"Plus size? What's that?"

[lupo pazzesco]

Hmm, ok, time for another one of Lupo's rants about being full figured...

So, this last weekend, the boyfriend was down here, and we went through my closets, paring down clothing I've not worn in a LONG time, as I've lost too much weight to fit into them comfortably. There were 3 piles: Keep. Donate to GoodWill, and Possible Sell.

See, a lot of my clothing is in really good condition, and i thought I could make a few extra bucks selling some to a resale store or consignment shop. I'd been hearing some ads on the radio about a local place that buys gently used clothing for teens and twenty-somethings.

Hey, I'm a twenty something, right? I qualify, yay! So we put together a couple medium-ish boxes of nicer stuff, and found one of their locations nearby (or, rather, on the way to one of our other destinations, at least) We get there, and I'm looking at the display, and I can feel my heart sinking. The mannequin is in short short shorts, and a size 2 tanktop. It has NO curves, but I still suck it in and go inside. I mean, not all stores have plus sized mannequins, right? Right...?

*sigh*

we put the 2 boxes in this plastic tub, and go to fill out the sign in sheet, and the little slips for resale stuff, and before I get too involved in all the paperwork, my boyfriend asks the guy behind the counter if they bought plus sized women's clothing. I shit you not, the exact response was a confused head tilt and he asked

"I don't know what you mean? What's that?"

BF repeats: "Do you buy PLUS SIZED women's clothing?"

"Oh...oh, no!! No no we don't!!"

Yeah, I felt that like a slap to the face. BF asks if we know of anywhere else, and guy behind the counter asks his fellow employees. The response is a sea of blank faces, and one girl said "I dunno, maybe you could try online, googling for it or tring <random site>...?"


So, we ask if we can take the plastic tub we dumped my clothes in to the car to empty and bring back, and again, swear to bogs, one of the employees looked offended we dared ask, because of COURSE we were totally gonna steal the tub.

We leave the store and I was depressed. I mean, it advertises itself as a place for teens and twenty somethings, but apparently it's only for skinny teens and twenty somethings because of course they're ALL skinny. None of them would be plus sized, and if they were, they wouldn't want to be wearing NICE clothing, gods forbid!! This ties into a problem I've had for the longest time. If you're past a certain "acceptable size" your clothing options are EXTREMELY limited. I've managed to accrue some nicer stuff, but it costs a LOT more than "regular sizes" (and yes, I know there is more materials, etc, but even that shouldn't account for the vast price difference I've seen in the same fucking brand of PANTS!).

I admit, I got a little teary. I've lost a lot of weight. Gone from a 26 in pants down to a 20, and dropped a few shirt sizes, but it's like it's never enough. It's like I can't win, because I'm always going to be "fat", regardless, and as such, I shouldn't want to look nice. Some of the old clothing I have is in such good condition because for the longest time, I believed that, as a plus sized woman, I'm not meant to wear pretty clothes, it just doesn't look right.

I guess I want to vent and whine that it isn't fair. I've tried 2 other shops that do consignment/resale, and one has answered saying they don't do straight resale, but consignment only. but I have to make sure everything is on clean hangers, pressed, washed, and absolutely no holes.

Ok, so...spend more money in the hopes of you maybe selling it and giving me a cut of the profits? No thanks. haven't heard from the other one, but here's hoping they accept plus sized resale. I don't know, I'm just depressed. Upset. and I feel that as long as plus sized is viewed as stigma, or "different", there never will be a lot of mainstream fashion like you see in the smaller sizes. Yes, specialty clothing places exist, and some plus sizes are doing well in various areas, but at the same time, how many people don't know "what that means"?

I'm tired and rambly, so I guess I'll end here. Hope I made some sort of sense. Thanks for reading.

[Andara Bledin]

I would totally offer it on eBay.

There is a dearth of decent plus-sized clothes for sale on there that don't look like the crap you usually get. >_<

I totally know what you mean about some stores making it seem like only skinny girls get to have cute clothes, and all the rest of us get frumpy old-lady gear, house dresses (as in as big as a [/Gallagher] ), and stuff that's priced at double as if to add insult to injury.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

Full sympathy here!

