Plus Size Clothing: Most Retail Stores Underserve the Over Weight

It is a widely known that Americans are getting heavier. Ironically, it is also true that we are diet and exercise obsessed, but this obsession must not be a fruitful one. Either the diets don’t work or we a society polarized between weight gainers and weight losers. In any case every year we Americans are getting a little heavier than we were the one before. This expansion of girth has brought with it a whole new customer looking for apparel in sizes that fit and look good.

It is known that more than half of all American women wear size 14 or larger. This range of sizes is commonly called plus sizes in the clothing industry. In 2009 plus size clothing brought in over $17 billion but made up merely 26% of all clothes sales. If more than half of women wear plus sizes but only buy 26% of all clothing in their size then there is one under developed market. Either women are buying articles that don’t fit them or they are simply not buying as many outfits as smaller women. Provide these customers with what they want and it is simply logical that they will buy more.

Despite the mind-boggling dollar amount mentioned above it is clear that curvaceous women do not feel they are being served well. A study conducted by the Kohl’s retail chain showed them that 54% of plus size customer felt that the clothing industry was doing a poor job of serving their needs. It is not uncommon to hear plus size customers complain of having limited and unfashionable styles to select from and then they are expected to pay more for the privilege of buying clothes they didn’t really like in the first place. Many retail stores that have plus size section, even Wal-Mart, but shove them into unappealing and stigmatizing corners of the store.

The situation is not hopeless for the plus size customer however. Given the tremendous demand for plus sizes it is not surprising that a market evolution is under way. A number of big name clothes manufacturers are now offering fashionable clothing in sizes that fit larger women. Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne both offer attractive alternatives for plus size women. The curiously thin Daisy Fuentes has a line of clothing available in larger sizes. There are even companies who specialize in plus sizes and offer a tremendous variety of styles. A woman tired of pouring through racks at a regular clothes store can visit The Lane Bryant Company. They have a chain of retail stores and an on line store dedicated exclusively to plus sizes. Just My Size is
another plus size clothing company that offers nearly every type of apparel from office wear to underwear.

San Francisco based Igigi designs and sells many styles women looking for attractive apparel that fits what the company’s website describe as the opulent woman. Igigi reflects a growing acceptance of the notion that curvy women can be beautiful.

The film Real Women Have Curves and the television show Fat Actress tried to show heavier women in a more appealing light than has been the norm in recent years. An unscientific survey of popular culture shows us as a slightly more accepting people. For example, Queen Latifah and Jennifer Tilly are both actresses enjoying a fair amount of success despite their lack of waifishness.  While slender figures will undoubtedly remain the ideal, changes in the conception of what is attractive will allow bigger women to purchase more fashionable clothing and motivate retailers to cater to their needs.

Still, improvements are slow in coming if Kohl’s poll is to be believed. Most women are stilling having a difficult time finding clothes that fit them in a style they want and at a fair price. A retailer that offers a solution to the understandable complaints of plus size women can attract a lucrative and dedicated customer base.