Vibrant Nation

It's about time! Now to see the models within all shades tone and colors from around the world, always a problem. 9 is not a plus size from 2, just another number. The labels males/programmed females have given to anything not within their preference of size. Thanks for the information.

This is actually too funny - when I was 14 years old, 6' tall, and size 8 I couldn't find clothes "small" enough for me in a youthful look, and they were all too short.  I am now 6' tall, size 20, (except for the right side where I had was fortunate enough to have a lumpectomy for breast cancer), and I still have difficulty finding "fashionable" clothes. 

Well, I'm 4'11" and a size 8/10P and I can't always find fashionable clothes. It seems that many retailers think that short women are all really old and only wear elastic waist pants. lol.

I think that it's more about profit for designers. They would rather we change our bodies to suit their styles, than them producing styles for different body types. Maybe if we challenged their egos and said, 'hey, are your talents limited to only designing with straight lines and not curves?' lol. It would seem more of an artistic challenge to design styles for varying body types.

BTW, I saw that issue of V magazine. While I thought the spread on the plus sizes was good overall, I think they could have done a better job on the bathing suits. The styles they put on the models did not flatter them. And it had more to do with the suit style than the model's body.

I think that the changes you detailed above are good and are the result of the market force of the boomer generation. Keep it up ladies.........hit 'em in the pocketbook. lol

I totally agree. I like to read stories of ordinary women living extraordinary lives at a site called JustANumber.com. This site features women over 50 who are just llike us - healthy, wise, and non-celebrities.

I am very happy when comfortably in my size 12's, and feel positivly waiflike duing the rare times when I can wear my 10's (this happened about 15 months ago, but didn't last more than month of so then slowly, slowly.......I gained 40 lbs! Ahh well, for health reasons Im working on it - but I agree, I too ran across a story about plus sized models, and was thrilled to see women who looked more or less like me (well, ok, LESS, for now anyway) But it looked like what I think I look like, and what I believe I can look like again - so hurray for whoever figured out there are more of us (round girls) than them (angular girls) ! For what it's worth, someone just remineded me that she'd always heard that "round' women felt better in bed (decode:felt better to have sex with). It remeinded me that once a guy I dated said, as we cuddled off to sleep, "Oh, you feel so good - just like hugging a down pillow!" (I thought I was "thin" at the time!) That's alright - I'll take my compliments where I can get them. all the best - Sarah

Hip, hip hooray!!!!  Maybe at age 58, I have a chance as a model after my teaching career!  Seriously, it's about time!  I fear for those with eating problems trying to make a living.  And all the high school and college students who put their lives at risk to try and attain a "thin" status.  My own daughter had an eating disorder in college...one cracker a day...She was thrilled to buy size 6 clothes.  Very scary.  I hope we have truly become a wiser world.

You call plus size women "midlife" women for some reason and I'm trying to reason why you would place that title on one age group of women. I, too, was once a skinny 98, 110, 120, etc., etc. pound woman who wore a size 4, 6, 8 and I'm 5'7" tall. I felt like I was pretty much the "normal" teenager and young adult, size wise, for the times. I am now a size 14 which is supposedly the "average" size. I read a lot about young people and obeasity and Diabetes in our society today and I don't believe I have ever seen so many over-weight teens and young adults in my life. It's hard to tell by observation the age of the young women these days. I asked my youngest son a few years back when he was still dating and he agreed with me that the over-weight young women out numbered the slimmer ones. I don't like to say it's a problem but in reality it is. Not only do they not get as many opportunities as a slimmer young lady but they are often times unhealthy. I'm not saying that we should encourage our daughters to be pencil thin like a model but at least encourage a active lifestyle to maintain a healthy weight.

One first step would be to stop call size 10 and 12 and 14 women, "plus-size".  They are normal size, non-anorexia sizes.  We need to make our voice heard to those magazines to change the wording which is misleading. 

I think that the fashion industry must respond in this way because the financial times being what they are, they need to sell clothing! Many of the "social x-rays" as Tom Wolfe called the called the wealthy society women who believe that "you can never be too rich or too thin" are suffering from the financial meltdowns of late, so the fashion houses and retail stores must change in order to sell to more of the middle class.  Who knows what they'll do when the middle class disappears, but that's a different topic!

