Fashion/clothing industry ranting, again

[tephra]

This is mostly aimed at RedcatsUSA, owners of several plus size women's clothing companies (Lane Bryant catalog, Roaman's, Jessica London, Chadwicks, and Woman Within to name a few) but it applies to other companies as well.

So you are carrying clothing in sizes 14w to 34w or in one notable case, 44w. Awesome. However, I have a few questions for you.

Why do your tall sizes top out at 26w? Is there some unwritten law that says tall women can't be fat?

I, personally, straddle the line between "average" and "tall" so I thank you for increasing the inseam on "average" paints from 28 to 30 inches. Now I can find pants in my size that are just long enough (my inseam is 30.5") since apparently I'm too fat to be tall.

So you carry at least to size 34w... why are all your necklaces only 18" long then? I can't speak for all size 30w ladies but I need a necklace at least 22" to sit at "the hollow of my throat" (which is not at all hollow of course). The fit of a 22" necklace on me is about comparable to a 15" on "regular" sized woman. That 18" necklace should be more like 25" to sit properly on me.

Also, why are your bracelets just 7 to 7.5" and why do your rings stop at size 10? My bracelets are 8" for a snug fit and I have been known to get a "standard" anklet of 9" to wear as a bracelet. Oh, and my rings? The three I wear are size 10 (pinkie finger), 12 (ring finger), and 13 (thumb) on my left hand. Increase those sizes by 1 for my right hand. I'd love a ring for my index finger but the last I checked I needed a 15 for that.

I need a 9 for a toe ring.

Speaking of feet, why do most of your shoes stop at size 11 and why is the widest width you stock is a D/E? Here's another set of scary numbers for you, my shoe size? It's between a US13 and 14 in womens' shoes. I have never seen the width I need, but it's EEE/EEEE. I live in dread of needing to wear dress shoes. The last pair I bought cost me $70 and are reasonably comfortable but they had better last me a while since I haven't seen a pair in 13 "extra wide" that "cheap" since I bought them.¹

And your "plus calf" boots? I haven't seen any with a calf larger than 20.5" at size 12, which didn't even come in "wide width". This one will terrify you, my calf? Is 23 inches when measured nude. If you know any woman that takes a Misses size 6, her waist and my calf are the same size.

My point is that it isn't just the bust, waist, and hip that get larger with larger sizes. Not all "plus size" women would be dainty little things if "they just lost some weight". I could lose 100 pounds and I would still be a large woman that would be frustrated by small bracelets and narrow shoes.

And I bet my shirts would still have sleeves that are too short.

[Edit to add: Why is this woman, and others like her, modeling clothes in your catalog? She doesn't look to be a size 14 to me. Give the woman a sandwich, she has no meat on her.]

1. And when did a 2" heel get downgraded to a "low heel"? It seems like 3" has become "standard" and 4 and 5" heels are scarily common. Are the women that wear these things fucking nuts? I'm sort of used to them in the shops that cater to transvestites but I'm seeing them at a lot at Shoewawa.

Comments

[havocmangawip.livejournal.com]

That woman is definitely NOT a 14W.

I am when I'm not teeny sized for me on that ANNOYING end of things where I'm an XL in juniors... NOT GOOD when shopping for slutty cosplay clothes. Sigh.

I'm on the absolute other end of the spectrum jewelry wise... 7 inches on a bracelet is falling off of me... rings? Size 5 for the ring finger and narrow feet. I'm happy when I can find boots with SMALL enough calves... 14 inches or less plz. (So Payless is right out for me. GRRR.)

I do beading to get around the wee wrists thing. Ever thought about trying it? It's a pain in the ass but Firemountain Gems has great tutorials and wonderful prices. The quality is a TON better than you can buy most places.

[tephra]

I actually had jewelry making as a bit of a side business when I was making soap. :) I was just flipping through a catalog and going "oh, that's pretty" and then seeing it was just 18" with no extender, or just 7", and so on. Having a few different lengths offered would be nice.

