This post was made in collaboration with JCPenney #ad 

This year, I had the pleasure of attending The Curvy Con in collaboration with JCPenney. I have to admit – I had NO idea what Curvy Con was going to be like. I knew I would see some amazing fall fashion, I knew I would hear amazing speakers and panelists and I knew I would meet some of my fashion heroes in person.

I was given some brand new fall pieces from JCPenney to style and make my own, as well as preview some fall items not yet in stores – I hope you love autumnal hues and cozy fabrics! If so, there’s a cardigan with some southwest vibes with your name on it coming soon!

I am a big fan of layering simple basics. For my travel, I chose some dark black Levi’s (yes girl, JCPenney has an INCREDIBLE denim selection perfect for fall), a white tee and a very chic Liz Claiborne blazer.

The Curvy Con is a two day long event. During the day there are booths from vendors catering to plus size and curvy bodies. They showcase a lot of the apparel offerings but some of them go above and beyond. JC Penney offered salon styling to touch up your hair. Their Sephora Inside JC Penney provided makeup touches and a few sample items too! I got a fabulous braided updo and a little bit of extra Sephora brand highlighter on my cheeks.

A highlight of my trip was being photographed by Lydia Hudgens  for this article for  In Style Magazine outside of the Curvy Con wearing head to toe JCPenney. The best part of this outfit? Those white sketchers – available here at JCPenney.com – were my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part of my trip! They made walking around the streets of NYC absolutely painless (and you can bet I did a TON of walking – I hit over 10k steps everyday according to my phone).

The JCPenney booth at Curvy Con was so special. There was a paper chain link photo background made of handwritten affirmations from the women at Curvy Con.

The booth also had adorable paper fans for all the convention attendees (um, it was totally hot walking around and energetically talking with and meeting so many people).

Dozens of fall pieces were hung on racks for the attendees to preview – I loved all the cozy cardigans and autumnal prints.

I loved loved loved my experience at The Curvy Con with JCPenney and I can’t wait to go again next year!

FTC: This post was made in  a paid partnership with JC Penney