Plus-Size Wars

published an article on July 28 with the title Plus-Size Wars.

The core of the article presents a historical timeline of body size in general: what body type has been popular, how sizing of garments has changed - the measurements for a post war size 10 are the same for the contemporary size 2 of today - and how plus size clothing began.
And then the comments started rolling in. Apparently many of the vitriolic attacks, including some from medical doctors, have been removed. Hate is what cut off the nose and ears of the Aisha, the Afghani woman on the cover this week.
The general message in the negative comments is you'll be forced to lose weight if you're too fat and having a hard time finding clothes that fit. Or stop shopping.
According to the article, the dearth of sales vs. the average size of the population has remained the steady for the last 20 years, but between 2008 and 2009 sales dropped dramatically in this size range.
But why should we believe the "statistics" about the drop in sales. Surely some plus size retailers closed some doors? Do these numbers reflect the plus-size sales of thousands of websites run by entrepreneurs selling corsets, Goth wear, lingerie, swim suits and other specialty items?
The article talks about reluctant designers. It’s not a secret that some designers don’t want to be associated with plus-size women.
The author doesn’t usually write about this topic and I found it interesting that when mentioning Torrid, she excluded the fact that they are a division of Hot Topic, a chain of hip, alternative wear, and a Wall Street Darling. Who loves you, Baby?
Maybe women who wear these sizes stopped shopping because they don't like the clothes. A friend of mine scours the stores for things that reflect her personality and when she doesn't like the clothes so she doesn't shop. There are years that I don't buy much. I have an archive of clothing to choose from, so no matter what's in style each season, it's likely I'll already have something.
It does still amaze me that it’s almost de' rigueur fashion to include some mention of the obesity rate and health issues associated with being overweight in any article about plus size.
Every week we hear about some seemingly healthy, active person who drops dead unexpectedly.
We know we’re supposed to count calories and carbs, cut back on caffeine, drink 10 glasses of water a day, walk 10,000 steps, stretch, warm up, get your heart rate up, cool down, meditate and floss. Oh and don’t forget your sunscreen, and reapply often. But…people still smoke cigarettes, drunk drivers are still killing, bakeries are not illegal, and guns are easy to obtain.
I’m just living my life and trying to be a good person. I would think that most of us feel this way. Yet anger, hate and name-calling come out of the woodwork during discussions on size.
It has become a crime to be overweight in this country and we need to figure out a way to prevent the weight gain that is affecting such large numbers of Americans, not chastise and punish them. And if these overweight American women want to stop shopping, then perhaps the way to spin the numbers is to see that when we withhold our buying power, someone else’s bottom line goes down,ironic.
But I like the article, it's a nice piece that touches upon some of the bigger issues associated with creating, marketing, selling to the plus size female.