Natalie Bulger (0:02)

Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Motivation N'at, where we take hot mess to high potential. I'm Natalie, your host, and today I am joined by the amazing Jordan Lansdown. She is coming to me all the way from across the pond in the UK, in England, and she's gonna be here to talk about something that is so near and dear to my heart. And if folks have been around for a few years, you followed me on socials, you know I used to work with a brand in the US that had me join as a plus size ambassador. And it was great for a little bit of time. But as you know, social media is tough. Influencers are tough. We are in a fast fashion world right now. We are so many things kind of taking off. And it's easy to kind of get lost in the mix of how good do you look based on how society has defined what looks good.

 

I stumbled about a year ago onto this brand called J.Luxe.Fit and it is built, run, hands-on ownership by the amazing Jordan. And she's been willing to join us today for a conversation about what this journey has been like. And I'm really excited for that because Jordan, you are a self-starter. You are very honest about how things kind of go in the industry and the ups and the downs and all of the in-betweens. It's so refreshing to see the involvement, the management, and I can't wait to hear more about it. So Jordan, tell us a little bit about who you are and how the heck did you end up having this brainchild idea of, I'm going to start a clothing brand and it's going to be different than everything else out there.

 

Jordan Lansdown (1:44)

Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be on here. It's absolutely incredible. I'm so glad you found us. I suppose a little bit about me. I started J.Luxe.Fit in 2020, which feels like absolutely ages ago now, mainly because I struggled to find activewear as a curvaceous woman. I was kind of on my fitness journey and I've played sports for a number of years. When I was young, I've always found myself kind of never really included within activewear brands. I didn't see myself represented, my body shape. And so I've always really struggled with that because when I put on the clothing, you can feel that it's not made for you. It doesn't fit properly. The options are quite limited. And to be honest, the biggest thing for me was when I was running, I couldn't find a sports bra that actually supported me and still looked nice because I remember trying a brand — I think they're a UK brand actually, but they're quite big in the US — and I loved the products, they were great, but then when I actually tried to use them, it was just horrendous. Obviously boobs were everywhere when I was running. I'm quite honest here.

 

That just wasn't an ideal situation. And the only other options I had were very limited and the styles weren't really what a 20 year old wanted to be wearing at the time. I wanted to be in the seamless sets like the other girls. I wanted to be able to wear the cute gym sets. And I was training a lot then, I was running a lot. I was really getting back into fitness after some health problems that I've had over the years. And so for me, it was purely based on the fact that I had this problem. I couldn't find anything — not one that was in my price budget and two that actually fitted properly. And so I thought, why didn't I do something about it? Why don't I see if I can design something? I had no experience in manufacturing, design. The only thing I did was textiles at school. I can get on a sewing machine, but I can't say that I'm very good at it.

 

So I started J.Luxe.Fit for that problem and we're five years later and we're growing an incredible community of women that truly represents every single body and we empower women to feel confident in their bodies and not to be searching for this kind of perfect all the time and really encouraging women to move the way that they want to move. Moving your body looks different for every single person. And I think social media is a place which at the moment is so encouraging of being this kind of best version of yourself. But I've got a five month old child. I work a million hours a week. I can't always show up as that person. And I feel like it's so pressured to be like that. I wanted a safe space where I can go to the gym one day, I could swim the next day and I can be in Pilates the following day. There was no pressure around being someone that I'm not. And so I wanted to create a community that really just encourages that and encourages women to be supportive of other women as well.

 

Natalie Bulger (5:14)

It's very much a feel that instead of having a body that fits the clothes, it's having clothes that fit the body and that move with the body as needed. And I remember one of the very first photos that I saw was you had everything from I think a size extra small to a 3X probably in the photo. You had someone in a wheelchair. You had all kind of different inclusive factors to consider. And I know we'll talk in probably a little bit about your mom journey and what that looks like. And what you mentioned about the sports bra, I remember the group I worked with said we're having a really hard time making a sports bra for large chest. And I'm like, how is it that hard? Get some fabric, start fitting people, see what it looks like. But I think you've come up with some really creative ways about how to make pieces that vibe with the different shapes of body. Reversible shirts that you can take the bra pads out and swap back and forth so it's not like you have bra pads on your back if you flip it. Wrap tops that can swap zippers, cinches on things — those would have been some of those exploratory factors where you're just like, well, this looks really good, but if we did this extra little piece it expands what that looks like.

