By: Saije Rusimovici, Staff Writer
Content warning: mentions of size and weight
There’s nothing more frustrating than walking into a store filled with gorgeous clothes only to be absolutely traumatized by the fitting room experience. For women in particular, there seems to be a persistent notion that the size of our clothing defines us. It’s unfortunate that many brands still reflect the idea that smaller is better. For years, I tried to fit my size ten body into denim shorts, dresses, and trousers two or three sizes too small for me, all for the sake of seeing a smaller number when I got dressed in the morning. The designs of many popular brands are tailored to a specific body type — often tall, thin, and small-busted. Because of this, “standard” sizing can be perceived as reinforcing the notion that smaller is better. Clothing stores are excluding many women with their sizing, and should be taking on proactive initiatives to make their clothing lines more inclusive for all bodies.
Plus-size is defined as “a size of clothing for people who are larger than average.” According to Project Cece, a curator of over 200 sustainable ethical fashion brands, sustainable fashion is often not size inclusive because there is not enough demand to cover the costs of full lines of plus-size clothing. However, the “average” American woman is a size 16 — how can it be that the demand is not high enough to make more plus-size clothes? It’s baffling that ‘plus size’ has become its own niche even though it represents such a large portion of women.
For years, I wanted to be “an Aritzia girl,” decked out in the latest fashion trends like low-rise jeans and slim fitting leather pants. However, nearly every time I went into the store I left feeling terrible about myself. Even the largest dress on the rack wouldn’t zip up past my hips, and the medium-labelled sweaters clung to my body as if they were size XS. Similarly, Brandy Melville clothing is marked as “one size fits all,” which is far from the case. Even for petite girls, most small sizes don’t take proportions into consideration. Dresses and jeans marked as XXS can drag on the floor and leave gaping holes in the chest area, because they assume you’re shaped like an hourglass. Similarly, individuals who are petite yet curvy may struggle to find clothing tailored to their body type.
Aritzia is not the only store that advertises clothing catered to a specific body type, save for the one or two performative Instagram shots of mid-sized women wearing non-fitted, casual fitness attire made of naturally stretchy materials. In 2017, plus-size model and actress Barbie Ferreira was featured in an Urban Outfitters campaign. However, at the time the store didn’t, and still doesn’t, have a plus-size clothing line. This sort of performative advertising works in favour of big brands wanting to showcase a commitment to size inclusivity without taking real action to do so.
I used to feel so ashamed to ask for a bigger size, so I would buy something off the rack and hoped that somehow I would become smaller by the time I had to wear it. It’s not only that sizes are limited — many articles of clothing are labelled as a size large but comparable to another brand’s small. By what standard is the clothing we wear true to size?
Brands that do not offer inclusive clothing sizing options reinforce a culture that deems smaller is better. It’s nice to see that more clothing brands have become committed to diversifying sizing such as Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, and Joe Fresh, as well as smaller fashion brands like Girlfriend Collective, that are making strides in diversifying the fashion industry. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to create fashionable, sustainable, and well-fitting clothing for all bodies.
