Plump Is Powerful

New year, new size?

Plenty of my girlfriends grew up in 2015, going from a size 4, 6 or 8 to a 10, 12 or 14. In talking it over — you can bet I let them broach the topic — they cited reasons as varied as:

• stress
• insomnia
• menopause
• divorce
• a breakup
• lifestyle changes
• lack of exercise
• new medications
• old eating habits

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Some were miserable about the gain, embarking on strict diet-and-exercise regimens, while others saw the extra pounds as "the new normal," buying togs that fit their new physiques.

If your weight has crept up over the last 12 months, you can love it or lose it — that part's up to you. My role is simply to help you deal with it stylishly.

Choose realistic role models. Contrary to runway folly, not every American woman is tall and slim. Indeed, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we average out to a generous size 14 — this on a typical 5-foot-4 frame — and weigh an average of 166 pounds, with a 37-inch waist.

Kris Jenner is a television personality who rose to fame for starring in 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians.'

Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

What to do? Emulate fashionable types who combine curves and couture: Kris Jenner, Salma Hayek, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Williams, Martha Stewart, Wendy Williams and Marcia Gay Harden. Their bold colors, chic clothes and dramatic accessories combine to make personal style statements.

Purge your mind of "should be" sizes. Your ideal weight should be whatever is both healthy and realistic for you at the current time. That's probably north of what you weighed at 40 — and certainly north of what you weighed in college. And that's just fine!

Think of your body at this new number the same way you view a basic outfit: You can adjust it by layering a few pounds on or off, such as accessories, without flipping out.

Marcia Gay Harden is an actress whose breakthrough was in the 1990 Coen brothers-directed 'Miller's Crossing.'

John Sciulli/Getty Images

"Few" is the key word here: Set a gain limit that will let you wear your favorite jeans and dresses without resorting to double Spanx. Then cut the size tags out of all your clothes — a stylist's trick I always used on celebrity photo shoots.