“Life is too short for bad sex and ugly underwear,” she says with a candor that could cause some people to blush, but is fueled by purpose.
She is not a slender size 8 or model size 2, but a size 20/22 on top and 22/24 on the bottom, and not only fine with it, but feels sexy, too. In hopes of helping others to overcome fat-shaming societal mores and see themselves as soigne, in 2012 she founded Curvy Girl, an intimate apparel boutique for plus-size women, in San Jose.
“I would go to lingerie stores and feel so bad because the pieces were so small,” she says. “When I shopped online, I would return seven of 10 pieces because the sizes were inconsistent.”
It was frustrating. “I knew I couldn’t be the only fat girl wanting sexy clothes,” she says.
Bougon, who worked in high tech from 1987 until she was laid off in 2002, laid the foundation for Curvy Girl with an online romance company she founded after her workplace downsizing. With Bliss Connections, she sold adult toys and accessories for date nights — and peddled her wares at trunk shows that she euphemistically called Pleasure Parties. During 1,250 parties during the next decade, she met hundreds of women, including plus-size women who came up to her and asked where they could buy clothing like hers, and plus-size lingerie, too.
She might have continued the parties indefinitely, but one day, while flipping through a trade magazine, she developed a new idea. The magazine featured a line of fetish wear designed for plus-size women, and instead of a skinny model advertising the garments, there was a picture of a plus-size model wearing the clothes.
“That blew my mind,” Bougon recalls. “I thought, ‘If a billion-dollar company makes a line for women up to size 4X and puts that image on the packaging of the box, the world is ready for this.’”
She opened the doors to her boutique in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose in October 2012, gaining a loyal following from her plus-size Pleasure Party friends. Clothing ranges in size from 12-28 and in price from $55 to $110 per outfit, with more than 100 styles to choose from (including corsets, chemises, baby dolls, sheer net dresses, and robes). Bougon sells shoes and other boudoir accessories, too.
The shop gained international attention in November (and became a destination for curvaceous women from Singapore, Australia and even Mexico) after Bougon posted pictures of her clients in lingerie on the store’s Facebook page, and an Internet flap ensued. A Sacramento fitness entrepreneur, “Fit Mom” Maria Kang, wrote a blog accusing Bougon of glorifying obesity. The pair were invited to offer dueling views on TV’s CNN, “Omg! Insider” (now named “Insider”), “Today” and “Good Morning America.” There, Bougon cited studies and research showing that body mass index is not a predictor of longevity and that fat people with certain diseases often outlive thinner people with the same disease.
“I kept saying, ‘There’s a war on women’s bodies, whether you’re a size 0 or a size 28,’” Bougon said. “If you think fat girls have low esteem, realize there are girls who are 0 who have low esteem, too. You can’t be small enough or fit enough for the media.”
Kang and Bougon met at Bougon’s shop and agreed to a truce.
“Your health is your business, but if you want to feel sexy, that’s my business,” Bougon said. “What she’s doing is awesome, and what I’m doing is beautiful, too.”
Carolyne Zinko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: czinko@sfchronicle.com
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 13: (L to R) Models Doutzen Kroes, Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel walk the runway at the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory on November 13, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Kane/FilmMagic)Alessandra Ambrosio earned $5.41m
For the first time ever London is hosting Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2014 and tickets are now for sale for the exorbitantly price of almost €12,500 per seat.
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The event planning company, Cornucopia Events, is organising the most anticipated lingerie show of the year and is listing tickets for 2 December with prices starting from €12,400 for a seat, up to €15,017 to join the after party. The company, which has global exclusivity on the tickets, guarantees guests will meet the Angels and stars after the show.
Adriana Lima: $8.66m
The catwalk extravaganza costs millions to produce and features the world’s top supermodels with the most sought-after bodies, as well as some of the biggest names in the music industry.
It’s the moment that the world sees Angels Candice Swanepoel, Karlie Kloss, Adriana Lima, Lily Aldridge, Linsday Ellingson, Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes and Behati Prinslo in spectacular lingerie and extravagant sexy customs. British models Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn made an appearance on last year’s show, and are rumoured to be back at this year at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has become regarded as one of the world’s most glamorous and vibrant events in the fashion industry. The planning company described it as “an immensely exclusive event” while a source close to the event told The Telegraph that tickets are so pricey “to keep out the riff raff, essentially”. “They only want high net worth individuals because along with that normally comes a lot of class and manners.”
Previous shows have seen the musical acts from Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Akon, Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Seal, Justin Timberlake, The Spice Girls, Ricky Martin, Sting, will.i.am, Mary J. Blige and Destiny’s Child.
In addition, the show usually counts with star-studded guests of the likes of s Jay-Z, Beyonce, Orlando Bloom, Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, Kings of Leon, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Sting, Josh Lucas, Alex Rodriguez, Martha Stewart, Eva Longoria, Ryan Seacrest and Lenny Kravitz, just to name a few. Although the show usually is invite-only, it seems that anyone could attend this year, but only if they can afford the big sum – this is not your average event.
Last year the show reportedly cost $12m (€97m) to produce and saw models wearing spectacular underwear pieces in satin, silk, lace and sheer embezzled with diamonds and Swarovski crystals. Angel Candice Swanepoel wore a $10m bra with matching belt, the most expensive piece to be presented since 2005, made of 18-carat gold, diamonds, rubies, yellow sapphires and a 52-carat-ruby. Fellow Angel Lindsay Ellingson wore the first ever 3D printed costume.
Model Lindsay Ellingson walks on stage during the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory in New York
The spectacle is usually strictly embargoed until the date it’s broadcast to millions of viewers across the world.
Victoria’s Secret Angel Miranda Kerr
The exclusive lingerie event has mostly been held in New York since its birth in 1995 and has featured Angels that have become spokesmodels of the label and even household names, such as the world’s highest paid model, Brazilian bombshell Giselle Bundchen.
