It’s Nashville Curves Week and we are starting with the wonderful BRYNN!

Brynn is a non-profit educator living and working in Nashville. I met Brynn when we shot with fellow Nashville Curves Alum, Amber, and we shot the All That Glitters hair campaign for Bespoke Curry. Brynn has a sparkling personality and she’s just gorgeous. Below, read her profile and learn why being plus-size has changed her worldview!

Name, Age: Brynn, 30

What do you do, why do you do it?

I am the Managing Director of Alumni Leadership with Teach For America Nashville. I moved to Nashville to teach in 2011, and I’ve been here since. I believe there is a powerful force of young people here. Young people who want to make this city more just.  I work to make sure they have the resources and connections to do what they aspire to do.

What made you embrace your curves? When did you say, “I’m ok with me?”

I’ve been okay with me for a long time! I’ve never believed that there was a thinner me inside just waiting to come out. However, I believe it was finding the burlesque and pin-up world in college, and seeing visual representations of Rubenesque forms presented as beautiful that I began to see my body not merely as what I’d been saddled with by genetics or circumstances, but as an integral part of my world view; something that made me myself and beautiful.

Have you had to deal with mean or backhanded comments from family, friends, and/or strangers? What did you do?

I find it helpful to call it out by saying something. I make a point to communicate how these kinds of comments are rooted in diet culture. I don’t usually encounter fat-phobia via direct slights aimed at me, but rather via the ways that people around me orient to their own bodies, diets and looks. Hearing people talk about eating or exercising or their own bodies as reflections of their morality is more triggering and commonplace to me, and I find I have to name why those lines of thinking aren’t just hurtful to me, but also harmful to the person saying them.

When you were asked to do a bathing suit shoot, what was your first reaction?

Hell yes! I’ve wanted to do something like this forever!

What’s your favorite part of your body? Why?

Hmm, my legs are long and thick and strong, and I appreciate them. I love the feeling of striding across a room or hallway, and I’m thankful that my legs allow me to do just that. I also got my first (and only!) tattoo on my upper left leg about a year ago. Looking down and reading the phrase “try a little tenderness” on my own body reminds me to be gentle—with myself, my loved ones and the world at large.

Tell us about one item in your closet you’ll never let go of?

I have SO MUCH vintage plus size clothing that I’ve collected over the years! It can be hard to come by. My most favorite piece is a pale blue, chiffon, see through dressing gown with coordinating lace. It is floor length with full sleeves, and, when I wear it, I feel like a silverscreen siren. Even if I’m just blow drying my hair I’ll wear it.

What’s your favorite store to shop at and why? (local, online, vintage/thrift, etc)

For clothing: ASOS and Eloquii. For vintage home goods, furniture and accessories: Pre-to-Post Modern

What plus-size store would you like to see in Nashville?

I’d like to see a brick and mortar version of Eloquii here or Madewell’s plus size clothing receiving its own store front, instead of merely existing online. In general, I’d like to see Nashville’s entire fashion community move a bit further to the weird end of the spectrum, and get a bit more playful and individualized, and that includes plus size fashion.

What would you tell your YOUNGER curvy self?

Take more full body shots!

Come back tomorrow for more profiles!

Thank you Park Central Apartments for allowing us to shoot in your space.