 

Jordan Lansdown (6:32)

I think we're in a world where fast fashion is a thing. And so when someone comes to J.Luxe.Fit, I really want them to be able to look at that piece and think, do you know what? I'm gonna be able to wear that to work. I'm gonna be able to wear that to the gym. I'm gonna be able to put it on in the morning, then take it off, swap it round and wear it another way for the afternoon because it's a piece that ultimately they're gonna wanna keep for years and years and years. And so with all of the pieces that we design, I always say to the team, there needs to be a problem that we're solving. I don't just wanna be a company that's just bringing out things for the sake of it because there's plenty of good brands that do really good pieces that do that already. I wanna be solving problems that real women are having day to day, which is why I consistently ask in our community, what problems do you have? What can we solve and how can we do that? And ultimately we go to the design team now. I mean, I'm obviously still heavily part of that, but we've got people in there and I say, listen, these are the community's problems and how can we fix it and what can we do? And then they'll throw a curve ball and then I'll say, we could probably do that, can't we? And they're like, I don't think we can. I'm like, no, we must find a way.

 

For me, it is the versatility because if you are ultimately putting your money into something that you're buying, you wanna be able to utilize it and wear it. I want people to see the real value in those pieces that they're buying. The versatility and the way things have been designed is always to solve a problem. So the waist cinching technology — as I like to call it — is always something that I think about because for me, I like to have things that are fitted, but I also like to have things that are loose. So it's finding a way to having those in between where it's gonna really enhance the shape that you've got and really make that person feel confident. When we fit our products, we fit them on multiple different sizes. We have women of all body shapes that come into the office, they try the pieces on and they're fitted to their shapes to ensure that not just that they fit — they feel good in it, they actually like it, they're gonna wear it. And then at that point, we would then put the product into production. So it's quite a long process that actually I've found out as I've grown a lot of knowledge is that a lot of brands don't do that at all, which absolutely baffles me because how can you bring a product out which a real person hasn't tried on? A lot of it's done by 3D systems now, but if you haven't seen that on a body, you're never gonna know really, truly if that's 100% right.

 

Natalie Bulger (9:43)

It makes sense. And I know you've shown actually when you've got fit models in and you're marking where the bodies go with chalk — or even having your mom try the coat on that we'll talk about in a little bit — and just seeing hey, all our proportions are different. So there are definitely pieces that aren't going to work for everyone but who's the majority that we can get it to fit.

 

Well, you mentioned you've got a team of designers now, but it hasn't always been that way. So when you think back to those starting days, those months, those years, do you remember a moment when you're like, my God, we're doing this for real? I know you had some investment from your nan and she's still involved — she drew a winner just the other day for some stuff, which I love. But when was that kind of shift of, this is going to be the job, this is what we're doing.

 

Jordan Lansdown (10:37)

It was probably about a year in. We started partnering with small creators and influencers to ultimately build their own collections. I'd started by solving my own problem. I wanted to start to solve other people's problems. And I was like, how can I do this on a mass scale when I've got no marketing budget, I don't have investment — I was funding the brand myself, I was still working full time. And so I need to be able to grow the business and also grow the community. I was like, how can I do that? Well, I can find influencers and creators that also share the same problems as I do — that have this need for clothing that fits them properly.

 

So I stumbled across a number of different influencers that are still with me today. One of the first collections that we did was with an influencer called Scarlett — Scarlett's World. At the time Scarlett had a page called I Am Size Me, which I'd followed for quite a long period of time before speaking to her. And basically it was about buying the size that fits you. It didn't matter if you were a size 10, 12, 14, 16, 22, 26 — what it said on the label didn't matter if it fitted and you liked the way it fit. You could be buying a size eight or a size 14 because you wanted an oversized fit or vice versa. It did not matter. Just don't worry about the size that's on it in the shop because they're all different. You can go to one shop and get one size and go to another shop and get a completely different size, and when you lay them next to each other they're exactly the same. So it was about sharing that message — it doesn't matter, you can go into the shops and buy a size that you like the way it looks. I really loved that because it's just so true. We care so much about that kind of size and we shouldn't, because it doesn't define us.

