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Dua Lipa is a certified cool girl across the board. If she isn't giving us something to glide across the dancefloor, she's serving up looks. I've followed her diligently since she gave me my "New Rules" to live by — for the record, I haven't picked up the phone since 2017 — that's why she was on my list for CTRL+C.
Dua Lipa's style has always intrigued me, mainly because she consistently looks great. She is known for being what the fashion girls call a full-look baby. Some might see this as a bad thing, but as someone prone to buying the replica of looks I find online and then figuring out how to mix and match them into my closet later, I was ready to give Dua Lipa my best try. To recreate the Dula Peep essence (Thank you for the memes, Wendy Williams), I spent several weeks of this process stuck in no man's land, also known as Google. Since Lipa tends to wear many outfits directly off the runway, finding replicas was tough in general, and on top of that, finding anything remotely similar in my size was demoralizing. I laid out seven looks for this edition of CTRL+C. Very ambitious, yes, I know, but there were just so many Dua 'fits that I wanted to try out, and I couldn't dwindle it down. As you'll see once you scroll down, there are actually only five looks in this CTRL+C installment, and that is because two looks were not even able to be attempted. There was nothing, zero, nil, nada on the plus-size side of the World Wide Web that would even come close to resembling them, which was quite frustrating, mostly because I thought I'd look good in all of them. (Sorry, pals, we missed out!) But alas, fat bodies aren't granted the same freedoms when it comes to fashion.
Frustrations aside, let's dive deeper into today's subject matter. Now, while there is no denying that Dua Lipa is a fashion girlie, her style doesn't feel as intrinsic to her identity as Bella Hadid's, for example. The 28-year-old pop star's looks feel very deeply connected to her public image: cool, clean, sexy, and fun — all things I relate to, which, again, are reasons why she was selected. You don't hear much from Lipa unless she's releasing music or supporting a cause, which is how it should be, honestly. This makes her style more reflective of her brand than her personal self.
Other than her taste in men, we don't really know the details of Lipa's private life, so this gives her a lot of room to wear different things without them feeling off-brand or confusing. Once I got past the sadness of trying to find the missing looks in my challenge to dress like Dua Lipa for a week, I was able to get my hands on many items that resembled or felt similar in vibe to the other looks she had been seen wearing. The biggest lesson this go-around is that plus-size people need more sheer clothing. Why can't I easily find sheer dresses, shirts, skirts? Brands, let's get to it!
For a week, I tried to recreate a few of my favorite Dua Lipa looks as closely as I could as a plus-size woman. There were some failures (three specifically that I will never let go of and might bitterly bring up for the next three installments of this series, so...you've been warned!) and some wins. Overall, it was incredibly fun, so I'd say it was a definite success. Whether you are looking for inspo or simply here for the rise, here are some plus-size-approved options if you are looking to channel your inner Dula Peep soon.
Day 1: A Pop of Red
This first look made my list because of its ease and color combination. Not only does it feel like something I would wear on a cozy day out, but it was also one of the easiest looks to source. Covering up is very easy when you're plus-size. Everyone wants you to be covered. So, while this look was comfortable, it was so because it didn't allow any of my body parts to exist loudly — especially the ones I've been conditioned to believe aren't worthy of being seen like my limbs. My arms are covered, my legs are covered, my stomach is covered. I'm hidden — and this is no reflection of Lipa. I came to this realization when I landed on this being one of my favorite looks, and it wasn't lost on me that it was my favorite because it gave me nothing to be self-conscious about. Of course, you need clothes that make you feel comfortable in your closet when you’re not feeling your best, but it shouldn't be everything that exists in your closet.
Day 2: Boss Stripe
This look was chosen because of how funky it is. I love pairing a chunky shoe with a dress and the juxtaposition it provides stylistically. That said, this look frustrated me perhaps the most. Lipa's look was fun. It was a black-and-white striped long-sleeve two-piece skirt and top set with chest cutouts, long black cords hanging off the shirt, and a thigh-high slit. The dress had details for days, and the combination with the shoes felt juvenile in the best ways. An elevated “Who says I can’t wear my Converse with my dress,” if you will. While my look is technically sitting there next to Lipa's, it was impossible for me to find a two-piece set similar to hers. (ICYMI, hers was part of a limited Jean Paul Gaultier x Ottolinger SSENSE exclusive collab.)
