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Attn Plus Sized Dress Designers!


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I don't know what clown school you folks came from, but this plus sized Momma has a few issues w/the so called fashionable dresses you crank out.

 

In no particular order:

 

I am plus sized. Chances are, I have bOOks. Generous ones. Not allowing enough room in the dress for anyone w/bOOks, let alone the TOMES that I tote around, is not good. Nor is cutting the dress in such a way that a bOOkshelf is impossible to be worn a good plan.

 

Waist. We need a WAIST, ppl. Esp when we're plus sized. Something that hangs like a flipping Hefty bag, is not ok. It makes us one big blob, and appear bigger than we actually are.

 

Believe it or not, some of us LIKE our curves. Really! And even have husbands, partners, lovers that ALSO LIKE OUR CURVES. We don't need to be covered in some 'fade into Grandma's wallpaper /couch' print from throat to ankles, w/out a *hint* of our curves. Really. We know we have bOOks, hips, and butts. And not all of us consider it a BAD thing.

 

Now, lets not get completely insane and make everything cut to the navel, barely cover the butt, and cling like a second skin.

 

But really, plus sized women want and need to feel attractive, flirty, s*xy, fun, feminine, romantic.

 

So can you get past the idea that we're to be hidden away, upholstered w/as much material as possible, and shamed by the lack of choices, hideous patterns, and designs of this crud, and start designing for the REAL* women out there who buy it, and their significant others that would even BUY IT FOR US, b/c THEY love it when we feel wonderful?

 

*btw: by real, I mean we actually do exist, the women who are plus sized and not living under a bridge in shame as we're obviously meant to by some of these so called designers :glare:*

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:lol:

 

Well try being short, fat, and flat. It's not any better. :D

 

I have come to the conclusion they simply don't make clothes for real people!

I got the short and fat covered :tongue_smilie:

 

Honey, the dresses I've seen aren't meant for anyone w/bOOks of any kind, let alone Ye Olde Mountain Range I haul around, so the flat would sooooo not be an issue at all!

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Can I add a rant is toward the 98% of designers who do not recognize that an apple shape exists? I have an apple shape whether I'm a size 10 or a plus size. I have no choice but to wear pants that make my rear end and thighs look like loose elephant skin OR go for the muffin top if the pants fit me in the hips on down. I would really like it if, just like there are "relaxed" styles in which the rear and thighs are larger, there were styles where the waist is cut proportionately larger than the average. Whoever decides to do this will be rich since many people are apple-shaped.

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My top is, on average, two sizes larger than my bottom.

 

One piece anything is ridiculous! If it fits in the top, it's a shapeless sack on the bottom, and if it fits on the bottom, there's no way short of an act of God it's going to fit the top!

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Ahem may I vent as well? [like I need your permission :tongue_smilie:]

 

Big woman here.

 

Big on the bottom. Big around the back. Big in the stomach.

 

:rant:

 

Not big in the books. So in general, I agree with you. My pet peeve is, while many women that are plus-size have generous books, some do not. I would love to go shopping, put on a shirt that is 'my size' and not have to figure out how to pin together the top in order to not have a GAPING hole showing all my business.

 

:rant:

 

 

That is all. Everthing else, while annoying, I can sort of deal with.

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I wanna know where you ladies are shopping! I have no hope in Hades of a shirt being anything more than a vest 98% of the time, unless I go up so many sizes that the shirt sleeves just about reach my knees! And the shoulders are slipping off one side or the other!

 

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

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My top is, on average, two sizes larger than my bottom.

 

One piece anything is ridiculous! If it fits in the top, it's a shapeless sack on the bottom, and if it fits on the bottom, there's no way short of an act of God it's going to fit the top!

 

Same here..... no matter what size I am, at any given time, my top half is 1-2 sizes larger than my bottom half. Dresses are next to impossible. I did buy this one recently. They had more sizes available at the time. First one that's worked well in a long time!

 

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One dress had a giant RUFFLE that went down the neckline, over to the side seam, then down to the hem.

 

I mean, REALLY? REALLY?!

