The sad reality is that if you are a ‘plus-size’ person (over a size UK 18) walking into your average high street clothing shop, you are likely going to have a hard time finding something that fits you, let alone something that you actually like. This is a result of a number of failures by the fashion industry.
First of all, many fashion companies are not even doing the bare minimum to include people with bigger bodies. The bare minimum being that they simply don’t cater their sizes well enough for plus-size people. Lack of sizing options is a major downfall of the industry and although we have come a long way in the past few years, we still need more companies to step up their game. Take the fast fashion brand ASOS for example, who granted do have a dedicated plus-size range going up to a UK size 30. Despite their size inclusivity, the availability of bigger sizes is where they seem to fail and I can attest to this - ASOS never have my size in stock! Clearly, there is a demand for bigger sizes, so why can’t brands like ASOS make more items in size 18 and above?
Another bone I have to pick with the industry in regard to plus-size fashion is the clothes that they make specifically for us - why are they such trash? It’s as if these companies think that people with bigger bodies have no sense of style. No, correction - they assume we want to hide our bodies from the world and that we want ugly and baggy clothes to cover ourselves up. While society largely informs how we feel about ourselves and our bodies, the fashion industry doesn’t get to dictate for me how I want to dress. Funnily enough, most of us simply want to wear the same things that straight-size people (UK sizes 6-18) get to enjoy. Thanks, but we don’t need another range of t-shirts with slogans like ‘Wild and Free’ or ‘She believed she could, so she did’, *eye roll*.
But until that day comes, we must remember that we are valid, we are beautiful and we deserve to wear nice clothes
Overall, I think it’s safe to say that the plus-size fashion landscape still has a very long way to go until we start to feel a sense of true inclusion as plus-size people. I really hope that brands are encouraged to make their clothing ranges more size inclusive because they would undoubtedly become more successful and profitable. Maybe one day we’ll all finally be able to walk into a shop, fall in love with a garment and be able to buy it immediately in our correct size. But until that day comes, we must remember that we are valid, we are beautiful and we deserve to wear nice clothes.