Mar 15, 2022 12:00:00 AM

What size-inclusivity is actually about

The road to an inclusive fashion-world is long, and we’re not even half through. A negative way to start a blog, but a realistic one. There are several steps we can take to move in the right direction, starting with size-inclusivity.

In last week’s blog, we brought adaptive fashion into our readers attention. This week we are discussing size-inclusivity. Inclusiveness means the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. In addition to the people with physical or mental disabilities, plus-size people too feel barely heard by the fashion industry. We can’t deny this either, that plus-size women hardly get the opportunity to look sexy and glamorous. Take a seat, because today we are telling you how size-inclusivity is more than adding a few X’s to your L’s.

Plus-size is not just about scaling up.

Although not to the full satisfaction of the consumer, many fashion brands are quick to celebrate their ‘extended size range’. However, the sizes then appear to only run up to US14 and sometimes 16. This is size 44-46 in Europe.

Inclusive sizing is more than just, limitedly, expanding your size range. It is a philosophy that needs to be embraced. A core value. A mission.
Inclusiveness doesn’t stop with limited adaptive garment design or a size extension to US16 EU46. Inclusiveness stops only when each individual feels valued. This means expanding US16 to US24 and plus, not forgetting that people come in different shapes too.

So little attention is paid to designing beautiful plus-size clothing that curvy people often have to wear unflattering items. Besides the fact that a curvy woman’s weight is not in the same place for everyone and two women of the same weight can look completely different, plus-size clothing does tend to be designed to a standard model. They are then scaled up or down.
However, scaling up to plus-size usually ends up being unflattering. All this while fit is the deciding factor for almost all women. There is a right way to design plus-size clothing for different body shapes and that’s by creating multiple standard models instead of just one. It’s not just about bigger sizes but also different shapes.

The bandwagon of dreams

A lot of fashion brands started offering plus-size clothing, but not because they care about inclusivity, but rather because they see advantages in the business paradigm. This isn’t a bandwagon you can jump onto without completely understanding the meaning and fully supporting it.

It is of course understandable that sizing from a certain size up becomes difficult, but a company that claims to care about inclusivity is willing to go through the mud for its customers. A profitable business, meets the customers needs, much more than adding a few X’s to their L’s.

Straight-sized VS. Plus-sized people.

The straight size people among us probably won’t have realized it, but often the plus-size clothes are hung separately in a corner of the store. Just as distinctions are made between the men’s, women’s and children’s section, many retailers are also guilty of having a plus-size section. The differentiation made here, based on clothing size, can be incredibly harsh on many people who are not as confident. The only distinction that may be made is the personal style.

The shopping experience of curvy people should be as enjoyable as that of straight-sized people. We all love fashion. So to tell a curvy lady that you have larger sizes in the back, is not cool. To design plus-size clothing oversized so that one can hide their body parts, is not cool. Making a curvy person wear darker shades and sack dresses to make them look slimmer is society’s way of telling them they are too big and need to hide themselves. Not cool.

How can we root for people to love themselves on one hand, to tell them to live under the conditions of society on the other? And lastly making a distinction by making plus-size clothing more expensive because they require more fabric, is simply horrible.

Here are some plus-size fashion brands that we love:

Girlfriend Collective:
a sustainable activewear brand with a size range from XXS to 6XL. That is exactly the inclusivity that we need to see in the fashion-industry

Good American:
The brand designed by Khloe Kardashian and Emma Grede specializes in quality plus-size jeans, active- and swimwear. An absolute favorite!

Madewell:
a Plus-size fashion brand with a flattering touch and eye for detail. Exactly as it should be!