When traipsing around any ordinary mall, plus size people are left with five or less stores to find clothes and they usually consist of Lane Bryant, Torrid and the plus size section of Forever 21. Meanwhile, there are countless stores for sizes XXS–L. And, although there are many stores that offer extended sizes online, plus size options and stores need to be included in malls and shopping centers for people to try on and buy clothes in an actual store.
It’s often disheartening to see the options for plus size people are a whole different genre of fashion while shopping at the plus size stores in a mall. Rather than just make the same type of clothing made in smaller sizes and simply make it bigger, plus size fashion makers choose designs and prints that have not been trendy since 2012. Cold shoulder shirts are not ugly or inherently bad, but there should be updated styles available to try on and purchase in a physical store. And, plus size individuals should not be forced to look longingly at the more fashionable clothes made for smaller people.
Another cop-out that clothing brands who have extended their sizing have used is offering the extended sizes exclusively online. It is nice that there are extended sizes in the first place, but they deserve to have a place in the physical store just as every other size does.
The lack of plus size stores, plus size sections and fashionable options for plus size clothing can take a mental toll on shoppers, especially young shoppers, when trying to find clothing. It is depressing and a major blow to personal self-image to be stuck shopping in a place that does not offer options that will fit, and nothing feels worse than trying to escape a pair of jeans that don’t fit in a hot, fluorescent-lit dressing room. Some of the worst memories I have of shopping as a bigger person in high school pertain to trying to find a dress for a school dance; not being able to shop in the junior’s section as a junior still sticks in my mind as an adult.
A common argument used for absolutely any complaint from plus sized individuals is, “Well you should just lose weight.” In the case of buying clothes at a shopping mall, everyone should have options to browse — not just smaller-sized people. Everyone wears clothing, and everyone deserves to wear clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident — not just small-bodied individuals. Additionally, clothes are not made to be fit in to, they are made to fit the people who wear them. People who want to wear clothes they feel comfortable and confident in should not be losing weight specifically for that reason.
Although plus-sized people are not the default size in clothing and fashion retail, they still deserve to buy and wear clothes they like. People who do not fit into current standard store sizes should not be punished for their size by being extremely limited in their options at a mall.
Jillian Craig is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Jillian know by tweeting her at @JillianCraig18.
