Ashley Nell Tipton

“I'm never afraid of pattern or texture.”

“I love to design clothing that is not out there for your average plus-size woman, and I want to fill in the gap of that industry and not design cookie-cutter things.”

“I can believe in myself, and I feel like I'm such a strong and talented designer.”

“It's going to take baby steps to see a complete turnaround. But there's been such a positive outcome from seeing it at Fashion Week. Plus-size fashion shows are being more welcomed into Fashion Week, and having more plus-size women in major magazines.”

“I'm never going to limit myself.”

“Going into the hospital for something that was caused by just being overweight really struck a nerve. I didn't ever want to be in that pain again or have another scare like that. I was like, I really need to figure out what I can do to lose weight and get healthier.”

“Working Wardrobes needs plus-size clothing donations to help women and men feel confident on their journey to finding a job. This is what we need in today's world - to lift people up - and Working Wardrobes is doing that.”

“I feel like there's not enough clothing out there to show our personality and just to be comfortable and to be fashion-forward and to be a trendsetter. There are a lot of clothes out there for the straight-size woman to be able to show that, but in the plus-size industry, I don't feel like it's there just yet.”

“I originally thought I would be going into wedding dresses. I wanted to create gowns, especially for weddings. I liked the idea of dealing with just one color, and within that, you could design whatever you want.”

“It's amazing to be able to embrace young talent.”

“The wear time on clothing for plus-sized women is half the life span of a straight-sized woman's clothing. Straight-sized women's bras can last them three, six months? Our bras don't last as long as a straight-sized woman's bras normally do because we have more movement; we have more weight.”

“I want to wear things that make me feel good.”

“I'm super excited to be collaborating with JCPenney to create my first-ever capsule collection for that plus-size woman who needs that confidence and wants to be fabulous every day.”

“I feel like, sometimes, plus-size women get scared to show skin... but summer is the time that we can enjoy doing that.”

“When I got into high school, that's when I stated dabbling in fashion design. I got involved in the theater department's costume design and started to think that maybe I'd major in fashion design.”

“Seeing that 'Project Runway' sign at the end of the runway just made me, like, realize, like, 'Wow, I'm on this show. I'm living every designer's dream right now.'”

“It was really important for me to create fun and trendy pieces for the plus-size market.”

“People need to work on what self-love is and redefining self-love... it comes from within: who you are and how you carry yourself in this world.”

“Once you feel good, you look good... that projects to everyone.”

“Torrid was that company that I went to as a plus-sized kid. They're the ones that kind of got me out of my shell and gave me the confidence that I needed to experiment with my wardrobe, and they really inspired me to become a plus-size designer.”