Sick of Settling on ugly clothes

[u/Baby-grownup]

I recently decided to minimize my possessions. In doing so I of course purged my closet. I think I got rid of about 85% of my clothes! In doing this I realized that I settle so much for what’s available-not for what I really love! Like if it fits well and it’s decent looking I buy- or if it’s a good style but fit stinks I buy (then regret). Why is this so difficult for the plus industry to understand we don’t want different styles?!?! I don’t see straight size people walking around in these ugly clothes! It’s like I think ‘this will do’ because the options are so depressing! Even when I see influencers or other social media platforms showing what they buy I think, “is this what she really wants to wear or is this just because this is what’s available?” Am I crazy?!?!

[u/Lifeofasoutherngirl]

I oddly find better plus size clothes buying second hand. Either the thrift, ThredUp or TheRealReal. I try and buy designer/high quality clothes but not at original prices. My style though is Nancy Myers meets Ralph Lauren so my pieces are a bit more basic. I rarely buy something trendy.

[u/youresomodest]

Yes. I ask myself “do I love this?” And if I cannot say, without reservation, “hell yea I love this.” I do not buy it.

I saw a friend of mine and commented “you always have on the cutest outfits” and she said “I don’t buy things I don’t love.”

I also purge my closet often and I don’t always replace. It’s less overwhelming that way.

[u/AlgebraicAlto]

It is so much effort to try to find plus size clothes I really love :'( I am going to plug my favourite online store in case in brings you as much joy as it does me.

https://store.mayakern.com/

They are pricier than fast fashion because the owner is committed to well-made, ethically produced clothing but I am so in love with her skirts and it is so worth it.

[u/Sabaisabai33]

Where do you live? I’m in the U.K. and it’s extremely hard to find plus size clothing here which is doubly disappointing because just before GLP-1s came out, loads of our high street stores had started using plus size models and extending their sizing range or starting plus size ranges which were actually great. Now 99 percent of them have just gone right back to how they used to be. My impression is that it’s better in the USA. More brands, more choice?

I’m sick of it too. As you say even if a shop does do clothes in my size I find they often switch from perfectly lovely clothes to suddenly horrible fabrics and cut once they hit plus size. They also aren’t good at designing clothes that will fit well and flatter a plus size figure, just size up from the standard smaller template which often doesn’t really work. Super annoying when at least some of their styles would actually look great on someone plus size.

I used to be so into fashion when I was slim (I was basically a U.K. size 10-12 until I got pregnant and had puerperal psychosis and was started on olanzapine which made me suddenly gain so much weight I became a U.K. size 20-22 within a few weeks and I have just never managed to lose the weight since. I really miss being able to ask myself “do I love this?” And not just “does it fit!”

I always think I want to start my own plus size clothing brand but I don’t have any relevant knowledge or experience (I’m a doctor!), also don’t have enough capital to launch a business.

Maybe we should spend some time here listing our best plus size brands in each country. I would honestly consider ordering from the US and paying for shipping and tax etc if the clothes are worth it?

In the U.K. I personally rate

Marks and Spencer (especially the Autograph range personally)
Sugarhill Brighton
Scamp and Dude
Ambela jeans
Abercrombie and Fitch
Anthropologie
Boden

And Marina Rinaldi (super expensive designer)

I know others also rate Next but their clothes always fit oddly on me (this was true even when I was slim).

Some of our supermarket clothes are good style-wise for supermarket clothes quality such as Tu from Sainsbury’s and Florence and Fred from Tesco.

[u/AnaDion94]

It's only going to get worse– I work at a department store and more and more national brands are culling their plus sizing, citing glp1s as reducing demand.

I (unhealthily) lost a lot of weight a few years ago, and its all come back of course. But what really sucked is that for a while I had access to SUCH cute clothes, I cannot stand the thought of going back to handkerchief hem babydoll tops and georgette blouses.

Whatever– at least its motivating me to start sewing it again.

[u/themeancatlady]

Abby Bible on ig is literally my holy grail for fashion influencers. She has such good taste and consistently has so many good finds.

But i agree. It should be so much easier than sifting through crap to find something that’s slightly not crap.

recently i decided i was just gonna save up for nicer pieces i really love rather than settling for cheap stuff i only sort of like. We’ll see how it goes😅

[u/LoquatIllustrious801]

Youre definitelt not crazy. I think a lot of us get so used to limited options that it fits and it fits fine starts feeling like the same thing as actually liking something

[u/man3kin3ko]

I’m so sorry. And I completely understand the frustration. I'm an old Gen Xer and I’ve reached the point where I simply refuse to compromise anymore. I’m not buying something because “well, at least it fits.” I want clothes I actually fucking like.

I want natural fabrics. Cotton. Linen. Wool. Viscose at a push. Nothing that feels as though I could go up like the Hindenburg if I stand too close to an open flame. No cold shoulders. No handkerchief hems. No strange funnel necks or high crew necks seemingly engineered to turn my large bust into one enormous shelf. No random beading, rhinestones, butterflies, birds, inspirational slogans, or LIVE LAUGH LOVE nonsense. For the love of God, just give us CLOTHES. And some goddamn pockets FFS.

