Why don't clothing designers appeal more to plus sizes?

In My Humble Opinion
21

This is actually something I say pretty much every time I go to the mall. I’m definitely a fatty and have to buy my jeans at Lane Bryant or Torrid (usually Torrid, as I love Paris Blues Jeans), but even with my big ol’ boobs, I can wear an XL (sometimes a L**) shirt from most stores. So, while I love seeing new, well made, well priced plus size fashions, I can at least get some of my shirts elsewhere if needed.

That said, you’re right: it makes no fuckin’ sense that there aren’t more plus sized stores. At the mall here in Bakersfield, there is Torrid and Lane Bryant. Lane Bryant has incredibly poorly made, over priced, often poorly cut clothing that either is incredibly skanky or incredibly frumpy. There is absolutely no middle ground at Lane Bryant. Most of the stuff at Torrid is either too punky or waaaaaay expensive.

Old Navy recently stopped carrying their plus sized line in store, though their regular line goes up to 2XL in tops and I think 16/18 (a snug 16/18) in store. Gap also carries up to a 2XL in tops and a 16 in jeans in store.

Anyway, it makes no sense to me that these are really the only options because, as you say, most folks are fat nowadays. It just makes sense that the designers (and I don’t mean Prada, I mean the folks working at, say Victoria’s Secret or Express or even Old Navy) would want to cash in. Why Victoria’s Secret doesn’t sell over, like a (smallllllllll) 38 D blows my mind. Even funnier is that on their website they do sell plus sized clothing and lingerie, though a limited selection.

And WhyNot, I have a few babydoll tops. They come in handy on those days when I wash my jeans, they shrink in the dryer, leading to a muffin top for the first hour of wear. Plus, the baby doll tops are super comfy. I get loads of compliments when I wear those shirts, so I think it depends on the body type. I have a definite hour glass figure- big boobs, wide hips, small waist. I’m also short-torso’d so I’m sure that helps.

**I learned something: rich people like to delude themselves into thinking they aren’t nearly as fat as they are. So, when I go into the Saks 5th Avenue Outlet (which is AWESOME, btw) in Las Vegas, I can fit into a Large shirt from almost all of the sections. I don’t fit into a $10 Large from Old Navy, but I do fit into the $150 (marked down to $20, that’s why I bought it) Large T-Shirt from YSL. Go figure.

22

I think this may hold true more for rich women than rich men: when your pants are sold by “waist and inseam” and your shirts are sold by “neck and sleeve,” there isn’t as much room for fudging. :smiley:

Sincerely,
OneCentStamp
middle class guy and reluctant wearer of 38/30 pants, whether from Neiman Marcus or JC Penney

23

You know what? I don’t want to hear it from you, Mister. When you walk into a store and have to guess some arbitrary number, trying on 50000 pairs of jeans just to find one that vaguely fits, we can talk. I wear a 16 in one store, an 18 in another, a 14 in another, an XL in another, etc. and so forth. At least you have logical, actual numbers to go off of.

24

No, I totally feel for you. Most of the women I’ve talked to about it would much rather have men’s-style sizing (waist/length/cut) than the mess of guesswork they currently deal with - maybe not proudly displayed on the back like a pair of men’s Levis, but otherwise yes. :slight_smile:

PS - “XL?” How crass! :eek: :stuck_out_tongue:

PPS - If you’re between a 14 and an 18, you aren’t fat. In fact, you’re probably teh hottne55. :cool:

25

Some of the jeans I bought when I was a smaller teenager (Size 11 and 13. . . freakin’ teenage, odd numbered sizes) had the size right on the ass tag. I never understood it, but it didn’t bother me. Anyone can look at me and realize I ain’t a size a size 6.

And while I appreciate your admiration for my wide ass, I assure you it is definitely fat. I’m not delusional and I realize I’m not at the healthiest place for my body. That said, I definitely agree that someone can be hot at my size or even bigger. It’s all about your attitude and I assure you, I think I’m super hot. :wink: :stuck_out_tongue:

26

If I said “cite,” you think they’d tell us to get a room? :smiley:

27

You guys are kidding, right?

You have a plethora of “Big N’ Tall” and “Full Figured” stores to shop at - they carry designer gear, don’t they?

You even have special vocabulary to define your choices.

Where’s the Mr. Skinny Little Freak store, huh? Nah, we make do with “small” sized shirts that have breast pockets that tuck into your pants, and collars that are the same size as those on the XXL shirts. All the hemming in the world is no help at all.

(I’m not really that resentful.)

28

Well, there you go. It’s in the shape, not the size. My hourglass is short! I’m not short, I’m 5’6" (5’7" in the morning after deep tissue massage), but I’m very, very short waisted, so that sort of underbust thing works in my favor, giving me the illusion of the longer torso that’s trendy right now.

29

There’d better be room for three in that room, because I want one too.

30

Of that, I’m not entirely sure, but I do know that many actual higher end, designer stuff runs incredibly small, even in men’s sizes.

And in that vain, another thing I always find interesting is how wide the men’s sizes in most stores are. Even in Macy’s, it seems that the spread for men’s clothes is everything from 28-30 inch waist to really, really big. Within that spread, there are tons of neat clothes of cool styles. I regularly see clothes in the mens section ranging from XS to XXL or even bigger. Go into this misses section. You’ll find lots of sizes 0-8, then a few 10s, 12s, and 14s. If you need anything bigger, off to the frump-a-fied women’s section you go. What, you’re 21 and don’t want to wear a sweater with a sequin kitten playing under a Christmas tree? TOO BAD! Sucks to be you**, fatty.

