Why Real Women Can't Find Clothes

I was about twenty five years old when I first started wondering why I couldn't find pretty clothes in plus sizes. It just didn't make sense to me. I was in the clearance section of a large department store and I couldn't find a thing with any style in my size. I gazed in wonder as rack after rack of clothing was filled with size mediums and size small. Why would stores buy so much of one size only to have most of the stock end up in clearance?

It was the first time I felt invisible. I realized that here I was , shopping with a wallet full of money and the stores didn't care. I had a need to be filled. I had the money to fill that need. Yet there were no stores to service me with quality items. The biggest question in my mind was who on earth was purchasing all this clothing and why .

Most women over size fourteen end up doing just what I did. They give up on malls and smart looking clothing stores. They turn to the Internet to purchase. I'm sure they feel as lucky as I that the Internet is available and there are places to find stylish clothes at reasonable prices.

That's well and fine but, I'm still wondering why companies can't figure out where they're going wrong. I've watched major department stores closing one after another in this economy. Yet, even as one goes under , the others still purchase large quantities in sizes that just don't fit real women.

Now don't get me wrong. When I say real women, I don't mean that women that are fortunate enough to be small framed are any less woman than I . I just say it as a term to describe a huge group of potential purchasers. Most women , especially after having children, are curvy. We have hips and bosoms. Very few of us have our teenage frames.

To say I'm frustrated still would be an understatement. I still don't understand why clothing companies can't make exactly the same tops and bottoms in larger sizes as they do for small. The few companies that do have somewhat fashionable plus sized lines still don't copy the patterns exactly. Straps are made wider and necklines are raised.

Plus sized women want the exact same things that small framed women want. They don't want that dress with the tiny straps altered with bigger straps and a fuller skirt. They want the exact same dress in every way but size. It seems to me that this point is what's most often missed. I guess they think they're doing us a favor by covering us up more. That's not what we want!

If a company makes a cute little flirty top in size two, they should make the exact same top without alteration in size twenty. I truly believe that sales would increase almost instantly if this happened. I would love to see just one major department store give it a try on a large scale.

Imagine the smiles on womens faces as they tried on the same dress that they're younger sister wears in a small size. Imagine the sounds of cash registers actually in use. When you provide people with exactly what they want it's sure to stimulate economy.

I don't have any figures to quote on just how much money plus sized women spend but I'm certain it's a fair amount. Why companies choose to ignore this pot of gold is a mystery to me. I understand that designers have huge egos and some are crazy enough to feel their line would be somehow damaged if it were geared to women of all sizes. It seems foolish and almost lazy to me.

I'd like to end my commentary on this issue with a wishful thought. I hope that some young aspiring designer out there reads an article like this and gets the hint. I hope they find it an inspiring challenge to make plus sized women look beautiful. I also hope that he or she makes a fortune at it!

Happy shopping!