Summer plus size lovelies…
An article by Sarah
Posted June 1, 2009 
I spend my day looking for the latest news in plus size apparel so all of our readers can be the first to know what is happening within the fashion world! So to add to our growing directory and collection of plus size clothing retailers, I introduce to you the mail order fashion brand Box2.
Box2’s range, which includes linen trousers, palazzo pants and chic tunics in lightweight fabrics, is certainly evocative of co-founder and owner Nicky Allen’s time spent in Naples in the Seventies. “Naples in the 1970s was fantastic: the people, the food… the whole lifestyle was wonderful,” she recalls. “Italian style is what I look to when I put the collection together.”
In 2000, Nicky started to focus exclusively on a line for larger sizes, after spotting a gap in the market for fashionable plus-size clothing. She felt that there was no stylish clothing available for the larger lady, but she knew that there was a significant demand. “My larger customers wanted the same clothes that were available in the smaller sizes, but they simply didn’t exist at the time.”
Nicky’s idea was met with instant success. “As a larger lady myself, I could relate to how my customers felt,” she says. “All styles are available from sizes 12 to 30 and suit the whole size range, which is the key to my business.”
Designers are brought in to create pieces for each collection, but Nicky has strong direction on how she wants the finished range to look.
“We employ designers, but because of our strong customer base we are able to listen to exactly what our clients want. We do have a say in changing the designs. If our customers want to see a particular top with, say, a shorter sleeve, we can create it.”
Nicky’s faithful clients have recently been so vocal that a further dress size has been made available on the Box2 sizing range. The size 12, which Nicky refers to as “the Box2 size zero”, means that the range is accessible to more women.
At 53 and a size 14-16, Nicky herself is the target customer. “I am the ultimate Box2 client,” she says; so much so that she can be seen modelling pieces from the collection on the company’s website.
The site, which was relaunched in February this year has had a huge impact on the success of Box2. “It has been unbelievable,” says Nicky. “The revamp has practically doubled our sales.”
Nicky’s star clients include Fern Britton, stylists for the Coronation Street girls and star psychic Sally Morgan. “Sally is a great ambassador for the company. I would love to dress Ruth Jones from Gavin & Stacey – she’s fabulous.”
Although the nearest store to the North-East is in Kendal, Nicky has a close link to the region because her son studies at Durham University. “I adore Durham and I would love to have a store in Newcastle.
“A lot of our customers are glamorous ladies, especially those in the North-East.”
For more information on Box2, visit the website at www.box2.co.uk
Box2 will be present at the two following roadshows so you can try on before you buy, for further details, contact via telephone.
The roadshow is coming to The Ashton Hotel, in Coatham Mundeville, Darlington on Sunday, June 7, between 11am and 4pm, at. Call 01325-329600.
The York road show will be held on Sunday, June 14, at the Best Western Monkbar Hotel, in St Maurice’s Road, from 11am to 4pm, contact 01904-638086.
