Let’s just admit it: if we weren’t born with a little extra meat on our bones, someone in our gene pool was.  Whether mom has a large bust or Auntie Kathy has wider hips than many, we all know that women—of color especially—come in all shapes and sizes. So why be ashamed if we’re not spitting images of the size two archetypes that prance across our TV screens and grace the pages of our favorite magazines?

In addition to serving as models for what different body builds, the leading ladies of our lives raised us with manners so it’s only right that we give kudos to Hollywood’s curvy girls who have taken a stance to rep their full figures. Amber Riley recently tweeted “I don’t starve myself to fit clothes; I buy clothes to fit ME not vice versa,” and it has been duly noted that Riley does a great job at choosing outfits that flatter her figure without hiding it.

Fit girl, Serena Williams is known for having a little extra junk in the trunk and instead of trying to mask it with loose-fitting clothes, she has learned to embrace it reminding us that she’s no stick figure and that no matter how hard you work out, there are just some things you have to own.

Gone are the days when voluptuous starlets hid behind black garbs and shied away from bold colors, fitted silhouettes, sequins and busy prints. Let’s give a round of applause to the following ladies who are teaching us how to make fashion work with what we got—no matter how much of it we got! 

—Lyndsay Luff