It’s no secret New Zealanders are getting bigger – people-watch in any suburban mall and the evidence is clear. And to cater for the expanding waist size, clothing ranges are getting bigger and bigger. Where once voluptuous women would have to head to specialist plus-size boutiques to find something decent to wear, high-street stores have increased their ranges to go up to a size 28.
Although some are rejoicing in the acceptance of the fuller figure, it leads to the question – is it really a good thing for Kiwi women that plus-size clothing is becoming mainstream?
The statistics alone are worrying. More than a third of adult New Zealanders are obese, according to data in a 2014 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.
The reasons for the epidemic are many and varied, but it’s getting worse, with more than a third of New Zealand children now classified as obese too. Late last year, leading health campaigner Dr Robyn Toomath gave up the fight against fat and its associated risks because she said her 15-year campaign just wasn’t working.
Catering to the masses, plus-size clothing is becoming big business and retailers such as Farmers and The Warehouse are boosting their oversized offerings. The market is no longer niche, it’s normal.
Womenswear buying manager for Farmers, Liz Mannell, says the company still sells more clothing in conventional sizes, but the plus-size ranges manufactured under the Match, Yourself and Wild Child brands are a significant part of the business. In July, it will be “putting a lot of focus” into freshening its plus-size clothing with the spring/summer 2016 range, says Mannell, with designs to cater for all occasions: work wardrobes, casual clothes and nights on the town. “We want to become the destination for plus-size clothing in New Zealand.”
Anna Stewart, lead womenswear buyer for The Warehouse, says the red shed retailer is looking to offer more options, not only in terms of sizes, but styles too. “There’s more choice in women’s clothing than ever before and this can only be positive.”
Maya is The Warehouse’s mainstream contemporary women’s range, available in sizes 10-20, and Garage is its more youthful fashion label, in sizes 8-18.
“In the coming seasons, we’ll be offering even more choice across our Garage range, with some styles available up to size 20,” says Stewart. The Warehouse’s dedicated plus-size range, Kate Madison, comes in sizes 18-28. “As with all of our ranges, our buyers for Kate Madison look for trend-led styles that make [them] look and feel great,” she says.
No matter your size, finding the right fit in New Zealand can be frustrating given there are no standard measures to determine what size is what. We’d be forgiven for not realising we’re getting larger, when different stores have different guidelines as to how big each size actually is.
Farmers does pay careful attention to keeping its sizing consistent. “Some of our customers are uncomfortable trying on clothes in our changing rooms, but if they know they’re a particular size in our store, they can take something home with confidence,” says Mannell.
Farmers’ biggest-selling plus size used to be 18, but now it’s 20. “We still sell a substantial amount of 24s and 26s,” says Mannell. The largest size available is 28.
Plus-size clothing is becoming big business and retailers are boosting their oversized offerings. The market is no longer niche, it’s normal
Ahead of the curve
There’s still a stigma attached to being larger, but social media and celebrated international plus-size models such as Ashley Graham (UK size 16), Australia’s Robyn Lawley (considered a plus-size model at size 12) and UK size 26 Tess Holliday show how far body pride has progressed.
In New Zealand, there’s an active curvy-girl blogging scene focused on fashion, health, support and body pride. Fashion designer Sera Lilly, who has struggled with her weight, is involved with The Curve Project, an “awesome network of plus-size bloggers” and has shared her know-how to encourage young women to start their own blogs. “These girls have amazing style.”
Blogger Nicky Werder posts regular images of her outfits on Instagram under the handle @thestylehighclub_nz. Werder, a size 16-18, is a self-confessed fashion fanatic. At the smaller end of the plus-sized spectrum – “It makes my day when I can fit into a Country Road size 16” – Werder says she’s not a fan of clothing offered by plus-size specialist retailers, which she describes as “clearly not that good”.
“I want to look different and I don’t want something bright and garish with yucky fabric. I want something beautifully made and tailored.” Werder often shops online and is a fan of Lilly’s new plus-size label, Sera Lilly Curve, which the designer launched late last year.
