“I wanted to make pieces to last years. Beyond trends, beyond chain stores. I wanted to create something all its own, something just for us, made with love and consideration. Made ethically in the USA as a small company with no corporate input. Uncompromising, unapologetic, humane, and timeless. Go-to pieces designed to last.”- Beth Ditto
About this collection
Like most girls over a size 14, I’m no stranger to getting creative with off-the-rack clothes. As a teen I combed thrift shops for cool pieces that could be cut, stretched, altered, or reimagined to fit my body. Sleeves cut off, stretch panels sewn in, babydoll dresses made into shirts and vice versa. Lots of early photos from my band Gossip include my homemade clothes!
Later I was lucky enough to be dressed by designers for the red carpet, but the hijinks continued: a tablecloth made into a dress at a Rolling Stone performance, a Westwood dress worn upside down. Stylists bringing nothing but sheets to drape me in, designers sending oversize pieces meant for thin people with armholes sized for a zero. Where are the fashionable clothes for fat girls that aren’t designer one-offs? Where are the subtle and chic wardrobe staples, where are the crazy statement pieces?
I am SO excited to use years of these experiences, passion for a good stretch, and advice from awesome designer friends to bring you this collection! Fashion for plus size women who deserve to love their bodies AND their clothes, who want access to the same high quality fabrics and craftsmanship everyone else has. Something beyond the uber-cheap, disposable fast-fashion that’s pushed on us.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for polyester cheap-n-chic! But we deserve the option to shop for ethically produced clothes that will last, pieces we can look incredible in season after season. Plus size fashion can and should include curated vintage and embroidery, beautiful silks and soft rayons in custom prints not chosen out of a mass-market manufacturing catalog!
This has been an amazing adventure so far, to say the least! I got up to my eyeballs in printing methods, fabric thicknesses, stretch linings. I visited the factories in NYC where the clothes were cut and sewn, met the people who work there, watched the processes. I learned that there is such a thing as ‘fit models’ (whaaaat?) and met some awesome ones!
I already can’t wait for the next collection. I can’t wait to constantly improve the clothes and the sizes, to be able to upgrade things like shipping and returns as we grow. I want to hear feedback from you about what you adore, what we can do differently, and I hope you’ll be patient with us as we work it OUT!
Love Beth