Fashion

When Size Really Matters

Sunday Feb 15, 2009 – By Misty Starks

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.”

emily says:

April 20, 2009 at 6:31 pm

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’.

↑ Reply

SMH says:

April 27, 2009 at 9:32 pm

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.

Kim says:

April 30, 2009 at 2:53 pm

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

Ms. Lolli says:

May 23, 2009 at 12:03 am

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!!

TruthHurts says:

May 28, 2009 at 3:18 pm

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.

ibreathefashion says:

May 29, 2009 at 9:21 pm

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.

Betty Chambers says:

July 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm

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?

nysha says:

July 31, 2009 at 1:56 pm

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

Lady says:

August 3, 2009 at 12:03 am

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.

1984 says:

August 17, 2009 at 3:36 pm

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.