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Our plus size girlies deserve better than frumpy clothes or clothes that are gonna fall apart the moment you walk out the door. What we need is luxury, honey. That’s where our hero, Lauren Chan comes in. She is the founder of Henning, a luxury clothing brand for women sizes 12 and up. Oh, and did we mention she was Sports Illustrated’s first plus size queer model? Uh huh. Icon. Lauren pulls back the curtain on the business of fashion. While other companies complain about the “extra costs” of carrying plus size, Lauren made it work and made it beautiful. She talks about lessons learned from starting Henning, as well as the big A in business: acquisitions. Plus, Lauren shares how she’s planning to celebrate her wedding! We will be taking notes.

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Lauren Chan, X Mayo

X Mayo  01:26

Welcome back to The Dough where we’re serving looks and lessons, honey. I’m your host, X Mayo. Now I’ve never walked a runway yet. Never say never. Okay, I’d love to walk for Schiaparelli. Good baby, could you see me in the gold gloves? Okay? With a mask on? Okay? I would eat. Listen, designers hit my line. I am ready for my debut. As much as I love fashion, it can be expensive and exclusionary and honestly, a little mysterious. We see all the pomp and circumstance, but none of the work and the money that goes into it. Well, our guest today has been working hard to make the world of fashion a more inclusive space. Lauren Chan is a multi hyphenate queen. She is a model, entrepreneur and advocate for size inclusivity and LGBTQ plus representation. Lauren is a former fashion editor at glamor magazine. Hello, she went on to launch Henning, a luxury clothing brand for women’s sizes 12 and above in 2023 Henning was acquired by universal standards. Lauren is here to pull back the curtain and talk to us about the money in fashion. And our girl just got engaged, so she’ll give us all the deeds about wedding planning. Lauren, welcome to The Dough.

 

Lauren Chan  02:43

Hi, X, thank you for having me. I’m so excited to talk money, honey.

 

X Mayo  02:47

I want to get into the icebreaker. Now this icebreaker I’m really, really excited about because you are a fashion girly and you are a fellow thick, girly, thick with two C’s, which we love. I love that you are all about inclusivity. It’s great. You know, we need it. We need it. We love it, especially for somebody like me who loves to get dressed like I love to put that shit on. So I know you attended New York Fashion Week in February, and we just want a little tea here at The Dough, can you tell us what was your favorite moment?

 

Lauren Chan  03:15

Oh my gosh. Well, my favorite moment at Fashion Week, I have to, kind of like, go into a part of my brain that I put in a little tiny box because it’s such a whirlwind and it’s so exhausting and overwhelming. But I think one of my favorite moments this year was seeing Whoopi and Natasha Bedingfield backstage at Christian Siriano. That was a really fun moment for me. It’s always fun to see, kind of like, who’s out and about and who’s supporting and then, you know, we saw Whoopi Goldberg in one of the Syriana dresses from that show on the Oscar stage.

 

X Mayo  03:44

Yes, gorgeous.

 

Lauren Chan  03:46

The glad awards last year, and it’s all this big family. And when you can kind of do that spider web and draw those lines, it becomes really fun.

 

X Mayo  03:54

Yeah. Okay, so Natasha Bedingfield is pocket full of sunshine. I got up.

 

Lauren Chan  03:59

I almost started singing, and then I was like, Oh, we’re trying to have people like you here. Don’t hurt their ears.

 

X Mayo  04:05

Oh, please, Lauren, they don’t give a shit. I have sunk off key loud, and I don’t care. Listen however we get our joy with this fuck year that we’ve been having you take it period.

 

Lauren Chan  04:16

Okay, and 321, I got a pocket, 3 2 1.

 

X Mayo  04:20

I got a pocket […]  Lawrence is that a little harmony I love that you sing. Girl, absolutely, okay, so um, what is a fashion trend that you love, that feels timeless? I would love to know that. Forget micro trends. We want to hear about something that is always a good investment.

 

Lauren Chan  04:42

I mean, not to be so corny, but it’s just using fashion as expression for yourself and not really caring about to your point these micro trends, because it’s kind of dystopian. Now, the way that Tiktok has made us cycle through trends so quickly, the actual fashion system can’t keep up. So, last year, there was a really stark moment of that where Prada showed Bose on a runway. But by the time, because those lead times are so long that the runway creations came out, Bose were already over on Tiktok.

