As a plus-sized woman, I am no stranger to the shopping struggle. I couldn’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent trying to fit into a pair of pants that just isn’t going to fit, or trying to find a dress that doesn’t accentuate all the wrong curves. Usually, clothes shopping ends in tears or anger and more times than not, I’ve not found anything. Prom shopping was a nightmare, and it took me weeks to find a dress for my high school graduation. I know I’m not the only one who has these issues-- many of my plus-sized peers have felt the same struggle when shopping.
So what’s the issue?
Well, it stems from a few different places. First, there’s just a simple lack of availability. Very few stores include extended sizes in their labels. Some stores, such as Target and Forever 21, do have a separate line of plus clothing, which while being progress can still cause problems. If you look at Forever 21’s website, there are 140 dress options for plus sizes. This seems like a lot until you notice that 1,358 different dresses for “regular” sizes. There are similar discrepancies in every other category that the store offers. Likewise, at Kohl’s, there are 233 plus dress options to the 1064 regular options. To me, this is absolutely unacceptable-- why should size be a barrier to cute, affordable clothing? Why don’t more stores offer a wider variety of extended sizes?
Another issue that the plus fashion industry faces is the lack of representation in modeling. Sure, there are some notable plus models, such as Tess Holliday or Ashley Graham, but a lot of models who claim to be plus-sized are actually sizes 12-14 or even smaller, which are not considered extended sizes. These women are beautiful, and I don’t mean to say that they shouldn’t be modeling or pushing for plus clothing, but it can be just as damaging to body image for women see these models and think they aren’t the “right” kind of plus-sized. This just adds to the stigma that surrounds extended sizing in clothes.
What, then, is the solution?
I would argue that the best way to combat this is to oust “extended sizing” and “plus size” at all. If you think about it, it doesn’t make any sense; I mean, what are we adding to? Size 14? You have to plus something to a 12 to get a 14, so isn’t every size a “plus” size? They are just sizes, and that’s what they should be called. Dropping the label “plus” would do wonders for the industry and the body image of women everywhere.
Of course, I want to acknowledge some clothing campaigns that have worked! 2016 saw a great deal of body type diversity brought into the clothing industry. Forever 21 expanded F21+ quite a bit. JCPenney introduced a plus-only brand, Boutique+, and Target now offers plus brand Ava and Viv. These accomplishments are huge. However, we have to keep pushing for sizes to embody everyone. I’m sure you’ve heard this statistic, but I’m going to throw it at you again-- the average American woman is a size 16. If that’s the average, then why are average-sized clothes so hard to come by? I’m hoping that as we go forth into 2017 and beyond, plus labels become a thing of the past, and we see inclusive sizing across the board.
