Sizes 8 and Up are Plus Size Clothes?
2011-07-14 12:42:40
It used to be sizes 12 and up were considered plus size clothes. Now some designers consider sizes 8 and up as plus size clothes. This seems a bit extreme when the majority of women in most countries wear sizes 14 to 20, and this makes size 8 a strange place to draw the line between straight sizes and plus sizes. Many models and actresses appear in print, online, in movies and television looking more like skeletons than real women with real curves. This sometimes sets up an unwelcome atmosphere for any woman who has a figure that is not waif thin or emaciated. An example of this attitude was reflected in the recent New Zealand edition of Top Model, a popular television show where women compete to win prizes and a modeling contract, when Ruby Higgins was told she needed to lose weight. Ruby wore a size 8.
But this attitude is slowly changing with more plus size clothes showing up in major designer's collections. Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Anne Klein and others have included plus sizes in recent collections. More plus size models are being showcased in runway shows and the upcoming Full Figure Fashion Week in June is an example of how plus size women are coming into their own. Retailers are also recognizing the untapped segment of the market by carrying a wider range of sizes in trendy and chic styles. Plus size clothes are no longer hidden off in a corner or on just one lonely rack. Curvy women can now find quality clothing in the latest styles and materials.
In recent years many plus size models have become more vocal about the need for more plus size clothes in the mainstream fashion world, the late Mia Amber Davis is an example, and organizations such as the Voluptuous Woman Company have been educating the fashion world and women alike that it is okay to have curves. Another example is Anita Bellamy, an ambassador for Models of Diversity in Crouch End, UK. She is petitioning coordinators and designers for the upcoming London Fashion Show to include plus size models. She feels the emphasis on such thin models is a bad example for young women and girls. Ms. Bellamy wants to see more models over size 12 so that all women will be represented on the catwalk. She is planning a fashion show of her own in London in August.
Check out a gorgeous colletion of plus size clothing for women
But this attitude is slowly changing with more plus size clothes showing up in major designer's collections. Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Anne Klein and others have included plus sizes in recent collections. More plus size models are being showcased in runway shows and the upcoming Full Figure Fashion Week in June is an example of how plus size women are coming into their own. Retailers are also recognizing the untapped segment of the market by carrying a wider range of sizes in trendy and chic styles. Plus size clothes are no longer hidden off in a corner or on just one lonely rack. Curvy women can now find quality clothing in the latest styles and materials.
In recent years many plus size models have become more vocal about the need for more plus size clothes in the mainstream fashion world, the late Mia Amber Davis is an example, and organizations such as the Voluptuous Woman Company have been educating the fashion world and women alike that it is okay to have curves. Another example is Anita Bellamy, an ambassador for Models of Diversity in Crouch End, UK. She is petitioning coordinators and designers for the upcoming London Fashion Show to include plus size models. She feels the emphasis on such thin models is a bad example for young women and girls. Ms. Bellamy wants to see more models over size 12 so that all women will be represented on the catwalk. She is planning a fashion show of her own in London in August.
Check out a gorgeous colletion of plus size clothing for women