 

So when I outreached Scarlett the first time, she started doing it, I said can I give you some stuff? She was going to the gym and I think the first set that I sent her was a pink set — this was maybe our fourth collection of the brand. We gifted it to Scarlett. She absolutely loved it, posted about it and kind of went from there. I then had a conversation with her maybe six months later to say, would you like to create a collection? And she did. And honestly, I remember logging onto the website. I was sat on my floor of my living room at the time. I was in my pajamas and Jake, my husband, was sat behind me. I just sat in front of the TV with my laptop on — probably the oldest laptop ever — and there were 400 people on the website. I honestly couldn't believe it. It was selling out within minutes. And then the website was going wild and I just couldn't believe it. So I think probably at that point I was like, yes, I've got something here. Obviously I'm not the only person that's having this problem. I just need to get the message out there and get the brand known, because without having any money really — because I was funding it myself and my nan, bless her, gave me a four thousand pound loan — that was probably the moment for me that really changed the game. And we still work with Scarlett now. She's absolutely incredible.

 

Natalie Bulger (14:54)

It's funny that you can recall that moment where it kind of clicks and it's okay, this is going to be worth the risk. The return is there and there's a need for it and that's super validating. So we mentioned that there is this set of folks that have felt very unrepresented — whether that be from how they look, the color of their skin, disabilities or abilities, those kinds of things. Have you ever been challenged in this way — well, I don't feel like I'm seen or that I've been considered? When you're talking about these problems to solve, what are some of the problems that have come up where it's like, I never even thought of that? I know the swimsuit that came out was one that I remember thinking, they're actually thinking about how can we look sexy and functional and all these things. Anything along those lines where it's been a new problem that just kind of is — I don't even know how we'll solve that.

 

Jordan Lansdown (16:04)

There have been a number to be honest. Because ultimately we're in an industry — activewear and athleisure is booming. So there's only so many things that you can do that's different to your competitor. For us, it's more about the community and the problem solution products that we have in comparison to other brands. And for me, it was about finding those really niche problems.

 

Probably one of the biggest things for me personally has been the coat. I can't tell you how many years I spent freezing because I didn't want to wear a coat because I felt like it drowned me. I would just end up putting on a little loose jacket but I would be so cold and I didn't feel confident in anything. I would put coats on and I'd look at myself and I'd think, why isn't there something that truly makes me feel great in an outerwear piece that keeps me warm, that shows off my curves, and that ultimately gives me the confidence to wanna wear it and keep me warm as well, so it's functional. So I think that for me has been one of my personal real problems that I've loved solving with our Contour Longline Coat. By creating a jacket that is so versatile and so wearable, has so many different features for the wearer. Little things in the garment that you probably wouldn't think about — you've got side zips, you've got a double-ended zip so you can get in and out of the car really easily. For the girls in wheelchairs, this was really important when we did the feedback because when they're sat down, they wanna be able to have a long line coat, but a lot of coats that don't have a double-way zip they can't wear because they're sat down and they can't unzip it so it becomes too uncomfortable. So it's little things like that — little features of the design and the product that have been really thought about for as many people as possible.

 

The coat for me was really solving that problem of creating a piece that cinches your waist, shows your curves, is not too thick that you feel really puffy. I always refer to looking like the Michelin man in the jacket because when I've put on puffer coats that are really big, you can just see my head. I'm quite short as well, so you find a lot of puffer jackets are too long. And I couldn't get in and out of the car in one. Those are the little things that I really just wanted to solve. That has been such an incredible piece that really took the brand to the next level. We sold thousands last year and it was just incredible. The feedback has been second to none. The amount of messages that I received saying, I can't thank you enough for creating this piece — I see all of those messages and I read them and they give me goosebumps because that's how I feel.

