DO IT PLUS STYLE

NATIONAL PLUS SIZE APPRECIATION DAY

On October 6, it was National Plus Size Appreciation Day which recognizes the gorgeous men and women who may be larger but are also larger than life in so many ways. Extraordinary beauty comes in all size packages.

Stereotypes could fill this page to describe plus size men and women, but then we have to consider that the average woman in the UK is in fact a size 16. With this comes women with buying power that some retailers have yet to appreciate.(see below)

The celebration recognizes the talent and elegance of our plus-size population. When it comes to being bigger, taller or curvier, put your best self forward.  Show your style, flair, and gorgeous self!

HOW TO OBSERVE #PlusSizeAppreciationDay

No matter our age, how we feel about our appearance affects our daily lives. Whether you are plus size or not, take account of the value you place on your outward appearance, contributions to others’ lives and relationships. On this day build confidence in someone you know.  Celebrate accomplishments and appreciate one another.

Other ways to participate:

• Wear that new style. Clothes that fit and are stylish allow us to step out into the world with confidence.

• Fashion Buyers – Consider broadening your plus-size selection. Listen to your clientele and provide styles they ask for.

• Share your favourite look. Don’t be afraid to brag.

Use #PlusSizeAppreciationDay to share on social media.

In recent years, many brands have claimed to embrace inclusivity by casting plus-size models and widening their clothing range to suit all body types. However, shopping for plus-sized clothing is still a challenge for many.

Which high St brands are least inclusive towards plus-sized customers?

Although Topshop has a whopping 319 stores in Britain and maintain the reputation of a leading fashion retailer, their plus-size range is pretty disappointing with just 3.3% of online items UK size 16 or above.

Fellow high-street favourite New Look also fails to impress. Only 353 items out of 7,144 are plus-size (4.9%). New Look’s range of dresses disappoint too, with 1% of their online inventory catering from size 16 to 32.

River Island and Boohoo also rank badly, with 5.1% and 5.2% of their women’s clothing labelled as plus-size. Sadly, River Island has just 27 out of a possible 967 tops available for sizes 18 to 28 (3%). Boohoo has 1,280 out of a possible 8,240 items in sale, which is significantly better with 16% of products.

Interestingly, Misguided dissatisfy their customers with only 962 of their 17,107 items classified as plus-size (5.6%), despite having seven dedicated sizes. This year ‘Inside Misguided’ premiered on Channel 4, with one episode providing a glimpse into their #LoveThySelf campaign which attempted to encourage diversity; although, their product range does not reflect this. Additionally, Misguided leave just 6% (260 out of 4,456) of dresses for their curvier customers to choose from.

Zara also rank badly, with 7.6% of their women’s clothing sizes 16 & 18 although Zara are not known for their generous sizing!

Which brands are most inclusive towards plus-sized customers?

Unsurprisingly, plus-size clothing brand Simply Be has 3,335 plus-sized items, out of a possible 4,422 - a huge 75.4% of their online products! Ranging from sizes 16 to 34, their range is impressive and convenient for thousands of shoppers.

H&M impress consumers with over half of their online items catering for plus sizes. 54% of all H&M women’s clothing is between XL and 4XL, with 64% of their tops available fitting these sizes. Similarly, the young-fashion retailer has 55% of all dresses online obtainable for curvier customers (566 out of 1,033).

Although Miss Selfridge’s range only goes up to size 18, 47.7% of their items are between 16-18. This online store also has a large range of plus-size tops for customers, with 59% catered towards size 16 and 18.

Growing fast-fashion outlet Shein ranks significantly well compared to its competitors with 37.2% of online items available from XL to 4XL. Surprisingly the brand ranks relatively well in the number of plus-size dresses, with 5,795 plus-size dresses in comparison to 19,536 average dresses available (30%).

Zara’s Spanish counterpart Mango faired a lot better at 36.6% sizes 14 to 26.

What do plus-sized customers think about this?

39% of the women surveyed don’t think that plus-sized collections are not fashionable enough and are not as nice as other sizes, with some brands’ plus-size clothing described as ‘last season’.

More than 3 in 5 (63%) plus-size female customers believe that the bigger sizes shown online are not accurate, and they often have to size up or down from their true size.

Almost all of the women (92%) have found online shopping during the pandemic to be extremely difficult as they are not fairly represented in the fast-fashion industry due to the lack of inclusive sizing.

HIGH STREET RETAILERS TAKE NOTE!

Methodology on Date Gathering:

All data gathered by Flawless.org was collected on 30/09/2020 and is accurate as of then - items are updated constantly so these figures are subject to change.

Firstly, a list of popular online retail brands which are focused upon female clothing. From each website the total number of clothing products available for women was found, where it was then established whether a plus-size filter or specific page exists. If a specific page or plus-size filter was available, the number of all plus-size clothes available were analysed. Where plus-sizes were not available, all sizes UK 16 and above were considered as plus-size. There is no agreed upon definition of plus-size ranges, so as most have starting sizes between 14 to 18, size 16 was used.

*Boohoo did not have an ‘all clothes’ section available therefore clothes from the sale section of the website were analysed as a sample.

*Online product range is different from in store, so some retailers may have more plus-size products which is not listed online.