When we started Loud Bodies, our on-demand system wasn’t just a sustainability choice — it was a necessity. With nothing but personal savings and a strong desire to offer inclusive sizing from the very beginning, we couldn’t afford to create and hold stock. The only cost-effective way to make our XXS to 5XL range a reality was to do it ourselves: we opened our own atelier, hired a seamstress for sewing, and I did everything else — design, fabric sourcing, pattern making, cutting, quality control, packing, and everything in between.

Throughout this journey, we often reflect on what brought us here.

As the team slowly grew, so did our possibilities. I was finally able to hire Veronica, our brilliant designer and creative director as well as new seamstresses with pattern-making experience. Together, we expanded our sizing and designs, creating more intricate, expressive pieces.

All of this was happening at the height of the pandemic — an uncertain time we feared would devastate us, but which, ironically, brought our best year ever. As the need for softness, fantasy, and escapism surged, Loud Bodies was already offering exactly that — long before it had a name like “cottagecore.”

We had two amazing years.

But since 2022, things have steadily slowed down. We tried adapting: leaning more into fantasy, then pivoting to more wearable everyday pieces. We launched more affordable lines, versatile pieces worth the investment, hoping to meet people where they were.

But month after month, it got harder — even covering our fixed costs became a challenge.

At first, I blamed myself. I stayed awake at night, spiraling with guilt over not being as creative or productive as I used to be — something that came hand in hand with battling depression. I thought it was me — that I was failing to keep Loud Bodies magical.

Until I started looking around and saw brand after brand shutting down — brands I admired, brands with investors, with full teams doing the work I was still doing alone. Wray, a pillar in inclusive, ethical fashion, gone. And suddenly I realized: this isn’t just personal failure. This is a much bigger monster.

We’re up against a world where sustainability has been co-opted and watered down by greenwashing. Where ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu dominate with shocking speed and even lower prices. Where being perceived as a plus-size brand in the age of Ozempic has meant becoming invisible in an industry that’s shifting again — toward thinness, erasure, silence.

This year has been the hardest yet.

And the only reason we’ve been able to stay open this long is because I started a second business in January, which has helped cushion the losses.

After years of wrestling with the guilt and grief, I can finally say: it’s not anyone’s fault.

The economy is broken. The world is burning. There are larger forces at play than one small brand can fight. I was idealistic seven years ago — believing I could swim against the current, rewrite the rules, stay true to our ethics, keep prices accessible, refuse to compromise — and still survive. But you simply can’t have it all. Because if brands like Loud Bodies were allowed to thrive, there would be no need for the systems we sought to challenge.

Still — I believe Loud Bodies should exist.

More than ever, there’s a massive gap for beautiful, ethical, well-made clothing in a wide size range. Not fast fashion. Not dull or frumpy garments meant to hide your body. Clothing that celebrates you.

That’s why we’re not giving up. But we do need to change.

We’re working towards developing a production model that’s more sustainable and manageable long-term. To make this shift possible, we have to temporarily close our atelier. Our team is smaller now, and we simply don’t have the resources to keep producing the current pieces. That’s why we’re announcing this early — even without all the answers yet — so you have time.

All current Loud Bodies designs will be archived at the end of August.

They will not return. This is not a manipulative marketing trick. There won’t be a “surprise” comeback in October.

These designs were created using hand-drawn patterns that we are no longer able to use. We’re transitioning to a digital process and won’t be re-developing old styles. So this truly is your last chance.

Every order placed this month helps us tremendously — it gives us a lifeline. It helps us stay afloat while we work toward a new plan. We’re also considering a new aesthetic direction — less vintage-inspired, more in tune with where we are now and where we hope to go.

So if there’s a Loud Bodies piece you’ve loved or dreamed of — this is your moment.

This isn’t goodbye.

This is a necessary pause and direction shift to not end up having to close indefinitely. A clearing of space so something more sustainable, more aligned, more resilient can take root.

Thank you for being here.

We keep fighting. ❤️