 

Natalie Bulger (19:30)

Well, and I'm one of those people. The longest coat I ever wore barely went over my butt because I am just bottom heavy — I was a gymnast for years when I was much younger, it's just how I'm proportioned. And I was nervous to buy it. I was just like, nothing's ever worked, I don't know about this. But after seeing the way that everyone tried it on, we got it and I put it on and it's amazing. I wore it all winter. It was freezing in Pennsylvania all winter and I could get in and out of the car. We walked down to town at one point to see the Christmas tree lighting and I never realized how cold my legs were until they weren't cold anymore because there was actually a long jacket.

 

So as we mentioned some of these expansion things, I've also heard that when you go to those expanded sizes or add some of these functional pieces to it, the cost goes up. And so folks have said, well, it's not cost effective for us to offer expanded sizing because it's more fabric, it's different approaches. Is that something that you've had to navigate through or understand how to manage? What have been those logistical pieces that you've experienced?

 

Jordan Lansdown (20:58)

Yes, that is true. It does increase the cost and it always has. When we started, we sized up to I think 2X for our first collection and then we increased it to 3X and we're looking at 4X at the moment. There are increasing costs because it is more fabric. Now that's non-negotiable for me. I'm not just gonna not do it because of that reason. I think there's this whole thing around, well, it increases the prices. And I just think that's rubbish — just split that across the rest of the products and ensure that everything else is covered within that. It is doable. And even as a small business, what's frustrated me the most is that when I started I didn't have any big backing, and I still managed to do it.

 

It's about whether or not it's a priority for that business — and that's fine if it isn't, but be open about it. I think it's just having that clarity. We've not been able to do it overnight. I quite often get comments saying, well, you don't size up to a 38 or that high, and I think it's got to come in good time. For us, I focused on sizing up to 3X, we're now moving up to 4X, but before that I wanted to offer petite and long length options. So it's about trying to find inclusivity — not just on size, it's about every way that we look at being inclusive. And I think that's really, really important. So yes, as a small business, it does take us a little bit longer to get there because we don't have the funds of the big activewear brands, but it's top of the list priority for us versus being bottom of the bag for everyone else.

 

With regards to different products, there are products that don't always work on every single body. So when it comes to that, we will either make a decision to go ahead with it or we might do it differently. For example, we've got one product at the moment where we've had to change the strap for the bigger sizes versus the smaller sizes because I felt the strap was too small for someone who had a larger chest like myself. I personally wanted a thicker strap, but we knew from feedback that the girls on the smaller sizes actually really liked the dainty strap. So we've made a call that we're gonna split the production — it's the same product, but there's just small tweaks that enable it to fit more sizes. In lingerie especially, you have some bras that look a certain way — it's the same lace, the same colour — but there are just small tweaks within the design that give the option for someone who's got bigger boobs to wear it and smaller boobs to wear it. And that's the type of thing we're doing that not every brand is doing.

 

Natalie Bulger (24:10)

So you mentioned petite and long, and I know that's coming up right when we launch this episode. When you announced and teased it, you mentioned that part of that was actually going to the production site. And you shared your journey to China to see where your clothes are made, to meet those people — which is fascinating, I've never seen anyone else do that and share that exploration. So how was that negotiation? Because you mentioned some of these things might not have been possible had you not gone in there and been like, hey, let's talk for a minute, let's make this happen. How did that come about?

 

Jordan Lansdown (24:50)

I feel like I've had to spend the last five years proving myself to a lot of people. And I don't mind that, I'm always up for a challenge. But just by putting yourself there and showing the reasoning behind why you were asking for something was so important. It actually makes people think and go, I'm gonna give you a chance.

 

So to give you an example with petite and long options — we currently have seven sizes across the board. To add every single leg length in most of our products was quite difficult based on the amounts that we order. We have minimum order quantities that we have to hit normally per size, per leg length, per color, because everything is made from scratch. If they don't have enough of each variant, it's not worth them setting up the machine — the cost is obviously higher. But I basically sat down with the factory, gave them a presentation of the business and where we were going, what we were doing, our community. And I showed them the feedback of people asking for it. I was like, look at this — so many people are asking me for this. Can we please just get to a point, even if we have to pay a little bit more to cover the costs, because we couldn't afford to be ordering thousands and thousands of long and thousands and thousands of petite of every single product. We don't currently have that demand there yet. So it's about getting them to work with us in our growth journey so that, yes, when we do have thousands and thousands, they're gonna be the ones getting those orders. And ultimately it was about getting them to believe in me and the team. That was what I did and managed to get them to sign it off. It does incur slight extra charges, but for me, absolute no brainer.

