Challenging Beauty Norms with Dacy Gillespie

Feminist Founders

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Dacy Gillespie (she/her) is a weight inclusive, anti-diet personal stylist who helps her clients reject fashion rules and ideal standards of beauty imposed by the patriarchy, white supremacism, and capitalism so that they can uncover their authentic style. Through their work building a functional wardrobe, Dacy’s clients make a mindset shift from thinking they need to wear what’s flattering to unapologetically taking up space in the world.

After a lifetime of jobs in high-stress careers that didn’t suit her highly-sensitive, introverted personality, Dacy started mindful closet in 2013 in an attempt to create a more emotionally sustainable lifestyle. Her work has been featured in Forbes and Real Simple and she is a frequent podcast guest. Dacy is married and has two boys, ages 5 and 9.

Making Space program | Website | Instagram | TikTok

Discussed in this episode:

• Dacy’s relationship with feminism, and its evolution into intersectionality
• Why fashion is a feminist issue
• How mindful closet evolved from a singular focus on minimalism into an anti-capitalist and anti-diet culture approach to style.
• Dealing with changing body size and positionality on the body hierarchy as a feminist
• Navigating the balance of unlearning patriarchal beauty standards with still caring about your appearance
• Why “professionalism” is rooted in white supremacy
• The reason Dacy called her newsletter “Unflattering”
• Trying to give yourself a title when you are challenging industry norms
• Body neutrality vs. clothing as creative expression
• Dacy’s public journey of sharing her body in 3D
• The ethics of ethical fashion and sustainability

Resources mentioned:

• “The Negotiation of Beauty” from Unpublishable by Jessica DeFino
• “The Body is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor
• Becca Murray on Instagram
• Minimalist Machinist on Instagram
• Aja Barber on Instagram
• Dacy’s anti-racist small business plan
• “Fearing the Black Body” by Sabrina Strings
• Jamaa Birth Village
• Dacy’s Making Space program

Learn more about accountability coaching with host Becky Mollenkamp at https://beckymollenkamp.com

A full transcript of this interview is available at FeministFoundersPodcast.com