We recently had the chance to connect with Susie Taaffe and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Susie, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I think most people are quietly struggling with the fear that there’s something wrong with them. That if anyone really saw all their shadows—the anger, the mess, the grief, the moments they don’t love themselves—they wouldn’t be worthy of love. But the truth is, at the center of every person I’ve met is a scared, tender inner child who just wants to feel safe, seen, and held. If we could see ourselves that way, we’d realize we’re already deserving—not in spite of our pain, but because of it. I think softness—not perfection—is what heals us.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Susie Taaffe, founder of Skanties – Anti-Shapewear. I didn’t set out to start a revolution—I just wanted to make underwear that didn’t make me feel bad about myself. Skanties are radically comfortable undies that let your body—and your story—breathe. What started as a personal solution turned into a global mission: to help women strip away both the physical and emotional shapewear we’ve all been taught to wear.
Skanties was born not just from a desire to make underwear that felt good, but from a woman standing at the edge of reinvention. In the wake of an unexpected divorce, with three young children and more questions than answers—Why am I here? What is actually important?—I started rebuilding from the ground up. I wasn’t just redesigning fabric. I was redesigning my life. And through years of climbing out of financial ruin, solo parenting, and reimagining what success could feel like, I learned that softness isn’t weakness. It’s a superpower.
Skanties is about softness, freedom, and reclaiming our bodies and our stories. No compression. No control. Just comfort—physically and emotionally. We’ve grown from comfy undies into a full movement of women returning home to themselves.
I’ve recently relocated from Australia to California to grow the next chapter of Skanties—especially around the City of Angels. It feels poetic, really: to root a movement about self-love and embodied truth in a place known for reinvention. But this time, the change isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about remembering who you really are.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed my worth came from what I did for others—how helpful I was, how well I performed, how quiet I could be in the background. I didn’t feel enough just as I was. I shaped myself to fit what I thought the world needed from me. And I carried that into adulthood: as a Chemical Engineer, a Masters of Finance graduate, an entrepreneur, a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a friend. Every role came with a mask I thought I had to wear. Every title, my identification as a human.
It took a long time—and a lot of unshaping—but now I know: I am worthy simply because I exist. I’m a miracle. You’re a miracle. We all are. That’s the foundation of everything I create now. Skanties is as much about remembering our inherent value as it is about comfy underwear. It’s the physical reminder that you don’t need to change yourself to be lovable. You already are.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
For most of my life, I was the high-achieving girl who never let the mask slip. I believed I had to earn love by performing, helping, achieving. But under the surface, I was a scared little girl who didn’t feel worthy unless she was doing something for someone else. I kept my pain hidden because I believed if anyone really saw it, they’d see I was broken.
The turning point came when I began to truly see others. Not the curated versions, but their inner child—the part that felt lonely, unworthy, scared. And when I could see that in them, I realized it had always been true for me too. That revelation cracked something wide open in me: I didn’t need fixing. I needed compassion. That little girl needed a hug!
I started to speak honestly, share vulnerably, and build something real from that place. It wasn’t easy at first—being seen was scary. Taking photos for Instagram was initially frightening—talking on video was even worse. But little by little I kept showing up, even when friends were discouraging, and gradually the fear began to dissipate. The desire to give others the permission I had so desperately needed to feel worthy, far outweighed the horrors I felt with sharing.
Skanties was born not just from a desire to make underwear that felt good, but to help women release the emotional shapewear we’ve all been taught to wear. Our physical products are soft, gentle, and unrestrictive—just like the message behind them. You don’t have to change who you are to be loved. You don’t have to hide your pain to be powerful.
In addition to our garments, we offer free emotional resources—like the Wings of Hope guided meditations, Reset energy clearings, and Susie UnShaped sessions. Each one is designed to help women peel back those invisible layers of pressure, pain, and perfectionism, and reconnect with their true essence.
This is what I touched on in the icebreaker question too—we are all just little children trying to find our way home. When we stop resisting that truth, our pain becomes the portal to our purpose. And we remember: we were never broken. We were just waiting to be seen.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
These days, yes—and it’s the most liberating feeling in the world. But it wasn’t always that way. For a long time, I was performing a version of myself that I thought would be more palatable, more likable, more ‘together.’ I filtered my feelings, polished my words, and only let the world see what felt ‘safe.’ I was an expert chameleon.
As someone who once felt like the shy, awkward girl on the outside looking in, I know how isolating it feels to perform instead of just be. Spending so much time being excluded gave me a wide sense of awareness to other people’s emotions. That’s why it means everything to show up now with honesty—because it invites others to do the same.
What changed everything was a shift in perspective of my people pleasing nature. I cannot remember where I heard it, but it was the premise that being a people pleaser is actually to be a liar. That in my perceived altruistic shape shifting, I was actually denying the people around me the truth. Who was I to judge the version of me that others received? This really opened my eyes.
Again this wasn’t an overnight transition—I had years of deprogramming to conquer! However I started realizing that the more real I became, the more people felt seen in their own stories. When I shared the messy bits, the moments of doubt, the raw truths—I was met with connection instead of rejection. It was then I understood that my power didn’t come from perfection, but from presence.
Now, what you see publicly is deeply aligned with who I am privately. That doesn’t mean I share everything—but what I do share is honest. It’s my heart, not a highlight reel. The public version of me is the woman I worked hard to become: someone who loves herself enough to be seen fully and offers that same invitation to others. And that’s the greatest freedom I’ve ever known.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think people might assume my legacy is about underwear. About stretchy seams, soft fabrics, or even clever branding. But really, Skanties is just the vehicle. The true legacy I hope to leave is emotional—a deep invitation for women to soften, to come home to themselves, to take off the emotional shapewear they’ve been taught to wear their entire lives.
It’s easy to miss the heart of this work because we live in a world that rewards appearance over essence. But underneath every campaign, every product, every post—I’m really just saying: You’re already enough. You don’t need to be smaller, quieter, more polished, or more palatable. I want people to remember that freedom doesn’t come from changing yourself—it comes from finally embracing yourself.
That’s why I’ve created free tools and resources alongside Skanties to support this emotional transformation. Whether it’s through Wings of Hope meditations, Reset sessions to energetically clear self-doubt, or the deep conversations held during Susie UnShaped—each offering helps women remove another layer of the emotional shapewear that’s kept them stuck.
If there’s one thing I hope won’t be misunderstood, it’s this: I didn’t create Skanties to shape bodies—I created it to help unshape the beliefs that told us we had to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://skanties.co
- Instagram: skanties & SusieUnshaped
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susie-taaffe-948a939a
- Facebook: Skanties
- Youtube: SusieUnshaped
