Clothing For An Adult, Not Old Woman

by Nan
(Vista, California, USA)

Oh help - I'm a plus, tall with long torse but only 28" legs. Actually I look nice, the long body makes me look slimmer than I am. However, I still wear a size 20 top and size 16 bottoms in most clothes (not the cheapies of course, they're a joke).

I must try on everything and usually send all back. I'm sick of it. Recently bought from Woman Within, same sizes I bought before. The clothes grew. Everything was too big. I had the shirts tailored, too big and not "buttery soft" as the ad stated; I'll send the cardigans back for smaller; the tank add stated 26 inch but most be a 30 inch. I'll have it cut down. Nightgowns too big but it's OK for gowns.

The real problem was ponte pants. Way to big especially in butt and legs. Yet the pictures did not show this and the ad did not mention.

Not sure what to do, tailoring will cost a fortune.

Why can't I just buy like my friends do. At least merchandisers should arrange a way we can see the item, and feel it. I like soft clothes. Not cheap, more moderte. Woman Within, Roamans, etc. mostly cheap and look it. Penneys look pretty good but run small, especially short in waist. Macy's expensive but stores are poorly stocked. Have not been to snooty Nordstroms in years.

Somewhere in this rant is a question. I need clothes, I want clothes, I can afford clothes. So why can't I buy them?

Have merchandisers and designers looked at the average female today? We are not a size 2, and we are not going to be a size 2 any time soon.

Oh well


Nan, I'm sorry to hear about that. I honestly don't know what to say other than that the fit of a garment often varies from brand to brand, store to store. There is no guarantee that a clothing will fit perfectly -- merchandisers are just doing a guess-work of what they think fits the average female today.

However, the best way to raise the chances of not returning an item is to make sure that the online store provides some sort of rating system where the shoppers can submit their review of the purchased clothes. This can help you a little in deciding if an item will fit you, or if the item is as described. One Stop Plus and Macy's provide this.

Silhouettes and Kiyonna are known for their quality plus size clothes.

You might have to look into European UK women's plus size clothing stores as they're reputed for their great fit and craftmanship. Examples are: Marisota, and Long Tall Sally.

I'm not sure if this is of help to you, but I'm glad you documented your rant on this website to raise awareness of how poorly many (plus) womens clothing stores are doing.

Best of luck,