There’s a Plus-Size Lingerie War Going On
September 09, 2010
Every once in a while, you read an article, and you just can’t get it out of your mind.That happened for me last month with the New York Times article, Plus-Size Wars.
It was a rather lengthy article about the on-going debate over skinny models and body image. But, several data points in the article resonated with me as it relates to the challenge we have at HerRoom helping and satisfying our customers who buy the larger bra and panty sizes.
Here are the current statistics. The average clothing size for women in America is a size 14. The average American woman weighs 164.7 lbs. 64% of American women are overweight, with more than 1/3 being in the obese category. And, here is the real kicker: plus-size clothing only represents 18% of total revenue in women’s clothing – and it’s been fairly constant over the past 20 years. So, more than half of all American women fall into this plus-size category, and are buying less than 20% of all clothing. And this statistic was down to 10% in the years 2008 and 2009.
The article then went into a very interesting explanation of the complicated challenges clothing makers have in trying to clothe the plus-size market. We all know that body proportions change as we gain weight. Manufacturers, over the years, have been able to very predictably guage where those changes are from sizes 2 to 12 and how much of a measurement increase there is between sizes. A pattern maker can take a base pattern and make subtle measurement changes in certain spots on a pattern to come up with the other sizes for a particular garment. This is called pattern grading. This technique is so predictable that many of the grading changes date back to the 16th century. But, here is the big but… after a size 14, there is no predictability or certainty where and how the dimensions change. We women simply get fat differently when we get up into these sizes.
So, here are the plus-size challenges for clothing manufacturers:
1. They can’t grade up patterns to create the larger sizes.
2. They are forced to choose if the plus-size body they are going to design for is trunk, breast, or hip-heavy.
3. It’s difficult to find the right fit model for each size they are trying to make clothing for.
The lion’s share of poor reviews on HerRoom go to bras that come in plus sizes. My team and I work so hard to provide our customers with the best fitting information possible on each bra that we offer for sale. We read customer reviews, talk to the manufacturers and go to retail stores to get as much fit information on our bras as we can. We then post our fit findings on our product pages and I personally include them in my ‘Tomima Tips.’ So, when we see a comment from a plus-size woman that our fitting information didn’t work for her, we all get very frustrated.
But now we have new understanding. Take women that wear a 48F bra, for example. They are not all alike – one can have particularly large arms, another can have a narrow ribcage, another may hold a lot of her weight in her back. It’s really impossible to find a universal bra that will fit everyone.
Let me close this post by saying that my team and I will continue to root out and communicate to you all the bra fitting comments we learn. We are now just going to be smarter about asking better questions to give better fit advice to the plus size bra wearers out there.
Find Plus Size lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Plus-Size Lingerie
Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.
Posted by Tomima at 11:21am
2 Comments »
Should Overweight Women Be Modeling Lingerie?
April 20, 2010
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
Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.
Posted by Tomima at 7:32pm
9 Comments »
Elomi Bras – Beautiful Bras for the Fuller Figure
November 02, 2009
A few weeks ago, the fabulous team from elomi stopped by to work with my creative team in creating a video of elomi’s terrific collection of bras. I must say that I was truly surprised. I knew they were pretty bras, but had no idea how really great they looked on a fuller figure woman.
.jpg "elomi Lara bra")
We brought in our 36G and average height model for the shoot. I was first struck by how proportioned all the bras were on her. In this business, you constantly hear the complaint that larger cupped bras look like a "harness." Well, elomi has figured out how to give support while paring down the back. Their bras average 2 to 3 hooks at most in the back. And the leotard-back styling is flattering as well as supportive.
The next thing I noticed was that all the bras were really pretty – great details and well-fitting. Take, for example, elomi’s Lara underwire demi-cup bra 8050. I don’t ever remember seeing a true demi bra in large cup sizes that fit and was flattering. Well, this one was a great surprise. We actually put it on several models, and every model looked great in it, and wanted it.
So, the good news here is that full-figure and plus-size women now have some really beautiful bra options. Take a look at the video Freddy Zappe, national fit expert, and I did below and see if you don’t agree that these bras really look great.
Earlier last year, I met with Elomi design Leisl George. She talked about how elomi designs full figure and plus-size bras. You can learn more about elomi cup and band sizing for full figure women.
Find elomi lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.
Posted by Tomima at 11:52am
1 Comment »
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