 

X Mayo  05:12

And so in my mind, Lauren, when their bows they walked down the runway, they wore bows. Soon as they walked back, they said, bows are out. Get her out. That’s a new trend every hour that’s in my mind. What happens?

 

Lauren Chan  05:25

I hear you.

 

X Mayo  05:26

I want to get into your background. Okay, I’m a little nosy. I would love to know what did your parents teach you about money growing up, either in their words or in their actions?

 

Lauren Chan  05:36

Nothing, yeah, I love I love you, Mom, I love you dad, nothing. I feel like, you know, if I could be really candid, I know it took us a while to schedule this, and part of that, if I really think about it, is because I just get really locked up and avoidant and insecure and overwhelmed when it comes to financial literacy and money talks, and even when it comes to speaking to someone like you, who’s so kind. And like you said, before we started recording, this is a safe space. I think that the lack of formal knowledge around finance has, even as a mid 30 something who has built and sold a business really stops me in my tracks and puts me into that overwhelm freeze. But I was raised by really intelligent medical professional parents who were raised by immigrants. And the one lesson that I think I really took home was save, don’t spend, be frugal, be smart about it. But other than that, not much.

 

X Mayo  06:36

Not much, yeah, I think the number one thing that we learned being like first generation or second generation immigrants is like when it comes to money, make it go out there and fucking make it. Do it as a law abiding citizen, does you take your ass to jail and and make it go out and get it? I would love to know, because I feel like when you are a fashion girly, nine times out of 10, baby, you were born with that, right? Like I used to, like, make outfits I would never forget when I, like, obsessed over the remember the time video by Michael Jackson and the black girl that had the braids with the charms? I was like, Mom, please, please, please. And my mom was like, That is too grown. No, you’re not getting those braids that long in terms. So I just feel like it was, it’s on you, you know, it’s in you. It’s not on you. So I would love to know, were you interested in fashion when you were younger, and if so, did you think about like, the actual cost of clothing.

 

Lauren Chan  07:35

Cost? No, I liked fashion, but in hindsight, what I liked was the escapism of it and the art of it, yeah. And also, I’m a lesbian. I did not know that. And I think I liked, just like, the beauty of womanhood in all of the images, and so, no, I never considered what it costs. And I think that that’s something you’ve hit something on the head with fashion, and that’s that it’s not transparent what fashion costs. It’s not it’s not clear in any type of way, that you know a magazine is showing you an image of a $17,000 Chanel skirt so that you will go to the beauty counter in your small town and buy the perfume by which they make a huge chunk of their business up by Yeah, and so no, never thought about the cost. And it really fascinates me as I continue to learn about the industry.

 

X Mayo  08:32

So, Lauren, you are originally from Canada. Shout out to our neighbors up north. You started out as a model in New York, but then later became a fashion editor at glamor magazine. How did you make that pivot?

 

Lauren Chan  08:42

So when I got here, I was plus size modeling as my job, and I was going out to events and networking as hard as I could in the editing space to try to meet established editors and peers and interns and what have you. And I was freelance writing for publications back at home in Canada and basically doing everything that I could to to make that pivot. I will say it was kismet, because by the time I got to glamor, I had been exposed to the plus size side of the industry. And this was, this was years ago, right? Like this was 2014 ish, and I became knowledgeable about it. I became proud of my body because of the job, and impassioned by it, and I became driven to bring that visibility to a publication like glimmer. And thank God for my editor in chief, Cindy Levy, there at the time. We ran with it and really set the bar for inclusivity in the fashion media space. And it was, yeah, it was a real blessing, that those things dovetail together so well.

 

X Mayo  09:43

So when it was time to pivot into glamor magazine, did you just like, see a opening? Did you already know someone there, and then you just applied? Like, how did that work?

 

Lauren Chan  09:54

I was, oh my gosh, like I was on all of the job hiring sites at. The time there was like this company called Ed 2010 I don’t know if it still exists, but it was specifically for people who wanted to be in media, publishing. And they would post happy hours, networking jobs. They would review your resume. I was on all of the careers. You know, the you go to the website, then you go to careers, then you go to jobs, and you go to hiring, like, looking at that every day. That’s how I found out about the Ford models open call too. Ford models had a blog at the time when they posted that they were having an open call. And so I really, if I get, like a dog with a bone with something, I’m just kind of incessant, yeah, and you’re just a good thing.

