It didn't seem to matter that Colleen Pound had the money or the means to buy nice clothes, she never could find what she was looking for.
Pound noticed that for women's clothing there was a serious gap in the market for size 12 and higher. Sure, there were clothes available for that size range, but nothing she wanted to wear, nothing that fit her demographic of a young, style-minded woman.
Pound's turning point came when she was seated beside one of Reitmans managers on an airplane. She told him that as one of his target markets, she would never buy the clothes they offered.
"I don't want to be flammable," said Pound, describing the small selection of fabrics, mostly polyester, available in those stores.
It was then that she decided to start her own line, one to fill the gap.
"I am my target market," said Pound.
Wearing a wool skirt that doesn't need special care and is part of her Love Collection, she proudly flaunts the quality.
Her Love Collection came out in the fall of 2009, consisting of approximately 18 pieces, the entire wardrobe won't even cost a full $5000.
"I have the coolest fabrics."
Full of flattering fits and luxurious fabrics the Love Collection can be mixed and matched to anyones liking.
Managers and others in the retail business would always argue with her that designing for that size range would be pointless.
Most women seem to be in a constant period of transition trying to get one or two sizes down and wouldn't bother investing in clothes they may not get a lot of use out of.
Pound says its not true, even if ladies are in the transition period, they still want to look the best they can at that time in their lives.
If they're not planning on changing they want to have clothes that flatter their curves and help them feel good just the way they are.
Another argument that some use to justify the gap is that it costs more for the use of fabric, and charging more for the sizes would continue to segregate them and cause a huge frenzy.
Pound has no issue debating the lack of logic here, because if you make apparel from a size one to a size ten there's still a difference in fabric use and the cost is the average.
She talks about how adding a few more sizes may raise the average price but it would also open up the market.
You can tell from the in-depth way Pound has thought everything through, she knows what she's doing.
She's going to wait a bit between collections though and look for a partner before she starts her next line. It's a lot of work and she would like someone who has the same vision for the label as she does.
She may not do all the manufacturing herself, but as her ideal market she knows exactly what she wants, and makes it happen.
more information @ http://www.fleur-f.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fleur-Feminine/
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