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Ally Brooke Manifested Her JCPenney Petite Line Even Before Fifth Harmony
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Before making hits like “Work From Home” and “Worth It” as a member of Fifth Harmony, before even singing in front of judges for the first time on The X Factor USA, Ally Brooke was manifesting big things for herself in fashion.
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“I want to do things that no one has seen before,” she declared as a teen, wearing a hot-pink T-shirt and black fedora in front of the X Factor judges as she took the stage. “I want to do it all… I want to have my own perfume line and clothing line.”
One of those dreams has finally come true. Rolling Stone can exclusively reveal that Ally Brooke has partnered with JCPenney to release her Bold Elements x Ally Brooke collection, which puts petite people like Ally — who’s only 5 feet tall — first.
“Before my X Factor audition, I did say that I wanted my own fashion line someday, and I got it!” Ally tells Rolling Stone. “I’m not even sure how to describe how I feel. I love that my line is there to flatter all body types, and actually with a focus on petites like me.”
“I’ve struggled with finding, specifically, pants to fit me my whole life,” she says. “Being able to create fashion that fits, and for all body types, and it’s inclusive, and it’s on trend, vibrant, is so great.”
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Brooke’s new Bold Elements womenswear line — which features everything from pantsuits and trenchcoats to bralettes and halter tops — is targeted toward both petite and plus-sized women who often struggle with finding fashionable clothing items that fit their body style.
“Women… are frequently left paying a ‘petite tax’ in additional alterations. That’s what JCPenney is aiming to improve: real fashion that flatters every body, and at great value,” Marisa Thalberg, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Catalyst Brands, tells Rolling Stone. “The reality is, there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all, and as an industry, we need to take into account all of our customers’ needs.”
Brooke has long been open about her struggles with body image and self-esteem issues in the past, writing about it candidly in her book Finding Your Harmony. In the memoir, the singer recalled being “incredibly self-conscious” during a video shoot for Fifth Harmony’s “All In My Head.”
Brooke’s mind, specifically, goes back to a pantsuit “boho outfit” she wore on a red carpet during Fifth Harmony’s early days, as a time when her body’s proportions and styling didn’t flatter her body. “Uh uh, it was not OK!” she says with a laugh now. “I totally would have loved to have my Bold Elements by Ally Brooke line back then.”
The singer — who last collaborated with Milani Cosmetics on a lip gloss line in 2020 — says she’s included patterns of her lips in some designs, which might remind fans of one of her first music videos as a soloist, “Lips Don’t Lie.”
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“I really wanted it a focus on petites,” Brooke reinforces, “because I know how hard it is sometimes to shop for what you want and then what fits your body. There’s all sorts of inspiration for it. It’s so full circle for me.”
As for her own stylistic inspiration, Brooke cites none other than Jennifer Lopez. “She’s so vibrant, she switches it up and I love that. I like to be like a chameleon and just wear what I want to wear,” she says. “It’s about what makes me feel good and experiment too… I think that’s part of the fun of being in fashion.”
The new clothing line with JCPenney marks Ally’s return to the public eye after being admittedly “under the radar” for several months. She. most recently joined Dinah Jane onstage for a duet of Fifth Harmony’s “Better Together” in November. Last summer, she starred in MTV reality show, Surreal Life, with Tyler Posey and Macy Gray. Her last music release came in 2023 with “Gone to Bed” and a holiday EP.
“I’ve actually been taking time to focus on my health and my partnership with JCPenney,” she says, adding on her Instagram Wednesday that she is “recovering” from surgery.
Along with planning the JCPenney line and prioritizing her health, Ally says she’s been focused on wedding planning, after getting engaged for her longtime partner Will Bracey in December 2023. “I don’t have any words of how I feel about that,” she says. “I want my fans to know that I’m in such a good place and I feel fantastic.”
And music? Ally says she’s “been in the studio on and off” recently, saying she has plans to return to releasing music again soon. She says there’s an unnamed collaborator she recently worked with that her fans “would love,” and that some of the recent music she’s made is in a “pop-meets-R&B” lane.
“The last record that I did felt like a The Weeknd vibe so I’ve been experimenting with it a bit,” Ally says, adding that her fiancé has been her “main source of inspiration” for her art.
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