exercise regularly and eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Which I know is easier said than done. If only celery tasted like cupcakes. *sigh*

Here’s the low-down on what The Heart Truth® campaign is about:

During the month of February every time you visit a SUBWAY restaurant you can trigger a donation from Diet Coke to heart health programs by using your smart phone to “check-in” at the virtual heart flag nearby using Facebook places or FourSquare. Donations will be triggered until we hit our grand total of a $100,000 consumer generated donation to heart health programs. Or, you can visit dietcoke.com/hearttruth to capture “heart flags” and plant them on your blog or Facebook page—these actions can trigger donations* and help spread awareness for heart health!

Subway has also given me a gift pack to give away to a lucky reader. It includes:

• A $50 gift card to cover a one-month gym membership
• A $25 SUBWAY Card
• A pedometer
• The new 2011 Diet Coke pin (which comes in two pieces so you can give half to your friend, just like those old BFF necklaces!)
• A Diet Coke Heart Truth notebook (which I gotta say is rather sleekly designed)

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below telling me who in your life has the biggest heart (metaphorically, not literally, because that’s a medical problem to be taken seriously). A winner will be randomly selected. Only one entry per email address. Only US residents are eligible. Giveaway ends on Monday, February 28 at 11:59pm EST.

My friend Shauna Reid, author of The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, has been writing on her delightful blog of the same name for 10 years now. I have to give her big props for her dedication and work ethic. Ten years is like a century on the Interwebs. Thanks for all the laughter and tears, Shauna!

And as if I couldn’t love her more, she’s giving away two advance release copies of CHOCOLATE & VICODIN to kick off her 10th Birthday Sell Out celebration. Just head over to this post on her site, leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win. Keep checking in every day, too, because Shauna’s giving away a lot of great stuff and entries are open to people outside of the US.

This is the final Commit to Fit giveaway sponsored by Subway, and the one I kept putting off because it meant I’d have to make an actual commitment to fitness. Here’s the official blurb-age:

Have you decided what fitness commitment you’re going to make? Think about what your Commit to Fit Challenge is. It can be anything from running your first 5K to trying out a new class like tai chi or zumba. Let us know what it is and we’ll provide you with the funds (up to $100) to help you meet your challenge!

After reading all your suggestions on this post, I decided to just go with the obvious and try zumba. I enjoyed the TurboKick class I took a few years ago, so hopefully zumba will have the same fun atmosphere. I searched for a class on the official zumba page and found one locally. So, I’ll commit to doing that for 8 weeks and see how it goes. At the least, it’s an opportunity for me to get out of my apartment and be around other human beings, and not hibernate in front of my computer doing freelance work. Particularly now that it’s getting cooler, signing up for an indoor exercise class will hopefully keep me exercising through the winter.

If you’d like to enter for a chance to win up to $100 to put toward your own fitness goal, leave a comment on this entry with your favorite word that contains the letter “z.” (I already made you state your fitness challenges on this post, so I didn’t want to repeat.) You must be a US resident to enter. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Sunday, November 28, 2010. Winner will be drawn randomly.

BTW, the winner of the Laila Ali giveaway was Madeline from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Congrats, Madeline! Please don’t punch me with your prize.

Disclosure: All prizes listed in this post were provided for free.

Jared, the Subway guy, finished the New York Marathon last weekend in five hours, 13 minutes, 28 seconds. I’m trying to remember the last time I spent over five hours doing anything constantly, and the only things I can come up with is sleeping. And most nights little kitty paws or meows wake me up pleading for food before I can get that much continuous sleep. So, big props to Jared!

It’s also time for the second-to-last Commit to Fit giveaway Subway has been running in association with Jared’s goal to run the marathon. This one is about famous athlete inspirations, and I was given the choice of a prize pack associated with one of these athletes:

• Michael Phelps
• Tab Ramos
• Ryan Howard
• Nastia Liukin
• Laila Ali

I’ve got to be honest and admit that I only recognized Michael Phelps and Laila Ali. I was 50% sure Nastia Liukin was a gymnast, so that puts my recognition rate at exactly 50%, which is an F. I’m sure they’re all fine athletes, especially since they’re part of a Subway giveaway and my ass is not. I also have to admit, picking an athlete was sort of exhilarating since I didn’t know what prize would come with each one. (Well, I could make a decent guess, but I don’t think I’d look that great in Michael Phelps’ Speedo.) I felt like I was on Let’s Make a Deal and I was trying to chose between door number one or door number two. I decided on Laila Ali because 1) She was on Dancing with the Stars and 2) She hosted American Gladiators. Yes, I consider both of those things to be pluses.

