Sandi Toksvig Quotes

For so long, I have been an outsider because of my size. And I think that fashion has always, in some way, catered to celebrities or to a thinner idealistic model.

I did a little modeling in Minnesota, but because I was a heavier 'model,' I didn't pursue it much when I lived there.

Though designed as a mere convenience, clothing sizes establish an unintended norm, an ideal from which deviations seem like flaws. There's nothing like a trip to the dressing room to convince a woman - fat, thin, or in between - that she's a freak.

It's taken me a long time to enjoy shopping. As a plus-size girl, you walk into a store, and it can sometimes be like a designer doesn't know you exist. It's become a fun treasure hunt.

I'm a plus-size person, so when I tried to go into the Gap, I used to just walk out of there shaking my head because they have nothing that fits me.

I find it infuriating that in this industry, size 10 and above is defined as 'plus size,' especially when the average dress size in the U.K. is a 16.

I want to find a way to reach young women emotionally and also to start providing clothing for them so that they can wear the same things their thin friends can wear. I really want to do evening wear and prom dresses for these girls.

We're getting to this amazing place where the average size in America is a 14-16, and we're starting to see that represented in the fashion industry, and it's becoming more accepted.

To be honest, I used to hate shopping. I rarely left a store without crying, cursing my body, and swearing under my breath at the fashion industry.

I've got a 27-inch waist. Before, I was stupid smaller. Finding clothes in the South was impossible.

I have always been too round to do fashion shows.

Society has a hyper emphasis on thin, and that trend comes from the consumers - it does not come from the fashion industry. The fashion industry needs to make money; that's what we do. If people said, 'We want a 300 pound purple person,' the first industry to do it would be fashion.

I hate hearing from anyone ever saying, 'Oh, you only make clothes for models. That's so annoying,' because it just never, never is the case. Our top-selling size is probably a 12.

It's crazy that most high-end designers stop at a size 14.

My hair was curly, and everyone else's was straight or in micro braids. I didn't have a lot of money, so I shopped at thrift stores. And I'm petite - I never looked shapely. I remember thinking, 'Will I ever have that stereotypical round, full butt that people think most black women have? I had to find another way to feel good about myself.

After so many years of being rejected and having my body scrutinized... for Aerie to come along and basically say, 'We accept you. We don't care about your size.' To see those pictures on a Times Square billboard, and they were completely unretouched, I just was like, 'Wow. I finally feel good enough!'

I think the word 'plus-sized' is so divisive to women.

Designers are either not interested in making larger sizes or they don't feel that it's important.

There's definitely been times when I've been on sets and I was the bigger model in the room, where they're casting girls.

There shouldn't be a segregation of women over a size 16, it should just be all women who want to wear beautiful clothes.

I like dressing in designer clothes, and it's hard to buy them if you are overweight. And I got tired of, like, going in the stores, and then it was like I couldn't fit in anything. And overall, I wanted to be healthy.

It can be very hard to find clothing for different body shapes. After all, there are only, what, five companies for plus-size women?

There's no conversation happening between plus-size women and designers. The door is never open.

Fashion should be about making clothes that make all women look beautiful, not making women starve so that they can fit in a size 8.

I think it's really important for all young girls to see themselves represented in fashion so they don't feel alone in the world.