The online lingerie brand – Happie Curves, is proving that body inclusivity is not an option anymore. Any clothing brand that wants to sustainably succeed needs to learn how to treat all bodies with love and respect.
Sonal Somani loves herself and how she looks. It took some time, but she is a proud woman today. And she wants to help other people feel similar pride and happiness in the way they dress and feel.
Sonal’s inspiration behind Happie Curves
What inspired Sonal to start this venture on her own?
Body inclusivity
Sonal wanted to launch Happie Curves to cater to the section of the society that has long felt deprived of basic clothing options. From lingerie to swimsuits, Happie Curves is for all women who try to squeeze themselves down into commercial innerwear sizes.
Made of polymer elastic lycra, their products also provide sweat absorption and a seamless fit.
The brand is also planning to launch lingerie and innerwear made of ribbed fabric that provides additional support and shape.
“Glamour for all”
Having grown up as a plus-size individual, Sonal Somani knew all the pain points that women have to face.
In a sea of designer, stylish, fashionable innerwear and lingerie, plus-size women are forced to choose from neutral colours like black, white or beige.
Fancy elements like lacework can push up prices, or have to be imported.
Happie Curves is breaking this pattern. Sonal saw a wide gap in the Indian market for inclusive inner wear clothing. And now, her brand is helping build a community of people who love how their clothes make them feel.
“Happie Curves is mindful that our innerwear is fashionable and glamorous at the same time, and offers comfort and proper shape. We also want to feel good about what we wear. We want to look nice, feel nice and have nice things on our bodies. The day we wear pretty colourful clothes, or lingerie, we automatically feel better and we can walk with our heads up higher.” – Sonal, Founder of Happie Curves
Health issues
Globally, only one in 5 women wear the correct bra size. In India, where lingerie and innerwear are supposed to be a much more taboo subjects, numbers aren’t exactly available.
But we can safely say, it follows the same or worse performance standards.
Because of the taboo, women wear what they “think” is the right fit. And for plus-size women, that can often mean wearing grossly undersized bras that can have long-term physical consequences like chronic back pain, posture issues, sagging breasts etc.
Since marketplace aggregators usually go with sizing charts that are “one size fits all”. They have come up with their own sizing guide for their independent eCommerce website.
They have included ample images and videos that show you how to properly measure yourself and choose products that will be a perfect fit for your body type.
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For Sonal, since her customers are going to be wearing these bralettes for 10-12 hours, comfort is given the highest priority.
Growing the Happie Curves community
Influencer marketing
This tax lawyer turned entrepreneur has also adorned the hat of an influencer. Sonal knows the ins and outs of influencer marketing from personal experience. She has been leveraging her own network and learnt techniques to grow her brand organically.
These methods involve shout-outs by influencers, testimonials and review videos, all of which help Happie Curves build its credibility as an inclusive and body-positive brand.
Related read: Influencer marketing: A guide for beginners
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Her network of influencers also shares her messaging for body positivity. They want people to know and understand that “Clothes need to fit us, and not us into clothes”.
A step by step guide that will help you build your own lifestyle brand from absolute scratch.
Building awareness
We were under the impression that Sonal’s brand sold mainly in cities like Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore. We have never been more glad of being proven wrong.
“I have seen orders from Sonipat (Haryana) and a lot of other 2 Tier 3 Tier cities. It is extremely niche right now, but this market is waiting to be tapped. We need more players. This market is going to blast in a couple of years. Wait and see.“ – Sonal Somani, Founder of Happie Curves
The demand from small towns in India is a reason for hope. Body positivity should never be restricted to certain locations or classes.
Everybody’s body changes and adapts. Many enter the plus-size category because of medical conditions, pregnancies, motherhood and so many other reasons related to life!
These women do not deserve to be stripped of the luxury of comfort and fashion. Sonal wants to be able to provide support for them and wants them to feel good about who they are.
“I do want to start an entire segment on education and raising awareness on body inclusive clothing. It is going to take time, but I am ready for the uphill climb.” – Sonal, Founder of Happie Curves
Happie Curves and Instamojo
A frequent Instamojo payment links user, Sonal has been with Instamojo for half a decade now.
Her experience and comfort through the years had given her the trust she needed to create her own online store with Instamojo.
“I knew it was going to be easy to get my website up. Everything was all in one place and I didn’t have to run to 10 different apps.” Sonal, Founder of Happie Curves
Your business is your baby. And we at Instamojo understand that.
20 Lakh+ entrepreneurs like Sonal have put their faith in us.
Why don’t you also try us out? Create an online store for FREE today.
