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.

[cerridwynn.livejournal.com]

One store that might not come up in your search for plus sized clothing is Cold Water Creek. Though it can be a bit pricy, I love their stuff. And I love, love, love that store for putting their large sizes right there amidst all the other sizes, not segregated in a corner in the back. You see a shirt you like, in a cut that might work? There it is, in sizes ranging from 2 to 2x.

(Contrast this to the Macy's in Burlington, where the plus sizes are tucked away in a corner on the third floor, hidden behind the housewares and the children's section. Talk about making you feel like a second class citizen...)

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

That statement is true not just for those in plus sizes

[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.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Oh I hate shopping for plus sizes at Macy's. It's always tucked away in a back corner away from everything else. The Macy's near me, put it upstairs in the corner furthest from the escalator. Away from all the other womend clothing behind the children's section.
The only store that's worse in JC Penney, they have somethng like four racks of plus size clothing in the MATERNITY section.

Oh and never try to buy plus size at Target, their 2X wouldn't fit a size 10.

[cerridwynn.livejournal.com]

Yeah? I've had some luck at Target in the past, though I'll agree it's very hit and miss. I think the problem is often that their styles are meant to fit tight -- which, while fine on a size 8, is not going to look so good on most women shopping in plus sizes (though i suppose that does depend. It won't look good on me, at least!).

I've never tried JC Penney -- thanks for the warning. I used to be a fan of Kohl's -- they have a pretty extensive plus size section right in the middle of the store! But lately I've found their stuff is looking pretty cheap...

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Definitely.

I think it bears repeating to everyone.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

On this trip we were very directed so we didn't even bother with department stores.

I often find--depending on the shop in question--that the shop assistants in the specialized plus sized stores are nicer to interact with.

[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.

*

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*makes a note of these*

[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.)

Re: *

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Hope they come in useful!

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know what's up with Kohl's. bedfull_o_books and I went in there not too long ago and it was quite the unexpected fail.

[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.

[sarakate.livejournal.com]

My problem with Target is their lack of consistency. I bought some knit skirts there last summer, and since I wear a 10 or 12, I bought a size L. One of them fits great! The other two make me uncharacteristically grateful for my big boo-tay, since it's the only thing preventing an embarrassing degree of slippage. I've definitely learned to try on every piece of clothing from them, even if it's the same as one I've already tried on but a different color.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's really inconsistent. I really expect clothing sizes to stay the same if all you change is the color! I don't think that's very much to ask.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

The problem with a tight fit is it results in a very small amount of tolerance for different body shapes. If the garment has been designed for a shape even slightly different from yours, it's not going to work.

When it works, it can work very well. When it doesn't, it just fails.

[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.