Located in downtown Seattle, the Seattle Fat Mall is a plus-size clothing boutique and community hub, offering a safe and inclusive space for people of differing body types.
At the front of the mall (in a former office building that has been repurposed to comprise several vendors) is Curvy Cactus, a resale and upcycled fashion store with a distinct PNW style. Two sisters, Amber and Alyss Seelig, began it in 2021 as a pop-up store at the Fremont Market. Since joining the Seattle Fat Mall, customers have enjoyed the broader selection of sizes and styles.
One of the other three original vendors is Heavy Duty Vintage, a vintage and secondhand clothing store for plus-size people. The store is helmed by Kim Selling, a self-identified “Queer, fat, and disabled” woman, as well as the founder of Fae-fest, an all-Queer Renaissance fair in Seattle.
One of the newest vendors, since July, is Honeypots Closet, a clothing reseller and sexual wellness store run by Jennifer Larkin. Her store also sells book packages, with face masks and beauty products, some with erotic books and toys.
There’s also Tiger & Mermaid, an alterations and tailoring service, operated by Christian and Rye Magdaleno-Schroeder (Christian is a Two Spirit trans-masc person, and Rye is genderfluid). Their services offer measurements for people wishing to present as more masculine or feminine, as well as measurements for drag queens with padding and for neurodiverse people who are uncomfortable with touching or have certain texture aversions, so they can “be happy in what they wear.” Christian explained that he “started in cosplay, morphed into doing clothing.” He also expressed the challenges of being Queer and plus-sized when going into alterations, with the biggest struggle being keeping clothing and continuing to wear it as one’s body or gender expression changes.
The current owners of the mall will end their possession at the end of 2025, and so they are looking into multiple other locations, in addition to the possibility of extending the lease.
Societal trends
Candace Frank of Chub Rub Clothing spoke to the SGN about the history of the mall and the community that sprang from it. The idea began with both Curvy Cactus and Chub Rub, with the former having acquired the space in December. In April, various stores and vendors began using segmented offices, transforming the location into a makeshift mall, along with a lounge near the back to provide that supportive community aspect.
Frank described coming into this shop as “being inside my happy place... It’s kind of is amazing to see other people's reactions to it as well… I could come in in the worst mood and within maybe ten minutes, it’s totally back to good feels.”
Having the space set up in this manner does have drawbacks, she admitted, as each of these segmented stores needs to be managed by its own vendor, which is not as time-effective for small business owners compared to an open market.
Ms. Frank also discussed intersectionality in terms of the Trans, Queer, and plus-size communities. She opened up about being intersex herself and having polycystic ovary syndrome, resulting in her body producing both testosterone and estrogen, along with weight gain.
She also said that because AMAB people generally have larger frames and because a side effect of gender-affirming care is increased production of estrogen, which is associated with weight gain, there are a large number of Trans people who come into the shops. Many Trans-masculine people visit, and the mall even hosts a monthly masc-wear event.
Frank also discussed how the fatphobia of the ‘90s and early ‘00s yielded to the body-positive movement of the 2010s, and how the trend of Ozempic being marketed for weight loss has brought things full circle. America’s approach to crash dieting has been linked to damage to metabolism, however, and this pursuit of being seen as fit has resulted in a less healthy population.
While Chub Rub and the Fat Mall see their fair share of fatphobic comments on social media. From what Frank described, their detractors are mainly teenage boys who are at a time in their lives when they have this idea of what society expects them to be, and that increased pressure to conform causes them to lash out at other people who don’t fit the mold.
For the most part, the experience has been positive, however. “We get thank-you messages all the time. We get people in here crying about how much it means to them to have a space where they know that they can be safe and accepted and be themselves,” Frank explained. “I think the reception is definitely more good than bad.”
Support the Seattle Gay News: Celebrate 51 Years with Us!
As the third-oldest LGBTQIA+ newspaper in the United States, the Seattle Gay News (SGN) has been a vital independent source of news and entertainment for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest since 1974.
As we celebrate our 51st year, we need your support to continue our mission.
A monthly contribution will ensure that SGN remains a beacon of truth and a virtual gathering place for community dialogue.
Help us keep printing and providing a platform for LGBTQIA+ voices.
How you can donate!
Using this link: givebutter.com/6lZnDB
Text “SGN” to 53-555
Or Scan the QR code below!
