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 wonder why it has taken such a long time in our country to understand or look at the potential of plus-size models. So what if they are plus-size, they are confident and have equal enthusiasm for life.
My relationship with brick-and-mortar shopping is, in general, unpleasant. I can't remember a time in my life when I could go to a physical store and find a variety of things in my size that excited me and fit my personal style. As a plus-size shopper at a typical mall, you're limited to at most five stores out of maybe 50 clothing retailers. That leaves us with very few options and, for people on a tight budget, pretty much no chance of comparison shopping. You take what you can get.
Torrid was that company that I went to as a plus-sized kid. They're the ones that kind of got me out of my shell and gave me the confidence that I needed to experiment with my wardrobe, and they really inspired me to become a plus-size designer.
I have to take some time to dream some new dreams. I feel like there's a treasure hunt in front of me. A treasure hunt that is speckled with and seeded by a deep-rooted wild freedom.
I feel like, sometimes, plus-size women get scared to show skin... but summer is the time that we can enjoy doing that.
Why would I want to walk the runway for a brand to be their token plus-size girl when they're not even making my size?
I particularly like Strellson because I love one-stop shopping. I don't like going store to store. I want to go to one store: look, see, buy, go. But shopping takes time. If I have three or four hours, I play golf.
I do know that when I started, there weren't very many Latina plus-size models. For a long time, with my look and my body type, I felt like there wasn't a place for me.
It has taken a long time for me to really dress as the artist that I am: I'm an indie girl, I like experimental, I like things to be subverted. Details are the fun part.
The concept of plus-size is so derogatory and weird. What does that mean? Plus the normal size? It shouldn't exist any more.
I'm very proud of 'Every Girl's a Super Girl.' I want all girls to know that no matter what size, color, or shape, whatever they are, that every girl is a super girl! They should be brave, confident, and have fun and enjoy every day!
I don't understand why it's not okay to be plus-size. I don't know why people hate that phrase. Many models have built their careers as plus-size women and then suddenly don't want to be called that anymore. But you're still cashing checks from plus-size designers.
I didn't even know I was considered plus-size until I was on the red carpet here in L.A. one day and a lady said, 'How do you feel about being a plus-sized girl in Hollywood?' I was like, 'What's she talking about?'
I can't go shopping like I did before I was famous. It has to be planned now. I can't walk around a shopping centre. Even when I have four security guards with me, shoppers run towards me. It's fun, but it's difficult when you're trying to get your bits.
Straight sized boards are models size 0-6. Plus size boards are models starting at a 10. If a size 8 girl was 5' 11 and curvy, she'd be on the plus sized board, because there's nothing in between.
Most of the brands that have used me don't say I'm "plus-size" - and there are other plus-size girls doing really well. But there is still a gap in "normal size" girls being represented. There are so many size 8 girls in shape; they look hot, but there is a lack of diversity for them. At the moment there's an extreme on both size sides. But it's changing, and that can only be seen as positive.