People need to work on what self-love is and redefining self-love... it comes from within: who you are and how you carry yourself in this world.
Ashley Nell Tipton
We, as plus-size women, want the jewelry to fit like it was meant for us. Not like, OK, we're just going to add a couple links here to make it fit wider necks. I want jewelry that complements us.
I definitely want to go against the grain - break those rules and create clothing that is fun for women and shows their personality and just enjoy wearing it and being fashion-forward.
I'm trying to put plus-size on the map. We can be fashion-forward.
It's a constant battle being a plus-size designer.
I had a hard time with bullying in school, so being creative was my outlet.
Everybody says black makes you look slimmer, but what about those other colors that also complement your skin tone or your figure and things like that?
I feel like, sometimes, plus-size women get scared to show skin... but summer is the time that we can enjoy doing that.
I'm not trying to get approval from anyone else. No one's approval matters to me - what matters is making myself happy for myself and no one else. And if I look good to someone else, I hope they take me as inspiration or whatever they want.
I originally thought I would be going into wedding dresses. I wanted to create gowns, especially for weddings. I liked the idea of dealing with just one color, and within that, you could design whatever you want.
It's just an amazing feeling to know that I'm representing for every plus-size woman out there.
Widening a garment or making it larger is not understanding the real curves of a plus size women.
Beauty and fashion is not pain!
I love to sew. But when it's something that's being repetitive over and over and over again, it takes a toll.
Bridal wear has always been a passion of mine.
I wasn't your normal plus-size girl who would dress in all black and hide in the shadows. I was very out there. But I was very shy and insecure about certain things.
When I got into high school, that's when I stated dabbling in fashion design. I got involved in the theater department's costume design and started to think that maybe I'd major in fashion design.
It's amazing to be able to embrace young talent.
I always travel with a fun skirt, a go-to dress you can dress up or down; walking heels & flats are a must.
I'm never afraid of pattern or texture.
I get so many different types of people emailing me how much my story impacts them. Hearing that inspires me every day to keep going and going.
I always try to manipulate the eye when I'm dressing myself or someone else. I don't have an hourglass figure, so I'm always trying to give the illusion that I have one; bringing the eye to the waistline by adding a belt or having a heavier print at the bottom or at the top helps define your shape.
I don't care what word you use: my job is to design clothing that is not out there for us.
A lot of my inspiration is what straight-size women wear - why is there a disconnect from what they wear and what we can wear?
I partnered with Working Wardrobes because I wanted to be part of an organization that lifts people's spirits.
Working Wardrobes needs plus-size clothing donations to help women and men feel confident on their journey to finding a job. This is what we need in today's world - to lift people up - and Working Wardrobes is doing that.
I love to design clothing that is not out there for your average plus-size woman, and I want to fill in the gap of that industry and not design cookie-cutter things.
I'm talented, I know what I want, and I believe in myself, and I'm true to myself.
I do feel like plus-size fashion is changing, but it's slowly changing. It's not growing as fast as we would all like.
When companies are jumping on the bandwagon to do plus size, they limit themselves.
Sky's the limit. I don't have a vision, because I want to do everything that I can.
I love to create clothing for the everyday woman. I get joy out of that because it's something that we need in this industry.
I'm never going to limit myself.
It's so important for me to share my story and inspire other women to feel comfortable in their skin and to know that your size has zero impact on the goals you set for yourself.
I'm a talented designer.
I don't have a problem showing my legs!
I feel like people in the industry are scared to take that chance because it's not easy to design plus-size clothing.
I feel like there's not enough clothing out there to show our personality and just to be comfortable and to be fashion-forward and to be a trendsetter. There are a lot of clothes out there for the straight-size woman to be able to show that, but in the plus-size industry, I don't feel like it's there just yet.
When people told me that I couldn't do something, I wanted to always prove them wrong. That comes a lot from people always bullying me because of my size and not thinking that I could do anything to impact the world or inspire other people.
I think the hardest thing is to design for plus-size women. I enjoyed designing for straight-size because there's no limits. They can basically wear anything, and that's where I was able to have creative freedom with it.
I like to design funky things, and I love to mix prints and patterns together.
I'm turning this industry around and making clothing that we've been wanting and needing.
It's nice to see how much the mainstream fashion community has been so accepting of it. It's very exciting to see that folks finally want to make plus-size mainstream.
I love color, and I'm very inspired by curvy women and helping them feel good in their clothes.
I want to offer plus-size women the opportunity to wear fun colors and to avoid the pitfalls of only wearing black because many curvy girls think it is the only color that is slimming.
Seeing that 'Project Runway' sign at the end of the runway just made me, like, realize, like, 'Wow, I'm on this show. I'm living every designer's dream right now.'
I can believe in myself, and I feel like I'm such a strong and talented designer.
It was really important for me to create fun and trendy pieces for the plus-size market.
Once you feel good, you look good... that projects to everyone.
I'm super excited to be collaborating with JCPenney to create my first-ever capsule collection for that plus-size woman who needs that confidence and wants to be fabulous every day.
