“You’re all beautiful women of all different shapes and sizes and why does one portion of you need to be labeled and why does one portion of you need to shop in the basement?” our managing editor Iskra Lawrence said it best in this video statement on the “plus-size” label.
We’re on board with hoping for the Miracle Day when we don’t even need to label people by size period. But that day is not yet here — we hope to help to fundamentally change that — so while we’re on the topic of our sizes, and ourselves, what exactly is the nebulous definition of “plus-size” or “extended sizes,” according to popular brands anyway?
At what size do brands decide you deserve a disgusting floor all your own or a special section? Despite the good news on the inclusion front, one brand’s version of larger isn’t large enough for another brand — proving no one knows a thing.
Here’s where it starts for Calvin Klein, Forever 21 and ASOS Curve: size 14/0X:
Calvin Klein starts it at a size 14.
It’s a bit confusing — to the left the sizes start at a 6 because they offer stuff from countless brands, but the ASOS Curve branded clothing starts at a 14.
But J. Crew’s extended sizes and Old Navy’s plus-size start at a size 16.
We know brands aren’t pure evil, but there really is no better way to humanize people than by dumping them in a totally different category. They are of course trying to be very nice about it. It’s cool — their inability to be all inclusive isn’t ruining our lives. It’s just further proof that stuff is messed up and predicated on someone’s opinion of where “clothes for curvier women” should begin.
Even more confusing, there’s also how the clothes run to take into account because a size 16 might be a size 14 depending on where you are in the mall.
We want to know. What do you think?
Related Links:
WATCH: Plus-Size Floors at NYC’s Department Stores Are Still a Miserable Place to Shop
Watch: RunwayRiot’s Iskra Lawrence on Why the ‘Plus-Size’ Label Is Outdated
