6 curve influencers share why they don't shop the high street
The lack of diversity in the fashion industry is nothing new, but the fierce willingness to call it out grows by the day. Now it's becoming increasingly difficult for brands to ignore the push for greater inclusivity, thanks to fearless individuals speaking up and unapologetically owning who they are. But, despite raising the inclusivity issue over two years ago- in our first 'Open Letter to the High Street' - in-store shopping remains, for many, an isolating space.
As part of Cosmopolitan's May positivity issue, we spoke to six curve influencers about their shopping experiences and the changes they want to see.
While they come from different walks of life, they're all asking the same million dollar question: what's so hard about making the same clothes, just bigger?
Here's what they had to say:
1. Laura
Our Deputy Beauty Editor Lara Capon, AKA @laucapon, gets candid about how the exclusivity in the fashion industry might've shaped the career she took:
"I think growing up, if I'd seen more people with different body shapes or similar to my body shape, it could've changed everything. I think I would've been way more confident earlier on... For a long time I didn't express myself. I didn't really have a personality, I just wanted to blend in. If I'd been given an option to express myself through my clothes, it could have changed everything. It could have changed jobs I took.
"I experimented with makeup and things like that because I wasn't excluded from makeup. I could have any colour eye shadow I want or any colour lip, and that's probably why I fell in love with makeup rather than fashion... Now, my confidence has changed but my options haven't, which is disappointing."
2. Sophia
Sophia Tassew, of @asos_sophia, explains that there's an unspoken understanding between curvy women about the clothes they're wearing:
"I've been in situations where I've been in parties or these sort of standard events and I would wear something quite daring, and something that I've pieced together and I've took some time to make look nice or whatever. I've seen other plus sized women in the same room and there's a certain look that we give each other.
"It's kind of like, 'I see you, and I see you, and you look good, and yeah, I see you.' It feels so nice and I feel like we only know that look, it's kind of like a code. Like, 'you're doing it and thank you for wearing that, and thank you for being that person in the room who looks like me who's wearing something that I wouldn't wear myself'."
3. Sara
Sara Brown (above left), @sarabrowndesign, adds that the high street's limited plus-size offering leaves a lot to be desired:
"One of my biggest annoyances is the fact that the high street has options, but they're not the options I want. I'm actually not surprised anymore, because it's just been the same for so long... There's also a little bit of camaraderie between curve women. I know that when I've been in a plus-size section, I've been looking around, I'm like, 'Oh, I don't want that. That looks boring.' Then you'll see another plus-sized girl, and you just look at each other and be like, 'Mm-hm, yep, it's the same problem.'"
4. Ella
Ella Sisso (above right), @fatgirlfashioninspo, points out that the system is failing its customers, and women more generally:
"My journey from when I was younger, feeling underrepresented and now, is that then I blamed myself and I thought that there was something wrong with me and I had to change. But now I'm feeling like there's something wrong with the structure, and that that has to change."
5. Lauren-Nicole
Lauren-Nicole, @laurennicolefk, explains how what we see (and don't see) in stores can also impact our mental health:
"When I'm walking down the High Street and I can't find items that are necessarily my style or I see items but they don't have them in my size. It's a mix of emotions. Frustration, anger, upset sometimes. Sometimes it can lead to feeling like I wish my body was smaller. I wish I looked maybe different just so that I could fit in these clothes, but ultimately it's just disappointing.
6. Felicity
Felicity Hayward, @felicityhayward, says that merely having 'a plus-size section' isn't enough, it needs to be shoppable too:
"The problem we have with the high street now is that it does cater to plus size, but a lot of the time the plus size is put right at the top, right on the top floor, or right in the back. And because of this it doesn't sell. It doesn't do well, and then the brands are pulling the plus size out of the high street... it is great that we have so much available to us online, but we still aren't really having that 'shopping 'experience.'"
Here at Cosmo, we're dedicated to celebrating fashion for all women, which is why we made our very own Curve section where you can keep up to date on the latest trends, shopping advice and inspiration. Because feeling fabulous and empowered is about more than where you can shop, but it's a damn good place to start when calling for positive change and greater inclusivity.
Styling: Maddy Alford
Photography: Mick De Lint
Make-up: Lucy Gibson at Frank Agency, assisted by Rebecca Barnes
Hair: Liam Curran at The Only Agency, assisted by Gordon Chapples and Nicole Iroh
Fashion assistants: Nathalie Owen and Federica Polise
Photographer's assistant: Michel Bewley
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