What Would Adele Do?
I never thought I'd see this day. After years of trying to convince designers and retailers to make clothing in plus sizes for curvy grrls, it's a sad day when a store like Saks Fifth Avenue decides that the only way to cater to this demographic is online, and closing Salon Z.I took a friend and client shopping at Saks a few weeks ago and was shocked and disappointed with the lack of selection. The sales associate rattled off name after name of recognizable brands who were no longer making clothing in plus sizes.
NPD, a market research firm on Long Island, New York, has said that sales of plus size clothing don't add up to correlate with the statistic of how many women in America wear a plus size. But if the number of American women actually wear a larger size, then why aren't they shopping?
Or, are they not being counted? The questions abound.
A conversation with a colleague confirmed the number of women who want fashionable clothing is still "at large."
But, she said the woman who wears a size 12/14/16 is still "The Forgotten Woman."
Anyone remember that store? A class act and one that will never be forgotten...Nancy, whereever you are.
What to do? We've got to get our act together sisters, because it's never been harder to shop, even though there is a plethora of choices online. And returns are rarely free, postage that is.
A recent swimsuit purchase caused me a lot of grief, because even though I measured myself, the swimsuits didn't fit that great. And...they were on sale, all sales final.
It used to be that a store like Nordstrom hid the intimate apparel and swim wear in the dressing room.
So the way to get rid of us is to get us out of the stores??
We're omnipresent on Twitter, on Facebook on MySpace...but a virtual grrrl still needs to get dressed.
A few years ago, as the former editor in chief of a now defunct but pioneering magazine called BBW, I went on record that there wasn't anything we couldn't find.
That may still be true, but now it's harder to find...at brick & mortar.
I don't sell, I tell. And I'm telling you, we've got to get our act together, one voice, much like the civil rights movement of the sixties....and tell these retailers what we really want, and then put our money where our mouth is!
Are you listening?
