Also debuting May 1 brand new lines called Boutique+, headed up by Project Runway winner Ashley Nell Tipton, the first plus size winner of the fashion-based reality show. She will be working on the fall and holiday lines while in-house designers produced the spring/summer selections. While the stores will only carry sizes 14W-24W and 1X-3X, online sizes will be available up to 30 and a 5X.
I've been trying to be positive when stores and brands introduce a plus size line. Most of them are missing the mark and have this sole obsession on focusing on young twenty-somethings going out for drinks on a Friday evening. There's little focus on career wear or anything containing natural fibers. Selection is limited to someone fresh out of college or Alfred Dunner. There's little to no in between, where there's more spending power. I don't have much faith in Ashley Nell Tipton, either. She has incredible talent but translating it from the runway to the mass market is going to be a nightmare of crop tops and tutus.
Like Target before them, JC Penney is boasting of how the line was made for the plus size customer in mind. Frankly, I think they need to stop consulting Miss Cleo. We want what the straight sizes have. Nothing more, nothing less. These plus size exclusive collections aren't the same thing, why make us an entirely new and different dress when all we wanted is the one in the window?
Yes. Thank you. This exactly. It's SO frustrating that plus size ladies have their own "look" when really I just want the cute and practical things that are available in the "regular" sizes.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever checked out the Crown & Ivy brand? I know Belk carries it... I recently discovered it. They have a lot more classic/preppy stuff and honestly remind me a lot of Lilly.
What gets me is that nearly 90% of JCP's merchandise are private labels, several of which are in both straight and plus sizes. You're absolutely right, we just want what's already available.
DeleteCrown and Ivy has some very cute things. I no longer live near a Belk but I've seen it elsewhere.
The more plus lines, the better for the plus market overall, even if it isn't my aesthetic. Perhaps retailers are anxious about developing new lines. They produce what they think is working for other successful brands. There may also be demographic data behind some of the style choices. Those of us who prefer more classic clothes in quality fabrics may be a very tiny minority of the plus market segment. I tend to live in Talbots, Lauren, Lands End, Calvin Klein, Tahari, Vince Camuto and the occasional Eileen Fisher piece or London Times dress. I can rarely try on clothes in the store (online only sizes or lines) and spend way more time than anyone should need to finding even basics online. I'm sure we each have a list of items or brands we would love to see available in our sizes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the more plus size lines, the better. I tend to think, though, that the style choices presented that people think sell are only because that's the only thing to buy. It's not really a matter of people liking something, it's just they only have three options and they're picking the lesser of evils.
DeleteCalvin Klein has some really nice pieces out. I may have to get some next time I'm at Dillard's.
I understand the disappointment when new plus lines are launched with great fanfare and turn out to be more of the same that doesn't appeal to those of us who prefer a classis/preppy look. I guess the question is what is missing? For me, traditional wool suiting is pretty much single source - Talbots with the occasional Lauren piece. Print tops and dresses are either not quite the right fabric and/or not quite the right print. Identifiable items from Lilly, J Crew, Tory Burch aren't available in our sizes. Higher cost lines, with the exception of Lafayette 148 and Marina Rinaldi, died with the 2008 recession. I personally would like to be able to buy my size from Lilly, J Crew, Tory Burch and a couple of others. I would also like to feel secure that quality suits in natural fabrics would still be available if Talbots went out of business.
DeleteYou're really hit on something I think about quite a bit: a lack of a mid-range line. There's the Talbots/Lauren area but then nothing really between them and Lafayette and Marina. I think that would be an good area of growth and expansion for existing brands or for new ones, not more flash fashion.
DeleteA few years ago, Brooks Brothers had a plus size line for one or two seasons. I found it by accident online while shopping for a gift for my nephew. I joined their Facebook page to comment that I followed what was available for plus size women pretty closely and that if I hadn't known about it, they probably weren't going to be very successful. Got a generic reply. I went to the local Brooks store, they hadn't heard of the plus line, but were happy to order in a suit in my size. The trousers fit well, but the jacket was clearly cut for a woman with a very different body shape. Their tailor felt (and I agreed) that the entire jacket would need to be recut/remade to work. I did not buy the suit and a few weeks later, all the plus sized garments were gone online. A perfect example of "how not to launch a plus size line."
DeleteAt the risk of being politically incorrect, plus size women may be, on average, lower income and more likely to be women of cultures that prefer other clothing (than preppy) styles. I do wonder how big a slice of the plus size market Lilly, J.Crew, Tory, etc would be.
OMG. thank you for blasting the gurus that think a plus size woman is desperate to for cheap fabrics and high school fashion. Hello designers, I love the elephant motif - on a cute tote bag - not emblazoned across my chest. Where's the rose quartz and serenity colors that Tory Burch or Ann Taylor or J crew or Talbots have all been featuring? Ankle pants for plus? And shoe deisgners?- you continue to disregard the fact that woman's feet don't stop at c/d. Good grief try a jump on the Stan Smith white sneaker band wagon with a ww. grrrr. Do love the JCP xersion workout line for fit and wear. kudos to them for that.
ReplyDeleteI don't totally hate the clothes in the Boutique picture, especially the pink pants and the faux fur (although why would I want that going into summer, but it's interesting). But I hate every single piece of clothing in the lower picture. Every. Single. Piece. Nothing new or interesting or on trend. Blah.
ReplyDeleteThe pink pants outfit would be a fun look for NYE, but you're right, it's an odd choice for summer. The only thing that's really caught my eye is the knife pleat skirt. I wish I could find it in navy, but I could work with the light pink.
DeleteHave you checked out the Crown & Ivy line from Belk? They are the ONLY line I've found clothing in that I feel age-appropriate and cute while wearing. A lot of it is Lilly-ish.
ReplyDelete