A full 67% of American women are size 14 or larger, yet they only represent 18% of all apparel purchases. It’s not because plus-size women aren’t interested in buying clothes, but rather because there’s a shortage of good options. The majority of plus-size women— 81% according to one survey—say they would spend more money on clothing if they had more choices of clothes that fit them. It’s slim pickings out there.

Take it from Alexandra Waldman, who cofounded the plus-size clothing brand Universal Standard nearly two years ago out of sheer desperation. “I’m a size 20,” she explains. “Shopping is really tough: You’re constantly in the position of choosing the best of the worst. You wear what is available, creating a hodgepodge look, without the ability to express your own style.”

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Universal Standard–which Waldman cofounded with former investment banker Polina Veksler–creates sleek, minimalistic clothing for women sizes 10 to 28. The looks are inspired by sophisticated urban brands like Theory, Helmut Lang, and Rag & Bone, and are made from high-quality materials like Peruvian jerseys and alpacas, French satin and terry, and denims and cashmeres. “I’ve spent my life buying plus-size clothes that, if you walk a little too fast, you could light yourself on fire because they are made of such poor-quality synthetic materials,” says Waldman.

Her own experiences as a consumer allow her to preempt the needs of the plus-size shopper. For instance, many women who find themselves at a size 16 or 24 one day don’t believe they will stay at this weight for very long. They’re worried about investing in expensive clothing because they might be planning to lose the weight. Or conversely, since they don’t know why they gained the weight in the first place, they’re afraid they might keep getting heavier.

To address this concern, the brand has launched a program called Universal Fit Liberty, which allows women to exchange pieces from the brand’s core collection for a different size at no additional cost at any point during the first year of purchase. Universal Standard goes on to donate clothes that are returned to local charities. “Women were disassociating from themselves because they didn’t want to accept what they were seeing in the mirror,” Waldman says. “So they bought cheap clothes that they felt would be temporary, or they bought clothes that were too small. We wanted to find a solution that would put an end to this vicious cycle.”

The startup just received a $1.5 million seed investment led by Red Sea Ventures, an early-stage VC firm that has helped launch successful fashion brands like Outdoor Voices, Allbirds, and Tracksmith. Scott Birnbaum, the founder of Red Sea Ventures, is betting that Universal Standard will be able to offer women a high-end approach to plus-size clothing that simply doesn’t exist on the market right now. “The prevailing belief in the fashion industry is that plus-size women will only spend money on discount clothing,” he says. “The implication here is that plus-size women either don’t have money or they don’t want to spend their money on clothing. I just don’t think this is true.”