It’s Hawaii theme today at Lee Lee’s valise, the new boutique catering exclusively to women wearing size 10-30. When I called Lisa to talk about her new Carroll Gardens based business (that’s in Brooklyn, New York for you out-of-towners), I could hear the ukulele playing in the background. Lisa’s assistant had just run out for lunch and of course I felt compelled to listen to the conversations that Lisa was having with her customers whenever she needed to put me on hold. You call it eavesdropping? I call it investigative bloggerism.

Lisa has a vibrant personality and greets everyone who walks in the door cheerfully and with an offer for personal attention while they shop – no matter what size that person might wear, “after all, I don’t know if they are shopping for their mother, their sister or a friend. A woman came in just the other day; I fit people all day long so I could immediately see that she was smaller than a size 10. She came in to Lee Lee’s to find something for her sister and then she saw something she liked for herself. A few days later I had it here in her size, special order. We are here for the community.”

I asked Lisa if she had ever been given the cold shoulder while she was shopping and if that influenced her open-door policy to all sizes. “Absolutely,” she told me, “many times I have been completely ignored by sales staff while I watched them be attentive to thinner customers. They have a “you’re wasting my time” attitude. I don’t believe it’s an issue with poor customer service because any shopkeeper would want a happy customer; they want to sell you something before you walk out that door. It’s sizeism – I have no doubt.”

Lisa speaks enthusiastically about how much fun shopping should be. “I started this whole thing to be the kind of place where I wanted to shop,” she told me. “You shouldn’t be worried about whether or not something will fit. Some women are afraid to come out of the dressing room because they don’t want anyone to see that something doesn’t fit well but I tell them that they have to let me see so I can help. If you come here, you’ll walk out with an outfit that’s right for your body.”

Lisa is getting a reputation with her customers for her warm shoulder. “Shy people, boisterous people; I can work with everyone. They stop by to say hi on their way home from work. One woman needed a dress for her step-daughters’ wedding, she was getting divorced, she was crying – it was a very emotional time shopping for that dress. Everyone in the shop helped her find an outfit, in fact two outfits, and then she couldn’t find a pair of shoes to match so I gave her a pair off my own feet to wear at the wedding. My customers are family.”

Lisa was a web site designer for many years but she feels that this is much more gratifying. “I feel like this is what I was meant to do. Let’s make you as gorgeous as we can. Let’s dress you. Let’s see your body shape. Maybe an empire waist isn’t good for you. Not everyone is heavy in the same area. Arm issues, some women want to hide their butts. These are the same issues that thin women face every time they go shopping but heavy women are made to feel ashamed. Plus-size women have as much right to feel good about fashion. I say be proud of those curves!”

Lisa thinks that there are a few reasons why women with fuller figures feel more comfortable trying on clothes at Lee Lee’s Valise than elsewhere. “Partly it’s having the attention of a personal shopper, something that many of my customers have never experienced. Also, I made sure that the dressing rooms are larger for larger bodies; they are comfortable with fans and an Italian Tuscan theme.”

“Shopping for a new outfit should be fun not depressing. I want my customers to feel good when they come here and that begins by seeing the clothes in the store window on mannequins in sizes 16/18 and 20/22. That’s the reason why I chose my store name; because it sounds like a boutique. I didn’t want to use words like voluptuous or tons-o-fun because regular, fashionable women shop here. My weight doesn’t have to be announced over the front door.”

Lee Lee’s features some very stylish designers on the racks such as Trentacosta, Jessica Svoboda, B & Lu and the very new and trendy plus-size company out of LA, Fashion Overdose.

Alterations are available and coming soon will be “Jim’s Corner,” so named for her very supportive husband and others like him, which will feature a television, a lounge chair and an espresso machine.

I know that my husband will appreciate Jim’s Corner when we make our way down to Brooklyn so that I can have a Lee Lee’s Valise experience. I can hardly wait. Sounds like fun doesn’t it?


The name Lee Lee's Valise originated from Lisa's childhood. When she was a child she would always spend her Christmas vacation in Long Island with her Aunt Theresa and Uncle Mickey and their children. After celebrating Christmas in Midwood, the whole group would trek into midtown to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. Lisa would always pack her clothes in her grandfather's battered valise and her Uncle Mickey would have to lug it to the city and on the train to Long Island. One year, Uncle Mickey (who worked for the Port Authority) thought it would be a good idea to put the valise in a locker to be picked up after the show but little Lee Lee was devastated. "My valise, my valise….Uncle Mickey they are going to steal my valise and all my new clothes and toys…oh no…..my valise!" Poor Uncle Mickey had to leave the show to get Lee Lee's valise so she could know that her clothes were safe. To this day, her cousins still tease her and ask "Lee Lee…where's your valise?"

