Tess Holliday's "world" changed when she was able to find "better clothes".
Tess Holliday
The 32-year-old star admitted her perception of her body changed when she found success as a plus-size model because it gave her better "access" to fashion.
She said: "What shaped my perception about my body and myself was finding better clothes--that's what changed my world.
"That's why modeling really changed my self-esteem and how I view myself, because I finally for the first time have accessibility to fashion that I didn't know existed."
Though Tess is much more body confident these days, she still "struggles" with her arms - though she no longer covers them up all the time.
She told Self magazine: "[My arms are] the one of part of my body I still struggle with.
"But I would've never [sat] here in a public place, I would have never taken my shirt off or showed my arms six years ago, and it's nice. It's hot outside, [and] it's nice to be able to just not feel like I have to cover up because I'm worried about what other people think about me."
And the red-haired beauty doesn't worry about not being able to get garments in her size from certain high street stores.
She insisted: "I don't want to go to any of those stores anyways. I'll just buy cute stuff online."
Tess much prefers to buy designer items that were created with a fuller-figure in mind.
She said: "I choose to wear designers and clothes from people that I like what they're doing - because if you're not supporting people like that, then they're not gonna be around.
"I like to buy clothes from people that actually give a s**t about my body and about plus bodies. That makes me happy."