Plus Size… Style?
One of the reasons most of us are trying to lose weight is so that we never have to set foot in a Lane Bryant again. Nothing against the company at all, but I can tell you that the day I stop shopping there will be the happiest day of my life and I will run through the mall, giving sizes 14-26 the non-chubby finger. But until that day, we still need to cover our ample asses and there's no reason we can't do it fabulously.
I've been overweight the majority of my life (ugh), save a handful of starving/purging teen years, so I honestly don't know what my own personal style is. I've never really cultivated a look for myself -- I just wear what makes me feel safe, my uniform -- black skirt and some sort of top. In the last few years, I've branched out and tried more fun dresses and brightly colored looks. I even wore some leggings recently, which for me was sort of a big deal. I don't do pants in public, really. But still... I don't know what my style really is since I've never had much option of wearing things outside of plus-size clothing stores.
I do know what my look isn't. Lane Bryant is much better than most, and I do shop there, but it's not really my brand, per se. The majority of the clothing I find either too trendy (ergo, kinda ridiculous) or too old. Some might argue, but plus size clothing tends to run a bit more mature looking -- and I'm only 36. I'm not ready for that yet. In general, their clothes are cute, they just don't speak to my aesthetic... my aesthetic that I'm still figuring out.
The other mainstream option is Torrid, which on the flipside is too young for me. I like the vintage looks they have and I can find an occasional piece in there, but overall, the clothes are too youthful and a bit too pricey for what you get, in my opinion. $45 for a printed tee? No, thank you. Their stuff is cute and I do believe that with the increase in plus-size teens, it's a good niche market -- but again, some trendy items just don't belong on bigger bodies. Taking a trend that looks great on a thin person and simply blowing it up isn't always the most flattering for someone with a fuller figure. It's not sizist, it's just a fact. They do have cute accessories, though and their employees have always been really sweet girls.
I did just notice that Lane Bryant has launched another division: Loop 18, which appears to be "junior plus". I don't really know what "junior plus" entails, other than younger looking clothes. It looks to still be in 'growth-mode' as the selection is pretty slim (they have 75 items in the entire shop) and it's pretty pedestrian stuff -- I've seen similar at Walmart. (Sorry, LB, I'm not looking to alienate advertisers -- I'm just calling it like I see it. It's all constructive.)
There are a few smaller chains, but nothing that speaks to my personal style -- places like Avenue, Fashion Bug or heaven forbid, Catherine's... where muu-muus go to die.
Then you've got the plus-size divisions of Old Navy and Target, both of which yield some decent results, if even just for staples like tank tops and camis. I get most of my clothes there these days. I generally load up every spring on Old Navy sun dresses in varying colors/patterns and shelf-bra camis. It's easy and the empire waist dresses are flattering. Target used to have better options, but it seems that all the "cute" goes to the maternity section and the fat girls get left with ugly patterns and boxy, boatneck stretch tees.
What is that about, by the way? I understand that being overweight is not healthy and I've never been the "fat power" type of person, but can the fashion industry stop cooing over baby bumps for like, 5 minutes and throw us a bone? Seriously! Why are maternity clothes so much more fashionable than plus-size clothes? Do they deserve it more? Because being fat is ugly and being pregnant is beautiful? What gives, Liz Lange? Make me a dress! I won't pretend I've never bought something from the maternity department because it was cuter than what was offered in plus-size. I have a "normal" hourglass body, just bigger. There's no reason I have to wear jeans with a marsupial pouch or shapeless, boring dresses. Not all plus-size women are shaped like wheels of gouda.
Mmm... gouda.
Anyway. I have had some successes with items purchased online, where in the last few years the plus-size clothing market has really excelled. For lingerie, there's Hips & Curves or Plus Size Plum and more. For other clothes there are a bevy of options, including the online versions of everything already mentioned. So why can't I find anything I like?
