An old high school friend reached out to me recently, wanting some advice about designing plus-sized clothes. While being caught off guard, I was flattered, because she thinks of me as a plus-size woman in her peer group that is confident and fashionable. My clothing journey has been long and complicated, and continues to be. The relationship I have with my body has only improved to what I can call “positive” in recent years. In this post, I want to share some of the things I told my friend; reflections, advice, experiences, and recommendations.
Being big my whole life definitely hindered my fashion sense. Crippled by severe anxiety, any trip to Sears was dreadful as a young person. I can’t count how many times I cried in the change room or needed a moment in the car alone after swimsuit shopping. This is the reality for many fat people, and it can create mental barriers to self confidence at a critical age. As a kid, I was constantly insecure about my clothes and felt inadequate compared to my peers. I was bullied at times for my appearance. Changing in gym class was so embarrassing that I would go in early so nobody saw me, and I’d be the only one after class changing in the closed stall. But once I entered university, I donated most of my blouses, tees, cheap leggings and cardigans and began to explore a more authentic style. This likely had to do with the fact that I love makeup, and I reached the age where I could go clubbing. Going out with my amazing, supportive friends gave me the confidence to slowly find my own unique style, without hiding my body so desperately as I always had. Most days of university I was adorned in hoodies and Lululemons. The main struggle with that is tackling the sweatiness of going from the cold air to the hot bus to the hot lecture hall… oof. I may never figure that one out.
As I grew from awkward, insecure teenager to somewhat-functioning-young-adult, there has been a plus-size fashion revolution. I vividly remember seeing Ashley Graham on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I was blown away. She shot to superstardom quickly for being a body-positive advocate and it seriously boosted my confidence. Around that time, I started following more plus size models on Instagram and Twitter, getting a new view on what young people in fashion can look like… and still be successful and praised. However, as I will discuss below, there is a long way to go when it comes to clothing brands and inclusivity, both for the sizes/fit itself and for what audiences are targeted.
To me, a good digital clothing brand should include non-binary, trans, queer, black, and Indigenous people in marketing and design. We know too well that many brands are ignorant and end up stealing culture for profit. Being fat is often intertwined with other parts of peoples’ identities, especially women of colour, and they need respect and care when making clothes for them. Their voices need to be considered, and they deserve to be in an ethical marketing campaign if they want to be.
I won’t discuss the environmental sustainability of clothing in this article, because it’s a whole other bag of worms. But essentially, it is hard for someone like me to be environmentally conscious with my clothing purchases if there is not an affordable, accessible, and sustainable selection to choose from. If you want to read a bit about the impact of fast fashion, read from Intersectional Environmentalist.
As I alluded to, I am far from a fashion expert, but I can provide some thoughts on the topic of plus size fashion. I recommend any fashion startups, whether small or large, consider expanding the size range from the basic XS-L. I cannot count the amount of times I’ve gone to buy something, and it ends at “L”. Research the topic and the complex history. Get to know what is is like for fat people to shop, and you’ll get a better idea of what to create and sell. People come in all shapes and sizes, and fashion, media, and marketing do not nearly reflect that diversity enough. In the US, the average woman wears a size 16-18 dress size (I fall in the 18-20 range).
Language is important. I personally don’t mind the delineation of “plus size”, but some people don’t like being labelled. I have also heard the distinction between “small fat” and “big fat”, which is valuable to me. I’ll be brutally honest here: when I see a mid-size person straining to complain about their struggles being “fat”, it isn’t super convincing or helpful to the overall cause, because it takes valuable words away from bigger people that don’t have clothing choices and societal acceptance. But, overall it is important to consider everyone’s feelings and unique experiences. Looking at pictures of myself from age 16, I looked relatively skinny compared to me now. At the time, however, I felt like a gross giant pig… to be plain. Adolescent minds are brutal and unforgiving, and my heart goes out to all the people out there who are struggling. But for us adults now, there just needs to be a balance between when you speak and when you lift other voices up.
I can agree that it’s cool to just see your size on the drop-down list of an item. But for now, many women’s fashion websites I have visited put plus sizes in a separate section. See for example, the popular fast fashion brand Fashionnova‘s “CURVE” section. Their Instagram page is great. To me it is loudly and proudly breaking down the norms of modern fashion, showing that fat people are all gorgeous and can dress well too!
In my experience, it is hard to find plus size clothes at the mall that fit current trends. I’m thankful that 90s vintage is in style, because I can get stuff second hand. But generally, I don’t think my value correlates to what is “popular”; I’d say people who know me well know that I do not like to conform much anymore. For my entire teen years, I never stepped foot in a Garage or Aritzia. Their clothes simply don’t fit me. And it was a bit sad when all the other girls were in them. But, now that I have gained confidence in my body, I have been able to seek out plus sizes that are a bit trendier.
The only stores that comes to mind that have nice plus size, trendy clothes at the mall is Forever 21 (R.I.P.) and more recently American Eagle. F21 provided most of my favourite clubbing outfits and nice summer dresses in the last few years. American Eagle recently introduced extended sizes and they’re awesome (including ever-elusive plus swimwear). Another brick-and-mortar store I loved was Addition Elle. It was fashion for working thirty and fourtysomethings, but it had good lingerie, a hard thing to find for my 40-42C/D. But, alas, they went out of business too. La Vie En Rose is a good source for plus size lingerie these days, recently expanding their sizes. More brands need to following this. When I was a teenager, I stuck with a store which has always had great quality and sizes at a good price: Old Navy. I still shop there from time to time. The rest (and majority) of my clothes come from Value Village.
I do not usually have the funds to buy fancy plus sized clothes, especially online, so my experience is limited to fast fashion brands like Fashionnova, Shein, and Torrid. I hope to save up and buy more sustainable clothes in the future rather than a bunch of cheap stuff. But the options are limited as of 2021.
- Fashionnova has a huge selection, but the shirts are often cropped (not great for people like me who want some tummy coverage), the material can be cheap, and the styles aren’t super practical for every day. It is also hard to tell what size to get depending on what items you buy, they all fit a bit differently. Their swimwear is nice and true to size.
- Shein has a lot of stuff, but it is also pretty cheap quality and hard to gauge your size.
- Torrid is an American brick-and-mortar store which has been a plus-size source for young women for a long time. They have good quality clothes and lingerie (and lots of nerdy stuff too).
My biggest pet peeve with the now-booming plus size modelling industry is most of the models have near-flat stomachs. Yes, lots of women are “thick” and have an idealized hourglass figure, but a sizeable tummy more often comes with being plus size. Everyone is built a bit differently. Clothes, especially things like jeans which are not stretchy, should account for the fact that a lot of women have big stomachs. We all don’t look like Ashley Graham or Tabria Majors (both who I adore). I don’t even wear jeans because I have never found comfortable ones that stay on when I walk but don’t hurt when I sit down.
Marketing is important, because it reflects who would be wearing the items, and appeals to those individuals. I am more likely to buy something if I see someone with my body type wearing it in an ad. It is hard to see a skinny model wear something and imagine myself in it.
Although I do not have extensive experience buying a lot of plus sized clothes online, I have been particularly intrigued by some online brands which include a lot of diverse bodies in there marketing, and are making cool-looking clothes!
Lastly, here are more models I follow who are plus or mid size:
- LucyyKnell
- PrincessMae
- NikkieTutorials
- Barbie Ferreira
- … and there are so many others!
I am excited to continue my fashion and self-confidence journey. It is not linear, and there are ups and downs, but overall I am headed for the moon. Please comment below any of your experiences, critiques of my opinions, or brands/models you recommend following.
marina miller 
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