The L.A. Timescalls her the Invisible Woman. Who is she? She is the average American woman, who wears a size 14. She has the money to buy clothing, but can't find anything she likes because most of the clothing in her size is cheap and matronly-looking Designers can't stand her and don't want to design for her. Miuccia Prada finds her so repellent that she refuses to make any piece of clothing larger than a size 10.
It's true that the development phase of a plus-size collection is costly, because fitting bigger bodies is more complicated than simply making smaller sizes larger. When bodies get larger (especially over a size 18), they take on a different proportion -- there's generally more girth in the middle -- and the ratio between hip and waist changes.
But the payoff for sustaining a successful collection is worth the investment, said Rachel Pally, perhaps the only designer who sells a contemporary collection in trendy boutiques and a plus-size line -- Rachel Pally White Label -- in department stores. Pally's full-figured collection is one of the top-selling vendors for Nordstrom.
"Fashion-forward plus-size women have no options," she said. "They're so thirsty for the product." Why others don't jump on the bandwagon, she added, is a mystery. "It's like, 'Hello? Don't you guys want to make money?' "
Many retailers aren't even game to discuss "plus." When contacted for this story, nearly every major retailer -- including Nordstrom, Macy's, H&M, even Wal-Mart -- declined to give interviews on the subject or didn't respond to requests. It's an odd silence, considering how ripe the market is. With hardly any high-end resources at their disposal, full-figured women still spent $18.6 billion on apparel in stores and online from December 2007 to November 2008, according to NPD Group.
That's only around 20% of the $109.7 billion spent in the regular-size ranges, but bricks-and-mortar plus-size retailers comprise far less than 20% of the total women's apparel retail industry -- and high-end options in the category are extremely rare, so purchase prices are substantially lower.
At the crux of the inequity, according to some plus-size designers, models and retailers, is prejudice toward women the industry doesn't find particularly glamorous or sexy. Like fifth-grade girls who secretly live in fear of being ostracized from the cool clique, they don't want to be caught talking to the fat girl.
Full-figured supermodel Emme sells her own plus-size collection, me by Emme, on QVC, and will be debuting Emme Style, an online clearinghouse for plus-size fashion resources, this year under the same name. Top fashion magazine editors and designers, she said, are guilty of perpetuating the idea that full-figured women and fashion don't mix.
"It really does come from very few edicts from a few people," she said. "You have to ask yourself why they are [defending] against this. Seriously, there are issues there."
We recall an interview in which Brooke Shields said she had trouble fitting into clothing in the high end Los Angeles boutiques. When she asked for a size 10 or 12, the clerks were appalled. It's amazing to us that more designers don't want to make money off this demographic. Well, now that the recession has hit we'll see how many of them stick to their so-called "principles" on this issue.
Be sure to read the entire article if you feel like your blood pressure is too low and you need a nice spike of adrenaline to your system. The facts and attitudes reported are simply infuriating -- not to mention short-sighted.