I do wonder at euphemisms, though. "Plus size" is common enough that any store ought at least to know what it means, but there's one that confused me: I think they've since moved or just closed, but we used to have two stores around here, next door to each other. One was named "Dress Barn" and the other was "Dress Barn Woman," which left me wondering, if the second one had to specify that it was for women, who was the first one for? Apparently, though, "woman" in their nomenclature means "big woman." (Why they needed a separate store in the first place rather than putting it all together is another question.)

[Kheldarson]

Dress Barn usually divides their stores and has two entrances if big enough. So it's all in the same place, just one entrance is on the women's/petites/juniors side, and the other is on the plus side.

[AdminAssistant]

I've managed to sell some plus-sized clothing at second-hand stores, but not much. I totally sympathize though. Last weekend, I went shopping for a plus sized wedding dress, which is a special hell all of it's own. (I found a shop that had a special room with all plus-sized gowns in a wide price range, plus a consultant who had the knowledge and willingness to work a bit harder to find something that would fit well and was affordable.)

[tabbyblack13]

I can understand your frustration with this. I went from a 22 to 14 and I had a lot of clothing to get rid of. Personally I decided to Goodwill all of it because I didn't do a mass clean out and I didn't have a lot of nice clothing. When I was looking for new clothing I never went to a consignment shop because they never seem to have anything for me. I don't know if that was because of the management/owner or no one was willing to sell there close.

[Gravekeeper]

I usually find trips to the mall terrifying due to the mannaquins these days. Some stores are fine ( ones with more casual clothes ), but anything remotely trendy with any sort of label recognition likes to drape their clothes over these horrific, headless, praying mantis like creatures in the window.

Are people really attracted to that?

[Rapscallion]

If they weren't, the stuff wouldn't sell.

Rapscallion

[Gravekeeper]

If they weren't, the stuff wouldn't sell.

I've never seen anything like them in real life. Especially not going in or coming out of the stores in question. If I did I'd probably throw rock salt at them or try to hit them with something made out of iron.

....You know, it just occured to me that every trip I take to the mall is a Fark link waiting to happen.

[Skunkle]

Eek... I can't STAND girls as thin as rails... Creeps me out. The mannequins are bizarre.

Yeah, what, do they expect all plus-sized girls just wear Hawaiian-print muu-muus!? I'd say check around a bit; a chain consignment store is going to carry as trendy stuff as they can, to try to pull in the demographic who are after designer brands only. Try the mom-and-pop type places and I'll bet they'll be more interested; or, at least, they'll be staffed by people who aren't designer-obsessed.

[Miss_Stress]

Lupo...I completely understand! I am plus sized (let's face it, standing at 5ft 11, I am never going to be able to wear a size 8/10), and things like this really bother me. It also bothers me that in stores, the plus sized clothes are in a completely separate department, like there's some stigma attached to having the cheek to be size 16+. Don't even get me started on Topshop and how THAT place makes me feel. Not everybody is going to be slim, and nobody should be made to feel bad or excluded just because they're not a size sodding ten.

On a positive note, it sounds like your weight loss is going really well congratulations!

[Boozy]

Ok, so...spend more money in the hopes of you maybe selling it and giving me a cut of the profits? No thanks. haven't heard from the other one, but here's hoping they accept plus sized resale. I don't know, I'm just depressed. Upset.

I know you're upset because of the whole stigma surrounding plus-size clothes, and it's not the fact that you can't get rid of the stuff... However, why not just donate your old clothes to Goodwill? Get it out of your sight so you can move on.

[lupo pazzesco]

Boozy, I actually do have a LOT of stuff to take to Goodwill, but what I'm trying to sell is nicer, almost new stuff.

I'm kind of hurting for money right now, and was hoping to get a little bit of cash for groceries, or somesuch. I know I can just unload it all at Goodwill and call it a day, but I would like to see if I can give selling it a go first.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Definitely try ebay.

What I hate is the way that it's hard to find sexy bras in my size. I'm a 40E and I get annoyed when all I can find in shops for my size is yucky boulder holders.

[lupo pazzesco]

36E, Lace.

I feel you, all too well. Normally, I fit the girls into a 38DD and do my best from there, since it's sort of a more common size, over here. Not by much, mind you, but sort of...