Here’s how this boutique-owner and TikToker changes lives in the plus-size community.
A few weeks ago, a young woman approached Summer Lucille in tears at a Family Dollar store in Charlotte.
“Are you the Juicy Body Goddess? You changed my life!” Lucille recalls the woman saying to her.
Lucille was shocked.
“I just never knew I had that much influence over people,” she told the Observer.
Lucille had been recognized from her popular TikTok account, JuicyBodyGoddess, where she posts videos pumping up customers with words of affirmation at her plus-size boutique, Material Girl on North Tryon Street, and hosts discussions about the experience of being a plus-size woman. Her account amassed more than half a million followers in the past year, she’s garnering local media attention and she recently signed a reality show contract, which starts filming in September.
The boutique started in 2011 and sells clothing exclusively for plus-size women from Lucille’s clothing line and brand, Juicy Body Goddess. But customers leave with much more than a cute new outfit. Lucille is all about spreading love and affirmation to everyone she meets.
“Anyone can sell plus-size clothes, but it’s about how you make people feel when they walk through that door and when they leave,” Lucille said.
A gift for connection
Plus-size women from all over the country fly to Charlotte to visit the boutique, Lucille says. She has met customers from California, Utah, and Atlanta who came to Charlotte to visit her store after finding her TikTok account.
“There’s something about the joy that she exudes that brings people and makes them stay and keeps them coming back,” said longtime customer and friend of Lucille, Rev. Chanel Timmons.
Timmons compared the experience of visiting the boutique with going to a spa.
“You want to be in that space, just like we go to a spa to feel zen and serenity, Summer breathes out pure joy,” Timmons said. “And that is so authentic. That’s something you cannot manufacture.”
“I just try to pump positivity into plus-size women, because we go through a lot,” Lucille said.
Many studies have shown that fat people receive discrimination in the U.S. Fat women earn less than their thinner peers across different fields of work. And at every level of obesity, women report more discrimination than men.
There are few legal protections for people who have been treated unfairly due to their weight. There are no federal laws to prohibit discrimination based on weight, and only a handful of local jurisdictions address the issue. Charlotte is not one of them.
Moreover, black women experience domestic violence at a disproportionately high rate, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
As a self-identified fat Black woman, Lucille has existed at the intersection of these prejudices for much of her life. She’ll often speak to customers for hours about their life stories and struggles. Lucille’s compassion has even inspired customers to leave abusive partners, she said.
While her boutique caters to plus-size customers, Lucille holds no resentment towards non-fat people and understands women of all shapes and sizes experience critiques of their bodies and subsequent insecurities.
“I’m a feminist. I’m just gonna put that on the table. I’m pro-woman, right? So I try not to divide the female community into skinny or fat, whatever,” said Lucille. “I really want my message to be to love your body regardless.”
From IT worker to fashion designer
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Lucille owes her bubbly personality and nurturing instinct to the strong women who raised her.
“My mom was a diva, all eight of my aunties were divas, so it’s just in me,” she said.
Lucille studied computer science at The Ohio State University and moved straight to Charlotte to start a career in IT. After losing her mother in 2011, Lucille decided to prioritize peace and happiness in her life, and that meant starting the boutique she had always dreamed of. She planned to go back to IT within a year if things didn’t work out. The boutique is doing better than ever 10 years later.
“What matters is your loved ones and the people you connect with. All these women’s lives that I’ve changed, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Lucille said.
The boutique also meets the demand for plus-size clothing that is fashionable and well-fitted.
“The majority of the stores cater to just certain sizes that don’t fit the majority of the women,” Lucille said. “It blows my mind, but you know, I could go out there and advocate and cry. But no, I just have them come to me!”
A bright future
Filming for her new reality show starts in September, and Lucille plans to travel the country and host pop-up stores to raise awareness of her boutique.
A few gender-neutral clothing items are coming this fall, too.
Lucille designs much of her clothing pieces already, and hopes to fill the whole store with her designs soon, she said. She’s confident she can make it happen if she keeps putting in the work.
“Whatever energy you throw out there, it comes back,” Lucille said.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 6:30 AM.