I hate online shopping for plus clothes and having the only sample picture be the non-plus size version and model. I won't buy it. I need to see it on a bigger girl to get an idea. Not everything sizes up from normal size quite right.

But what is plus sized?

When I was finishing HS. I was on the verge of needing plus size. I was a 16. I could fit the top regular size and the smallest plus sizes. I weighed 178 pounds.

Now I weigh 185ish and wear a size 10 - nowhere near plus sized clothes, but does that mean I'm not plus-sized now? Really?

Go back even further in time and I would FOR SURE be plus size as when I go to those vintage stores, even the XLs don't fit me! I would have been considered plus size with no doubt.

So, is it the fashion world is out of touch or are we out of touch with what is plus sized?

Have we gotten so used to seeing REALLY heavy people that only slightly pudgy ones seem normal when 20 years ago, a chubby woman was a chubby woman.

Plus, when you take into account vanity sizing, today's size 20 was probably a size 14, 50 years ago. Maybe a 14 should be considered plus size.

There is no way in this instance with the OP's picture post that the model is anywhere near plus size. No way, no how, no matter what spin we put on it. Just my opinion.

Yeah, I love how plus size clothing is often shown on thin, or overly thin people. I rarely see models used that even look plus size - maybe a little hip and booty curve, and a decent sized top, but not really plus size.

Yeah I have to agree. She would be considered plus-sized here where I live, amongst average people and not fashionistas.

I think it's crazy that in the fashion industry, plus size is considered 12+. I know a girl who wears size 14, simply because she is tall and "big-boned"...literally. Not an ounce of fat to her. And yet she's considered plus sized. Doesn't make sense.

See, I've started to look at it a different way and I kind of have to as I am built larger than average and there are women built larger and taller than me.

When I was in college, I had a good friend who was 6' tall. She was SUPER thin with a completely flat stomach, but she was also large framed. She wore a size 14-16 and she didn't have an ounce of fat on her anywhere (she was a former HS basketball and volley ball player). I also wore a 16 and I looked a bit chunky.

Those are today's size 12s (approximately).

What I learned from that is plus-sized doesn't only mean plus = fat. But Plus = bigger than average and that could be in fat or in height or in frame size. Bigger is bigger. It's just how it LOOKS in the clothes that will be different. The public thinks of plus size as fat - that is just simply not true.

HOWEVER!!!

What I DON'T get is how a woman wearing a 12 is considered a TODAY's plus size and wearing today's plus fashions when plus sized clothes don't start until 14W. If you can't fit a plus size designed outfit and would need a custom made smaller outfit to model it, then it's a misrepresentation of the design and fit of the outfit.

Sorry, but there is no way, not years ago, not now, not ever that this "plus size" model is even considered "chubby", and I am talking about the way she is shown on this ad. Her legs are great, not chin, normal size arms. She might be tall and tick but not chubby or big at all.

I also think that it just doesn't matter what sizes used to be years ago, we should go by today's standards and this woman in no way, shape or form is wearing a 16 size dress.

I read today that most "plus size" models are actually 6-12. Why not use somebody that is a 18-20... Make clothes look good on those types of bodies and they will probably have a better chance to sell the product.

But plus size doesn't mean chubby. It just means plus size which could mean extra tall, extra large build, etc.

This part I agree with and mentioned it in the above post. If the model can't grab a size off the rack in that outfit (14W being the smallest) than she shouldn't be modeling the outfit and in today's sizing very, very, very few women who are not overweight in the chubby sense wear 14W and up.

I think she may look to the "eye" as a skinny woman. And yea! She does have a great body and everything. But to the fashion world, she is a plus size woman.

Since I'm one of the older posters (63), I can remember when bread was a nickel and eggs were.......oh wait, that was my grandpa.

This whole thing with plus size being 12-14 is ridiculous. Growing up, the "normal" woman's size was a 12 to 14. Of course, that was before all the vanity sizing started, but this woman is not plus size.

It's another example of the ridiculous expectations put on women around body image. I was just thinking that men might have Big and Tall, but the suggestion there is that if you're extra tall, you might have to wear a bigger size, but you can carry the weight because you're tall. I can't remember ever seeing an add for men's clothing that was "plus size."

Normal is relative to area, gene pool etc. At my thinnest, I wear a plus size. I'm 6 feet tall. Most women aren't. That woman definitely has a larger frame than most of the fashion models that you see.

The other thing I find is - and feel free to roast me over the coals, I can take it: The clothes look better on her than on a truly plus sized woman in most cases. And the sellers are aware of that. They want people to buy the clothes thinking they'll end up looking that good - not seeing what is most likely going to be the result.

I definitely agree with what you're saying in the second part. I love fashion and I'm really into it........like real into it.......I'm trying to get into fashion school honestly.

I think our ideas on what is plus sized are skews cuz we're use to seeing really large people. 12+ is plus size and plus size doesn't necessarily mean fat. Theres a big difference between a slender fit pear shaped woman with a flat stomach and an actual fat size 12. I'm a 10-12 and I am fat and borderline plus size. I'm not going to be outraged over it or try to deny it , I am fat, as are the majority of the women that are my clothing size (not all obviously). We are plus sized. To think only women 18 or 20+ are plus sized is ridiculous in my opinion, thats like morbid obesity for a lot of body heights and shapes. Do we really have to be morbidly obese to be plus size??