This plus-size blogger says we need to prioritize inclusivity in fashion

“To be honest, the fashion industry needs to change in a lot of ways,” Ana Pejkanovic, the face behind the March and May blog, told Stylight. Pejkanovic, a Canadian-Serbian mother-of-two, is among the growing number of 40-something bloggers claiming their space in the millennial-dominated influencer industry. Pejkanovic’s blog, named after the months her two sons were born in, is a zone for “curvy fashion for women over 40.”

March and May began after the former legal assistant “couldn’t relate to any of the beautiful editorials and spreads [in fashion magazines].”

As she writes on her blog’s About Page: “I just want to welcome you to my little space of the wide world web. And let’s face it, there is not much out there (in the fashion world) that is dedicated to hard-working curvy women in the late 30s or in their 40s.

But being in your 40s and on top of that, being a plus-size, according to the fashion world, should simply not have any interest in fashion whatsoever. And I do know that women of my age and size do love fashion and do love to look good (duh). So I had a brilliant idea that we should be more represented in the world of fashion.”

Do you think the fashion industry needs to start to pay attention to 40+ bloggers?

Oh yes, I do! To be honest, I think the fashion industry needs to change in a lot of ways, one of those changes being inclusivity. Things are changing slowly and there is an increase in women my age, or older, blogging, but more is needed.

When I started my blog [in 2014], fashion bloggers were 20-something gorgeous girls with amazing style. Women my age were rare to blog about fashion, not because we didn’t have anything to show, but because my age group didn’t read blogs. However, with the rise of Instagram, my age group became more active. It’s amazing to see women enjoying their lives and having fun with fashion.

When I started my blog it never occurred to me that I could inspire anyone or would ever do so, but I started getting messages from other women telling me they liked my style and that I inspired them and made them start to enjoy fashion again. I feel so honored and humbled by them so I hope to inspire women my age, or any age for that matter, to take chances, try new things, and have fun.

What brands do you think are doing a great job at plus-size fashion?

I need to mention Universal Standard. Their clothes are not only amazing quality but they’re truly an inclusive brand, with sizes from 00 to 42. I also love 11 Honore, a brand that’s trying to bring designer clothing to plus-sized customers and, of course, some of the other plus-size brands I love are Addition Elle and Eloquii.

How do you hope the plus-size industry will continue to develop?

We’ve already seen so many designers and brands start to become more inclusive and offer extended sizes which, is a small chance, but a change in the right direction. So I think that in the next five years, we will continue to see many changes in the industry, inclusivity in sizing being one of them.

My style icons are…

I love classic style with a little edge so my style inspirations are Jacqueline Kennedy, Bianca Jagger, and Géraldine Boublil from Erin off Duty.

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