Hello there, Gentle Readers!

This is a Brog (see below if that word doesn’t mean anything to you yet) of uncommon complication in some ways, so I thought I would give a little guide to new readers to help them get their bearings.  Below you will find a few of my favorite entries to whet your appetite, links to all of the social media channels associated with the brog (a lot of links/photos/errata that don’t end up making it into full posts end up there, so think of them as ways to get bonus content!), and a wee lexicon guide to all of the terms and acronyms that are peppered throughout the brog’s entries.  Something else you think would be good to have here?  Drop me a line!  All questions, comments, etc. should be sent to missshapen@weirdlyshaped.com, please.  You can also check out the brog’s About page for the formal stuff like my comment policy, general brog premise, and advertisement and review policies.

Helpful Links for Perusing and Such

Opinioney Things:

• Anti-Fitspo Memes – this is my most popular brog entry of all time! I took some Fitspo memes that I thought had negative (and sometimes dangerous) messages and made some alternatives to them.  They’re not exhaustive by any means, but I think they have some good things to say, and I’m flattered to report that The Huffington Post seems to agree!
• The Modesty Panel: On Looking Away – this is the most personal brog entry I’ve written, and it’s a pretty lengthy one, too.  It discusses how I feel about modesty and the policing of people’s bodies through the control of their clothing choices.
• The Bravengers Assemble – This post is about the topic of bodysnark in general, and more specifically in the world of bra fitting.  Quick reminder, in case you haven’t read The About Page – bodysnark and shaming of any kind are not allowed in the brog!
• Victoria’s Secret: Crappy Fitting Techniques– on why you should not let VS determine your size, with quite the stack of hilarious pictures of what might happen if you do.

Favorite Reviews:

• Urkye’s Kieska dress – my favorite dress for everyday wear, and also my first review ever!  Not as complicated or themed as later reviews, but I thought I should include it because I love Urkye’s clothing and it is where all this got started.
• DD Atelier’s Amazonia dress, done as a modern fairytale about an Evil CEO
• BiuBiu’s Messina dress – love the vibrant pictures for this one
• Collectif Dolores Wiggle – a retro look with a review in letter form
• Pinup Girl Clothing’s Doris Top – one of my most fun shoots, running around downtown Las Vegas
• Urkye’s Twister Top – my first review with photos taken entirely on an iPhone.  Was surprisingly pleased with how it turned out.
• Not really a review, but close enough: On Ruching, Little Black Dresses, and One’s Inner Mae West.  I just really, really like some of the photos in that one.

Social Media Goodness

• Tumblr (I tend to call it The Tumbrog over there)
• Twitter (probably used the least – sorry Twitter fans!) – @weirdlyshaped
• Facebook (The Facebrog – FB is terrible about showing posts in people’s feeds, so if you want to keep up with me there, please try to “like” or otherwise engage with the posts when you are inclined to do so, as that will make it more likely that FB will show you future posts.  Annoying, I know.  Don’t get me started.)
• Instagram (Instabrog? Jury’s still out on this one.  I joined IG later than the other social media thingamajigs and therefore don’t have as much of a backlog, but have been trying to be pretty consistent since then!) – @weirdlyshaped

The Lexicon

I get a lot of questions about the terminology I use in my entries here, so I thought I would make a handy-dandy guide for those who are new to the brog and have no idea what I am on about with all these silly words.  Here you go!

• Brog: a portmanteau of bra and blog, as in “This is a brog, so if lingerie pictures are going to offend you, a regular blog might be more your speed.”
• Boobloaf: The phenomenon found primarily among busty women wherein a garment with a high neckline that is tight on the bust and relatively non-stretchy squishes the boobs into a vaguely loaf-like shape, leaving very little (if any) definition between the breasts.  Example picture forthcoming.
• BOUS: Breasts of Unusual Size.  Please see The Princess Bride for the reference.  I generally use it to mean boobs that are large enough to make buying clothing off the rack problematic.
• ButtChest: The phenomenon in which the boobs are smashed together by a too-small garment, causing the cleavage to become more or less a vertical line, which, combined with the squished boobs, forms a look much akin to a posterior.
• GOMB: an acronym for Get On My Boobs/Body.  Context dependent.  More commonly used on The Brog’s social media sites (see above for links).

I’m pretty sure there are more of these, so I will add them as I use them or remember them.  If you come across one that I haven’t listed here yet, please let me know so that I can include it!

 

In Conclusion…

Since the dawn of time, man has yearned for ways to express the uniqueness of self, and….

Kidding.

It’s just a blog.  Or a brog, if you will.  My Brog.  I’m glad you’re here, and it is my sincere hope that you get something good from it, be it information on fitting, the courage to order a dress from another country with at least some idea of sizing, some encouragement to love your body just as it is, or just some fun and entertainment.  If there’s anything I can do for you, please drop me a line.  Have a lovely day, Gentle Reader.