I'm realizing that my style, if I had to pick one, would be more vintage or retro. That's what I gravitate to, but I worry I can't pull it off or I'll look like a fat girl in a costume. But I've always felt I should have been born in another era -- from the music I sing to thome decor to beauty looks -- I love mid-century style. And I think that's what my style is -- I've just not been brave enough to truly embrace it, mostly because I was always waiting until I lost some intangible amount of weight. The looks have also been fairly hard to find... until now!
Pinup Girl Clothing is an online shop that offers lots of retro looks -- super hot looks that I often browse and dream of wearing someday. But someday is here! Now they have a lot of plus-size options. Adorable dresses, vintage-look swimwear (to cover those jiggly thigh bits) and shoes... oh, the shoes! Not that the shoes are plus-size, necessarily, I just love them... especially these.
I think my favorite is this Edie Dress in Vintage Brush Print. I like some of the others, but that one doesn't require me to be entombed in 35 pairs of Spanx. While those models are smokin' hot, they sure don't look all that comfortable, do they? :)
I have a problem investing in plus-size clothing because I always think, "But I'm going to lose weight." and then I don't and then I still need clothes and so on and so on. But I think a lil' dress like this would be a reasonable purchase. At least I could take it in later on. (And I'd really love to get my hands on the Pinup Girl website for a redesign. Hint, hint. *cough*)
Do you have any favorite plus-size places to shop? What's your personal style like? Do you know?
They Said Stuff!
To clarify, I’m not giving people in sizes 14-26 the non-chubby finger—just the sizes themselves. :)
I recently discovered that Forever 21 (that’s right, Forever 21) now has a plus sized department called Faith21. It is also pretty trendy, but I fit into a 16 where in a am normally closer to an 18. That’s a thumbs up in my book!
They have some cute stuff! I’ll have to check some of that out… Thanks, Julia!
One more thing, my are all these “plus sized” models bottom heavy? I need to know how these clothes will work to conceal my muffin top!
Now if only these stores would come across the border. It is very difficult to be fat and clothed in Canada. Very few stores have a plus section - even our Old Navy ignores anyone over size 18 - and most of the good plus size stores in the US charge a million dollars to ship across the border, if they do at all. And what you can find here is either for an 80-year-old grandma, complete with the patterned-print sweatshirts, or the odd work clothes. Good luck finding general jeans and a top.
I’m so with you at the giving the finger to the plus sizes when I’m down. I confess I did a little happy dance when I managed to get into Old Navy’s Rockstar Jeans (size 18, but still…), before I laughed my ass off at how ridiculous they looked on me.
Have you tried… http://www.silhouettes.com/ —I like alot of their cloths and they do tend to hold up to wear/tear, which is always a plus at the price of some of the things but if you google up coupons. Whatever you pick, comes with a nice sale 9 outta 10 times.
...
And I totally understand where your coming from… My only wish was back when I was in High School, I had some of the fat girl clothing choices there is today. I was stuck with Catherine’s being in a small town, which I had to travel an hour too.
What’s really scary to me is… If you notice alot of fat girl cloths are going up to 7X now. YES! 7X! That’s scary to me, very very very scary to me.
....
But while we are talkin about plus size cloths. Can they please stop making such SHORT SLEEVES?!?! Every time I pick up a shirt lately, there’s barely even a lil cap sleeve. Yuck. I’ve restored to just buying all 3/4 sleeve shirts, which is great but come on! If people don’t want to see our fat then please make cloths that fit us better… hmm Thanks! :D
./rant off. ;)
Oh! Oh, holy geez, Julia! That Faith 21 has a Canadian store! Oh, happy day! :D
YAY, Laurie! Hopefully they’ll have something you dig. :)
Katie, I’ve not tried silhouettes, but I think I’ve heard of them before. I’ll check ‘em out!
And yes, I agree—it’s a bit terrifying that there needs to be such sizes in teen clothing. When I was in high school, I was small, a size 10 (which I think is like today’s 7… 10’s seem different now)... and of course, I still thought I was fat. *sigh* But I didn’t struggle with plus-size clothing then, luckily. When I was a kid, I was overweight, but just chubby. I didn’t really start packing on the lbs until after high school. Since then, I’ve been LB-bound.
