A small team in Palm Bay, Florida built this brand. Here's exactly how the clothes get from a sample table to your closet — and why we pick the partners we do.
When you click "place order" on a Kothlis piece, you probably picture it being pulled from a shelf in a warehouse somewhere. That part's true. What most people don't know is how that piece got onto the shelf in the first place — and why we chose it instead of the hundreds of other plus-size pieces we passed on.
We're not a factory. We're a curation house. Our team in Palm Bay spends most of the week reviewing samples, fit-checking on real bodies, and saying no to nine pieces for every one we say yes to. Here's where those pieces come from.
Our two main sourcing partners
We work with two networks of US-based wholesalers, each one chosen for a different reason:
1. Threaded Pear · Southlake, Texas
Threaded Pear is where most of our PLUS-line dresses, denim, and easy-wear pieces come from. They work with US-based wholesalers who specialize in size-inclusive women's apparel — meaning the patterns are actually graded for curves, not just stretched bigger from a straight-size base.
Why we like them: they ship from a single warehouse in Southlake, TX, so our customers get pieces in 5–8 business days nationwide. They also handle returns through the same facility, which keeps our overhead low and our return policy generous (30 days from the date you receive your order — no questions about why).
2. Blaire Shops · Shopify Collective
Blaire is part of Shopify Collective — a network of small US brands that lets other small brands like us carry their pieces with a click. The pieces from Blaire tend to be our statement pieces: sequin sets, wedding-guest jumpsuits, the Sadie sequin collar dress, the Sylvia sequin pant set. The stuff you'd otherwise have to drive to a department store to try on, and probably wouldn't find in your size anyway.
Why we like them: every piece is sized through 3X with real measurements (some go to 4X), and the photography uses curve models — so what you see on the site is what shows up at your door.
What we look for before a piece goes live
Our internal checklist before anything makes the Kothlis catalog:
- Sizing through 2X minimum. 3X+ preferred. If a piece tops out at 1X, we don't carry it — full stop.
- Real body photography or fit notes from the supplier. If we can't tell how it sits on a curve, we don't list it.
- Fabric that breathes. No paper-thin polyester. No "slimming" compression panels. The customer should be comfortable wearing it for a 12-hour day.
- Curve-graded patterns. Plus sizing is a pattern science, not a multiplication problem. Pieces that gap at the waist or pull across the bust don't make it.
- Returnable. If the supplier doesn't accept returns, we don't carry it. Period.
What we say no to
To be honest about what we're not doing:
- We don't source from fast-fashion mega-warehouses with 50,000-unit inventory counts and three-day lead times. The fit and fabric never match what the photos promise.
- We don't carry pieces that only go to XL or 1X. If it's not made for 2X, 3X, 4X — it's not made for us.
- We don't drop-ship anonymous Aliexpress listings with generic stock photos. Every piece on this site has been on a curve body before it landed in our catalog.
Where we still have work to do
We're early — about 18 months into building this brand. We don't have our own factory yet. We haven't published the full names of every wholesaler we buy through. We're not B-Corp certified.
But here's what's next on our roadmap:
- Supplier transparency reports — names, locations, certifications, and fit-team headshots of every wholesaler we partner with. Targeting Q4.
- Kothlis-owned capsule line — pieces designed and sized from scratch by our team, made-to-order at a small US factory we're already in conversation with.
- Better packaging — we're moving from standard poly mailers to recycled / compostable bags by year-end.
- Customer fit reviews — bringing Judge.me onto every product page so you can read real-body feedback before you buy.
Why we're telling you this
Most fashion brands treat sourcing like a black box. You order, something shows up, and you have no idea who made it, where it came from, or whether the brand even tried the piece before listing it.
That's not how Kothlis works. We're small enough that our founder still personally fit-checks samples on a 2X body in her dining room. When you reach out on chat or WhatsApp, you're talking to the same team that picks the pieces.
If you have questions about a specific item — where it came from, what the fit's really like, how it'll wash — just ask. That's not a marketing line. That's literally how this works.
Welcome to the family. Where confidence comes in every size.
— The Kothlis team, Palm Bay, FL