Leggings and yoga pants are a part of this country’s cultural fabric. Especially once the pandemic hit, our jeans definitely got put on the back burner. Access to these workout garments was not always easy to find, especially for plus-size women. A 2016 study found that 37% of plus-size women wore men’s clothing to work out in because of the lack of options. Size shouldn’t limit personal style, and it definitely shouldn’t limit someone’s ability to wear comfortable clothes in their daily life.
Ashley Graham, Chloe Marshall, Jennie Runk, and Tara Lynn are just some of the plus-size models showing up on the cover of magazines. They are testimonials of the ongoing evolution in the fashion industry that is moving toward an inclusive sizing concept.
The most baffling example of exclusivity when it comes to sizing was the Beyonce Ivy Park x Adidas collection. It sent the internet into a frenzy, and the collection sold out in about 6 minutes. The only problem was that there were no plus-size options. This made countless plus-size women take to social media to blast Adidas and question Beyonce herself about not offering her line in sizes above an XL.
They left comments on Beyonce and Adida’s Instagram pages and mini rants on Facebook and Twitter expressing their disappointment. Even some plus-size influencers got involved and made IGTV videos.
On the other hand, as someone who is a body-positive and size diversity advocate, I think that people need to support brands that are inclusive to plus-size people while also making stylish and trendy clothes that look great! It’s better to shop where you’re celebrated, not tolerated.
Some brands that include gym-to-street types of athleisure wear in a full range of sizes are Curve Athletics, ASOS 4505 Curve, Tamela Mann, Universal Standard, Lola Getts, Livi Active, and Fabletics. Many of these brands include a range of different sporty clothes such as dresses, tops, pants, and even bodysuits.
I hope that celebrities that release their own fashion lines in the future include other sizes instead of just standard xs-xl. We all also need to do better in supporting brands that include a bigger size range.