Well, now Lisa can tell them that her valise is 368 Court Street at the corner of President Street, in Brooklyn, New York, and is open from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for your shopping pleasure. Lisa can be reached directly at 1-718-246-LEES (5337) and online at Lee Lee's Valise.

I H*te F*t People

A friend at work yesterday sent me a link to a website and honestly I'm not sure if I'm feeling fury or just outright shock. There is a woman who has created not only a website but what she calls a national organization (complete with an emblem that can be posted on your website) for the purpose of ending obesity, seemingly by the means of shaming and hating anyone she decides is too fat to be seen in public.

If the words "fat" and "obesity" were replaced by any ethnic group that came through Ellis Island she would be branded a bigot, a racist, a supremist.

I've read what Meme Roth has to say on her site, "Wedding Gown Challenge" and it looks to me that she has jumped on the hatred bandwagon. In our society it is acceptable to hate people who are fat. This is the last refuge of haters who can no longer publicly hate any other group of people.

Never mind that her comments are fueled by bigotry (this is awful sexist hateful stuff that she is writing) because more than that her method of "helping" fat people (not that any one asked for her help) is to attack the very lives and right to pursue happiness of any person she deems to be too fat. A campaign to eradicate an entire group of human beings is akin to any other "cleansing" program that we have seen in some of the darkest parts of human history.

Ms. Roth believes that BMI should be used to determine if a person should be seen in television and film and that no one who is "obese" should receive any awards or recognition for their accomplishments. To determine a person's entire worth according to their physical appearance is obscene.

I do wonder if this is a publicity stunt of some kind because her website is purely filled with press releases. How she has managed to get herself on national television news programs spouting her virulent hate speak only proves that our country is experiencing a nationwide witch hunt fueled by the scare tactics of marketing hucksters selling pharmaceuticals and dietary "food" products.

Another scare tactic that Ms. Roth uses is to provide a long list of diseases and complications that she claims obese people are likely to suffer from or make worse and I quote from her site: ..."breast cancer, gallstones, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, dementia, infertility—it goes on and on. Not to mention sleep apnea, snoring and psoriasis." Excuse me?!

Ms. Roth's site is not based on science. Read Sandy Szwarc's brilliant and well-researched site, Junk Food Science, for truth about weight and health matters. Ms. Roth's site is based on bigotry and has no basis on health facts.

I have read on some other blogs that people are outraged and are suggesting some kind of protest. It is my opinion that the more noise we make about Ms. Roth, the more free publicity she receives. I believe that she should be ignored just as I ignore David Duke and eventually she will fade away.

I'm hoping to attend Fat Girl Speaks in Portland, Oregon on June 9th. Are any of you interested in coming? I think it is going to be an amazing event. I've submitted my application to be a performer. I've written some funny poetry about being a fat chick and I would be thrilled to read my work at that event. I'm still waiting to hear from them but I'll let you know as soon as I do.

I'm not just interested in attending a fun, cool weekend event where outspoken and creative women get together to celebrate their curves...although that does sound great doesn't it? Another reason why I want to go is that I love the Pacific Northwest. I've enjoyed being in Vancouver, Canada and also Bellingham, Washington and I have actually cried at the airport at the end of my trip. I wanted to go home to New York but I felt so sad about leaving that area. I feel completely at home there. The people are relaxed and groovy and the weather is perfect. I really like that rainy climate. And the air! It's so clean - I found out how good it feels to breathe. Heaven.

The thing that impressed me the most about the Pacific Northwest is that the people are really groovy and easy to talk with. They also have a different set of criteria (from New York City and Los Angeles) when relating to each other...especially about body types. I saw women of all body types wearing sexy clothes, wearing exercise clothes, wearing business clothes and they all seemed more relaxed to my eyes. I didn't hear my friends who live in that area complain about the size of their thighs or wonder if anyone would ever love them unless they lost a few pounds and the men were happy to be with a happy woman. They weren't just looking for a chick with buns of steel. Maybe it's all that clean air that's responsible for all that clean thinking?

My husband and I have discussed moving to that area and maybe we will in a few years. For now...I am really happy to have another Pacific Northwest trip in my near future. Let me know if you are planning on being at Fat Girl Speaks. I hope to meet some of you!