Call me stripe obsessed, because I am. Not sure when it happened but it went from a casual fling into a full blown “thing”!
The first item I reach for when getting dressed? Stripes. What draws my eye when shopping? Stripes. What did I buy when I finally got to a F21+? Stripes. I tweeted this picture on my trip to Los Angeles in January:
Sorry about the awful picture, my cell phone and I don’t get along…
The fact that I’m breaking one of “THE RULES” on a regular basis is just icing on the cake.
This was my outfit for day 3 of Fa(t)shion February!
Cardigan – New Look, UK 26
Tank – Old Navy, XXL
Skirt – Old Navy, XXL, here.
Teggings – Re/Dress
Ring – Evans
Necklace – F21 (p.s. it’s an elephant!)
Flats – Evans
This skirt is apparently sold out online in the larger sizes but if you like it, definitely go find it in the store. It could easily fit up to a size 30. When I saw this skirt, I knew I’d break one of my “personal shopping” rules but damnit, it was worth it.
I get the whole philosophy behind “make it work” and in most cases, I agree. But it depends on the context. Making it work with the tools you have at hand versus… seeking out clothing in smaller sizes to see if you can “make it work” are slightly different to me. And I’ve seen this phrase describing a myriad of fashion-y things and/or concepts.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The size on the tag means nothing. I have thrifted things in my closet that say small. A size “small”, I am not! I think that as purveyors of fashion we need to use all resources available. Any and all resources. If we didn’t, the world would be a sad, sad place.
Do I also need to say that these thoughts apply only to me and my shopping habits? I don’t care (or judge) what other people do. Good? Okay.
In my last post, I mentioned that I use my hard earned money to support stores that cater to my body. Stores that make clothing for ME. If I walk into a store that carries up to size large, is it possible that I can “make something work”? Absolutely, even as a size 28 and I’m not talking accessories. The oversized trend is like fashion’s gift to fat girls. Sure, that top was meant to hang off someone’s frame… but hey! If it works, it works.
So what’s my problem?
Economics. When I’m buying straight sized clothes off the rack, it is just a number to the company. Their stuff sells and that’s what they care about. If I’m buying their clothing, even if they don’t care to cater to plus sizes… why should they bother changing that? If I’m buying retail, I avoid buying from companies that don’t offer plus sizes.
But thrifing, eBay, second-hand, etc.? Everything is fair game. I’ve seen things in store that I have not bought and later sought out online (saves money too!) because of this.
Some companies offer limited plus ranges and for me, these are borderline – ASOS Curve, Eloquii, etc. Each time a plus line is launched and it stops at 24, babies cry. No joke.
For decades, the “industry leaders” have had lines up to size 28 and stopping short of that is just annoying. It makes me highly suspicious that these companies see clothing fat bodies as “promoting obesity” or that fat(ter) people don’t deserve clothing that makes them feel good but that is a rant for another day…
Old Navy makes my borderline list because they don’t carry their plus line in stores (but make up for it slightly with free return shipping). But the sad fact is that they offer a lot more options in straight sizes, and if a similar version makes it to plus – it is probably $20 more and not as cute.
I probably think way too much about this stuff but to me, it is important to consider all angles. I like cute clothes as much as the next person, but after 15+ years of wearing fat girl clothes I am fed up. Where I spend my money, giving constructive feedback and being vocal are some of the tools that I can use.
I took a picture of my tripod because I planned to make this a (funny to me, facetious) post about how much I love my tripod. In reality, I’ve been spoiled by handing off my camera to other people and having them snap pictures for me. Instead… I got distracted by a rant. I’ve realized that I prefer to either be behind OR in front of the camera – not both!
Do you make conscious choices about what or where you buy things? It doesn’t have to be clothes.
Tags: evans, f21, fatshion february, new look, old navy, re/dress, wall of text
Being plus size – and just about the same size (ish) as you – I completely agree with everything you wrote. I do exactly the same – I let my money talk. And I too am frustrated beyond belief. Put on top of that that I am 6’2″ and the choices of tall pants shrinks to 3 different black pairs I am suprised I haven’t really gone postal about this yet. I deserve clothes that fit and look good too! And I get *SICK* of having to buy the same things over and over because they are my only options. And I get sick of not being able to participate in a lot of trends (colored jeans for example) because of the size of my butt and length of my legs. Sigh…sorry…I just share your frustration completely.
