We were lucky to catch up with LaTonya Cleveland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, LaTonya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Plus size women are showing what we are made of in the fashion industry. We have been underrated and underrepresented for years. I am proud of who I am and the skin I’m in. Confidence is definitely key and time to flaunt it. I appreciate the fact companies (brands) are fashion forward and are now inclusive when it comes to plus size clothing for us to explore sizes.

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

Welcome to Elle Sharee💋 I’ve been in the makeup industry for 5 years now alongside exploring my passion for fashion. I decided to combine the two and created Elle Sharee; where makeup meets plus size fashion. Being plus sized all my life, it was hard to find cute, chic, or perfect size clothing. The tops wouldn’t fit, bottoms aren’t plus and only come in junior size.

I’ve styled myself before I knew I was styling, lol! I knew it was what I loved once I started putting pieces together in my head in less than 5 mins. I use to struggle with what to wear, didn’t want to try anything on, afraid it wouldn’t look right, or just lack self confidence.
I’ve since then been my authentic self with my self named brand to showcase beauty and fashion for plus sized women. You can be fluffy and fabulous by any means necessary. I love my body. I wouldn’t dare change a thing about it. Yes you can mix prints, yes you can wear white after September, yes you can wear boots in the summer, and yes I’m going to twerk in my outfits(my happy dance) cause that’s what makes ME happy about styling and shopping.

I love my followers and my supporters for partaking in my shenanigans during my IG lives. We laugh, play games and have those hard discussions. I love that I’ve decided to do this in 2019 and I’ve set goals to where I see my brand in the years to come. The fashion industry is changing everyday and I’m screaming Elle Sharee all 2023‼️

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During my journey within Elle Sharee and my brand becoming what it is today, I had to learn ways to bounce back and keep going forward. After losing my loved ones (brother and grandmother), I had a minor setback but realized this was something I loved and needed to do for me. While wanting to quit, I was quickly reminded that when you have a passion for anything in life, it requires dedication! Alongside that, deep down I know my family wouldn’t want me to give up! Therefore, I had to stop, refocus and apply! A strong willed person is an unstoppable force!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Honestly, I’ve been able to build my clientele by going live on mostly all social media platforms. Also, I’m always sure to follow others with the same passion and fashion sense as myself sometimes for inspiration but most of all just to network! There have been times where I would post a flyer in my story stating the time and dates; which allow people to follow and tune in, kind of like a reminder. My advice to anyone that’s starting to build an audience is to know who you are targeting, create precise content that caters to them and be consistent in all that you do! Do not be afraid to love or like someone else’s work and engage often with brands or companies that are within the same category.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/elle_sharee_lifestyle?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
  Name: (Elle_sharee_lifestyle)
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elle_sharee?_t=8ZiBQphmqtu&_r=1

  Name: (Elle_sharee)