Championing Women: Q&A With Meredith Shaw

Talk about an inspiring woman! The name Meredith Shaw is synonymous with curve fashion, body positivity and female empowerment. From award-winning singer-songwriter to radio and TV host, on-air style expert and model, Meredith is fiercely passionate about inspiring and motivating women of all sizes to embrace their power and feel sexy, confident and fabulous in their own skin. We chatted with this positivity powerhouse to find out how she’s working to break down the status quo and lead a powerful conversation that’s changing the game for women. —Vita Daily

Hi Meredith! Your career began musically—tell us about that, and about the evolution into working on air (radio and TV), and getting into modelling.

It did—music was for sure the first love of my life. I was obsessed with songwriting and was lucky enough to record three albums and tour our beautiful country coast-to-coast. I wanted to be Jann Arden, Sheryl Crow, Steve Nicks and Sarah McLachlan—cut to that not happening LOL. Whenever I was interviewed on the road in radio stations I always loved the vibe and the people. Maybe I could host a radio show? So I did what we all do when we have a question: I GOOGLED. That plus luck landed me a gig on Boom 97.3 in Toronto and now to my dream station—Chum 104.5. TV followed suit. My time on The Marilyn Denis Show, The Social, Your Morning and eTalk prepared me for my current gig on CTV, as co-host of my own show with my real-life partner, chef Rodney Bowers. It’s called Double Your Dish. The modelling/fashion side of my life came from music as well thanks to a makeup artist I was working with for an album cover shoot; she believed I would do well as a curve model. I hesitated, she insisted and I got signed in Canada and New York. I will be forever grateful to her for seeing something in me I wasn’t ready to own yet. I try to pay that forward.

Be a pineapple: stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet on the inside.

Have you always loved style? Has your relationship with fashion changed over the years in any way?

I’ve always been interested in it for sure but for many years felt excluded from the conversation. My body wasn’t what I saw in the magazines or on TV so, though I loved it, it was put on a shelf that was out of my reach. One hundred per cent that has changed in my life; I now see style as a way INTO who I am, weilding it like a superpower instead of accepting the feeling of exclusion. My mantra is: “Style has no size. Fashion is for every BODY.”

Curve fashion, body positivity and female empowerment are all hot topics; how do you use your voice and platform to inspire and motivating women of all sizes to embrace their power and feel sexy, confident, and fabulous in their own skin?

I show up. Instead of using my platform to talk about those topics, I participate in spaces that aren’t typically welcoming to bigger bodies and share that work as proof that ALL bodies are good bodies and your style should never limit your soar. I co-host my own show on CTV, I cover all the award show red-carpet fashion for Your Morning, I co-host the Aftershow for Canada’s Drag Race, I interview major pop icons for Chum 104.5, I guest co-host The Social. By showing up as I am in these spaces, I am showing you that you can, too. We inspire each other by being and doing; I am consuming as much as i am posting. We’re in this together!

Style has no size. Fashion is for every BODY

What’s your personal style/beauty mantra?

Be a pineapple: stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet on the inside.

Your hubby is a chef (lucky!)! What meal do you most request Rodney cook for you at home? (And is there any dish you are hands-down better at whipping up?!)

Not my hubby yet, but thank you for the hint! This is going to sound strange because of all the things he is SO good at making, I LOVE how he makes a chopped salad. He is so good at combining the most interesting, unexpected, crunchy things—and his DRESSING? forget it. Never has salad been so delicious. There is nothing I’m better at whipping up than he is unfortunately, although the kids say that I make Kraft Dinner and hot dogs WAY BETTER than he does. So THERE.

What’s next for Meredith Shaw?! Any exciting future plans or upcoming projects/partnerships you can tell us about?

This summer has been unexpectedly VERY busy! i’m so grateful to the new projects that came my way but I’m definitely looking to sneak in a little down time this fall! But, yes, there are a couple very exciting announcements coming up both in brand collaborations and shows that I can’t wait to share! In the meantime let’s hang out on Chum 104.5 in the afternoons from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., K? It’s a date xo

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