Perhaps this is clearer. I meant sizes 10-18 are not considered PLUS Sizes, generally. Even if the person who buys and wears them is ‘fat’. So a zoftig woman can wear a size 12, but that does not make a size 12 a plus size. I have a close relative who is obese–for her size–but she wears size 12 because the clothes fit her. However a person who is not ‘fat’ per se can fit into a 12 also.

I have seen high end brands like All Saints Spitafield, Reiss, Adam, etc have sizes over 10. The statements that some of the people make here are somewhat diluted. Don’t go to Marc Jacobs or Chloe. More to add, These designers are far from our budget anyway! If you think you have the money and you want these designers to make clothes for you then call them and have them custom fit you.

A column to read too is Marie Claire’s ‘Big Girl in a Skinny World’ by Nicolette Mason.

Quite interesting side discussion too. I am thin, but I’ve never said anything nasty to big ladies in my whole entire life, but am often insulted by what they’d say to me. Reading some of the comments above really got me worked up. Just want to add that thin does not necessary mean small breasts. Am 105lb, cup D here, never any eating disorder, very healthy and I am 100% natural thank you very much, and I too have a nice face, everyone is different, seriously, no such thing as a right way to look, the only thing that matters is how healthy you are (physically and mentally). I think Karin’s “there’s no such thing as a “real women”, all women are real women.” is otherwise very well put. I don’t understand the link between what is offered in store having anything to do with the standard of beauty though.

Quote Cat: “However, by the standards of clothing manufacturers, I’m frankly fat, aka, not “beautiful.” And it’s MY fault, my laziness, that I can’t find reasonably priced clothing that fits?”

I buy size 0s and 00s, but I have problem finding clothes too. I’ve always thought if the clothes in a store doesn’t fit right on me, it is because it is not well made or not well marketed. For example, I have a short torso but long legs, and my body is narrow, so the sweaters are almost always too wide, the sleeveless arm holes is always hang too low, the pants too wide, or too short at the petite section. I thought I was unique at the most, in a nice way, never thought about any possible hidden “the standard of beauty” message. Anyhow, when I was younger and 95 pounds, I too was cursing at the fashion industry for marketing to bigger people. I remember having to buy things at full marked up price, base on fit rather than styles I like and imagining that heavy people can wear whatever they want and buy stuff on deep discount. Well I was wrong…

It all comes down to supply and demand. I am sure we will see more and more plus sizes stores in the US. There is so much I don’t know about the fashion industry. I recently picked up sewing, have been making things for myself. Making clothes harder than it looks. As such, I found a whole new level of appreciation for what I own in my closet.

P.S. If you want something to fit right, have it custom made or altered. I wish we have better and more alternation service providers in the United Sates.

All I’m saying is that if people want to complain about stuff not being made for people above the top end of a given grading spectrum, they should consider that people below a given grading spectrum have the same problem. And really, if you don’t like your options, well, aren’t you here because you are interested in the business and practical aspects of fashion design? If you only care about clothes that fit right and suit your aesthetics (rather than being the ‘right’ brand), go make your own! Start a company that caters specifically to people with your specific body shape! In other words, do something instead of complaining!

I wanted to add to the discussion that it’s not only large women who struggle to find clothes that fit, I’m small (actually, not THAT small, I’m just below average height) and it’s hard for me too to find my size in the shops. Most designer brands do make clothes that fit me, but in confection I do better shopping in shops catering for teenagers. Fun, eh?

It’s strange how the whole discussion about the sizes of clothes seems to have been kidnapped by women trying to make being overweight the norm (ok, sorry, that was a bit harsh, but I do sometimes get that impression from american forums).

Btw, this is a great website, and an interesting article. I would not welcome any restrictions on the range of sizes, that must be up to the designer/fashion companies. Although I too wish some (more!) shops ran my size.

Let’s say you win the genetic lottery for our present era, and are born a tall ectomorph with a beautiful face. Well, that’s still not good enough; now you must subsist on carrots and mineral water, or take cocaine, or stick your finger down your throat after any meal containing more than 300 calories, to meet their standards of “beauty.” And that is still not good enough – don’t forget the airbrushing of the photos to reach “perfection.”

That may be your definition of beauty, Katherine, but it’s not mine. It’s a form of gender oppression no different than expecting women to hide their bodies behind burkkas, possibly worse. At least those women are allowed to eat normal meals, and their society understands the allure of the female form. Under the fashion industry’s tyranny, most women are simply not allowed to be WOMEN, at all.
Very few women are tall ectomorphs. You say it yourself, even the short, naturally thin woman has a hard time finding clothes that fit properly. Let us say you are mesomorphic, big boned, muscled and atheletic… forget it. You can’t starve yourself enough to meet those standards. And those of us whose grandmothers were endomorphs – naturally plump people, with full breasts, round bellies, wide hips and big thighs – again, we would literally have to spend hours a day at the gym and pretty much stop eating to get there. Fine if you’re wealthy enough and don’t have real life demands like jobs, homes, husbands, children, friends, other interests. Fine if you don’t want your brain to work, which requires ingesting things like carbohydrates, fat, and protein.

Congratulations on your commitment to physical fitness and self-discipline. But honey, I have news for you: I eat good food, stay active, have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, and a healthy heart. However, by the standards of clothing manufacturers, I’m frankly fat, aka, not “beautiful.” And it’s MY fault, my laziness, that I can’t find reasonably priced clothing that fits?

Get me to a sewing machine? No – I think manufacturers should throw off the shackles of the pedophile priest brigade and make clothing that fits real women. There are a whopping three body types. Is it really that hard to design for them?

Fine, you don’t want my money. That’s ok because I don’t want to give it to someone who accepts the depression, the self-loathing, the anorexia and bulimia, and the suicides of girls and women caused by these standards, or calls those who’ve had enough “beauty bashers.” The real question is, who gets to decide what’s beautiful?

Roseanne Barr had it right. If you get the chance to meet one of this misogynist designers, kick ‘em right in the man junk…