Logo

Page Contents

    Blogs/Body Positivity

    How to Be a Happy Fat Girl ā€“ Lane Bryant

    by Ellie

    Lane Bryant has long been the most recognized name in plus-sized clothing for women, providing top of the line fashions for those women who are not catered to at most other clothing retailers. Their passion for fashion AND the right fit makes them a style leader. In a society where women are constantly belittled for being ā€œtoo largeā€ or ā€œnot the right shapeā€, Lane Bryant provides a shopping oasis to be a happy fat girl that instead caters to all sizes and shapes.

    happy fat girl
    Image Source: Refinery29 PHOTO: COURTESY OF CASS BIRD/LANE BRYANT.

    To add to their positive image, Lane Bryant is bringing some new faces in to represent the brand. Itā€™s fall 2015 This Body campaign pushes empowerment and body positivity to those who need it most with a particular focus on overcoming fat shaming online. Itā€™s a struggle most plus-sized women can identify with: bullying and fat shaming through social media where people can be anonymous and not take responsibility for harsh words.

    The new faces of this campaign include:
    ā—Ashley Graham
    ā—Alessandra Garcia-Lorido
    ā—Candice Huffine
    ā—Gabourey Sidibe
    ā—Danielle Brooks

    These happy fat girls have had a lot to say about what this new campaign means to them.

    In interviews, Sidibe discusses how in the media,Ā representing some shapes and sizes. More often than not, she canā€™t find herself in any of these models and it makes her feel displaced and ā€œyou donā€™t know that youā€™re normalā€. She is proudĀ Lane Bryant flies in the face of this pattern. It makes each woman feel not only normal, but special.

    Brooks was inspired by her OITNB co-star, Laverne Cox, to question how she can contribute to society and stand for what she missed as a child. She believes that retailers are missing out on a huge opportunity business-wise to cash in on the plus-sized demographic. According to her, ā€œThere are more plus-size women in the world than women who are not. How dumb can you be not to use women who are curvy to rock your stuff?ā€ She hopes the Lane Bryant campaign can removeĀ the ā€œstandardā€ thing and become a healthy role model.

    Garcia-Lorido is speaking out against extremes, putting down the idea that you can only be a small or a large. There are lots of gray areas in between and every woman should rock what she is. She is happy to see designers are starting to realize the clothes should change to fit the woman.

    Huffine has fought her body image with courage her whole life. She decided early on not to succumb to unhealthy habits in order to become more plus-sized in order to become more accepted as a plus sized model. She remains satisfied with her body, which is one of the keys to being a happy fat girl.

    Conclusion

    Overall, it appears that Lane Bryant is doing whatever they can to support the idea they stood for since the beginning: supporting women of all sizes and shapes to feel sexy and fashionable.

    See also;

    Effective suggestions to be a happy fat girl ā€“ Valerie Sagun