Candice Huffine glides through the elevators of Condé Nast as though she were entering a friend’s apartment building. Her breezy demeanor is tinged with excitement, although not enough caffeine, she says, for a 10 a.m. appointment. She is heading to the Vogue offices for a fitting for an event before the upcoming Met Gala. It’s a pajama party based on the theme of this year’s benefit for the museum’s Costume Institute, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” and a tall order for someone without a personal stylist.
“My biggest fear is looking like Lindsay Lohan in the movie ‘Mean Girls,’ ” she says, half joking. “You know when she goes all out for the Halloween party and everyone else is in cute outfits?”
Soon Huffine is in the trusty hands of market editor Kelly Connor, and within 20 minutes she has settled on a black-and-white pleated Thakoon dress with a chinois red overcoat. No Lohan moments here. It’s an easy outfit but perfectly extravagant for a Vogue fête.
“What, you wouldn’t wear this to bed?” Connor says wryly.
The talk moves on to accessories, the merits of Claire’s jewelry and those fishnet chokers that had a stranglehold on pre-teen girls in the early 1990s. The experience feels more like rummaging through a stylish sibling’s closet than an appointment with the nation’s preeminent fashion publication, although the importance is not lost on Huffine.
At a size 12, she is categorized as a plus-size model. A few years ago, she may not have had the opportunity to work with high-fashion magazines, let alone receive an invitation to borrow clothing for an exclusive insider event. Huffine is at the helm of a new tier of models pushing to expand boundaries for curvy models and to eliminate the label “plus” from the fashion vernacular. That hardly sounds like an unrealistic goal in a country in which the average dress size is a 12 to 14. But for an industry that has been accused of having a dangerous obsession with thinness, it is a mea culpa.
Huffine, 31, had a nontraditional path to the plus-size category and the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Many of her counterparts started out on straight boards (agency rosters of models sizes 0 to 6) then switched to plus boards (above size 10) when puberty set in or the strain of maintaining an unnaturally thin frame became too much.
A D.C. native, Huffine was a self-described social butterfly, competing in beauty pageants in Maryland and the District throughout her childhood and teenage years. She attended Bowie High School after her family moved from Georgetown to the Maryland suburb, and she joined the cheerleading squad. During her sophomore year, an audience member at a pageant said she should visit modeling agencies in New York. She made the trip with her mother, Holley Huffine, a fragrance representative for L’Oreal. The two saw a dozen agencies — and Huffine was rejected by all but the last. That agency suggested she join a new division that represented models larger than a standard size. She was a size 6 but had curves.
2021 Spring Summer CollectionFeb 07 2021
Whether you're hosting a dinner for your significant other or hanging virtually with your friends. Cute Outfits for E...
PRISM² Debuts New Sportswear and SwimwearJul 09 2020
With pieces that double as sportswear and swimwear. London-based label PRISM² has just released its new lookbook feat...
Footwear Brand Yume Yum Unveils Modern TakeMay 29 2020
Inspired by traditional Japanese sandals, footwear label Yume Yume has unveiled its latest selection of styles for Sp...
Plus-Size Models Aren’t a FadFeb 27 2020
It feels like we’re regressing. This thought about the state of plus-size representation at New York Fashion Week th...
Ashley Nell Tipton, Breaking The RulesFeb 24 2020
Ashley Nell Tipton has loved fashion ever since she can remember, growing up her grandmother taught her how to sew a...
It's classy chic or sexy curvy vixenMar 23 2016
Feel like the Queen that you are and treat yourself to a fabulous new look like this sexy V Strap Midi Plus Size Dr...
Spring is in full bloom!Mar 18 2016
Spring is in full bloom! and easter is just around the corner. I know we all have space in our closets after that te...
Always a reason to look cuteJan 09 2016
How do you make your favorite Plus Size Dress into a cool laid back and stylish look?. There are so many great acc...
Plus Size Clothing International ShippingDec 03 2015
PLUSSIZEFIX has been leading the online Plus Size World. With our unique and beautiful clothing collections. Our stor...
Friday Night & Feelin’ GoodNov 06 2015
Rocking and slaying Bree Westbrooks styles her fashion with the perfect outfit to hugging her figure perfectly. Let’...
THE MODEL REDEFINING HIGH FASHIONAug 18 2015
Candice Huffine glides through the elevators of Condé Nast as though she were entering a friend’s apartment building...
Melissa McCarthy speaks up about labelingAug 18 2015
Melissa McCarthy's main issue is with the label “plus size,” and how it feels when women’s clothing is segregated in...
Must Have Celebrity LooksAug 14 2015
Beyonce wearing mirrored Sun Glasses.
This season, mirrored sunnies are ruling the land, with their pretty rainbow...
0 comments