 

Natalie Bulger (27:12)

You mentioned the importance of that feedback. And I think there are times where maybe either we're really excited so we only share our positive feedback, or you're just really upset and you're just like, this doesn't have such and such with it. What are ways that customers or consumers or people that want to purchase can share feedback with brands like yours? There's always the reviews on the website, but are there other pathways that information — at least for J.Luxe.Fit — can make its way to that design room so that you're able to consider it?

 

Jordan Lansdown (27:45)

Joining our group chat on social media is a good way because you can respond to the team's messages within there about absolutely anything. Messaging us directly on socials or even emailing info@jluxfit.co.uk — all of those things, if they're product related, get back to the team. We only have one customer service lady and she is really great at organizing that and ensuring it gets back to us and me. And quite often if you do send a DM, there's probably a 50% chance that it's me who reads it. Because although I shouldn't be, I do go on there and look through and respond. I think people know when it's me that responds because even though the girls speak the way that I do and we're all kind of — it's very besty energy here — there's definitely a difference. When I see stuff, if I can, I will respond. I can't not. I find it very difficult.

 

Natalie Bulger (28:49)

Well, and everyone from my experience of seeing the emails come in and seeing that kind of stuff has the same tone, which is just authentic and very real. And you've also got an amazing community of ambassadors — not just huge big name social media people, but everyday people that have a core set of friends. What are some of the ways that — you mentioned the online group — are there specific things that you look for with ambassadors or with people that you engage with? Or is it really just, if you're motivated, we want to see you?

 

Jordan Lansdown (29:31)

Precisely that. It is simply just — if you want to share your journey and your outfits and you're open to that, then that's what we look for. There's no tick list. It's just a case of, if you'd like to become an ambassador for J.Luxe.Fit and you love creating content and you're open to sharing it with your friends — we have a number of different kinds of ambassadors. Some are personal trainers. Some are just normal people that share outfits. Some are sports people. There's a number of different types. For me, it's about having as many women as part of our tribe as possible. There's no, you have to have this or you have to have that — because that's not what we're about at all in any way.

 

Natalie Bulger (30:26)

So during this journey that you've gone through, have there been times where you've questioned decisions you've made or things that felt — that wasn't nearly as successful as I thought it might be? Because we live in a world where imposter syndrome is very present for so many folks. Have you encountered that? I know you've got a super supportive husband, so how has that village around you helped be a part of the process of keep going?

 

Jordan Lansdown (31:03)

Many times to be honest. I can't tell you how many times I felt like giving up because it's a really hard industry. It's so tough and I'm open about that on my socials — it's not easy and there is a lot of competition and there's a lot of stress that comes with decision-making, especially with things that are very much out of your control. I suppose I've come very resilient to making decisions quickly and acting on plan Bs a lot of the time. With every single collection, there's generally a plan B should something happen. And we're constantly navigating those things. The support around me has been phenomenal. I actually had business coaches throughout my journey, I have mentors, and I think if you are a small business owner or a business owner that's starting out and you don't have a mentor or a coach, I would highly encourage that because it's someone to turn to to just get stuff off your chest. Even if they're not giving you any advice at all, they're simply just hearing you — that's all you need sometimes. Because for me, especially as a solo founder, people always say to me, when they have a co-founder, they're like, I don't know how you do it, how do you take all of that pressure on? There have been times where I've been up all night, anxious, panic attacks, wondering whether the stock or the photo shoot samples are going to come in for tomorrow's launch because they're stuck in the air and haven't arrived yet.

 

I remember on our Glasgow shoot, I was about to give birth, I couldn't fly to Glasgow and we were shooting four collections. We had a team of girls going out there. The collection had to be delivered to the DHL site there because it didn't arrive with us in time. And it literally arrived on the morning of the shoot and they had to get off their plane, go straight there, pick it up. It's just little things that you probably don't see that go on behind the scenes, which can have a massive impact. For a small business, campaigns can be quite expensive and so if something goes wrong, it can be really damaging. We've had faulty stock come in and I've had to reject it and then we've had no product for two or three months. Back in the day that was a lot more harmful to us than where it is now because we have a lot more backup options and more regular collections coming in. I've got a team in place now that actually helps me and supports me. I had no experience so I was just doing stuff based on what I knew and learned.

