Aging With Grace, Raising With Love

So many of you reached out after I shared my last blog “As we age…” that it got me thinking… How many of us really feel this way? I did a little research and the results I found were astonishing! Did you know that 98% of girls feel there is an immense pressure from external sources to look a certain way (National Report on Self Esteem)? 

That’s almost every single girl in the United States!  That statistic is way too high in my opinion and it left me thinking ‘how can we change that?’

As a mother of a daughter myself, I’m left baffled to assume that no matter what I do, Olive will feel pressured to look a certain way. She’s already shown signs of this - worrying about her skin and the pimples that are popping up here and there. She watches skincare videos on Youtube where girls have flawless skin. We’ve tried everything but I keep telling her that it's a process and her body is figuring it out. I also see insecurity seeping in when we go shopping. She tells me that she’s self-conscious when she shops with her friends and feels like people are judging her when she walks in a store. When I looked at research, I found that 20% of women felt judged by a salesperson.  And another 43% of women gave up and left a store because they felt defeated. Mind blown! 

Although I can’t change every store and the experiences my daughter has, I can create a safe space to shop with no judgment for you. As an owner of a clothing store, I figured I could tackle some of this by making it my priority to figure out how we can improve this.  I think if we can start with something simple, like creating a comfortable and supportive shopping experience, maybe we can then take on the bigger issues of insecurity. I ask myself, how I can make sure that our space feels supportive and the designs I create to compliment that. For one, I work to hire a team of women who are warm, vulnerable and supportive. Yes - they’re usually on the young side, but what I love about them is that they can connect to my own deeper purpose, they get it. And we work on educating ourselves about different body types, silhouettes, and how to utilize different styles to get the best look for your body. 

And as a designer, I’m working to create a brand that stands for more than just beautiful clothing. I’ve been trying to focus on designing for you, for women at any age, size or height - so we can feel beautiful at every stage of life. I don't think because we age, we need to give up looking/feeling beautiful, cool or fashionable. It’s our right to feel good in our skin, in our bodies and in our clothing. That’s why I love hearing from you, especially when you try new styles. I love hearing your feedback, making edits, and releasing them to see if you like the end result. 

We’re constantly improving styles and editing them - to make them better for you. It’s why the Marketing Team makes it a priority to feature our clothing on “real women,” customers like you, peers and friends. We want there to be a body type you can relate to and connect with. 

I don't want to add to these negative statistics. I don't want to become one of the many fashion brands that made us feel bad about ourselves. I’m taking one step at a time to create a space where we feel love and accepted for who we are, right now. As always, I love hearing from you! Leave a comment below or send us an email at shop@allisonizu.com. 

love + light, 

- Allison