Ashlyn Froelich, Creator of Ava Gowns, is Revolutionizing Fashion With Inclusive Sizing

Ava Gowns founder Ashlyn Froelich did not start off her career thinking she would one day be the CEO of a viral fashion brand and that she would change the game of inclusive sizing. Yet, here she is, winning at life and girlbossing all the way to the top. 

Ashlyn, the 27-year-old mom of two, was initially a professional photographer renowned for her breathtaking shots of people in beautiful ethereal dresses. Such was her reputation that she partnered with an Etsy shop that specialized in these huge billowy gowns that made everyone into a model. However, when the shop decided to close down she was faced with a dilemma. Let go and pursue something easy, or take on the shop with all the extra responsibility and grueling work that it entailed to continue pursuing this unexpected new dream. Needless to say, Ashlyn took on the challenge and turned her career as a photographer into a career as the CEO of a booming fashion company that is revolutionizing the standards of sizing. 

 

Photographer : @amberlynnephoto

 

Since its inception and first launch, Ava Gowns was meant to be a brand that empowered and uplifted women no matter what. Many leading fashion brands market their garments as beauty-creating and carry a limited number of sizes. The idea that a garment will make someone beautiful is misleading advertising and also incredibly damaging to peoples’ self-esteem. When it was time for Ashlyn to set sizes and decide on a marketing strategy for her brand, she decided that enough was enough. She decided to include every size she could manage and Ava Gowns first launched with a range of 0 to 20 sized dresses. 

 

Photographer : @amberlynnephoto

 

However, this impressive achievement was not enough for Ashlyn. For her Fall collection she decided to expand her sizing even more and offer dresses sizes 00 to 30. Ava Gowns will also be doing away with the standard size guides seen in every online retail store. The typical size grid often negatively affects people’s self-esteem and in today’s skinny-centric fashion world, a number can destroy someone’s sense of self-worth. Let’s not even start on the topic that a size six shirt in one store does not have the same measurements as a size six in the store next door. These numbers are entirely meaningless and yet they hold an immense amount of power over people. Ashlyn’s new sizing will get rid of the numbers entirely. Her dresses won’t be sizes four, twelve, or twenty. Instead, they will be called “radiant,” “beautiful,” and “strong” to emphasize the positive feelings that a gorgeous gown like the Mia dress should evoke. Not fitting into a Pearl dress size ten should not cause anyone to feel any type of way about their bodies, but despite what should be, the effect still happens. So instead of thinking negatively about not fitting into a size ten, you might think more positively about a “radiant” size fitting better than a “divine” size. And doesn’t that just sound better in every way? Ashlyn Froelich is doing something no one’s ever done before with Ava Gowns, and we can’t wait to see the massive impact this brand continues to have on the fashion industry.