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Inside the Dundee bridal boutique where ‘curvy brides don’t have to compromise’

Keira Stocks, who runs Innate Curves, with Shannon Smart. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson.
Keira Stocks, who runs Innate Curves, with Shannon Smart. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson.

A Dundee woman has expanded her bridal boutique business in the city by opening Innate Curves, a store specifically for plus size brides.

Keira Stocks launched Innate Bridals on South Road in 2017.

But last year she decided to capitalise on a gap in the market and opened a second store, specifically with plus size brides in mind.

That led to the birth of Innate Curves on Commercial Street.

Need for specialist bridal shop

She explained the reasons behind opening the new store.

Keira said: “The industry isn’t very welcoming to plus size women, and going by High Street sizes that’s 14 or 16 upwards, so almost half of women.

“Although I work hard at South Road to have options, I realised I would need to have a specialist shop for that area.

“It was hard work finding a property, but we opened on Commercial Street in October.

“We want to continue our service where a curvy bride doesn’t have to compromise on style or selection.”

Keira believes it’s important to offer everyone the same options when picking a wedding dress. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson.

She said it was important to offer the same service to plus size brides

Keira added: “The bridal industry is known for being unfriendly to a plus size bride, so it was really important for us to have lots of options.

“We stock dresses from a size 18 up to a 36 currently, but we’ll be expanding our range to a 40 and order up to a 50. We really hope to service everybody.

“Selection and style are really important.

“It’s really hard if you are a younger woman who wants to have a really stylish wedding dress.

“If you’re going to spend £1,500 or £1,600; you don’t want to have to just settle for something because you’re curvy.

“It’s really important we have a range for everybody.”

Positive response to Innate Curves

After about 18 months of planning – and despite two months of delays – the Commercial Street opened in October.

Keira said she hopes to fill a void in the market within Tayside and Fife.

“The area is under-serviced,” Keira said.

“We’re only the second specialist curvy boutique in Scotland. The other one is in Glasgow.”

She said the experience for brides-to-be is exactly the same in both stores.

Admiring one of the shop’s dresses. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson

“I hope we immediately provide a warm and welcoming environment.

“Most of them know from visiting our website or social media that they will be able to try on a wide range.”

She has been delighted with the success of the business so far.

“October is a really hard time to open a bridal shop, but the response has been really good.

“We’ve had people travelling from north of Aberdeen and Glasgow.”

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