8 years ago
8
Designers refuse to make clothes to fit American women. It’s a disgrace.
Far more women in this country wear a size 16 than a size 6, but the industry either doesn't notice or doesn't care. There are 100 million plus-size women in America, and, for the past three years, they have increased their spending on clothes faster than their straight-size counterparts. There is money to be made here ($20.4 billion, up 17% from 2013). But many designers — dripping with disdain, lacking imagination or simply too cowardly to take a risk — still refuse to make clothes for them.
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Ok, I'm not an artist type, but I can see how designers would like to design clothes that look pretty when they are worn. Whether you like it or not, it pretty much impossible to design something that would look pretty on an obese person.
Having said that, it is a bit perplexing to see companies choosing aesthetics over money, so I guess there's something else at play here.
I agree...Nothing looks good on a 400 pounder,.
High fashion targets the affluent and upper class which as a whole tends to suffer less from obesity. PDF - Adult Obesity and Socioeconomic Status; More educated, higher income, professionals, etc. are less obese.
Designer fashion easily costs at least $1,000 per item for a simple dress and over $10,000 for more formal wear. For example, Bergdorf Goodman's online store. Thus, one wealthy woman's attire for a night can easily cost as much as a cheap car. To maintain such high price points, the value of the brand's image must be maintained; exclusivity is key. Changing the brand's vision to include obese women would be very likely damaging to the firm and cause it to lose money.
It is more profitable and easier to target a very few affluent people who are willing to spend a lot rather than a large population at a lower price point. An analogy would be like investment banking; work on a few multi-billion dollar deals rather than deal with a couple million customers who only generate a couple dollar each.
It´s not a US privilege. In Brazil, the number has shrunk hindering the options of people who are not size Small
Perhaps they just don't wish to adhere to our insistence for unhealthy life choices. I say that only after having looked up healthy weights and that correlation to clothing sizes..
They don't even appeal to healthy body sizes, but focus primarily on body sizes that are too thin.
Besides, what should people with unhealthy body sizes do, go naked while they try to lose weight?
Having lived in US for three years I can say that the stores in US sells sizes that are primarily for overweight people, including regular mainstream stores. A regular type of underwear for me in Europe is usually XL, wheras in the US it is L or M even. Almost every piece of clothing sold in the US is relabled into a smaller size because americans are generally fat (really, get over it).
I don't like ultra thin women they use|cater to either, but No, I'm not saying they should wear nothing, the way I read it is they are offering the sizes, Penny's(16%) and Nordstrom(8%) both carry stuff just not a lot of it. That means the market is tiny in what you can wear, not that it doesn't exist at all. We are now talking about why won't companies make these sizes, because they don't have to, they want to make clothes the way they want, it leaves the market open for a no-name or lower name designer to enter that is willing to fill that market, some of the problem seems to be that nobody is making name brand clothing in the sizes and styles they want. I know men have it better in this department but just like big larger guys, sometimes the internet is going to be your option, most Targets don't carry shirts larger than XXL in store, Sams Club just started carrying XXXL, mens pants usually top out around 36-40 in store, Walmart in my area also is a 3x|40 place, but I've known people that claim theirs carry larger sizes... so the option is either a big & tall store or to go to Amazon or some other internet retailer. The other option is to get healthier so you can buy those clothes you really like but don't come in your size.