As someone who is plus size and living that middle class lifestyle that many people around the world know so well, I feel like I can have an input and speak my mind because, honestly, I am pretty ticked off by this.
Everywhere you look on the internet, you see women who are plus sized and they look amazing. Whether they're models like Tess Munster or Instagram beauties like Shawna from ChubbyCartwheels (who is also a fashion designer and runs ChubbyCartwheels.com, an online plus size store), being plus size and fabulous looks like it could be doable for anyone. Oh, how wrong that is...
There was an uproar on my Facebook feed today about the price of plus size fashion, especially on sites like DominoDollhouse and Torrid. People were arguing because, and this is brutal honesty, plus size clothing is double, if not triple, the price of regular size clothing, in any quality store whether online or physical. Being fat and shopping already sucks if you're not fully accepting of your body and know exactly what looks amazing on your frame, but adding in the price of the clothing just makes the middle class girl want to run and hide.
Living in Canada, there are only two stores, that I am aware of, that sell quality plus size clothing. These stores are Penningtons and Additionelle. They are two different stores with two different price ranges, but both shops typically share the same building space. Going into these stores is like walking into Fat Girl Heaven. The clothes, for the most part, are nice. They're made of quality material and they fit really well on most bodies. The only problem: You have to sell your ass to get a full, casual outfit.
Let me tell you all a story.
Last year, me and my best friend went into Penningtons/Additionelle to find me some clothing for summer/work. I had $150 to spend and I was ready. I was thinking I could get some new jeans, a nice top to match and maybe a nice summer dress. I was excited, and so was she. She loves to shop. We were scouring the racks and checking price tags... Only to be disappointed over and over again by the amount of money I would be spending on such little pieces of fabric. I ended up purchasing a very thin, quite see-through, purple blouse for $65 (with tax), and didn't have enough money for anything else. One item in particular broke my heart: A black and blue ombre skirt that hung to the floor. It would have gone perfectly with a white, short sleeved shirt, tucked in, if worn high waisted, but I just couldn't afford the $70 price tag. I left feeling quite cheated and rather angry at society, especially when I was forced to go to a store called Giant Tiger and buy clothing that not only fit rather poorly, but possessed thin, see-through fabric and everything shrunk and deformed after one wash. Buying clothing should not be this difficult.
Being plus size and not part of the upper-middle class society means that you are stuck with clothing that is thin, cheap and loose-fitting. I don't understand online shops that believe that dresses should cost upwards of $100 just because they contain more fabric than regular sizes. A plus size dress that costs $80 in a store can be found in the regular sizes for $15. A pair of jeans in a size 26 is sold for $65 when the exact same pair of jeans can be found in a size 6 for $20 or less. Why is this okay? Because I am a size 28, at the moment, and part of the lower-middle class, I am forced to buy all of my clothing from stores like Wal-Mart or Old Navy, and the saddest part is, Old Navy doesn't even sell plus size clothing in stores so I am forced to shop blindly online, often ending up with clothing that is too big, too small, too short, or too see-through. It shouldn't be that way. If you're above a 2XL, you shouldn't have to pay an extra $35 for a decent article of clothing. If you're overweight, you shouldn't be subjected to cheap, flimsy clothing because you can't afford the "extra material tax" that all stores have on plus size clothing. It's pathetic and it's wrong.
And I know what many people will probably think, because I've heard it all before: "Instead of complaining about it, why don't you just lose weight or get a better job so you can afford the better clothing?" Well, I'll break that down as well.
Losing Weight: If I lose weight, which I am making an attempt at doing, I will have to buy more clothing. The clothing I have now will no longer fit. So I will have to spend money I do not have in order to constantly supply myself with clothing, especially pants, to keep my ever-shrinking body covered.
Get A Better Job: Well, there is a capital idea! However, in order to get a better job, I will need to look the part. I don't think frumpy hoodies, see-through shirts and too-big or too-small jeans will get me very far, do you?
I'm sorry for this rant, especially if you get offended easily, but this has me very upset and it has for a very long time. I will never let this go, because this is a problem. This is an issue. Maybe women would feel more comfortable in their skin if clothing stores would allow them to.
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