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Sizing It
Up
by Jatawn Avanti |
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| 65 percent of the women in the United
States wear a size 12 or larger. Full-figured women
spend billions of dollars each year on clothes and
intimate apparel with limited selections, sizes
and resources. Most sample sizes are sizes 0-12,
which left full-figured women wondering if they
would ever find straight off the runway looks for
less and in their size.
According to Geri Brin, Publisher of Figure It
Out Style Guide: "Designers design for thin
women. And thin women make good clothes hangers.
Our culture has instilled it in all of us."
Times are now changing. Designers now cater
to the full-figured market and offer straight
off the runway looks in larger sizes. As an example,
BabyPhat, the multicultural urban house owned
and operated by Kimora Lee-Simmons, offers a plus
size collection which includes tops, ponchos,
tees and washable jeans. Sizes range from 1XL-3XL
depending on styles.
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| Honorable mention of
full-figured designers:
Karl (Chanel) Lagerfeld, offers a plus line
collection for the trendy but affordable H &
M chains. Target chains carry Issac Mizrahi’s
affordable line that caters to every woman’s
lifestyle. Michael Kors has a “Michael”
line that offers affordable but trendy collections
from outerwear to interchangeable pieces that
can take one from day to evening. All designers
offer XS to XL sizes in various styles and colors.
Designer Abby Zeichner designs with the intent
to assuage the lack of choices that full-figured
women have when it comes to fashion: “AbbyZ
Collections recognizes that large women love fashionable
clothing and deserve to have the same choices
when they go shopping as their friends.”
Slant Junior clothing designer Abby Zeichner
now offers her own take on plus size trendy yet
contemporary styles called AbbyZ Collections.
AbbyZ Collections offers great fit, affordability
and great looking clothes that will never go out
of style. Sizes range from 14 and up. You can
find AbbyZ Collections at Bloomingdales, Lord
& Taylor and Nordstrom. |
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Stores such as Lane
Bryant, a department store catering to full-
figured women (sizes 14-32), now offers
Seven Jeans. Seven Jeans are offered, in
11 different denim styles, fit, and washable
fabrics. Prices range from $79.50 to $89.50
at selected Lane Bryant locations.
Bacca.com, an online women’s
apparel website offers a variety of collections
based on the woman’s lifestyle coupled
with affordable pricing. Sizes range from
14-24.
Hasifa Ladner, Marketing
Director of Bacca.com points out that, ”Bacca
strives to be a forerunner in plus-size
women's apparel by
providing a ‘trend conscious’
collection that is cut to flawlessly grace
the full-figured woman's curves.”
Similarly, Tasha M. Hill,
B.G.U Designer, states: “Our mission
is to give the ladies what they want and
that is to look fabulous and sexy at whatever
size.” |
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| B.G.U. (Big Girls United) founded
in 2002, is for ladies who want to stand out and
who love their curves. B.G.U. offers a range of
daring hemlines and sexy necklines. This line is
definitely for the trendsetters. |
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Monif J. Clarke
designs Monif C., a plus size clothing line for
women sizes 14-28 debuting in Spring 2005.
Monif J. Clarke hammered the
point home: ”Our line is specifically for
the closeted plus size fashionista. I say closeted
because these women know fashion but have been
restricted by the choices in the market. Our line
is manufactured in London, which allows us to
bring high quality and contemporary styling to
our customers.”
Resources:
http://www.abbyz.com
http://www.lanebryant.com
http://www.bacca.com
http://www.biggirlsunited.com
Figure magazine, available at
Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug stores:
$3.95 an issue.
To subscribe, go to www.figuremagazine.com
Figure It Out, the Real Woman's Guide to Great
Style," by Geri Brin and Tish Jett
(Sixth & Spring Books, $17.95)
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/fashion/10605604.htm
http://www.babyphat.com
http://www.monifc.com |
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