Reese Witherspoon's Draper James Is Officially Expanding Into Plus Sizes

Last spring Reese Witherspoon's lifestyle brand Draper James announced it would be collaborating with Eloquii. The multiseason partnership marked Draper James' first foray into extended sizing, offering its signature cheery pieces in sizes 12 to 28. Almost a year later, Witherspoon is announcing that she is making plus sizes a fixture of her brand.

Starting for spring 2019, Draper James will be offering sizes 0 through 24. At first only a selection of pieces will be available in the full range. (In the future, the brand hopes to offer its entire collection in all sizes, plus grow what sizes are on offer.) Everything will be merchandised together in stores, and the prices will be the same across the board, between $38 and $175.

Draper James' collaboration with Eloquii laid the groundwork for this in-house expansion. "[Eloquii] spoke to the customer in a way that she felt really seen and heard about fit and about styles—what styles work for her body, what don’t, what makes her feel confident," Witherspoon told Glamour. "We learned a lot from that collaboration, and it inspired us too. We got so [much] information about what sizes people wanted, what they like to have, different types of coverage. We definitely altered some of those things, like whether there were belts on things or extending the length of certain dresses. That really helped us to feel like we were really dialed in as far as fit."

One big difference between these styles and the ones Draper James offered through Eloquii is the fabric. Kathryn Sukey, the brand's head of design, explains that they're using the same material across its sizing, something that they couldn't offer through an outside partnership. "We really think of this line as one comprehensive line, so there isn’t any substitute fabric in our extended-size assortment," she says. "That’s something that we’re really proud of and that we feel like we’re thinking of differently and doing differently than other brands."

The new, size-inclusive designs, Witherspoon says, will bring the same bright, happy, Southern vibe that people have come to expect from Draper James and that was in its Eloquii capsule. "Women love print and color and optimism and happy clothes—what they would say to me [about the Eloquii collection] is like, there are so many brands that only make very dark clothes or things that are very neutral," she says. "And you know, there are women out there who want to be more expressive in their style, and they really enjoyed having things that had floral patterns and that were a bit ladylike."

As Draper James x Eloquii hit stores, Witherspoon embarked on a book tour promoting Whiskey in a Teacup. As she traveled across the country, women would come up to her to tell her they loved that collection. "I would see hundreds and hundreds of women who were wearing the clothes and would see the styles that they enjoyed, and it started to make sense in my mind which ones were really very popular—and for good reason," she says.