 

X Mayo  10:37

Listen, it’s a great thing. It’s worked, and I’m the same fucking way, like it just feels so crazy, like we can’t even get jobs this way anymore, like it feels so difficult, like there’s so many barriers to entry. But then it’s not because. It’s like, just make Tiktok, just have YouTube, just do Instagram, but it’s like there’s so many competitors on there. Shout out to you. I feel like we were part of that last class for sure. Yeah, okay, so let’s talk about fashion. Oh yes, Lord, okay, I love to pull together a fit that really encapsulates my personality. And who also knows that is the real real? Okay, stop seeing me stuff my favorite. They know me. They know me so well.

 

Lauren Chan  11:16

They have my literal number. I get, like, texts being like, hey.

 

X Mayo  11:20

I know the real, real, oh, my God, I see they make me spend the money, money. Okay, okay, um, as a fellow plus size girl, did you ever experience stylists like not knowing how to dress you well, or not having, you know, having things in your size? I’ve experienced this as well, and it’s really infuriating, you know, because sometimes that means the model, actress, whoever, actor, speaking of me, like I have to bring stuff or buy stuff always, was that your experience as well, Lauren?

 

Lauren Chan  11:50

You know, it has, and it hasn’t been because I get booked as a model and for most of my career, up until the last, you know, few years when I feel like I I’ve hit a stride here. When you’re booked as a model, you’re not you, you’re a canvas. And so essentially, what that really looks like, what the life of a working model really looks like, is you show up to, you know, Target, or Macy’s, or what have you, for an E commerce day, and they have a rack full of the clothes that they need to put on their shop, their site, their new arrivals, their shopping for a few months in advance. And you sit there and you shoot maybe 30 looks in the day. Whether or not it is in your size is kind of irrelevant. They make it work. So if things are too big, they’ll, they’ll put padding on you, or they’ll, they’ll have a tailor it, or they’ll, they’ll have a stylist pin it on you, and if they’re too small, maybe if they’re way too small, they just don’t shoot that look. Or again, they have somebody kind of fiddle with the garment to make it work. When it comes to people being shot as themselves, as personalities, like yourself, or like these celebrities you’re talking about. I experienced that as a reporter at glamor, I was constantly speaking to people in bigger bodies about showing up to work, whether it was Edie Bryant at SNL or, you know, Amy Schumer on the cover of maybe it was Vanity Fair in like underwear when her counterparts are in, you know, off the runway couture looks and that that is a very real thing that did exist. Still does exist. I will say that the industry has gotten so much more inclusive and inclusive in terms of options, but the real pivotal part here is inclusive in terms of of who is hired, and you can see the ripple effect of how that helps make everything more inclusive. So if there are younger, more progressive stylists who care about more kinds of people allowed in the door to style a cover shoot, and not maybe the old school folks who knew an industry that was very.

 

X Mayo  13:57

Oh my god, the girls were eating air and cigarettes and chasing it with the celery stone.

 

Lauren Chan  14:01

Don’t forget the champagne. Don’t forget the […]

 

X Mayo  14:03

Oh snap, forget the champagne. How old blasphemy got? X, how could you forget the champagne?

 

Lauren Chan  14:08

So when you allow more people in with a broader world view, the trickle down effect is very real. And now you get these, you know, emerging designers getting spotlight, or these young stylists who are really like, just, I mean, moving the needle on terms of, in terms of, like, what is worn, but who is represented in that.

