Scrolling her Instagram, it’s hard not to also notice the pictures of Katie struggling to put on new clothes that, in one way or another, just don’t fit—a scenario anyone watching has likely endured at least once in their life. What spurred her to take a situation that can often be frustrating, embarrassing or downright painful and share it with the entire Internet? Katie decided the blame was misplaced.
“I had put on some weight and I did this big order from a store and nothing was even close to fitting me,” she recalled of the turning point. “I was like, you know what, this is absurd. I’m a New York City-based fashion blogger person, and I can’t even find something to wear in this very large order from a very expensive retailer. I guess I just decided to take the shame out of my head and just put it on the clothing makers because I was the average size of a woman in this country.”
Those posts make up her ongoing series #MakeMySize, where she unabashedly calls on brands to expand their size ranges while using herself as living proof that there are customers not being served. “I don’t call brands out, I call brands in,” she clarified. “I invite you into a dialogue, I don’t put you on blast, I’m not like ‘Boycott this brand.’ It’s never like that.”
Still, her stance remains crystal clear. As she declared to E! News, “Brands that don’t have a size for the average-sized woman in this country still don’t make sense to me.” So as more retailers start to listen and play catch-up, listen to Katie: “When you’re in a fitting room, and you can’t get the jeans above your knees, and those are the biggest size they make, that’s not really your problem.”