Hi everyone! I'm a college student studying retail merchandising. I'm writing my final paper on plus-size apparel retailers (and how we need more of them) and I thought I'd come here for some words of wisdom about the subject.
My main question is, how do you ladies feel about shopping at stores that combine their plus-size apparel with other offerings (i.e. Old Navy - its mostly mixed in right?), those that carry it but in a separate section of the store (i.e. Forever 21 or Target) versus plus-size only stores (i.e. Lane Bryant)? Which do you prefer to shop in? Does it matter to you at all?
Having to go to the "fat section" or "fat store" kinda sucks. Even having to ask if there's a bigger size in the back can be embarrassing. I actually won't even bother unless I'm at a size that I'm comfortable with others knowing (usually 9 or smaller). That's why I prefer stores that have all sizes out in the same place.
I rather have the sizes separated. It is faster shopping to me.
If it is mixed in where all the red shirts go here, XS - 3X or more, then I have to work at sifting to find the right one for me.
Where if they are grouped by size rather than style, I get to my size faster because I know ALL the ones on this rack are my size, and I can just use my eyeballs to find the one that is red style.
Make sense?
But part of the reason stores do it that way is because they WANT us to wander around all over the place hunting. That way impulse buyer see more and buy more.
I don't like to hunt around in Old Navy. I rather shop at Target, Lane Bryant, Macy's, etc where plus size is grouped all together in a section.
well, for me, I'm usually plus size as well as petite......so combine the two.....it's a pain. I don't like being relegated to the plus size section of the store(cause usually there's nothing petite in it anyway), I prefer stores that ONLY have plus sizes (I'm a size 16, so right in the middle) or have a petite section I can just pick whatever I want out of. It's the lack of clothes that fit my height that drives me crazy.
Old Navy does have bigger sizes, however their true "Plus Size" apparel is ONLY online, which annoys me.
I prefer going to plus only stores like Lane Bryant and Torrid, I feel less pressure, and I think they understand how to design better clothes for larger body types. Old Navy however just makes bigger clothes without adding structure or anything so everything generally just looks like a boring potato sack and does nothing in the flattery department.
I hate the "fat tax" hence why i will go to walmart or old navy because its cheaper.. in canada we have addition elle and penningtons (im not sure if theres more) Everything is triple the price even if it is just like a X (14-16) argh lol.. I dont know if it is like that in the states but thats how it is in canadaland...
oh great stuff guys, thanks!
so there seems to be two issues - the issue of convenience and the issue of going to the "fat section", which would weigh differently in each individual's mind.
Yes! Forever 21 did add a plus-size section...at least in the store by me. However, it doesn't look sized very well. But they're trying!
I find that having a plus size section makes it easier and faster to shop. My main objection is when those sections in department stores are completely away from the "skinny" clothes like on the second floor or basement. It just seems like they are hiding it away like it away or plus size shoppers aren't important to them.
It seems like the problem is not so much a lack of plus size stores or shops but a lack of fashionable clothing in the plus size departments or stores. Very few seem to carry fashionable, cute clothing.
It doesn't matter to me if I have to hunt through racks and racks of plus size clothing and it doesn't matter to me where I buy them - in a separate section in a department or a specialty store. What DOES matter, though, is that there are some good looking, good quality clothes available in plus sizes. I shop a lot with my best friend (she's a size 8-10), and there are SO MANY clothes available in her size, and they're nice clothes. We look for things for me in some of the department stores (Sears and JC Penney are notorious, in my mind!), and apparently HEAVY WOMEN HAVE TO WEAR UGLY CLOTHES because that's all they have! Terrible fabrics, terrible colours, absolutely no style. Very disappointing. We make up a huge sector of the market, and many of us have lots of disposable income to spend, and we don't mind spending it on clothes that are nice! I have yet to see anything in Torrid that's not made of polyester (I've only seen horrible clothes there!). Lane Bryant usually gets some of my money, but I really wish they'd stop changing the bra styles!
Last edited by 2annabelle; 05-02-2010 at 01:15 AM.
