For anyone who truly loves fashion, there’s no better satisfaction than finding a gem of a garment that feels like the missing puzzle piece to your wardrobe: an inexplicably soft T-shirt or vintage Levi’s that fit as though they’re custom. But as Influencer and Megababe Founder Katie Sturino points out, “that discovery process is a very new experience for a plus size woman. She hasn’t been able to play like that before.” However, in Sturino's latest collaboration, such play is on the menu. The Katie Sturino x Stitch Fix Collection is now available in sizes 0 to 24.
This launch marks a major moment for Sturino and Stitch Fix, the digital styling service which currently boasts approximately 3.1 million clients. “I went to Stitch Fix in October for the first time,” Sturino says of the conception of the collection. “I had never tried it before, I just knew it was a cool company that everyone talked about. I went on a discovery tour and one of the things that really stuck with me that is that they put so much emphasis on fit.” The result of the meeting is a debut filled with printed caftans, brightly colored dresses, and warm weather pieces all priced between $54 and $98 and available once you create a styling profile on Stitch Fix's website.
What Sturino says impressed her most was that Stitch Fix’s expansion from a straight-size brand to plus-size was handled with thoughtful consideration to how diverse bodies can be. “They had a full fit specialist who was there to help factories understand how a plus size woman’s body is not just a mannequin that you scale. I had never seen taken so seriously by a retailer that wasn't a straight-up plus retailer,” she explains.
For those who’ve followed Sturino’s career for the past severals years, size-inclusive collaboration speaks directly to her work, namely with her former blog, The 12ish Style, and the movements she’s created around #SuperSizeTheLook and #MakeMySize, two hashtags meant to encourage brands to expand their sizing. “Two years ago I would never posted a photo of a designer’s clothing not fitting me, because I blamed myself instead of taking a look at the brand,” explains Sturino. However, things changed as she began to ask, “what does this brand's social media look like? Who are they catering to? Why did they stop at making a size 10? Why does their size 10 fit like a size 8?”
Sturino now uses her hashtag series to speak publicly about brands that, according to the aforementioned questions, have potential to be so much more inclusive than they currently are. Now, her own Stitch Fix collection feels like a full-circle moment. “You have brands who are going to avoid the topic of extending sizes all together, and you have brands who don’t want to be known for not doing it, but they’re not going to. But brands like Stitch Fix, they drove this," she explains. "They said, ‘we want this to be 0-24, what do you think about that?’ And I loved that because my followers are not all plus size. It just continues to create a divide when we keep talking about plus size [or] straight size.”
Aptly, the lookbook images for Sturino’s debut collection with Stitch Fix don't focus on one size range either. Models of several shapes and sizes — including fellow influencer and friend Blair Eadie of Atlantic-Pacific, who's been a guest star with Sturino in her #SuperSizeTheLook posts — wear the pieces Sturino created, all of which were inspired by her personal style. "I started with my summer dream lineup which includes caftans, bohemian pieces, and just general easy, colorful, fun pieces that you want to wear this summer and keep in your closet for several summers after," Sturino shares. "There’s nothing in here that is majorly trendy, it really is much more about wearable lasting pieces."
The Katie Sturino x Stitch Fix Collection is now available and is sent in “Fixes,” or pre-set packages, at a cadence determined by the client. “If you’re very set in your style it might take a few style switches or feedback on your questionnaire,” advises Sturino to first-time users of Stitch Fix's styling services. Whatever your shopping style, Sturino shares that there's an element of surprise to what you might discover on the site — be it in her line or others. And ideally, fewer reasons to have to ask to #MakeMySize going forward.
