Plus Size Fashion
Geometric prints, sequined jeans, off-the-shoulder blouses…If they all sound
like the latest spring fashions, they are—for women who like to wear plus
size fashion. Something interesting has happened in the last few years:
plus size fashion has gone main stream. There are now over 2,000 vendors in
the market. There’s been a total attitude shift. And it comes down to buying
power. It’s a shift in the economic balance in the fashion industry.
Lifestyle found that 24% of women report they wear dress and pants sizes of 12
to 14, while 22% of women say they are size 15 and up. Also, according to
available industry research, the plus-size market is the fastest-growing apparel
category. And this consumer continues to break down stereotypes. Industry
reports indicate that consumers who go for plus size
fashion are college graduates.
Among the latest firms to offer plus size fashion is
Lane Bryant and
Jessica London.
There’s also change on the teen front. Like many of the company’s
ideas, this one also came directly from kids, through comment cards, as well as
from a feedback feature on the firm’s website. About two years ago, the vendors
began hearing from customers who wanted plus size fashion expanded sizes, and
over the past few years, it’s been the number-one request from female customers.
Still, as more companies expand into the plus-size market, industry watchers
caution that it’s not enough simply to offer the same looks in larger sizes; to
really serve this segment well, apparel firms need to understand the plus size
customer’s wants and needs.
For one thing, she notes, not all women who
like plus size fashion have the same needs. In the size 14-18 group, for
example, women are generally looking for established brand names in
larger-fitting sizes. Then there’s the plus-size segment of women who are
significantly larger—size 20 and above. Companies have to understand the
specific needs of the consumer, her taste level, what she wants, etc. You need
to understand her life. Clearly, we still have a long way to go, and hopefully
Mode is helping. But our feelings about body image have changed. There is a new
acceptance, and part of that comes from the power of women, their buying
capability and what they’re demanding. In the future, the women with plus size
won’t be called plus size; we’ll be the normal size, and everyone else will be
the minus size.”
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