images from Beth Ditto
There are a multitude of reasons to love Beth Ditto, kickass leader of the now defunct rock outfit The Gossip. Ditto is a body-positive queer icon and muse to several fashion industry’s insiders such as John Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. Never shy, and certainly not one to play by the rules, Ditto has designed past collections for Evans, and even collaborated with Gaultier. Numerous magazine covers and editorial spreads later, the time has come for Beth to stand on her own. “The Gossip ended, and I was on my own and was just like, ‘You know what? This cow’s ready to milk! Let’s do this,'” she told Vogue.
For Spring 2016, the looks are distinctly influenced by vintage silhouettes with a signature Beth Ditto feeling. Barbie Knox, Philomena Kwao and Beth Ditto star in the Polaroid-esque lookbook shoot, styled by Katie Grand. Standout silks in luxurious silks, body conscious sheaths, blousey jumpsuits and a killer embroidered jean jacket. Warholian prints and oversized tees frolic with sweet pan collars and tea length dresses. The goal? A collection of high quality pieces for folks size 14-28, independently made, uncompromising, unapologetic, humane, and timeless. Although there is a time and place for inexpensive high street finds, it’s positive to see the industry move towards making higher quality garments accessible to larger sized folks, who want more than just “flattering” fit and flare dresses.
You can shop the collection right here!
If you want more tips on how to dress like Ditto herself, check out our Beth Ditto Style Thief from the archives!
My friends who were originally excited about this were extremely disappointed because they can’t even touch a pair of leggings. I understand that quality clothing comes with a price, but what’s the point of making a line prohibitively expensive to your audience?
I completely agree. Almost all of the pieces of this line each cost more than I pay in rent per month. While I’m glad for a body-positive fashion line, there’s other lines out there that offer great looking and fitting clothes for plus-sized women at a fraction of the cost. Perhaps the author might write an article about more budget-friendly alternatives?
I think it’s worth remembering that there’s lots of different types of fashion and style articles – this isn’t a style thief, or even necessarily encouraging people to shop this line, this article is highlighting a queer women women who has successfully made a high end, lux line for plus size bodies. I’m not going to be able to buy clothes by Ashley Neil-Tipton but that doesn’t make me less interested in her having a plus size collection at NYFW.
Yep. Lydia literally wrote : “The goal? A collection of high quality pieces for folks size 14-28, independently made, uncompromising, unapologetic, humane, and timeless. Although there is a time and place for inexpensive high street finds, it’s positive to see the industry move towards making higher quality garments accessible to larger sized folks, who want more than just “flattering” fit and flare dresses.”
I didn’t think about that at first. Great point!
I totally get that, because I can’t afford anything from the collection either. But, I don’t think that it is necessarily any more “prohibitively expensive to [her] audience” than any straight-sized designer line is to their audience. I think it’s just not an audience I’m actually a part of.
I think there are a lot of wealthier fashion-loving plus sized women out there who have been dying to get their hands on well made luxury clothing, but literally haven’t been able to find anything in their size. Or, less wealthy women who are truly devoted to fashion and willing to save up to splurge on something like a $300 dress, who haven’t had the opportunity to do that because the product doesn’t yet exist.
If anything, lines like these help normalize plus-sized fashion in the fashion world. Usually designers make high-end, super expensive, super well made clothes, and then fast fashion takes inspiration from (or knocks off) those clothes and makes more affordable versions. In the past, there haven’t been a ton of high-end plus-size designer options for fast fashion clothiers to try to emulate for their plus lines, and I think the lack of actual inspiration from well made plus-size designer clothing contributes to many of the wonky and unfashionable (yet affordable) plus sized clothes on the market.
Hopefully this will help change that. I can totally even see Beth Ditto doing a collab with Target or H&M like several other major designers have done in the past, to help get their designs to more people at a lower price.
So, tl;dr – even though I can’t actually afford to buy any of the clothes in Beth Ditto’s line, I think there are plus-sized women who can and who will be excited to be able to buy designer, and I think it’s a good thing for the plus-size fashion industry overall.
Those are all great points ! Thanks.
@Tina Really great points!
THIS. Omg, $115 for a pair of BLACK LEGGINGS? I love Beth, but this collection pisses me off so much. The price point is WAY too high for what you’re getting, and I haven’t even seen any non-model fashion bloggers wear this so I have no idea how it would look on my non-hourglass ass. There is NO WAY anyone I know would shell out that much money for something they can’t even try on or see on another body similar to theirs before buying. It makes me so frustrated.
Beth Ditto ! An article by Lydia ! Babes in great clothes !
My eyes are so so happy right now. <3
I just died and went to fat femme heaven. Goodness me…
Love love love
That Lola dress in Dove Grey is fantastic.