A few thoughts after accompanying a friend on a clothes shopping run.

[randomness]

• Doing a search for "plus size clothing" "store locator" can get you a quick list of chain stores to try, although some of them may be a little far away.


• Just because Ashley Stewart bills itself "for the plus-size urban woman" doesn't mean you shouldn't be willing to go to Roxbury or Mattapan to check it out.


• Torrid has its own sizes for tops, but not for many other items.


• Going to Lane Bryant last can often help your budget.


• It's not that your body is the wrong shape, it's that the clothes are cut wrong for it.


• Weekdays out of shopping season are an excellent time to go clothes shopping.

There's probably more but it's all that occurs to me just now. As always, this was fun.

Edit: This is probably also a good place to add a link to Lee Lee's Valise, though it was also a bit far for this particular expedition.

Comments

[donnad.livejournal.com]

It's not that your body is the wrong shape, it's that the clothes are cut wrong for it.

YES YES YES!
I swear people who design and make clothing for women have never actually looked at the shape of a woman.

The other thing I encounter is larger women have to deal with ugly patterns and colors. And whoever thought ruffles looked good on big women is sadly mistaken. I'm big enough I don't need a flounce of ruffle to make me look bigger.

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

That statement is true not just for those in plus sizes

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Definitely.

I think it bears repeating to everyone.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Oh! (I'm assuming you mean the statement about the clothes being cut wrong, not the one about ruffles. Ruffles have their place, I think.)

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

Yes, about the cut. I realized the depth of screwed-up-ed-ness of women's clothes sizes once on a shopping trip with ladybird97. We were both reaching for the same sizes at the Gap despite a 7 inch difference in height and a proportionate difference in shape.

On the other hand, I realize why this happens. The more size configurations, the greater the inventory carrying costs and the greater the need for educated consumers and sales staff. I just wish that brands and stores were more explicit in the figure they size for and that more brands catered to a diversity of figures and shapes.

Ruffles are a personal choice--I have opinions on their place on me, but I agree that they have their place for others.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

The more size configurations, the greater the inventory carrying costs and the greater the need for educated consumers and sales staff.

Sure.

Men's clothes generally have more size configurations but fewer available varieties of styles and colors. It had never occurred to me that those two characteristics might be related.

I just wish that brands and stores were more explicit in the figure they size for and that more brands catered to a diversity of figures and shapes.

That really would be useful. Again, my impression is that men's clothes often cater to more diverse body shapes: dress shirts, for example, usually have two size measurements per garment, as do trousers.

Two measurements is itself a great oversimplification, but it gives many more permutations than one.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I look great in some ruffled designs, but not others. So I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I suppose it all depends on the ruffle. I have large enough shoulders and chest that putting a large ruffle there make me look like a tank, A small subtle ruffle along a neckline isn't bad.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

The nice thing about checking out a variety of shops online is that you can get an idea of what sorts of lines they carry before walking in to the store. For example, Deb was rejected because their look seemed to be for high schoolers and below. It might be the right place for someone else but it wasn't what she was looking for.

[sarakate.livejournal.com]

I swear people who design and make clothing for women have never actually looked at the shape of a woman.

They certainly give that impression. And it does seem to be extra-bad with (though certainly not limited to) plus-sized women -- for instance, they don't just make things wider, but size *everything* up: sleeves get longer, the distance between shoulders and bust darts gets longer, etc. Apparently we're supposed to get taller when we get fatter -- who knew? Because the actual women I know really don't gain much weight, say, across their shoulders.

Someone recently pointed out eShakti to me, and I'm very intrigued -- apparently you can customize to your measurements for really an absurdly small charge, and you can change details like putting wider straps on a sundress so bra straps stay covered, making a skirt longer or shorter, etc. And the stuff is cute, at least in pictures! I'm definitely going to check them out the next time I need a new dress.