I think a combination of factors influences consumers in the plus-size segment. Until my mom discovered Lands' End she pretty much gave up on petite-plus clothing. Plus size clothing also tends to be more expensive than their regular-size versions, which I think is unfair and further alienates consumers. I don't think that stylish plus-size clothing is well-advertised, so the idea of shopping is discouraging when it seems there are limited options.
Post by notsocreepylurker on Aug 21, 2014 14:56:37 GMT -5
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt.
I am also not a fashionista. I shop at Catherine's so I'm pretty much an old fugly lady.
And while I am on my soapbox - I used to LIVE in Lane Bryant. Stylish, young, fun clothes that FIT! YAY! Decent quality too and not toooooooo expensive when on sale (or when I worked there for the discount). I have clothes in my closet from 10+ years ago from them that still look good. But I also have stuff I bought there in the last 5 years that are worn out, ripped, holes, etc. The price has gone up, materials are worse and quality has gone way down.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt.
I am also not a fashionista. I shop at Catherine's so I'm pretty much an old fugly lady.
And while I am on my soapbox - I used to LIVE in Lane Bryant. Stylish, young, fun clothes that FIT! YAY! Decent quality too and not toooooooo expensive when on sale (or when I worked there for the discount). I have clothes in my closet from 10+ years ago from them that still look good. But I also have stuff I bought there in the last 5 years that are worn out, ripped, holes, etc. The price has gone up, materials are worse and quality has gone way down.
This is why I primarily buy CJ Banks clothes for anything professional. It's cheaper than Lane Bryant but still tolerable quality and actually cut to fit plus size, rather than simply being a larger size.
Since Eloquii came back their selection has sucked. I haven't bought a thing from them, but I bought several things before they closed. I am also poor and fat and struggle to be able to purchase high quality clothes for a decent price. I realize plus-size clothing takes more fabric, whatever, but should it really cost me twice as much for something because it cost you 50 cents in extra fabric? I mean, come on. /rant over
Plus clothes are expensive! I'm right on the border of regular/plus and I'm petite. That makes it difficult to find things at certain stores. I just went to Macy's and bough myself a dress, a blazer, and a bra. For the same price, I bought my DH--5 pairs of slacks, 4 dress shirts, and 3 ties. Professional clothes are even more expensive. I've stopped buying clothes that are poor quality. After a couple of washes, they would fall apart--and they weren't even cheap.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt. .
This is definitely a problem. I am a size 18 & have an hourglass shape. Everything either looks like a shapeless sack, or is empire waist & flattering, but looks kind of maternity. I'm also 6'2". Tall plus size clothing is almost an oxymoron. It's incredibly frustrating. The problem was significantly worse when I was a 20-22. I can kind of eke by with "regular" sizing sometimes now, which opens some options. But my choices were very limited once I crossed out of the teens sizes.
I know there are a variety of shapes of women in smaller sizes, but they also have infinite more choices to seek out flattering cuts. We have to take it or leave it with a comparably tiny selection. When I find something that fits, I buy multiples & end up practically wearing a uniform.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt. .
This is definitely a problem. I am a size 18 & have an hourglass shape. Everything either looks like a shapeless sack, or is empire waist & flattering, but looks kind of maternity. I'm also 6'2". Tall plus size clothing is almost an oxymoron. It's incredibly frustrating. The problem was significantly worse when I was a 20-22. I can kind of eke by with "regular" sizing sometimes now, which opens some options. But my choices were very limited once I crossed out of the teens sizes.
I know there are a variety of shapes of women in smaller sizes, but they also have infinite more choices to seek out flattering cuts. We have to take it or leave it with a comparably tiny selection. When I find something that fits, I buy multiples & end up practically wearing a uniform.
I had the same problem when I was wearing a size 18. I have a problem with waist gaps at any size but I found it to be incredibly frustrating that I could not find clothing that even suggested that I might have a real waist. Everything looked like shapeless and dumpy on me and I felt that I looked bigger in plus sized clothing because I could not highlight the one small part of my figure.
Post by statlerwaldorf on Aug 21, 2014 15:28:48 GMT -5
I have a hard time spending a lot of money on clothes because my weight fluctuates so much. I'm always hoping to be a different size by next year, so I don't invest in expensive pieces that might not fit in the future.
