Tolmeia Gregory (Tolly Dolly Posh)

Tolmeia Gregory is a 17 year old ethical fashion blogger and aspiring fashion designer from England. She has been running her own blog since she was just 11 years old! Her mission is to inspire others to be more confident in themselves and what they wear, while being conscious of who made their clothing and wear it comes from. Check out her blog and her work!

Tolmeia was kind enough to talk with us over email! Here is her advice for young women, her experiences, and what she had to say about gender equality:

What empowers you?

Women who fight for what's right even if they aren't in the most privileged position. I recently came away feeling rather empowered by a series by New Internationalist about the lives behind our clothes; one garment worker in Bangladesh called Nazma, started working in factories when she was just 11 and now she travels the world representing factory workers globally whilst also running her own trade union. Her story made me realise that there is so much we can be doing if we put our minds to it and people like her deserve enormous amounts of support.

What keeps you motivated?

Although it's easy to compare yourself to others, I actually gain a lot of inspiration and motivation from other people who are doing great things because I can use them as an example of success. It shows me that it is possible especially in my lower moments where I feel as if I'm not doing enough or that I'll never be in the position to achieve my goals. Of course, everyone gets to where they are in life in different ways but I like to think - if they can, I can.

What are your biggest obstacles?

Actually using that motivation! And once again, wondering if I'm doing enough. In current times where we're being inundated by information and stories of things that need to change, it can be easy to feel powerless or like you're not covering enough ground. I believe that if you have a platform or an audience of any kind you should use it for good or for the benefit of others, so, I almost feel as if I have a duty to have my eggs in every other kind of basket and that can put me under a lot of pressure.

Do you have any role models?

I don't think I've ever looked up to one person specifically just because I see myself as quite individual and independent so there's nobody who really fits the bill or my own personal criteria in terms of success or 'an ideal human' but there are definitely a few people who I admire for different reasons. One of them who has always stuck with me is Vivienne Westwood - she uses her platform and has a journey I can connect with - and in more recent times it's been Safia Minney, who is the mastermind behind one of my favourite ethical brands (People Tree), and now an ethical footwear brand (Po-Zu).

What was your most defining moment?

It happened a few years ago when thousands of other people's most tragic moment happened; it was when I learned of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, in 2013 (most specifically through the True Cost documentary). I've always loved fashion. My mum was a designer for Mulberry when she was younger and she's always carried her love for the art with her and incidentally passed it down to me. I loved how it was a platform for sharing who you are and expressing a certain mood or feeling without having to say a single word, so, I never really thought about it having consequences, probably because when you love something, you don't always want to pick holes in it. But then this news came in and I suddenly realised that I was part of this problem; a problem I never even knew existed.

Although I was heartbroken at the time as I read the devastating stories, I now look back on it as a really positive turning point and I think many others do too because it finally opened up our eyes to the realities of the industry we believed we loved, and ever since then, I've been attempting to do my part to try and change it.

What does gender equality mean to you?

It means allowing everyone to be valued and respected equally, whether they identify themselves as a man or a woman, cis or trans. The term "feminism" (one of the biggest forces behind equality) for a lot of people is associated more with actions that benefit women which is, of course, true to a certain extent but equality which is reached through feminist changes will, in turn, benefit men too - if we balance out how genders are treated and looked upon, men will be able to more comfortably deal with their own issues like breaking down toxic masculinity etc. Gender equality is everyone's issue because it affects all of us, not just one or the other, and even then, that's talking about it all in very binary terms.

What is one thing that our society needs to start telling young women?

That their voices are valued. It may have come out of a bad place but the rise of campaigns such as #MeToo are a prime example of how important it is that women feel heard, seen and trusted. This applies to so many areas, especially the workplace and people's careers. The more women feel valued, the more likely they are to speak up and put themselves in a position of power. I think it's even harder to feel heard when you're a young woman because younger people, in general, are often looked down upon due to so-say, 'inexperience'.

What is one thing that our society needs to stop telling young women?

To calm down. Or that we're feisty. Or bossy. Or any combination of the three. If a man raises his voice, he's praised for standing up for himself but if a woman does, she's often put down for being over-enthusiastic and riled up. We should be riled up. There's a lot to be angry about, right now.