'It was just abominable the clothes I had’: How this plus-size influencer shed her ‘grandmother clothes’ and became a fashion influencer

December 15, 2018 at 3:15 AM·4 min read

For Yahoo Lifestyle’s #MyStyle series (above) we tasked Natalie Hage with creating her perfect “Office Holiday Look.”

Natalie Hage didn’t find her true style until she reached her mid-20s — thanks not to a lack of style, but to a lack of options. Today, Hage is a plus-size fashion influencer who has over 150K followers on Instagram. It’s something she’s achieved in just five years, on a path she never expected.

View this post on Instagram

no matter how hard i try to fight it, autumn is creeping in a little more every day. ??:@meredithtx ? ? ? ? ? #itsfallyall #fatbabesdoingthings #dallasplussize #abmlifeisbeautiful #abmhappylife #abmsummer #prettylittlethings #acolorstory #petitejoys #flashesofdelight #pursuepretty #darlingmovement #thehappynow #effyourbeautystandards #plussizefashion #fallfatshion #grandtheftautumn
A post shared by natalie. (@nataliemeansnice) on Sep 3, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

Growing up, Hage tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “It was just abominable the clothes I had.” Her wardrobe consisted of ill-fitting jeans, over-embellished dresses, paisley leggings and character tees boasting the Tasmanian Devil and Looney Tunes. “I didn’t want to wear [them] because I liked those things, it was just something that fit.” They were clothes she had to shop from the adult and maternity sections. “The stuff you would imagine at your grandma’s house or your mom wearing in the ’90s is what I wore.”

And as anyone who has ever been a teen understands, not having the trendiest attire can mean social struggles. “I didn’t belong in many social circles,” she said. To make matters worse, “I couldn’t do anything to help my situation, because I couldn’t dress better. It’s a lot of memories that get brought up when I think about that.”

Urban Outfitters is one of the retailers where Hage couldn’t shop, something she has joked about in the past. “I call it Urban Outfatters: because I’m fat, but have never been able to shop at Urban Outfitters.”

View this post on Instagram

@bearddaddydiesel woke me up this morning saying ‘get up! get dressed! birthday week has started!’ and then proceeded to take me for coffee, the @perotmuseum, and then a cold treat (its 108* outside, y’all). it’s 8 days until my birthday and it’s already off to a great start. [tap photo for outfit details!]?? ? ? ? ? ? #fatbabesdoingthings #modclothsquad #effyourbeautystandards #fatandthriving #plussizefashion #dallas
A post shared by natalie. (@nataliemeansnice) on Jul 22, 2018 at 5:03pm PDT

It wasn’t until Hage’s late teens and early 20s that she started wearing Lane Bryant, though it still wasn’t the right fit, stylewise. It wasn’t youthful, but it was the “most youthful that I could find.” Hage even went as far as to work at the store so she could purchase the clothes — which were out of her price range — at a discount.

It wasn’t until she discovered Torrid that things truly started to shift. “It was the first store,” she says, where “I could actually walk into [it] and try things on” and where “there were other people that looked like me shopping there.” Her biggest surprise was finding skinny jeans that actually fit. “Skinny jeans! For real? I can actually wear them? That was huge.”

Today, Hage’s No. 1 go-to brand is Asos Curve. “Asos Curve is a brand that I can tell you when I found them, I was like, holy s***! Somewhere with my exact style exists,” she says. “You know, it was edgy and fun, and that wasn’t until probably I was [around] 26 when I found them.” This is when Hage’s style bloomed. Now, at 32, she has made the leap to working full-time as a fashion blogger, with thousands of followers.

View this post on Instagram

dreaming about new york in this #flashbackfriday! still can’t get over this @modcloth and @annasui dress – it’s my velveteen dream. ??[??: @thisisjessicatorres] ? ? ? ? ? #modclothsquad #modclothsquadXannasui #fatbabesdoingthings #plussizefashion #plussize #celebratemysize #plussizemodel #plussizeblogger #effyourbeautystandards #honormycurves #psblogger #plusmodelmag #psootd #fatshion #fashion #newyork #centralpark #abmlifeiscolorful #abmlifeiscolorful #pursuepretty #tezzaapp #tezzapresets
A post shared by natalie. (@nataliemeansnice) on Nov 2, 2018 at 12:07pm PDT

On Hage’s Instagram page, her authenticity is palpable, and her personality shines through. She uses her platform to shine a light on bigger issues, outside herself. “I really tried to use my social media as a community place where it wasn’t just me talking about myself, but more about plus-size fashion, plus-size issues, things like that. That’s the lens I have lived my whole life.” Of course, this journey hasn’t been easy. In 2017, a male passenger body-shamed her on a flight, an encounter that went viral after she confronted the man on camera. Followers applauded her courage and self-confidence.

It wasn’t easy, but in Hage’s eyes, it was worth it when she saw the flood of positive responses. “You can see you have a positive effect on people, even in my real life off of social media. People telling me that it’s helpful, being around me has helped them. It just doesn’t compare. I’m so happy to keep doing it.”

A quick scroll through Hage’s Instagram page shows her edgy fashion sense. If you love Hage’s style and want to copy her “Office Holiday Look” from #MyStyle, we rounded up similar options below.