Universal Standard: How a Size 00-40 Promise Became a Profitable Business

Alexandra Waldman had a fashion background. Polina Veksler had spent her career in finance. In 2015, the two friends combined those skill sets to launch Universal Standard, a New York-based womenswear brand built around a simple premise: every style, in every size from 00 to 40, at the same price and the same quality.

A decade later, that premise has made Universal Standard one of the few profitable size-inclusive fashion brands in the industry, built through a founding story, a funding round, and an operational mistake that all shaped the business in ways worth studying. The brand also sits among other American clothing brands that built a national reputation from a single, specific idea.

From Personal Frustration to a New Sizing Standard

The idea for Universal Standard came from a problem Waldman had lived with directly.

Two Co-Founders, Two Different Backgrounds

Waldman, who previously worked as a journalist and marketing executive, and Veksler, who came from investment banking and strategy roles, founded the company after both recognized how little well-made clothing existed for women above a standard sample size. That split between a creative co-founder and an operations-minded co-founder gave the brand both a clear point of view and the financial discipline to build a workable business around it.

Redefining the Size Curve Around a Size 18

Rather than treating a size 6 or 8 as the default medium and adding larger sizes afterward, Universal Standard centered its size curve on a size 18, closer to the actual average American woman. Every garment gets tested and fit across the full 00 to 40 range instead of scaled up from a single sample. That approach to designing for clothing brands requires more upfront cost, but it is the detail that separates genuine inclusivity from a brand simply adding a few extended sizes to an existing collection.

Building a Business Model Investors Believed In

A model built on higher production costs needed the right early backers.

Early Funding From Fashion Insiders

Universal Standard raised a 7 million dollar Series A round in 2018 from investors including Imaginary Ventures, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Matches Fashion founders Tom and Ruth Chapman. Backing from people already inside the fashion industry gave the brand credibility with retail partners long before it had the sales numbers to prove the model on its own.

From Online-Only to Physical Showrooms

The brand started as an online-only retailer, then expanded into a SoHo store and by-appointment showrooms in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Houston, and Portland by 2019. That gradual move into physical retail let customers try the brand’s sizing promise in person before Universal Standard committed to a full store rollout, a sequencing decision that reflects the same lifestyle branding discipline of building trust before scaling distribution.

Turning an Operational Mistake Into a Revenue Driver

Not every growth story starts with a plan.

The 2019 Warehouse Discovery

In 2019, Universal Standard discovered thousands of dollars in unprocessed inventory sitting in its Seattle warehouse, styles that were never accounted for in the company’s system. Rather than quietly writing off the loss, the team packaged the surplus into a discounted mystery box and sold it to existing customers to clear the backlog fast.

The Mystery Box Becomes a Yearly Event

The mystery box sold out immediately and drew far more interest from new customers than the brand expected. Universal Standard has repeated it every year since, and it now outperforms the brand’s own Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. That result shows how marketing for clothing brands can come out of solving a real operational problem instead of a planned campaign.

Partnerships That Extended the Mission

Universal Standard used partnerships to push size inclusivity beyond its own label.

Collaborating With J.Crew and Adidas

In 2018, Universal Standard partnered with J.Crew on a size-inclusive women’s collection running up to a 5X, followed by a 2019 collaboration with Adidas covering sizes XXS to 4XL. Both partnerships let much larger retailers borrow Universal Standard’s sizing expertise instead of building it internally, while putting the brand’s name in front of a far wider audience than its own site could reach alone.

Acquiring Henning to Go Further Into Plus-Size Luxury

Universal Standard later acquired Henning, the size-inclusive luxury label founded by model and advocate Lauren Chan, extending the brand’s reach into a higher price point it had not built on its own. The acquisition signals a company confident enough in its core model to grow through adjacent brands rather than only through its own product line.

Profitability and What Comes After a Founder’s Passing

Universal Standard reached a milestone few size-inclusive brands manage, and then had to keep building without one of its founders.

Reaching Profitability on Its Own Terms

Universal Standard marked its second consecutive year of profitability with 60 percent growth, with more than 80 percent of its customers returning as repeat buyers. Co-founder Polina Veksler has pointed directly to the brand’s pricing parity across sizes as the reason the model works financially, not despite the higher production cost of full-range sizing, but because of the loyalty it builds.

Continuing the Mission After Alexandra Waldman’s Death

Co-founder Alexandra Waldman passed away in September 2023. Polina Veksler has continued leading the company as CEO, building on the size-inclusivity mission the two founders established together. That continuity matters for any brand built around a specific founder’s personal story, since the community a founder builds needs to outlast any single person behind it.

What Independent Clothing Brand Owners Can Learn From Universal Standard

Universal Standard’s lessons apply well beyond size-inclusive fashion.

Build Pricing and Fit Parity Into the Business Model From Day One

Universal Standard priced every size the same from launch, rather than treating inclusivity as an add-on once the brand had scale. Founders weighing their own production approach can compare that full-range commitment against a narrower custom clothing production model before deciding how wide to launch.

Look for Revenue Opportunities Inside Operational Problems

The mystery box only exists because a warehouse error forced Universal Standard to think creatively about surplus stock. Independent brands facing their own inventory mistakes can look for the same kind of reframe before writing off excess stock as a pure loss.

Frequently Asked Questions about Universal Standard