 

Natalie Bulger (34:11)

Well, and your life looks a little different now than it did five years ago, six years ago when you started. You mentioned you're the mom of a five month old. I feel like you didn't take any time off — I'm pretty sure you mentioned you were in the hospital in labor and still checking some things online. How has that balance shifted, or has it changed any of your approaches or pushed you to delegate a little bit more?

 

Jordan Lansdown (34:41)

Definitely. It pushed me to hire people that I probably couldn't afford to hire at the time. But honestly, that was the best business decision I'd ever made. I probably the best thing that could have happened, if I'm honest. Now we're five steps ahead of where we were previously. I've got the support that I always needed — I would cry to my business coach and be like, I'll be fine when I get support, I just need more people, more time, but we can't afford it. It was really, really hard. And so it's balancing that. It literally gave me no choice. I was like, if I don't hire, then I'm going to have no business. And like I said, it was the best decision that I could have made. From that, we've been able to hire more people as well now. I think it's important to realize that you can't do everything alone. You're gonna get to a stage where you kind of have to, and I probably left it far too long. If I can give any piece of advice — yes, it will feel scary and you probably feel like you won't be able to do it, but do it and then see what happens.

 

Life looks different because I used to work 80 hours a week and I'm not lying when I say that. It was hard graft. I would wake up from four, five some days. I'd still be up at midnight working. And then I'd wake up during the night thinking about something and have my notepad there writing it down. That was the standard for me. I couldn't switch off. My friends would be like, when I went out on the weekends, I wouldn't really be mentally there because I'd have so much overwhelm and the messages coming in. People look at my phone and laugh when they see it because I've got 700 unread messages. So it's not easy and it's very different now. My priorities have changed — I have set hours at work. I didn't take any maternity. Well, I took a couple of weeks off, about six weeks in total. I was literally on a Zoom call when they said, we're taking you down now to the delivery suite. I love it. I can't not. I don't even want to take time off. But one thing I have now prioritized is spending time with Blake, my family, and just having a bit more of a work-life balance, which I really, really needed because I was definitely a little bit burnt out.

 

Natalie Bulger (37:31)

Well, and you know, the launch that's coming up right around this release — you've kind of mentioned it's a little bit for you. The very first few when you started in 2020 were for you solving problems for you. And now it's kind of chapter two, Jordan. What is coming up in this launch? What are some of the pieces to look forward to? What are the problems that this one was solving for you that you've detected over time?

 

Jordan Lansdown (38:05)

For this launch, I was pregnant when we were designing it and I was like, girls, I want to create a collection that ultimately takes us from day to night, every single day, every single activity. And it can be so versatile that every single piece in the collection can be worn in so many different ways. There's a piece for absolutely everyone. Not everyone's gonna potentially buy the whole collection — I mean, there will be girls that do, which is incredible — but even if there's just one piece that someone buys, they want it because of the problem that it solves. Some of the pieces aren't new pieces, but they've been elevated. Some are brand new pieces.

 

Now you've had a bit of a sneak peek at some of the collection in Valentine's because we had a bit of a disaster — half of our Valentine's collection didn't actually get to us. So we ended up bringing this collection forward because we have everything come over by boat now and we're quite in advance, thank God. This collection was ready to leave and it had a colour — the whole point was that there were three colours and one of the colours was to match some of the stuff in Valentine's because it was the wine, and it's one of my favourite colours. So we brought that forward and brought it into the Valentine's collection, and obviously the rest of this collection came by boat. So some of the pieces you've already had a bit of a sneak peek at because they've been put into Valentine's.

