For our US readers who are celebrating, Happy 4th of July Weekend. For a belated holiday, Happy International Bikini Day. For EVERYONE, it’s still fabUplus Model Monday! We’re so happy to bring you Lindsey Morrison. Morrison is a model and influencer! She’s also one of our fabUffiliates!

Name: Lindsey Morrison

Website/Blog: www.skinnystorieswithasideoffries.com

Instagram:  lamorrisonnn

Lindsey sent us a great photo shoot set for this article!

“Hair & makeup were done by myself.  Photos were taken on an iPhone.  I took these photos in the alley of where we live on a Friday evening.  I had just received a new shipment of clothes, and I wanted to get some shots in them for the start of summer.” – Lindsey Morrison

The Cream leather dress is from ELOQUII. The Red polka dot dress is from SHEINcurve!

fabUplus Magazine: fabuWhat type of modeling do you do? How did you get started as a model? What’s an average work week like for you? 

Lindsey Morrison: I would consider myself an influencer model.  In the last 5 years, I have posted outfits for Torrid & SHEIN.  In 2017-2018, I teamed up with Torrid’s social media marketing team to create Instagram content on two separate occasions.  The first one I got to create an outfit from their new Americana collection, and take pictures that best display the outfits.  The second occasion, Torrid was launching their boyfriend button down shirt, and I had to create 3 different outfits that showed the diversity of how it can be worn.  Each time was so fun to create content for a brand I personally loved, with clothes that can be worn everyday.  The best part about being an influencer is being someone whom the audience can relate to – which helps the brand sell more of that product because the customer can identify better with it.  With SHEIN, it was a little more casual.  I created content from new outfits I have purchased myself, and they have posted on their own.  Unfortunately I am not a published model, yet, but that is a goal that I would love to reach.  I started to get into modeling after college once social media started to grow.  I started growing a small audience on Instagram because I was always so open about my body, my style, and everything regarding being an active, healthy, plus size women in today’s society.  I wanted other women like me to have someone to relate to.  For my average work week, I am a jewelry and accessory representative.  I work 40 hours a week, rotating between our downtown Chicago office and traveling around the midwest visiting stores.  We are the middle man between designers and stores.  I work for an independent rep, who has contracts with about 15 different jewelry and accessory lines.  It’s great because we work with all different price points, which means that we have the opportunity to work with all stores ranging from Museums, local boutiques, and a select department stores.  I travel about 40% of the time, which has been a blessing because I am able to see different states and small towns I may have not had the opportunity to go to otherwise.  

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fabUplus Magazine: Describe your personal style. What are some of your signature colors, styles, and accessories?

Lindsey Morrison: I would describe my personal style as a cross between urban athleisure and flirty.  I love wearing big hoop earrings with a basic plain tee, jeans, and heels – but also a summer dress with vans.  I wear a lot of neutrals, black, denim, white, creams – but also love some light pastels and a great basic red.  I usually don’t go anywhere without a nude lip, and I can not have enough Nikes or hoop earrings!  I like switching between skinny and boyfriend jeans, depending on the day, and a summer a-line dress is a staple.

fabUplus Magazine: What are some tips you’d like to share with aspiring influencers or designers? 

Lindsey Morrison: I am mostly trying to do research on how to get to the next step.  I would like to start creating a comp card so I have something to better show my work, and hope that I can meet with an agency to help my exposure and grow. 

fabUplus Magazine: If you could go back in time and give yourself advice as a little girl, what would you tell her? 

Lindsey Morrison: I would tell myself to be kinder to yourself.  Societal pressures can be so cruel, and nitpicking or overthinking about your body is not worth it.  That it is ok to go to therapy to help get the support you need to work on you.  Also I would tell her that life is short, never be afraid to put yourself out there and try something new.

fabUplus Magazine: For our readers who struggle with being comfortable in their own skin and wearing what they want, what are some practical things you would recommend they do to help them get to the level of confidence you have?   

