Katie Sturino, the founder of Megababe and blogger behind “The 12ish Style,” opens up about pushing the fashion industry to become more size-inclusive.

It is, by now, folk wisdom on the Internet: Never read the comments beneath a news article. They can be filled with sexism, racism, cruel mockery and ad hominem attacks. Avoid them at all costs — especially if the article is about you, or you’re a woman, or you don’t fit a very narrow range of acceptable body types.

Katie Sturino ignored that advice. She doesn’t regret it. In fact, she credits it with inspiring her “a-ha” moment.

Four years ago, after being the subject of an article about personal style and “how to get dressed as a curvy woman,” Sturino took in readers’ reactions and was surprised by what she saw.

“I read the comments of women, and they said, ‘Oh, my god, I’ve never seen my body on a fashion blog.’ ‘Oh, my god, I’m a size 14, and I didn’t think I could wear shorts,” Sturino said in an interview for POLITICO’s Women Rule podcast. “It was this thing where I realized that it was my job, this was — I was being called to this.”

Since that realization, Sturino has become the serial entrepreneur behind a small style empire that focuses on the women who are often ignored by the fashion industry.

“I think that there’s this misconception with designers, where you’ve got 12 people sitting around a boardroom, none of them are over a size six, and they’re like, ‘We’re dressing all women,’” said Sturino. “That is how they think.”

Sturino wants them to think again.

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