lane bryant models....
 

Ok, just thought this was kinda funny and wanted to point it out. I was always under the assumption that Lane Bryant catered to larger women (14W-44W to be precise), but I couldn't help but notice when I looked on their online catalog today, that all of there models look like regular sized models (under size 14 that is) and they just look like they are swimming in the clothes that they are modeling. I mean really is that supposed to make us want to by these clothes??? Are they saying to us "hey if you buy these look at how tiny you will look in them" :lol: hahahaha, yeah just wanted to rant about that to someone.

I hate that!! As if there arent plus size models out there they could be supporting!! I have a love/hate relationship with Lane Bryant... they have cute stuff sometimes, but its so expensive! Who wants to pay 15 bucks for a pair of panties??

Many times LB is the only show in town for younger styled clothes. I personally think the quality of much of their stuff is crap, but some of the foundations pieces are good. People are willing to pay their prices...good ol supply and demand. If I had any business savy, there is a HUGE (pun intended!) market out there for size 12+.

Okay, so I'm not an expert on modeling or anything, but what I've picked up from watching America's Next Top Model (I know, a great source of info :p ) is that similar to "regular-size" models, who are waaaay smaller than normal people, plus-size models are smaller than plus-size people. A regular model probably wears a size 0 or a 2, while the clothes they are modeling are sold to people who wear size 6-10 mostly. A plus-size model wears a 12 or 14, while their clothes are sold to people wearing 18-22 or thereabouts. Also, the plus-size models have to be in good shape, be kind of muscular, and not have blobs of fat hanging out.

I wish we could just have models who look like normal people, but the industry doesn't seem to work that way.

Perhaps Lane Bryant should be like Walmart and use their employees....it would certianly make me feel better!

lane bryant is so goofey even their maniquines and dress forms in the stores are a size 12 but they don't even sell size 12 so they pin the clothes tighter and they always look nice. but then you try it on and its l ike so unfitted and gross. but I do get my jeans there because their boot cut low rise jean is pretty nice.....what can you do.

Originally Posted by Tinker:
Who wants to pay 15 bucks for a pair of panties??

I ditto that one! And I find that when I go into their stores, the sales people are "over-the-edge" pushy." :mad:

Granted, if I want something nice to wear, I will typically go there, a they do have a bit more selection for overweight gals.

On occasion, I will find something nice at JCPenney.

I have to say, my husband has even made comments about their catalogs having skinnier women modeling the clothes. He's like "that's not what it's going to look like on someone bigger."

Also, 2 more cents I must add: I've bought a few "lemon" items of clothing there, as well.

Anyone shopped at Catherine's???

DISCLAIMER: This post is ONLY MY OPINION!!

I must admit that the ONLY clothing I will buy from Lane Bryant is the underwear!! The panties ARE outrageously expensive, but they're almost always buy 3 get 3 free, plus they used to have good coupon deals on top of that (although I've noticed lately that their coupons suck).

But, and I'll probably get jumped on for saying this, their clothes are too "slutty" for me. I guess I'm just a prude, but I don't like shirts cut down to my stomach. I know I should be proud of my looks, but sheesh, Lane Bryants (or at least the ones around here) carry clothes that show so much skin.

Before my friend lost all her weight she shopped for WORK at Lane Bryant and I was just amazed at some of the clothes she got there to wear in her profession (she's a chemical engineer). They were so lo-cut and showy.

I much prefer Catherine's to Lane Bryant because the clothes are more "mature" and professional to me. BUT BUT BUT I do like the clothes that are carried in the Lane Bryant catalog!!!! Sears has also improved their plus-size clothing in the last few years. I like some of the larger Dillard's stores, too (actually, I'm a Dillard's shop-a-holic), if they carry Tommy, Ralph, etc. My local Dillard's, though, only sells "old lady fat clothes." I still find stuff there I like!

And since this has turned into a soapbox ramble, I'll sign off now!

:) :) :) :)

P.S. This old prude (yes, I realize how I sound) is 29-years-old.

I'm not fond of LB using thin models for plus sized clothes. I feel a little sorry for the models sometimes trying to make mother hubbard clothes look good. My beef with LB is the tacky fabrics and styles and their poor workmanship. Also their pricing games. They often try to make you feel something is discounted when it isn't, then add "shipping and handling" charges. I do buy from them from time to time, usually when they have free shipping or some other kind of discount. For better quality, I order things from Making It Big, a plus size catalog. Their somewhat pricey, but they use "real" plus size models and their clothes are high quality. There's another Plus Size catalog, Plus Woman, that's worth checking out. They use real models and will make clothes to order. They adjusted the sleeve length on one item I ordered. That's a real plus for me.