 

X Mayo  16:31

Do you know what’s crazy to me, Lauren, is that the average sized woman in America is 1416, so I’m like, wouldn’t a good capitalist hell a fucking low. Hello, you’re telling me, wouldn’t a good capitalist, someone that just wants money, wouldn’t you target the biggest demographic? That’s why fat phobia is a mental illness, because it’s just like, yeah, you could get money, you know. And I think, like, shout out to brands, like fashion brand, company, I will, I mean, I keep the lights on there, and I will fucking support her to the day I die, and please support her right now, because you know, she lost everything in the Altadena fire at everything but her laptop. But I mean, I see women that look like me, that have tummies, that have back fat, that, you know, are different size. Because this is my issue, Lauren, when we go to plus size and we get the plus size model, it’s still ratios. It’s still a smaller waist than a fat ass, and then tits, right? What about the girlies that are not top heavy? What about the girls that just have a tummy? So I think that’s what’s frustrating to me, and then the quality of stuff, and now it makes it so difficult, because I’m wondering, like, it is it that much more expensive? Because I have friends who work in production, they tell me how much stuff costs. I’m like, why is it that it’s so much more expensive for plus size stuff? Are you guys just, you know, fucking us over? So let’s get into that. Lauren, what do you what have you learned about that? What are your thoughts on that?

 

Lauren Chan  17:55

Listen, this is my soapbox. This is my diatribe. I mean, there’s so there’s so many reasons, and you can pull so many threads. The you already said that the real root cause is fat phobia and white supremacy, and these brands, at the end of the day, do not want to be size inclusive. A line that I used to say all the time when I was an editor, was, our money is green. It’s the same money. It’s the same currency, and to a point that you said, when we first talked on, you know, you said something to be effective, like, I love style. I love yes, duh, our fucking sense of self and style and expression and creativity does not stop after a size 12. That is a ludicrous idea that the fashion industry has actually spent a lot of money over many, many years trying to enforce, right? And so I believe that the future of fashion inclusivity is in the hands of emerging brands and designers. I started a brand myself to learn this, you know, in practicality. And I think that when we’ve seen brands that are established either a fully leave us out, or B, which is more interesting to me, try to add size inclusive lines and then slowly take them away. Or you know, shutter them, which is really quite common. What we’re seeing is twofold. One, they didn’t hire anybody fat. They didn’t hire anybody who understands the needs of product marketing, customer service, what have you. And two, they aren’t, honestly, this is a, this is a hot take, but they just weren’t smart enough to figure it out financially. Yes, the costs are exponential once you have a business that’s up and running. So when you make a when you make a garment, you start with a sample, a. Sample is generally made in a size like two, four or six, and then they grade it up and down by math to make the size run. Now that gives out after about seven sizes, which is why we have a size range of like zero to 12, and then another one from like 14 to 24 and then another one from like 26 and up. And so when you repeat the process for those blocks of sizes, the costs double, triple, quadruple, however far you want to go. And if they don’t have that either padded into the budget or they’re not able to rewrite the financial structure in a way that makes sense, it it fails.

 

X Mayo  20:39

But Lauren, we’re not thought about from Jump Street, no. Because if they’re like, Oh, we can only go zero to 12, because then if we have to do the thing like you said, we have to double it, then it’s a double the cost. It’s like, no. So we weren’t considered like, we wouldn’t thought about it, which is why we have amazing people like you. You touched on it briefly, but you started a inclusive luxury plus size label called Henning. It was actually acquired by universal standard. And I want to talk to you about that, because that means so much to me. I’m an action based person, and I feel like you presenting a solution and not more problems, is wonderful, right? What were some business lessons you learned from starting Henning?

 

Lauren Chan  21:16

Hmm,  I had someone say to me in, you know, the early days of Henning, so you’re building the plane as you’re flying it. And I went, yeah, I have my backpack on. I have my you know, my parachute on, but I guess essentially.

 

X Mayo  21:31

I have my summer Fridays. I have my I’m ready to go girl.

 

Lauren Chan  21:36

And so I learned, that is to say, I learned a lot. I didn’t go to fashion school, I didn’t go to business school, but I had the research from years of reporting on the inclusive space and the lived experience of being someone up to a size 20 who was pissed the fuck off about being left out and messaged by the fashion industry that I was less valuable of a human being than My smaller peers when I knew it was a falsehood, and I knew that it was possible to succeed in this space, just that nobody cared enough. And so I set out to do it. I learned, listen, I learned a lot. I think if I hmm, give me your top two. Yeah, my top is, do not get distracted by what everybody else is doing in terms of funding and finance. Okay, you have to build the business that you want. Just because XYZ raised a seed round of ABC doesn’t mean that you want a business and a life that looks like their business and their life. If you want to build something for profitability that you live off the dividends of and you keep forever, that’s a very different structure and experience than somebody who’s raising venture looking for hockey stick growth and to sell something. And when I started the business, it was 2018 it was we were still girl boss and real strong here in New York City.

