WHAT DOES THE PLUS SIZE CONSUMER WANT?

Hey curvy girls all over the world,

So, over the past 10 years, plus size fashion has evolved from basic oversized pieces that hid any ounce of your curves to crop tops, body con dresses, and mini skirts. My, how plus size fashion has changed. While many would agree with me, we are in better shape than we were before. With the emergence of new indie designers and retailers, there is a new breed of plus size women. Today’s plus size woman wants trends, wants to look sexy, and most importantly wants to feel confident. On the heels of their one year anniversary for the official launch of their plus size collection, Modcloth did a survey on what plus size women want from fashion.

According to their data, more than 90% of women agree that “what you wear can affect how you feel” Isn’t that the truth. How many times have you put on something that fit your body so well, that for the entire day you were exuding confidence? To cosign my point that there is a new breed of plus size women who don’t want to be covered up, Modcloth’s data found that, 88% of plus size women agree “I would buy more clothing if more trendy options were available in my size. It was always mind boggling to me how brands and retailers would only allot a small percentage of trendy pieces to their seasonal collections. I’ve always felt that fashion is subjective, but everybody wants to look good and be able to express themselves through fashion. For such a long time, it was hard for plus size women to have options that allowed them to express who they were.

 

While we now have myriad style options that are actually good, plus size retailers still struggle with finding models that have a more realistic representation to the plus size consumer. Many retail brands use plus size models anywhere from a 10-14. Which can confuse shoppers. When you see a model like Robin Lawley, you don’t think of her as plus. So, when you see her in a garment, it can be challenging to try and guess how the piece she’s modeling will look on you. Modcloth’s data also found that, only 29% of plus women agree: “Plus size models accurately represent the plus size community of women” really, they don’t Thanks to designers like Monif C., Jibri, and Zelie for she for always using plus size models above a size 14.

When Modcloth launched their official plus collection last summer, the community was very excited because Modcloth would create the very same pieces in their women’s section also in plus sizes. They understood that we wanted the same styles and trends, just in our sizes. Not only do we want them in our size but we want those pieces to fit us well. Modcloth’s data also found that, 77% of plus size women say its difficult to find garments that fit them well (compared to 50% of straight size women) There is really no surprise there. Fit is everything for women, whether they have a little or a lot of meat on their bones. Most retailers don’t take the time to actually create pieces with the form of a plus size woman in mind. This is one of the reasons, I think plus size fit models are so important. No one wants clothes that are too tight or too big and even worse, clothes that ride up and expose all your goodies. No one has time to continuously pull down their clothes all day.

To be honest, plus size fashion still has a way to go but I believe it is on the right track with the bevy of style options, emergence of new designers and retailers, and the budding industry of plus size models.

What do you think about the state of plus size fashion? Are you happy with where we are now?

In honor of Modcloth’s one year anniversary for their plus size section, go pay them a visit and checkout the new styles they have HERE

 

*Please note that all data was provided by Modcloth and I received compensation for this post. However, all opinions are my own and in no way were affected by the compensation I received.