When I saw this post, I thought you were talking about Torrid, lol.. I'm still half-asleep.

I've never been to a Lane Bryant, but I checked out the website. I assume some of it's the retouching on the photos, but it's still annoying. I just wouldn't shop there, it's too expensive anyway. Worse than Hot Topic. :P

4MySelf: I agree with you on the slutty thing. I can't stand any of it, especially when I try to go shopping. All I ever see in the junior's section are cleavage-bearing, transparent tops and super-low-rise short shorts, not that many of the people that shop in the junior's section even have cleavage. And then there are those shirts that say things like, "Tell your boyfriend I said thanks," lip & heart pattern included, and "Hottie." Ahem. Sorry. I'll stop.

I agree...LB has lots of slutty looking clothes. They are far from flattering on larger people. From what I know of Torrid, they are even worse. And the cheapest crap of all is at the Fashion Bug. Talk abotu poor quality! My gripe with Catherines and LB catalog....those clothes are all old lady looking bags! You rarely find anything with any real cut to it. They are all so shapeless. I will shop all over and mix and match pieces, but have most luck with Nordstroms, Dillars and Foleys.

Originally Posted by ingrid:
From what I know of Torrid, they are even worse.

Oh yeah, Torrid's pretty bad. I don't shop there, just heard of 'em 'cause of Hot Topic. They've got entirely sleeveless shirts, Playboy merchandise, short skirts.. I hate it all. >:(

Thats the one thing I always disliked about LB. Now Torrid is a company i can respect as a plus size woman. Most of their employees (about 90%) are plus size, and they only use their employees as their models. Sometimes they'll get Mia Tyler as a model or some other professional, but not often. They even have contests for their customers to be a model for something.

Some day I'm going to buy the Wonder Woman underwear/sleep set from Torrid :) I also like their character t-shirts. Torrid's sizes suck, though. I wear a 2x (well I did) and when I bought a cookie monstor T from Torrid I had to buy it in a 3x and it was still too "fitted." In retrospect, I think that was how it was supposed to be, but, in addition to being turned off by cleavege baring clothes, I also hate to show off my fat rolls. :o

Of course, now that I've grown out of all of my clothes but have no $$ to buy new, I'm wearing skin-tight all the time :devil:

Ich.

I have a good friend that used to be a plus size model in NYC. She was never over a 12-14 and is 5' 10'' with a tiny waist and no unsightly rolls the rest of us have. Basically a genetic exception. Of course she felt HUGE at her agency which also represented "regular sized" models. And of course they had to pin and tuck all the clothes she modeled because they were too big.

Annoying.

I like Lane Bryant for pants and bras (usually buy one, get one half off), but I don't have a lot of luck with their shirts. They seem to think every plus-sized woman has huge boobs, but I'm only a B cup, so all the shirts that fit around my stomach are really baggy in the chest and shoulders. I also ONLY buy things there on sale unless I am absolutely desperate--and by "sale," I don't mean the jeans that are marked down to $35--I mean the pants on the rack in the back corner that are 9.99 :p

I do shop at Fashion Bug occasionally, but same as LB, only the clearance racks. A lot of times they will have all of their yellow and red ticket items at an additional 30% off or whatever. I bought 2 nice shirts for work there a few months ago for $13 total. I would never pay full price for their stuff, but at less than 7 bucks a shirt, who cares if I can only wear it for 6 months or so before I either shrink too much to wear it or it falls apart? :D

I cannot stand the idea of spending a lot of $$ on clothes. I work 2 jobs as it is--I can't spend what I work so hard to earn on one pair of jeans :o

I totally agree jillybean! They assume that if your a big woman you should have huge boobs and I dont. The past few years I have really hated the styles they were putting out, but this spring they had some really cute stuff. I needed some new "nice" outfits and and I had a 40% off thing... when I went to use that I got those "real women dollars" things so I went back and used them too. With the sale they were having, and my discounts I ended up getting a pair of capris, a pair of jeans, a pair of black slacks, 2 skirts, one black and one denim, a cute denim jacket and 5 shirts. (most of which can be mixed and matched) for 300 dollars. Just for kicks I added up the prices on the tags and it would have been over 700 had I just purchased it all with no discounts. It is totally over priced, but I guess thats one big motivator to lose weight... I have yet to find any cute, well made, inexpensive clothes...lol.

I've found that Cato and Fashion BUg have cheaper clothes for us plus size gals!

I like LB clothes, but its been forever since I've been in one. I used to shop there quite a bit, and ran up a fairly high credit card ;) But I almost never bought something there for full price, they are just wayyy to expensive. I'd always use those coupons they gave out.

I don't mind showing cleavage :lol: and my boyfriend doesn't either ;) lol but I do think sometimes some of their clothes are NOT flattering at all. But usually if I buy a boob shirt, I do wear a button down type shirt over it, so I'm not completely hanging out.