After a lot of searching, I landed on this Nordstrom dress. It didn't fully resemble hers — curse the plus-size cold shoulder, #IYKYK — but I went with it anyway since it was similar in design. The shoes are adidas and, honestly, make for a great addition to my closet moving forward. This outfit didn't have many moving parts, so it didn't take too long to source once I had given up on finding a more interesting dress. That said, the dress is comfortable and something I see myself slipping into on work days when I'm in a rush.
Day 3: Strutting in Luar
I was so excited to attempt this look because it feels so quintessential to my personal style. It's exactly how I like to dress in my day-to-day life, and thankfully, a lot of the pieces in the look were easy to get. The coat and ribbed T-shirt are from Good American. The boots are from Fashion to Figure. The skort is from Cider, and while it got the job done, I was really frustrated trying to find a plaid skirt similar to hers. There just weren't any online during the hours I spent perusing. Nothing I came across was pleated. On top of that, if they found a nice plaid skirt, it was never mini, which was quite annoying.
As a Miami native, skimpy outfits have always been my favorite. You learn to love skin when it's 75 degrees all year round. As I've gotten older, it's been hard to grasp how impossible it is to find similarly short and cheeky outfits that straight-size people have access to. It also is glaringly clear why so many plus-size people resort to shopping fast fashion. When looking for this skirt, the only places that had something shorter and in a similar style were Fashion Nova and SHEIN. It's exhausting typing “pleated mini skirt” onto Google and coming across ample options from multiple retailers, but adding “plus-size” to the tail end of the search and only seeing fast fashion or, and let's get truly real here, pieces meant for someone significantly older than me.
Day 4: Ibicencan Dreams
I cannot lie; I was excited to give this one a try. It also was a non-negotiable for me. While I had to give up on three other looks, I told myself that I was not allowed to skip this one. I needed to search like no one in the history of the internet has searched before to find something, anything remotely similar to this look. Dua Lipa is wearing Jacquemus and is also attending the designer’s wedding. He tasked all guests to wear white, which is quite iconic and European of him. I love this moment from Lipa because she does sheer so well. She's unafraid to commit, and since we both have this in common, I knew I wanted to give it a try. That said, I'll admit I walked through the Condé Nast halls wearing a trench coat when possible since I personally did not want to give all my colleagues a show. I get enough confused stares when I walk through the office in my celebrity cosplay as is. Though a bit heavier on the lace, this dress was as close to the original as I could find, and I'm not mad at it. It was a bit tight, which made me nervous, as I avoid form-fitting things like the plague, but it ended up being one of my favorite looks from this installment.
Day 5: All Black Everything
I wanted to attempt this look because of the bonafide cool factor. If there's one thing I belive is that clothes have the ability to make us feel good, and you can tell Lipa felt good in this. While I was able to replicate the vibe overall, this was one of the looks where I feel I missed the mark. I, once again, was hit by endless pushes from SHEIN and Fashion Nova, giving me several dupe options but none from any other brands.
It seems like the simpler an outfit is, the harder it is to escape the grasp of fast fashion and find affordable, lasting plus-size options. Leather mini-dresses exist. I saw them when scrolling through ample amounts of straight-size options. Unfortunately, leather mini dresses do not exist in plus sizes, and if they do, it's the God-forsaken fit-and-flare. I am not against the fit-and-flare. It personally sits as my go-to dress style, but I can't help but wonder if we've been forced into it by the plus-size retail market.
For the past full year, I've loved doing this series, but it's also a constant reminder of everything lacking within plus-size fashion. It also makes me hate shopping. I'd love to go online and find exactly what I'm looking for when I type it into Google, but that is quite literally not the case even days away from 2024. And before you come for my Google skills, don't. No matter how hard I try to describe the item, I always come across several cute options, click on the site, and see only “S-M-L." When you add in the words “plus-size," you'll get nothing remotely similar. It's almost as if when adding in the word plus-size, the search engine explodes and just gives me cold shoulders, floor-length skirts, and empty promises.
Funnily enough, when I switched out “plus-size” for “curve,” I got a lot more stylish choices. (I guess curve people are allowed to be more stylish than plus-size people?) The only problem is curve sizing usually ended at a size 14, which was no better than where I started. I love fashion, I love clothes, and I love when clothes can tell a story — about the life we've lived, the life we want to live, and what it means to be seen. The right to dream and be seen is something I think about often. I also think about how it does not exist for so many people. Miss Dula Peep, you are a legend. Your closet is not easily replicable for a plus-size person, and that was a hard lesson to learn.
