It's a world of colours, patterns and unique, curated items on every hanger. Except this downtown Victoria consignment shop is a little different: it's called Fat Sisters and the owners are showing how you can change someone's world through clothes.
"People come in expecting to have a bad experience and I feel like every day somebody is crying in here because they feel seen, they feel special, they feel like they deserve it. And we're doing that with clothes. It's just so simple. It doesn't feel like it should be this powerful," said owner Brenna Strohschein.
It started with Strohschein's idea to start a consignment shop for plus sizes and a career coach who believed in her.
"I said I don't have the time. I don't have the money. I don't have the capacity. She said, 'I think you should just do it. It's a really good idea'. And after that conversation I thought one person believing in me is enough. And I registered the business name."
The idea caught fire. Brenna continued to work her full-time day job at a consulting firm (which she still does) and be a mom to her two early elementary-aged children, while strangers started bringing her clothes to consign. The dining room of her small apartment quickly became overwhelmed with around 700 pieces of clothing.
"Every night after my kids went to bed, I was taking pictures, updating the website, and I'd be shipping all across Canada."
Her sister, Erika Peterson, moved from Saskatchewan to be involved. After a successful five-month run of a pop-up Fort Street, they found a permanent home for Fat Sisters at 1808 Government St., which opened on June 26.
Strohschein, 38, and Peterson, 30, have become a powerful force, bonded by a creative vision, a shared sense of humour and trust in one another.
"Big sister Brenna is the boss. She's the controller of the chaos, and I'm the bringer of the chaos," Peterson said. "And I feel like Brenna is the best at what she does in every facet of her life, so I just know that what she says is the best thing."
The two reflected on what made them so strongly passionate about the business together.
"We were raised very much in diet culture, ingrained that smaller is better. Fat is a failure," Strohschein said, recalling media messages that even Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson were fat. "It messes with your mind. Especially when the average-sized woman is a size 16."
"Last year, I was crying because I saw a double chin in a picture. And now I celebrate that double chin," Peterson said. "This is my body, I'm in this body to enjoy my life, you know? There's nothing wrong with it."
"We're really trying to unpack our secret shame and other people's secret shame," Strohschein added. "I was listening to a podcast when I walked to work and they said, 'The opposite of shame is normalization. So, when you see yourself represented, that is the antidote to shame.'"
On the racks of Fat Sisters, customers will find sizes 1X to 6X, all items carefully curated. Strohschein said they've made an effort to have not only budget-friendly items but also bring in higher-priced high-quality slow fashion and hard-to-find brands.
"I want to show people they deserve special things. You can find quality here. You don't have to wait until your body changes to feel special."
"We're solving a problem," Peterson added. "And even just seeing our customers develop their style or go home and create a Pinterest board to see what style they want because they've never had that option before. They've always had one choice or no choice."
The sisters said they've been empowered and touched by the changes they've seen in both themselves and their customers. For example, a customer's partner wouldn't come in because they were so scared of shopping. Now, they come in together and they're excited for what they're going to find.
"We have seen a change in ourselves. Our body journeys have been rough. People see us and we're like, woo, fat sisters! Come on! But we cry. Like, we didn't want to be fat sisters, truly. We thought it was a failure," Strohschein said.
"We wanted to work out. We did diets with our mom. We fought our fatness for so long," Peterson added. "And it wasn't worth fighting, you know? We're built this way."
Within their first year, Fat Sisters was voted Best in Women's Fashion and Best in Consignment in Victoria News' 2024 Best of the City awards.
"I did not expect to win," Peterson said. "I cried."
The biggest challenge they've had is convincing people they have options, Strohschein said.
"Our market of plus-size people doesn't believe we'll have options. It's like a fairy tale."
"People also maybe don't identify with the word 'fat,'" added Peterson. "There's still negative connotation around the word. Our smaller sizes are probably our worst sellers, just an extra large are 12, 14, 16. And I think it's because people don't think they're fat enough. But, having fat is just a descriptor. It's not a failure or anything. So just come in, you know?"
The sisters want to stress that the shop is a safe space for anyone and that their mission is to empower people to body positivity.
"Every day somebody cries in the shop. They want to wear things they try on out of the shop. They feel special. I feel like the impact of clothing is so big," Strohschein said.
