Inclusion is a right, not a privilege. 2020 was the year of the new normal for many reasons, and inclusive sizing was one of them. How often do we see plus-size mannequins in store windows? Rarely ever. Recently, more and more people are talking about inclusive sizing being just a trend that will wear off at some point in time. Some brands have even picked up inclusive sizing as a strategy to create more appealing marketing campaigns. However, they’ve received their fair share of backlash from the plus-size community about stepping on a bandwagon that they’re unbothered for.
Inclusive sizing is usually associated with flabby women when it’s about so much more. It doesn’t have to get restricted to body shape or, most notably, gender. It’s about tall, petite, and chubby men, women, and children altogether. The concept of ‘standard fitting’ needs to go because it isn’t ‘standard’ at all if it doesn’t fit a wider pool of people. Moreover, online advertisements and billboards get filled to the brim with slender-figure women and lean muscular men. It gives off an idea that clothing only tends to look good if it’s on a so-called ‘standard’ body shape.
The Difference Between Plus-Size And Size-Inclusive
Inclusive sizing isn’t just another term for plus-size fashion. Plus-size is any size that goes beyond size 14 on the scale. It implies that anyone who requires a size beyond the standard straight size (i.e., 14) is not normal but extra. It excludes the 67% plus-size women from the other 33% of women in the US. The latter belongs to the normal, or more appropriately, the acceptable size category despite being a minority.
Consequently, women are turning to body shapers to fit into more diverse clothing options. Best Plus Size Shapewear is a sigh of relief in the biased world of fashion that only caters to 33%. It offers women the inclusivity that gets so conveniently snatched from them in the name of plus-size fashion.
On the other hand, inclusive sizing advocates introducing more size ranges in the same scale rather than directing people to a different scale. I mean, who wants to walk in a store and be directed to a boring rack of clothing in the corner that is so coherently labeled ‘plus-size’? And even worse, sometimes there isn’t even a rack of that sort. The plus-size community gets forced to manually get clothes made on the order because they exceed ‘regular sizing boundaries.’
Why Inclusive Sizing Needs To Be More Than Just A Trend
Think of the options available in typically sized clothing. They’re immense! You’ll get to see all sorts of colors and patterns in print and stitching. But if someone is beyond the size 16, decides to wear a bright-colored off-shoulder dress. The salesperson at clothing stores will very cleverly convince you how you’ll look bloated in a dress that color and how wearing a deep-necked dress is a sin for someone your shape.
Why would someone pick something that they think will not look good on them? Do these salespeople need to tell people what clothing will make people appear thicker as if they didn’t already know that? Women have often broken into tears in focus group discussions explaining how shopping can be such a frustrating experience. It’s high time brands start becoming more considerate.
Now think of the options available for anyone who doesn’t fit in the 0-14 size scale. You’ll get to see all sorts of crap on the internet like “Dress 10 Pounds Thinner With This Clothing”. Matching separates, fitted skirts, dark colors, v-necked tops, striped dresses are your only choices. Why do brands have to dictate what everyone needs to wear? What if some people aren’t trying to appear thinner but only lovelier?
The Right Way To Do Plus-Size Is To Not Do Plus-Size
The concept of plus-size needs to vanish completely. Marketing campaigns for size-inclusive clothing still revolve around the “More Options For Plus-Size” notion. The term needs to get canceled out. It’s about time that brands recognize the negative connotation associated with it. The term plus-size is derogatory and, most importantly, unnecessary. Brands committed to the inclusive sizing crusade are introducing every design in every size in their regular style lines. Others are introducing completely new ones, especially for chubby individuals. That is, in fact, the same exclusion that they were supposed to omit. People must not have to shop under the anxiety of not finding the correct size.
Size 18 Is Good But Is Size 18 Enough?
Even today, when inclusive sizing is the talk of the street, brands have only stretched their size scales to 18 or 2x. What even is 2x? What about the people who need size 22? Are they excluded from ‘size-inclusive clothing too? Unquestionably, producing something on such a large scale out of the blue will add to operating costs substantially. It’ll require brands to produce double the stock they previously produced in the same range. It’ll also require technical amendments, a whole lot of fabric, maybe even thrice as much as they needed before. But that isn’t a logical excuse not to do it.
A size 18 will take double the material than a size 0. The extra money some brands charge for it is called the fat tax. Yeah, the fat tax shouldn’t exist. It’s an all the more reason for the plus-size community to feel more excluded. It can also highly discourage sales.
Unreal Virtual Presence
Because clothing brands do not cater to people beyond their straight-size scale, such people shop online. Some women confess that physical clothing stores make them lose their confidence. The men in clothing ads are always muscular with sharp jawlines. These sorts of men can rarely exist outside the vicinity of the gym. It’s a clear demonstration of how even inclusive sizing is just limited to clothing when it should be more than just that. When will brands understand that their customers do not look like that? They’re not real beauty standards.
The Bottom Line
Inclusive sizing will be around for much longer than people anticipated and for all the right reasons. Hopefully, people of all sizes, sexual orientations, and ethnicities will have access to the clothing they love without worrying if their size will be available or not. Conceivably, the term plus-size will permanently leave the internet and the world of fashion. Maybe then, groups of previously excluded people will gain back their confidence in shopping in-store.
Photo: istock by Getty images
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