I have a friend who is in a similar situation (same size, tall) and yes, the options are even less. This is a big reason to why I hate and stopped wearing pants. They are almost impossible to find!
Hopefully through being vocal, purchasing power and sheer force of will… we can motivate change in the industry.
I think this is a valid and important conversation to have. when I was much larger, one of the only stores I could walk into a buy clothing from was Avenue and although I can easily shop other places, I still spend a good deal of money there because they were good to me. This is also the reason I try to avoid places like Anthropology & J Crew, because while I could potentially fit into some things there, they clearly are not concerned about my customer dollars.
I think that it is pretty awesome that you still patronize Avenue, even though you can now go elsewhere. That is something they should know about! And I’ve seen on Flickr how you can rock the Avenue wardrobe – often making it look much, much better than it does online or in stores.
Sometimes I kick myself for not buying something after I’ve seen you wear it!
This IS a good topic of conversation and I had to stop and think about it. With clothes, my only real rule is to never pay full price – everything has to be at least 50% off the othe marked price. I very seldom spend more than $30 for any one item. Other than that, everything is game. I probably spend most of my clothing dollar at off price stores (Nordstrom Rack is my favorite, I’m a Seattle girl originally) and department stores when they are having a clearance sale. I do try to be very careful about my shopping dollars in other areas though – I have never shopped at Walmart because of their business practices. I remember boycotting many many stores who did business with South Africa years ago – y’all are probably too young to remember that, LOL! And these days, I try to do organic for meat and vegetables as much as I can. Okay, I’m wandering off topic now, sorry! I love stripes too! 2 striped purchases in the past week. I love when people say “aren’t you afraid to wear horizontal stripes” ? Do I look afraid?
I honestly don’t make a conscious decision becuase I tend to purchase from the place of “I have to have it right now” but it’s an interesting thought…
On the subject of stripes, I am addicted too!!! I have to restrain myself from buying. And I have looked at that skirt a ton of times…. it looks so good on you!!! Well done lady!
Hi, hoping over here from your comment on my blog, thank you!
I really am a strong believer of “voting with your wallet” that is supporting businesses that are in line with your beliefs. But like you said, sometimes it can be really overwhelming. I think as long as that awareness is there, you are still inspiring others and you might have an impact!
Rules smules. I love stripes too. I also love those magical looking shoes. OMG
I really do need to give more money to stores with proper plus size lines — thanks for the reminder! Looks like I need to check out Old Navy sometime soon, because that skirt is fab.
First, love this outfit on you. I bought the same skirt after being tipped off by DIY Fatshion that it fit larger sizes, but it was only available in L online. I bought it anyways, but it definitely sits higher on me than I’d like. I also bought the black in the XXL.
Secondly, I agree about shopping in places that support our sizes back. I still shop at Eloquii and ASOS on occasion. Some of their clothes do fit me, and I try to often send in feedback saying “I enjoy your clothing. I’d buy more of it if I could fit in more of it” I suppose there is always a risk between supporting a company that goes to 24 and a company that doesn’t. ASOS and Eloquii are new… if they have a lot of success (and a lot of pressure) maybe (the idealist in me) they will want to expand.
After the response to ASOS Curve, I had hope that they would have already started extending their sizing. Especially from how often I’ve heard people requesting it. I think it was you who got a reply from one of their CS who wished they would too? Ha ha.
Eloquii is part of a big, already established brand. They wanted accolades when it was first launched for being new, original, offering plus sizes, etc. All critical feedback, extended sizing requests, etc. have been consistently ignored on Twitter. I wasn’t too impressed. :/
I’ve been hopeful/optimistic too but if these bigger brands aren’t willing to invest in full plus size ranges, I have less. I can understand smaller companies and indie designers having to limit size range or do custom orders (which is more time consuming imo) but the big brands have the resources.
It is definitely a delicate balance. Part of me feels like it doesn’t matter. If things sell well, they are unlikely to make changes. If things don’t do well, they just blame consumers.
I’ve ordered a few things online from eloquii and returned them all. For the money they charge, the quality of their clothing is AWFUL. Not worth the money. Nor do they have anything really unique, new or original to offer stylewise, so they’re not going to get my money any more.
I agree! Consumers vote with our dollar, and even we fat girls get a vote. We should spend it carefully… on products from purveyors of classy, beautiful fashions designed with our needs in mind.