Lindsey Morrison: Find what works for your body.  Try on different styles of clothing, different colors, and figure out what helps represent your best self.  Confidence comes from within, but it helps when you feel good and like what you see on the outside.  Know all of your curves and beautiful flaws your body has, and play up your best attributes that make you feel like the best you.  Try not to look at sizing, as it may be very inconsistent brand to brand.  Go with what fits the best, makes you feel comfortable, and take photos in it!  Also take care of your health – whether its waking up and taking a slow morning drinking coffee and listening to music, or trying a new work out!  Give yourself time to work on your mental health finding your inner peace, and the confidence on the outside will grow along with it.

fabUplus Magazine: What does life look like for you outside of blogging or modeling (day job, hobbies, family life, etc)? 

Lindsey Morrison: I love exercising!  I played field hockey and lacrosse growing up, so I have always been pretty active girl.  Now that the gyms have been closed due to COVID-19, I had to get a little creative on how to keep active at home.  I started to go on a lot of runs, walks, trying out new pilates and HIIT classes all in my living room.  Other than that and working my full-time job, I love cooking new recipes for dinner!  I had myself making one new recipe a week for a while and it was so fun browsing Pinterest for new recipes.  I live with my boyfriend, and he loves to make fun of my reality show obsession!  I can’t help it, its my guilty pleasure.  We enjoy going to new restaurants with friends, and I love sipping on a skinny margarita on a patio with girlfriends.  I am originally from Buffalo, NY, living in Chicago, IL – so I do my best to stay connected with my family back at home.  My mom is my best friend and we talk on the phone almost once a day!  Speaking of Buffalo, go Bills!  Bills Mafia fan club right here.  My favorite sports team I love to cheer (and cry) for.

fabUplus Magazine: What does being an influencer or model mean to you? What do you hope it means to others?

Lindsey Morrison: Being an influencer or model to me means being the positive role model for another body type represented in the media.  Representation is everything – and when a young male or female can identify with a body they see in a magazine, I do believe it makes them feel accepted.  That they are not different, or flawed, and have the confidence just like anyone else to wear what they want.  I like to believe that the community of plus models is an unspoken bond, where we have been underrepresented by brands for so long, but now things are changing and we are seeing more body positivism than ever!  I am blessed to be able to have a small online community who looks up to me for my confidence, and I hope everyday I can show them they can too be unapologetically themselves if they are true to who they are. 

fabUplus Magazine: What are your goals and dreams as an influencer or model? What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Lindsey Morrison: My ultimate dream would be to model for Nike or athletic brand.  Someone who is active, but plus size, I think needs to be advertised more and commercialize it.  Nike recently launched a plus size collection a few years ago, but you never see it advertised on the big screens.  My dream would be to help break the stigma of one body size portrays what it looks like to be healthy.  I am most proud of my hustle.  I am still working so hard to get to where I’d like to be, and it takes a lot of work.  Keep grinding, and good things come to people who work for it.

fabUplus Magazine: How have you seen the fashion, retail, or modeling industry change in the past decade – specifically with regards to diversity and inclusivity? What work still needs to be done? 

Lindsey Morrison: I have!  I love that Calvin Klein just launched the first ever black trans plus model for their Pride 2020 campaign!  Jari Jones looks beautiful, strong, and represents a community that I have not seen represented on such a platform before.  I also have noticed in the last few years, stores like Cacique, Target, Aerie have gone away with photoshopping the models in their lingerie.  The models show their curves, stretch marks, scars, and its amazing!  I don’t think they ever did that years ago.  My concern is that a lot of brands jump on the bandwagon of having larger sizes in their store, launching a plus size line.  But a lot of them are not thought out or great designs.  It takes a real designer to create garments that are cut correctly to fit our curves, and added clothes with larger measurements to say you have a size inclusive brand isn’t going to cut it.

fabUplus Magazine: What are some of your favorite shopping and styling tips?  

