Small Brand, Big Size Issue

Here at Red Velvet, we are very firm in our belief that all bodies are beautiful.

And because of that, we need to talk about beauty standards and why we choose to ignore many of them.

Beauty standards are a set of physical attributes that a society considers desirable. You have probably heard about some rather extreme examples throughout history, such as foot binding,  eyelash and eyebrow plucking, powdered wigs, blackened teeth, and countless other trends that may seem unusual to us today.

So... why do we do that? 

One might argue that we find some features more attractive than others because of our biological wiring — some pre-installed software deep within our brains that helped our ancestors choose suitable romantic partners throughout millennia.

And that is not entirely wrong.

However, in our society, the primary reason why we sometimes find one feature more desirable than another is society itself.

Or, more precisely, the values that society holds in high regard.

Your body is often expected to complement the ideology and lifestyle that your culture considers desirable.

For example — and forgive us for choosing such a specific topic, it's just that your Eastern European history-buff editor is currently going through yet another hyperfixation — take a look at the incredible variety of art left behind by the early Soviet Union.

We inherited a plethora of prints, paintings, sculptures, posters, and mosaics (your editor's personal favorite), many of which depict women.

And if you look closely, you will notice that these women look very different from what many people consider desirable today.

They are often portrayed as robust, strong, broad-shouldered, and physically capable. Their arm muscles are visible. They wear workers' uniforms rather than glamorous dresses and high heels. Makeup is minimal or entirely absent.

The Soviet government strongly promoted the idea that all citizens, regardless of gender, should contribute to society through labor and industry. It is only natural that those values would influence art, culture, and the collective understanding of what was considered beautiful.

We highly doubt that today's pilates girlie would have been considered particularly desirable in that environment.

Likewise, the ideal beauty of that era would probably be ridiculed by a lot of people today.

Does that mean one standard is better than the other?

Absolutely not.

And we sincerely hope that our readers do not think this is the point we are trying to make.

It simply demonstrates that our perception of beauty is heavily influenced by the values we choose to prioritize.

In other words, this was a very lengthy way of saying:

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Why is this important?

Because once you understand that your values — and the values of your society — shape what you find beautiful, you can consciously choose what you want to prioritize.

And here at Red Velvet, we choose diversity.

Not diversity as a marketing buzzword.

Real diversity.

As a team, we genuinely believe that every person is a living, breathing miracle.

We choose to look at bodies as illustrations of a person's life. Every scar, every wrinkle, every stretch mark, every roll tells a story about where someone has been, what they love, what they have endured, and what they have overcome.

We are all living, constantly updating storybooks.

And we think it is a shame to strip people of their unique stories and force them into a cookie-cutter shape, no matter what that shape happens to be.

So, as the team behind Red Velvet, we want to become a small part of your unique story, no matter who you are.

We love you simply because you are.

And we create our clothing with that philosophy in mind.

However, you may have noticed that our website currently offers a rather embarrassingly limited size range.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of being a very small business with very limited resources.

As a newly established company, we had to invest a significant portion of our budget into essentials such as fabric sourcing, garment development, production, photography, and building this very website.

We tried our absolute best to include plus sizes from the very beginning.

Unfortunately, at this stage, it simply was not in the cards.

However!

This does not mean things will remain this way forever.

As our brand grows, one of our highest priorities is expanding our size range.

And we do not want our plus sizes to be simply larger versions of our straight-size garments.

We want them to be thoughtfully developed pieces that properly accommodate different proportions and body shapes.

We want to dedicate the time, care, and resources necessary to do it correctly.

This is one of our most important goals, and we promise to announce the good news as soon as we are able.

Until then, thank you for supporting a tiny brand with very big dreams.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter so you can be among the first to know when new sizes become available.

XOXO,

Your Red Velvet Editorial Desk ♡