Twin Cities entrepreneurs create a space for plus-size fashion For Madyson Lee, 25, and Amanda Bergeron-Manzone, 33, it has always been a challenge to find clothes that fit them and their style. Hunting for clothing that was also affordable, sustainable and ethically-made was even harder.Get more news about cheap Plus Size Swinwear for women,you can vist 5xsize.com! Lee and Bergeron-Manzone recently founded Melody and Ralph, an online shop operating as one of the only vintage plus-size clothing stores in the Twin Cities. The two are serving as their own models, curators and marketing team. Lee talked with the St. Paul Pioneer Press about fashion, sustainability and the power of social media.“We both are literally obsessed with thrifting and have so much stuff. There are so many cute Instagram stores online for thrifting, but it’s really hard to find anything that is for plus-size women or fat women in general. “It’s so great because in Minneapolis we have Cake (Plus-Size Resale), which is awesome. But it’s fun to have something that’s a little bit of a different style. They have a lot of current (on-trend clothing) so we’re focusing on more vintage things and trying to do different collections given the seasons. “Mostly just because we wanted to shop and have a store that actually caters to people who look like us, and see clothes on women who look like us and bodies that look like ours. It makes a huge difference.”Since the pandemic I’ve definitely gained some weight, and just as I’ve gotten older it has gotten harder for me to shop in standard-size stores. It’s also gotten harder to thrift because a lot of the cute stuff does get snatched up by resellers and by thinner people who want oversized stuff, which is something that I always try to avoid. “It’s definitely gotten more difficult to shop, but also it’s gotten more difficult to shop trying to keep in mind my carbon footprint and be mindful (of sustainable) brands, because a lot of brands that are (ethically made) don’t cater to plus-sized people. And when they do it’s just, frankly, quite out of my price range, especially as someone who is unemployed in the time of COVID.”“It’s been really great. We’ve gotten followers kind of from all over the place, we’ve gotten some people who are interested in us shipping them stuff to the UK — which is awesome — but we’re kind of trying to start focusing on growing like a local following, because I know how hard it is for fat girls and fat non-binary people and fat men to find cute clothes.” “I like to describe my style as kind of eclectic cozy. I like a lot of bright colors, I like a lot of large patterns, but my No. 1 priority is always to just be as comfortable as possible. I don’t ever want to be in anything that’s squeezing me or pinching me, I hate it. So everything flowy, everything cozy. I love to shop at the Salvation Army with the Target basement. It’s amazing, it’s everything that Target doesn’t sell. I love Unique. I do love to shop at Cake. That’s a good (place to) start.” “I feel like we’re in kind of a renaissance for that right now with the fashion industry, I think. There are designers who care about fat people and queer people and non-binary people, and there are a lot of really amazing small indie brands that care about all of those people and care about the environment. “I think the main thing right now is the accessibility for most people. It’s just so expensive for these well-made, well-curated brands — it’s inaccessible. So that’s why I’m such a thrifter, because like all of the stores that I love, like Girlfriend Collective and Tamara Malas, all of that, like — incredible, I love it. All over my Pinterest and all over my page on Instagram. But it’s not anything that I actually have anything up from. So I’m always trying to find something similar at the thrift store or something that I can throw together that gives off a similar vibe.”