When you walk into most stores, you see your main sections: men’s, women’s and plus size.
There you have it folks — sizes 10 and higher put in their own little section, all the way across the store, suggesting that the people who wear those clothes are different and should be separated from everyone else.
Everyone is made differently, and because of this, I am a fan of making separate clothing for those who are above a size 10.
These women have a different body type than that of a size 0 woman, so we should not stick them in unflattering clothes tailored for those body types.
Instead, we should tailor the same clothes we allow “straight”-sized people to wear to fit the unique bodies of those in larger sizes, just like women who are petite have clothes fit to them, as opposed to wearing clothes for those who are taller.
However, there is a way to do so without isolating these personalized clothes in their own separate section of the store, with a giant neon sign hanging above it labeling the clothes as plus or too much, and also, without limiting the variety of clothes in these sizes.
By labeling these clothes as plus size, we are slapping a negative connotation on the wearers, implying that they are something like too much human.
Have you ever seen a woman who wears a size 10? She is not obese; she is healthy. There is nothing wrong with wearing a larger size than someone else, so why should the name imply that there is?
One celebrity who has recently spoken out about the issue of plus size is Amy Schumer. Schumer was placed in Glamour Magazine’s plus-sized-only issue without her permission, according to CNN, and was rightfully pissed off.
“I think there’s nothing wrong with being plus size,” Schumer said to Glamour. “[They] put me in their plus-size-only issue without asking or letting me know, and it doesn’t feel right to me. I go between a size 6 and an 8 — young girls [are] seeing my body type thinking that is plus size.”
What Schumer is saying is that this negative label not only affects those who wear it, but those who will wear it.
Young girls see the negativity toward those who are plus sized and fear having to wear those clothes themselves.
It should not be this way.
In actuality, they should be embracing who they are and dressing the way they want, regardless of their size.
On that note, everyone should be allowed to express themselves through what they wear.
So allowing for certain sizes (00–8) to have a wider variety of apparel is unfair. Just look at the women’s section in any store compared to the plus-size section — there is much more to offer in women’s.
By offering the same clothes those in smaller sizes are offered, without separating the two, everyone would be allowed to wear what they want without feeling embarrassed or ashamed.
One store that does this correctly is Ann Taylor LOFT.
When you walk into LOFT, you see section after section of beautiful, organized clothes.
If you see something you like, you simply go to that item and look for your size. Carrying sizes 00–18, there’s no walk of shame or isolation — if you see something you like, you just grab your size.
This is how it should be. It’s 2016, people are starting to embrace others more and more, so it’s time we stop separating larger sizes from smaller sizes.
Anne can be reached at intrigue@ThePlainsman.com
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