When it comes to the fashion industry and the clothing sizes that are made easily accessible to its consumers, there are certain companies that have a negative reputation of discrimination toward plus-sized people. While this is still a common issue — and many companies show no signs of making any progress — there are clothing companies out there that are adamant about making clothes for all body types, and even some that cater specifically to plus-sized people.
Best Places to Shop
1. Lane Bryant
Lane Bryant is an in-person clothing store that caters specifically to plus-sized women. They have a variety of items from shirts and jeans to dresses, formal wear, winter clothing and even undergarments. Additionally, they do offer some of their clothing in smaller sizes, but the brand is mainly intended to cater to plus-sized women.
2. Torrid
Torrid is another clothing chain that has branded itself as a store that caters specifically to plus-sized women. Torrid is also an in-person clothing store that sells all outfit essentials, as well as specialty things like swimsuits and undergarments. Like Lane Bryant, they do have some smaller sizes, but the store is targeted towards and intended for plus-sized women.
3. Cider
Though not specifically for plus-sized women, Cider is an online clothing store that sells garments of all different sizes for a plethora of body types, including plus-sized. Cider is a trendy and extremely popular clothing store that carries up to 4XL, and their clothes are always the same style regardless of which size you are purchasing.
4. Nordstrom
Nordstrom is among the most popular places to shop for plus-sized people since their plus-size options go all the way up to a size 4X. Nordstrom has tons of cute and fashionable options, as well as denim, activewear and undergarments, which can be extremely difficult to shop for when looking for larger sizes.
5. Fashion to Figure
From clothing to thigh-high boots, Fashion to Figure offers a variety of options for plus-sized women. Their clothing sizes range from XL to 4XL and are exclusive to plus-sized women.
6. Selkie
The Pinterest-style “living in a fairytale” vibe can truly come to life when shopping at Selkie, an online clothing store that makes beautiful fairytale-like dresses that include puff dresses, day dresses, ritz dresses, bridal dresses and evening gowns. On top of all that, they also sell jumpsuits, tops, skirts, bottoms, sweaters and coats. What’s even better is that their sizes range all the way to a size 6XL, which means more options and more chances of living that fairy-core dream life.
7. Girlfriend Collective
When looking for activewear, outerwear and loungewear, Girlfriend Collective is the place to go, as it has comfy options that go all the way to a size 6XL (and are made of recycled materials!). The company takes recycled water bottles and turns them into clothing to be as sustainable as possible.
8. Wray NYC
A blast from the past, Wray NYC offers very loud and eccentric clothing options that are styled just like those from the ‘60s to the ‘80s. Their clothing almost always features prints and pops of color, though they do have some more subtle options as well. They offer sizes all the way to 6XL and carry footwear as well.
9. Dia & Co.
Started by a plus-sized person, Dia & Co. has a stylish variety of clothing of all kinds, making it easy for plus-sized women to shop and look stylish with ease. They have sizes ranging from 0X to 5X.
10. 11 Honoré
11 Honoré, a branch of Dia & Co. is a great website for luxury, designer clothes. While it is a bit pricier, it’s a unique brand considering that the fashion industry doesn’t usually make designer clothes for plus-sized women. If anything, the biggest size a designer will typically offer is a size 10 or 12.
Worst Places to Shop
1. Brandy Melville
Brandy Melville doesn’t have a great reputation as a brand, but they have an even worse reputation when it comes to plus-sized clothing. In an attempt to be “inclusive,” the store carries one size that they claim, “fits all,” but since all bodies are different, it’s clear that this isn’t true. In contradiction to their “one size fits all” mantra, their website exclusively features pictures of straight-sized models wearing their clothing to prove that their clothes can fit everyone.
2. Free People
While Free People does have a lot of cute bohemian-style clothing, like a lot of anti-plus size stores, it isn’t a good place for plus-sized people to shop. Their biggest size is an XL, blatantly excluding anyone bigger than that from shopping at their store both in-person and online.
3. LOFT
From the looks of their website, LOFT is very exclusive to plus-sized people. If they do offer plus size clothing, which doesn’t appear to be common, they only go up to 2XL, and even then it’s rare that they go higher than a size L for most of their clothing.
4. Urban Outfitters
When it comes to cute tops and graphic tees, Urban Outfitters offers up to a size 3XL. For everything else, however, the highest size they offer is XL, and on rare occasions 2XL, which drastically limits who can shop at their store and what they can buy.
5. PacSun
PacSun is widely known as the store that sells “skinny girl” clothes. While they have a lot of cute clothing, they’re very limited when it comes to sizing. According to their website, their highest clothing size is L for anything and everything. While this is their highest size online, they might have higher sizes in person, but evidence points to that being very unlikely.
6. Tilly’s
As it seems to be a trend among many stores, Tilly’s only offers up to a size XL, and in some cases a 2XL. Though they have a 2XL, it’s for the not-so-attractive clothing, and even then, they don’t seem to carry higher than an XL for jeans or dresses.
Stores, whether in person or online, need to start moving towards inclusivity when it comes to the sizes and fits of their clothing. The fact that the fashion industry has made it hard for plus-sized women to shop and buy “trendy” and “fashionable” clothing — and society has just accepted it — is not okay. Everyone deserves to look their hottest, and stores need to stop discouraging and shaming plus-sized women into not purchasing their clothing. Every body type is beautiful, and it’s about time that the world begins to see that.
