does size matter

Headlines announce Kmart decides to stop using the term ‘plus’ and instead brand these items ‘fabulous sized’. Part of me rolls my eyes and another part of me wonders if this is the disruption that the industry needs.

For years I hovered in the purgatory that exists between ‘regular’ size 14 and ‘plus’ size 16. I didn’t fit in either. There was a short period when I fit into the no longer Additionelle size 12. It was great. I shopped at one store and everything was always on sale because no one really fit that size. Before that it was flip-flopping the aisles at Cotton Ginny where a plus size 12 fit better than a regular size 14 but cost between $5 and $8 more because they used more fabric – no word of a lie this was their rationale for charging larger women more for their clothes. Instead of being honest and admitting they had a captive market with almost no alternative and they could get away with it.

Fortunately the industry keeps adjusting sizes and adding “00” – what used to be size 2. So now I can, mostly, comfortably buy clothes, provided ‘that bitch’ doesn’t get there first and clear out the one size 12/14 that the store has. Although admittedly I most buy knit wear anymore so I have a little give to work with.

I’m not a size warrior. I really don’t care what the label says I just want the clothes to fit properly and be flattering. But what I have never understood is that we know there is a market out there for larger sizes and yet retailers continue to leave money on the table pretending this market doesn’t exist. 

Or perhaps even worse, they shutter this group into online shopping, keeping those larger bodies out of the shops to fit some sort of aesthetic that really shouldn’t exist. And frankly, if you asked most people, nobody is that offended by. Yes I know there are major fat shaming issues out there. I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it. I’ve had it done to me. What I’m hoping to address in this post isn’t this subject. It’s the completely and utter lack of interest in a market that makes money.

Let’s back up for a minute. Buying your clothes off the rack is a relatively new idea. Up until midway through the last century you picked your dresses from a model or a drawing, you were measured and your garment made. If you couldn't afford that you often made your own garments. For centuries prêt a porter was limited to unfitted garments, night clothes and gloves. Simply; your clothes were made to fit you. When ready to wear became prevalent the idea of sizing came into play and suddenly you needed to fit your clothes. But ask any well dressed person and the secret they’ll keep is tailoring. There is no such thing as standard sizing and sizes are designed to make the most efficient use of fabric, not to fit an actual body.

There’s always the fact that conspicuous consumption, the concept of disposable clothing is also fairly new. And it’s an entirely different subject. Not so long ago you had a few well made garments that were expected to last for years. When your good dress wore out a bit you kept wearing it but it was downgraded to day dress or house frock. There is a massive environmental issue surrounding disposal of seldom worn garments and the lack of recycling of textiles but again I’m trying to focus here.

I have a range of friends in a range of sizes. And we all struggle to find pants that fit. Many of my self-proclaimed ‘fat’ friends have taught themselves to sew. Something I also do. However even the pattern industry doesn’t go past a size 24. There, it seems, is no winning.

Does Kmart have the right idea? I have no idea. Kmart isn’t a Canadian entity anymore so my first hand experience won’t be happening any time soon. Does my decision to try to shop in size inclusive establishments make a difference? I hope so, but so many of those continue to only cater to the larger size market via online, so I can’t shop with these friends. Does size designation really making shopping easier or does it just isolate us by labeling us in a negative way?

Am I really going to go out and ask if a shop carries ‘fabulous’ sizes? Or am I just going to ask; why can’t we just say size and get on with it?

or in that direction

Not that I fancy Galen Weston actually reads my blog.  But just a few days after my last post, Loblaws company announces their new format for small urban stores, 'The Box by No Frills'.  Essentially a small, 10,000 sq. ft. version of No Frills - your average No Frills is 25,000 sq. ft.  The tests run in Calgary to see how the market responds.  To be a tad elitist, what plays in Calgary may not translate here, but I'm just one voice.

why size matters

Anyone who has ever purchased clothes knows that size isn’t consistent.  In fact there is no such thing as a size ‘standard’.  Each manufacturer sets their own sizing and, usually, tend to stick with them.  As a woman, you’ve undoubtedly learned who ‘fits small’ and who doesn’t.  

And if you haven’t been living in a cave you’ll also be aware that over the last ten years of so, you know that sizes have been increasing, but while staying the same – which is to say that the size 10 you bought a few years ago is the size 6 you bought recently. 

If you’re like me you don’t weigh yourself very often but instead use your clothes as a gauge of your weight gain or loss and mostly was a decent way to judge.  When things start to feel a little tight it’s time to lighten up a bit.  And this is why I’m currently in a bit of a conundrum about the role the clothing manufacturing industry has in the management of my waist line.

Now realistically, nothing, but somehow that doesn’t sit so well with me.

For some reason I am pretty good at maintaining my weight.  Over the course of my adulthood I’ve pretty much been the same size.  As I’ve mentioned before, my office moved away from the more populated area of the city and in so my habit of running a few errands over the lunch break wasn’t possible anymore.  The reason I mention these facts is that I seem to have added a few pounds over the last year, unwanted ones   However, I have also seemed to have reduced my clothing by a size.

I’m no math wizard, but that does not add up.

Weight is a ‘massive’ issue in North America, one that I’m not going to go into beyond my own experience. And this is where I start to question if it is reprehensible that clothing sizes continue to grow in girth but stay the same in name – giving us all a false sense of the facts.

Recently I tried on pants at a store where I shop in a regular basis.  They manufacture their own brand so the sizing is relatively standard year to year.  But this time, some of the garments I tried on where two sizes smaller.  I had not lost the estimated 20 lbs required for that much of a size difference.  And I was stunned.  So stunned I mentioned it to the store manager.  Fortunately this seemed to be an isolated incident but it still makes me wonder how much the recalibration of sizing affects the weight of North Americans.

In the end there’s probably nothing to be done except maybe uses the scales instead of the waist band to gauge my size.