Women's clothes sizes are still a real issue we are facing in the Fashion Industry. This is about body shaming and having all this pressure to be thin enough to fit into designer clothes. A similar opinion is shared by New Yorker Urszula Makowska who is a fashion influencer and has over 116k followers on her Instagram profile and many more followers on her blog Urszula.com, but she especially loves being a merchandiser in women’s plus size fashion. Find out why.
You are a merchandiser of plus size fashion. What would you say are the positive sides of plus size?
Before I became a merchandiser in women’s plus size fashion, I worked as a social media manager for a bridal designer and I worked in social media and public relations for women’s accessories, handbags, and shoes. Working in those fields was a lot different than working in women’s plus size fashion.
I must honestly say I love working in women’s plus size fashion a lot more than my other experiences. From personal experience, I have seen a lot of positive effects on women’s plus size fashion. Firstly it has a positive influence on the fashion industry. Body image has been and still is a huge issue today in the fashion industry in general, but women’s larger size fashion has been fighting the stereotypes we see.
The image of a thin girl being accepted by society as the definition of beauty is no longer what we view as the definition of beauty. Women are embracing their beauty in different shapes and forms. Secondly, the industry strongly promotes positive body images amongst us. It’s all about loving and accepting yourself the way you are and being positive.
It’s about flaunting what your mama gave you and not caring what others think. I believe it supports feminism and it really empowers us. Thirdly the biggest positive influence is that women are finally free. There was a huge gap in this market, but now they too can follow trends and rock it.
How has working in women’s curve clothing fashion affected you personally?
Personally, I have been called anorexic or too thin throughout my life. I can relate to women in this industry because I have been body shamed too. Working in women’s bigger size fashion has helped me ignore those comments and grow to love myself. I no longer care what anyone thinks. All that matters is that I love the way I am.
What are the main differences between plus size fashion and fashion we see in NY, London or Paris Fashion Weeks?
I will honestly say there are no differences in terms of trends, but there are a few differences in other aspects. For years, we have seen that a lot of high-end designers in NYC, London, or Paris Fashion Weeks do not include plus size models and plus size clothing on their runways.
This is still something the fashion industry is heavily struggling with. Women’s plus size has been ignored by the fashion industry, especially luxury designers. Luxury designers have a focus on creating products in small sizes. Unlike this, plus size fashion really promotes the true meaning of being beautiful by simply being yourself and as a market itself, is fast-growing in the United States with a lot of potentials.
Who are the plus size fashion bloggers a lot of women look up to?
There are a lot of fashion bloggers out there regarding this fashion and they are all amazing. Nadia Aboulhosn, Gabi Gregg, and Jay Miranda are the three biggest bloggers that a lot of women in the industry look up to.
They are beautiful women and they have beautiful styles. They are empowering women that empower other women.
As a fashion blogger, what would you say are the top fashion trends in this section of larger sizes in 2018?
Just like all of the upcoming Summer/Spring 2018 trends, the same trends will dominate women’s plus size fashion. Lilac will definitely be the dominant colour of the season. We will see trends ranging from ruffles to polka dots. It’s honestly all the same, but what I do know is we will see is this industry growing.
