Stylish at Any Size
Hey, hey, hey Ladies, I hope this blog finds you well! I’ve been doing some digging on fashion in different sizes and I’m here to tell you … you are not the only one that hates going to the store and not finding something you like in your size. Whether it be too short or too long, to tight for comfort, or doesn’t fit at all. It shouldn’t be this hard to find stylish clothes that fits your body and sense of style! I for one, being a plus size girl that is also on the shorter side, have the worse time shopping. To be fair, these days there are a ton more stores now that are body inclusive than there used to be, but why isn’t every store!?
As we all may know, the society’s ideal body type changes with the times. In the 1800 the ideal was curvy, and when new mass manufacturing technology evolved in the early 1900’s clothing was no longer made-to-order and designers where making fewer variations. This lead to the standardization of measurements and the exclusion of what ever body type was not popular at the time. In 1904 the first exclusive plus size retailer popped up. The designer was Lena Bryant who created Lane Bryant; which opened it’s first store in New York City. It wasn’t until the 80’s that “Plus-Size” became the word of choice for sizes over a 12. But even to this day the failure to recognize that women come in different shapes and sizes is a fashion blind spot that needs to be rectified with haste!
Bustle talked to almost 100 petite women about their experiences while out clothing shopping and all reported having the worst time. When asked the question, “What could be better about their shopping experience?” an overwhelming number of them responded that brands needed to make petite sizes. If a brands is already making clothing why not offer it in a version that fits them too!? What is the difference between petite and “average height” women? Torso length, arm length, leg length, etc! It is not just a matter of getting your pants hemmed. Women who are of a taller stature have just as many struggles as us petite and plus size women. Unlike men, who have entire Big & Tall stores, women aren’t rewarded the same luxury. Although Women struggle to find clothing we often make it work and somehow rise above and find clothing that is stylish.
Plus Size 
Petite 
Tall
Many Brands now offer a wide range of sizes and fits, and there are tons of shops and designers popping up with clothing that fit a variety builds. Torrid offers plus size clothing in tall and petite sizing. Old Navy has a wide range of sizes for tall, petite, and plus. Even fast fashion retailer Forever 21 offers a range of sizes, and many high end designers are jumping on the band wagon too by offering size ranges larger then a size 12. As a matter of fact, Dolce & Gabbana is the first to offer their couture line up to a size 26!
There are also many designers that are customizing clothing to fit you personally, like the Aesthetik. I think it is great because you can find the most amazing piece and pay an additional $50 to send in your measurements and have the piece created to fit your body perfectly! the Aesthetik offers Plus, Petite, and Tall custom sizing for a majority of her beautiful pieces. So when you are shopping and looking through the online boutique and just remember if you don’t see your size she can custom size and fit anything you’d like! You are basically getting couture for the price of ready to wear!
So, even though its hard finding things that you like that fit you, everyday more and more designers and brands come to terms with bodies not all being the same shape and hopefully one day we can walk into any store and find our size without having our own section or not having a section at all.
Well I’m going to wrap up this up by saying, “You are beautiful at any shape, or size and you go on and slay queen!” Don’t let brands or designers, not caring about you, bring you down because you own your style and look good in everything. So keep killin’ it!
To read the full Bustle article check out the link below: https://www.bustle.com/p/we-talked-to-88-petite-people-about-how-they-shop-for-clothes-that-actually-fit-10089789
Until next time – Madeline
One of eleven children, Madeline Dodson is a Texas native who is the guru of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Having graduated with a Bachelors in Fashion Design, she is an avid fashion illustrator, art and history buff that currently works as a freelance fashion designer for various labels in New York City.