I also hate when retailers carry their plus sizes online only. I buy more when I can try stuff on in the store.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt.
This. Plus size basics are so freaking expensive. It's crap quality but Old Navy is a good example. Looking at basic t-shirts between the "regular" sizes and plus the plus are more expensive but they're the same crap quality.
I think part of the problem is how much plus size is only available online. It's hard to buy new items online when you're not really sure what size you need, since there seem to be such big differences in sizes between brands, and you can't just try it on, you have to order it, wait for it, try it on, and then deal with returns if it doesn't fit. I tried to order jean from Old Navy once and got the size I normally wore and they were ridiculously huge, like clown car huge. And there's no old navy near me so the only return option is dealing with the post office. If people had more options to go into an actual store and try stuff on I think many people would be more willing to branch out to other brands, styles, etc.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt.
I am also not a fashionista. I shop at Catherine's so I'm pretty much an old fugly lady.
And while I am on my soapbox - I used to LIVE in Lane Bryant. Stylish, young, fun clothes that FIT! YAY! Decent quality too and not toooooooo expensive when on sale (or when I worked there for the discount). I have clothes in my closet from 10+ years ago from them that still look good. But I also have stuff I bought there in the last 5 years that are worn out, ripped, holes, etc. The price has gone up, materials are worse and quality has gone way down.
That's some of the problem--I have huge butt and thighs and a small ribcage and waist--there's a lot of variation.
Plus clothes are expensive! I'm right on the border of regular/plus and I'm petite. That makes it difficult to find things at certain stores. I just went to Macy's and bough myself a dress, a blazer, and a bra. For the same price, I bought my DH--5 pairs of slacks, 4 dress shirts, and 3 ties. Professional clothes are even more expensive. I've stopped buying clothes that are poor quality. After a couple of washes, they would fall apart--and they weren't even cheap.
I am also in that regular/plus no man's land, and in some ways, it was easier when I was 30 pounds heavier, because I could get my stuff at one place and there was less guess work involved. I got exceptionally lucky a couple weeks ago, when I was able to get a whole suit in the actual store at Dress Barn, since I needed a 16 jacket, but a 14W skirt. I used to get a lot at LOFT, which has turned from cheap but acceptable to complete and utter shit in the last year or two, and Ann Taylor, which now also appears to on the decline. But not being able to find 16s and 18s in stores drives me just wild. And none of the size charts online are remotely accurate.
I think the challenge for clothing designers is that the larger the size, the more variation there is going to be in body type, because you are dealing with different heights and different ways of carrying body fat. But their solution - to design only muumuus with three quarter length sleeves - is a cop-out. I hate three quarter length sleeves. They are the universal sign of fat people clothes.
If clothing companies can make different fits of jeans (curvy, straight, etc) for different body types, so why can't they do that for more articles of clothing? The first retailer who comes out with a line of say, button down blouses in three different fits will make a fucking killing.
let me tell you some bullshit about ON - i buy a few pairs of jeans once a year. as in two pair of jeans once a year and wear those fuckers out until the next yearly jean purchase. i am a 16 in jeans at ON. i find the 16 short sweetheart cut jeans that i like in a medium wash that fit decent. i grab the same thing (16 short sweetheart cut) but in a dark wash and that motherfucker fits me entirely different. IT SHOULD BE THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING JEAN. SAME JEAN.
My problem is sometimes the plus size version of fashion is literally just a larger size/cut of the non-plus size. That doesn't fit me -- I have a STOMACH and TINY legs. I need clothes designed for plus size - curves and all -- not just larger cuts of thin girl clothes. Also I am poor and cannot afford $40 for one tee shirt.
I am also not a fashionista. I shop at Catherine's so I'm pretty much an old fugly lady.
And while I am on my soapbox - I used to LIVE in Lane Bryant. Stylish, young, fun clothes that FIT! YAY! Decent quality too and not toooooooo expensive when on sale (or when I worked there for the discount). I have clothes in my closet from 10+ years ago from them that still look good. But I also have stuff I bought there in the last 5 years that are worn out, ripped, holes, etc. The price has gone up, materials are worse and quality has gone way down.