I learned to sew when I was a kid, so if I have something in particular I want I can usually make it myself (excluding leather items, I'm not quite confident enough to tackle something that has no "undo" like that). It's just a hassle since I don't have dedicated sewing space and it's hard to do fittings on yourself. It would be easier if I had a dressmaker dummy but I don't have anyone I'm comfortable letting wrap me in duct tape to make one. :D

I have homemade shoe lasts and some bits and pieces around from the shoe making project, but lack of a source for heels (and lack of money in general) has stalled that one for quite a while.

Yes, I have a few too many craft projects stashed around the house. >.> :)

[toshirodragon.livejournal.com]

I stopped looking at the catalogs cuz all the models were WAY under plus sized. Stuff that looked great on them looked like shit on me.

I guess its good that I'm a jean/capris and t-shirt/sweatshirt girl XD

[tephra]

I used to get Mode magazine (before it went under) and it was nice to see some gorgeous curvy ladies in a fashion magazine. Granted, the largest of them was a size 20w and most of them were closer to 14w but at least they were genuinely in the size range they advertised. All of them were absolutely gorgeous. Still, nothing they wore would look like that on me, just the same as with the scrawny models that RedcatsUSA employs. But at least you had a better idea how the clothing would react to having a curvy body in them.

Here's an image I scanned ages ago from Mode, this is the typical body type of their models.

I'd kill for that figure.

And this one is from Lane Bryant the store (owned and operated by a different company that the catalog).


These are the sorts of models I want in my plus size catalogs. Yes, they are still much smaller than me with much better figures, but at least they're in the size range they are selling.

[kat-chan.livejournal.com]

Gee, I feel tiny now. And usually I feel as though I'm bigger than just about every woman on the planet. Though there is this one woman at work who looks to be about the same size as your describing; tall, somewhat fat, and probably buying most of her clothes from specialty shops or the men's department.

I usually buy women's sneakers because I like the range of colours better. Men's seem to all be in primary colours, and either in some combination of school or team colours, or white with navy accents. I'm lucky in that I'd take a 10/10.5/11; and the 11 is only if they don't have a 10w or 10.5w. And it's impossible to find a 10.5 in anything.

I have 30 inseam, though it's more like 29.75. It's hard to find mens jeans in anything less than a 30 inseam, no matter the waist, and when you get over 32 waist, it's next to impossible. Not that I want a 28 or 29 inseam, because they'd be looking like high-waters, but just saying, from observation. And my under-30 inseam is hard to explain in light of the fact that I'm 5'9.5". The clothing industry doesn't understand "long-waisted".

[tephra]

I'm good at making people feel tiny. ;) We're about the same height actually, I'm just large.

I've never been less than "over weight" but judging from my mother who was a size 16/18¹ when she married (and had a figure like those models in my comment above) I'd guess that even if I did somehow manage to get down to "ideal" percentages of body fat I'd still be plus sized. Probably in the 18w range.

... I don't remember the last time I bought women's sneakers. I think the closest would be Keds I bought ten years ago. By the time they get to my size (when you can find them) the colors are down to white, and if you're lucky, navy... and if you're really lucky, black. I'm stuck with men's shoes most of the time, usually a 12 (or 13!) wide. I did find some knock off Converse canvas high top style ones in red that remarkably manage to fit well even though they're a size 11.

My shoe score of last summer was a pair of "Sand N Sun" Dr. Scholl's sandal knock offs that they had in 12. The actually fit if I let the strap out all the way. This suggests to me that if I could get the necessary width I'd be able to wear a women's 12. But then I think about my "best fitting" pair of dress shoes, size 14 extra wide 3" stilettos (don't ask), and think that sizes aren't nearly standardized enough to make a call like that.

I found some cheap men's jeans that fit quite well, surprisingly enough (I have a butt, something that a lot of women's clothes don't allow for), but I had to shorten them 3".

Long waisted, having long arms as well as long legs (seriously, women's tall shirts and jackets are rare critters), and to add to my shoe woes, wide feet with narrow (in proportion) heels. :P

Obviously we all need to hit the lottery so we can afford clothing and shoes made to order.

1. Allowing for changes in size standards over the decades she was probably what we would now consider a 12/14w.