‘As a size 16-18, it’s almost impossible on the high street’
size 10 or 12 girl has just the same hang-ups about her arms or stomach, or whatever she feels her problem area is, as a size 20 or 22 girl. In fact, I think my curvy customers are probably more confident than my size 8 and 10 girls.”
As a plus-size model, Nicole Quinn from Kildare has long since learned to embrace her curves, but claims that not everyone has got the memo.
“As someone who is a size 16-18, I find it almost impossible to shop in a lot of high street stores,” says the founding member of Celtic Curves, a collective of models and bloggers aimed at promoting positive body images among Irish women.
“A lot of the time, they stop at a 16, so if it’s something I need a bigger size in, I can’t get it, and if they do go to an 18, most of the time it’s in selected lines, [with] very few size
18s on the rails. I think it’s very frustrating to shop here, and wish shops that say they go [up to] a specific size would make sure it’s included in every line they carry, and order enough sizes in. Shopping for a wedding once, I couldn’t find anything in my size and had to travel to another county to get a dress that actually fit. As the average size is a 16, it should be much more accessible to find these sizes in shops.”
“I hate shopping on the high street,” agrees Elaine Crowley. “I could be a 12 in one shop, a 14 in another shop, and a 20 in another shop — so the sizing is ridiculous, number one, and, number two, the choice isn’t really out there.
“You get specifically for plus-size, you get your standard boutique, but for the whole mid-range — forget about it. I think a lot of clothes are made for your standard size 8-10 model, [but] what looks good on a standard 10, will not look good on a standard 16.”
Knwon for her Jessica Rabbit-esque curves, now the TV star-turned-designer is hoping her new range will make dressing for formal events a lot easier, at least.
“It just happened organically because I’d been doing red carpet stuff for the last 15 years,” she explains. “I could never find a dress, and unfortunately designers don’t tend to want to dress someone who’s a size 14-16, so if you have the VIP Style Awards or if you have the IFTAs, they’re not exactly beating down your door.
“When I hosted Miss Ireland in 2015, So Amazing sponsored the dresses, and they actually had a lovely range of dresses, and could order in my size, so for the past few years, if I have an event, I go over to them, we look at their templates and they’ll tailor something to me. We’ve been messing around with dresses to fit somebody who has my kind of figure — boobs and ass and a smaller waist — all the time. Then a few months ago we decided to make a range of them because people were asking for them.
“Hopefully, the collection will be ready for autumn/ winter this year. I’m just waiting for the first sample to come back — and can’t wait to try it on!”