Retailers Are Rethinking Plus-Size Fashion

For as long as there’s been plus-size women’s clothing, there’s been a plus-size stigma attached to it. Retailers hide the clothes, sizes 14 and up, in the basements of their stores, far away from the rest of womenswear. The tops, pants, and dresses are big and boxy, typically concealing a woman’s shape. The message isn’t only about hiding your curves. It also says, as the actress Melissa McCarthy told fashion site Refinery29, “You’re not really worthy.”

Spurred by online retailers, social media, and celebrities like McCarthy, larger sizes are gaining acceptance and visibility. Established companies from Target to teen chain Charlotte Russe introduced plus-size collections this year. New labels like e-commerce brand Universal Standard are updating larger-size looks. The company’s first eight-piece collection of minimal designs went on sale in September. The momentum, says Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst with research firm NPD Group, will pick up next year. “Some retailers are going to make a big deal of plus size in 2016,” he says.