Abby Hoy - Yes, You Can Wear That : How to Look and Feel Fierce at Any Size

Abby Hoy

Yes, You Can Wear That

How to Look and Feel Fierce at Any Size

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Copyright 2021 by Abigail Hoy

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First Tiller Press hardcover edition November 2021

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Interior design by Matt Ryan

Cover design by Patrick Sullivan

Cover photography by Source Creative House

Photos on page by Source Creative House

Photos on page by Dave Gerz

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hoy, Abby, author.

Title: Yes, you can wear that : how to look and feel fierce at any size / by Abby Hoy.

Description: First Tiller Press hardcover edition. | New York : Tiller Press, 2021. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2021005853 (print) | LCCN 2021005854 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982155582 | ISBN 9781982155605 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Fashion.

Classification: LCC TT507.H69 2021 (print) | LCC TT507 (ebook) | DDC 746.9/2dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005853

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005854

ISBN 978-1-9821-5558-2

ISBN 978-1-9821-5560-5 (ebook)

To my baby nephew, Emmett, who had the same due date as my book. He came early and I was late.

To my parents, my twin pillars, as Amy Sherman-Palladino would say, without whom I could not stand.

To my dear friends Cassie and Hannah, who held my hand through the whole process.

To Afa, the first person who ever believed in me.

And last (but much like Gretl, most important): my darling husband, Preston. I love you and I like you. The biggest understatement in this book is that I couldnt have done it without you.

DURING MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, I had a civics teacher whom I absolutely adored. (Anyone catch that obscure It Takes Two reference? A true Olsen twins classic.) Mr. Mack was smart and funny, but most important, he was just a great educator. I learned so much in his classway more than what was on the syllabus. On our very first day, he had all the students enter and didnt say a word as we sat down. After a few silent moments of him starring at us, he told us to stand up. At that point, we all thought he was going to put us in assigned seats, like just about every other teacher. But he didnt. He told us to sit down, stand up again, sit down again, stand, sit, stand, sit This went on for what seemed like a long time, but really was probably only five minutes.

In true Dead Poets Society fashion, young Mr. Mack did this until someone (spoiler alert: it was me) finally said out loud, Im sorry, Mr. Mack, but why are we doing this?

He pointed his finger at me and, channeling his inner Robin Williams as John Keating, said sternly, Good. You should question authority if it feels weird to you. Now sit down wherever you want and lets get started. And from that moment, this class chatterbox was pumped for Mr. Macks class. Questioning authority and staying as absolutely close to the line without crossing it when it came to rules definitely spoke to my inner rebel (or at least as much of a rebel as a Goody Two-shoes like me could ever be).

Mr. Macks class was just different. He refused to give us multiple-choice tests because he believed that those types of exams didnt prove we had learned anything, just how good we were at memorizing facts and spitting them back out. So all his tests were open-endedthe only instructions were that we could write however we wanted in order to best convey that we had actually absorbed something.

Because not everyone thinks in neat, tidy paragraphs, he told us. List some facts, draw a cartoon, write a few sentences, whatever! Anything goes, as long as you prove that you learned something.

I obviously loved these directions. For as long as I can remember, Ive always been looking for a way to push the limit. I would walk right up to the edge of a syllabus of what was allowed and actively work to make something innovative and memorable. For an entire semester of civics, I drew cartoon panels to discuss civil rights issues and resolutions. My crowning achievement: an epic Roe v. Wade cartoon. (Seriouslyit was really awesome.)

I got an A in the class.

I also learned something really important about myself: I am not good at writing neat and tidy paragraphs. I dont like them. My brain doesnt think in neat and tidy paragraphs.

Why on earth would I start my book with neat and tidy paragraphs?

So without further ado, heres a list of some important things about me and why you should keep reading, even if youre a neat-and-tidy-paragraphs type of person.

My name is Abby Hoy. Hi!

I am currently in my late twenties.

I pay the bills as a social media influencer and content creator. Ive been doing this in some capacity since 2014.

You might know me better as ThePennyDarling on social media!

I started my blog in 2016 and quit my day job before the end of 2017.

My husband, Preston, and I have been married since 2018. We met, got engaged, and got married in a community theatre in a park. Hes the absolute best cinnamon roll; hes simply good to the core.

I am an adult theatre kid. Take from that what you will.

I once had an alien encounter in Roswell, New Mexico.

The first poem I remember writing was in fourth grade, shortly after 9/11, as I started using writing to deal with emotions I didnt understand. I still have a copy.

I have a bachelors degree in communications, and it has mostly made me insufferable to my loved ones because whenever we fight, I ask people to reframe things in I statements.

I am a Saturday Night Live mega fan. I memorize stats about each person on the show (like original characters vs. impressions) the way some people keep stats on sports stars. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Preston and I watched twelve years worth of SNL episodes.

For some reason, I cannot pronounce the word sixth.

One of the things on my bucket list is to have a menu item named after me, so if you happen to be a restaurateur with a nameless dish, please keep me in mind.

I have an eight-pound morkie named Charlie. Preston and I adopted him from a rescue the day after our wedding. Charlie loves laps and is scared of potted plants. He is a very good boy.