Has anyone shopped at Avenue? I never have, but a friend of mine did, and sent me the link, and they seem to have decent clothes. They seem kind of in between the 'sluttiness' LB can have, and the Old Ladish clothes (IMO) Catherine's has.

Its been a while since I've done major clothes shopping, but sometimes I can find cute shirts and pants at Sears, Old Navy (though they run really small) Walmart and Meijers. I am refusing to buy new summer clothes this year. I am trying to fit into what I already have.

~Liz

Originally Posted by dakotamidnight:
Perhaps Lane Bryant should be like Walmart and use their employees....it would certianly make me feel better!

I like that idea!

I've noticed the skinny models in the catalogs, too. And do you ever notice that they don't seem to wear the wildly patterned clothes (and who picks out some of the wild fabric for the larger sizes, anyway??) -- instead you have a skinny girl in a flowing solid colored top. It would make more sense to me to show the bolder patterns on an actual person instead of in a little half-inch square in the corner of the page.

And I just have to note... there's a Lane Bryant banner ad across the top of my screen as I read this thread. LOL! :D

I actually wrote to Lane Bryant on this issue. They said they appreciated the comment but statistics have shown that the clothing on the skinny models sells better than outfits that are shown on plus size models and have no plans to change the models in the catalog. I told them thanks, but I'll shop elsewhere.!

I also don't understand why stores don't carry bras in big cup sizes, over a DD/E.
I know Mervyns has that size, but plus size stores have size 54 around but only in a DD cup. It's tough when you have to buy bras on line or from a catalog! UG
Julie

Originally Posted by partschik:
I actually wrote to Lane Bryant on this issue. They said they appreciated the comment but statistics have shown that the clothing on the skinny models sells better than outfits that are shown on plus size models and have no plans to change the models in the catalog. I told them thanks, but I'll shop elsewhere.!

I also don't understand why stores don't carry bras in big cup sizes, over a DD/E.
I know Mervyns has that size, but plus size stores have size 54 around but only in a DD cup. It's tough when you have to buy bras on line or from a catalog! UG
Julie

Thank You Julie!!!!!!!!!

I wear An 50-I bra I can only get my bra's online with a chioce of 2 designs by glamorize. When I google on plus size bras some sites only go to DD- you can get those at walmart, what about us women bigger then DD?

AngieB

Here's my 2 Cents:

LB is NOT in touch with women's fashion. I don't think all their stuff is slutty, but I often felt as though I was wearing a curtain (forgot who said about the pinning back of the clothes on the mannequin but that's dead on!). I like their coupons (Buy $150 worth of stuff and get $50 off) but I no longer shop there.

:lol: Jill -- I feel the opposite way. They don't sell bras in my size (I was once a 42H---now a 38/36DDD and still nothing). The highest cup they go to is a DDD but in a 40! I have bought tees from them but I feel as though those fall too. And I have huge breasts! I am a 14/16 according to them and I know we all have different bodies but come on!

I sometimes feel like the clothes are TOO young (I'm soon to be 28 BTW) and not suitable for me and other clothes are too "old ladyish" (not to offend anyone!!!).

I just don't shop there unless I need oversized tees :lol:

I have always wondered about Lane Bryant using skinny models. I like their clothes but they are expensive. I can't afford them but I like looking. I wish they would use regular people because then I could tell somewhat how the clothes would fit on me. If you are a plus size store, then use plus size models.
Wal-mart does use their associates and associate's families for their ads. It keeps things real. I work for Wal-mart. They don't have a to bad selection of plus sizes for older people but not much for the younger group.

Bras
 

Try ladygrace.com. They have a large selection of bras in large sizes.

Lane Bryant typically uses a size 4-16 model. The girls they choose are of course a bit taller and kind hide more evil pounds than a shorter gal. I for example am 5'11 and weigh 211 (as of today!!!! woohooo) and people NEVER EVER believe me when I tell them how much I weigh. I not only don't have the blobs of fat that curse my shorter sister, I also have smooth dense fat. TRust me its fat, and not muscle. (soon it will be)

I was approached a few years back about being a large size model, simply because I am large, I'm tall, and I am able to hide the fat. Now as I've aged, my behind would NEVER be allowed in print for a catalog!!

I do have to defend Lane Bryant somewhat by saying that the catalogue is virtually unaffiliated with the store. They share only a name.

I haven't been in one in a while, simply because I cannot afford to shop there right now, but I generally like their clothes. They are for the proud BBW, not the woman who wants to wear sackcloth and ashes until she hits a size 10. I bought a boffo bustier there not too long after my oldest daughter was born. I don't fit in it anymore, though, as it requires a tight fit to be properly supportive. I still have a black lace top that closes with little silver hooks I bought at the same time and I wear it as much as I can. I have even bought a garter belt there.