 

Some of the pieces I'll talk about — I think for me the double-way top, the reversible vest top. We actually brought a similar version out with Scarlett in 2021. She came to me and said, I love a basics Zara vest but they don't cover my boobs, I don't have any support in these vests, but I also can't wear a bra with them. And they're a bodysuit, not a vest. And there were all these problems. I thought, is it really J.Luxe.Fit? We were quite active and not really lifestyle focused back then. And I was like, okay, let's create a basics collection of pieces that people are going to wear day to day — for work, for active, for yoga, what have you. One of the products was the reversible vest. What I really liked about that was I don't just want to bring a basic vest — I want it to be where you can wear it multiple ways. You'll be buying a product that is going to be more expensive than going to your supermarket and buying a vest top, and I want to solve this problem of not having to wear a bra underneath. So what we did is we took your kind of basic vest and made a much more technical vest in a really supportive sweat-wicking fabric. It had a built-in bra shelf. The first one didn't actually have removable pads — it just had a built-in bra shelf with a scoop each side, one lower and one higher. You could flip it round.

 

I can't tell you how many times people asked me to bring that back. I would get messages on the daily saying, this is my favorite top, I wear it for absolutely everything, please bring it back. I have got four of those still in my drawer now, which I wore throughout my pregnancy. They've been stretched to absolute death because I think they're a size small and I was an XL when I was pregnant. So I was squeezing into them because they're just so versatile and so easy to wear. We brought out a long sleeve version as well. Honestly, it's the most wearable piece I think we've ever done. So I was like, this is a piece that I knew I needed in this founder edit, but I really wanted to switch it up — solve more problems and ultimately make it even better.

 

So with the new one, it's now called the reversible sweetheart tank. I wanted to create more of an elevated front neck drop to give something that was really elegant, really elevated, something that you felt really sexy in, you felt cute. There's a little bit of cleavage, but not too much cleavage. And then obviously being able to wear it with a high neck, which is personally my favorite. Still when you're wearing it high neck and you're turning it around, you have the ability to have the boob support. I've obviously now had a baby and those ladies need a lift. So I knew I was going to need pads in there. That's one of the pieces that is in this collection — probably one of my favorites — and that's been launched within Valentine's in wine, but the new collection features it in two new colours.

 

Other products in the collection are very much based around wearing it to work but also wearing it for working out. So you can mix and match the products to do that. And there's my waist cinching technology where I've created products that really truly flatter, in my opinion, every single body shape. They have options to wear them longer for the ladies that want a bit more coverage, and options to wear slightly more cropped if you want that as well. So thinking about a collection that can take you from day to night, your whole day, but also thinking about the people who want something that has more coverage and less coverage, and how can you do that within one garment.

 

Fabric wise, my favourite fabric that we've done is our ultra soft form fabric, which is our recycled fabric. When I was pregnant I lived in it — it was so soft. I picked this fabric for a majority of the activewear pieces in this collection because people were saying to us, we really want that kind of in-between that's not so supportive that it's going to be painful when you're sat down for long periods of time, but that you can still wear to work out in and they're not gonna fall down. So we've really focused in this collection on fit — what we can do from a fit perspective to ensure those things don't happen. The super soft waistbands, the seams in the right places so they don't dig in, thinking about the elastic in the bras to ensure it's the right size. There's a lot of pieces in this collection — I think it's 18 pieces — that I truly hope everyone loves.

 

Natalie Bulger (46:22)

Well, by the time we release this hopefully everyone's seen what you've already shared. I have to say — it was funny, one of the very first pieces I got from you, I remember it was the first share that J.Luxe.Fit did, because I pulled everything out and I had an old bra pad from some other shirt next to the J.Luxe.Fit one. And I was just like, look, it's more than a nipple cover. I think anyone listening to this that's over a size probably C has — the first thing you do is you rip the pads out and toss them and you're like, what am I going to do with this? I'm adding to the landfill. And I still have every bra pad in my J.Luxe.Fit tops because they are actually the size that works. It doesn't look like you've got a Madonna chest that's pointed because it's just little pieces — not sliding up or down or around. And it's those little things, those little touches you just mentioned — the elastic, the feel, is this irritating me as the day goes on? The answer is really no in most of those cases. I remember I got a bra from another place where the plastic on one of the pieces — you could tell the quality might have got missed in production — and it itched constantly. It's those pieces, those things that make a brand comfortable, that make it wearable, that make return customers in the long run.

