A Liverpool fashion designer founded her own plus-size fashion brand after struggling for years to find fashionable and flattering plus-sized clothing.
Lucy Bramley, 30, from Allerton, launched her brand, Ruched & Ready in 2019 after feeling frustrated with the lack of options available for her to wear on nights out.
As a seasoned fashion expert with over eight years of experience under her belt, Lucy knew exactly what she wanted in a plus-size clothing line.
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Since then, her line, which is designed with plus-size women in mind, has sold an incredible 10,000 pieces this year alone and is on track to make over £750,000 by the end of the year.
Lucy told the ECHO: “Other brands would have a standard range that would go to a size 14 or 16. Then they would get those styles ad just make them into a size 18, but it wasn't necessarily focusing on someone who was plus size and what they would like.
“They're not supportive of plus size people at all, and you feel like they just tick us off like a tick box exercise.”
Lucy frequently encountered clothes that were either too short, shoddily crafted, or unflattering to her physique.
She went to the extent of purchasing two identical dresses and getting them sewn together by a seamstress to achieve the ideal fit.
But her meeting with a major brand would be the catalyst for her decision to launch her brand.
She said: “They had asked me to come into their design meeting to give some input for their plus size range. They said they were struggling with their designs and styles.
She continued: “I remember being in that meeting and seeing backless styles and single-layered dresses. I spoke in that meeting like I was the one running the company.
“After that I called my mum and told her I'm starting my own brand.”
Having already started a brand with her best friend called 24, offering outerwear, Lucy decided to shift her focus to providing fashionable wear for those plus-sized and soon sold her share of the company to her best friend.
Soon after, she began building her brand with the goal of designing flattering styles for all body shapes and sizes.
And thanks to its comfortable fabrics and stylish designs, Ruched & Ready has gained a devoted following, including celebrities like Maya Jama, Samantha Faiers, and Emily Atack.
But success was something Lucy had always foreshadowed for the brand.
She continued: “Everyone was saying ‘Aren't you scared to start your own brand?’ but I had so much knowledge before on how to do websites, how to do Shopify and how to send orders. All I needed to do was nail the designs.”
In September of 2023, Lucy will introduce a new collection of basics, ranging from sizes 8-20, ensuring that even more women can enjoy the confidence and style Ruched & Ready provides.
Lucy added: “I get emails from people’s mums who say their daughter turning 18 couldn't find an outfit but how confident our clothes have made them feel.
“Someone recently even wore my dress for their 70th birthday. My outfits provide such a flattering feeling that everyone is bound to feel nice.”
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