Lilly closed her retail store and conventionally sized label Sera Lilly in 2014, feeling burnt out by the fashion retail scene. She started www.fat2fit.co.nz, a motivational weight-loss website and Facebook page. Then, last year, it felt like the right time to go into business with her family to establish the new label, sold online only at www.seralillycurve.com. The collection, currently about 30 pieces, is “a range to suit different body shapes, key pieces to slot into what people already own”. The garments are made in China and offshore manufacturing means prices are reasonable – every item is less than $140.
This first collection reflects Lilly’s love of prints and sequins, but the design process was a democratic one. She has more than 80,000 followers across her social media platforms and it’s this reach that helped refine the range. To decide on the final pieces, Lilly posted photos of 80 sample outfits worn by models and encouraged her followers to ‘like’ their favourites.
Although www.seralillycurve.com only launched in late October, Lilly’s savvy social media skills meant there were “hundreds” of pre-orders for her clothes, even before the first shipment landed from China in November. She has also garnered attention from big-name plus-size international personalities, such as Holliday and musician Beth Ditto, by tagging them in posts.
Lilly cites Ashley Nell Tipton, the first designer to win Project Runway with a plus-size collection, modelled by plus-size models, as a sign of how far things have come. “Times are changing. It’s about everybody out there being represented and having options.”
Lilly’s speaking from personal experience. She has no problem with the term ‘plus-size’, even if it’s hard to define exactly what plus-size is. “I would say it’s when you can’t fit into mainstream clothes, which can happen from a size 14.”
Plus-size poster girls Ashley Graham, Robyn Lawley, Tess Holliday
Beth Ditto, and a model wearing designs by Project Runway winner Ashley Nell Tipton.
Celebrate or change
The trouble is, the goalposts keep shifting, and what’s considered mainstream one minute isn’t the next as stores keep adding extra sizes to their ranges to keep up with demand. So when does embracing curves tip into unhealthy territory? Would not fitting mainstream sizes snap more people into acknowledging their weight?
Jessica Moulds, a Christchurch-based dietitian with Mission Nutrition who helps her clients deal with emotional eating and other issues, says it’s not as simple as that. She says there’s a big difference between someone who’s curvy but eats healthily and exercises, and someone who’s overweight and living an unhealthy lifestyle, but either way, it’s important to embrace your body as it is.
“Hating your body can become a form of self-sabotage. Think of the amazing things it does – sees, hears and your heart beats continuously without you having to think about it.” According to Moulds, weight and body mass index (BMI) aren’t the best measures to gauge what’s a healthy weight.
“Although carrying more weight around your middle increases health risks”, she prefers to ask clients how healthy they feel and how they’re sleeping. People who want to lose weight often have to improve their relationship with food and accept their bodies before progress can be made, so Moulds sees the increased choice in clothing sizes and styles as positive.
“No matter what size someone is, if there’s an outfit they feel great in, then that’s good. If there’s more choice available, more people will start embracing how they are, and that’s positive.”
Conversely, nutritionist and personal trainer Ginny McArthur, who spends her days supporting women to regain their health and change lifestyles negatively impacted by fast food and a lack of exercise, doesn’t think it’s a good thing that we’re normalising larger clothing sizes.
“Very few muscular, healthy women, even if they have a large frame, need to wear larger than a size 16. I know this is a very sensitive subject, but in my opinion I think if you need to buy a size 18 or upwards, you should have to go to a maternity or plus-size store.
“I think it’s sad to see young women who are obese wearing their fat like a badge and thinking it’s okay. Having a large body fat percentage is not healthy. Larger women should have access to fashionable and flattering clothes, but these bigger sizes should not be seen as the norm. We should not celebrate obesity… the health implications are just too great.”
For many women, clothing is one of the most enjoyable ways to express ourselves and we should all be able to find clothes that fit. But as our average size increases, at what point do we have to acknowledge we’re not doing our health any favours by making being overweight fashionable?
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
