SELF cover star, the plus-size model and fat positivity activist Tess Holliday, is intentional about the fashion brands she supports. “I choose to wear designers and clothes from people that I like what they’re doing—because if you’re not supporting people like that, then they’re not gonna be around,” she tells SELF in in our cover story, an interview with writer Ashley C. Ford. “I like to buy clothes from people that actually give a shit about my body and about plus bodies,” Holliday says. “That makes me happy.”
This means Holliday does her best to recognize and call attention to brands that go up to 5x or 6x in sizing, which is unfortunately still not totally common, even in the world of plus-size fashion brands. She also makes a point to support brands founded by women of color, who she says don’t get nearly enough recognition or support in the fashion industry. “The plus-size fashion world is definitely built by women of color—100 percent,” she says.
Holliday is so adamant about supporting brands focused on the plus-size customer because she says access to fashion played a critical role in building her self-confidence, and she wants that for everyone with a bigger body. “What shaped my perception about my body and myself was finding better clothes—that’s what changed my world,” she says. “That’s why modeling really changed my self-esteem and how I view myself, because I finally for the first time have accessibility to fashion that I didn’t know existed.”
We asked Holliday to share some of her favorite brands doing it right in plus-size fashion. Here are her picks.
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