Chick Chat: Getting Real About Inclusivity with Thick Laces' Essie and Katie
Katie Alexis and Essie Golden of Thick Laces.
MEET KATIE ALEXIS AND ESSIE GOLDEN.
CROSS-COUNTRY BFFS. SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTARS. COMMUNITY CULTIVATORS. PLUS-SIZE SNEAKHERHEADS.
While our CNK Chick Chat pieces shine a spotlight on individual women, each story seems to reveal shared experiences that tie us together. A common thread between us is the desire for camaraderie; we all want to belong, swap sneaker closets, and show off our fits with like-minded women who look like us. Unfortunately, sneaker culture is not immune to Western beauty standards; go to any sneaker hype page and you will find a plethora of posts showcasing thin, white people and very few (if any) showcasing people who are not deemed conventionally attractive by these impossible ideals.
Enter New Yorker Essie Golden and DC veteran Katie Alexis, two unstoppable self-proclaimed ‘fat icons’ who got tired of waiting to see women like them on popular sneaker pages,
Frustrated by lack of representation in the streetwear sphere, the fashionista duo founded Thick Laces, an online community that pushes plus-sized WOC sneakherheads to the front page. Amongst their shares of freshly-dropped hype footwear and apparel are photos of curvy women showing off the way they style their favorite sneakers.
Read on below for our open discussion about owning the space you take up and inspiring others to do the same.
What’s the 411? Tell us about yourselves.
Essie: I am a plus size blogger, model and body positive advocate. I’ve been doing this since 2012, I feel like an OG, haha. I’ve loved sneakers for as long as I could remember but growing up I didn’t have money like that to purchase. My interests in sneakers came back around in 2018.
Katie: I’m an army veteran located in the Washington metropolitan area. I’m a logistician by day and blogger by night. My love of sneakers goes all the way back to 16 years old.
What is ‘Thick Laces’? How did Thick Laces come about?
E: Like everyone else I was shopping like crazy during the pandemic. I started following new people and was inspired by their fashion. Many of them were lovers of sneakers, which was dope. Many of them inspired my purchases.
When I was looking at sneaker pages and hashtags, plus size women were not being shown at all. This is a common theme everywhere. My platforms originally started because of lack of representation. After a conversation I had with Katie, we decided we needed to start something that featured plus size women who are killing the sneaker and streetwear game. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented. If people aren’t willing to give you a seat at their table, create one.
K: I used to follow a lot of sneaker and streetwear pages and one thing I always noticed is that I didn’t see other plus-size women. After talking to Essie about it we came up with a plan to launch a platform.
So many dope ladies killing it and we wanted to showcase them.
Speaking of sneaks: what kicks are on your sneak(HER) wishlist?
E: Every week I get sad about not being able to get my hands on the Melody Ehsani Air Jordan 1 Fearless. I tried so hard to get them the day they were released and was unsuccessful. I’m on GOAT and Stock X faithfully hoping those prices go down.
I’ve had conversations with Katie about selling my kidney for a pair. Do you really need two? Haha.
K: I have my eye on the Goldenrod Dunks, Saquaon Barkley Air Trainer 3s, and any New Balance 550s.
Essie Golden
“Sneaker culture is so far behind, it makes me mad. Everyone wears shoes. How hard is it to put a plus size woman in a campaign that’s all about shoes? ”
As plus size women, we know how it feels to be left out of the conversation when it comes to fashion.
Do you feel that sneaker culture excludes plus size individuals? How?
E: I feel like sneaker culture is so far behind, it makes me mad. Take clothes out of the equation. Everyone wears shoes. How hard is it to put a plus size woman in a campaign that’s all about shoes? I see it everyday on my timeline. There are TONS and I mean TONS of women who kill the sneaker culture game and aren’t even featured on other sneaker pages. You know, when you’re posting your outfit and you're using hashtags that the sneaker pages have... They're not showcasing you. They're not showcasing women that look like you. They're not really showcasing black women or women of color, and if they are, the women are somewhat ethnically ambiguous.
Why is that? It’s lazy and tired. That is why pages like Thick Laces are important. However, it’s more important for pages that aren’t ‘plus-size only’ to feature plus-sized people. Every page should be inclusive.
K: I can name ten “popular’ sneaker pages on instagram and none will have a plus size sneakerhead on it. And if they do have a plus-size girl, it's usually a coke-bottle-shaped woman every time. It's like, hey, you know you could show an apple shape; you could show other types of women.
So many ladies are killing it in many different shapes and sizes, yet we are continually excluded from the conversation. It is truly frustrating for me how the sneaker community pretends to be so far ahead of the times when they are in fact not.
According to NPD Research, nearly 70% of women in the US wear a US size 14 or larger, yet many brands and stores are still falling short when it comes to providing sizes beyond XL.
What gives? Give me your thoughts on this.
E: Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like brands are pushing to provide more sizes but they’re doing it very slowly and with little effort. I’ve seen brands do plus size drops and not announce it. I’ve seen them say they’re inclusive but stop at 2XL when at the minimum it should at least be 3XL. I also feel some of these brands don’t want to sell to plus size women (even though it's a multi billion dollar industry ). I wish they would come out and say that. I would respect it more.
K: It’s almost 2022 and I can’t believe it’s still a thing. Brands will have plus size models in their campaigns but don’t go past an XL. I don’t understand it. Some will say they are size inclusive but their 3XL is really a US 12 with their measurements. Our money is green, too. We shouldn’t have to beg brands to offer larger sizes like they do for men. That is why I’m a firm believer of supporting brands that support you.
Why won't more brands just come out and say ‘hey, like I know this probably sounds wrong, but we really just don't want to service you’? I would respect it more instead of us begging to be in your stuff and have pieces from you.
Katie Alexis
“Our money is green, too. We shouldn’t have to beg brands to offer larger sizes like they do for men. That is why I’m a firm believer of supporting brands that support you. ”
We’re starting to see more brands tout “inclusivity” in their marketing campaigns.
What does inclusivity mean to you? What does it mean to be an “inclusive” brand?
E: Inclusivity for me means seeing different body types, sizes, ethnicities, and people from all walks of life. I think a lot of brands are doing the bare minimum to be considered inclusive. You’ll see a campaign filled with people who all look alike and maybe one person who looks slightly different from the rest but still socially acceptable; just enough to get some eyes on their brand and co-op the body positive movement.
t’s old and tiring. These brands can and should do more. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented. We’ll continue to use our voices to push inclusivity.
K: Some brands think all plus size women have a coke bottle shape and only use those shaped women in their campaigns. It’s outdated advertising.
Inclusivity to me means using models of all different sizes and who are racially diverse. Also don’t change the style of clothing for your plus-size side of the collection. It should match what they offer to straight sized people. Too many times we are offered grandma style clothes. We don’t want butterflies, skulls, or rhinestones all over our clothing.
“If people aren’t willing to give you a seat at their table, create one.”
If you could say anything to your younger self, what would it be?
K: Follow your passion, rather than pursue the safe route embraced by others.
E: Being the odd one, the difficult one, or the biggest one all works in your favor.
There is nothing wrong with you. You’re unique and you were meant to be that way.