The prize that came with choosing Laila as my athlete inspiration was a pair of pink Everlast boxing gloves, a $5 Subway card, a Laila Ali sticker/trading card, and a paper lunch bag with her picture on it (which I just now realized I forgot to photograph, but I’m too lazy to re-photograph the whole set, which is probably another reason why I’m not an athlete inspiration). The closest I’ve ever gotten to boxing is when I took a TurboKick aerobics class. Before I got this prize, Ild never put on a pair of boxing gloves. Unexpectedly, it was sort of fun to lace up velcro up and start punching doors and walls. (Don’t tell the landlord.) However, I think any joy I experienced punching inanimate objects would have quickly dissipated if someone actually hit me. (Not the face! Not the face!) I was going to take a photo of me wearing the gloves with my hands up in a guard position, but I do not have the dexterity to program the camera to take my picture while I’m wearing boxing gloves, so you’ll just have to leave that one to your imagination.

If you’d like to enter for a chance to with this prize package, leave a comment on this entry telling me who your athlete inspiration is. It doesn’t have to be anybody on that list. You must be a US resident to enter. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Monday, November 15, 2010. Winner will be drawn randomly. For more information about the Commit to Fit program and for a chance to win up to $26,200, visit the Subway Facebook page. You’d better hurry on that one, though, because their contest ends on the 14th!

In other news, Diane from New Hampshire was the winner of the last giveaway for a $25 Subway gift card. Congrats, Diane!

Disclosure: All prizes listed in this post were provided for free.

I got to chat with Jared last Thursday on a conference call with four other bloggers: Courtney from My Dallas Mommy, Julie from Wii Mommies, Mindi from Moms Need to Know, and Jessica from Fringies…Knitting with One Needle. I also want to apologize to them because I was the moron who kept accidentally hitting buttons with her cheek for the first 10 minutes. As I said, I’m thirty now and can no longer operate technology.

The roundtable nature of the interview created a nice conversational atmosphere, and we got to learn a lot about Jared, his foundation, and his training as he prepares to run the New York City Marathon on November 7. (Good luck, dude!) Jared seems like a nice, down-to-earth guy, who’s still grateful for all the opportunities Subway has given him. Here’s what he had to say on a variety of topics, based on my notes and questions he answered from all the bloggers. (And I admit, I stole most of my questions from your comments on my last Jared entry.):

How do you maintain your healthy eating and training schedule while traveling for Subway gigs?
“It is by far the hardest challenge,” Jared said. When you travel, especially for business, you have to remember you’re not on vacation. You have to make healthy eating a priority. Jared tries to ask about what restaurants he’ll be eating at so he can prepare in advance. He orders sauces and dressings on the side, but the key is to stay “mentally strong.”

You’re very recognizable as the Subway spokesman, but do you ever eat at competitor’s restaurants like McDonalds or Pizza Hut?
Jared laughed and said he doesn’t go to any quick service restaurants because they don’t serve food he wants to be eating. He also said that he’s aware that the Subway spokesman probably shouldn’t be seen at those places. “You don’t want to see me under the golden arches.” However, he wanted us to know he doesn’t eat Subway for every meal. When he eats out, it’s at sit-down restaurants.

How did you become the Subway guy?
Believe it or not, Jared didn’t have a 5-year-plan or 10-year-plan to become the Subway spokesman. He was a business major at Indiana University when a friend wrote an article about his weight loss for the paper. That led to more articles and television interviews until the Subway spokesperson opportunity came up. When he graduated, he had to decide if he wanted to keep pursuing the Subway gig or get “a real job.” He decided to stick with Subway as long as it was still fun and he wanted to do it.

When I trained for a half-marathon, I had to take some days off for injuries. Have you faced any obstacles like that in your training?
Yes, running is completely new to Jared, but he knows you have good days and bad days. The important things is to have the mental will to push through the bad days. He’s fortunate that he hasn’t had any knee problems like I did from damage I did when I was overweight. He’s come to like running, and plans on continuing to run 5-8 mile distances after the marathon. He’s never gotten the runner’s high, but he loves the feeling of accomplishment he gets at the end of a long run.

