Showing up Joyfully with Julie

October 26, 2025

#ChromatBABE Julie Frances is the founder and owner of Easy Peasy, a beloved queer tattoo studio tucked in the heart of Miami. Known for her playful, tender linework and affirming approach to body art, Julie has cultivated Easy Peasy into more than just a tattoo shop- it’s a community hub where queerness, creativity, and care coexist.

Photographed by Bex McCharen at The Standard, we caught up with Julie to talk about the exhilaration of plunging into cold water as a ritual of aliveness, the importance of size-inclusive swimwear, and how Chromat’s legacy of radical representation has inspired her to take up space unapologetically. Her reflections mirror the same energy she brings to Easy Peasy: the transformative joy of self-acceptance.

Julie wears the Mica Top and Bottom in navy wave

What's your favorite water activity?

I love jumping feet first into cold water to wake my system. Nothing too extreme, just something that wakes you up a little and makes you feel alive. Jumping in as opposed to gradually getting in does the trick to shake me out of anything weighing me down. There's an empowering element about committing to the plunge.

How does wearing Chromat make you feel in your body?

Chromat makes me feel sexy. In a world that constantly tells me my body isn't fit or tight enough to show off, Chromat makes me feel like I fit right in.

I feel confident and proud. It gives me the dignity and humility I deserve to feel in the only body I'll ever have.

Julie wears the Strata Suit in red ribbed and Airdrop Top in navy wave

What are your thoughts on size inclusive swimwear?

People need to be clothed regardless of their size. Period. They deserve to swim and to do it in style, just like anyone else. There’s nothing radical about that, and yet there are still people that would disagree with that. And honestly, those same, usually straight-sized people, would benefit too.

When we get used to seeing fat bodies simply existing, it can loosen the grip of body shame on everyone.

I know a lot of thin people who feel debilitating insecurity about their own bodies, because the same system that punishes fatness is also constantly threatening them with it. The goal posts are always moving and no one is good enough.

When fat people show up fully and joyfully in their skin, it can be liberating for everyone. People are scared of the power we have!

When there are no swimwear options for fat people, the message is: we don’t want to see you. Who has the right to tell anyone that? That kind of exclusion isn’t just about a bathing suit. It’s about stolen memories, stolen joy, and whole seasons of life people don’t get to participate in. That’s not okay. No one should have the power to take life and dignity away from anyone. Size inclusive swimwear is giving our lives back to us.

Julie wears the Strata Suit in red ribbed

We recently announced that after this season, Chromat would be going on an indefinite hiatus. Looking back on the past 15 years of Chromat history, what is something that sticks out to you?

Chromat challenged people in the industry to do better. It showed them that not only is it easy to dress all bodies, but it also looks better. It sells. People care about it. As the pendulum is swinging back towards conservatism and rigid beauty ideals, I do get worried that a brand like Chromat going on hiatus will be one less shining beacon to people that says "YOU DESERVE TO BE HERE".

Seeing representation of all bodies bearing it all, unashamedly, has changed my life.

I went to a Chromat pool party once and it was magical. In one afternoon Chromat showed me that while prejudice will always exist, acceptance also exists louder, joyously, and everywhere. That day at the pool Chromat told me to take up space with my community and never give it back. It solidified for me that a world exists where no one cares what your body looks like, they only care that you're showing up and making a memory, enjoying the precious time we have on this earth no matter what.