My body, once a size 6-8, now fluctuates between 12 and 14. The pandemic, with its endless Zomato orders, took its toll. While I tried to accept the changes, days would inevitably arrive when I’d find myself surrounded by clothes, feeling like a defeated wrestler. Then I stumbled upon a reel by New Zealand-based Lauren Brodie. The 34-year-old marketing manager reveals that her style bloomed post-pregnancy. “My daughter changed everything,” she tells me over email. “Kids dress with unfiltered joy. There’s no concept of ‘flattering’ or ‘hiding’. In my thinner years, I dressed to shrink myself,” she confesses. Inspired by her daughter’s playful approach to dressing, she’s “finally learnt to embrace bold shapes and vibrant colours”. Brodie is unafraid of layers. Take, for example, a blue and white strappy gingham dress worn over a puff sleeve blouse in a matching print, paired with large red scrunchies. I love this plot twist, opposite to the popularised makeover of ‘lose weight first, then get the wardrobe and style of your dreams’. I wasn’t alone.
When the pandemic forced Aiswarya Kutty to shut down her apparel business, she found herself navigating many personal changes, including gaining weight. Documenting her journey of rediscovering her style was a social experiment, a way of climbing out of the creative rut. Initially hesitant to face the camera, she eventually found confidence by “embracing where I was”.
What she didn’t expect was for her vulnerability to inspire so many others and turn into a thriving business. Her self-made accessories, especially the textile bibs that she styles over co-ord sets and printed dresses, quickly gained popularity. “They add style without the bulk of a coat or overshirt,” Kutty explains. Now, she balances thoughtful spending with a love for homegrown fashion, setting aside a monthly fund to invest in purchases from brands such as Nicobar, Doodlage and NorBlack NorWhite. “Fabric quality is everything,” she says, adding she is now comfortable spending more on pieces that will last.
This ethos also rings true with Rhea Bhattacharyya, founder of Drawn. Having experienced significant body changes, she understands the anxiety that comes with finding clothes that truly fit and last. Her designs reject standard sizes and embrace the belief that style should liberate, not constrain. “Why should our clothes hold us hostage?” she asks. Her vibrant prints and voluminous silhouettes are embraced by curvy girls, atypical to what you usually see. “It is all in the styling,” she insists. “It’s about celebrating yourself, not hiding, which means having fun with the shade of lipstick you wear and the bag you match it with.” Bhattacharyya notes that she feels like she has done her work when clients at pop-ups come to her asking if an outfit can be made in their size, only to find that the piece already exists, ready for them to try on. She recounts the instant validation on their faces and the way the women feel seen.