What has training for the marathon been like?
“Twenty-six miles is a very, very, very long way to go.” Jared has been building up to the distance and has successfully completed several shorter races, including a half-marathon. He says he breaks it up mile by mile. He allows himself 20-30 seconds of walking at each mile. That’s time he uses to drink fluids and mentally recharge. He’s also got a watch with GPS, heart monitor, and pace intervals that he uses to monitor his progress. He’d like to finish the marathon in about 5 hours, but his real goal is to simply complete it no matter what his time.

What advice do you have for other who want to lose weight?
Phase 1 is losing weight. Phase 2 through infinity is keeping the weight off, which is much harder than Phase 1. “Until they create a carrot stick that tastes as good as a mozzarella stick, it will be difficult.” The key is to find exercise that is fun to do and not a chore.

Congrats on your recent marriage! Is your wife a runner? Does she go on training runs with you?
Jared’s wife is not a long-distance runner, but she leads an active life. Sometimes she’ll run a mile with him on a training run and then turn back home. She’s been very understanding of his training schedule. Jared admits, “I’ve seen my trainer this year a lot more than my wife.”

What are some of the best experiences you’ve had as a result of being the Subway guy?
Jared’s gotten to attend the Superbowl for several years, which he loves as a big sports fan. He also enjoys meeting with Little League teams. He got to meet President George W. Bush when he was in office, and Bush told him that at the Texas ranch he’d often ask the secret service guys to run out and get him Subway sandwiches. Jared also got to meet President Obama before he was president, but after the Democratic Convention speech that made him famous. Jared was walking down a hallway and recognized Obama, but wasn’t going to bother him. A few seconds after they’d passed he heard Obama say, “Jared?” They then had a conversation and Obama said he likes how Subway is toasting their subs now.

Can you talk about your foundation?
The Jared Foundation aims to stop childhood obesity. Jared particularly emphasized that he wants to find techniques that actually work, and not just ideas that sound good but have little impact. They’re starting a pilot program in Indianapolis (where Jared lives) in which they’re handing out pedometers to school children and challenging them to reach a certain number of steps.

You’ve been doing this for around 11 years now. What question do you get asked a lot that you’re absolutely sick of answering?
Jared laughed and said one common misperception people have is that he only eats Subway. He wants us to know he does eat other foods. He also feels lucky that people still care, and he hasn’t had to get a “real job” yet.

And where did you get those cool specs?
Jared laughed. “They’re Burberry.”

Thanks to Jared for taking the time to talk to us! As part of the Subway Commit to Fit program, I’m giving away a $25 Subway gift card. To enter, post a comment below listing what your favorite Subway sandwich/cookie/wrap/salad/whatever is. You must be a US resident to enter. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Thursday, November 4, 2010. Winner will be drawn randomly. For more information about the Commit to Fit program and for a chance to win up to $26,200, visit the Subway Facebook page.

Congrats!
Congratulations to Heather from Illinois who won the Subway Commit to Fit Giveaway: iPod Shuffle and $10 iTunes gift card and has accepted her prize. There were lots of great song recommendations in the comments of that entry. I also learned that I’ve greatly underestimated the popularity of Eye of the Tiger, which was second perhaps only to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, which most people seemed more embarrassed to be listening to than 80′s power rock. Ain’t no shame in bluffin’ with your muffin’, y’all!

See ya’ later!
I’ve finalized the plans for a meetup this Thursday Saturday, October 30th before the Rally to Restore Sanity in DC. I emailed everyone who commented on the earlier entry or sent me a message, but here it is again in case you need it.

After consulting people familiar with DC, I decided it was best to have the meetup in Arlington to avoid huge crowds. Someone suggested the Whole Foods at 2700 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201. They have a breakfast bar which serves a variety of items from eggs, bacon, pancakes, coffee and more. They’ve got a seating area (in a loft evidently) which I think will work better than meeting up at a restaurant because we can sit there for a few hours and people can come and go without annoying a waitress or other people waiting for tables.

