For the longest time, shopping in the plus-size section of any store left you with minimal options. Skinny jeans became mom jeans, and little black dresses became black ankle-length dresses. Forget finding a just a plain black shirt, because let’s face it, it is not plus-size unless it has a floral design.
“I can remember trying to find an outfit for a semi-formal in high school and only able to shop at one store. This store tailored to women over 40 years old and was terrible,” says Victoria McGroarty, owner of Gussied Up, a plus-size clothing boutique in Toronto.
At one point, you had to sit and wonder, did fashion designers know that there are people whose thighs just don’t fit in a size six dress? Who made this universal rule that plus-size women were not allowed to wear skinny jeans?
“Plus-size clothing has always been a taboo subject among fashion designers. Although the average woman wears a size 14, designers and even regular stores refuse to carry anything above a size 12,” says McGroarty.
When the average woman wears a size 14, it doesn’t make financial sense to ignore this segment of the market, she says.
Based on the terrible conventions that were associated with plus-size women, shopping has become somewhat of a taboo for McGroarty and many others.
“Finding clothes that were fashionable, affordable, and yet still managed to flatter my body seemed impossible,” says McGroarty. “It is assumed that anyone who is above size 12 has given up on all things fashion and prefers to wear matronly cover-ups.”
Stores who only cater to a size chart that stops at a size large greatly limits the amount of consumers that walk through their store on a daily basis. These stores send out a negative message to anyone who cannot fit into their size-eight dresses: you are just not skinny enough to shop here.
This distinction of body types alienates body types that are not the “ideal.” If men’s stores can make sizes that go up to XXL and women’s store that have sizes starting at XXS, why can’t they make sizes that go up to XXL for women as well?
There is a clear market out there for the larger sizes, yet a lot of the stores won’t carry them, says McGroarty.
The reasoning behind this logic becomes unfair. It creates a binary in the shopping world while simultaneously dictating what certain body types can and cannot wear. If a woman of a larger body-type wishes to wear her little black dress, she should be allowed. She should not be stopped or discouraged by retail stores who say this is just not possible.
This is why it becomes important to pay attention and credit stores that carry clothes that cater to all body types. Stores such as Gussied Up, Forever 21, H&M, and Old Navy all offer clothing sizes that exceed your traditional size large.
“We have spending power but feel completely neglected by the industry. We are curvy, we are beautiful, we want fashion to catch up,” says McGroarty.
Gussied Up offers clothes that go beyond floral prints, mom jeans, and flowy shirts. They welcome the little black dresses, skinny jeans, crop tops, and pencil skirts. These clothes are affordable, comfortable, and most importantly, fashionable.
The ability to feel comfortable in your body is not always an easy adaptation. While fighting off societal expectations, your confidence may plummet and your own personal critique can make becoming comfortable with your body a tiresome and evergoing process.
However, when you walk into a store and see that bigger sizes are offered, you feel elated. At last, someone has recognized that voluptuous girls deserve to feel beautiful in the clothes they wear and in the way the feel.
The fashion world is developing. It is going from being super inclusive, to exclusive, recognizing that there is not just one body type, but many, and every body type deserves clothes that fit their unique figure.
The world of plus-size shopping does not have to be as intimidating and stressful as it once was. Slowly but surely, the fashion world is opening up the realm to women of all sizes. The nightmares of walking into the shopping mall and leaving empty-handed have turned into magical real-life dreams.
So, go ahead ladies, rock that little black dress or your big comfy sweater. Always know it is you who dictates your fashion worth, no one else.
Cristina Maria Lupoi
Contributor
