Plus Size Women: Good Enough To Buy But Not Good Enough To Model
Ever since I was in middle school and started paying attention to my clothes and what I wore it’s always been me against the world. Meaning that it was me and my size against my world of smaller counterparts. I remember growing up and loving to shop at Express; loved the clothes and how they fit. Then I got to my last couple of years of high school and it got harder and harder to find clothes that fit me much less anything that I could see in magazines, catalogs or in store displays that looked like me. And that was the norm, now I could have gone to Lane Bryant and seen all that size appropriate inspiration that I longed for but when I was younger, first off it wasn’t cool and at that age I was that in-between, getting too big for mainstream but too small for actual plus size stores. So of course I was at a lost, hence me against the world.
Fast forward some years and my how things have changed. Can you believe what some of these mainstream retail outlets are doing, H&M has gone and done their most recent swimsuit collection with a size 12 model. Stop the presses because the world is going to end!
Source: Greatist.com
I know it’s making the world stand still. But why? I just don’t understand what all the craziness and uproar is about because honestly I think it should have been done. They’ve been doing a plus size line for a while now so why the delay in getting actual plus size models to represent those sizes and give those clients something to see. I completely understand that it is a drastic difference to what they have done in the pass. I mean look at the side by side comparison, it is a shock.
Source: Xojane.com
Then back in March, another Swedish department store, called Ahlens, stirred up controversy over body image with the above photo that went viral of a retail’s store plus size mannequins from 2010. The mannequins showed larger thighs, softer stomaches and a wider midsection. Of course there was positive and negative feedback ranging from congrats on displaying realistic sizes to condoning of obesity because of the mannequins. Heck, I’m big and a damn mannequin isn’t going to make me become bigger. If anything it’s going to give me motivation to get down to that size.
But the negativity that has come from these two situations is mind blowing. People need to realize that at some point in time there needs to be a migration to the norm of what the american population is and the one on the left is clearly not a correct representation of our population when more than 50% of women in the US are over a size 12. Come on now, who are we fooling.
This same thing is apparent in the plus size bridal world. I have been to NYC Bridal Week several times and NEVER seen a plus size model on the runway but I’ve talked to numerous designers while there and it’s is a unanimous response that dresses can be made in any size. Of course for a price. So if this is the case, which I know it is, then why don’t we see plus size models on their stages, in their catalogs or in their stores. And yes, I know the answer is the increase of plus size bridal salons but why do the plus size brides have to go to a separate salon when the same designers have their own salons but just don’t want to cater to the plus size bride. But they sure as hell will take our money.
I am standing up and shouting from the roof tops, which is my computer. LOL, to say that we as the plus size population appreciate when companies think about us enough to take our money and allow our sizes and shapes to be represented in mainstream retail campaigns and outlets. So please lets work toward making plus size women; good enough to buy but not good enough to model a thing of the past.
And a huge shout out to H&M for taking the step in the right direction, who is going to be next?
