My name is Sophie Thwaites and I am the proud owner of Just The Way You Are; the only dedicated plus-size bridal boutique in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Many people in recent years have asked me why I have decided to leave the well paid profession of accountancy and put everything I have into being a business owner. To answer that question, I have to take them back to my early teens when my journey began.
On the last day of the summer term, I was travelling to school with my Dad and sister Lois, when suddenly we were hit from behind by a pick-up truck. Initially we all thought we were ok, so Dad took the insurance details from the driver and we continued on to school.
Throughout the day, I started to experience a lot of pain in my back, neck and shoulders. Dad took me to the hospital and I was 
discharged with a sling and a diagnosis of whiplash. The following morning, I woke to find my right collarbone was the size of a tennis ball, so back to the hospital we went. A very vague diagnosis was given this time around; possibly a cracked collarbone and again I was sent away with painkillers and nothing more.
During consultations with specialists involved with the insurance claim, we found out some time later that my collarbone had actually dislocated and gone back in the wrong position and I had damaged discs in my spine. To operate could potentially cause more discomfort due to scar tissue, so I was left with a protruding collarbone and severe pain, especially in the winter months.
Before the accident, I had dreams of becoming a champion swimmer, training daily with my local swimming club. My coach used to call me a dolphin as I’d glide through the water at speed. Due to my injuries, I could no longer swim, which broke my heart.
The battle for compensation went on for years. My swimming career was over before it had really begun, I couldn’t even do PE at school for fear of further injury, so I started to comfort eat. By the time I left school at 16, I was a size 18.
By the time I reached 18 years old, my weight had skyrocketed to 20 stone and I required size 24-26 clothes. Back in the late 90s, the only shop which sold clothes in my size was Evans and there was nothing stylish about their middle-aged designs. I used to go out with my sister and friends, wearing what can only be described as tents. It was humiliating!
I tried various diets over the following couple of years and managed to lose a few stone, so I would sometimes pluck up the courage to go into High Street shops to see if they had anything in my size. I was more often than not confronted by a snotty sales assistant who looked me up and down as if to say ‘what are you doing in here?’
Unfortunately another life changing event shook my world when I was 21. My Dad who I was very close to passed away suddenly just after his 57th birthday. Distraught, I turned to food and a very unsuitable boyfriend for comfort. Once again my weight started to increase. Only a year after losing Dad, I started to experience agonising period pains, to the point of being unable to stand up. I visited the doctor and was referred to the hospital for tests. I was diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis, which was so severe I had two operations within 4 months.
My consultant advised me that my symptoms could be lessened if I lost a considerable amount of weight, so I have battled on; having tried pretty much every diet. From juices to low carb; from slimming tablets to eating rice cakes for every meal; I’ve done them all. So I’ve basically been hungry for about a decade!
Before he died, my Dad had tried to convince me to start studying CIMA as he wanted me to have a stable job in accountancy, so I wouldn’t have to struggle financially as he and Mum had done when we were kids. Not long after he passed, I applied and was accepted onto the course. I continued my studies until I was 25, but during a round the world trip in 2009 with my older sister Lois, I took a long hard look at myself and realised that I was on a path my Dad had paved for me, not one that I had chosen. On returning from our amazing trip, I decided to put the accountancy books to one side and applied to my local university to do a degree in Business Management, as I had always hoped that one day I would run my own business (doing what though, I wasn’t sure).
As part of my course, I had to present a new business proposal. I decided to look back at my life and recalled the many negative clothes shopping experiences I had. Not only when I was at my largest, but also when I was a size 18. I had been asked by my brother to be bridesmaid at his wedding, so the other size 10 bridesmaids, the bride-to-be and I went shopping. I remember to this day how one lady made me feel when she looked me up and down and said ‘We have nothing that will fit you!’
I thought about how a bride would feel if she was treated like that. Purchasing your wedding gown is supposed to be one of the most memorable experiences for the bride-to-be as we all secretly want to feel like a princess on our big day. Right then, Just The Way You Are was born.
I graduated in 2012 with 1st class honours and moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, the location I had chosen for my shop. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I went to the bank to ask them for the money for my start-up; to be told that I would have to put up 50% of the capital myself. Now where was I going to get £25k from? Not one to be defeated, I took on two jobs and worked 70 hours per week for the next 18 months. Finally I saved enough and managed to secure a loan from the Start-up Loan Company. In 2015, I opened my beautiful new bridal boutique, dedicated to girls with curves in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. To get to this point has not been easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but whenever I see my brides try on ‘the dress’, I know that it’s been worth the grey hairs, blood, sweat and tears.
My boutique stocks stunning gowns by Callista, Bonny Bridal, Romantica of Devon, Couture by Nicola Anne and many more, in sizes 18-32 available to try on in store.
I am part of the Plus-size Revolution, bringing choice and current styles to the market for girls just like me. I want brides to know that they are beautiful just the way they are. If your man loves you as you are, why starve yourself and become a total bridezilla? Wedding planning is stressful enough without being hungry!
If you’d like to know more about my business, you can find me on Facebook or visit my website www.justthewayyouarebridal.co.uk
Add new comment