Nice Rack! This Plus-Size Market Invites Fashion Lovers to Take Up Space
- Words by Peppermint
For sustainable fashion to be truly sustainable, it’s vital that it remains accessible to everyone who wants to engage with it. Sam van Zweden and Chloe Papas are the owners of A Plus Market – a place where “everyone is welcome to take up space”.
PHOTOS: LAURA DU VE AND TATANJA ROSS
We are Sam van Zweden and Chloe Papas. We are advocates and creatives; community-builders and fatties. We are mates, dorks and rascals. We’re people with experience living in plus-size bodies, complete with all the casual unkindness the world can throw at you because of that. And we are people who are committed to taking up space and dismantling outdated ideas of what it means to be fat.
The experience of being ‘sized out’ is so filled with shame. All of a sudden, you simply can’t go shopping at a bunch of places – large shopping centres, in particular, can feel like hostile spaces because there’s simply nothing in your size. Or the only thing available something so hideous you can’t fathom putting it on your body. It’s difficult to feel like fashion is something that’s for you when you’re in a plus-size body – this is something we still grapple with, and know that our community does too. While there are far more options now for young plus-size folks than there were a decade or two ago, it’s still bleak out there. It’s hard to express yourself through fashion or test out different styles when most of your life, you’ve had to take what you were given. That’s why we’re creating spaces where plus-size folks can walk in and always find something – potentially lots of things – in their size.
A Plus Market is for plus-size people, by plus-size people. At our events, plus-size people can buy and sell fashion that fits, hang out with the community, strut the catwalk in our community runway shows, and occasionally jump into a workshop. One punter told us, “The most amazing part about the market was the great, liberating feeling of not taking up too much space. After only a few minutes, I was not self-conscious of my size.”
Over the last couple of years there have been so many standout moments: seeing so many new and old faces on market days; connecting with incredible plus-size folks; hearing stories from people who have found community, friendship and fashion in the spaces we create. We’ve collaborated with arts and culture organisations to spotlight plus-size voices, bodies and fashion. It’s also been fantastic to see local brands increase their size ranges based on the advice they receive from us, and the feedback they get from our market-goers. We’ve seen brands extend up to a size 30, others choose to offer custom sizing and designers begin consulting with our community for the first time.
If the reality of fatphobia feels like an oppressive gravity, we want market days to be moonwalks.
When people visit A Plus events, we hope that they feel safe, powerful and capable. A Plus is an opportunity to let your guard down and simply be – and also be told you’re hot by other babes in bigger bodies, because that’s a likely part of it. It’s really important to us that A Plus spaces – whether they’re in person or online – are inclusive and accessible first, rather than as an afterthought. There are so very many places where the world makes existing in a bigger body difficult already – theatre seating, massage and tattoo tables, almost everything about planes, medical rooms… we could go on forever. So we’re constantly making tweaks when it comes to accessibility, and learning from our community as we go. We look at everything from physical accessibility in our spaces and gender-neutral toilets to ensuring there’s something for all budgets and doing our best to make everyone feel safe and comfy. We just want A Plus spaces to feel effortless. If the reality of fatphobia feels like an oppressive gravity, we want market days to be moonwalks.
Head to Hot Fat Summer, the first A Plus Market of 2024, on Sunday 25th February from 10am-3pm at Coburg Town Hall. You can also check out the details for all upcoming markets on their events page.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
