Universal Standard: J. Crew’s Newest Crush

Introduced in 2015, Universal Standard’s mission was simple: Make shopping as fun, and accessible, for a size 26 as it is for a size 6. The founders, Alexandra Waldman and Polina Veksler, thought that approach was sorely missing, even as the industry grapples with the fact that 67 percent of women in the United States wear a size 14 or above.

“A lot of brands still think the solution to the problem is to launch a plus-size category,” Ms. Waldman said. “That is not the answer. We need to stop segregating women into two groups because the truth of the matter is that it’s not so much a size thing, but a style thing.”