When Size Really Matters
When Bernadette Brown goes shopping for a new outfit she usually finds herself in the same one or two stores. For her, and millions of other women like her, picking up a cute pair of jeans or flattering blouse isn’t as easy as shopping off the rack. For those who have a few extra curves, finding fashionable outfits requires time and lots of patience.
The multi-billion dollar plus-size fashion market has seen lots of changes over the past decade. More mainstream stores such as Old Navy and New York and Company have started offering clothing in larger sizes. Designers who specialize in plus sizes are gaining notoriety. Even fashion magazines like Essence feature and shows like America’s Next Top Model now include models with fuller figures. Despite these advancements, many full- figured women still feel they have very few choices.
“For someone who’s a size four, six or eight, they can find everything they need,” said Brown, a media executive in Atlanta. “For me, I have to go to one store for a top, then another store for the bottom. I have to piece outfits together. There’s not just one store for us. There’s not a trendy Gap for curvy girls.”
Even shopping for shoes can be a chore for women who wear larger sizes. When Brown couldn’t find a pair of knee-high boots that fit properly, she took her business abroad to Europe.
“I actually had to custom order boots from Europe. I had to go across the pond!” Brown said. “The boots look great and they don’t squeeze the meat from my legs.”
Another common complaint is that some stores offer clothes in extra-large sizes that aren’t crafted to flatter the figure of bigger women. Instead, the styles leave many women looking and feeling frumpy.
“These stores don’t cater to plus-sizes. It’s like they just take a smaller size and make it bigger by adding extra material instead of tailoring the clothes to fit our bodies,” said Brown. “Just because you’re holding on to some extra curves doesn’t mean you don’t want to be fashionable.”
Nnete Inyangumia has had similar experiences while shopping. She became so frustrated with her lack of fashion choices that she opened her own boutique that caters to plus size fashions. In 2008 Inyangumia opened her store, Strut, in Houston’s popular Galleria mall. She says the response has been tremendous.
“We’ve gotten so many ladies who come in and they’re like ‘Finally! Finally! Finally!’” said Inyangumia. “They’ve told me that they’ve never had this many options before. That’s what it’s really all about; it’s about having options. Women who wear other sizes, they can go to about 20 different stores. We’re limited to two or three departments that are in the back woods of the store.”
Since joining the business side of the fashion industry, Inyangumia has come face-to-face with some of the challenges of proving stylish wares for her clients.
“There are designers who only want to design for smaller sizes just like there are those who only want to design for full-figured women,” Inyangumia said. “I don’t know if the industry is changing or not, but what I’m doing is actively pursuing and seeking those people who are interested in the full figure market.”
Brown thinks the fashion industry still has some growing up to do. “Just because you’re over a certain size doesn’t mean you don’t want to feel beautiful.”
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Forever 21 will launch a plus-size line called Faith 21 May 1st
http://stylistic.clutchmagonline.com/2009/03/forever-21-launching-plus-size-line-faith-21/
I am 5’7″ weigh 150lbs with a 17% body fat. Men love my curves, especially my hubby. Only bitchy, lonely, unhappy women critique other women and their body shapes. If you aren’t a lesbian get over yourself. Flab comes in all sizes so be the best you can be where you are NOW! If thin women were most desirable then only skinny models and celebrities would be happily married. As it stands statistics say only a small minority of Black women will ever get married.
The fashion industry has never cared enough to go after that curvy dollar. Looks like a wonderful business opportunity.
Food is good. Everyone needs to be loved. Shopping is exercise so shop more!
Ihave to respectfully disagree with this article. True, in the past, there were definitely little to no options for full figured women. However, that has changed. My curvacious cuties please check out Abby Z, Mily, Lee Lee’s Valise, Igigi and Monif C as well as others. You must research. By the way, Jill Scott and Monique rock the folks I just previously mentioned.
Very interesting and true article. What i find moreinteresting are the comments.
As a plus size fashion blogger and a devout fashionista, I find that there can be a happy medium when it comes to fashion and the Curvy.Confident.Chic. Fashionista.
Having been an executive and sales professional in retail, and a size 16/18, have walked in both sides.
It is so easy to criticize what you dont know and soeasy to dismiss what you dont understand.
