https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:05:57 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217898 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 23:40:03 +0000 Angie 2217898@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>And the second article does a great job of explaining the grading rules that have to change across a large assortment of sizes:&nbsp; </p> <p><i>"Waldman and co-founder Polina Veksler self-developed a technique for constructing plus-sized clothing called micrograding. They recognised the weakness of the standard formula for grading towards bigger sizes, which they compare to making a photocopy of a photocopy. “After a while, the pattern becomes distorted (a pair of culottes in a size 4 becomes a pair of palazzo pants by the time you reach a US size 24), so we started grading between every size, and using fit models across our entire size range whenever developing a new garment.”</i></p> <p><i>It works. “When you have 11 models (representing alpha sizing) standing shoulder to shoulder, you can see right away if a dress meant to stop at the knee does so on a size 4XS as well as a XL,” they say"</i></p> <p><b>This is the care and control that is needed to create a good fit across ALL the sizes!</b></p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217896 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 23:25:50 +0000 Angie 2217896@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Anna</b>, GREAT articles. Very passionate about the subject, and loved reading them :)</p> <p>I really believe that this is important:</p> <p><b><u><i></i></u><i></i></b><i></i>"<i></i><i>For efforts in plus size to truly succeed, they will require businesses to think beyond product and to bring plus size women into their businesses and marketing across all kinds of roles"</i><b><br /></b><br />Nice Summary of take - aways: </p> <ol> <li><b></b><i>36 percent of women scanned thought they were hourglass, 0 percent were.</i></li> <li><i>81 percent of self-identified body shapes did not match with body scans.</i></li> <li><i>The plus size consumer has an individual personality and wants to feel catered to. Her tastes are as diverse as regular sized consumers.</i></li> <li><i>Design educators need to lead by example and learn to design for plus size so they can teach the next generation.</i></li> <li><i>The majority of women are plus sized; building successful strategies that service them is a significant business opportunity.</i><b></b></li> </ol> <p><div><b>NUMBER #5!!!&nbsp;</b></div></p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217887 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 23:00:23 +0000 Helena 2217887@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow Janet that is really interesting. I've been reading alot about diet culture and how it undercuts our intuitions and self knowledge about what is appropriate for us (and observing it firsthand in myself) and wonder if this is the same phenomenon. I agree with you if the designers would make clothes for diverse body types rather than making us feel we need to fit out body type into the clothes, then the gap might close. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217884 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 22:54:03 +0000 Jenni NZ 2217884@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I enjoyed those articles too and that very pic Janet. I still find the body shapes moderately useful but various new posters on YLF don’t always seem to, as witnessed by various posts asking which body shape they are. It makes sense that many women of all sizes don’t feel they fit those artificial shapes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217882 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 22:49:09 +0000 Janet 2217882@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Those are really good articles, Anna. Thank you for sharing. I skimmed both and am going back to read in more depth later. </p> <p>I did find this survey result (in the pic) info really interesting. How well do we really know our bodies? And how well does the industry really know their market? Seems both are a little out of touch, but I think if the market adjusts, women will be more comfortable identifying their needs. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217858 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 21:33:46 +0000 Anonymous 2217858@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Comment removed . </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217836 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 20:35:10 +0000 annagybe 2217836@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ok, to get this back on track:<br />I found these articles interesting. I tried to find some non-US sources<br />First one talks about fit models<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="https://fashionunited.com/news/business/redefining-plus-size-dressing-the-average-woman-in-europe/2020011431672">https://fashionunited.com/news.....-europe/20</a></p> <p>This is from a business perspective<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/what-happened-to-plus-size">https://www.voguebusiness.com/.....-plus-size</a></p> <p>I'll try to write more of my thoughts later, if I get a chance but I been working a&nbsp; lot lately </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217725 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:40:46 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217725@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Angie—that it was the all-inclusive term is all the info I needed. </p> <p>Synne, “mister” and “lady” are not parallel—message me if you want me to explain. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/3#post-2217668 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 14:08:34 +0000 N 2217668@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Do you not use lady much in the US? Pretty common in the UK. We do call strangers "lady" or "gentleman" for example "please say thank you to that kind gentleman over there". One would just substitute gentleman for lady. That said, it is a very binary way of describing people. I should probably just use " them" instead. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217667 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 14:07:44 +0000 Angie 2217667@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I brought up the term “ladieswear specialist buyer” because that was my exact profession 20 years ago! So I will reiterate what others have said: it means nothing more than what women would wear. You can interpret women as fluidly as you like. No alternative meanings or judgements intended with lady. The same way in Dutch “dames kleding” means the same thing. Some retailers call ladieswear “womenswear”. </p> <p>OTB means “open to buy” which is a budget that buyers spend in order to select merchandise for said retailer. </p> <p>Let’s please not derail Anna’s important thread further. Back to the topic </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217664 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 13:47:34 +0000 Synne 2217664@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>No, Fash, I was not aware of this. To me it will never be an insult to be called a lady (on the contrary, I wish!!!), and I didn't mean it like that in my previous comment directed at you. I meant that you dress very feminine, femme, girly. Or like a lady (in my definition of the word). Thanks for the article, will read later. After skimming through just now quickly, I gotta say, "hey, watch it MISTER!", is a phrase I hear used in school all the time by teachers. (The article argues that there is no equivalent to "listen here young lady!".) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217658 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 13:36:05 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217658@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Synne, I think you know this already, given your comment earlier, but here you go. <a href="https://helloclue.com/articles/culture/lets-talk-about-word-lady" rel="nofollow">https://helloclue.com/articles.....-word-lady</a></p> <p>Irina, the article I just linked does mention “ladies room” as a euphemism for toilet, but doesn’t touch on the point you made—the refinement suggested by “ladies” does indeed point to there being other women who are lesser.