CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you had to describe Juicy Body Goddess in one word, confidence would immediately come to mind, and that's exactly what owner Summer Lucille wants.
"I want you to walk out with your head up high with confidence," Lucille said.
Juicy Body Goddess is one of the first plus-size stores in the Carolinas that carries sizes XL to 6X. Lucille has a straightforward approach to her business, too.
"I'm a fat girl and I'm making clothes for fat girls," she said. "Going to one of the big chain stores, we only have a little corner, so I wanted to open up the gates to women all over the world who are plus size."
“I carry items where you can be conservative if you’re going to church, if you just want to be professional business casual all the way up to you want to go out with the girls and go out on the night," Lucille said.
Confidence is something Summer had to also grow within herself.
When she initially launched her business in 2011, she only catered to sizes small to large.
"I couldn't fit any of it," Lucille said. “And I was always on a diet, always trying to lose weight.”
It wasn't until she rebranded to fit who she was that her business was really born.
"This is who I am. I'm going to be chubby all my life, I need to accept it, I need to love it and I just embraced it ever since, and I said I just want to do plus-size," Lucille said.
Fast forward to today, her self-awareness is not only empowering other women just like her, it has also transpired into millions of views on TikTok.
“Plus-size women we can have our stomachs out, we can have our fupa out, we can have all that out just like everybody else," Lucille said.
Her message to women?
“Let’s work to encourage each other, let's love on each other, and I wouldn’t change one thing. I wouldn’t change one thing in my journey," Lucille said.
Contact Ruby Durham at rdurham@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.