 

X Mayo  23:05

Like nasty girls. Still all the rage, honey.

 

Lauren Chan  23:08

All the Rage, honey. And so I started the business with my own money, friends and family round and a few angels. I got sat down by so many of my mentors who essentially told me, this is not the way to do this. You need to properly raise you need to to, you know, a few million dollars in the bank to really get this going. And I’m glad I didn’t. It’s not to say I didn’t lose a lot of sleep, and try, I did try, but I’m glad it worked out the way it did. And I watched as my friends and peers who had raised venture had their just the wind taken out of their sails. I mean, their lives and experiences were very, very harsh during that time, you have investors running your life. You don’t sleep, you get your ethos stripped down so that your business makes the most sense capitalistically, which, when it came to plus, says clothing was not the reason Detroit right, the reason for being was not the most capitalistically sensical because Henning was a luxury workwear brand. I dressed Stacey Abrams and Ashley Graham and everybody in between. And the point was to offer us luxury product because we were in spaces that demanded that of us, and we were all wearing ASOS.

 

X Mayo  24:42

A hell no, not. Oh, hell no, hell no, baby. You put baby, you put that on. You walk out the door. It detaches like it’s a damn costume. I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that, Lauren. Because the thing is, is that another thing that people don’t think about like, I have friends who have big boobs, but they’re petite and. Like, X, I have to get a 3x so that I have to, like, take it in. So by then, my friend is like, I’m just making my own shirts. Like, it’s just the cost that it takes. I think when we say plus size, they think of just like, the biggest person that they can think of in the world. It’s like, no, like, they’re different types of bodies, like, different types of people. And I think that’s why Henning was so necessary, because it was like, we have nothing. And, like you said, Stacey Abrams, what saved us in 2016 single handedly, you know, like, there’s so many like women that you wouldn’t believe it’s like, oh yeah, with all this shape where you can’t tell, but that’s a size 14 girl. That’s, that’s a size 14, you know, like, just because you don’t see, you know her like out in the wild, you just happen to see one picture. It’s just kind of like, yeah, I think that she’s small. It’s like, no, she’s not small actually. And she needs clothes to wear. I’m like, Lauren, should we just we should just all just be naked. We should just just do it.

 

Lauren Chan  25:55

Is that what y’all want? God, intended, X.

 

X Mayo  25:59

Okay, so giving that handing is a luxury label. What are some costs potentially that you had that say maybe H&M or forever, 21 wouldn’t have?

 

Lauren Chan  26:07

Oh my gosh. I mean, it boils down to volume, so H&M and whomever else you mentioned, are making products and buying the labor from these factories in the 10s of 1000s of so many units. And the more units you add to an order, the lower the cost per unit comes down, right? You get a discount for ordering more. When you’re a small business, you’re ordering runs of like, literally 50 garments. I had to go knocking on factory doors, physically knocking and showing up to ask if people would even make runs that small. So that increases the cost of labor. That also meant that it pretty much had to be done locally, which I also wanted to do to a, be more ethical, and B, be able to go there and learn and be involved and make sure they’re showing the plus size pants, right, and yada yada yada, right? But so you know, to sew a blazer in New York City is $250 to sew it.

 

X Mayo  27:10

I’m sorry, I just had a glitch in my matrix. Can you say that one more time? Yeah, you said it cost [..]

 

Lauren Chan  27:15

For a blazer can be up to $250 at a factory in New York City.

 

X Mayo  27:19

And they were like, we’ll do it for 125 but the rats will do it, yeah?

 

Lauren Chan  27:23

125 I would have showed up naked every day for 125 free nakedness for 150.

 

X Mayo  27:29

For the human. 125 for the rat to do it. Take your pick, yeah, oh, wow.

