It’s no secret that shopping as a plus size person is difficult. As a community, we’ve aired our grievances and made several complaints regarding size ranges. While some brands have stepped their bussy up (I said what I said), others are still shooting blindly in the dark for designing inclusively.
Companies have budgets, I un-der-stand, but plus size sections MATTER
Where companies decide to put that budget is up to them — but personally, if designs don’t not come from a plus size-focused brand, I don’t believe funds are being reasonably allocated in the plus size sectors of “size inclusive” fashion brands. But that’s just me.
I come from a family where shopping and clothes is practically an inherited gene. But as I got older (and my thighs got bigger), I realized early on that multiple store stops at the mall was a necessity, and not just for the sake of a long shopping spree.
On top, I’m a size 2X or 3X and a 3X or 4X on the bottom
But to break that down more, I’m either an 18, if the elastic is generous, a 20 if the stretch is just right, and a 22 if there’s not an elastic seam in sight. However, by that point, I’m approaching the vaginal poopy pant arena if you catch my drift. And then I just don’t know. But essentially, I have to dress for each nook and cranny curve on my body, and I know I’m not alone.
While I do well to understand that my body and my shape are representative of the socially acceptable fat person, I know that there are people in my family who go bigger than I do. Plus, I, myself could use the wiggle room in the booty area.
It’s honestly ghastly (yeah, I said it) that there are even still fashion brands that stop at a 2X. A 2X?! A 2…X, my guy? In my mind, that’s the very beginning of the plus size category. Straight sizes often include XS, S, M, L, and (sometimes) XL. That’s five sizes in total, whereas plus sizes are offered 1X, 2X, and (often, but not always) 3X. The discrepancies are apparent, to say the least.
The paranoia in me thinks size exclusion is to body shame fat people
I know I sound paranoid, hence the heading, but I sometimes believe the lack of extended sizing from fashion brands is because of potentially fatphobic decision-makers. Maybe the movers and shakers behind some fashion brands only want size inclusion to an extent. But by way of the consistent 3X being the largest size overall in fast fashion, it doesn’t seem like they really want to push the bar any more forward than that. And to deny people stylish clothes because of their (over a size 3X) bodies, well, sounds like a ban.
Many fast fashion brands are still making announcements that they’re just now extending their sizes up to a 3X. But like Khaleesi said, “I want to break the wheel.”
The way I’ve seen beauty brands one-upping each other for bigger shade extensions from 40 to 50 to 60 to 100 is how I hoped fashion brands would fight one another to design for bigger sizes. Because at the end of the day, competition is good, but only when it’s for the greater good.
