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Plus Size Clothing
Plus-size clothing is a general term given to clothing sized specifically for men and women of large build. Plus-size refers specifically to clothing labelled size (US) 14 / (UK) 16 and upwards for women, and for sizes over XL for men. Also called Outsize in some countries (predominantly British), this term has been losing favour since the 1990s. A synonymous term for men's plus-size clothing is big and tall.
Are you perfect? If you were a size 16 would you be happy? Or a size 18 or even a size 10? No..? Because nobody's perfect. Plus size clothing was created to cater for the needs of real individuals. One of the over 50% (around 32 million) in the UK or over 60% in the USA are larger than average in one or more areas, and this site was created to help you find the out what you need to know.
We are not trying to say that it is alright to be unhealthy, unfit or a plus size or a small size. We do however want to help and provide the information you need to purchase the right clothes for you.
Most mainstream fashion magazines show numerous pictures of scantily clad skinny models. This is STILL the case, even with hoards of press about obesity, anorexia and the size zero debate. Despite the fact that the whole media are well aware that society is getting bigger, it all seems like hot air, when the models used in magazines are not getting any bigger.
Society does not always cater for the needs of plus size and those who are classed outside the 'norm'- whatever that is! You don’t have to be just a large frame but if you are seven feet tall you might have a rough ride when traveling with limited legroom and if you have large feet it can be hard to find shoes to fit.
Plus size clothing will hopefully help no matter what shape or size people are.
Our visitors will have easy access to clothes that will actually fit.
The whole world is well aware of the ever changing shapes and sizes of society across the globe, it sometimes seems as though nothing is being done to combat it. Watch this space!
Plus-size Model
Plus-size model is a term internationally applied to a woman who is engaged primarily in modeling garments that are designed and marketed specifically for larger body sizes and types (see plus-size clothing). These models are also increasingly engaging in work that is not strictly related to selling clothing, i.e. body acceptance imagery, lifestyle and advertising, beauty/cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, shoes, etc. As such, plus-size models often do not wear garments designed and marketed as plus-size clothing. This is especially true of magazine editorials.
The requirements for plus-size models are no different from those of high-fashion models, excepting in larger overall bust-waist-hip measurements; they must have excellent skin, hair and teeth, and emote well to the camera. The type of work that plus-size models engage in is of comparable variety to that of their counterparts. Advertising campaigns, magazine editorials, catwalk work, live-TV work and commercials, etc. comprise the variety of work available. Increasingly, plus-size models are also being employed by the media to stimulate debate on healthy self-esteem and body image, especially regarding struggles with eating disorders.
Plus Size Modelling Business
As the development of the industry is closely tied to Western population change and clothing industry growth, the plus-size model industry has grown in fairly equal strides at various points on the globe. Many well known model agencies have created divisions to specifically locate and develop potential models to serve demand.
Well-known high fashion designers are starting to look more closely at the earning potential from serving consumers wearing plus-size clothing with prêt-à-porter, and have started booking plus-size models for their advertising campaigns and catwalks. Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano both used plus-size models in their Spring 2006 showings in Paris. Italian plus-size fashion house Elena Mirò now regularly stages a prêt-à-porter show during Fashion Week in Milan.
Arguably the most important region of growth has been within North America, where a diverse population and a flourishing media industry has created a unique culture around plus-size modeling, and enabled the ongoing operation of approximately 25+ agencies either specifically representing plus-size models or with divisions to do so. The industry at an international level also includes several well-established agencies in England, Germany and Australia, collectively serving clients throughout Western and Central Europe, South Africa, and the South Pacific and Asian regions. Plus-size models have been serving the strong German client market for over 15 years.
Development of the industry
Although it is known that U.S.-based manufacturers used larger models to show their plus-size clothing as early as the 1940s, the bias against larger consumers and models pervasive in the fashion industry worked to keep this particular concept of modeling out of the general public's eye until the early 1990s.
Lane Bryant is widely acknowledged to have been the first large-scale producer of plus-size clothing in North America and therefore user of plus-size models. It began trading in the early 1920s as a producer of clothing for 'Expectant Mothers and Newborns'. By the mid-1920s, Lane Bryant started selling clothing under the category 'For the Stout Women', which ranged between a 38-56 inch bustline. The earliest catalogs used illustrations only to sell their products, but by the mid-1940s photographs were integrated into the catalogs as the evolution of photo technology made this option available. After a brief hiatus from using larger models through the 1960-1970 period, Lane Bryant again began using plus-size models and today remains one of the plus-size model industry's most prestigious and desired clients.
State of Plus Size Industry
While the Internet has provided a breeding ground for a growing number of grassroot e-zines, model agencies, online retailers, calendar projects and other associated ventures, the lack of a true fashion print publication serving the plus-size consumer in North America has compounded the stagnation in the growth of the North American plus-model industry. With supply of models currently much higher than demand from clients now struggling with reduced advertising budgets, and agencies raising model standards and tightening their belts financially and reducing the number of models they represent, a substantial nudge is required for the industry to experience a growth comparable to that which it enjoyed in the late 1990s.
The April and May 2007 U.S. editions of Vogue and Glamour have recently featured plus-size models in fashion editorial and articles regarding healthy body image. While some believe the discussion of self-esteem and body image is not the primary business of the plus-size model, this type of coverage in mainstream media does serve the purpose of furthering the potential for growth as the media embraces models over a U.S. size 12 and shows them in a positive light. It should be noted that a bare handful of models are being used repeatedly in this regard, creating the impression that only a few models are 'acceptable' to the media in portraying the concept of plus-size modeling and the associated industry.
U.S. television program America's Next Top Model has featured contestants[3] acknowledging the plus-size industry's relevance to fashion since the show's launch in 2003. After elimination from the competition some of the contestants have signed contracts with the Wilhelmina agency, although to date none have successfully translated their TV celebrity into an ongoing modeling career. Whitney Thompson, the winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10, will appear in a national campaign for CoverGirl cosmetics, as well as on the cover of Seventeen as part of her prize package. She also received a model contract with Elite Model Management.
2007 was the launch year for several homegrown calendar projects featuring models over a U.S. size 12, including the well-publicized Luscious and Fenomenal Calendar products. These calendars have tested the market for plus-size models to be seen outside of clothing-advertisment-only contexts, and have captured the interest of people outside of the plus-size clothing consumer demographic.
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