Love Is in The Air with Roxy Earle: “Scrap That Idea of Valentine’s Day, Let’s Focus on Self-Love This Year!”

Ditch your dates because this Valentine's Day is all about loving YOU!

Roxy Earle, one of the stars of the Real Housewives of Toronto, is a champion of body positivity and wears her curves with confidence. We caught up with the TV personality, body activist, and fashionista to talk all about the fabulous world of Roxy and how she’s changing ours! 

Being acclaimed as the first “plus-size” wife of the franchise, Roxy says that conversation in the media and interviews became monotonous, “One day I said, ‘stop calling me plus size- I am my size and my size rocks!’ and a movement was born!”

Dress- ALC, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles, Shoes- Michael Kors

#MySizeRox

With a fierce passion for self-love and body positivity, Roxy founded #MySizeRox, a social media movement that encourages people of all shapes and sizes to love the skin they’re in- and fans are doing just that. 

There are thousands of posts on Instagram using the hashtag, with people pushing back against conventional beauty standards and owning their bodies. 

The flood of support is equally as touching as it is empowering for Roxy, “It’s very inspiring when you kind of realize that you’ve been able to touch one girl’s life, then all of a sudden you become very motivated.” 

Not only are women using the hashtag, but they’re also reaching out to Roxy personally to share their stories.  

“I woke up this morning and I read a message from a girl, she sent it last night, and she has Bulimia but she’s eaten properly for the last 25 days based on something that I posted 25 days ago,” Roxy recalls this powerful moment, “She says she feels good and her mind feels good and that’s the stuff that my heart just explodes for.”

Although #MySizeRox has seen incredible progress since it’s conception, Roxy says there’s still a long way to go before representation for all sizes is the norm, “Someone said to me the other day, ‘you’re part of a really important trend’ and I was like ‘I really hope I’m not a trend’ I really hope that this just becomes the new normal.” Having your body labelled as a “trend” is exactly why we need this movement. 

Roxy’s Instagram is a perfect representation of who she is- both honest and fabulous. Being an open book was also the mindset she went into the Real Housewives with, “As soon as I was going to do reality TV, I said to myself, ‘If you’re going to do this, you have to be 100% yourself and show the good, the bad and the ugly. Everyone’s gotta see it.’” 

While being your authentic self can be daunting, Roxy takes it in stride “I think I’m a good person and I love myself wholeheartedly so I was very comfortable being myself.” 

Custom suit by Nicole Bach, Necklaces- Up and Armed, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles,  Shoes- Michael Kors

From Self-Loathe to Self-Love

The journey to loving yourself is a long and winding road- as most people know. But, like most things in life, practice makes perfect.

Roxy now gets out of the shower, looks in the mirror fully naked and only sees beauty. This is something she practices every day and something she says you can train your brain to see, “I’ve taught myself to wholeheartedly embrace myself in a world that hasn’t necessarily reinforced me that I’m beautiful, but I actually think I’m beautiful.”

“I do things that make me feel good,” she says the trick is consistency, “Every single day I do little things that add up to making me confident and that confidence is what leads to one day you being confident.”

Dress- Toccin, Earring, ring, bracelets and necklace- Royal De Versailles, Shoes- Yves Saint Laurent from VSP Consignment 

#MySizeRox in Fashion

Roxy puts her money where her mouth is.

She wears many hats in the world of fashion- as a designer, model, and an advocate for inclusivity in sizes. 

Recently, #MySizeRox ventured out into fitness apparel for a collaboration with Canadian fashion retailer Joe Fresh. Of course, Roxy is killing it as one of their fitness leaders for their Active campaign.

It’s a genius and perhaps unprecedented collaboration, “I know that there’s all these women and girls out there, they’re going to be in their local grocery store, they’re going to look over and see a Joe Fresh ad and they’re going to see themselves represented.” 

Her section comes in sizes 1X to 3X, a range that is often excluded from brands even though statistically, “plus-size” is the new norm. Roxy puts it beautifully, “How is a girl who is curvier supposed to feel like she belongs in a fitness studio if she never sees herself in a fitness ad?” 

Although getting into fitness can be intimidating for people of all shapes and sizes, she encourages those looking to start their journey to just try, “This isn’t about weight, this isn’t about my body, this is about my health. This is about how my body feels, this is about how my mind feels.”

When it comes to designing clothes, Roxy never settles for anything less than fabulous.

Dress- Toccin, Earring, ring, bracelets and necklace- Royal De Versailles

Not only are her sizes inclusive, but so are her styles. The notion of “body appropriate” doesn’t sit well with Roxy, “I was so sick of people thinking that girls who are curvier want to cover up their bodies and want to hide their bodies and flatter their bodies.”

That’s why the garments Roxy designs are fashion-forward, bold, sparkly, and daring. She never shies away from a little cleavage or a short hemline.

In 2018, Roxy partnered up with Canadian retailer Le Château to create an experience curvy women seldom have- going into a store with your best friend and being able to shop off the same rack. 

Having styles that come in sizes 0-22W seems like such an obvious concept. However, Le Château was the first-ever company in North America to do anything like this, with Roxy Earle at the helm of that trail-blazing ship.

This continuous battle for inclusivity is a top priority for Roxy, “I think the dream now for 2020 is I want all the top Canadian retailers to embrace #MySizeRox.”

Dress- ALC, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles, Shoes- Michael Kors

Upcoming Projects

This Real Housewife is always on the move with new and exciting projects on the horizon.

With her two nieces in mind, Roxy is presently writing a children’s book about body positivity aimed at young girls.

“The damage has been written for women my age and I’m trying to undo it,” Roxy says her ultimate goal is to take body issues out of the equation for the next generation, “But if I can change the way the world operates so that the next generation of girls don’t grow up in a world where they have one dimension of beauty, then my job is done.”

And finally- the burning question on all of our minds.

Would Roxy ever make a triumphant return to reality TV? 

“Absolutely! Not going to say anything else on that fact but I would absolutely love a #MySizeRox show,” she says slyly, making us think there could be something in the works!

“I think it would be cool for women to see a woman who is glamorous and fabulous and all of these things and also curvaceous just owning who she is in her world!”

Custom suit by Nicole Bach, Necklaces- Up and Armed, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles
Dress- ALC, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles
Custom suit by Nicole Bach, Necklaces- Up and Armed, Earrings- Rita Tesolin, Rings- Royal De Versailles
Photography: Margarita Menard 
Hair: Shannon Petrolito
Makeup: Allyssa Helm 
Styled by Bianca Brown

Location: Preto Loft