I love this thread! Jen, a wonderful idea!
I havent been around much lately because I am busy opening a....wait for it.....
A plus size women's resale shop!
Oh yes indeedy! I have over 80 bags of clothes in my dining room (its massive the mountain it created!) and am picking up more bags tomorrow from 4 other people. I have people from NJ, Mass, Vt, Florida, and Texas sending me clothes for my shop! For free!
why free? Because as soon as they hear about my shop, they immediately feel "part of"..they want it to succeed because they want a place of their own! It is as much a social experience as well as a retail location!
My case worker at our Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation and my advisor from our local small business dept of our university are working closely with me to develop a business plan, select a location, make purchases, etc. They have never seen an automatic flood of donations to a business that is not a non profit, before in their lives!
I feel alive again. I feel like I am giving back once more. And I feel wanted. I get messages and emails every day from women locally and across the US who are hearing it from friends of friends. Some tell me their life story of how hard it was and still is to be a plus size. I share my own story, of the internal damage and how I had a life threatening eating disorder in my 20s because I wanted to be the "desired image", only to be sexually assaulted after obtaining that goal. When you objectify yourself, your obsession takes so much out of you. I have been very comfortable ever since then, about my weight. Even after my surgery on my stumach, and having lost weight, I will never be a size 8. I am always going to be a size 16 because thats where I feel the most comfortable. I realized it as soon as my weight dipped to 14. I was trying too hard to lose the weight the Drs expected me to lose. I am perfectly happy at 16. Then again, I was happy at size 22 too, but my body hurt with my conditions, from the extra weight.
So here I am, opening up this store and hearing everyone's life story. How sad it is that there is very little difference between the 64 year old telling me her story of growing up fat, and the 16 year old who is in the process of it. A couple have told me they never knew a single person who could say they were comfortable with weight, before they met me.
this little shop of mine is going to be "home" too. My case worker and advisor suggested for me to only sell online and give up the idea of a store front. I refused. This store is important to too many women. and to me. I am going to be doing monthly get togethers too, so we can meet and look at each other and see the beauty in all our shapes and sizes. I want to do a fashion show for a charity but right now, no one wants to do it except one woman. Give me time. They will sign up.
My shops name is The Pretty and Plus Shop. I hope you dont mind me talking about it in here. I am not trying to drum up business. I simply want to share this phenomena of the reaction I am getting!
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