The style trade typically preaches that model is for everybody, however discovering fashionable, well-fitting clothes in all sizes stays a problem. Enter Lauren Grey, the 27-year-old founding father of What Lo Needs, a web-based 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 style 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 seen a evident hole within the secondhand style market: a scarcity of measurement inclusivity. That realization sparked the thought for her personal model—one that might lastly supply the style she had at all times needed however struggled to seek out.
What Lo Needs Has a Deeper That means
The identify What Lo Needs carries a private contact. Grey, affectionately known as “Lo” or “Lolo” by shut family and friends, discovered inspiration in an informal dialog with a pal’s mother.
“I used to be at all times like, ‘I wish to put on this, or I wish to put on that, I wish to put on what my pals are carrying.’ So I used to be speaking to my finest pal’s mother, who was just about like my mother, and she or he 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 aircraft 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 Aim for Trend
For Grey, measurement inclusivity isn’t nearly availability—it’s about altering how folks take into consideration style.
“It’s humorous since you need style to suit appropriately, you need it to be made on your physique, however you don’t need model to be made on your physique,” she defined. “I want to see style not be tied to measurement when it comes to model. Like, I select what I wish to put on, so I ought to be capable to select from all these choices, versus, these are my choices. That is what I’ve to put on.”
Grey acknowledges that the trade has made progress however notes latest setbacks, notably with the rise of weight reduction medication and shifting physique measurement tendencies.
“Clearly, everybody is aware of it looks like style goes backward,” she mentioned. “I feel it undoubtedly is turning into somewhat more durable. And I feel, I imply, it’s an enormous dialog.”
As each a shopper of style and a enterprise proprietor, Grey has noticed the continued dialogue round weight reduction medication. Whereas she hasn’t seen a drastic shift in gross sales as a consequence of these tendencies, she stays attuned to how physique requirements proceed to evolve.
“For me personally, I feel I at all times simply fear about whether or not it’s somebody being impressionable and feeling like they should do one thing versus eager to,” she mentioned. “I really feel like I used to be very impressionable, I used to be gullible, my pals would say. So for me, it was, ‘Okay, do I really feel like I must shed some pounds as a result of everybody else is doing it, or is there one thing that I really feel like I wish 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 somewhat bit extra sensible [with weight loss drugs]. But it surely’s nonetheless your alternative. I feel physique positivity is what it’s. It’s no matter you wish to do together with your physique, and it’s not my enterprise.”
Encouraging Confidence in Trend
Grey believes that style ought to empower folks to really feel good in their very own pores and skin, fairly than forcing them to evolve to outdated magnificence requirements.
“There was this large push for, ‘Simply embrace your physique, gown such as you need, who cares what folks assume?’ However I feel it’s like, nicely, what truly feels snug to you?” she mentioned. “If that feeling comes from like, ‘I’m apprehensive what different folks 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 folks to take small steps towards confidence.
“The primary time you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’m lastly carrying a crop high, 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 enlargement.
“I really like being a DTC model. It really works nicely, we’re nonetheless manufacturing within the U.S., so our value level is somewhat bit larger as a result of we’re paying U.S. labor,” she mentioned. “That signifies that it’s more durable to distribute by means 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 the direction of sooner or later.”
With a mission that prioritizes confidence, inclusivity, and private alternative, Grey isn’t simply promoting garments—she’s reshaping the narrative round style and measurement. And with What Lo Needs persevering with to develop, the way forward for size-inclusive style appears shiny.
