Fashion
This Self-Love T-Shirt Line Celebrates The Beauty And Power Of Plus Size Women
Whether you decide to buy a trendy jacket from your favorite fast fashion brand or constantly search for the greatest eco-friendly clothing finds, your style often speaks for you. And this viral clothing line could be the loudest of them all.
Feminine Funk is taking over Instagram, but the black-owned brand is much more impactful than just a momentary trend. The line was designed specifically with plus-size women in mind, and is inspiring these women to love their bodies unapologetically.
Without a doubt, Feminine Funk's T-shirts are for fierce women who want to wear their self-love on their sleeve. The plus size line uses slogans like, "Don't let society make you insecure" and "Living voluptuously" to show women that it's OK — and even trendy — to own your body and voice.
"When I first started Feminine Funk there was a lack of body positive messages specifically for confident plus size women like myself," Nicole Grier, founder of Feminine Funk, tells Bustle via email. "Society typically tells women (plus or not) that they should 'fix' whatever they feel is wrong with them.
"I felt it was my obligation to create bold messages of self-love and empowerment for women who happen to be plus size and feel sexy, fierce and unapologetic about who they are."
When it comes to Grier's inspiration, it's all about women power. Although she says this loud and proud, she doesn't have to. Her clothing line speaks clearly on its own.
From the slogans on her tees, it's easy to see that Grier understands women, their interests, and the power of confidence. She's transformed TLC album title "Crazy. Sexy. Cool." into a "Crazy. Curvy. Cool." slogan, and uses sassy statements like "I don't dress up for boys. I dress up to stare at my reflection as I walk by store windows" on bold T-shirts.
The simple sentences, she's found, speak to women with something to say.
"Like many designers, I am inspired by numerous things. But I would have to say my main source of inspiration when it comes to coming up with slogans is women," Grier tells Bustle. "We are truly an amazing species, and all so beautifully different. Feminine Funk tees definitely celebrate the parts of the female body that are often criticized by society."
Grier doesn't just listen to her customers when it comes to style. The pricing and sizes also prove how well she knows her young audience on a budget. Shirts are all $24.99, while sweatshirts are $50.
Feminine Funk currently carries sizes medium to 4XL in many of the items, with only some shirts available to customers on the smaller end of that scale. The difference in sizing, Grier says, depends on the slogan. While tees like "Living voluptuously" are only available in plus sizes, others like "Never underestimate the power of a woman" are available in medium to 4XL. The brand even has plans to add 5XL in the future.
"When Feminine Funk was new, we only offered sizes 1X-3X. We soon started getting a demand for smaller sizes, so we started carrying sizes S-4X," Grier tells Bustle. "We noticed that size small wasn't selling, and we would get stuck with a lot of them. So we made a decision to eliminate the smalls and start our sizes with medium."
And the entire formula is working. With the combination of self-love, trendy items, and sizes for almost everyone, these tees are taking over. And Grier doesn't plan to top brainstorming cheeky slogans anytime soon.
"I'm a woman who believes in following her dreams," Grier says. "So if a dream is planted within me to expand Feminine Funk beyond tees, I most definitely will pursue it."