 

oh, and pleats. Or wrinkles. Whatever the heck you call them...that go horizontally down the front and back of the dress in rows, like you're some sort of curtain/blind? :svengo:

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I wanna know where you ladies are shopping! I have no hope in Hades of a shirt being anything more than a vest 98% of the time, unless I go up so many sizes that the shirt sleeves just about reach my knees! And the shoulders are slipping off one side or the other!

 

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

 

I think the issue is that the breast size they assume and design for is WAY too big for the plus size but A and B cup gals and so small as to be laughable and seem non existent to the truly large chested plus size gals. The main thing I have enjoyed about losing weight is being able to find bras that don't assume the the 40 or 42 chest size means I must wear a D cup. So much easier to find 36 and 38s in smaller cup sizes.

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Understanding and empathizing with all the legitimate complaints:

 

There is no way to make off-the-rack clothing fit every possible shape and size, especially when you get into the plus size arena.

 

Buy cute clothes and customize and tailor them to fit your unique shape--or have someone do it for you.

 

The best advice I've heard is from Stacey from What Not To Wear - buy clothing that fits you properly at your largest part, and tailor the rest to fit.

 

eta:

Also, buy quality. I'd rather have one really great, quality sheath dress than five ill-fitting, unflattering cheap dresses. The cost is comparable. The one nice sheath dress might cost $250. As much as five cheap dresses...but a far better investment.

Edited by Abigail4476
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May I join you in ranting?

 

Accommodating curves is important, not just in the books department but also for hips. So many jeans are just straight. On me, for many jeans I try on, that means I have acres of extra waistband with tight hips and stupid-looking legs that are too tight across the thighs and wide at the ankles (and NOT in a cute, boot-cut kind of way, either). It makes the entire lower half of my body look wide.

 

And another thing. Many of us are tall. I am 5'10", which is on the tall side but not THAT unusual. Most pants and skirts max out at 5'8". I think the designers' conception of "average" is very, very limited.

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I understand, really, that no one cut/style is going to look great on everyone.

 

I do.

 

However.

 

I really think some of these designers should be obligated, by law, to actually hire a REAL plus size model (and I'm not talking a size 10! Some of these media types think a sz 10, b/c its double digits, is 'plus size'! :svengo:) and try out their designs on her.

 

And have the idea of attractive in mind, not just coverage.

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Understanding and empathizing with all the legitimate complaints:

 

There is no way to make off-the-rack clothing fit every possible shape and size, especially when you get into the plus size arena.

 

Buy cute clothes and customize and tailor them to fit your unique shape--or have someone do it for you.

 

The best advice I've heard is from Stacey from What Not To Wear - buy clothing that fits you properly at your largest part, and tailor the rest to fit.

 

eta:

Also, buy quality. I'd rather have one really great, quality sheath dress than five ill-fitting, unflattering cheap dresses. The cost is comparable. The one nice sheath dress might cost $250. As much as five cheap dresses...but a far better investment.

I can't afford to sink $250 into a dress. Regardless of how wonderful it may be, I just truly don't have it.

 

Nor can I afford tailoring.

 

I'm stuck w/off the rack, until I find a magic lamp/winning lotto ticket.

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Oh I feel your pain.

 

I'm a 34J on top (when fitted at a proper bra shop) and a size 14-16 on the bottom. I'm also an apple, so I get the saggy baggy elephant look a lot of times.

 

I hate having to buy an XXL shirt to accomodate the set of webster's unabridged english dictionaries I carry around all day, just to have it hang like a circus tent on the bottom.

 

I've been convinced for years they go to estate sales and buy the old drapes and to circuses to buy the old tents with which to make this "beautiful" garb.:confused:

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I can't afford to sink $250 into a dress. Regardless of how wonderful it may be, I just truly don't have it.

 

Nor can I afford tailoring.

 

I'm stuck w/off the rack, until I find a magic lamp/winning lotto ticket.

 

I rarely pay that much for clothing, although I have occasionally. I shop for quality at consignment, discount and outlet stores. I still stick with the nicer brands, though--they really do fit better. My favorite new sweater is from Ann Taylor LOFT, and I paid $5 for it at Goodwill.