But it scares me that there needs to be 7x for what are basically children. That should tell society something.
Katie, you bring up a good point—that dress has like, non-existent sleeves. I’m just asking for upper arm hams in that. *triceps*
Living in a small country town now, the closest LB’s and Avenue’s (which is where I did shop when I lived in NY) are quite a trip and since I’m mostly a hermit anyway, I do a lot of my shopping online. Specifically at http://www.womanwithin.com/—yeah they do have some “old lady” wear for sure and the typical mu-mu’s but they also have some cute things if you are willing to dig around. I also probably have some pretty low “fashion expectations” as you could call my style “tank top casual”—I am usually sporting a tank top and cute skirt or a tank top and capris (yes! even if they aren’t in style anymore).
@Joelle - I had no idea you didn’t wear pants out in public. this amuses me probably more than it should :D
I used to shop at LB, but there’s not one close anymore, and is it just me or is the Target plus size department almost non-existent now? I used to get all of my jeans and shirts from there, but the last few times I’ve looked I could barely find anything. In my current Target there’s a tiny section of plus size stuff against the back wall and rest of the area is Maternity and clearance. So disappointing, Target!
Now I order stuff online at Old Navy, mainly because I feel the same way about investing in clothing when you’re losing weight and ON is cheap. But they are really frustrating because their sizing is so inconsistent. It never matches their sizing charts. It’s helped a lot since they added reviews to their items, though. And I totally agree with Katie about the sleeves! I ordered a few shirts this summer that looked cute, but they were basically sleeveless so I didn’t feel comfortable wearing them. I’m glad it’s finally fall because now I can get long sleeve shirts again.
I just placed a large order at ON the other day since I need some new clothes for my upcoming vacation. It’ll be interesting to see if everything fits, it’s so crappy that they removed plus sizes from their stores, I hate not being able to try stuff on!
At least this post has given me some new ideas for places to shop. I’m intrigued by the place Mel mentioned above because their prices seem on par with ON, except all the models are positively swimming in the clothes. Couldn’t they have gotten real plus size models?
I’ve heard really good things about LucieLu (http://www.lucielu.com/). I will need a dress for an upcoming special occasion and I think I’m going to get one from there.
I was going to mention that I am all about the cheap plus size clothes. And WomanWithin has some really cheap stuff and you can always find a great coupon with %‘s off anytime you place an order. But I agree Emily, the models do not fit the clothing at all. It’s sorta funny but also annoying. If it helps at all, I find most of their stuff runs big and a lot of things have reviews which are helpful. I also like that a lot of the tops are long, because no one needs to see my bunt!
I will sing a song of “HALLELUJAH!” regarding Hips and Curves. I am officially out of their range now, (*sobs* I know it’s stupid to sob over NOT being able to wear a plus size, but I freaking LOVED this store), but I’ve dropped more money on cheeky knickers with them than any other store. Hips and Curves helped me love my plus-sized body. Cause curvy girls ROCK a corset.
I’ve got a few bookmarked that sell really fashionable, trendy plus-size stuff:
http://www.plussizefix.com/
http://swakdesigns.com/ (their prices are super reasonable)
http://carmakoma.com/en (LOVE. I confess I never did more than window shop here—but they’ve got amazing stuff)
http://www.dorothyperkins.com/ (omg. DRESSES)
http://www.evans.co.uk/ (I’ve been inside their brick and mortar stores a few times, and they’ve got SUCH cute clothes.)
http://www.topshop.com/
Oh!! B & Lu!! (http://bandlu.com/) Very reasonabled priced, and I lusted after so many of their dresses.
New York & Company is my new obsession: http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/
They carry up to size 18 and the clothes are stylish enough for happy hour, professional enough for work, and fun enough for casual days. I’ve spent half my paycheck on their accessories and (now that I can finally wear them!) belts.
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