Being A Curvy Woman Means Living On The Plus Side

theodysseyonline.com

Nov 15, 2017 5:39 PM

The positives about being body positive and how it has affected clothing companies.

We all dance.

I’m not talking about ballet or hip-hop or contemporary. I’m talking about the “pants dance.” That wiggly, high-kick dance that we all do to get into our jeans in the morning. Sometimes it’s just because our jeans are super skinny, but sometimes it’s just because we don’t fit in those jeans the way we used to. That feeling is worse than a heartbreak, especially when they were your favorite jeans!

However, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. In fact, the average dress size of a woman is constantly increasing every year in America. Sarah Dunn and Deborah Christel who are both a part of the department of apparel merchandising, design, and textiles right here at Washington State University, found that the average size of an American woman is between a 16 and 18.

But why does that size fit you in some stores, but not others? Well, manufacturing processes are different, so sometimes companies have different standards of sizes… or is it on purpose? Believe it or not, some companies actually deceive you into thinking you’re a smaller size than you really are. This is called “ vanity sizing.”

This phenomenon is when companies purposefully label sizes as smaller than what they actually are. Let’s say you’re shopping for a pair of jeans. You find an adorable pair and you grab your usual size, but they’re too big! So you grab the next size down, and they fit! How much cuter did those pair of jeans get when you found out that you had gone down a size?

This can get into a whole world of consumer psychology and what makes people buy products. Personally, I think what makes people buy is honesty! Celebrities, models and companies are continuing to see business from this perspective. This started to begin a few years back with “body positivity.” It’s always been important to love yourself and who you are, but only recently has it been a good thing to be very vocal about it and stand up to people who body-shame.

This movement got started with people like Melissa McCarthy who are actually known for their size and their confidence with it. In fact, she wouldn’t be the fun-loving, wacky character she was on "Bridesmaids" without it! Reverting back to body-positivity, it’s nice to see that celebrities like McCarthy use their platform to do some good for other people who may not be as confident.

Along with constantly talking about loving yourself for who you are, she even started her own clothing line called Seven7. This clothing line carries sizes from 4 to 28, giving an abundance of women an opportunity to find the perfect dress that fits just right.

Plus-sized models are also something that has been rocking the industry. Specifically models like Ashley Graham. Graham is a size 16 model who has been on the cover or featured in numerous magazines like Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. If you don’t know what body positivity is, look at this woman. She is constantly vocal about how people shouldn’t body shame since she’s been through it herself. People would always tell her she was too big to be a model… and now she has a net worth of $1 million and counting.

Celebrities like McCarthy and Graham have empowered women to be comfortable with the way they are. And with this comfortability comes the protest to small and unrealistic sizing within stores. This is why many companies have moved to producing plus-sized clothing options.

They have also focused on campaigns surrounding loving yourself. Companies like Layne Bryant (which Graham was actually a part of), Dove, and many more have launched natural beauty campaigns rejoicing in rocking the body that your mama gave you.

So if you’re looking for a clothing line that will fit you wholly and honestly, with all-inclusive styles, here are some of the best, and some of my favorite: