The Story of Pluscious

Posted by Moda by Sofia on December 19, 2011 | 1 comment

Queen Latifa said it well in January issue of Essence, “A lot of manufacturers don’t respect the curvaceous woman. They don’t respect our dollar or our shape.” This is exactly what inspired Susan Jentzsch, owner of Moda by Sofia, in May 2009 with the creation of the MODA line.

Susan couldn’t find exercise clothes that fit her. Pants were too low on the hips, rose in the wrong areas and didn’t have good coverage on her backside. Tops were too strappy and a cloth shelf bra wasn’t going to keep her strapped in. She would have to wear two sports bras or (in her own words), she’d “end up with black eyes.”

Typically fitness-clothing manufacturers design for someone who is 5’3” and weighs 100-pounds. Those same designers think if they make it wider, it will fit a bigger person. This is not always true.

MODAperformance’s MODA line was created with a more generous fit in the leg, hips and bottom, keeping in mind the shapes and curves of a woman, not just the wider version of a size 4.

“Our first pattern was equivalent to a typical size 12,” Susan remembered. “I said, ‘yep, that’s it!’ We made that pattern the medium and went smaller and larger from there.”

Originally the line was named Lucious Mama, but Fred Harris, Susan’s design partner, just started calling it MODA and the name seemed to fit. The idea is that no matter what size you are, you feel good and comfortable in your exercise clothes. Susan says, “We want to empower larger women to get fit and have taken special care to ensure that our MODA line sculpts a women’s curve and her confidence.”

This thought is reinforced every time we teach a Jazzercise classes or attend fitness conferences. Not everyone is that size 4 woman, even many of the trainers! It’s a wonderful thing that women come in all shapes and sizes. We’re happy to share the curvy woman’s fashion space with rapping and movie royalty, Queen Latifa (she recently launched a clothing line with HSN) because we know there is plenty of space in this market to meet the needs of the MODA woman.

Come check out MODAperformance MODA line of pants, tops and jackets.