Brief Talk Episode 12, What is “plus size clothing”?

January 21, 2022

This question we have heard asked numerous times, so first I want to clarify something. Plus size is a fashion industry term that relates to the size of clothing that specifically refers to anyone wearing a size 12 and above.

Shocking right?

In the world today it is reported that the average Australian woman is between a size 14-16. That to me makes the above industry definition really seems outdated and quite confusing.

If the average woman is wearing a size 14-16 yet as you stroll many fashion apparel businesses their range is from 8 – 16, it seems fitting that a lot of women are getting frustrated and spending more time searching for brands that understand their needs and wants.

Is it easy to create more inclusive clothing sizes in brands ranges?

When starting Everyday Lingerie Co, we knew that we needed items that worked for a range of body shapes and rather than focusing on what was available in the market we wanted to increase our range to a size 22.  Many people have reported that it is harder for brands to create their products above a 14, but we found it quite easy as everyone we worked with knew this was the plan from the beginning.

We do not know how other brands create their styles, for us we start with the middle size get the style and fit right and then grade our patterns out.  For us we start all our styles in a size 14. Once the sample piece is signed off, we then as we said grade the patterns for the entire range and sample every size to see how the fit works across all the beautiful everyday fit models we work with.

Many larger companies work with fit models also, you will find that a lot of work with women who are a size 10 or 12 and this is their mid-range, are you starting to see why their ranges are not as size inclusive?

In short as a small Australian made business our answer is yes, if a brand wants to create a more diverse range of sizes it can be done if they want to change the way the design.

Do you need to make many changes to the patterns for larger clothing sizes?

Without going into all the details of pattern making as we are not experts instead, we work with experts in this field to ensure our patterns work for the range of sizes we create, there are 2 ways that we learned about.

Building their patterns around the collection of sizes they want to make or create patterns blocks for the change in sizes.  If a company plans to create a range, they are best to have a clear understanding of the sizes they are producing prior to building patterns to make this as seamless as possible.

This doesn’t mean that every company can range 10 -15 different sizes either, as there are minimum order quantities and many other factors that need to be considered and costed in for each business individually. Like us we started with 8 sizes in our range and want to expand as we grow over the years.

Why don’t we split the sizes into regular and Plus size?

With our bamboo underwear range, you will notice that we have not broken up the sizes into “regular” and “plus size lingerie” everyone shops in the same area as we do not feel that stock needs to be broken up with these labels.  Everybody is shopping for Everyday Underwear and that’s how we expect you to be able to shop regardless of the size you wear.  We do refer to plus size on our website so people can find our brand easier when searching through the world wide web in their quest for super comfortable everyday underwear.

What is the best style of underwear for plus size?

Any style that makes you feel empowered and comfortable in your own skin. There is no correct answer.  With so many different styles and brands available on the market, finding your perfect underwear is all about you.

Do you want a high waist or lower waist height?

What do I need this for?

What fabrics do I want?

Answering those questions will be your best guide. If you are wanting something that you can do anything in day, night and in between or go from the gym to work then breathable natural fabrics are the key.

breathable fabrics are all about cotton and bamboo.  These are fabrics that allow your body to stay dry and offer moisture wicking properties to draw the moisture away from your body and keep “down under” dryer and cool as you go about your day.

In summary, when shopping remember it is about you, what you want and need. Look for pieces that are comfortable and make you feel empowered in your skin. When you feel confident people get to see you shine and never let a label define your worth.

If you are looking for breathable G Strings that are available up to size 22 - SHOP NOW

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