We recently connected with Darcia Boyd and have shared our conversation below.

Darcia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.

I can remember several times I had a U-Turn in my career. I graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. I thought I would become a police officer and eventually an undercover agent. Well that didn’t go as planned, as I worked several security guard positions as well as working in Corrections I knew quickly that I no longer wanted to work in the Criminal Justice Field. In 2014 I transitioned from working in corrections to working as a Mental Health Case Manager. I enjoyed working as a case manager so much that I decided to go back to school to obtain my Masters in Social Work. As much I enjoy case management I enjoy fashion just as much which led me to open my first boutique which you could say is my second U-Turn in my career. Back in 2017 I opened Studio Noelle Plus Size Clothing Boutique, my motto was “Embrace Thy Curves”. I carried stylish and comfy clothes for plus size women for 5 years. My business was focused on empowering and encouraging women to be comfortable in their own skin and embrace their bodies hence “Embrace Thy Curves”. Throughout the years my customers would often tell my how much they’ve began to embrace their bodies and how they started to love themselves more since coming inside my boutique. After my first 3 years in business having the boutique was no longer fun for me, I didn’t like the idea of being a “salesmen” it was draining honestly but I continued to push through. In 2021 I wanted to give up the business completely, I knew there was something more that I could do with fashion other than retail. It wasn’t until a good friend of mines encouraged me to start my non-profit organization Embrace Thy Curves. Embrace Thy Curves is a non-profit organization I founded in 2022. My mission for Embrace Thy Curves is to empower, encourage, and uplift women and men to love themselves inside and out while spreading awareness on self image and how it affects our mental health. We have body positivity campaigns, monthly mental health support groups “Curves, Cocktails, & Conversations”, Youth Fashion Program and our annual fashion show highlighting women and men of all sizes. Embrace Thy Curves allows me to give back to my community, fulfill my passion for fashion and it also allows me to walk in my purpose.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been into fashion my entire life, back when I would make clothes for my dolls out of socks. Yes SOCKS! I would take socks that didn’t have a match to them and make their clothes. I remember wanting to attend school for Fashion Design but instead I went to school for Criminal Justice. Although I was going to college to become a police officer I was definitely one of the most fashionable. My style was very unique back then and still is. I remember my friends would joke about my style and they would say “that looks like something you would wear” or “Darcia what do you have on?”, but now in 2023 one of my friends asked me to be their fashion stylist. How funny is that, such a full circle moment. Being a lover of fashion in 2017 I decided to go into retail and opened my first clothing store, Studio Noelle Plus Size Clothing Boutique. Throughout my years in business I realized I no longer wanted to sell clothes, it started to feel like “work” it became very boring, it felt like a task. In 2022 I founded Embrace Thy Curves Non-Profit Organization. I began doing body positive campaigns where I styled and photographed several women with hopes to build their self confidence. Fall of 2022 my organization held its first fashion show where we highlighted plus size models in the fashion industry. This fashion show has helped boost so many women’s self confidence. A lot of the models were first timers but they’ve gained so much confidence throughout practice that you couldn’t tell. They walked that runway as if they’ve been doing it for years! Embrace Thy Curves not only focuses on spreading awareness on self image and how it affects our mental health, it inspires people to embrace their curves through fashion.

I am most proud of being obedient to Gods word and allowing Him to lead me. Once I started Embrace Thy Curves that’s when I felt like I was truly walking in my purpose. For years I felt as if I knew what my purpose was but then everything I tried just wasn’t fulfilling. Starting Embrace Thy Curves has been rewarding in many aspects. It gave me a creative way to use fashion and social work to promote body positivity while challenging present day beauty standards. I want readers to know that I started Embrace Thy Curves because I too struggle with self confidence. I want people to know that building confidence isn’t just wearing that crop top you said you would never wear, you have to dig a little deeper. How we feel about ourselves can affect our mental health, from depression and anxiety to eating disorders. Building confidence for me began with therapy and one of my goals is to encourage those that struggle with low self esteem, depression and/or anxiety to get the help they need. Talking with someone helps more than you know!

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Although, the many U-turns I had in my career prepared me for the work I’m doing now, if I had to go back I would choose to go to school for Fashion Design which was something I initially wanted to do after high school.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think my experience is most helpful for succeeding in my field. I am someone who has struggled with confidence and low self-esteem throughout most of my life. I’ve experienced bullying, difficult relationships, heartbreak which was very damaging to my self esteem. I was very slim most of my younger years then I went to college and I began to gain weight. It was so unusual and uncomfortable that I have tried every diet pill, every fad diet, and exercise program you can think of. I was so unhappy with how I looked that the only thing that made me happy was fashion. I enjoy getting “dressed up”, there’s a saying “when you look good you feel good” and I believe that and that’s what I teach my kids in my youth fashion program. What better way to succeed in my field than through personal experience. I get to share my testimony in hopes to see a change in others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.embracethycurves.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/embracethycurves

Image Credits
Photos By Loreal Diane and Photos by Justin Dorsey