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Plus Size Clothing Stores
They’re Not Your Mama’s Store Anymore
In the past, plus sized clothing stores meant one of about four retail chains and one section of the Sears catalogue. There simply weren’t any plus size clothing stores. That meant that women sized 14 and up were limited to whatever these stores wanted to offer and mostly it wasn’t all that good. It also meant that they paid more because there simply wasn’t the competition.
One of the great things about the information age is we gather data on almost everything. When fashion houses learned that the average size of the American woman was fast approaching 14, there was a mad rush to become the new plus size designer of choice. Put another way, they saw a market they weren’t making any money on and they wanted in.
Today you can’t go into a mall without finding at least a couple of strictly plus sized stores and the clothes they carry are fantastic. But you really don’t have to go into one of those specialty shops to look for larger fashions. Virtually all retail stores that have a women’s department now carry plus sized collections. Nobody, not Macy’s nor Wal-Mart wants to miss out on the chance of getting some dollars from this rapidly expanding (no pun intended) population.
It’s obviously great news for larger women. Not only do they now have a much wider selection of clothes specifically fitted for them, but they are paying less because the competition is stiff. An even bigger bonus is the end of fashions idea that large women can’t be sexy and attractive. Plus sized women are now part of the mainstream of fashion and why not, they’re becoming the mainstream of all women.
While brick and mortar stores have all jumped on the band wagon, the real growth in choice has been online. Online plus size clothing stores are offering everything from plus size formal wear, to shoes, to casual wear to underwear are all over the net. This is a niche market that has attracted a ton of retailers and for a reason. There almost seems like there was a dam holding back spending on the part of bigger women but now that they have choices they are spending like crazy.
So while traditional plus size stores like Talbot’s and Lane Bryant are doing well, they have been joined by newer and maybe trendier shops like Kiyonna Designs, Catherine’s and Silhouette who are all looking for a piece of the plus size pie. Online it’s JustMySize.com along with about five hundred more sites that are ranked in the Alexa top 50,000. Plus size clothing stores are not only here to stay, they are one of the fastest growing segments of the fashion industry. Good news for plus sized gals.