A soon-to-be-graduate from the University of Montana recently launched an e-book that offers up suggestions for comfortable, on-trend inclusive fashion, a culmination of her love for marketing, design and plus-size fashion.
Laura Clague is a student at UM’s Davidson’s Honors College. Clague, born and raised in Montana, published “Chubby’s Swatch Book: A College Girl’s Guide to Plus-Size Comfy Fashion” as a product of a three-month marketing class.
It’s 18 pages and features a comprehensive guide on places to shop with a wide range of sizes and suggestions on how to dress for a casual yet put-together college style.
Laura Clague, a student at UM’s Davidson’s Honors college, will graduate from the University of Montana on May 11. Clague published “Chubby’s Swatch Book: A College Girl’s Guide to Plus-Size Comfy Fashion” as a product of a three-month marketing class. “As I got older and I was trying to express myself through my clothing, I got really discouraged,” she said. “It was a journey of finding outlets for fashion for myself and struggling through that and wanting to create something that supports other women through that.”
“As I got older and I was trying to express myself through my clothing, I got really discouraged,” she said. “It was a journey of finding outlets for fashion for myself and struggling through that and wanting to create something that supports other women through that.”
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The book is inspired by Clague’s own experiences navigating an industry that often doesn’t cater to larger bodies.
“After 20 years of that frustration, I’ve learned to navigate an industry that doesn’t quite welcome me, collecting a list of trusted inclusive brands and outfits along the way,” Clague wrote in the intro of her book.
The back half of the guide is filled with outfit suggestions for different seasons and occasions. Each outfit is styled and modeled on Clague, so readers can reference the fit if they try to re-create a style. It’s got seven styled outfits and 14 closet staples, accompanied by six brands that offer inclusive sizing options.
Every photo in the book features ensembles from scratch, styled and designed from Clague’s own outfits.
“That was really important to me, I wanted to represent the clothing on my body and have a representation of my body type,” she said.
The idea for the book itself came to Clague during her marketing class when students were tasked with creating and marketing a digital product.
“I came at it from the angle of something I’m very passionate about, and have always been passionate about, which is plus-size fashion,” Clague said.
From a young age, Clague loved fashion and design. She remembers using crayons to draw designs in her free time and telling her teachers she wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up.
Clague’s recently dipped her toe into thrifting around Missoula, too, but acknowledged thrift options in town for plus-size bodies are limited. She said on a larger scale, she thinks there’s progress being made to incorporate more sizes across fashion brands, but it’s not moving as quickly as she’d hoped.
“I think there are some brands that are really, really trailblazing,” she said, adding the rise in social media platforms like TikTok have also put pressure on brands to do better with size inclusivity.
She’s filled her time at UM with a wide swath of jobs and activities, including being the communications manager for the Office of External Scholarships and Fellowships. Clague said she’s found a tremendously supportive community through UM’s honors college, especially its faculty.
“The honors college has definitely been the place where I’ve felt the most welcome and encouraged … it feels like a family,” she said.
Clague will graduate on Saturday, alongside hundreds of other UM students. Afterward, she plans to travel around the western U.S. and see where she lands. Fashion school, a graduate program and living abroad are all things Clague says might be on the horizon in her future.
Zoë Buchli is the criminal justice reporter for the Missoulian.
