Fashion should be available in all sizes but annoyingly that’s not the case. Imagine going shopping and finding THE dress, good length, with just the right amount of sparkle and enough of a sleeve to cover just the top of your arm…PERFECT. You would buy it in a heartbeat, right? Wrong! You would if it was the right size. And that, my dear girlfriends, is what happens to us everyday. Why won’t fashion lines offer some of their same fun stylish looks and just size up? You would think being in the capital of fashion, New York, you would find a real girl doing fierce clothing for fashionistas 14-24, well, I found her!
Designer Monif Clarke has been in your shoes or better yet you’re fitting room, trying to find the perfect dress for her shape. After many frustrating shopping trips and inspired by a trip to Europe, she started her own clothing company in 2004, co-founded with her mother Elaine, called Monif C. She has an amazing understanding of what works on a voluptuous body. “It took me many years to appreciate my curves and recognize them as a plus and NOT a minus. I know that there are women like me who recognize that we get dressed everyday in the hopes of reflecting creatively what we bring to the world. I was tired of buying the standard uniform that every woman has, I needed luxurious feminine clothes that make a statement…Who says plus size can’t be sexy, luxurious, and feminine?” says Monif. Celebrities and magazines agree. Her designs have been worn by Jill Scott, Toccara, Sherri Shepherd, Mandisa Hudley and Jennifer Hudson as well as graced the pages of Essence magazines on multiple occasions.
Her Barbadian heritage mixed with her New York aesthetic is present throughout the collection in her color choices, prints, fabrics, and cuts. I personally love the fact that the line does not follow trends but is inspired by them. She designs things she would love to wear not just what’s hot now. The spring 2010 collection is packed with amazing colorful pieces like the “Nikka” Fire print Jumpsuit, the “Ivana” ruffle dress, and the versatile Marilyn convertible dress, one of her best-known designs. But I have to say my favorite for this season has to be the swimwear, OMG! They are sexy, flattering, colorful and high fashion. I am soooo putting my order in for the Espana one shoulder in red and the St. Tropez fringe in hot pink! By the way, most of her designs are also available in black for the not so bold. You can check out the Monif C. collection and shop online or visit her Manhattan Boutique at 325 W. 38th Street, Suite 1007.
