Retailers are at long last waking up to realise there is a demand
An article by Sarah
Posted February 28, 2011 For many years the retail industry has been dabbling in clothing aimed at the plus size market. In fact this sector was classed as an ‘afterthought’ by much of the fashion industry.
The most purchased clothing size in the UK is a 12 and 31% or women are buying this size. However with 10.1 million women in the UK now being size 16 or over they have now woken up to realise that British women are increasingly demanding a better choice of more fashionable garments in plus- size clothing.
Rising levels of obesity in the UK means that the plus-size consumers are increasing and these shoppers are looking for a better selection. Market analysts predict that by 2013 changes in the fashion market will take place and growth will be driven by women size 14 and over.
In a survey by ‘Mintel’ over half the women stated there were not enough shops offering a range of choices for different sizes and at least 4 in 10 believe that plus- size clothes tend to be less fashionable than smaller sizes. According to this survey many main street retailers have still not extended their ranges to cater for the increased number of plus size consumers a wider range of clothing.
However we at 100% People believe this is not the case as in our Women’s Directory alone we have over 300 retailers offering some good ranges of larger clothing.
Here are some of the suppliers we have included in the World’s most extensive plus size directory
“Everything we do at evans starts and ends with our customers. After all, we’re a group of women who love to shop, and we know exactly what a girl needs from a little ‘retail therapy’
Shop in one of over 330 evans stores around the UK and Ireland, and you’ll find sales advisors armed with in-depth professional advice and a real passion for plus size fashion.
Evans has special expertise in designing, fitting and styling the latest fashions to flatter the curvy woman.
We hold fit to flatter training sessions for every sales advisor, and all head office buyers are given a tool kit detailing which styles best suit the different types of curvy body shape”
“Elvi are the UKs leading independent fashion retailers for size 16 and up. We aim to produce inspirational clothes, expertly designed for size 16 and up. We passionately believe in creating a joyful shopping experience, with service that always inspires.
We have 8 shops nationally and over 15 concessions within leading independent department stores”
“Marisota is a trading style of Candid Collections Limited, a sister company to J D Williams & Company Limited, the UK’s leading direct home shopping company, operating over 20 successful fashion brands.
We offer a huge selection of clothing and other products for all ages and sizes. All our clothes are designed to provide the best fit at the best value, and we are specialists in the area of larger size womenswear”.
“SIZEUP.CO.UK is the web’s first discount specialist plus-size website providing style and value for men and women worldwide.
While our sister site YOURSCLOTHING.CO.UK continues to offer the latest looks at incredible value, SIZEUP is dedicated to offering huge savings on specialist plus-size clothing from YOURS and other high-street brands.
The SIZEUP Logic: SIZE UP is committed to offering the BEST ONLINE DISCOUNTS on PLUS SIZE MEN and WOMEN’s clothing worldwide”
Are you kidding? You don’t believe that there isn’t a good range of plus size clothing for women because you have a list of over 300 retailers?
How many of them sell the same poor quality crap? How does you having a list of 300+ retailers change the fact that if I want a pair of black pants and I’m a size 10 I will be able to find plenty of different cuts and styles at a shopping center but if I’m a size 24 I’ll be lucky to find two who will no doubt be made of cheap fabric with a crappy cut that wouldn’t flatter anyone. Even when you’re shopping online good quality plus size clothing is hard to find and there is still very little variety in the clothing offered for plus sizes.