 

Lauren Chan  27:35

You know, at that cost you are able to go and see the space. Make sure your workers are being treated fairly, you know, make sure that everything’s up to New York City Code I got to learn, which got to help me inform my customers more about how things are being made, and allowed me to be agile in changes in product design. I mean, the list of benefits goes on. Essentially, the model for how fashion is made is really outdated. And if you went and pitched that business model to a venture capitalist, now, they would think it was an awful idea. So what I ended up finding, after much research, and as I mentioned, you know, as an emerging designer, you have to, like, beg these people to take you on, because they’re, like, dealing with Tommy Hilfiger. And who are you? You know, essentially, they think you’re wasting their time. But what I found was on demand marketing, which is how I think fashion should be made to curb waste and to preserve businesses cash flow. And what that means is I was working with this factory in Brooklyn called tailored industry, and I would get an order on my website, and within 72 hours, they would make the garment, pack it and ship it, and so there’s no stock, meaning that you’re not wasting anything that’s not sold. You’re not promoting over consumption or creation of goods. And it was local and ethical. And I really think that that is the future, but it’s really an archaic industry, so it’s hard to really, really hard to get people, meaning businesses, to, like, switch over to a new idea.

 

X Mayo  29:08

Yeah, and just care about the earth. You know, we kind of want to have water in 25 bonus base. We’re all being left for dead. Like, polar bears are, like, you’re fucking with my home. No, like, they’re just kind of like, they’re like, listen, bitch, I’m not made for the fucking sun me out here. Like, what I would like to talk acquisitions, because that is very interesting to me. You know, was a big thing with me, all organics, and then the quality of her product was like, compromise, and people’s hair was falling out. It’s all this stuff. So, you know, I remember when honey pot was acquired, we were like, Oh, my god, is this gonna make my pussy fall out? Now, I can’t even, can I even use it? We’re just like, oh my god, you know. And we were just nervous. We’re like, is it real honey in there? Now, like, I don’t know what you know, because you just don’t know it, you know, it was a small business. You. Know they were black women. You’re a woman of color, so we’re just like, listen, we trust you. We know that you are gonna do us, right, you know? So for some business owners, you know, that’s the goal, right? It’s a lot to manage your business. I get it, but I know you might not be able to tell me on the team, but I would love to know what was it like to have your company, your baby basically acquired. Was that something that you pursued?

 

Lauren Chan  30:23

I mean, a relief. I’m not gonna lie, owning a business is not honey for the faint of heart. Yes, really it’s not. And I can even tell that this was in 2023 it was acquired. And even here, sitting here today with you, and you asking me my number one lesson, and I’m like, don’t take the venture. Don’t do it. You, it’s not for the faint of heart. And so I really felt relieved. And after the relief washed over me, because that was my nervous system releasing, I felt really proud, I think that we proved implicitly, that plus sized people deserve the access that their smaller peers have to fashion and that we are a viable business case, and that we will show up and support and when the acquisition came around, I was very lucky in that it was acquired by two of my mentors, whom I admire so much, and had built universal standard to be the most size inclusive brand in the world. Universal standard makes sizes 00, to 40. And one of the beautiful things about the acquisition is now my handing pieces come in sizes 00, to 40. When had they had previously topped out at 26 my acquisition was really about, not necessarily the financial part. Foremost, it was really about the mission through all the way through the end.

 

X Mayo  32:38

I would love to talk to you about inclusive brands and like vintage shops, because I heard that you like are Thrifty Girly, and that is, like my favorite pastime. We talked about the real, real. I just got a Gianni Versace blazer, 76% off. Hello, I know I want color black, she’s black, but she’s sexy belt. Bucha gold. Nice detail, cute.

 

Lauren Chan  33:20

[…] I did Lucky you. I am on the real app.

 

X Mayo  33:25

Oh, baby, I’m three day Absolutely so can you give us the tea? What are some size inclusive brands and plus size vintage shops that you love?

 

Lauren Chan  33:35

Yeah, well, I think my like number one thing that I that helped change my view on shopping this way, which I did last year, was I started when I sell, I don’t take the money. I take store credit there. I also love plus Brooklyn. I haven’t been to the Plus Plus LA, but I really want to go there, and

 

X Mayo  33:57

You have to come to Thick Thrift LA, when I tell you.

 

Lauren Chan  33:59

Okay, Thick Thrift LA.

