The past week has been an incredible learning experience. I’ve gotten things wrong, a lot.

I’ve also done a lot of digging - trying to educate myself on things I ignorantly believe didn’t affect me.

I just wanted to hop on here and say hi, it’s still me Ashley, and sharing my experiences transparently has always been my a part of who I am. As a white privileged woman, I strongly feel that talking through and sharing this process of “unlearning” with other people who look like me is extremely important if we want to ignite change.

We are having extremely hard but important conversations here, and if we don’t have them now... then when?
I’ve been sitting with an uncomfortable feeling since I started digging in to systemic racism. That feeling of discomfort hasn’t gone away, and I don’t expect it to.
I want to apologize for being silent in the past when I shouldn’t have. I’ve been buried far too deep into my cozy white bubble and it’s disappointing, to say the least, that it took watching the murder of George Floyd to get me to wake up and do something about it.
I just got off a phone call with my management team and editor, and I wanted to make you aware of how serious we are taking this revolution. We are in the middle of auditing the brand relationships we have and where they currently stand in regards to diversity, ethics, and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

We are changing things up a bit internally and re-evaluating how we share fashion content and from what affiliate platform, if any, and doing our due diligence to be sure we are only partnering with brands who are working towards change actively and ethically. I am so grateful to be already working with a team who feels as passionately about social injustice as I do.

I’m working on writing a mission statement for House of Dorough and a more in-depth look at what my goals and missions are as a board member for @strugglestostrengths, as well as an advocate for marginalized women.

Those who have been following since the beginning, I want you to know that House of Dorough isn’t going anywhere. We will still be talking plus size fashion, body image, confidence, style inspiration and motherhood. But as always, it will be through a transparent lens, which moving forward may look a little different than what you’re used to seeing. One way that will look is continuing to share permanent images in my feed from Black creators. I appreciate each and every one of you and am so thankful for the conversations we are having. 🖤🖤🖤 #blacklivesmatter