So, I will be there from approximately 9am-11am until I head down to the rally. The Whole Foods is halfway between the Clarendon and Court House stops of the Metro’s Orange line. We can take the Orange Line down to the Smithsonian stop and walk to the mall.

I’ve created a Google Map with all the locations marked here: http://tinyurl.com/pqdcmeetup I’ll monitor my Twitter @jennettefulda on the day of in case anyone needs to contact me.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

There is no doubt a good playlist can help you keep moving. When I ran a half-marathon, it was only a dance remix of Bryan Adams singing “Run to You” that got me through mile 10. Here are some of the songs I’ve been listening to on my walks recently. Links go to YouTube or iLike, and occasionally feature an anime fan video:

Catie Curtis – You Can Always Be Gone
Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (Not only a catchy song, but a good review of spelling.)
Seasun – Delorean
The Veils – Sit Down by the Fire
Carbon Leaf – The Boxer
Ahmet and Dweezil Zappa – Hit Me Baby One More Time
Glasvegas – Geraldine (Best song about a social worker that I’ve ever heard.)
Shout Out Louds – Tonight I Have to Leave it
Florence + the Machine – Dog Days are Over

This giveaway is open to residents of the United States only. To enter, leave a comment below listing one of your favorite songs to work out to. Contest closes at 11:59pm EST on Sunday, October 24, 2010. Winner will be chosen randomly. For more information about the Commit to Fit program and for a chance to win up to $26,200, visit the Subway Facebook page.

Disclosure: The prizes listed in this post were provided for free.

At least we’re in a decade that actually has a name. It’s the teens, right? Like how we had the nineties and the eighties and the seventies before that? I find it fascinating and sort of scary that when we entered the years 2000-2009—BOOM!—the word to describe the current decade disappeared from our language, and no one made a big deal about it. It was like someone had stolen all the forks in the world and we just made due do with spoons instead. Who knew a type of word could just vanish like that, all because no one knew what to call it? The oughties? The noughties?

Winner of the Commit to Fit Lulu Lemon/Gaiaim
The winner of the Commit to Fit giveaway was Rebecca from Alaska who has claimed her prize. Reading your fitness goals was—dare I say it—inspiring. Good luck to everyone as they work to achieve them! I’ll let you know what mine is as soon as I figure it out.

The Commit to Fit program is based in part on the goal of Jared Fogle aka Jared the Subway Guy to run the New York City Marathon this year. I met Jared in Indianapolis a few months ago, see!

Not only is he tall, he’s maintained a massive weight loss for over 10 years, which is deserving of a round of applause. No, really, please clap for the man. If you’re reading at work, golf claps will do. I also applaud Jared for training for a marathon. I ran a half-marathon a few years ago, and Subway would have to give me much more than a free gym bag to convince me to run a full one. Actually, they’d have to give me lots of money and promise that I could land in a bed of cupcakes at the end.

The idea behind Commit to Fit is for you to set your own fitness goal. You don’t have to run a marathon (thank God). I have been in a bit of a fitness slump the past year, so when I was considering whether to participate in this program or not, I was swayed by the hope that it will be a good motivator to get my own butt in gear. (It has also forced me to learn how to spell “commit.” Two Ms, one T. Take note!) I still haven’t decided on my fitness goal, but it will probably be something like a 5K race or signing up for a class I’ve never taken before, like Zumba. (Suggestions are welcome.)

You have to dress for success, so even though I haven’t decided on my goal, I can start looking cute for it. As part of the “Getting Pumped Up in Style” giveaway, Subway has provided for me a Gaiam gym bag, yoga mat and $50 gift card to Lulu Lemon, a retailer of yoga-inspired athletic apparel. You can win this prize in this giveaway.

To enter, leave a comment on this post either 1) stating your own Commit to Fit challenge or 2) if you have a problem with commitment, you can suggest a challenge for me. Only residents of the US may enter. (Sorry, my foreign friends.) The contest ends at 11:59pm on Sunday, October 10th 2010.

Subway also has a Commit to Fit page on Facebook that explains it in more detail and gives you the opportunity to win more prizes. There will be a few more Commit to Fit posts in the coming weeks, and a few more giveaways, so even if you don’t win the gym bag you’ll have a chance to not win something else later.

Disclosure: The prizes listed in this post were provided for free.