 

X Mayo  34:00

Lauren. I it was like church. It was on a Sunday, okay, but there were women that were getting emotional because there was nothing there that they couldn’t fit. And girls were like putting on swimsuits for the first time, like, bikinis and stuff. And even, like, my brother, he’s, like, taller, a little more bottom heavy. And so we’re trying to find, like vintage clothes. There was so many like vintage shit, like, for like Miyoshi, you know, and we love jabode, and I love in each a rock where, like, I love all that shit. And I knew that, like, there’s, if I don’t want something here, it’s because I genuinely don’t want it, not because it’s not in my size. I’m sorry, but like, I had to please give them free promo. I love them, and it’s $5 to come. It’s so it’s such a good vibe. It’s great.

 

Lauren Chan  34:54

Okay, I’ll look it up, and I absolutely will come to that. I’m obsessed. So, yeah. Those are my places that I love, and that’s my my hack is, I feel like it also lets me feel permission to participate by buying stuff is, if it’s store credit, because really, like, I don’t, I really don’t shop a lot. I feel like I have, like, residual stuff from being young, where I, like, don’t really spend a lot of money on, quote, unquote frivolous things, which I don’t believe are frivolous, but obviously we’re, you know, absorbed that way. So, yeah, I think that’s a fun way to think about it. Is like selling stuff, taking the star credit, returning to buy your things. It being a treasure hunt. You getting to know the people, you showing up to community, like that, like that. I that makes it an experience. And again, yeah, and atmosphere and ecosystem that I want to be a part of. It’s not like walking into bergdorfs and being made to feel like shit by the sales associate looks or what have you, and not being able to fit into or afford anything. Anyways, that sounds awful, and no wonder we don’t want to participate there.

 

X Mayo  36:01

Yeah, okay, so next, I want to get all the tea about your wedding. Okay, go to the Japanese […] I’m so excited.

 

Lauren Chan  36:14

That’s the second time you tricked me into singing on this pod.

 

X Mayo  36:17

Yes, I’m gonna get a third one. Okay, so wedding bells. First of all, congratulations. I love weddings. I love cake. I put me down for a salmon. Okay, um, first off, I want you to know I always congratulate people on their divorce. I literally have been out in the wild. I used to work at TSA, and there was, like, a group of women coming. They were like, we’re getting divorced. And I was like, congratulations. And they were looking I was like, girl, you decided you need to leave something that no longer serves you. Shout out to you. Congratulate you fucking relations. We need to change that so it’s no shade to the X, trust me, don’t know them, but because I’m genuinely happy that you’re opening a new chapter, I just want to say, congrats. Okay, so how are you and your boo approaching, paying for this wedding. Are we budget conscious, or is it fuck it? Run the American Express.

 

Lauren Chan  37:06

Listen, I’m so excited and in a state of joy that that’s how I feel I want to behave, although that is not what will happen. This is round two for both her and I, and so with that, we want to spend less. And I think that what helps in that, too, is that when you do it the second time, there’s no tradition that you feel you need to be doing out of shame or whatever someone else wants, or because it’s a cultural norm. And so I think we’re gonna do the standard East Village. They have a queer bar called no bar, where we had our first date, and we’re gonna have some of our drag performer friends do a little number, yeah, and we’re gonna look fabulous. […] Yeah, I’m really excited about that, actually. But, you know, the things that we’re leaving off are, like, florals. We picked a space that is used to having restaurant patrons or events, and so they don’t. We don’t need florals to kind of add to the space. We’re not going to do like, you know, traditional, traditional extra events like showers and honeymoon and this and that. And so we’re really picking out what feels special to us, but we’re really excited. So we’re trying to balance that feeling of like celebration with okay, well, we also need to save for life, and maybe we want a home and all that good stuff so.

 

X Mayo  38:37

Okay, so I would like to throw my name in the hat for a flower girl, you said non traditional, okay? Would love to walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress?

 

Lauren Chan  38:45

Yeah, I don’t know, I think.

 

X Mayo  38:47

Honey, she gives minister, she gives minister, yeah, Lauren, I would die, what? And hold crochet flowers because we want to be conscious of the economy and like wastefulness and all of that.

 

Lauren Chan  39:01

Absolutely, if I make you a suit, you come be the officiant.

