Oh yes, back to school season. The time of year where teenagers, my favorite age group,  desperately flood malls to get the new style of the season. Heading inside the various stores, they know exactly what style they’re looking for and begin the hopeless journey of searching through the mix of folded and unfolded clothes. Then after minutes of searching, it turns out the store doesn’t have their right size. Asking a worker if they have any more, they look and say, “We have it online.”

Chances are, this has happened to you more than once throughout your life, no matter what size clothing you wear. But the truth is that plus-size and even mid-size girls can hardly ever find clothes in their size, no matter what season it is. 

Is That Really All There Is?

Most stores publicly advertise their plus-size section, getting the hopes up of those who can hardly find their sizes in stores. Then, once they finally get to the plus-size section, they find a small section with hardly any variety. Most clothes are decked out in random cartoon characters that make them seem like they could be found in a Disney or Universal Studios Gift Shop. 

“[T-Shirts] always have a dumb saying like that you could find online, or it’s a character I hate wearing,” shared Sophia Limon, a senior at Mt. SAC Early College Academy. “Leave it to the grandmas. Leave it to the people who love it. Yeah, I for one, do not. I don’t want to always wear flowers.”

Not to mention, it’s extremely difficult just to know what size you are. Some stores XL is another store’s medium and vice versa. If someone asks me what size I wear, I usually have to start my sentence with, “Depending on the material…” At this point in my life, I never ask for clothes as gifts anymore, and it’s not just because of my family who thinks I like the tacky cartoon shirts in my closet. It’s because whatever they get me, it’s either too small or too big.

With stores advertising their “plus-size sections,” you’ll find that the real plus-size market is actually in their online shop, where the variety of clothes is about 100 times bigger than the clothes they sell online. The problem however is you can’t try clothes when you’re online shopping, so you have to cross your fingers and hope that they fit when they come. 

Supply and Demand: It’s a Pretty Big Deal

One of the biggest stores that loves to advertise their plus-sizes is Old Navy. I always remember seeing the now former SNL cast member Aidy Bryant, a plus-size woman, advertising their jeans in 2021. Back then, Old Navy pushed these ads everywhere in order to promote their new plus-size regime BODEQUALITY, or body equality, which was the introduction of sizes 0-28 in their stores. 

However, less than a year after advertising their plus-sized market, Old Navy announced in May 2022 that they would be discontinuing BODEQUALITY in stores due to sales issues. They still would have inclusive sizes online, but actual stores would not include as many styles. But why did this happen in the first place? Why does a brand that heavily promotes body diversity not sell them in their actual stores?

The issue stemmed from not matching the demand of customers. Old Navy underestimated how many clothes to produce , especially since their plus-size market was brand new and they weren’t sure how many people would buy from it. This caused their mid-size clothing to sell out fairly quickly while the bigger sizes stayed untouched on shelves and were prone to huge discounts.

Instead of trying to create more advertisements or listening to the demand of customers, Old Navy decided this was enough to bring an end to BODEQUALITY in stores, instead explicitly selling most of their plus sizes online. This prompted Old Navy to release a statement, answering the questions plus size consumers had about their new policies. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping at Old Navy. It is truly an amazing store that has fashionable clothing for a relatively cheap price, but I just wish that they wouldn’t have ended their BODEQUALITY campaigns so early in their stores. All good things happen to those who wait.

Where Did Customers Go?

My big question is that if 67% of American women wear plus-sizes 14 and above, then why isn’t there more demand? Well, according to ModernRetail, the demand is there, but the problem is that stores like Old Navy, Torrid, and others aren’t doing enough to market their clothes. Oftentimes in these stores, “advertisement” is just making a few ads and adding a few signs outside of their stores. This is hardly an effective marketing strategy to convince customers to buy from your store. Nowadays, advertisements are mainly streamed through various social media sites. 

Another big reason for the downfall of these stores is the fact that they don’t cater to the new fashions and styles that are currently emplaced. “I gotta say, I got used to wearing baggy clothing,” Sophia Limon explained. [But] as comfortable as that feels, I should also be allowed to wear things that actually are tailored to fit me without being extra roomy. So that’s like the major problem with fashion.”