Lindsey Morrison: I usually am always shopping on a budget.  So when I am buying new clothes, I often think to myself A.) can I wear this for work AND play, and B.) how many different ways can I style said garment.  I love buying clothes and accessories that can be worn for different occasions to get the most out of my closet and monies worth.  I do recommend spending a little bit more on a quality pair of jeans, jacket, shoes, and some basic tops.  Those will be staples in your closet for you to play with accessorize differently as trends change.

fabUplus Magazine: What does beauty mean to you?

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Lindsey Morrison: Beauty to me means the confidence you exude.  If you are comfortable in your skin, and take care of you from within, your true beauty will shine because you are working on your best self.

fabUplus Magazine: How has your body image and self-esteem changed over the years?

Lindsey Morrison: All my life I have been plus size, always the bigger girl in my class.  I had things I was self conscious about sure, but I never knew my body any differently and so I had to be myself and be confident with who I was.  In 2011, I had lost 90 lbs.  Since my lowest weight of 210, I have gained 35 lbs back to where I am now, and have been this weight for about 5 years.  It wasn’t until then when I put so much pressure on myself and the number that I saw on the scale that I struggled with my self-esteem.  Now I was navigating life with a smaller frame, yet still plus size, and I was having a difficult time identifying with who I was and where my body fit in.  It took a few years to learn to love myself and become at peace, and I am still a work in progress, but work at it everyday.  I would be lying if I said sometimes I am envious of the ideal plus size body type – flat stomach, big butt, curvy hips, and perky boobs.  I have a bug tummy, cellulite, smaller chest – but I know we are all built different and I focus on the parts I love about my body instead like my strong legs, my smile, and my good hair days!

 fabUplus Magazine: Which fashion brands and designers are leading the pack or doing something different and meaningful?

Lindsey Morrison: Again, Calvin Klein launching their Pride Campaign with Jari Jones.  I could be wrong but I have not seen a large campaign advertise with a black trans plus model on such a large platform before!  Christian Siriano is a designer that I love.  I enjoy seeing his designs on Instagrams, and how he truly enjoys designing for women with curves to wear a couture dress on the red carpet because hardly any couture designers offer dresses in larger sizes.  Another brand that stands out to me is Lane Bryant and Torrid.  I have followed them and been a customer for years, but now in their catalogs and websites, they show models of all different sizes, not just the ideal plus size body frame.  They show women with big bellies wearing lingerie, and they don’t necessarily photoshop out their stretch marks on their chest or butt.  It makes me want to buy the product so much more because I can see myself in their clothing.

fabUplus Magazine: From where do you draw inspiration for your work?

Lindsey Morrison: I draw my inspiration from fellow bloggers and influencers.  GabiFresh is a plus size model and influencer I started following all the way back in high school.  It’s been amazing to see her growth since then, launching swimsuit collections with Swimsuits for All, and even becoming a co-designer for a fashion brand she had for a bit.  I love seeing other real women in the industry pull styles and inspiration from where they live, and put their own twist on it.

fabUplus Magazine: What can readers expect next – do you have anything exciting you would like to share with us? 

Lindsey Morrison: I have recently launched my blog, Skinny Stories With A Side of Fries.  This is a diary entry like blog where I talk about topics ranging from body dysmorphia, disordered eating, to the Black Lives Matter movement and even new recipes and work out trends.  It will be a safe space, mainly targeted for women, plus size or not, to read along if they want a quick escape, or someone to relate to.  My dream is for my blog to take off, hopefully one day becoming a self help book or potentially a podcast.  I also would love to become an official publicized plus size model, but time will tell!

fabUplus Magazine: Do you have a message you want to leave with our readers? 

Lindsey Morrison: Be true to who you are.  Don’t feel like you have to lose weight to fit in, or even more so, if you are unhappy to identify as to why.  Working on yourself is the most important gift you can give to yourself.  We only have one body and one life to live, you may as well be kind to it and make it the best you can be.

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