It's about time isn't it? What a relief  to not have to try to starve ourselves into a size that isn't really ours. And a very big thank you to the makers of Dove soap for starting the trend a couple of years ago with their real women real beauty campaign.

I so agree with you. I am a yoga teacher-in my early fifties. I totally accept my shape and reassure my many students that if they can work with and enjoy, take care of their bodies-that size does not really matter so much. One of the graces of growing older....I believe...is body acceptance.

A new wave of fashion designers needs to be acknowleged for those willing to take on the creative prospects of designing for women with really curves. Cokkie-cutter designs with a bit of tweaking here and there for a size 0-3 model is no big challenge. Try designer for XL-2x that have shoulders that don't fall down your shoulders, or plunging neclines that don't plunge too far, or cutsy clothing that no women would seriously wear to work or elsewhere. try finding cami tops or dress blouses with under bust seamlines that actually go down far enough to accommodate a size 44C bust. Try finding 44C bras. The clothes that have been designed for Queen Latifah are beautiful and that designer should be awarded for actually making clothes that are sophisticated, sexy and gorgeous. Why won't Karl Lagerfeld and Halston design for larger frames? The snob appeal factor for the smaller size club is cutting out a whole segment of the population that still likes to purchase clothing. I wager that plus size women would spend much more of their money on clothes in the clothing fit and looked great. One of my criterias is pants with elastic in the back of the waistband, but a regular waistband in the front. Thse have been the hardest styles to find. I do not want elastic all the way around. And tops with a bodice that has a seamline dropped lower than they are currently being made. A woman's breasts drop with gravity and it would be nice if designers acknowledge that instead of forcing wmen into torturous bras that forced breasts upward. Ack! As far as shoe designers-please, lower the heels and make more shoes in size 11M.

It's so not fair. My daughter, 16, is plus size. She wears 18W. (48DDD) That leaves her with old lady style clothes and that's not what she wants to wear. She wants to look cool or whatever the vernacular is these days. The manager at Bealls told us to call the powers that be at Bealls and let them know that we want the Juniors clothing in larger sizes. Perhaps, if we all called the "powers that be" of the stores that we shop at we can get the message accross to them. More Petite sizes, larger Junior sizes and so on. We are the ones that are spending the money, right? Even I could wear Junior clothing if they would carry anything larger than a 12. Okay, I'm thru ranting. Have a nice day, everyone!

Bravo to all of the clothes company's that are finally coming to their sense's.  May be they finally realized that they needed to listen to woman, do you think it has anything to do with not selling their small size clothing, so they are loosing money. Even though we aren't all the model sizes we still like to look our best . I am a size 14 to 18, it all depends on who made the clothing and where I shop for my clothes. My clothes don't look like circus tents,or baby doll cute, they are for the mature woman that I am.  And believe me I hate shopping. So when I need to buy clothing I look for quality, style, comfort and femine.  I will not buy clothing that has strlpes that go around my body, which doesn't compliment my body; short clinging clothing that show my bulges and defects; baggy clothing that makes me look like I could hide circus clowns in it with me.  So, Gillian I am thrilled that you wrote this article.  Thank you Sandra L. Houle

Bravo to all of the clothes company's that are finally coming to their sense's.  May be they finally realized that they needed to listen to woman, do you think it has anything to do with not selling their small size clothing, so they are loosing money. Even though we aren't all the model sizes we still like to look our best . I am a size 14 to 18, it all depends on who made the clothing and where I shop for my clothes. My clothes don't look like circus tents,or baby doll cute, they are for the mature woman that I am.  And believe me I hate shopping. So when I need to buy clothing I look for quality, style, comfort and femine.  I will not buy clothing that has strlpes that go around my body, which doesn't compliment my body; short clinging clothing that show my bulges and defects; baggy clothing that makes me look like I could hide circus clowns in it with me.  So, Gillian I am thrilled that you wrote this article.  Thank you Sandra L. Houle