I have grown a lot in this area over the past decade–from the chubby teenage girl who would stroll the mall with her skinny friends and buy earrings at the “skinny girl” clothing stores just to fit in because I wore a size 18 and their clothes stopped at 14 or 16… to the confident plus-sized woman who will basically give any store the finger and firmly close her wallet no matter how cute those earrings might be if they don’t sell my size 24 and up to size 26 or 28 for my curvier sistahs! This makes me feel good, and I hope, eventually, they might notice that they are missing out on some business.
More than that, when I realized the smaller girls who worked at the Torrid location where I worked got paid more, got more hours, and were promoted faster, whereas those of us who wore larger sizes were kept in the back unloading shipments and reorganizing the seasonal clearance overflow section in storage, I quit my job there and stopped shopping there. Torrid loves to make a buck off of fat girls, but it doesn’t love them!
Also, here’s a nasty little secret: at Torrid, they stock the most of their size 0: usually a 14/16 because when it doesn’t sell, they clearance it and send it to the nearest Hot Topic location (owned by the same company). They stock the fewest of size 4 because “it looks unslightly on the racks.” Seriously? It makes me sick.
I’m not a fan of Torrid, no matter how many times they try to convince me they’re “for the fat girls.” I have one or two Torrid items in my closet, but most of the time I find they charge exorbitant prices for very cheaply made clothing. They’re not worth my money. If I’m spending $40 or $50 on something, I expect it to be a little more than cheaply made throwaway clubwear.
I definitely notice when a store that has a plus sized line has cuter clothing in “regular” sizes. I know that I have rage quit the Old Navy site because I saw something cute on the front page that wasn’t in my size.
I am, luckily, normally between a size 20-24 depending on the line/store, so I usually don’t pay too much attention to when a store stops at certain sizes.
I guess since I tend to buy much online I don’t pay as much attention. I do visit ASOS’s website regularly, but I’ve never purchased anything from them, mostly because I’m 22 year old student who doesn’t want to pay $100 for a simple dress (though if I had the money – I’d buy 7 of them).
I think the meaning of my rambling is: I notice when plus size lines are more boring than regular lines and if stores do not carry a plus size line at all, but I don’t pay as much attention to where the size stops in those plus size lines.
By the way this outfit is adorable and if you were my “closet sharing buddy” I’d probably steal all of these pieces.
Agreed 100% on stores that don’t carry the same styles in plus sizes as they do in straight. Target has a big problem with this. Four years ago, they used to carry most of their straight styles in plus sizes, too. But not any more. I see a lot of cute work appropriate tops in Merona’s straight sizes, but Merona only seems to make tent-like t-shirts for Target’s plus size line. This is one of the reasons I try not to give Target my hard-earned money any more.
I really, really love stripes (particularly horizontal) but they are SO hard to find in fab fatty sizes here. Cos you know, they’re not “flattering” and all. Vom.
I refuse to buy from companies that don’t cater to my size. Screw them, they’re not getting my money.
I love stripes, too, and my eye is always automatically drawn to them. I have many striped tops and sweaters in my closet. I love this outfit on you, too.
I do make conscious choices about where I buy some things. I refuse to shop at most clothing stores that don’t carry my size – for example, a few years ago, I might have bought accessories or shoes at Urban Outfitters, but now I refuse to give them any of my money. They don’t deserve it if they can’t include plus sizes in their clothing.
I also try my best to not shop at Target because I dislike the style, quality and quantity of their steadily dwindling plus sizes, and I also disagree with many of Target’s policies (both politically, and their store policies). But it’s damn hard for me to stay away from Target, no matter how hard I try.
I almost bought this skirt from Old Navy recently, too, breaking my own style rules in that I never wear skirts! I hadn’t thought too much about some of the issues you raise in this post, so this is some food for thought for me. I think more plus-sized women should be vocal – especially as eloquently as you are here – about their concerns & frustrations with the fashion industry. Whether they feel that making clothing in large sizes “promotes obesity” or not is really none of their business, as I see it. They’re in the business of making money & making women look pretty – & they could easily make a LOT of women a lot happier by expanding their range to include plus-sized women. It seems to me that it’d be a good business move for them, if nothing else.
pfff!! I hate the rules! I like to wear everything, stripes and all- and you rock this skirt!!!! I know what you mean about money though; I just try to buy most things on sale! ;)
Gah! You seriously ONLY have cute outfits!! That skirt is amazing.
Thank you!