I have no shame with my curves nor do I hide them. Don’t get me wrong, there are fashion vistims on both sides of the fashion scale, but what makes it more difficult for the +woman are options. Knowing which resources are available to you is like finding a needle in a haystack. That is why I started The Curvy Fashionista. I spent my years researching this for my MBA and now share with all Curvy.Confident.Chic. Fashionistas where, how, and who of the Plus Size Industry.
Ladies, keep it curvy and know that things are changing and will only do so if we support and lift up one another- not abolish and excommunicate the Plus Size women into nothingness….
“Never let your curves define your style~ Let your STYLE define your Curves”
Marie Denee
curves or great, when they are put in place with muscle tone, in a healthy way!! i am tired or obese and over weight people complaining about not having clothing options, and the price!! it cost money to make huge clothing, especially if you want quality clothing in a larger size. i know not everyone is meant to be stick skinny, but no one is suppose to be overweight!!! i am sorry but obesity is so disgusting to me!!! it is a sign of laziness, lack of self-respect, lack of education!!! i know the article is about fashion, and i am not lonely bitchy, or unhappy!!! i simply hold myself to a high standard and don’t understand when other don’t!!! then again, i have been anorexic since i was about nine so i am just projecting!!!! i am currently slightly smaller than a size four and trying to get smaller. ironicly so i can wear less, and better clothing. designer samples are cheap, but tiny!!!!
but everone deserves to feel good about themselves, about this time last year i was a size 10/12 and i was so uncomfortable, i felt like fecal matter smooshed into the grooves of brand new Vuitton trainers. i got that way be cause i was actually happy for once and not actively “sick”, but then i got too big, there is no food out there that taste better than sliding into a pair of tiny, low slung, tight designer jeans makes me feel!!!! but i don’t understand how some of you can blame this one on white people. i had been thin all my life society is just now catching up i don’t feel like such a freak anymore. and trust me, only white girls on t.v are skinny, the real one look like dairy cows and beached whales,(statistics prove it )especially where i live!!!
@Maria–I never claimed that a linked article from a popular news outlet qualifies as “research.” I just wanted to put another point of view into the mix. The intended goal of the link was to highlight the copious amounts of sketchy/inaccurate information projected at overweight people, and to counter the charges made by other posters that “NO one was meant to be fat.”
Further, I never once provided an “excuse” for my personal fatness. For you to “assume” that I neither take responsibility for my own health nor recognize the relationship between poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity simply because I identify as overweight is another example of the kind of bias that the article points out. Not every fat woman is miserable, angry, or trying to prove something about ourselves one way or the other. Not every fat woman is insatiable, inactive, or unhealthy. Some of us are just living day-to-day, trying to move through the world with grace and style like so many other folk on this site.
Size doesn’t always matter. My father, skinny, died of diabetes, high blood pressure and blood clots, soaring cholesterol. We ALL need to be concerned about our health…skinny, curvy or large.
All that said; let’s face it, excess fat offers you no benefits. It slows you down, shortens your life span, and multiplies your chances of not only things listed above, but also cancer. We should honor our bodies. I’m certainly not judging anyone, I understand the struggle, trust me. After hitting my peak, I’ve come accept the fact that I can’t eat what I want, and that I have to work out. That’s just my body…I love it, but it requires maintenance. lol
Back to the article…great article. At times, a woman’s behind/full thighs alone can push her pants size to the double digits. My problem has always been being a bit too big in some places in the regular stores, yet too small for the plus size stores.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the upper body, that alone will have me shopping in 12/14 and shopping for a cheap tailor to personalize the cut.
okay, back off the plus sized women.
everyones saying ‘lose weight’
kay so, really and truly it is that simple.
but whos got the time? and, also related to time- it dosent happen overnight.
right now- they are that big. right now- they cannot walk around naked!
they need something to wear, why should it look crappy?!
and, ive always been very thin. i wear a zero, and have to order my clothes online because stores dont carry my size.
what about those girls? theres not just ‘average’ and ‘fat’ or ‘thick’ theres also ‘thin’.
I think some of the posters are failing to realize that even if a plus-sized woman is actively trying to lose weight, it won’t happen overnight. What’s wrong with a person feeling good with where they are at that moment in time? She’s not going to go from a 26 to a 6 anytime soon, so what is she supposed to wear in the meantime? If there are nice fashionable clothes being made in a wider range of sizes, she is more likely to feel better about herself as she loses the weight, instead of walking around in a shapeless potato sack or walking out of a store depressed because she’s not at the “proper” size yet. That type of reinforcement goes a long way towards helping someone build self-esteem and fend off emotional overeating which can help a person reach their goal weight.
