When Maria Louth and her friends go shopping, the air is full of laughs and the attitude is irreverent.
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"We don't take ourselves seriously, we joke about being fat to each other," said Ms Louth who readily acknowledges she is a plus sized individual.
"When we go shopping, we'll often say to each other where's the fat section around here, and even ask the shop assistant," she said.
While the inclusion of sizes 16 plus in retail stores has come a long way from when Ms Louth was growing up in the early 2000s, the style and cut of plus sized clothing can often be frumpy, grey or shapeless, particularly when it came to vintage or pre-loved garments, said Ms Louth.
"Plus size women these days are generally a lot more confident and want to show off their bodies more."
After deciding to renew her own wardrobe, Ms Louth decided to fill that gap herself and keep the tongue-in-cheek attitude she has going shopping with her friends.
On February 22, Ms Louth launched The Fat Section, an online store for vintage and pre-loved clothing, sizes 16 and above.
The garments are sourced from a supplier in Sydney and although online, is based out of Wollongong.
"Essentially we do all the rummaging. We will go to our suppliers and can pick different styles and sizes, and customers can come and shop in one place," Ms Louth said.
Since opening, the feedback has been generally positive, particularly when it comes to the range of clothing styles and the affordability, however for some, the name of the store is controversial.
Ms Louth said that she understands that the word fat can be offensive to some, but that she hoped to turn around perceptions of what that could mean.
"We're using the word fat to empower women to not allow it to be used negatively against them," she said.
Currently, the store aims to remain exclusively online and in future to create a space for plus sized people to feel welcome to fully be themselves.
"It's really a place for plus sized women to come together and learn to love their bodies and themselves and dress the way they want," said Ms Louth.
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