As far as specialized stores, like I said, there’s Lane Bryant and Torrid (most places don’t even really have Torrid). As for your skinny needs, the I’m fairly certainly places like the Gap, Express Men, Banana Republic, etc. cater to your needs-- they cater towards leaner men, it seems.

Oh and you freakin’ hyenas, my sig has links to journals and MySpace that have pictures proving my wide-load status. Knock yourselves out. heh
**And me. :smiley:

31

I’d hit it, then get your name tattooed on the nape of my neck.

32

Well, that’s just romantic. Though, I’m from Bakersfield, we have an entirely different perception of what is romantic here.

33

Hey… I have dress pants with elastic in the waistband. (I’m a guy). My pants sometimes, uh, need to grow a bit. I resisted at first, but now I love them. There are a lot of men’s dress pants with the elastic very well hidden. It’s a sort of sleeve system, not the obvious accordian of yesterday’s elastic trousers. You can tell if you look close, but by the time my waist it at someone’s eye level, I think the presence of elastic is no longer an issue.

34

Honestly I didn’t know you were plus-sized Diosa. Color me surprised.

If you are a size 18, you carry it very, very well.

I’ve been to Torrid with my girlfriend. One thing I can’t remember if they have there is shoes for plus-sized women. There are also many women that don’t have tiny little chinese concubine feet, but want to wear pretty shoes- its tough for them. Torrid is an interesting place. Color me insensitive, but when I go there with my girlfriend I like to see how big their underwear/bra sizes get. Holy moly- some of those bras are like two motorcycle helmets strapped together! But I guess it is nice that the underwear styles they have for the skinny mini type girls are also available for the, uh, not so skinny, nor very mini at all girls. My girlfriend is on the bigger side but I think she likes going there because with the range of clothing sizes she is on the ‘petite’ end of the ‘X^x L’ sized spectrum.

35

Thank you for the compliment, Incubus. I’m a firm believer that one of the biggest problems I see among my plus sized sisters is that they don’t really try. I’ve talked to a few of the other plus sized girls I know and they always say something like, “Why bother spending all this money on makeup or hair when I have this gut?” That’s a silly philosophy, if you ask me. Being fat doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself. So yeah, I do put a lot into having well cut, well fitting clothes, and taking care of my hair and makeup. I think that really helps with how people overall perceive me.

And yeah, Torrid actually sells down to a size 11 jeans, I think. Lines like Baby Phat run small, so their size 12 is probably really a size 9 or 10 (Baby Phat is sold in Torrid).

My biggest complaint about Lane Bryant (I figure this is the place to throw this in) is the sizing of the chest area that they do. In some shirts, my (smaller) D cups are just SWIMMING in a mass of fabric. I mean, many of the shirts they sell are just HUGE in the chest and made for girls with what I can only assume are F cup chests. I’m not flat chested, so it’s amazing that the shirts are so huge even on me.

Then, you’ll try on another shirt and it will be so omgfreakin’ tiny in the boobs that I can’t pull it over, even if I get a size too big! A lot of their lingerie type nighty things are like this-- teeny tiny little chest cups.

Freakin’ Lane Bryant.

36

I think the shirts that are small in the chest are for women that are fat but have small boobs. It isn’t a terribly flattering proportion but women do indeed have this (more gut than boob). I’m sure clothes that fit it well, however, probably go a long way in minimizing it.

I like your attitude on how women should carry themselves. My girlfriend had this attitude and I think it helps her look so great/sexy despite her own size and flaws.

37

Oh, for sure I don’t doubt that there is a market for that sort of thing, it just blows me away that there is rarely anything between tiny chest and omfg huge. I’m a D, I’m not flat chested, and yet I have trouble finding shirts in Lane Bryant that will fit my chest. Curse the world! heh
And thank you :). I’m glad to hear your girlfriend has a similar philosophy. I think it really is important how you carry yourself, because that’s a huge portion of how people perceive you.

I once read an incredibly unscientific article in Glamour or some similar magazine where they made a big billboard on the side of a truck that had a girl that was probably a size 14- she was wide, but had no stretch marks, nice boobs, and was squishy but didn’t really have rolls or even a belly-- in a bikini.

One day they put the billboard out with the words, “I think I’m fat and ugly, what do you think?” And they polled the people walking by. Most people agreed that she was more or less fat and unattractive.

The next day they put the billboard up with a sign that said, “I think I’m sexy, what do you think?” Most folks agreed that she was sexy.

Incredibly unscientific, but really interesting regardless. I always remember that when I’m in a room of super attractive, fit girls. Hell, most of those girls are probably as insecure about their bodies as people twice their size.

38

They often are which would be hysterical if it weren’t kind of sad/ironic.

39

Well, I don’t know from guys’ clothes, but as soon as I start seeing lots of really nice stuff, I know I’ve wandered into the petites department.

There are NOT a plethora of “full figured” stores for women. NOT.

40

Ugh.

Re: heavy bottom, flat chest - that’s me, right there. A few years back I went through some bad times and wound up gaining over 50 lbs, pushing me up to 237 at my highest point - and ALL of it was in my belly, hips, thighs, and even back. Bra-wise, the only change was in my band size - I went from a solid B cup to a C. That’s it. GODDAMMIT, IF I’M GOING TO BE FAT THE LEAST I COULD GET WAS A DECENT RACK IN THE DEAL!!!

grumblegrumblegrumble