Wow. I will have to agree with Tiffany W., and take it further, there are alot of str up evil, spiteful bitches on here. I never knew so many people hated big girls and felt they don’t even deserve flattering clothes. Females sure do know how to make ourselves sound crazy.
All this hate is a gattdamn embarrassment, definitely not showing our best selves as Black women. Show a little love, bitches. Damn
Wow….Even in 2009 ppl still find a way to sugar coat cruelty. Women should be celebrated at ANY size & just beacause a woman has a FULLER figure does not mean that she can not be health or is any less HEALTHIER!! I’m a beautiful size 14 & I can out run my size 2 cousin all day!! When we go to the gym it’s actually me who is pushing her to pick up the pace!! So, yes the world needs & must learn to accept people as they are & for who they are. Beauty is not a number it’s a essence & attitude!!
Great article. A lot of the comments are really sad. Weight does not necessarily reflect someone’s health and/or beauty. I have been small, big and then small again and I was fabulous and healthy no matter what size I was. Some of you need to grow up and enlighten yourselves. Everyone was not meant to be a size 3 and being overweight isn’t the most horrible thing in the world.
oh please, I’m tired of this redundant conversation. Some people need to STFU and stop the self-loathing and finger-pointing diatribes. Get real! Who gives a hoot about health status in this instance we are talking about construction of attire. This article is not about health its about CLOTHES!
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Lets be honest,when discussing thick/curvy vs fat people need to stop the bs. And, although this is one of the rare discussions not incorporate her, the most notable curvy argument is the use of Marilyn Monroe as being thick; the woman had hips varying between 35-36″ and was a 1960 size 12 which is a 2009 US size 4/6 depending on the store. I bring this up because when statements such as the “average American woman is a size 14″ are made by research studies, statisticians do it according to present INDUSTRY/DESIGNER/HIGH END DEPARTMENT STORE dress pattern of a size 14 which is the common size 10 or 12 garment at vanity-sized predominately American stores found at malls,which is NOT plus-sized despite the fact the average Black woman– aka the most overweight group of women in the country– is. Geez, if most American women actually wore what a lot of black women assume is a size 14 we wouldnt be having this conversation because every store would be designed for big girls! People need to get their facts straight and know what they are talking about…
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Furthermore, high fashion and haute couture will never be plus sized for a number of reasons–and rightfully so. From the cost of fabric to the clean lines of the garments to the simple reality that fashion is a shallow industry, and therefore rolls and cellulite are both distracting & visually unappealing when displaying a designer’s intricately made artwork….That said, if you are overweight you have three options in the style department:
1. Act like a real fashionista of any ethnicity-stop overeating and hit the treadmill
2. Make your own clothes
3. Continue to complain in the dressing rooms of Lane Bryant and Ashley Stewart.
All the time these women spend whining, making excuses and passing blame could be time spent at the gym so they can fit the handmade designer clothes they so desire.
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NOTE: FYI, black women are not some super human species of female that they are biologically fatter/wider than other women. Their skeletons are the same size as everyone else.
How come they wont size clothes by chest, waist, and hip instead of that phony 4-6-8-10-12-14-etc., which is never the same, consistent and has changed over the years?
i am a curvy woman and i think everyone deserves to be whatever size they are comfortable with once the person is healthy of course i also think that there should be more DESIGNER CLOTHES FOR CURVY WOMEN BECAUSE CURVY WOMEN CAN LOOK SEXY TOO
First I must address the mentioning of losing weight, why was that even brought up? I thought the article was in reference to finding NICE clothes for plus size women? Anyway I must say that I have been on both sides of the fence both plus size and miss and when I was plus size it was extremely hard to find clothes that were flattering and age appropriate that aren’t shapeless boxes. I think that a smart designer/company would expand their profits substantially by catering to a broader client base.
There are a wide range of sites that offer fashion plus size clothing. One of the best is Evans.UK.com. Evans offers a large range of plus size apparel from the UK. Walmart.com also offers a lot of nice affordable clothing online. Offline finding fashionable clothing is difficult if not impossible.