Should Overweight Women Be Modeling Lingerie?
I came across a curious online survey recently A UK based retailer, Wickedelic Lingerie, found that 24% of the 500 respondents felt allowing larger women to model lingerie was promoting an unhealthy lifestyle.
Whether you agree or not, my website from time to time gets input from large-sized customers saying they wish we would display our products on models more their size. So, several years ago, we ran a test on one of our more popular bras where we tracked sales with two different images – half the time we displayed the image of the bra on an average-framed woman, and the other half on a full-figure woman. The results were signficant– the average model image generated more sales.
If you think about this, it really makes sense. I will buy an item I see displayed on a model that is smaller than me. But, I can honestly say I have never purchased an item when it has been shown on a model that is larger than I am. Take a look at these two photos of the same dress. Would you buy this dress if you only saw the model wearing it? Or would you buy the dress based on the display on the mannequin? I think most would agree they find the mannequin shot more appealing – unless they are the same size or larger than the model.
I don’t think this is discrimination. I think this is simple marketing. However, having said that, I have tried very hard to answer the need for women who wear larger bra sizes to see a model wearing a garment more to their size.
You may not know this, but the HerRoom site has alternate shots on a larger model (usually a 36DD) for bras that come in larger sizes. For example, look at our page for the Chantelle Fete Bra style 1960. You will see that we also show another image of a 36DD model wearing the same bra.
It is true that some bras have subtle design changes in the larger sizes. We make every effort to show the larger size on a fuller model, or at least mention the design change in our descriptions.
No one is here to judge. Yes, marketing is important, but we also want to satisfy all our customer needs. If anyone has a suggestion to improve what we are doing, I’m all ears!
Find bras that come in larger sizes at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Plus-Size Lingerie
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I think that any womens online store that promote plus size women’s clothing should stick solely to promoting only women’s plus size clothing and nothing else. What I feel is that it makes it a lot easier for those women of the plus size to shop at only those online stores that only promote womens plus size clothing whether it be lingerie, dresses, bras, etc…
Comment by Barry Ohman
April 24th, 2010 @ 5:55 pm
I’m curious, you said that the bras sell better when shown on smaller models but are those same bras more likely to be returned when a larger person buys them and then realizes that the bra looks nothing like the bra the smaller model is wearing? While I’m not a plus size, I’m 5′11″ and wear a 32DDDD, I find it extremely frustrating when I purchase a bra based on a picture and receive something completely different. Your site was doing a better job of showing bras in the larger cups sizes or at least noting the differences between the larger and smaller cups sizes but this seems to have tapered off in the past few months. Also you mentioned that you would not purchase something shown on a model larger than you. That seems somewhat absurd to me. Of course I would not purchase an item of clothing shown on a plus-sized model because I’m not plus-sized and therefore the garment wouldn’t fit me properly. Many of the bras that look good in smaller sizes don’t look good in the larger sizes. That is a something that we as customers should be able to decide for ourselves before we purchase an item. Currently the only option available to the ladies with larger cup sizes is to purchase the bra so that we can see it ourselves and then return it if need be. Check out what your reviewers are saying, we may purchase things initially based on how they look on the model but ultimately we only keep the things that fit and look good on us. I personally think that by not showing the larger sized bras you are deceiving your customers by falsely representing your merchandise. Unfortunate this seems to be a very prevalent and acceptable form of deception practiced by most retailers.
Comment by Jessica
April 25th, 2010 @ 2:59 pm
I think it’s ridiculous for you to say that you would not purchase something modeled by someone bigger than you. To me the dress doesn’t even look RIGHT when it’s not on the model. And personally I find it kind of offensive for you to generalize that woman wouldn’t appreciate being shown a variety of body types modeling the same style of clothing/lingerie. Personally I think that would be very helpful in choosing clothes online.
Furthermore your language just could have been better in this entry. I normally appreciate what you have to say in regards to lingerie news, and herroom in general. I just disagree with you points this time.
Comment by Allyson
May 8th, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
I disagree. I used to wear about a X or 1X dress or top. It was frustrating, looking at catalogs where the clothes were shown on women who would probably have worn about a misses Medium. It was hard to tell how things were supposed to fit. When clothes were shown on plump women, I knew if I was ordering a “big shirt” to be worn over a tank top, or a cute long-sleeved blouse.
Even though I now wear a size Large, I still have a problem ordering from some catalogs, because the models are so thin and flat-chested it’s hard to tell if a top is “bra-friendly”. More than once, a tank top (no, not from here) has wound up as a pajama top because it shows too much.
The problem with bras is that the bra itself will be different in different sizes. I can see a difference just going from a 38C to a 36C in the same style – the straps are thinner, and it’s slightly lower cut.
So I think it helps to be able to have some larger models.
Comment by Karen
May 12th, 2010 @ 6:14 pm
I understand the marketing, but it does no service to plus size women like myself.
After being utterly frustrated with having to return too many garments that didn’t look anything like the image in the catalog, I am back to sewing my own clothes. I am debating whether or not to try making bras because it’s so hard to find any that fit me correctly.
Comment by Angela
May 24th, 2010 @ 9:12 am
I agree with Allyson — I would love to see images of the same item on models of several different sizes, as this would really help me to know whether I could wear it.
I’m on the other end of the spectrum — bra size 32AA/A — and I hate it when bras that actually come in size AA are only shown on models who are clearly at least a B cup.
Comment by Amanda
July 21st, 2010 @ 1:57 pm