 

Some of the nicer plus size clothing comes from Talbots, Lane Bryant, jjill, Calvin Klein, Jones New York and Ralph Lauren.

 

Also, tailoring doesn't have to be expensive. You can usually find some local seamstress who is willing to do nips and tucks for a few dollars per procedure. I usually do my own, but the lady I use charges $5 for a hem, $5-$10 for nipping in jackets and shirts, and $10-$15 for tailoring pants.

 

Creativity and a little local research can go a long way toward a more satisfactory wardrobe. :)

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I rarely pay that much for clothing, although I have occasionally. I shop for quality at consignment, discount and outlet stores. I still stick with the nicer brands, though--they really do fit better. My favorite new sweater is from Ann Taylor LOFT, and I paid $5 for it at Goodwill.

 

Some of the nicer plus size clothing comes from Talbots, Lane Bryant, jjill, Calvin Klein, Jones New York and Ralph Lauren.

 

Also, tailoring doesn't have to be expensive. You can usually find some local seamstress who is willing to do nips and tucks for a few dollars per procedure. I usually do my own, but the lady I use charges $5 for a hem, $5-$10 for nipping in jackets and shirts, and $10-$15 for tailoring pants.

 

Creativity and a little local research can go a long way toward a more satisfactory wardrobe. :)

Unfortunately, where I am now, there's one consignment store 20 mins away. "We don't carry YOUR size!" is what I was sneeringly told when I asked where the plus size clothes might be. :glare:

 

After that, it's 1.5 hrs to the next large city that would have consignment shops. I don't drive, which means it's a family outing...and shopping w/the 4 kids AND Wolf?

 

I'd rather stuff raw rice up my nose. W/a meat fork.

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My plus sized friends have good luck with Federicks and Lane Bryant.

 

I have the reverse problem. I am a flat size zero and need to get size 16 or smaller childrens clothes.

 

Dd17 is a size 4, but she has very muscular arms and shoulders, so when I make dresses for her I have to cut the dress in one size (4/6) and the sleeves in another (8/10). She's usually better off going with something sleeveless over a stretchy tee. Target's tissue tees are great for that.

 

Dd15 is blessed with nearly perfect proportions (as far as the industry is concerned). Her hips and bustline are each almost exactly 10" more than her waist. She can wear practically anything, so shopping is a breeze for her. :glare:

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May I join you in ranting?

 

Accommodating curves is important, not just in the books department but also for hips. So many jeans are just straight. On me, for many jeans I try on, that means I have acres of extra waistband with tight hips and stupid-looking legs that are too tight across the thighs and wide at the ankles (and NOT in a cute, boot-cut kind of way, either). It makes the entire lower half of my body look wide.

 

And another thing. Many of us are tall. I am 5'10", which is on the tall side but not THAT unusual. Most pants and skirts max out at 5'8". I think the designers' conception of "average" is very, very limited.

 

Thank You! Just because we're plus size does not mean we are SHORT! Even the so-called tall jeans are too short. But dd is an inch taller than me, and I bought her jeans in talls, and they are too long. But she's not a plus size, so apperently REAL tall people are skinny. UGH! Oh, and the length of tops-again, we aren't all 5'5! (no offense to anyone who is 5'5- I just don't want to be showing off my belly!) I actually found longer tops in the petite section, than the women's dept. Really?

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As long as we're dissing on designers (maybe that could be a new reality show title, like we need more of those!), they also need to stop making "plus sized" clothing with large blocks of color, or horizontal stripes, or, or, or!

Or ill placed bow, ribbon, or ruffle.:glare:

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My plus sized friends have good luck with Federicks and Lane Bryant.

 

My biggest issue with Lane Bryant is that women who wear plus sizes seem to be consigned to paying not very cheap prices for the most cheaply made garments possible. Aside from their intimates, nothing I ever bought from Lane Bryant was worth even a clearance price. I pretty much only thrift but that is much easier now that I am on he upper end of the regular sizes rather than the lower end of plus sizes. I had a $50 sweater unravel from there in about 12 hours. The Avenue and similar are even worse. Old Navy stuff lasts longer and that is saying something. Maybe I just bought all the bad selections. Their dresses are especially awful!

