"Plus" Sizes

OK, I know that there are several plus size stores out there, and in fact I do shop them very frequently. However, I'm paying twice as much for my clothes as a slimmer person. Because I can't shop for nice work clothes at a regular department store, or discount store, I am forced to shop at the more expensive store.

Before anyone states the obvious, yes they all have "women's" or "plus" sized areas of the women's department, but, all these clothes are, is either "old lady" clothes, or shapeless facsimiles of smaller sizes.

Considering that the press keeps telling us that more than half of Americans are "obese", you would think that clothing designers would want to tap into that market. I don't understand why they are not.

There are 3 stores I can shop at. LB, TR, and CE. I tend not to shop at CE because their clothes are very much for older women. (Think retirees). I have shopped at TR, but their clothes are SO young, and I'm sorry, but I don't think that anyone my size or larger should be wearing strapless ANYTHING. Nor do I think that women my size should be wearing halter tops, slinky dresses, or anything super fitted. (You can totally look sexy with out looking fat and trampy, although there are exceptions to the rule, my friend C looks good in ANYTHING.) That leaves LB. The most expensive of the three. (PS LB also owns CE, but they have different styles, obviously.) So, I shop at LB. And I pay 44.50 for a button up blouse, a pair of khaki shorts, and a pair of slacks. I pay a minimum of 18.50 for a tee shirt. Yes, a tee shirt. Why, you ask? Because the clothes that I buy there are not just larger sized clothes that were designed for stick figures, but clothes that are actually made for women who are bigger.

I want to be able to walk into a store and pick out something. I am not saying that all stores should have an extensive plus size department. I'm just saying that not all fat girls are old. We have shapes, and I'm sick of paying so much for my clothes. It would be really nice if there were an outlet for me to buy inexpensive, pretty, work oriented or cool clothes at a reasonable price. I'm not talking designer clothes here, just pieces that work without making me look like my clothes don't fit at all. Half the time, when I try on "plus" sizes in a regular store, it just looks silly. The pants are too long, the sleeves are too long, the bust is either way too small, or way too big, and the size just doesn't match what's on the label.

Don't try and tell me that I need to work out, don't tell me to eat better. I've done all that, and even at my thinnest, I still needed LB for my clothes. When I was a size 12 or 14, the "plus" size in the regular store was too tent like, with NO shape at all. Just because we are "plus" sized, doesn't mean we are all shaped like apples, or pears, women were made to have curves, and we call can't look like Keira Knightley. I can't see how a size 12 is "plus", but that's just my opinion. Not like it really matters, because companies are just out to make a buck as fast as they can.

Women my age and especially younger than me are buying it all. We all want to look good, but we can't pretend that big girls look good in skinny girls clothes, it just doesn't happen. I HATE seeing someone my size in something that someone any bigger than a size 8 should NEVER wear.