 

So as we kind of get to wrap up phase, there's just two last things I want to touch on. One is your involvement in the community — you had just International Women's Day, you do things with your community that are really beautiful. Do you find that has made you get new customers and clients out of that? Or is it something that is more rewarding for people that already know you? Or a mix of both?

 

Jordan Lansdown (48:23)

A mix of both to be honest, because generally we have girls that come religiously every single time and it's absolutely incredible. We host VIP events for our VIP customers. And then we meet new people that have never been to events — we had four ladies at the hike that we did that I'd never met. I tend to make my way through and try to chat to everyone at events as much as I possibly can. I know I seem quite confident online, and I am a confident person, but when you're trying to mingle through everyone, it can be quite difficult and overwhelming for me sometimes because I can't quite believe that all of these people are at my event. I always generally have my mom with me, bless her — she comes along to so much to support me.

 

I was speaking to these four ladies and it was just incredible. They'd been purchasing from J.Luxe.Fit for quite a long time. I'd never really seen them because they hadn't come to an event previously. But I knew their names because I'd recognized their orders. And I was like, wow, this is just amazing meeting you and seeing you. When we collaborate — so we collaborated with Chi Hikes, which is another local female founded brand that do incredible hikes around the country — there were girls from their community and we got to meet people through there. It's really nice to try and help every single woman and other female founded businesses. I love coming together with other brands and doing things, you get to meet new people. And for me, I love doing stuff for the people that support me. That means the world to me because without our community, we're nothing.

 

Natalie Bulger (50:58)

Well, and if any of this today has resonated with listeners — I do have listeners in New Zealand and England, those were the new groups that tapped in, but for those in the US too — J.Luxe.Fit ships to the US. Where can people find information? Websites, socials, how do they find out what's coming up next and when the new releases are?

 

Jordan Lansdown (51:23)

Our website is www.jluxfit.co.uk or .com. You can find us on social media at J.Luxe.Fit Underscore Official, same on Instagram and TikTok. And that's kind of where we're based.

 

Natalie Bulger (51:44)

And I am just so excited to see how J.Luxe.Fit continues to grow. Anything crazy that we should have our excitement up for this year? I know you plan a whole year in advance. Any little snippet that we can get?

 

Jordan Lansdown (52:03)

There are two actually. Autumn Winter 2026 really, really excites me. There's a very special collection that's really close to my heart. And then there's also something that has been asked for for ages — patterns. I've always been like, I don't know if there's gonna be enough customers to warrant doing it. You've got to really know your customers well to offer patterns, especially if you've never done it before. But people kept asking for it and ultimately I was like, right, now is the time. And when I say it's been incorporated into so many pieces in versatile ways — it is so cute, so elegant and just unreal. Which is weird because if you'd asked me a year ago I would have said there's no chance we're going to be doing patterns yet.

 

Natalie Bulger (53:18)

Just goes to show how quickly you can get confident in something that maybe was a little intimidating at first. And I'm just so appreciative, Jordan, for your time today coming on and recording this out of your busy schedule with everything you've got going on. I personally am biased because I love being part of this community, I love being part of the conversation and having the chance to give that feedback and be a part of that. And everyone can be. So the inclusivity is there no matter what. Any final comments, thoughts, anything you want to share as we wrap up and let people go check the website out — because there's a launch that's probably live right now while they're listening to this?

 

Jordan Lansdown (54:04)

We must get a US event hosted — I was just thinking that. We should co-host something. Let's talk about that. But yeah, check the website out, check the launch. Hope you love it. It's a founder edit, my own edit with the brand, and something we've been truly working on for absolutely ages. I can't thank you enough for this opportunity. I loved speaking to you and thank you for being a part of our amazing community.

 

Natalie Bulger (54:34)

Thanks Jordan and thanks everyone for listening. Check the show notes for all the links and all the information that you could want. Do the like, subscribe, comment — all that fun stuff. But most importantly go check out J.Luxe.Fit. If you are a woman who has just felt like I can't find that thing that I need, odds are there might be a solution sitting in Jordan's collections. Thank you again, and we will talk soon.