I encourage women to wear color, wear stripes, wear sequins - just wear what makes you feel confident and strong. If it looks good and fits well, you'll look great and feel great, too.
— Ashley Nell Tipton
I want to wear things that make me feel good.
I originally thought I would be going into wedding dresses. I wanted to create gowns, especially for weddings. I liked the idea of dealing with just one color, and within that, you could design whatever you want.
Everybody says black makes you look slimmer, but what about those other colors that also complement your skin tone or your figure and things like that?
Being dyslexic, creativity was my way of expressing myself.
Going into the hospital for something that was caused by just being overweight really struck a nerve. I didn't ever want to be in that pain again or have another scare like that. I was like, I really need to figure out what I can do to lose weight and get healthier.
I always travel with a fun skirt, a go-to dress you can dress up or down; walking heels & flats are a must.
Me showing my emotions... it's not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of passion.
It's going to take baby steps to see a complete turnaround. But there's been such a positive outcome from seeing it at Fashion Week. Plus-size fashion shows are being more welcomed into Fashion Week, and having more plus-size women in major magazines.
I always try to manipulate the eye when I'm dressing myself or someone else. I don't have an hourglass figure, so I'm always trying to give the illusion that I have one; bringing the eye to the waistline by adding a belt or having a heavier print at the bottom or at the top helps define your shape.
Torrid was that company that I went to as a plus-sized kid. They're the ones that kind of got me out of my shell and gave me the confidence that I needed to experiment with my wardrobe, and they really inspired me to become a plus-size designer.
Beauty and fashion is not pain!
It was really important for me to create fun and trendy pieces for the plus-size market.
I want to offer plus-size women the opportunity to wear fun colors and to avoid the pitfalls of only wearing black because many curvy girls think it is the only color that is slimming.
I'm turning this industry around and making clothing that we've been wanting and needing.
When people told me that I couldn't do something, I wanted to always prove them wrong. That comes a lot from people always bullying me because of my size and not thinking that I could do anything to impact the world or inspire other people.
I wasn't your normal plus-size girl who would dress in all black and hide in the shadows. I was very out there. But I was very shy and insecure about certain things.
Be bold and wear things you like. If you want to wear a cropped top, do it!
It's a constant battle being a plus-size designer.
The wear time on clothing for plus-sized women is half the life span of a straight-sized woman's clothing. Straight-sized women's bras can last them three, six months? Our bras don't last as long as a straight-sized woman's bras normally do because we have more movement; we have more weight.
I had a hard time with bullying in school, so being creative was my outlet.
I was seven years old when my grandmother stated teaching me to sew, and she always encouraged me to be creative.
I went to multiple doctors to make sure that I'm taking the right anti-depression medication and make sure that my blood pressure's okay. I found out that my blood pressure wasn't okay and that I had a fatty liver. All these health risks were coming up.
I'm never afraid of pattern or texture.
I trust people until they give me a reason not to trust them.
It's amazing to be able to embrace young talent.
I follow a lot of the plus-sized bloggers.
You can't continue to reflect on the past.
I'm super excited to be collaborating with JCPenney to create my first-ever capsule collection for that plus-size woman who needs that confidence and wants to be fabulous every day.
I can believe in myself, and I feel like I'm such a strong and talented designer.
I love color, and I'm very inspired by curvy women and helping them feel good in their clothes.
I like to design funky things, and I love to mix prints and patterns together.
I feel like there's not enough clothing out there to show our personality and just to be comfortable and to be fashion-forward and to be a trendsetter. There are a lot of clothes out there for the straight-size woman to be able to show that, but in the plus-size industry, I don't feel like it's there just yet.
I don't have a problem showing my legs!
Don't limit yourself to wearing a black dress because it's 'slimming.'
I'm not trying to get approval from anyone else. No one's approval matters to me - what matters is making myself happy for myself and no one else. And if I look good to someone else, I hope they take me as inspiration or whatever they want.
I love to sew. But when it's something that's being repetitive over and over and over again, it takes a toll.
When I got into high school, that's when I stated dabbling in fashion design. I got involved in the theater department's costume design and started to think that maybe I'd major in fashion design.
Weight loss surgery isn't going to make you lose weight; it's a tool to help you lose weight. Half of it is the surgery, and half of it is you eating what you're supposed to eat and exercising.
Widening a garment or making it larger is not understanding the real curves of a plus size women.
Social media is an influence but with my own twist!
We should just all wear what we want.
I'm representing for the plus-size community and the plus-size industry. It feels amazing to be able to be the voice that we need.
People need to work on what self-love is and redefining self-love... it comes from within: who you are and how you carry yourself in this world.
I have to constantly remind myself that no one is perfect and that this is my journey, and I have to be kind to myself.
Once you feel good, you look good... that projects to everyone.
Seeing that 'Project Runway' sign at the end of the runway just made me, like, realize, like, 'Wow, I'm on this show. I'm living every designer's dream right now.'
It's nice to see how much the mainstream fashion community has been so accepting of it. It's very exciting to see that folks finally want to make plus-size mainstream.
I think the hardest thing is to design for plus-size women. I enjoyed designing for straight-size because there's no limits. They can basically wear anything, and that's where I was able to have creative freedom with it.
I feel like people in the industry are scared to take that chance because it's not easy to design plus-size clothing.
