We’ve regularly discussed the lack of decent plus-size clothing in the fashion world, but why is that? One customer service person at Macy’s told a shopper that the store didn’t carry plus-size upscale clothing because their upscale clientele was thin, and if she wanted upscale plus-size clothes, she should go to a Macy’s in another part of town that catered to women of color. Pam, the Macy’s employee, stated everything very matter-of-factly, blaming demographics on her sizist and racist implications.
Yes, it’s astounding and unbelievable, but I can honestly say that I’ve been told exactly the same thing by other clerks in other store. Once a clerk told me that the best and biggest Avenue stores were in “black neighborhoods” (although Avenue doesn’t have a clue when it comes to PR) and once by a clerk at Nordstrom in San Francisco who told me that if I wanted size 12 heels, I’d have better luck across the Bay in Oakland where the women tended to be larger. Conversely, a clerk at Simply Fashion once congratulated me for being the only white girl she had ever seen that came into the store more than once.
I have so many questions. We know that weight and income are directly related, but certainly there are wealthy women who are overweight (Oprah much?) who need to buy clothing and prefer to shop in higher end stores. In Macy’s defense, the last time I was in New York, shopping with my bff, he convinced me to check out the plus-size section and I did it pessimistically, totally expecting to find three styles of appliqued t-shirts and a rounder of Mom jeans, but was ecstatic to discover that the plus-size section was extremely diverse and I even ended up trying on a slew of awesome dresses in brands that I never thought I could find in my size. It was definitely a positive Macy’s experience, but I’ve never found a Macy’s like that outside of Herald Square.
My interest was really piqued by a statement in the comments of the Consumerist thread:
The thing is, as someone who has worked in the corporate office of a major department store, what this woman (Pam) said sounds like total BS. For the past 10-15 years plus sized departments have been a total cash cow for struggling department stores. The decision to scale back on plus sized departments is madness, but many are doing it, as they believe if they gain a reputation for catering to plus sized women (perceived as being older, less on trend, less affluent) it would damage the “brand.” See what happened with Lord & Taylor in NY, for an example of this.
This is a suspicion that we’ve always had about the extinction of decent plus-size clothing in non-specialized stores like Target and Old Navy, and to be quite honest, I have a hell of a time shopping for plus-size clothes when I visit San Francisco (especially now that the Igigi boutique is no more). It’s weird, because Simply Fashion is one of my favorite stores IN THE WORLD, mostly because it serves sizes 2-38 in the same store, often carrying the same exact style across all sizes (and many of them, very very hootchie in the most fantastic way imaginable). I think the reason that I love it so much is because they don’t worry that the size 2s will be offended to shop in the same store with the size 22s. It just is what it is.
I want to believe that Simply Fashion’s business model can work. I want to believe it’s not because the African-American culture values women on their contributions while white bread America cares more about the number on your dress tag. I want to cherish the fact that more than 50 percent of the United States just elected a black president because they’ve gotten over stupid prejudices, and that they haven’t simply replaced racism with sizism. I want to believe we can change. I really really want to believe.
