# Where do the really large women find their clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277 "2012-08-12T16:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/21 "2012-08-14T19:32:19Z")
I’ve never been in one but I always assumed that [Dress Barn](http://www.dressbarn.com/womens) was a place were women as big as a barn went to buy cloths. 😃 Guess not, they only cater to size 24 and below; even have petites. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/22 "2012-08-14T19:35:28Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I’ve never been in one but I always assumed that [Dress Barn](http://www.dressbarn.com/womens) was a place were women as big as a barn went to buy cloths. 😃 Guess not, they only cater to size 24 and below; even have petites. Ignorance fought! Women larger than size 24 have Dress Barn Woman. No, I’m not making that up. The spouse and I always thought that was a particularly insulting name for a plus-size store. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/23 "2012-08-14T20:19:03Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Women larger than size 24 have Dress Barn Woman. No, I’m not making that up. The spouse and I always thought that was a particularly insulting name for a plus-size store. So big girls actually have to go to Dress Barn in person and cannot order cloths online? 😕 Seems it should be the other way around as I would suspect that many larger girls would prefer to try on cloths at home in private. Something not right with that business model (that and the name). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/24 "2012-08-14T20:21:01Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > So big girls actually have to go to Dress Barn in person and cannot order cloths online? 😕 Seems it should be the other way around as I would suspect that many larger girls would prefer to try on cloths at home in private. Something not right with that business model (that and the name). Women of every shape and size have body issues. Women of every shape and size can love their bodies too. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/25 "2012-08-14T20:25:53Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Women larger than size 24 have Dress Barn Woman. No, I’m not making that up. The spouse and I always thought that was a particularly insulting name for a plus-size store. They don’t have Dress Barn up here and I was surprised to see that their clothes are actually pretty nice. What a horrible name though! ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/26 "2012-08-14T22:54:17Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The [Old Navy size chart](http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/sizeChart.do?cid=3102) has 30" at 12. [Land’s End](http://www.landsend.com/_size_charts/core_12_sizechart_wmn_pants_shorts.html) has a 30" waist as a size 10. [Champion sports apparel](http://www.championusa.com/wcsstore/opencmscontent/CHPWEB/content/CHP_WomensApparelSizing.html) has 30" at size 12. This is the reason that I haven’t purchased pants from the women’s department in years…while there is some variation in men’s pants due to manufacturing processes, it’s much easier to consistently find things that fit and look nice. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/27 "2012-08-15T06:16:04Z")
> [@astro](#): > > About 20 years ago there was some scamming tycoon who went bust and was jailed, and his wife spent many, many thousands at this now defunct store. [Old Court S&L?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Court_Savings_and_Loans) May not be what you were thinking of but that’s my guess… ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/28 "2012-08-15T12:23:38Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > So big girls actually have to go to Dress Barn in person and cannot order cloths online? 😕 Seems it should be the other way around as I would suspect that many larger girls would prefer to try on cloths at home in private. Something not right with that business model (that and the name). It might be how they’re treated. I used to work with a woman who weighed about 400 lbs. We went to a movie and lunch one time, and decided to do a little shopping, and the mall had a plus-size boutique, quite upscale. She asked if I would mind stopping and I said of course not. The staff treated her like dirt. I was shocked. I would be shopping online too, if that’s the way I’m taken care of in a store that’s supposed to be all about me – and a pricey store, to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/29 "2012-08-15T12:38:06Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Women of every shape and size have body issues. Women of every shape and size can love their bodies too. Didn’t say they didn’t love their bodies, but why would they be denied the option of buying online if Dress Barn caters to them? That’s what I find strange, a business model based on selling cloths to larger sized women doesn’t allow them to order online while allowing smaller sized women to do so? Seems like a bad business model is all I am saying. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/30 "2012-08-15T22:02:50Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Didn’t say they didn’t love their bodies, but why would they be denied the option of buying online if Dress Barn caters to them? That’s what I find strange, a business model based on selling cloths to larger sized women doesn’t allow them to order online while allowing smaller sized women to do so? Seems like a bad business model is all I am saying. It may be that the larger size clothes don’t sell as well online. Although smaller women are not standardized (the same size can be a different shape), this problem increases with larger sizes. Some large women find it very difficult to shop online, because they need to know how the clothing will fit their particular body. On fashion message boards, large women often complain about the opposite problem – large sizes only being available online – because they feel that they need to be able to try clothes on before purchasing. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/31 "2012-08-15T22:14:36Z")
Another couple of places are Roaman’s and The Avenue. Roaman’s goes from 12W to 44W. I think Avenue goes from 12W-32W but I could be wrong. To make things even more annoying, places like Macy’s women’s department have clothes that are cut different (and smaller) than places like Lane Bryant and Roaman’s. So a size 22W or a 2XL at Macy’s, for example, will be smaller than the equivalent size at LB. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/32 "2012-08-15T22:24:12Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Women larger than size 24 have Dress Barn Woman. No, I’m not making that up. The spouse and I always thought that was a particularly insulting name for a plus-size store. There was a yoga/gym that catered to large women named Baleen. How is that for insulting? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/33 "2012-08-17T03:20:26Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > [Old Court S&L?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Court_Savings_and_Loans) > > May not be what you were thinking of but that’s my guess… [Yes Here is the story](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/27/AR2006112700867.html) - His wife Karol was so large she was almost as big as a circus fat lady and the angry people who had been taken in the collapse of his bank called her names outside the courtroom when she appeared. > [@](#): > > Early on the morning of July 2, 1986, gray gloom pressed on Baltimore like a steam iron, promising terrible heat and humidity. At 9:30, the appointed time for Jeffrey to appear, there were only 15 people in the public viewing stands in the back of Judge Edward J. Angeletti’s small, dingy courtroom. To no one’s surprise Jeffrey’s wife, Karol, was not one of them. She hadn’t gone to the pleading either. It’s one thing to stand by your man when he’s wrongly accused, or when you look like Maureen Dean. It’s another when the locals hoot at you as if you were a sideshow freak. ---
**Author:** ![Jaclofo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Jaclofo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaclofo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/34 "2012-08-19T04:15:41Z")
What about for men… Are there any shops that sell \*x shirts, for example? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277/35 "2012-08-19T05:20:16Z")
> [@Jaclofo](#): > > What about for men.. Are there any shops that sell \*x shirts, for example? Casual Male Big and Tall and Rochester are two that I’ve seen in my area (San Jose, CA). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-the-really-large-women-find-their-clothes/631277.md?page=1)