Downsizing: Retailers Rid The Racks Of Plus-Size Clothes

New York Post:

Here's some more motivation to lose those extra pounds -- recession-stung retailers are dropping plus-size clothing from their collections because it's too costly to produce. Popular brands like Ellen Tracy have gotten rid of or scaled back production on clothes that are sizes 16 or more as a way to save money, according to a report in Crain's Business New York.

Read the whole story: New York Post

Comments

[dianasteady]

10:14 AM on 06/15/2009

I found this post after searching New York Plus Size clothing for my upcoming trip to NYC. It's sad that I saw so many articles relating to plus size clothing and store discontinuing plus size lines. It's important for us to know that there are retailers out there that do make clothes for plus size women but oftentimes these companies are online and you must search for them. Here are a few of my faves, some of which are in Manhattan:

http://www.igigi.com
http://www.monifc.com (has a New York boutique on 38th street)
http://www.svobodastyle.com
http://www.gaylabentley.com (sells in Neiman Marcus)
http://www.daphnelargersizes.com (also has a store in Manhattan)

Hope that helps!

[pointbeing]

10:04 PM on 06/02/2009

I know sizing has changed over the past 25-30 years, but even at my absolute bone-protruding (doctor concerned) thinnest my almost 5'9" large frame body was still a size 14 all those years ago. I hated then that manufacturers thought they had the right to dictate what women wear and at what size to wear it. I shopped for jeans in mens stores just to get the leg length needed.

Clothiers need a large dose of reality check meds. I'm currently working my way back down from size 26 to a an 18 (at least). Even if I should surpass that goal, I would still be shopping in the Plus size departments just to get clothes to fit my frame. Thank the Power for Lane Bryant, Avenue, Old Navy and Evans (in the UK) who realize real women, regardless of weight, have curves!

[Norak]

08:21 PM on 06/02/2009

Retailers would sell a lot more plus sizes if they didn't hide them away in the back of the store. Invariably, you have to walk much farther in a department store to get to the Woman's section and that makes it even harder for big ladies.. I always feel as if I'm being punished for being over a 14.

[Danyelle79]

12:08 PM on 06/02/2009

Speaking of college, teeny crowd..... There are a lot of women ages 16-35 that are plus size (14 and up) But there are "very few" retailers that market to them. Old Navy is an exception they make great trendy plus size clothes. Lane Bryant & The Avenue make clothes for women over 40 ( my opinion). If the Gap or New York & Co. made there sizes a little higher they would attract a lot more business

[henrypapillon]

08:19 AM on 06/02/2009

I don't know if you readers have noticed, but the business community a few years ago was pushing team work and that the customer was number one, and there was great competition to suit the customer best. Now the way of the business community is"You do what I say and I'll only cut your pay 20%, and if you don't you'll be gone" and to the customer "take it or leave it". My propane company started this pre-buy program for buying propane for the next winter so you could lock in your prices if you gave them your money for next season. Now you have to lock in before the end of May and don't get you yourrr unused portion back until July, and they added a clause that says if you don't use all of what you prebought they charge you 35 cents a gallon on the unused portion---that after having use of YOUR money for 14 months. I dropped them and went with some other company that is interested in serving me , not telling me how things are going to be or else.

[henrypapillon]

08:03 AM on 06/02/2009

So, DUH, I'll bet those size 18 and size 20 and 22 women went right out and bought the size 16 dresses that were on the rack, right? Way to get more business---tell the customer what they are going to buy. This sounds like a formula for going out of business to me.

[ayisha]

05:42 AM on 06/02/2009

when you go to the sales rack in most women's clothing stores, the leftover bits on clearance are the size 2's and 4's. this suggests that the other end of the scale (usually size 16 or 18 in most "ladies" styles) sell out much faster. so...they decide to drop the 16's and up, and cling to the stuff that ends up on the clearance racks??? it's always been my thought that this particular aspect of the clothing market makes no sense. i know that some designers/stores refuse to carry plus-sized items because they don't want "fat people" to become associated with their brand. their loss.

[ImagesbyMagoe]

05:24 AM on 06/02/2009

A designer may decide what clothes to cut back on by what sells. Maybe Ellen Tracy does not sell enough plus size clothes to justify making them or doesn't want to represent the plus size market anymore. Whatever the case may be, there are some great designers out there who make beautiful clothes for plus size market.

Not everyone can be thin and sometimes it can be a medical problem instead of eating problem that causes a person to gain excessive weight.

Eat healthy, exercise and love your body-no matter what size you are!

[Jazz88105]

07:37 AM on 06/02/2009

Given the fact that we have more plus size woman than not this is not the smartest business move.

