Mala MTL brings being bad to plus-size fashion

Leather mini-skirts, mesh pants and a faux-fur coat that would entice even Cruella de Vil — with every hanger she places on the rack, Sandra Munoz Diaz is creating her own fashion rules. 

Her boutique, Mala MTL, is one of few in Montreal devoted to vintage and second-hand clothing in plus sizes. 

"It's very difficult to shop as a plus-size person and feel welcome, and free to try on anything you want," says Diaz.

The fashion design graduate went into business in 2018, after noticing the demand on plus-size Facebook groups.

Five years later, Diaz's boutique is nestled in the Cadbury Lofts, a 1909 industrial building in the eastern section of the Plateau neighbourhood.

The location is a bit off the beaten path, and that is deliberate. Diaz wants to foster a safe space for clients to explore styles rarely seen in mainstream plus-size fashion. 

"You can try on colourful prints, clothes that are short or long, clothes that show your belly, because I will not judge you, right?"

"I'm someone who is very confident in my body. That opens it up for my clients to feel good about their bodies, as well," she says.

That confidence didn't always come easy. Diaz spent much of her childhood unable to wear the same styles as her classmates, trying diet after diet.

"At some point, I realized I was always trying to perform. Trying to be a 'good fatty.' That's what we call someone who is always trying to lose weight, to look slimmer, trying to be the most 'acceptable' way you can be, as a fat person."

Diaz's reflection helped her shed those constraints and experiment with punk and DIY fashion as a teenager. 

It also inspired her tongue-in-cheek business name: mala means bad in her first language, Spanish.

"When I stopped doing all that, I became a 'bad fatty,' right?" laughed Diaz. "A bad fat person, because you're not trying to hide yourself, or become smaller. You're taking up the space you need."

Despite the demand for size-inclusive clothing, Diaz says the plus-size shopping scene has taken a hit in recent years.