“Body positivity activist” and “Style influencer” are monikers that best describe Katie Sturino. Through her platform The 12ish Style, Sturino has done a significant contribution in helping women “find their confidence while providing style tips and suggestions in the plus-sized space.”
Although there have been some advancements on New York runways – think Chromat and Christian Siriano – said space is still too often overlooked by fashion designers. To that end, body positivity is part of CFDA’s goal to make our industry more diverse and inclusive.
In addition to The 12ish Style (@the12ishstyle), Sturino founded the Megababe beauty brand, which adds to her mission to make women feel more comfortable in their own skin. We caught up with the influencer on body positivity, what she’s learned since launching her platform, and her hopes for the fashion industry in the future.
What inspired you to launch The 12ish Style?
I was inspired to start the 12ish Style because I had been working in fashion for a decade, and I spent most of that time feeling fat and punishing myself for being the biggest girl in the room. I wanted to start the 12ish Style to share my shopping tips and tell women how I was able to participate in trends without always being able to shop at the stores, but it actually turned into a place for women to try and feel good about themselves at any size.
As a fashionable consumer who is a size 12ish, what are your key observations? What are the biggest challenges?
My observations are that newer, higher-priced clothing companies are very hesitant to offer anything above a 10 and when they do, their extra-large or 14 usually fits like a 10. The biggest challenges I have experienced are convincing brands to invite a different customer into their store. There are so many misconceptions. I have heard everything from “larger-sized women don’t spend money on clothes” to “plus-sized women don’t wear anything other than black.”
What is your goal with 12ish? What message do you hope to convey
Women have been made to feel bad about their bodies for so long through everything from the images we see in the media to the fact that you have to go online to buy your size, if they even make it at all. All these messages are sent to women telling them that they aren’t good enough. So, my goal for The 12ish Style is to create a place to show women that they can be stylish at any size and to help them stop with the negative self-talk about their bodies.
What did you learn from your 12ish audience that you didn’t know before?
The 12ish audience showed me that women of all sizes struggle with body issues and that’s what inspired me to speak to a broader audience and let people know that there is no destination when it comes to clothing size.
What are your hopes for the fashion industry in, say, five years? Where do you want it to be?
I don’t aspire to have a clothing line or a retail store or anything like that. I think that there are people in the world that have a deeper passion for design than I do. What I want to do is continue to help push this boulder up the mountain for fashion inclusivity, and help women feel like they can participate in fashion and shift the focus away from being skinny to being healthy.
