Plus Size Gains Popularity, Retailers Play Catch-Up

If you're a lady of a certain size, shopping for cocktail dresses under 200 can be a downer. Even though the average American woman is around a size 14, most department store shelving are specialized in smaller bodies. But that could be changing. Plus-size professional Melissa McCarthy is about to launch her own clothing line. Another full-figured professional, Digital rebel Wilson, is designing one, too. Meghan Trainor's hit hit "All About that Bass" is all about having more to love, and the wonderful journal made headers when it recently put size 23 model Tess Holliday on the cover. There's a plus-size movement afoot.


 "We want more options in clothing and you want more representation of body types in the media, inch Holliday said in an interview with NPR's Here & Now. "And I think it would be silly for major designers to not really worry about the plus-size consumer, because we have money to spend. inch On a recent afternoon, there was plenty of foot traffic at Torrid in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's a archipelago known for offering the latest styles in plus sizes. Full-figured mannequins display lacy container tops, fitted dresses with bold images and bright colors, and even lanky jeans. Aviva Copaken, 29, was at Torrid shopping for a new washing One Shoulder High Low Sheath Column Green Chiffon Cocktail Dress With Appliques.

 She said it's the only place she loves to shop. "It's got really cute clothes that fit me and I can just go do what I must do, pick what I must pick. And it's really great. It makes me feel normal, inch she says. Shopping just about everywhere else, she says, is infuriating. "There's nothing basically, inch she says. "I have no choices and you feel like a fraction. inch And yet she's not. The did a disservice to themselves by not offering one particular great alternatives for the plus-size consumer.


Marshal Cohen, NPD retail analyzer "The industry did a disservice to themselves by not offering one particular great alternatives for the plus-size consumer, inch says Marshal Cohen, NPD retail analyzer. Despite the positive images of full-figured women in popular culture — fashion models, respected movie and TV stars — retail has generally not embroiled. Cohen says major clothing stores aren't eager to create a serious commitment to the plus-size market because it isn't growing. "Until the plus-size business grows at a rate greater than its current growth of 2 percent, they're going to wait. And that means that plus size is going to have to accelerate its growth rate closer to 4 and even 5 percent before the retailers are really going to embrace this, inch Cohen says.