Making Plus Equal -- Andrea Kelly

Fat Joy with Sophia Apostol

Andrea Kelly (she/her) collaborates with outdoor apparel brands to extend their plus-sizing, because no one should be excluded from outdoor activities for a lack of clothing options. With 20 years of experience in the apparel industry, Andrea shares why it’s so hard for brands to warm up to the idea of more diverse sizing, why they’re leaving money on the table by not making plus-size clothing (hint: plus-size is the majority of our population), and the two key moments that sparked her desire to make change from the inside out.

Featured as one of Outside Business Journal's Top 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry (2022), Andrea Kelly is a Size Inclusion advocate with over 20 years’ experience in the Apparel business. She believes strongly that the Outdoors are for every body and strives to make changes in the industry.

She is the Founder, CEO & Advisor of the newly founded Make Plus Equal, an advisory firm that guides outdoor apparel brands who are interested in, yet Intimidated to serve diverse bodies outside their comfort zone and the outdated sizing norm. By sharing her experiences, case studies, consumer insights, customer relations, and market knowledge, Andrea helps brands feel confident in driving their businesses forward, building more inclusive collections and media representation, growing their market-share, and earning the trust of loyal customers who have long-been marginalized by the fashion industry.

Mentioned in this episode are Chub Hub PDX, Fat Joy’s Martinus Evans episode, and Fat Joy’s Pam Luk episode.

Please connect with Andrea through her website and Instagram.

This episode’s poem is called “Jump” by Alison Luterman.

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