The Blue Dragon mini dress is a product designed by Rebecca Alexis, available in her online store SIZED.
When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the spring 2020 semester with a lockdown and campus closure, Rebecca Alexis ’23 gave Rebecca Alexis ’23 an unexpected opportunity to pursue her first love: fashion.
“I always wanted to get involved in fashion, but I stayed away from it because I was concentrating on my studies,” she said.
The African Studies major, who plans to attend law school after graduation, found herself thinking more about fashion, particularly for people like her.
“I realized that a lot of black businesses had the light on at the time,” he said. “When I looked at the clothes that I liked, I saw that they had products for people who were small, medium, large and sometimes extra large, but they never had anything in my size. I wanted to support these black-owned businesses, but I couldn’t because they had nothing for me or people like me.”
Growing up on Long Island, Alexis was forced to buy her plus size clothes from clothing chains, something she hated.
“I remember the clothes I had to wear as a child didn’t even fit me,” she said. “I need to have clothes that I want to wear, and I realized that I was wearing church clothes to school and there was no reason for it. That’s how this started.”
Alexis drew further inspiration from an unlikely source: a sitcom aimed at teens.
“I used to watch the TV show That’s So Raven when I was younger,” he said. “Even though it was just a TV show, she made clothes and that really opened my eyes to what she could do.”
So instead of continuing to put up with clothes that she felt didn’t represent her style and taste, the daughter of Haitian immigrants went back to her fashion roots and launched SIZED in 2020 as an outlet for people who want stylish clothing in a smaller range. wide of sizes. . Her store offers sizes from XS to 5X.
Although he said he “had no idea what he was doing,” he began to come up with designs and illustrate them.
“I started with the t-shirts,” he said. “The Internet made getting started pretty easy. There are several services you can sign up for, and it’s easy and affordable.”
Alexis’s older sister, who has her own line of hair products, helped her navigate the technology, and a graphic artist helped her execute her designs. Alexis was surprised by the initial response.
“I’ve always loved fashion, but now people say, ‘Okay, I believe what you say and I’ll try what you’re doing,'” she said. “At the moment there are not many options for young people beyond fast fashion brands.”
The sales of the t-shirts were encouraging enough for her to start exploring different products. Alexis said she does design sketches and consults with friends and clients for feedback.
“I still make T-shirts, but I really love making dresses,” she said. “People love dresses and I was very surprised. When I bought the first one, I hated it. But then it started getting a lot of likes.
Alexis said she tries to bring new designs as old ones wear out, and has been reaching out to more and more people as time goes on.
“I have about 12,000 followers on Instagram right now,” he said. “Just a few months ago I had 7,000 followers. As time goes by, more and more people like it, and I also have other people who recommend me to others.”
Alexis estimates that she has received about 200 orders over the summer. After graduating, she plans to attend law school, though she intends to stay attached to the world of fashion. To that end, she said, her next move will be to focus more on dresses.
“I would like to do an affordable version of some of the high-end products and hopefully I can get into small boutique stores,” he said.
Alexis also highlights populations that she feels have been ignored.
“I try to center the designs around black women, who are a marginalized group that, in my opinion, don’t get enough recognition,” she said. “I have a design that has queer women, something I don’t see much in clothing designs. So I’ve really tried to focus on people who have been marginalized and show them that they are represented. Considering the amount of plus-size people in the United States, I hope that the inclusion of sizes is not a trend.”
—Robert Emproto
Source: news.stonybrook.edu