Nina Parker Collection At Macy's

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Nina Parker saw an issue, addressed it, and fixed it with a Macy’s clothing collection that accentuates copious curves.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

As a plus-sized woman, the E! Nightly Pop host struggled to find stylish ensembles for her everyday on-air career. With that in mind, the creative knew it was up to her to fill in a gap much to the joy of fuller figured women and their wardrobes. Instead of forcing curvy women into muumuu-style flowy dresses, Nina wants marvelously meaty morsels to be celebrated in stylish ensembles.

Nina’s “The Nina Parker collection” is coming to Macy’s stores and features fabulous and colorful styles for an Instagram-worthy look. Officially available Friday, May 14 in sizes 16W-24W, the prices range from $39.00-$129.00 and the multicollection line offers bodysuits, sparkly tops, bodycon dresses, and more.

Below BOSSIP chatted with this media maven turned clothing collaborator about all things The Nina Parker Collection.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / Macy’s

Was there a particular instance when it clicked for you that, okay, I need to come out with my own clothing line?

You know, it was, it really was like a light went off because with [E!’s] “Nightly Pop” I’m on every day and it’s just like you feel like if you get one good outfit for the week, you’re like, ‘Okay, I know I look cute.’ But trying to have four or five different outfits every week was challenging, especially in the plus space because a lot of the plus clothes you can’t get in stores, you have to get online. You’ve got to think in advance, so it just was really like this place where I just had so many limited options and I just started to get really frustrated.

But what I tend to do with my frustration is try to figure out what I can do about it. I have long stopped just complaining,[instead] I’m like what can I do to improve this landscape? So really it was just kind of like a light bulb. I’m making this work for myself and maybe I can help other women too.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

Why do you still think there’s a lack of diversity when it comes to plus-size clothing lines considering the average American woman is a size 16/18.

I think there’s a lack of diversity because there’s a lack of diversity behind the scenes. I think it’s so funny, like when I’m going to buildings sometimes and they’ll have the men’s bathroom right in front and the woman’s bathroom is further down and I’m like, ‘A man created this.’ Why would you make the woman walk all the way down here like this?

So I think that when I look at clothes, sometimes I’m like these weren’t constructed by somebody who looks like me or whose body is shaped like mine. You can just tell because you know they wouldn’t put the stitching here, they wouldn’t pick this kind of fabric, this isn’t flattering. You would know. I feel like there’s people who are making decisions that just don’t have their eyes open and they don’t have their ears to the street.

And I feel like for me, I’m immersed in it. It affects me, it affects women I know. Growing up I heard my aunts talk about that they didn’t have clothing options. For me, it was just like, I’m exhausted with the lack of options, there are some out there, but it just was too few and far between. I felt like Macy’s—everybody knows where Macy’s is, everybody knows how to get to one. I want this to be in the back of people’s minds when you have an event; when you have to go to a wedding when you have an interview when you have something, you know, you’re going to be able to find the Nina Parker collection that’s at a local Macy’s or Macy’s online and you know these clothes are gonna be fun and funky with colors, I’m not trying to put you in black all the time.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

Tell us about your favorite piece from the collection.

It’s hard to pick a favorite but one thing that I did do was try to make everything wearable in more than one way possible. So like with this, this tee [below] it goes all the way to the knees and you can tie it in the front, you can let it flow in the front, or you can tuck it.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

There’s just so many different ways that you can wear it. And so for me, versatility and affordability were the main things that were important to me.

Do the clothes run true to size?

The clothes run true to size and listen, everybody is different. So it’s hard with these because everybody has a different fit model but it was really important for me to have a fit model that had the things I had; hips and a little bit of a belly of a big, a big butt, larger breasts those things were important to me because oftentimes I would see fit models online and they didn’t necessarily look like plus to me, or they would have like these flat stomachs. And I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to look like this and those pants because I got a gut.’ So when I decided to pick my fit model, which I was really blessed that my partner Reunited Clothing who partnered with me with Macy’s, they were like, ‘Who do you want as a fit model?’ So we literally did go-sees and the body shape was really important to me so that women would really fully be represented in these clothes in a real way.

Source: The Nina Parker Collection / MACY’S

Are you planning to expand anytime soon? We want to see some Nina Parker Collection swimsuits for Hot Girl Summer.

I’m putting out clothes every month, so it’s not just for May, there’ll be a new collection in June, there’ll be a new collection in August, in September and October. I’m going to keep rejuvenating and putting more new, different things out, taking risks, trying different things. I’m going to allow girls to show their belly if they want to show their belly or you can pull it down, but there’s going to be ways where it’s like, you’re not going feel constricted in a certain type of style in my clothes. So ultimately my goal is to always expand it to every place that I can because I have feelings on how boots fit, I have feelings on how wide shoes should be. That’s definitely a goal of mine officially.

Congrats, Nina!

Will YOU be buying the Nina Parker Collection???