It sounds so dramatic to say that a pair of tights changed your life, but it's the lived experience of so many people - including me!

Let me tell you a story about little Polly, trying to find herself all those years ago, and the power of a pair of tights.

You won't get it unless you're fat

I have been fat my whole life - years of diets, visits to nutritionists and constant pressure never changed anything - to this day I am still fat. And while I no longer care about what other people think, it’s something that very much affects my everyday life.

I worry about being able to fit into seats at restaurants. I’m terrified that people will laugh at me when we’re out in public. I would spend most of my waking moments worrying about making myself appear as small as possible, whether that's wearing clothes to “flatter” my body or trying to squeeze myself into the corner and take up as little space as possible.

Thankfully, I’m not quite *that* self-conscious any more. I’m still fat, but I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and worked on my self-esteem to get to a place where I actually don’t really care that much about my body any more. It is simply a vessel to get me from room to room. But it has been a long journey to get to this point, with a lot of twists and turns, and making peace with my fatness has had a lot to do with my style. And finding clothes that actually fit me and look good is a big part of that!

How do you find your style?

I’ve always struggled with my style. I knew what outfits I liked and the people I wanted to take inspiration from - but I’ve never managed to translate that into my own wardrobe. Add that to being limited to the meagre offerings of the “plus” and “curve” collections you can find from the few high street stores that offer them, it's very difficult to have any sense of style. Unless of course, you’re into random band tees, cold shoulder tops and skinny jeans - which if that's you then great! But it isn't for everyone…

Even as a teenager, categorically the smallest I’ve ever been, I had no idea what clothes I should be wearing. I stuck with what I call my “Fat Girl” uniform - jeans and a men's t-shirt. These were my staples for years. Shopping with friends? Jeans and a men's T-shirt. Headed to a party? Jeans and a men's T-shirt. Out to dinner? Jeans and my nicest men's T-shirt. It’s all I knew how to wear, and being a size 18 and creeping up and up throughout my teenage years - it's all I thought that would fit me.

It was only when I went to university did I try to turn things around. I’d had enough of wearing the clothes my mum bought me and started branching out. Online shopping became an obsession, and I was trawling to and from the mailroom every other week to pick up the parcels that held my new wardrobe. I kind of went a bit cuckoo to be honest, leaning into my weird side and wearing clothes that were a bit wacky and loud. I had no idea how to style anything I owned but it felt good to have a sense of agency in what I was wearing for the first time in my life. I could finally show off my personality with my clothes, not just advertise which TV shows I liked based on my t-shirt collection.

Clothes became my armour, something to help me deal with the world around me and feel like I was showing off my authentic self in the best way I knew how. And having clothes that could fit me helped these good feelings along.

What makes Snag Tights different?

Then along came Snag. I don’t want to sound like I’m sucking up, but for me, finding Snag tights really was revolutionary. Not only was it a company that understood what it was like to be fat, but they actively showed fat people wearing their products!

I was used to the usual suspects that sold clothes in my size, who offered clothes for larger people - but god forbid they show their clothes on gasp ACTUAL FAT PEOPLE?! Every. Single. Brand. That offered “plus size” collections NEVER featured an actual plus size person in the product pictures. Never. They were always just ever so slightly larger than your average model, no bigger than a size 16-18 which, though considered plus size by many, is waaaaaay smaller than I ever was. How can you market yourself as an inclusive fashion company and not even show a single fat person on your website?

But Snag was different! Right from the very start, they showed actual fat people in their pictures. It genuinely felt revolutionary to see someone who looked like me on a clothing company's website. Social media wasn’t the beast it is now back then, Instagram was more for pictures of your food and heavily filtered selfies. But to see someone as big as me front and centre let me feel seen. It sounds dramatic, but it showed me that I was allowed to exist. That my body looking the way it did was perfectly okay and that everyone else was the problem - never let anyone tell you that representation isn’t important.

One of my first pair of Snags! Fishies that I was really feeling!

Why are traditional tights so uncomfortable?

Tights before Snag for me were a rollercoaster of emotions. I distinctly remember I had a few pairs from the only plus size high street shop at the time, which is now long, long gone, and they were so unbelievably uncomfortable I hated every second they were on my legs.

They always rolled down, were tight around my thighs and bunched around my ankles. I would wear two pairs of knickers with them, one under and one over, to try and keep them in place. In hindsight it was a ridiculous idea as my knickers didn’t fit either! So I was constantly pulling up three different layers, giving myself swamp crotch for no reason!

But these tights were a necessary evil! I wanted to wear cute skirts and dresses like all the other girls I knew, and I couldn’t possibly get my legs out - so I suffered! I wore my terrible tights with my skirts and dresses I had no idea how to style and tried to get on with it without feeling too downtrodden.

And then Snag came along, and it was like the heavens started to sing. Not only did these tights fit me, but they were actually comfortable! They didn’t need a million pairs of undies to keep them up - just whack them on and off you go!

It was like everything changed with that pair of tights. It sounds so unbelievably dramatic - how great can one pair of tights be? But when you have been as fat as long as I have, you learn pretty quickly to be okay with being excluded. The world is not for you, you are far too big for it so you have to take what you get and be grateful. Things were never designed with my body in mind - furniture, clothing, you name it. We just have to make do and hide ourselves as much as possible, making ourselves as small as we can.

But with this pair of Snag tights, finally, it felt like someone had thought about me. Someone had sat down and thought, how can we make this pair of tights fit everybody? And because someone took the time to do that, I got to wear a pair of tights and put on an outfit that made me feel amazing. And for that, I will always be grateful!

Why having clothes that fit matters

Having clothes that fit you and make you feel great feels like no biggie. It's just a pair of tights - why does it matter?

Me now! Still fat, but way happier!

But here's the thing - wearing clothes you love and feel good in dramatically boosts your confidence. Haven’t you ever felt like a million dollars when you put on a nice dress? Doesn’t everything always feel a little lighter when you’re wearing your favourite cardigan?

It is literally scientific - you can look it up and find pages upon pages of research on how wearing clothes you love and fit you well can make you feel happy and confident and able to take over the world. No more “Beauty is Pain”, clothes should be comfortable and functional while looking great. Why would we wear anything that makes us feel bad about ourselves? Whether it's too tight making us feel trussed up like a turkey, or too baggy so we feel like we’re hiding everything away under a sack. I categorically guarantee you will feel worlds better about your own body when you’re dressing it in clothes made for it.

Having clothes that fit shouldn’t be revolutionary, but for so many of us, the reality of fitting into certain clothing is something that's so out of reach. So having a brand that is dedicated to including everyone really gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

It's always more than just clothes. It's being able to be exactly the same as everyone else. There’s no us and them. Just cool clothes and cool people that can wear them.

I truly feel like I am a different person now that I am wearing the clothes I want to wear, rather than what society tells me I should. I’m happier, more confident and altogether way more cool (at least I am in my head…)

If a pair of tights can do all that for me, imagine what it can do for you.