Pamela Shainhouse
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

WHY I DO WHAT I DO

This is always a very tough time of the year. I guess writing this blog might make it a bit more manageable because I will be highlighting the word of my beautiful late daughter Alli, a message of inclusivity from so many years ago.

Tomorrow would have been the 39th birthday of my daughter and best friend Alli. No matter how long ago it is (and it is 12 years since her passing) the tears still come to the forefront every time I hit this time of year. I am trying to separate my personal life from my business but when it is so ensconced with the life of my daughter, my message seems to be as if it is coming from her mouth, a message that we both felt so strong about.

As I have said in my blogs, I was a co-founder of Allistyle Inc., a clothing line which celebrated all women, no matter what size. This brainchild came from the brain of my child, brilliant daughter Alli. When she was going through cancer treatment, she had gained over 80 pounds. Alli never thought of herself as fat, never as a plus-size woman. She never put herself down. Never looked at a mirror and criticized every part of her body. I guess that cancer does that to you, shows you what is important in life, and it is definitely not how large your thighs are.

In the early fall of 1999, Alli needed clothes. She refused to go into a plus-size store because she felt singled out, singled out because she needed to go to a special store to buy jeans. She sat in front of a plus-size store crying because she didn’t feel fat, she didn’t feel different, she just felt like Alli at the size that she was. My daughter was incredibly proud of who she was. She was a role model, definitely one for me. She had a mission to go out there and show women that it didn’t matter what size they were, she believed that beauty definitely was from within.

Inclusivity in fashion, treating plus-size women with dignity had been our mission from the get go. Allistyle had been talking about inclusivity from the beginning of our message. I believe that no one was ready to listen, but it is now 2018 and I need to bring this message to retailers and designers, and of course curvy women who want to be respected as they are.

Models such as Ashley Graham, the first curve model to grace Sports Illustrated and now Tess Holiday, the first size 22 model to grace October’s issue of British Cosmopolitan are walking their talk. They amongst many others have made it very clear that they don’t want to be designated different amongst others. Controversy about the size and possible poor health of Tess Holiday is all over social media. There are many naysayers criticizing British Cosmo for putting a model of such size in a bathing suit for all to see. What I am saying is “it’s about time”. Women have to stop looking at the size of a woman and look at her brilliance. Tess is a highly popular curve woman who believes that she deserves a seat at the table as much as anyone else. Her hashtag #effourbeautystandards, is everywhere. Inclusivity is not going to be pushed to the side any longer. Not if I can help it.

Check out www.tessholiday.com and www.ashleygraham.com

Pamela Shainhouse

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A "legend in the curvy" fashion community who is building her new business on how important "INCLUSIVITY" is, combining mainstream and plus-size fashion.