By Claudia Abbott
Josephine Dervish is a plus-size fashion blogger and founder of the #joyousdressing movement. At age 51, she uses her platform to strive for a more inclusive world, where people are able to wear what they want no matter their size, and express themselves through their clothes.
When Dervish was younger she was confined to many dress code rules that were laid out for women in society, but as she has gotten older she has been able to explode those rules and she has had a lot of fun doing so.
When asked what the message is that Dervish wants to put out when she is creating her content she said “All clothes are for all people.”
That was one of the main messages she wanted to tell people when she took part in the panel on sizeism in fashion at London Metropolitan University yesterday evening, as part of the Journalism Newsweek.
Dervish has nearly 20,000 followers on instagram and there are over 47,000 public posts of people using her #joyousdressing movement.
When creating her online content she wants to address the people who are looking to embrace fashion, clothing and style as an art form as opposed to something you have to do a certain way with lots of rules.
Dervish said: “I see dressing as an extension of a canvas and brushes, and I paint myself an outfit everyday.”
Dervish also works in schools with young children and during the panel discussion on Should Size Matter she revealed the horrific truth that the term ‘fat’ still turns kids into fits of laughter, beginning the cycle of fat-phobia. She said that to bring about changing the stigma of the plus-size community, we need to be telling our children that every body is beautiful.
When asked what advice she has for her younger self, Dervish said for her to stop being confined by the rules of fashion at the time, and that she doesn’t have to be like everybody else, as being like everybody else will make her miserable.
She also said she would encourage her younger self to start expressing herself through her style as soon as possible.
“Its okay, nobody will say bad things to you about what you wear, in fact often it has brought beautiful things into my life, its brought great friendships, its brought incredible artistic collaborations, so be who you are.”
Listen here to what she has to say, in her own words:
Being interviewed before the panel discussion
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