Regardless of the last decade’s progress in celebrating a range of beautiful bodies, the fashion industry is a world away from establishing equal support for plus-size people. Most retailers still will not sell sizes above 10 – 14, and as far as the size-inclusive brands go, their extended ranges commonly stop at size 24 and their clothes usually aren’t… well, fashionable. Many “plus size” brands feature monotonous, boring designs. Everyone deserves to wear clothes they feel the most confident and fashionable in, not just garments that they have to settle for. This is the underlying belief of the viral size-inclusive brand SIZED. With a size range of XS to 5XL and awesome clothing designs, they’re paving the road to change and looking GOOD doing it.
Read our exclusive interview below with the founder of SIZED, Rebecca Alexis.
Have you always had an interest in fashion?
Ever since I was young, I have definitely had an interest in fashion. Some of my earliest memories are of me playing in my mom’s Nine West heels while she wasn’t home, and watching That’s So Raven! That show is single-handedly what made me interested in fashion.
What does your creative process look like?
My creative process begins with me thinking about what is missing in plus size fashion, and also thinking about the clothes I couldn’t wear when I was younger because it didn’t come in my size. Then I scribble/sketch and create a moodboard of what I want, I choose what items I want to come from that design, sample it and show my followers to get their reactions!
What was your background prior to running SIZED, and how do your other skills and experiences help run this company?
Before creating SIZED, I was and still am a college student. My major is Africana Studies and I minor in Women Studies which to me are two things that have helped me with creation. I feel as though they can be seen in my work considering a lot of designs revolve around black people and black women.
What challenges have you encountered while running SIZED?
The biggest challenge that I have faced has been finding reliable manufacturers that will create clothing in the sizes I want. That has been my biggest struggle because I sell clothes from size XS-5X and most clothing brands are only S-L. I’m slowly finding reliable manufacturers but it’s still very hard at times.
What inspired you to start running this amazing brand and how long have you been running it?
Seeing plus size people have the ugliest clothing made me want to create SIZED. It was actually becoming terribly disheartening that there was such a lack of fashionable, trendy and quality plus size clothes. I had to do something after seeing brands, specifically black owned brands, not include plus-size people in their clothing. I have officially been running SIZED for over 2 years and it’s been a great journey!
What’s your secret for getting your brand to take off so quickly?
I am very authentic and it can be shown through my work. I like for my designs to actually have meaning behind them that people can see and feel when they look at my items. It also doesn’t hurt to take really cute photos in my clothing before they release!
Describe your proudest moment regarding your company.
My proudest moment thus far has been receiving all the kind and heartfelt messages from people who buy from SIZED and how the clothing made them feel beautiful and comfortable! Those are the things that make me the proudest!
How do you decide what designs to make?
As a person who has been plus sized her whole life but also is really into fashion, it’s not hard to make designs when you have been deprived of trendy clothing all of your life! I have designs in notes apps that I’ve written down before I even started SIZED. I mostly choose from what I like the most at the time and release those. I do rely on the opinion of my customers and followers a lot to see what they like which is extremely helpful when choosing what comes out first!
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