By a big, fat, endless, irksome, dose of TRAFFIC.
My flight took an hour longer than intended due to unexpected winds, and I found myself already behind for my first meeting. The meeting was in Santa Ana, so I had planned to leave straight away from the airport, after being warned about this alleged L.A. traffic. I didn’t expect the traffic to start even BEFORE I left the rental lot!
And it continued….
Google Maps told me my trip would take approximately 40 minutes – and 40 minutes became 2 hours. I witnessed a few confusing fender-benders (how SUVs could get turned around completely in the wrong direction when the flow of traffic is going no faster than 30 clicks is beyond me)....
But I made an important new friend who helped me along the way...
(After getting lost in all of my previous locations, I learned my lesson and got a GPS -- this little gadget became my little friend for this trip....)
Santa Ana was worth it. I met a lovely young plus size designer, Jessica Svoboda, who had started up a business with her sister and is kicking ass. She’s putting a lot of focus into premium denim now, as this has always been her passion.
She showed me around her office and invited me along to check out some samples at her warehouse. In the car, we had some time to get acquainted and I was drawn into her great aura and energy. At the warehouse, I got to check out her jeans designs and found out that denim design is particularly an art in plus-size clothing because these women generally have big booties and want to make them look sexy, not like sacks. The designer flat out told me that she’s a size 18 and because she dresses stylishly and carries herself with confidence, she has no problem meeting and attracting men. The opinions and concerns she expressed to me were delivered with such determination that I really think she could impact a lot of young women out there by doing speaking seminars!
I think she was a bit taken aback that I wasn’t plus-size…. But I’m hoping I conveyed to her just how much I respect and support the work she’s doing, regardless of my size. She’s prepping for a major market so I kept the meeting brief and sadly ventured back into traffic. I cant tell you how overjoyed I was to fling my sleep-deprived body onto that hotel bed. Ahhh, but I couldn’t call it a night, as much as my body was begging me to.
I had one more meeting that night with two women who own and operate the FIRST jeans company I got interested in when I started casually researching the booty subject a year and a half ago. They picked me up in a beautiful white Escalade and proceeded to amaze and captivate me for the rest of the evening. The gals weren’t exactly ying and yang but it was interesting to watch their dynamic. Best friends since high school who were now business partners!
We grabbed sushi in Santa Monica – perfect because it would have been hard to eat anything heavier considering in Toronto it was already midnite. They talked to me about their vision and the big splash their company was going to make in the coming months. I felt my anticipation rise… especially because each partner had a different shape that they were totally confident with and were highly ambitious entrepreneurs in their early 30s.
Side note: I am over the moon over the fact that this trip has connected me to so many fabulous, ambitious women. I feel like I’ve indirectly joined a legion of women with great drive – and I truly believe that’s what’s kept me going through all of the solo travel. At the end of every car trek/delayed airline flight is a beautiful, talented woman…. (my “pot o gold”) When I heard that one of the denim partners already had three kids and her daughter was going to turn 13 soon, it threw me for a loop. Here I am thinking about how I’d like to have a family in the next 5 years once I find the “one” and get my career goals in order, and here was a woman who was doing both! And looked killer and healthy to boot!
These women identified with my project and mentioned that they believe in promoting healthy body image – but growing up in California, they had felt the pressure to be thin and beautiful and had seen friends and classmates deal with eating disorders so their mission was much broader than the “booty”… and I tried to explain to them that the booty is my personal story and my metaphor for body insecurities. It sounds like we have the same mandate and goals deep down but I think our timing MIGHT be off – and I respect that they are making sure they are totally ready before they make their debut, so time will have to tell in this case.
Bonus: beyond the great conversation and food – they offered me a pair of their jeans. I couldn’t wait to try them on in the hotel room – and I did. The fabric is INCREDIBLE I will say that and it makes my ass look amazing – no small feat for me and my shape. Only bummer, they are really form fitting through the entire leg area and my legs are pretty muscular, so I don’t really like to enhance that area… so I think the pair would ROCK with high boots! Who would have thought I could fit into California style denim? These lovely ladies showed me I could! They really are desigining for a women with curves, I can now attest to that. Another company to keep on my radar…..
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