"Plus size" women are consumers too...
I have always had a keen interest in fashion. As a child, I would alter Barbie's mass produced clothing, into custom, one of pieces, and spent hours drawing and story boarding my dream wedding gown. I loved the glamorous world of designers, and models, and up to the minute trends.
Throughout my childhood, I would follow my mother around the shops, in her mission to find clothing which was both tasteful and affordable. Not generally a problem, unless you are "plus sized" or "fuller figured", which she was. I would generally be embarrassed as my mother would exclaim, "oh look, they have got some nice fat clothes here," or as she would loudly declare, "just because we are fat, does not mean we want to buy a muumuu!" But she was right. Any sense of fashion ended with a size 14. Retailers who stocked sizes into the 20s were extraordinarily rare, and as such, charged a fortune for simple articles of clothing. Women who were "plus sized" were given very few options when it came to purchasing their clothing.
There was a fantastic article published in The Age, Disappointing negatives hamper the catwalk's plus side, where it was noted, even in 2011, that the calibre of clothing designed and created for larger women is well below the standards for "normal" women. Why is it so hard for designers and retailers to understand, that plus size women are consumers too?
I am not going to weigh into the debate about healthy body image, or how promoting plus size models is damaging to the serious messages about obesity and active lifestyle. I will save that for another time. The simple fact is, that women of all shapes and sizes need to buy clothing.
I recall an interview with the Australian designer, Peter Morrissey in the 1990s. He chortled at the suggestion that he should in fact make clothes larger than a size 8, clearly stating that he did not make clothing to 'fat people', as his clothing just didn't look good on them. I know there are a plethora of other designers, both domestically and internationally, who share this opinion, but this very flippant statement came at at time when I, in my teens, was facing some serious personal body image issues. His scathing words have stuck with me all this time. As they say, an elephant never forgets.
And so it is with a smirk that I admire the large, Morrissey sign at Big W. For someone who does not make clothes for fat people, must be quite a bitter pill. For, not only does Morrissey now deliver budget conscious clothing to the masses, it does so up to a size 16. By all means, Morrissey's change of heart is appreciated, but it is just such a terrible shame that it took financial ruin for him to realise that "plus size", "fuller figured"," chicks like me, are actually willing to spend money to look good. As such, they should be respected as consumers, and not be forced to settle for mediocrity in their fashion, with clothing provided by designers who begrudge providing stylish clothing to average sized Australian women.
According to a national sizing survey in 2010, the average size of Australian women is a size 16. But here is the rub. Due to a lack of any kind of standardised sizing for women.s garments, it is possible for a woman (I will use myself as an example here) to be anywhere from a size 16 to a size 12, depending on the store. So this inconsistent sizing is compounding the issue for women to source and purchase clothing.
Well done to the wave of retailers now, who actively seek the business of women who are size 14+. No longer relegated to the far corner of a retailer's floorspace, woman are able to walk into shops such as Big City Chic, and Autograph, knowing that they will not experience a size-ist, Pretty Woman-esque moment, unlike in many other retail outlets. One retailer who takes this further is Volupture , who not only sells some very cute items for size 14+, but who also writes a blog, detailing how even plus size women can look their best.
Retailers need to understand that it is in their best interest to provide a quality product, and a quality experience, to all customers. Fashion designers, and retail buyers should seek to better understand the vast array of women who are looking to spend their hard earned cash on fashion that will make them feel good about themselves. With the globalised marketplace, and multitude of online purchasing options, there remain very few women who will continue to enter boutique clothing outlets, only to be stared down by a young, slender, and indifferent shop assistants.
For designers, buyers and retailers to continue to ignore the purchasing power of plus sized, real sized, women, would be a "big mistake...Big. Huge." :)
Throughout my childhood, I would follow my mother around the shops, in her mission to find clothing which was both tasteful and affordable. Not generally a problem, unless you are "plus sized" or "fuller figured", which she was. I would generally be embarrassed as my mother would exclaim, "oh look, they have got some nice fat clothes here," or as she would loudly declare, "just because we are fat, does not mean we want to buy a muumuu!" But she was right. Any sense of fashion ended with a size 14. Retailers who stocked sizes into the 20s were extraordinarily rare, and as such, charged a fortune for simple articles of clothing. Women who were "plus sized" were given very few options when it came to purchasing their clothing.
There was a fantastic article published in The Age, Disappointing negatives hamper the catwalk's plus side, where it was noted, even in 2011, that the calibre of clothing designed and created for larger women is well below the standards for "normal" women. Why is it so hard for designers and retailers to understand, that plus size women are consumers too?
I am not going to weigh into the debate about healthy body image, or how promoting plus size models is damaging to the serious messages about obesity and active lifestyle. I will save that for another time. The simple fact is, that women of all shapes and sizes need to buy clothing.
I recall an interview with the Australian designer, Peter Morrissey in the 1990s. He chortled at the suggestion that he should in fact make clothes larger than a size 8, clearly stating that he did not make clothing to 'fat people', as his clothing just didn't look good on them. I know there are a plethora of other designers, both domestically and internationally, who share this opinion, but this very flippant statement came at at time when I, in my teens, was facing some serious personal body image issues. His scathing words have stuck with me all this time. As they say, an elephant never forgets.
And so it is with a smirk that I admire the large, Morrissey sign at Big W. For someone who does not make clothes for fat people, must be quite a bitter pill. For, not only does Morrissey now deliver budget conscious clothing to the masses, it does so up to a size 16. By all means, Morrissey's change of heart is appreciated, but it is just such a terrible shame that it took financial ruin for him to realise that "plus size", "fuller figured"," chicks like me, are actually willing to spend money to look good. As such, they should be respected as consumers, and not be forced to settle for mediocrity in their fashion, with clothing provided by designers who begrudge providing stylish clothing to average sized Australian women.
According to a national sizing survey in 2010, the average size of Australian women is a size 16. But here is the rub. Due to a lack of any kind of standardised sizing for women.s garments, it is possible for a woman (I will use myself as an example here) to be anywhere from a size 16 to a size 12, depending on the store. So this inconsistent sizing is compounding the issue for women to source and purchase clothing.
Well done to the wave of retailers now, who actively seek the business of women who are size 14+. No longer relegated to the far corner of a retailer's floorspace, woman are able to walk into shops such as Big City Chic, and Autograph, knowing that they will not experience a size-ist, Pretty Woman-esque moment, unlike in many other retail outlets. One retailer who takes this further is Volupture , who not only sells some very cute items for size 14+, but who also writes a blog, detailing how even plus size women can look their best.
Retailers need to understand that it is in their best interest to provide a quality product, and a quality experience, to all customers. Fashion designers, and retail buyers should seek to better understand the vast array of women who are looking to spend their hard earned cash on fashion that will make them feel good about themselves. With the globalised marketplace, and multitude of online purchasing options, there remain very few women who will continue to enter boutique clothing outlets, only to be stared down by a young, slender, and indifferent shop assistants.
For designers, buyers and retailers to continue to ignore the purchasing power of plus sized, real sized, women, would be a "big mistake...Big. Huge." :)
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