I have never been a skinny person. As a baby I had “cute thunder thighs” and as a young girl, I shopped in the “Pretty Plus” section. Throughout high school and my early twenties, I was wearing about a size 9-11. When I got a bit older though, I became a size 14-16 and started to realize that the shopping options change as you get into a larger size.
I could not find any clothes in my size in the stores that I used to shop in. Why? Every article I read in magazines said that a size 16 was the average in the United States. Sure. I could find clothes at Macy’s or Nordstrom’s, but not from the brands that I wanted. I found myself shopping at Target and Old Navy, which do not get me wrong, I was able to get cute clothes, but I wanted so badly to be able to wear the designer clothes I saw in all my fashion magazines. I could buy the shoes and the purses, but not the clothes. This was so frustrating to me and still is today.
I have friends in all different shapes and sizes, but one that sticks out to me in particular was my friend, let’s call her Eliza. When I met her she only wore men’s clothing because she did not know how to shop for her figure being that she was plus size. I helped her, and I am hoping that by writing this blog maybe I can help others find their style by sharing my extensive online shopping research for plus size clothing.
I consider myself to be a pro at shopping, so I figured that I could share my findings for us curvy ladies who are not ready to look like grandma yet. You can still be sexy and trendy even if you do not fit the traditional size of 2-12. I can be a bit fancy pants, but realize that not everyone wants to or has the ability to purchase more expensive clothes, so I have different categories of price and style that I have laid out below.
For the boss on a budget I recommend shopping in the following stores. There are usually a lot of trendy options, the quality may not be the highest, but it is not terrible in any of these retailers:
Old Navy
Rue 21
Forever 21 Plus
BooHoo
Target
Every boss needs the basics. These stores have really great staples for every gals’ closet:
Lane Bryant
H&M+
Macy’s
For a boss that wants clothes that are really unique and fun:
Modcloth
Hot Topic – Online has some plus size options
Torrid
MissGuided+
Asos
Eloquii
Denim! All ladies wear them, but where to find some great jeans:
Nordstrom Rack carries Democracy, Kut from the Kloth and NYDJ all really great designer jeans that you can also get at a discount!
Silver Jeans
Levi’s
Embody Denim
Good American – You can always count on those Kardashians!
James Jeans Plus
Lucky Brand
Universal Standard
For the boss that wants designer, there are very few currently that carry anything over a 12, but here are the ones that I found have plus size:
Rachel by Rachel Roy
Eileen Fisher
Navabi
Rent the Runway
Jibri
Mynt1972
For those of you ladies who want to wear Chanel, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs like I do, you will have to wait for them to expand their clothing size options, but I hope that the above options will give you more choices than you previously had thought.
Please keep posted with my blogs, as I will update these listings upon the discovery of new sites/designers. If you are a designer, don’t forget us curvy ladies. We wear clothes too and will usually spend a good amount of money on really great clothes since we do not have as many options, so this is a great category of women to cater your designs to. Embrace those curves and find some great clothes that make you feel beautiful!