Plus-size fashion influencer Marielle Terhart wants people to stop buying clothing. Well, at least not so much of it.
Terhart also persuades manufacturers of ethically made, environmentally sustainable clothes to add plus sizes to their collections. Then, through her website and articles for vogue.com, she helps plus-sized women find those clothes. The Edmonton fashionista and AMA member, who has more than 98,000 Instagram followers, is passionate about improving conditions for garment workers and reducing the industry’s environmental impact.
An inherent problem is woven into the fabric of the rag trade itself—styles keep changing. Cheap, mass-produced “fast fashion” has accelerated that trend. “The majority of clothing is worn less than six times,” notes Terhart, “which is not sustainable.” She concedes that ethical, sustainable clothing costs more. Her solution? Buy less and wear what you have longer.
Along with other tips on her Instagram channel, she advocates “learning how to purchase things that go with what you already have” and dodging the whims of fashion by developing a “unique, distinct style.”
Meanwhile, Terhart expresses an element of her own distinctive style by performing improv at Edmonton’s Rapid Fire Theatre. “I love the danger of having to come up with a show and perform it with no rehearsal!”
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