By: Trinidad Guardian

Saturday January 09,

...plus size gals now share the glitz, glam.

Not too long ago, plus size women had slim options when looking for clothes locally. They either had to suffer the indignity of going to the back of the store where the big clothes were hidden or settle for brightly patterned tent-like clothing in stores that boasted of plus size selections. Thanks to a recent surge in stores catering solely to the plus size market, that has changed. Now, plus size women can find Bermuda shorts, stylish jeans, swimsuits, casual dresses and clothing for almost any occasion in sizes ranging from size 12 to 5x plus. Most importantly, they can find clothing that is current and modern. Marilyn Clarke, owner of Tight Assets Plus Sexy, a new store in Trincity Mall catering to big girls, said she decided to focus on that market because she is also plus size, and she found the available plus size clothing ugly.

“Even when I went abroad, it was a task finding nice clothing and I had to buy expensive clothes to make my body look good,” she said. In recent years, she has noticed more clothes for the plus size market, which has made it easier to source quality, attractive items for her clientele. “I started selling plus size clothing three years ago and now I am getting more variety. I am happy they recognise we need more clothing,” said Clarke, who started selling plus size clothing in her original store, Tight Assets. She decided to open a store specialising in plus size clothes because the market did not relate to the name of the first store. Clarke’s stores cater to women from size two to 24 plus but she said her speciality is sizes 4x and 5x. She dresses women from head to toe and sells wide width shoes as well as sexy underwear. Though she initially started selling only a few items for a bigger market and special clients, Marty Lovell now has a plus size section in her Carnaby Street boutiques in Trincity Mall and Shoppes of Maraval.

Lovell said it made sense to accommodate all of her clients, who come in all different shapes and sizes. “When you are dealing with the public and people ask ‘what about me?’ you have to consider them. We all have different shapes too so you have to accommodate that.” Lovell said there are some challenges in dealing with a plus size market but it comes down to cultural differences. Her clothing is mainly from England, where people are more comfortable with showing their bodies. “I find this market a bit fussy. It’s a cultural thing. They don’t want their arms showing or their backs out. It makes life a lot easier if you wear a shawl or shrug, so we have been trying to please people and encourage them to buy vests or tube tops to cover their cleavage,” she explained. Lovell sells dresses, tops, pants and jackets for plus size clients.

Plus size couture
It’s not only in the high streets and mall stores plus size women can find their clothing. Designers are throwing their thimbles into the ring and soon, the local catwalk will see plus-size couture from the likes of Claudia Pegus. Despite showing clothing for small sizes on the catwalk, Pegus is accustomed to catering to a bigger size market. “The bulk of my business is plus size,” said the designer, who operates from her Woodbrook atelier. “The size four and six women don’t need to come to me to get custom fitted, they can buy their clothes anywhere. It’s the curvaceous women who will pay the extra dollar to get garments custom made to fit properly,” she said.

She said there is a new trend of putting size 14, 16 and 18 models on the catwalk because designers realise that’s where the money is. She plans to introduce plus size designs and models into her collection at next year’s Fashion Week. “I want to show the real woman,” she said, revealing that she has been pushing for the local fashion industry to set standards for the local market since West Indian women are curvaceous by nature. Citing American stars like Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce, she said thanks to them, more women are accepting their curves and hitting the gym to get healthy, not necessarily to lose weight. “It’s all about loving the figure,” she said.

Online options
Some plus size women prefer to shop online when they can’t travel abroad to shop. Lou Ann said she buys most of her clothes online and the rest when she visits the US sometimes twice a year. “I do not buy clothes in Trinidad because the stores almost never have my size and when they do have my size, which is very rare, it is an ugly tent or a style I do not like. I prefer online shopping because of the variety and prices mainly and I can get any style and very fashionable clothes for any occasion,” she explained. She shops at onestopplus.com, a Web site offering a combination of various other plus size sites such as avenue.com and lanebryant.com. Leslie Ann, another plus size shopper, said in the US, plus size shopping is easy and stylish, and she can find the appropriate clothes for her communications job.

“In my current company I travel less so that leaves vacation as the main annual stocktaking. Once I got a skybox I found it was easy to keep refreshing with nice pieces especially since US stores understand sales: our local folks don’t embrace the concept.” Her main grouse with local stores is that they are too expensive. “If I had to buy clothes here, I would either not be as glam or totally broken. One woman approached me telling me she liked the shirt I was wearing but she wouldn’t pay $600 for it, neither would I; it cost me US$25.” She said the key to online shopping is to know your size with respect to your favourite brands. “So for example, if you are size 16 and want to buy Calvin Klein you need size 18. You should also know what brands fit you best. A girlfriend recently complained bitterly about trying on lots of suits in vain, but if you find the brand that fits you best, shop there first and then press on. If they don’t have something that works then you go the hit and miss route. Sticking with your brand also gives you great quality control.”

Some sites to check:

oldnavy.com
lanebryant.com
fashionbug.com
silhouette.com
monifc.com
igigi.com
torrid.com
alight.com
swakdesigns.com
ashleystewart.com
sizeappeal.com
avenue.com
roamans.com
TTFashionista.com

By Laura Dowrich-Phillips