by Caitlin Ruggero

Thrift stores have always felt like home to me. I attribute my love for second-hand shopping to my mother, as I think back to rainy Saturday mornings spent with her at our local thrift shop sifting through racks of clothing, looking for the latest trends at a discount. She was determined I navigate my adolescent years in the same Abercrombie and Fitch clothes as everyone else (oh, the joys of middle school).

I never gave the fact that my outfit was thrifted a second thought—if anything, thrift shopping made me more inclined to develop a funky personal style. As I grew older and started to experiment more with fashion, I always gravitated to the thrift store over the mall. However, after going to college and definitely gaining weight while there, I soon realized plus-sized vintage can be hard to come by. I can’t count how many times I’d walk into a fitting room carrying a giant stack of clothes, thinking about all the cute outfits I could wear, only to walk out and put almost all of them back on the rack because the shirt was too tight or the jeans didn’t button. 

Thrift stores, once my shopping safe haven, began to be associated with frustration. Why not try shopping for vintage in my size online, right? As I naïvely headed to Instagram (which, by the way, is exploding with “vintage shops”), I was greeted with a plethora of very cute but too small for me pieces. Where can a vintage loving plus-sized girl shop without worrying about her size? Let me introduce you to Shop Berriez. Founded by the wonderful Emma Zack, Berriez is like nowhere else I’ve shopped before. Walking into Emma’s basement studio full of beautiful, fun racks of vintage clothing that I knew would actually fit me made thrifting feel like home again. 

About a year ago, Emma began posting vintage clothing for sale on Instagram (where Berriez is now a shop--@shopberriez on Insta) and slowly gained a following once friends of friends got wind of her cool, vintage plus-sized finds. A regular theme in her clothing is fruit, because “if you think about it, humans, like fruit, are uniquely vibrant, sweet and desirable at any size, shape or shade.”

Bold colors and designs are kind of her thing—a scroll through Berriez on Instagram is sure to entice you with amazing, one-of-a-kind pieces like this statement sweater. In fact, most of Emma’s items for sale would be considered “statement” pieces, and it’s not a coincidence—while standing out is something plus-sized people are taught not to do, Emma doesn’t believe that for a second. As for your typical Berriez customer, “they aren’t afraid to take risks clothing-wise, and wear lots of bold prints and bright colors. They dress to make themselves visible and stand out.” For the longest time, I thought wearing a fun, quirky outfit as a plus-sized woman just wasn’t possible, especially something vintage. It felt amazing to not only feel validated by Emma’s bright, playful plus-sized collection but also look bomb in her clothing. 

While “inclusivity” is definitely a buzzword these days, the fashion industry needs to take steps to actually understand their plus-sized customers. “Creating plus-size fashion, whether it’s sustainable or not, requires serious care and consideration. Brands need to carry extended sizes not just to be viewed as ‘inclusive’ but because they’ve done their research and know what plus-size consumers want and what looks best on our bodies.”

That’s why along with Emma many other sustainable plus-sized brands, run by plus-sized folks (Luvsik Plus, Wasil Clothing, More Than Your Average, Tamara Malas), are essential: “Like I’ve done in creating Berriez, other plus-sized brands appear to be supplementing for what they’ve lacked in their own shopping experiences.” I’ve never felt more hopeful than I do now about the future of plus-sized fashion, especially with the right voices behind it.

Photographed by SUSTAIN the Mag and Shop Berriez Team

So get out there, have fun and Shop Berriez!