 

X Mayo  39:05

Bitch deal, I’m there. I am there, honey. And I know a sickening hairstylist out there, my girl, yay, would do that. And I will get Candace to beat this mug, honey. I will be there, because I if it’s a Laurentian wedding, we are dressed in the nines. Okay? Like, yes, you better come give it. Okay, so since you’re gonna we’re thinking about money. You know, we thought about cost, and, you know, over conception stuff. Are you thinking of going vintage for your dress? Because this is something you’re gonna wear once or or maybe you wear it every go to CVS. I don’t care.

 

Lauren Chan  39:37

Yeah, I am gonna do a few outfits, because I finally feel like, just like celebrating through the roof, which I know I mentioned, but Okay, so I’ve been on the real, real and the other day I saw a size 14 Vintage Bob Mackey for all my drag race fans. You know, that is the mecca of fashion, so that. Something that’s in my my hearted obsessions, and it’s like, that would require a little bit of tailoring. So I work with a tailor here in Brooklyn called Taylor s, and it’s like, we would, you know, shorten the skirt or make a little more volume here and cinch it in there. And I think that’s a really great way to do it. The first time I got married, I was looking through the sites I know and love, just for garments and white and you know, I know it seems so obvious, but you’d be so surprised how high the sticker price jumps up just because something’s in a bridal section on a website or a store when the garments are just as beautiful and perhaps actually more you and less traditionally bridal when they’re in the normal section, just made in white. And then we’re thinking of having some custom looks made by a lovely designer friend of mine. So, yeah, that’s looking like the mix.

 

X Mayo  40:55

Oh, my God, these pictures, this is gonna be insane. Is this being covered by people.

 

Lauren Chan  41:01

I don’t know, yeah, I mean, we just announced the engagement. So, like I said, I think you’re hired to be my new PR person, actually. So you get people on the phone, you tell us.

 

X Mayo  41:12

Honey, and I did New York for eight years. I did my bid. I can get us musicians, I can get as comedians. I can get us to host. I worked in the restaurant industry for five years, where is Chef? Michael White, let’s get some fucking pasta or steer your Marini. Get on the fucking call. Get on your Zoom. Lauren, it has been so amazing to get to know you. I’ve taken so much of your time. And where should people be following you on the socials.

 

Lauren Chan  41:35

On the socials, I am @lcchan, L, C, C, H, A N. Don’t get me started, Lauren Chan, everything is taken, you’ll be.

 

X Mayo  41:43

Oh, my God, who is that? We don’t know her, but it was lovely speaking with you. We can’t wait to follow you and everything that you’re doing.

 

Lauren Chan  41:52

Thank you so much for having me. Adore you. I’m gonna see you in April.

 

X Mayo  41:55

Yes, bye.

 

Lauren Chan  41:56

Bye.

 

X Mayo  41:57

It feels so good to talk to someone who just gets inclusive fashion. Lauren saw a gap in the market for luxury plus size clothes, and she worked her magic. There are some things that never go out of style in business and in life, and that’s innovation, while other companies complain about plus size being too expensive. Henning has size ranges from double zero to 40. She’s stressing all of us and not leaving money on the table. So if you’re someone interested in fashion or the business of fashion, think about how you can do things better. Now, if someone can make me a bedazzled Batman cake, baby, I’ll give you all my money right now. Now, let me wrap this up real quick, because, baby, I need to go give me a new suit I’m about to officiate the Lauren Chan’s wedding, and I cannot be slacking, and I won’t be wearing slacks.

 

CREDITS  42:46

The Dough is a Lemonada original. I’m your host X Mayo.  This series was created in partnership with Flourish Ventures.  This series is presented by the Margaret Casey Foundation. Our producers are Tiffany Bui, and Dani Matias. Kristen Lepore is our senior producer.  Mix and Sound Design by Bobby Woody. Original Music by Pat Mesiti Miller. Jackie Danziger is our Vice President of narrative content.  Executive Producers include me X Mayo, Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer.  Help others find our show by leaving us a rating and writing a review.  You can follow me on IG  @80dollarsandasuitcase and Lemonada @lemonadamedia across all social platforms, follow The Dough wherever you get your podcast or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership, thanks so much for listening. See you next week, bye.