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I'm not a plus size (well, I'd be a plus sized model if I had the right assets for such work) but I have a hard time finding clothes that fit my chest properly as well. Right at the moment a lot of the styles for tops, especially the empire waists, just make me look pregnant.

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Can I add a rant is toward the 98% of designers who do not recognize that an apple shape exists? I have an apple shape whether I'm a size 10 or a plus size. I have no choice but to wear pants that make my rear end and thighs look like loose elephant skin OR go for the muffin top if the pants fit me in the hips on down. I would really like it if, just like there are "relaxed" styles in which the rear and thighs are larger, there were styles where the waist is cut proportionately larger than the average. Whoever decides to do this will be rich since many people are apple-shaped.

 

This is my problem. If I buy something that fits in the waist it is at least two sizes too large in the hips, butt and thighs. If I buy it to fit in the hips, butt and thighs the waist is so tight it is painful. I am moving into knit and yoga style pants because I am not wuite ready for the elastic waists yet. I could get away with maternity clothes as I look like i am approximately 6 months pregnant.

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Amen!

 

I'm in that nebulous size now where XL Misses is too small, yet anything plus size looks like a potato sack.

 

I do sew, and I need to make more stuff for myself. I know how to make things fit (usually using a much smaller size, then enlarging the books and hips). Plus size sewing patterns from the â€big 3†are even wise than ready to wear. They assume you have a huge neck and shoulders too. I had great luck with Ottobre Woman patterns though.

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Lately dh has been buying me some cute clothes at dress barn. Decent. Not really expensive, especially if you watch sales. Better quality than Kohls.

 

But again, I HATE the name of the place. If I buy clothes at a barn, I feel like a cow. Silly? Yes. Still true.

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Understanding and empathizing with all the legitimate complaints:

 

There is no way to make off-the-rack clothing fit every possible shape and size, especially when you get into the plus size arena.

 

Buy cute clothes and customize and tailor them to fit your unique shape--or have someone do it for you.

 

The best advice I've heard is from Stacey from What Not To Wear - buy clothing that fits you properly at your largest part, and tailor the rest to fit.

 

eta:

Also, buy quality. I'd rather have one really great, quality sheath dress than five ill-fitting, unflattering cheap dresses. The cost is comparable. The one nice sheath dress might cost $250. As much as five cheap dresses...but a far better investment.

 

My wedding dress cost less than $250. (And it was a beautiful cotton tea-length dress with Battenburg lace. )

 

This is so far out of my league it's not even funny!

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:lol:

I have come to the conclusion they simply don't make clothes for real people!

 

:iagree: Totally. Even when I weighed 110, I still couldn't find clothes that fit right because I'm short and have a stocky build (and stockier now!). I absolutely hate clothes shopping now.

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:lol::lol:

 

I know! What are they THINKING?

They weren't. Which is why it should be mandated by LAW that they actually have to bring in plus sized women, and plus sized models, and run the risk of being beaten by poorly designed dresses. :glare:

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My top is, on average, two sizes larger than my bottom.

 

One piece anything is ridiculous! If it fits in the top, it's a shapeless sack on the bottom, and if it fits on the bottom, there's no way short of an act of God it's going to fit the top!

 

Ha! My bottom is two sizes larger than the rest of me. I gots a badonkadonk.

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Girl, preach it! I am not plus sized. I am a short gal with serious curves. My cup runneth over. I have given birth to three people and I have the hips to prove it. After shopping for clothes, I often feel like shooting people.

 

Jeans-I love them, but shopping for them is the bane of my existence. If something fits my hips, you can bet there will be a huge gap around the waist. Curvy Jeans are a joke. Do they know that many women have curves? Just make the darn waist smaller! The whole "whale-tail" look is not attractive.

 

Shirts. Ugh! If it fits my waist, the ladies are squished. If it fits my ladies, it looks like a tent. And we won't even discuss dresses:glare:. I gave up on dresses and just wear skirts.

