By zestybuzz 
The style business typically preaches that model is for everybody, however discovering stylish, well-fitting clothes in all sizes stays a problem. Enter Lauren Grey, the 27-year-old founding father of What Lo Needs, an internet clothes model that ranges from small to 5X. Her mission is to make sure confidence is available in each measurement—with out compromise.
Grey’s journey into the world of size-inclusive vogue began after graduating from Pitzer School. She initially landed a job at a tech firm that had simply launched an app for reselling clothes. Whereas serving to to construct the app’s neighborhood, she observed a obvious hole within the secondhand vogue market: a scarcity of measurement inclusivity. That realization sparked the concept for her personal model—one that might lastly supply the style she had all the time needed however struggled to search out.
What Lo Needs Has a Deeper That means
The identify What Lo Needs carries a private contact. Grey, affectionately referred to as “Lo” or “Lolo” by shut family and friends, discovered inspiration in an informal dialog with a good friend’s mother.
“I used to be all the time like, ‘I need to put on this, or I need to put on that, I need to put on what my associates are carrying.’ So I used to be speaking to my finest good friend’s mother, who was just about like my mother, and he or she was like, ‘It’s no matter Lola needs.’ She calls me Lolo, however nobody else does,” Grey recalled. “And I used to be like, oh, ‘What Lo Needs?’ That sounds so cute. On the airplane getting back from Curvy Con, I simply wrote it out on a serviette, and I stored that serviette, and now I’ve it tattooed on my arm.”
A Larger Objective for Style
For Grey, measurement inclusivity isn’t nearly availability—it’s about altering how individuals take into consideration vogue.
“It’s humorous since you need vogue to suit appropriately, you need it to be made to your physique, however you don’t need model to be made to your physique,” she defined. “I wish to see vogue not be tied to measurement by way of model. Like, I select what I need to put on, so I ought to have the ability to select from all these choices, versus, these are my choices. That is what I’ve to put on.”
Grey acknowledges that the business has made progress however notes latest setbacks, notably with the rise of weight reduction medicine and shifting physique measurement traits.
“Clearly, everybody is aware of it appears like vogue goes backward,” she stated. “I feel it undoubtedly is turning into a little bit tougher. And I feel, I imply, it’s an enormous dialog.”
As each a client of vogue and a enterprise proprietor, Grey has noticed the continued dialogue round weight reduction medicine. Whereas she hasn’t seen a drastic shift in gross sales attributable to these traits, she stays attuned to how physique requirements proceed to evolve.
“For me personally, I feel I all the time simply fear about whether or not it’s somebody being impressionable and feeling like they should do one thing versus eager to,” she stated. “I really feel like I used to be very impressionable, I used to be gullible, my associates would say. So for me, it was, ‘Okay, do I really feel like I have to drop extra pounds as a result of everybody else is doing it, or is there one thing that I really feel like I need to change about my physique?’ Like, I get it. I’m human.”
“So I feel it’s similar to everybody on this new age must be a little bit bit extra good [with weight loss drugs]. However it’s nonetheless your selection. I feel physique positivity is what it’s. It’s no matter you need to do together with your physique, and it’s not my enterprise.”
Encouraging Confidence in Style
Grey believes that vogue ought to empower individuals to really feel good in their very own pores and skin, relatively than forcing them to adapt to outdated magnificence requirements.
“There was this big push for, ‘Simply embrace your physique, costume such as you need, who cares what individuals assume?’ However I feel it’s like, nicely, what truly feels snug to you?” she stated. “If that feeling comes from like, ‘I’m apprehensive what different individuals will take into consideration my arms,’ okay, let’s work on that and notice that actually nobody’s taking a look at your arms. I promise you, nobody’s taking a look at your arms.”
She encourages individuals to take small steps towards confidence.
“The primary time you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’m lastly carrying a crop prime, everybody’s taking a look at me.’ The second time you’re like, ‘I don’t care in the event that they take a look at me.’ The third time, you’re like, ‘Nobody’s wanting.’”
The Way forward for What Lo Needs
As a direct-to-consumer model, What Lo Needs has discovered success, however Grey has her sights set on growth.
“I really like being a DTC model. It really works nicely, we’re nonetheless manufacturing within the U.S., so our value level is a little bit bit increased as a result of we’re paying U.S. labor,” she stated. “That signifies that it’s tougher to distribute by way of different channels, like doing wholesale and being in Nordstrom or one thing like that. However that’s the place I’d love to maneuver in direction of sooner or later.”
With a mission that prioritizes confidence, inclusivity, and private selection, Grey isn’t simply promoting garments—she’s reshaping the narrative round vogue and measurement. And with What Lo Needs persevering with to develop, the way forward for size-inclusive vogue seems to be shiny.