

The average American woman is about 25 pounds heavier than her counterpart was in 1960. Yet women's plus-size clothing, generally defined as size 14 and up, still makes up only about 9 percent of the $190 billion spent annually on clothes.


The fashion industry has long spent more time, money and marketing on clothing for taut bodies than for curvier ones because it's easier and more profitable to do so. However, retail analysts and plus-size women say there's something else at play: Stereotypes about larger women not wanting to dress fashionably keep companies from making clothes that are flattering to them. In turn, that discourages them from spending more.

(Kirk Lyttle/St. Paul Pioneer Press)

"There is still an interesting stigma attached to plus-size fashion and the woman who wears it," says Marie Denee, who wears a size 16 and studies the industry via her website, TheCurvyFashionista.com. "Many think 'Oh, she doesn't want to draw attention, live life, date, be confident, wear fitted clothes with bold colors and patterns,' when the exact opposite is true."

Carmen Barrington, 32, says that attitude has resulted in fewer plus-size options. Barrington, who wears about a size 22, lamented recently after a day of shopping at Forever 21, Lane Bryant and other stores that she sometimes can't even find decent plus-size clothing at retailers that specialize in it.

"It was a hot, annoying day, and I spent it trying on stuff and came up with nothing," Barrington, who works in human resources, says. "There's this aversion to being associated with plus-size clothes." To be sure, sizing is an inexact science. Women's sizes were developed in the 1920s as catalogs became popular and ready-to-wear clothing replaced tailor made or self-sewn items.



The sizes stayed the same, but the numbers decreased gradually, Zulli says, about one size a decade. This is known as "vanity sizing," because it gives women the impression that they're fitting into a smaller size.

Women's sizes, which today range from 0 to 24 but vary from store to store, haven't evolved much for decades. For the most part, neither has the range of plus-size fashions.

As a result, the amount spent on women's plus-size clothing annually has only risen by one percentage point to 9 percent since 2011, the furthest back plus-size data is available from research firm NPD Group.



Lane Bryant, a plus size retailer, said last month that it is expanding into higher-end designer clothing. It will debut its first designer collaboration with Isabel and Ruben Toledo on a collection of holiday clothes and later a spring line.

"This is a big deal for us, and we're treating it in that manner in every way we can," said Linda Heasley, Lane Bryant's CEO.


"Our customer comes in all shapes and sizes, and our range should reflect that," Smith says.

But for every chain adding to their plus-size offerings, many others continue to cater to smaller sizes. Abercrombie & Fitch, for instance, has been criticized for only offering sizes 0 to 10 and its CEO's comments that the chain caters to "cool" and "attractive" kids.

The company says it is an "aspirational brand" that targets a "particular segment of customers." The comments received widespread backlash online, and Abercrombie has since begun anti-bullying initiatives. However, it has not started offering bigger sizes.




"More times than not, they were excited about entering the space but ... extremely inexperienced," she says. "They didn't have plus-size knowledge or expertise."

After ModCloth hired an expert to help the designers learn how to make larger sizes, the retailer started selling plus sizes a year ago and officially launched the category in June. Now, more than 100 vendors offer plus sizes, and ModCloth's sales of plus-size items have quadrupled within the year.

"The plus-size customer definitely feels excluded in many areas of the fashion industry," Fetto says.

That customer has been gaining a voice on social media lately. Emily Sandford, who wears about a size 24, started a weight loss and plus-size fashion blog, Authenticallyemmie.com, in 2009. "The blogging world is helping open up people's eyes to what is available and what isn't available," she says.

