Fashion Is For Everyone, Even The Plus Size

All woman deserve to feel good and look gorgeous, irrespective of the size tag of her dress. Women sizes seem to be increasing, but the fashion industry has not yet adjusted to the changes. Although most US women are the plus size group, plus size fashion has only a minor share of the apparel market.

In 1985, the typical woman in the US wore a size 8. Today, the medium size for women is a 14. In fact 65% of US women wear size 14 or above. Regrettably 14 is the size that often marks the distinction between a standard it and a plus size fashion fit. Consequently women who are a US size 14 and above frequently experience a lack in trendy, good quality fashion, across the board, from high street stores to luxury brands.

Manufacturers and retailers need to wake up! Women’s love of fashion does not end at size 14. The plus size fashion market is developing. According to the market research firm NPD, plus-size clothing was worth $17.5 billion in the 12 months ending April 2014 and that was in the United States alone.  Although this profitable market is growing, it is still one of the most underserved parts of the fashion industry.

Plus size departments in large stores are often small spaces hidden at the back out of sight. Mature sized women do not feel good about shopping there. There seems to be some sort of stigma attached to it. The styles on offer are severely limited, less adventurous and not at all trendy. In fact I find them rather frumpy and not at all stylish or inspiring. They definitely are not designed to flatter my figure anyway.

I find a large purse can cover my bulges and make me look fabulously trendy

Plus size fashion rarely appears in advertisements or shop windows so plus size women do not get exposed to the same inspiration as standard women. There has been some move for plus size models to be featured on the covers of some fashion magazines and a few brands like Calvin Klein have used fuller figured models in their campaigns but overall there is not adequate advertising of plus size fashion. 

Luxury fashion brands are especially bad in servicing the needs of the larger woman. I have found that many designers and manufacturers only produce their products in small minute sizes. I have a friend who is so thin that a puff of wind would knock her over. I go with her frequently on shopping extravaganzas where it is nothing for her to spend a thousand dollars on a pair of jeans. The Versace and Channel brands for example look great on her and fit her like a glove. She enthuses the shop staff who keep items aside for her. But in all the time I have frequented these types of shops with her, I have not found one item which would fit me, a size 14 to 16.

So why is the fashion industry disregarding the plus size market? It is estimated that 65% of US women wear a size 14 or higher, so why are more fashion houses not grabbing the plus size opportunity?  Is it because of the additional costs incurred with designing and producing larger sizes? Do manufacturers lack the means to provide a wider range of sizing? Clearly, the major difference between plus size and straight-size fashion the is fit: larger sizes require new proportions and body shapes and, thus, creating plus size clothing can be more difficult as well as more costly. It is not just a matter of scaling up a pattern from size 8 to 16.

Or is the issue a more fundamental one than that. Do the luxury companies not want their brand names linked to larger women? Is it not kosha to be over sized? Do they consider that providing plus size fashion will have a damaging effect on their brand image? Is the fashion industry disregarding plus size consumers out of some sort of old fashioned elitism? Is the plus size fashion industry stigmatized, with a negative impact? This is a moral debate which would no doubt be disputed by these brands.

As a society we need to move away from idolizing the twiggy woman and get back to the renaissance art era where the voluptuous women was cherished, valued and admired. Manufacturers and retailers need to get their act together and change their range of sizes to suit more women. Providing for diversity in consumers must be a profitable move for both customers and brand image alike.

Addressing the needs of women of all sizes must have many business benefits. According to Susan Koger, co-founder of ModCloth, “just adding clothing in a size 16 and above has boosted her business and it is now the fastest growing category. Her sales in size 16 and above have doubled year on year. She has also found that those buying size 16 tend to buy more. If a larger person finds a brand that has trendy styles which cater for their fuller figure they are likely to spend up large and buy several items they possibly would not find anywhere else.  She also found these select customers are also much more likely to spread positive feedback about their purchases on social media.” All good for growing sales!

She advises other fashion brands should increase the size ranges as well, so as to tap into this huge market opportunity, and at the same time make women feel good “Fashion is for every body and manufacturers should produce and sell beautiful clothing for all women.”

If you are a plus size like me, you are undoubtedly discouraged at the lack of choice.  Only a small proportion of fashion products are presently available in larger sizes. In spite of the fact that the ordinary American woman is a size 14, products in this size simply do not exist in many clothes lines. Larger women want to wear the same trendy styles that their smaller sisters do.  But in one independent third party survey of over 1,500 women on the state of the clothing market, 92 percent of women sized 16 and above said that they got disappointed when they couldn’t find trendy clothes in their size. In the same survey 82% of women said that they would purchase more clothing if more trendy choices were available in their size.

And it is correct, the plus size market opportunity is there. I know how often I have seen a dress or top or pants I really like, only to be disillusioned that they do not fit. I am on the borderline of sizes – some 14's fit other don’t. Which brings me to another argument – sizes need to be better standardized within the fashion industry. An 8 should be an 8, a 16 should be a 16. Manufacturers need to make sure that clothes fit properly and that they are proportioned effectively across all sizes.

Plus size fashion needs to provide for the needs of the women with a fuller figure. It should be visible and reflect the up-to-date fashion trends. The clothes must look good, feel good, be great! Remember that fashion is for everyone, even the plus size.