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Meet the clothing crusader behind Proud Poppy!

Tara built a community by dressing women of all sizes.
Proud Poppy founder Tara McKeown.
Proud Poppy founder is on a mission to help women celebrate their bodies! (Image: Proud Poppy)

When Tara McKeon was on maternity leave in 2019 from her job as an emergency nurse, she didnโ€™t know what to wear.

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Sheโ€™d gone from being a size 16 to a size 24, and was struggling to find nice clothes in her new size.

โ€œIโ€™d always loved fashion but I couldnโ€™t find anything that made me feel good,โ€ she tells Womanโ€™s Day.

โ€œI didnโ€™t want t go out in clothes I didnโ€™t like, so Iโ€™d stay at home which made me feel worse. It was a vicious cycle.โ€

RANGE OF SIZES

Proud Poppy has just launched a swimwear collection. (Image: Proud Poppy)
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Tara, now 38, recalls sitting in a restaurant with her husband watching women go into a clothing store and come out with shopping bags, wishing she could shop there.

โ€œI was really happy, but it made me think, but it made me think, โ€˜Why is this so hard?'โ€ she says.

โ€œI wanted to help other women who were feeling the same way as me.โ€

Tara took to the streets of Melbourne, walking into wholesalers, trying to buy packs of clothes in a range of sizes.

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โ€œI knew I wanted to sell clothes from size 6 to a size 30,โ€ she says.

โ€œI hated the thought of clothes causing a divide between โ€˜plus-sizedโ€™ and โ€˜straight-sizedโ€™ women.โ€

She called her business Proud Poppy as take on Tall Poppy Syndrome, after being told by many people it wouldnโ€™t work.

Taraโ€™s family are so proud of her work! (Image: Proud Poppy)
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After Tara posted photos of herself in the dresses on Facebook, women couldnโ€™t get enough.

โ€œWe started to really build a community,โ€ she says.

Five years later, Proud Poppy Clothing has three stores, an in-house design team, 50 staff and a big Facebook community.

Tara never returned to her job as a nurse, and her husband Paul, 40, quit his job to work for the company.

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As well as a wide range of clothes in sizes 6 to 30, theyโ€™ve just launched a swimwear range, and a scrubs range for healthcare workers.

โ€œIโ€™ve had women say to me that I might not be a nurse anymore but Iโ€™ve saved their life,โ€ says Tara.

โ€œMy aim is to help women celebrate their bodies.โ€

Get 15% off Proud Poppy with the code WOMANSDAY15 from December 4-15, or join the Proud Poppy Facebook Group.

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