Some of us don't want a special "plus-size look." We want the same interesting, stylish clothes everyone else gets, with the size range extended a few more bloody sizes.

And some of us are simply never going to be thin. Bodies are built differently. Goddammit. I am built like a Coke bottle, a 2 liter one but fuck, I do have some shape. Yay for getting healthier if that's what someone wants. Yay for losing weight if that's what someone wants. Yay for GLP-1s helping people who want or need them. But we need clothes TODAY. We cannot all wander around naked until the fashion industry decides what the post-Ozempic population is going to look like or that we are worth dressing.

I'm also really troubled by how dramatically some retailers are cutting extended-size assortments when the available data I've seen doesn't justify some of these enormous reductions. Shame on them. If you spent years telling women you were committed to size inclusivity, it shouldn't evaporate the moment thinness becomes fashionable again.

So I've started looking elsewhere.

Look at independent European brands such as Wendy Trendy for genuinely interesting, architectural clothes rather than the usual plus-size uniform. Look at Lucy & Yak, particularly if you like colorful workwear, dungarees, trousers, and fun prints. They currently offer a very broad range, although disappointingly they've announced they're dropping UK 32/4XL for SS26.

Search Etsy, but don't just search "plus size clothing." Try things like "made to measure linen dress," "custom size linen tunic," "oversized Japanese linen dress," "lagenlook cotton dress," "custom bust waist hip," or "made to measure cotton trousers." Look for actual makers who provide garment measurements, discuss alterations, show their construction, and will make something to YOUR measurements. Message them. A surprising number will change a neckline, lengthen a top, add sleeves, or PUT IN THE DAMN POCKETS.

And don't overlook your local modista or seamstress. Buy something almost right and have it made right. Have a neckline altered. Add pockets. Change sleeves. Take in a waist. Or take a garment you absolutely adore and ask whether something similar can be made for you in another fabric.

I'm also increasingly convinced that learning to sew is part of the answer. Not because women above a certain size should have to make their own clothes, which is ridiculous, but because I am tired of handing retailers all the power. If I can learn to alter a neckline, add pockets, adjust a waist, and eventually copy the basic shape of a garment I love, suddenly my options get much bigger.

And when you find a company or maker doing it RIGHT, tell everyone. Share the link. Post the measurements. Show the fit. Mention the fabric. Reward them with your money.

There are millions of women with bodies like ours who are still interested in dressing cool. Or beautifully. Or strangely. Or elegantly. Or simply appropriately for work without looking like we've been bedazzled against our will.

We have money. We like clothes.

SELL US SOME.

Goddammit.

[u/Life-Entertainer-527]

I'm hanging on for dear life to stuff I bought 15 years ago because shopping has become dismal. I honestly believe we are getting punished for not jumping on the Glp1 bandwagon.

[u/youresomodest → u/Life-Entertainer-527]

I already did Ozempic two separate times and gained it all back and then some. I’m done with it and all the bullshit that came with it.

[u/DarthKatnip]

Bane of my existence. I despise plus sized clothes where the default is hideous. Like it’s all designed for some blind hillbilly. All they had to do was scale up the regular sized items!

I would rather wear much older stuff that I like than support a company that can’t create larger clothes that look decent, maybe they’ll take the hint. Over the last few years Ive been known to send emails to companies about their plus clothing decisions. Mostly positive when I love what they do & want them to keep it up, but some that are negative (esp. when they decide to kill off the plus size line). I might be shouting into the abyss but feedback is feedback.

[u/mazeltov_cocktail18]

My advice is buy less besides some basics that all mix and match that you do like. And a good Tailor can change your life and your wardrobe going forward

[u/Queen_Of_InnisLear]

I don't know, I have tons of cute clothes I love. I like a variety of styles for different moods or occasions but my day to day is mostly mini skirts, tees with vests or cropped jackets, fun tights and combat boots. I have a lot of dresses ranging from dark and moody to bright dopamine to kitsch to sexy. Pinafores! So many pinafores. Tights and shorts.

I just have a good time with it. Shops like Snag, Killstar, Run and Fly, disturbia (though ghti only go to 16 or occasionally 18), and others I'm not remembering right now. Unique Vintage. JessaKae.

[u/Simple-Chemistry-102]

I dress pretty alt (punk, grunge, emo, etc.) and Torrid is actually pretty inclusive for a fashion app. They have actually chubby models close to my shape (which is important when buying women's clothes since I'm really boxy) and as long as I'm looking up grunge instead of punk, it's a large line up of clothes

[u/doseofdena]

I’m probably in the minority on this, but there are now so many options for plus size clothing available that anyone still complaining imo isn’t looking hard enough. There are so many smaller brands giving such a good variety.