Clothing for people whose proportions are bigger than the average person are called plus size clothing, but this term varies from country to country. The term itself is falling out of favor with manufacturers preferring to call the size Generous, Curvy, Misses or even Womens’. The size itself has varied over the years.
The fashion industry deems a plus size as one that is over 8. But in the real world, a woman who is a size 8 cannot be called a plus size in any sense of the word, especially since the average American woman is between size 14-16. Anything above this can be called plus size. Super sizes and extended sizes are those items of clothing where the size is 26W and above. On occasion by some manufacturers, size 26W is included in plus size.
In the UK, such clothing used to be called outsize, but it’s a term that is slowly fading out of use as it’s considered a little offensive. What’s gaining ground is the word curvy.
The term plus-size though is used mainly for women’s clothing. For men who are above the average size the accepted term is big and tall, although there is a brand too that is Big&Tall.
A lot of brands do not have the same designs and styles across sizes and the most common grievance most women have is that the larger-sized clothes aren’t as fashionable and as chic as the ones available for smaller sizes. Most women whose dress size was above 12, found that the dresses available for them had frumpy designs and older styles and none brought out the best in their bodies. They were limited to very outdated and old-fashioned prints, cuts and even patterns and sometimes the clothes were far more expensive than those that were available for smaller sizes.
There are a few issues with clothes available in big box stores as more often than not they are relegated to smaller shelves, have fewer options and are sometimes fat-taxed. This means they are more expensive than clothes of average sizes.
The other issue is that plus size clothes are simply bigger versions of the smaller sizes which do not fit the body type of larger women. These clothes do not fit perfectly and tend to look frumpy and dowdy.
Lastly, the long and short of it is not taken into consideration. There are often no plus sizes for shorter people and a lot of alteration is required. The clothes available are not often available in short, regular or tall sizes and can be a great consternation for shoppers.