I’ve been following Abby Hoy, @ThePennyDarling, on Instagram for several years. It’s easy to fall in love with her page and draw inspiration from it. Hoy’s content is positive, joyful, colorful, and loaded with musical theatre humor. Plus, her philosophy of style is absolutely in line with my own… unapologetically wear what makes you happy every single day.
I was so excited to hear that she was publishing a book! As soon at it was available for pre-order, I added it to my cart. Yes, You Can Wear That reads much like a fashion magazine, with short articles on various topics and beautiful color photos splashed on the pages. Honestly, it’s just fun to flip through and look at the pages. Throughout the book, Hoy shares a plethora of fashion tips as well as relationship advice, ideas on how to create content, and fierce body-positivity.
I especially appreciate Hoy’s emphasis on confidence, reminding readers that “fat” is a neutral word that only has power if one allows it. She encourages people to “wear the damn thing.” It’s not “brave” for a person to wear what brings them joy… just do it!
As a person who enjoys dressing festively, I enjoyed Hoy’s take on dressing up for Halloween and Christmas, as well as her advice on wedding fashion. I also appreciated her take on thrifting and hope that I can use some of her tips while shopping this year. Overall, I absolutely loved the book, but struggled with one thing… the writing on some of the colored pages. There is something about the color of the print on the pages that really weirded out my eyes and made a few pages difficult to read. (Old lady eyes?)
I highly recommend Yes, You Can Wear That , especially for teen readers and college age students who are trying to figure out their style POV. (It would make a great gift, paired with a gift card to a favorite store!) This is a delightful and helpful body positive book that belongs on every curvy girl’s bookshelf!
Forty Fat and Fabulous 