I've never been able to buy a bra from them, though. Back in the long-ago twilight of my 40DDD days, the only DDD bras they had in the stores started at 42DDD. Of course, I still remember the time I went in there a few years back and was carrying clothes towards the dressing room as the saleslady tried to sell me a bra. She said they had some really great ones that I'd just love! What was my size? "40H." That stopped her dead. :lol3:

I love Torrid too, though. I remember my first glimpse of them in 2004. I was strolling through the mall when a larger-than-normal mannequin caught my eye, and I stopped to look...Went in...realized that all their clothes would fit me. Of course, I had simply no money at the time, so I left empty-handed. I have since bought the greatest pair of boots in the history of mankind from their website: corset boots with laces up front AND back and zippered sides. Two inch platforms, five inch heels. :devil: All that, and they actually close over my big calves.

I too wanted to say that the stuff you get from the catalog and the store are different. The stuff you see in the catalog is cheap looking and old lady'ish. I've shopped the stores in the past and have never had a problem with the quality of their clothes. The prices are another story though, lol. For the most part, they have nice clothes and the styles are up to date...nothing like what's in the catalog. And, I always thought that they didn't just cater to big women, but also tall women. To me a size 14 is not plus size and they do sell size 14's. Which could be two reasons the skinny ones are in the catalogs. Funny story...years ago (1991) while living in CA I frequented a LB there. And they would do runway shows out in the mall. I was asked if I would be a model for a big discount on anything in the store I wanted for that day. And I could pick what I wanted to wear too. I was definitely flattered but turned it down. I don't consider myself shy, but that wasn't something I could ever do. Never was good in front of a crowd, and at the mall on a Saturday! No way.

As far as Catherine's goes...ick! I went in one once and all the stuff they had was old looking as in old lady styles.

What is Torrid? Not heard of that one.

I'm a short (5'4") size four, though I'm pretty curvy (packing DD or DDD depending on brand and wide hips) and most people think i'm bigger then i am (typically think about a size 8), and not particularly attractive, but was approached to be a plus size model for some local store. I was confused, because there was no way that I could wear the clothes they carried, not to mention I was 18 and they were much older looking then I would ever look normal in. I found it really odd, because I find it insane that some companies consider 12/14 to be plus sized.

I don't understand why companies don't design the clothes to fit their clients, and not the models. There are styles that flatter every body type. There are somethings that would only look attractive on a 5'11" size zero model with no boobs. Somethings are much more flattering on plus sized women then smaller women. People would be more likely to spend money if clothes are flattering for their body type. All women are beautiful and even stores like LB that try to seem empowering to women aren't really at all, because like all other companies with models, they tell women that they should be something they are not. Always smaller. Always. I hate the fashions are Torrid/hot topic/most mall stores, because I can't stand the idea of showing skin because I'm a twenty year old prude who doesn't wear swimsuits, shorts, short skirts, clevage shirts, or tight pants (explaination: spent a good portion of my life among a very conservative mennonite community, and learned to stay covered in reverence to other's faith... nothing else stuck, i'm an atheist, but that did).

Originally Posted by :
What is Torrid? Not heard of that one.

They've got a website. Not sure if it's kosher to link it, since I know they don't advertise here, but their website's the obvious one. ;) It's sort of a plus-size Hot Topic, with the caveat that their "plus" starts at 12. :rolleyes: So it's a good source for rockabilly/gothabilly/mall goth stuff.

Due, I assume, to some good cookies somewhere on my computer, banner ads for Lane Bryant's website follow me around wherever I go on the 'Net. :D They seem to have some nice stuff online, but I keep stumbling across $300 jeans. :lol:

I actually like Torrid. Not all of their stuff obviously. I'm not really looking to buy a lace up corset top. However they have nice skirts, dresses, capris, and some tops. And they always have a huge clearance rack. What I like is since there clothes are meant for juniors they assume smaller boobs than regular plus-sized (yes, I'm in the same boat as you Jillybean!).

I agree with all above complaints of LB- including no continuity of size. You can't say- Oh, I bought a size 22 jean in this style before, liked it, I'l go pick up another pair. That next pair will be too big or too small. So you must try on pair after pair- in the same day, same store. Ugh- it has improved, but not that much. And thier new designer stuff? Seven or whatever? Ummnn, not worth the $$. Cute- not on people though. Jeans have horrible fit.

BUT- can anyone explain what a 1/2 size is? I have heard that from many of my patients- most older women, but also have seen it on a store window i.e. 'we carry half sizes'. Haven't been able to find out this info.