I don’t think anytime I’ve tried shopping that they have had anything that was in season. Usually when I go shopping, I can find the exact same style of clothes no matter the season in comparison to the numerous displays of new clothes for smaller sizes. 

Lots of Frills and Dollar Bills

One of the current trendy styles on social media are summer dresses, and it’s absolutely one of my favorite styles. I love being able to dress up for no random reason, but it’s practically impossible to find plus-size summer dresses in stores. Even if you are lucky enough to find them, they are vastly different from the smaller-sized dresses. Plus-size dresses are often found in dark or highlighter colors instead of the soft colors found in other sizes. 

From what I’ve noticed, most plus-size sections in stores have very frilly dresses. They look extremely similar to nightgowns you would imagine your grandmother wearing. These dresses also usually have sleeves, making it seem as if plus-size women are so insecure about their arms and can’t have the confidence to wear sleeveless dresses. 

Lots of stores also ruin looks by adding unnecessary cloth like Sophia Limon describes, “My prom dress, I [got] off of Amazon, but we got it fixed up a bit because the sleeves were low key super ugly. It had this pattern that looked like one of those reversible pillows you get at Five Below. They need to stop doing that. They need to stop putting ugly stuff on pretty things.”

Torrid, a plus-size store that has sizes 10-30, has a wide option of summer dresses, but many of these colors are dull. While there are some bright options, just by scrolling through the selections, you can see most of the women are wearing dark colors such as black or gray. Some of these dresses are adorable, so it would be a great idea if they provided more softer colored options, especially in the spring and summer months.

The same goes for other plus-size markets like Lane Bryant or Universal Standard. These stores are mainly found online, and these stores can hardly be found in malls or anywhere. Their clothing is also more geared towards adults or older women.

As of now, the cheapest top at Lane Bryant is a floral tank top running at $14.95. Not a bad price, but they are also having a huge sale. The original price of that tank top is $46.95. Insane, I know, but just wait until you hear Universal Standard’s prices. Their cheapest top is $25 for a plain tank, but once again, this is also after a 50% sale. The cheapest item that isn’t on sale is a black square neck tank that costs $48. Also as a reminder, the prices for these tops are all before taxes or shipping. 

These stores are prime examples of what is known as the “fat tax.”  This is when stores make their prices extremely expensive for people who are bigger. This is why instead of reasonable prices like $15-$20 for a tank, stores expect customers to spend $40-$50 for the same quality material. Not to mention at online stores like these, where you also have to pay shipping, which is just the cherry on top. 

“It sucks,” said Sophia Limon. “Like a majority of the clothes that fit my body are like graphic T-shirts. And as fun as that can be, it’s also really dumb and annoying, because I see people out here with really pretty clothing… and that’s not an option for me unless I want to spend, like, hundreds of dollars.” 

A Hopeful Redemption

According to Credence Research, the plus-size market in 2023 was estimated at about 58.8 million dollars, and is estimated to almost double by 2032. With 67% of American women who are mid or plus-size, the market will probably continue to grow every year. So far, the value has grown at a snail’s pace, matching the same urgency stores have to comply with their customers demands. 

I believe that if stores actually take the time to listen to their customers, the plus-size market is guaranteed to boom. There are so many influencers and articles that are constantly discussing their disappointment in their favorite plus-size stores, begging them to do better and make better, affordable clothes, yet they wonder why no one is buying from them. 

“I feel like the fashion industry needs to stop making ugly stuff for Fashion Week. Stop doing that, and affordable brands should actually start making beautiful clothing for plus size people,” Sophia Limon expressed.

If stores seize the chance to properly advertise and make fashionable, affordable clothing, the plus-size market will definitely steer towards expansion. People regardless of size should be able to find clothes that fit their bodies properly and not worry about their sizes being unavailable. It’s time for brands to get the wake-up call they need in order to change.