</p> <p>Not sure annagybe opted in to this detour on her thread though, so maybe anyone wanting to discuss it further could start a new thread. One connection to this thread, though, is that the “refinement” indicated by the term “ladies” frequently includes taking up less space—crossing your legs, wearing tight skirts &amp; shoes that make it hard to take big steps, speaking loudly, etc, so larger women might be subject to prejudicial glances when the question of being ladylike comes up. Instead of including more people in this nonsense, I’d prefer to get rid of the term “lady” altogether. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217657 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 13:31:51 +0000 Irina 2217657@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Synne</b>, Come to think of it, I sometimes see “Ladies” sign on washrooms in restaurants. Am I a lady enough to go in? LOL<br />Sorry, this is completely off topic. My apologies! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217652 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 13:13:24 +0000 Synne 2217652@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Are woman and lady not synonyms? Does lady mean "old lady" or "traditionally feminine" or something more loaded and specific? Interesting. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217640 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 12:35:13 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217640@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Kkards, “fancy” is a good word for it, lol.<br /> Strange to realize that the clothing industry assumes that all of us should be ladies, and would embed that in a term to cover all women! Most of what I’ve seen of feminism relating to attire is about the designs of items—tight things restricting movement, spiky heels, etc—but I’m beginning to realize how much of a problem the language of the industry is as well. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217616 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:46:47 +0000 kkards 2217616@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lol re ladieswear …back in the early 90s &nbsp;i planned a men’s business for the 1st time…in our tops category we had 2 sub categories, plain and fancy’s…at that time fancy was the term retailers and manufactures were using for men’s patterned shirts…it made me laugh then and i still laugh about it now… </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217615 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:41:40 +0000 Janet 2217615@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ladieswear is just a term (mainly used in retail business) for women’s clothing. Nothing more. Google agrees. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217608 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:12:28 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217608@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So all women’s clothes, no emphasis on “lady”? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217543 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 02:47:48 +0000 Anonymous 2217543@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Good grief . The term ladieswear signifies nothing other than a retail / wholesale category . Clothing for women . No subversive meaning here . </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217451 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 22:45:33 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217451@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Is that what it means? Stereotypically feminine attire? </p> <p>Annagybe, I second Synne’s request for more WIWs from you—you’ve got some fun looks! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217268 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 09:30:07 +0000 Synne 2217268@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Off topic: but dear Fashintern, you are currently the one who dresses most classically feminine (ladieswear) on the entire forum, in my opinion! : Dresses, minis, lace stockings, the gamut. And I love that! But that this term throws you off makes me giggle!</p> <p>Yes to more diverse sizing! (And please join in more often Annagybe, I'd love to see your stylish self!) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217266 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 08:51:07 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217266@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lol at the “ladieswear” definitions. It is obviously some kind of thing a certain sector of women are supposed to put on their bodies, but as the fuss over “missy” revealed, these terms can be loaded with all sorts of values that don’t show up in straight definitions. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217258 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 07:08:06 +0000 Jenava 2217258@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I enjoy universal standards collaborations. I'm wearing a pair of Ederm jeans from the collaboration and I have a blouse I love from the collaboration with Rodarte.</p> <p>FashIntern, they did not remove the larger end. They added so now they have a complete range of sized.</p> <p>I think some folks were upset by this expansion because they wanted to keep a few nice brands as larger sizes only as "payback" for all the brands that carry only smaller sizes? I don't get that mindset.</p> <p>As a 12/14 I'm a total cusp size and the entire thing is just annoying because I don't fit in to either camp and really, what good is the demarcation at all? And if the average shopper is size 14 nowadays should most lines scale out from that size? I have no idea if this is the actual average size but I'm fairly sure it's not an 8 (at least in the states).</p> <p>Retailers 'are what they eat because they sell the sizes the offer so they often have to be convinced they are missing a market that they don't already cater to. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217205 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 01:33:05 +0000 Sloper 2217205@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks <b>Cat2 </b>for mentioning Lafayette 148.&nbsp; Just so happened to receive their Fall preview mailer today.&nbsp; Their blouses are classics for me.</p> <p>I do wish they'd be more inclusive with their models though - would be nice to see a wider range of body types. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217201 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 01:16:37 +0000 kellygirl 2217201@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’m glad you brought this up, Anna! I always appreciate your posts. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217195 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 00:58:35 +0000 Anonymous 2217195@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>One can find answers to many questions using google ….. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217171 Wed, 18 Aug 2021 22:24:11 +0000 CocoLion 2217171@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not Angie but ladieswear is clothing for women.&nbsp; OTB is open to buy I think, in other words funds you can use towards purchasing.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217170 Wed, 18 Aug 2021 22:16:09 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2217170@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angie, what are “ladieswear” and OTB? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217160 Wed, 18 Aug 2021 21:25:54 +0000 Angie 2217160@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The irony of it all is how lucrative the under serviced market is. If the sizes were THERE across the designer brands and more -<b> they would sell!!! </b><i>Retailers would make money. </i>What is the hold up?</p> <p>When I was a specialist ladieswear retail buyer in the late '90s, I started a plus size department from scratch for the retailer, because I listened to what the customers wanted. Sizes went up to the equivalent of a 4XL, and across very dressy items as well as casual. Quite pricey too. Items flew off the shelves because of the dire need for that segment of the population. Management kept issuing more OTB for the department because I could not keep it adequately stocked. Things have not changed......</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inclusivity-ha/page/2#post-2217154 Wed, 18 Aug 2021 21:11:27 +0000 Helena 2217154@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This always blows my mind ... On the one hand we hear about retail and fashion brands struggling; on the other, many seemingly choose to exclude a significant customer base. Ethics aside, the makes no business sense. So like others, I say, pass the salt!! </p>