Ideally, I think it would be best for everything to come in plus sizes, too, and be on the racks in succession with the average sizes. But I understand that that's not really a logistical probability. With things the way they are, to be honest, I just prefer to order online. I'm embarrassed to go to the fat section or in plus-size stores like LB and Torrid.
It doesn't matter to me if I have to hunt through racks and racks of plus size clothing and it doesn't matter to me where I buy them - in a separate section in a department or a specialty store. What DOES matter, though, is that there are some good looking, good quality clothes available in plus sizes. I shop a lot with my best friend (she's a size 8-10), and there are SO MANY clothes available in her size, and they're nice clothes. We look for things for me in some of the department stores (Sears and JC Penney are notorious, in my mind!), and apparently HEAVY WOMEN HAVE TO WEAR UGLY CLOTHES because that's all they have! Terrible fabrics, terrible colours, absolutely no style. Very disappointing. We make up a huge sector of the market, and many of us have lots of disposable income to spend, and we don't mind spending it on clothes that are nice!
this is anothere sad fact about plus sized clothing....for years, the asumption was that if you were fat you were an older woman. also in stores that offer mixed sizes, the retailer gets a smaller number of larger sizes compared to small-large; usually those sizes sell out the fastest and they are not replaced.
in stores like forever xxi, and torrid, they are catering to the teenage girl's figure which is sized a differently than a fully developed woman (ist mostly in the hips).
other stores do price higher for plus sizes (walmart comes to mind). Ideally we would have better more trendy fashions to chose from without going overboard on patterned dresses. I also do not like all of the coverup styles that plus sized clothing has. I don't want to wear a blazer, shrug, or the like; i am not ashamed of my fat, i got it honestly, and I want something thats easy to move and work in.
this is a large can of worms you have set yourself
Unfortunately I'm not a designer so I won't be revolutionizing the plus-size apparel industry in terms of fit and style anytime soon. But the research I've done thus far shows how awful-fitting plus clothes are, i.e. you can't just take a size 8 and make it wider, that's not how it works! The articles I read go back to the late 80s...and it seems we've made little progress since then in providing well-fitting clothes.
My research looks more at how the plus-size shopper interacts with her shopping environment differently than average-size shoppers (if she does at all). There's a lot of interesting research about employees in plus-size retailers, and how their size relates to the whole experience. But that's a whole different issue!
Its such a potentially lucrative business, I really don't understand why Old Navy and Ann Taylor etc. are moving their lines to online-only. To be exact, 43% of women bought plus-size clothing last year! That's a lot of money!
Hmm..yes it is annoying that my friend can shop at stores I can't..but same to her....something she might like is plus size only..it's happened before..so it's like a wash.
I hate that dress that I like are $65+ dollars min..while her's maybe $20 max. However, isn't clothing/sizing at least one of the reasons why you want to lose weight? If all clothing designers decided to make super cute clothes up to 100 inches wide...would we be more comfortable in our unhealthy weights?
I recently found some awesome dresses that are Japanese Lolita style..but after examining why I really liked them...it was more than just cute fabric and structure...it was that the dress was accentuating the model's figure...which would not happen on my Michelin man spare tire!
I really need to lose weight and I'm trying to a little at a time, so the above was not geared to stomp on any toes
Yes, my dd (12) and I went to the mall this weekend. She told me "I think they designed this place to make me feel like crap."
In every trendy store that actually carries "plus" sizes, the largest thing I found was an XL t-shirt that would literally fit someone who weighs half my weight.
She wants to spend my money on their brand, but their selection or the lack thereof, well, we ended up going to a department store and looking over the women's rack, most of which appears to be designed for the over 30 crowd.
What dd would like, is for the clothes to be all on the same rack, arranged by size from XS to XL or larger, so that she didn't have to visit the "fat" part of the store while everyone was watching. And what I would like, is for an extra large shirt to fit an extra large person.
When I was plus sized, I preferred to shop in stores where I could wear anything in the store so basically stores like Lane Bryant. I'd still like a similar store hah but right now there are just too many choices.
Question about plus-size stores