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Ugh! I hate clothes shopping. There is nothing created to fit my body type either. I'm in between regular sizes and plus sizes. I've got b00ks and linebacker shoulders, so tops NEVER fit. One size makes me look pregnant, the next size down doesn't fit the b00ks.

 

When I was 40 lbs. lighter and shopping for my high school graduation dress, it just about drove the dress shop ladies batty when they kept bringing me size 7 and 9 dresses to try and they'd fit ...right up to about the rib cage. LOL I ended up getting a size 18 dress so it would fit my shoulders/b00ks and having the waist and hips taken in - a lot! So yeah, I wore a size 18 at 5'8" and 125ish lbs. And I've got crappy posture because I've been trying to hunch into myself for years so that I don't look like a linebacker!

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Sizing has changed in the 5 years we lived out of the USA, that's for sure! I agree that someone, somewhere, has a personal vendetta against women in general...or they suck at measuring. I haven't grown or shrunk, but my clothes that fit are virtually nonexistent now. My SIZE is there, but it doesn't fit.:confused:

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I'm plus-sized, tall and pregnant. If I don't wear stripes when I'm not pregnant then I certainly don't want to wear them now! Several more inches in the length of the shirts would be nice too, I'm wearing stretchy camisoles from Costco under all my shirts to keep from hanging out in the front and the back. :glare:

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Girl, preach it! I am not plus sized. I am a short gal with serious curves. My cup runneth over. I have given birth to three people and I have the hips to prove it. After shopping for clothes, I often feel like shooting people.

 

Jeans-I love them, but shopping for them is the bane of my existence. If something fits my hips, you can bet there will be a huge gap around the waist. Curvy Jeans are a joke. Do they know that many women have curves? Just make the darn waist smaller! The whole "whale-tail" look is not attractive.

 

Shirts. Ugh! If it fits my waist, the ladies are squished. If it fits my ladies, it looks like a tent. And we won't even discuss dresses:glare:. I gave up on dresses and just wear skirts.

 

 

I am very curvy, too. The rule for women that I learned long ago working for a high end tailor is this: buy shirts to fit your chest and pants to fit your hips. It is simpler to take in a waist than any other part of the garment. Either spend a few bucks getting things altered, or learn to do it yourself. It is worth it to have clothes look nice on you.

 

(The rule for men is to buy for the waist, then taper pants and, although usually not necessary, dart the back.)

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I can't afford to sink $250 into a dress. Regardless of how wonderful it may be, I just truly don't have it.

 

Nor can I afford tailoring.

 

I'm stuck w/off the rack, until I find a magic lamp/winning lotto ticket.

 

 

Tailoring doesn't cost as much as you may think it does. Also, if you find a decent dress on sale for under $75, then I don't see why you wouldn't spend another $20 getting it altered IF you really want a nice dress to wear that will look good on you. I don't buy $250 dresses ever. One doesn't need to. There are plenty of lesser priced options.

 

But... if you just want to rant and wear things that don't fit, then rant away. However, I absolutely and completely disagree with your rant.

 

I am a hard to fit gal and I'm very picky about what I'll wear, but I've found LOTS of nice dresses and other clothes by spending a lot of time looking -- not just at Wal-Mart and Old Navy (which I despise anyway) and Sears and the Bay and whatnot -- and I spend a little extra time altering them to make them so they are then "made for me."

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They weren't. Which is why it should be mandated by LAW that they actually have to bring in plus sized women, and plus sized models, and run the risk of being beaten by poorly designed dresses. :glare:

 

 

Some do. In one of my previous posts, the first 3 links are by a designer who refits all his designs for a medium model and then again for a 2x model, so the plus-sizes fit just as good as the non-plus sizes. There are some other designers that do this, too.

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I'm not a plus size (well, I'd be a plus sized model if I had the right assets for such work) but I have a hard time finding clothes that fit my chest properly as well. Right at the moment a lot of the styles for tops, especially the empire waists, just make me look pregnant.

 

I'm not plus anymore but fitting the top is still difficult.... and I totally understand the empire waists!

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