[IUAlumna]

01:23 AM on 06/02/2009

Clearly there is more than the cost of fabric adding to the cost of producing plus-size clothes, because if the cost is driven only by the price of raw materials how do you explain the higher cost of petite sizes, children's clothing, or even bathing suits? I have to laugh at the idea that this decision will "motivate" people to lose weight. People are already so motivated they submit to dangerous surgery when, like the vast majority of dieters, they regain their lost weight. They get this surgery when their only "illness" is obesity, simply because they are at a higher risk of getting certain illnesses. Now that's motivated.

[an observer3]

09:05 PM on 06/01/2009

This should be motivation to lose a few pounds.

[DogTown]

10:34 PM on 06/01/2009

Some People are heavy do to medical reason and some have to take meds that cause great weight gain in order to stay alive! Yes some eat to get heavy, but your judgment about losing weight when a person can't for many reason is an uneducated post! My family member has to live on a high dose of steroids for their unstable asthma and is 75+ pounds heavier even with a strict diet. She cannot work out because her asthma is so bad she is on oxygen often. she was thin before her health took a turn for the worse!

[henrypapillon]

08:04 AM on 06/02/2009

Or, more likely, never set foot in that store again.

[suec03]

08:48 PM on 06/01/2009

I think it will backfire. Too many of us are size 14 and up. We will have to pick up the clothes rejected by the department stores when they arrive at Marshalls and Ross.

[cutesky]

08:07 PM on 06/01/2009

If these manufacturers stop giving the public what they want and need....they will become the General Motors of the clothing Industry!!!!

[nonibright]

08:04 PM on 06/01/2009

I find it hard to fit myself, so a friend and I team up, exchange fittings, and we can have our own originals to suit us in no time. I always have my machines, yes, more than one type, up on a work table and only pack them away when I have company.
The fabrics are getting more expensive and they are mostly "MADE IN CHINA". I say, let's start producing our own good quality fabrics and get some people back to work HERE!! Designers, dyers, weavers, on and on and on. I tried not buying products made in China for Christmas one year, futile, even when I made some of them!!
Perhaps we should invest in Lane Bryant's Catalog line - looks like the market may swing their way!

[Schoolgirl666]

09:24 AM on 06/02/2009

Besides Lane Bryant there is Avenue....more selection and less costly than LB.

[jukesgrrl]

07:56 PM on 06/01/2009

I worked for retail companies for years and I was always told the average American woman (median) is a size 12. It is a stupid decision, if it's true, and my guess would be it's not true nationwide. New York City, maybe, Mall of America, not so much.

In any case, the fabric is NOT where the cost lies. It's the labor -- and in clothes, the labor is often more difficult on small items. It's the same in the furniture business. Bought a love seat lately? They cost only $50 to $100 less than full-size sofas.

Ellen Tracy may be a popular line, but it's popular with the well-to-do. It's sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, not Kohl's. I would guess the decisions discussed in this article are based on the fact that small women spend more money on clothes than larger women. And the retail markets for wholesale companies making expensive clothing attract the smaller (and richer) buyers. I seriously doubt you'll see the more proletarian brands that sell to mass markets (e.g. Liz Claiborne) dumping larger sizes. In most U.S. department stores, the plus-size departments have expanded (no pun intended) in recent years.

[Twopennygal]

07:01 PM on 06/01/2009

Unfortunately, you won't save that much doing your own sewing. I do the lion's-share of my own sewing and have been spending as much or more than I would be spending in the store. But I prefer my own sewing to what's in the stores anyway, so I'll keep it up. And as an aside, it's been hard to find plus-size patterns for years. I usually do some serious altering to make clothes that fit my particular body shape anyway.

[fouchnickens]

07:29 PM on 06/01/2009

For the last 10-15 years, fabric prices have really jumped to the point that you more than likely could save money by purchasing a similar item at a retail location (I'm not sure if it because of the smaller number of people who home sew, or fabric retailers hiking their prices as crafts become the new hip thing to do). However, in terms of quality, home sewing can't be beat, and pieces can be individually sized.

For example, most cloth used in retail clothing construction is not pre-washed any longer before cutting out garment segments in order to cut costs -- you may pay the same amount for a shirt, but after a couple of washes you have to give it away because it has shrunken or spend more on dry cleaning to keep it in shape. With home sewing, the simple step of pre-washing fabrics ensures the longevity of clothing article, and reduces the amount of throw-away fashion that inundates clothing retail these days.

[ayisha]

05:54 AM on 06/02/2009

i sew a bit too, and knit a lot. it's hard to impress upon people how not-necessarily "cheap" it is to make your own clothing. enough decent (non-expensive) yarn to make an adult sweater costs as much as, if not more, than buying a crappy, mass-produced sweater. you put in the time and expense because you get a custom fit in a well-constructed item (i still have skirts that i sewed more than 10 years ago), but it is definitely not an exercise in frugality. it is lovely to know that there are people out there who still appreciate handcrafting. keep sewing.