Stores Shedding the Fat

The Washington Informer, as does many other places, reports that retailers are cutting women sizes (fat sizes) to save money.

It mention that many stores, among them Ann Taylor and Bloomies, will only be carrying sizes 0-10, 12 or 14 depending on clothing lines in store.

There they go with in store again. Why do most companies only want to offer their plus sizes online. Why am I not allowed to go and shop, too? Why is it becoming that only a regular/skinny/whatever they consider “normal”-enough sized person can actually physically go shopping for clothes?

Just because you make clothes that are formless and always put stretch in them doesn’t  it mean that it’s going to look good on all my curves. Buying online is a hassle if you have to send them back for either a different size or for a return (which some places don’t even do). I’m all about returning them in the store, but most places don’t offer that. Maybe if they offered shipping like Zappos.com — free both ways — then I might be a little more open to it.

BUT, it’s the Internet for shit’s sake — something may look gorgeous in that little thumbnail, but in person it could be ugly, or maybe I just don’t like the feel of it. I can’t feel the fabric online!

According to the article,

“The rationale is that plus-sized fashion lines are also more expensive to produce, given the extra material needed and the need to hire plus size models.”

That may be so, but the customer is footing the bill. Have they looked at how much they want to add a little extra fabric? Even between a 14 and a 16 — and you know there can’t be that much fabric between those two sizes — there is (usually) at least a $10 hike in price.

One BIG reason that plus size sections might not be doing so well in stores? The fact that they hide us! Even when you know that the fat people’s section exists, it can be a chore trying to find it. Sometimes by bedding, always in the back, and generally in the forgotten realm of the store that doesn’t ever get any foot traffic.

I know that the stores may be wanting to hide this section for many reasons: the clothes are all outdated, they don’t buy anything fashionable for the section, they hate fat people … whatever the case may be, it’s not right. I always know when I am getting close to the section though, you start seeing really ugly clothes. And they wonder why that section of the store is failing, among the reasons listed above …  sometimes we just don’t know that you have a plus-size section!

I think that was a main reason that Old Navy’s plus-size line got pulled from stores. Not that many stores had it available and they didn’t promote it properly. I just happened to run into it one day at an Old Navy that I didn’t normally shop at and was thrilled! Whenever I would mention it to people though, they would go, “They have plus sizes at Old Navy? Really?” How are we just supposed to know that you now carry our size?

I get sick and tired of going into stores that don’t even remotely carry anything near my size. It’s tiring and a waste of my time. You have to try to get me back into the store.

Take the Forever 21 news. They just launched that Faith 21 line. Do you think I EVER go into Forever 21? No, I don’t. It’s for the skinnies. Period. But when I hear they are actually going to start carrying my size, well then I might go back and check it out. I might actually go into the store — but if you don’t tell me, how would I know? I wouldn’t. I would keep right on walking by.

Most stores think it our fault that their plus lines are failing. Even the article mentions the like 2 percent drop in plus-line shopping. Well, if you haven’t noticed, we are in a recession. People are tightening belts and sacrifices have to be made. And if it’s spending 40 dollars on a shirt at a department store (that probably isn’t even remotely in style, or has ever been) or buying the same one somewhere where the extra sizes don’t cost an arm and a leg — well, guess where we are going. Not all fat people are rich. I think stores forget that sometimes.

So, the bottom line is that will continue to be hard to find fat people clothes — this is nothing new by any means — but it is forever frustrating!