Charlotte Oxnam: Facilitating a Better Understanding About the Plus-Size Consumer

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, who are advancing the UN SDGs. 

Hi there, my name is Spiffy, I’m an interplanetary journalist hanging out on Planet Earth. Today I’m interviewing Charlotte Oxnam, the CEO of Cue the Curves, a company which helps plus-size women find clothing they love.

Spiffy: Hi Charlotte, so glad you could be here today! What challenge are you addressing through Cue the Curves?

Charlotte: Thanks for such a warm welcome, Spiffy! Cue the Curves helps plus-size women feel confident in themselves by helping them find clothing they love. We also help clothing brands better understand the plus-size consumer so that we can make the fashion industry more inclusive and equitable.

Spiffy: What motivated you to do it?

Charlotte: I struggled deeply with my own mental health and self confidence in middle and high school when it came to my looks and how I viewed my body. I started Cue the Curves because I wanted to make sure that no one had to go through the same experiences that I went through, and that the next generation of young women will have all of the support to love themselves fully.

Spiffy: Can you elaborate on how you and the company are working towards a more equitable world?

Charlotte: Our goal is to show brands that plus-size women do want to have the same options in clothes as everyone else, and, in doing so, help brands offer a more inclusive size range. Increasing the access to options of different styles and price ranges allows plus-size women to gain the same opportunities of straight-size women.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent organizational milestone or initiative. What impact does that make on your community?

Charlotte: This past September we launched in app stores, and it was a huge moment for us to be able to reach more women and make a greater impact. We've had multiple users reach out to us about how the platform has helped them discover clothing they feel amazing in, from day-to-day clothes to important life events. It's those messages that inspire me every day to continue building and growing Cue the Curves.

Spiffy: Please share an experience when you faced failure and didn't give up. What did you learn from it?

Charlotte: Cue the Curves was initially supposed to launch in app stores in March of 2022. After working with an outside developer, the app was nowhere near complete in March, and I was forced to both push back the launch date and hire my own internal development team. This ended up being such a blessing in disguise as my CTO is one of the smartest people I know, and the app that exists now is way better than what it would have been. I learned that sometimes doing it the hard way yields much better results.

Spiffy: Wise words! Thanks for speaking with me today, Charlotte—it’s been an honor!

Charlotte Oxnam is the founder and CEO of Cue the Curves. She is an industrial engineer by trade, but is passionate about making the world a more inclusive place in all aspects of society. (First published on the Ladderworks website on December 7, 2022.)

© 2022 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Anushree Nande. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.