This is a problem across the board, not just in plus sizes. I've noticed this with several clothing manufacturers that I always thought of as being high quality, and I've heard the same from friends about other clothing lines.
I think the sad reality is that no one, regular sized, plus sized, petite, etc can buy something off the rack and have it be amazing. Because there are such a wide array of body types out there many people have to resort to using a tailor, which I know is cost prohibitive.
I also think the price issue is a double edge sword. Didn't someone post the other day a link to a woman complaining about how she's a 00 and shouldn't have to pay as much for clothing as an 8 or a 10? I may have been ML.
let me tell you some bullshit about ON - i buy a few pairs of jeans once a year. as in two pair of jeans once a year and wear those fuckers out until the next yearly jean purchase. i am a 16 in jeans at ON. i find the 16 short sweetheart cut jeans that i like in a medium wash that fit decent. i grab the same thing (16 short sweetheart cut) but in a dark wash and that motherfucker fits me entirely different. IT SHOULD BE THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING JEAN. SAME JEAN.
I am plus-sized and it's so difficult to find things. I did find though a really good alterations person. When I find things I like, but which don't flatter me as much as I want, she is so good at pulling it in and letting it out where it needs to be. It isn't really very expensive, though I would probably pay a huge amount for nice-looking clothes that fit well.
let me tell you some bullshit about ON - i buy a few pairs of jeans once a year. as in two pair of jeans once a year and wear those fuckers out until the next yearly jean purchase. i am a 16 in jeans at ON. i find the 16 short sweetheart cut jeans that i like in a medium wash that fit decent. i grab the same thing (16 short sweetheart cut) but in a dark wash and that motherfucker fits me entirely different. IT SHOULD BE THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING JEAN. SAME JEAN.
RAGEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's a common issue with cheaply made clothing. What happens is that clothing manufacturers cut multiple layers of the material used at one time. The cheaper the clothing, the more they cut at a time to increase productivity. Think of it like cutting paper. You're going to be much more accurate cutting 3 sheets of paper than trying to cut 20 because as you cut through, the paper bends, etc so the top layer can be a completely different template than the bottom.
So yeah, at stores like that, it's all about trying on to make sure they've been cut consistently - or at least cut in a way that fits how you expect.
Also, forget being a woman who is over 5'8" attempting to buy any pants larger than a 16 in a real store where you can try them on.
Honestly, I'm on a major mission to get down to a size 10 for a lot of reasons but one of the biggest ones is that at 5'9" and a size 18 I have to order everything online and it blows.
let me tell you some bullshit about ON - i buy a few pairs of jeans once a year. as in two pair of jeans once a year and wear those fuckers out until the next yearly jean purchase. i am a 16 in jeans at ON. i find the 16 short sweetheart cut jeans that i like in a medium wash that fit decent. i grab the same thing (16 short sweetheart cut) but in a dark wash and that motherfucker fits me entirely different. IT SHOULD BE THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING JEAN. SAME JEAN.
RAGEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's a common issue with cheaply made clothing. What happens is that clothing manufacturers cut multiple layers of the material used at one time. The cheaper the clothing, the more they cut at a time to increase productivity. Think of it like cutting paper. You're going to be much more accurate cutting 3 sheets of paper than trying to cut 20 because as you cut through, the paper bends, etc so the top layer can be a completely different template than the bottom.
So yeah, at stores like that, it's all about trying on to make sure they've been cut consistently - or at least cut in a way that fits how you expect.
Yup -- that's what we were told when we worked at LB.
Women's sizing in general is awful. I know we have hips and shit, but come on. Why do guys get to buy pants with waist and length and we get neither?
I am both in between regular and petite for length and regular and plus for size. I can find no clothes. Also, why is a 14 plus bigger (like, quite a bit bigger) than a regular 14 even in the same damn brand?
I just remedy all my problems by wearing clothes I used to fit into 25 lbs. ago that are now very ill-fitting but free. I'm probably not the customer they are looking for...
14 and 14W are different sizes. 14W is plus size so it is cut bigger than a 14. 14W is what is in the plus size section. The rule of thumb used to be if you were a 14W then you could wear a normal 16 or vice versa.